Chocolate Stout Truffles & GF White Chocolate Lavender Truffles

Chocolate and I..... we’re not the best of friends. It’s been a couple years since I’ve ventured much into the world of candy making (well, excluding my love of marshmallows and peeps and homemade candy corn). 

But Valentine’s Day is soon! Friday! I’ve been in such a cookie fog the past couple weeks.... Baking, decorating, packaging, shipping cookies to a few of my family members and the winner of the contest. So, instead of making more cookies, I decided to put aside my distain for working with chocolate and make truffles!  

I don’t mind the mess of bread dough, or cookie dough, or icing etc. But as soon as there’s melted chocolate in the mix, I tend to go a bit crazy. . Somehow, even though I try to keep things as clean and tidy as possible, chocolate making seems to be eternally messy.... Even the littlest bit of melted chocolate on my skin makes me instantly want to wash my hands... And don’t even get me started on tempering chocolate at home! My past attempts have been less than stellar.....  

But truffles are a little different....  They’re easy, yet still impressive! And they don’t require tempering chocolate!  yay!  Hot cream is poured over chocolate pieces and mixed to form a ganache--the ratio of cream to chocolate varies depending on whether white, milk, or dark chocolate is used. Once the ganache cools, it is portioned and rolled into bit-sized balls. After rolling, the truffle is usually coated in something (cocoa powder, nuts, coarse sugar, sprinkles etc.) and then it is ready to be served. Pretty simple, in the world of candy-making :) 

But you can customize them too, as I’ve done today.  I like to think of my two combinations as “His and Hers” truffles.  I’m not trying to actively give them gender roles... But I know my husband really enjoys my chocolate stout desserts, thus “his” is a chocolate stout truffle rolled in crushed pretzels--who doesn’t love a little salty with their sweet). “Hers” is the one created for me: gluten free white chocolate lavender truffles coated in sparkly sanding sugar. Due to some health issues, I’ve had to cross into the white chocolate camp, but I decided to make my white chocolate truffle a little more exciting by infusing it with one of my favorite scents/flavors: lavender.  

In addition to the essential ingredients of heavy cream and good quality chocolate--seriously, truffle-making is not the time to skimp on chocolate... buy the best quality you can find and/or afford)--I’ve added very small quantities of a couple additional items. Butter helps to enhance flavors, while keeping the truffle center smooth and firm with a good mouthfeel. Corn Syrup (or glucose would be even better, if you have access to it) binds with moisture particles, thus decreasing the water activity in the truffle and increasing the overall shelf life. It also reduces the risk of crystallization--a truffle should be creamy in the middle, not crunchy from sugar crystals. If you ever want to read more behind the science of chocolate, one of my favorite resources is Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner by Peter P Greweling. 

While I *technically* made these truffles for Valentine’s Day, don’t tell anyone if we start sampling them early. In addition to eating them outright, I intend to drop a couple into mugs of hot milk to make a somewhat “instant” hot cocoa :)  Even with the short amount of time before Valentine’s Day, you could still quickly whip up a batch of truffles for your loved ones :) 

Chocolate Stout Truffles

yields approximately 22 truffles 

inspired by  Edible Ireland & The Modern Cafe

1 c Stout, (I used Guinness Extra Stout) 

7 oz Milk Chocolate, finely chopped 

1/2 c Heavy Cream

1 Tbl Corn Syrup**

Pretzel sticks, for coating

1.  In a small sauce pan, bring the stout to a boil over medium high heat--watch it carefully, just in case it boils over. Once it boils, turn the heat down to medium and allow the beer to simmer until it is reduced to 1/4th the original amount (approximately 1/4 c). For me, the process took between 15 and 20 minutes. 
2. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate & place it into a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Once the stout is reduced, heat the heavy cream in another small saucepan until it just barely simmers (some steam should be visible & there should be tiny bubbles around the edges of the pan). 
4. Pour the heated cream over the chopped chocolate. Allow to sit for 30 seconds, then whisk until all the chocolate is melted.  Add the stout and the corn syrup & whisk until smooth. 
5. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and chill until the mixture firms, but is still pliable enough to mold. Stir every 30 minutes during the refrigeration process.  Mine took several hours to come to a cookie-dough-like consistency.  If it gets too hard to scoop, allow to sit at room temperature for a bit. 
6. Meanwhile, prepare the pretzel coating. Chop small pretzel sticks into small bits, using a very sharp chef knife. Alternately, a food processor may be used, but I find it pulverizes the pretzels a bit too much for my liking. Place the pretzel pieces into a small bowl. 
7. Use a small cookie scoop to portion the truffles onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Refrigerate the whole pan for 20 minutes, if the truffles become too soft. Otherwise, after the truffles are scooped, roll them gently with clean hands to make them round & roll them in the chopped pretzels.  
8. Store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Allow them to sit at room temperature for a few minutes to warm up (they’ll taste better that way) before serving. Know that the pretzels will begin to get soggy over time, so it is best to serve these as soon as possible.  

**The corn syrup helps to keep the truffle from crystalizing and also increases the shelf life.  Glucose is preferred to  corn syrup, but I don’t have any available to me where I live...  You can skip the syrup all together if it really bothers you to use it.

Gluten Free White Chocolate Lavender Truffles

Yields approximately 18 truffles 

Inspired by Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner

46 g Heavy Cream, plus extra, as needed

1/2 tsp Lavender Buds

250 g White Chocolate, finely chopped (I used Lindt White Chocolate)   

10 g Butter

10 g Corn Syrup**

1 drop Essential Lavender Oil 

Sanding sugar

Additional Lavender for decoration, optional 

1. Combine the heavy cream and lavender in a very small sauce pan.  Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, then cover & remove from the heat. Allow to steep, covered, for 20 minutes.  
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces & place into a medium sized heat-safe bowl (such as stainless steel, tempered glass or ceramic) that fits over a medium saucepan. Set the chocolate aside. Fill the saucepan with 2”-3” of water, and bring to a simmer on the stove. 
3. After the cream has steeped, place the chocolate bowl onto the scale with a fine strainer in the bowl. Zero the scale with the strainer on it. Pour the liquid into the bowl, straining out any lavender buds. If the scale does not measure 46g of cream, add some additional fresh cream to make up the difference. Remove the strainer & discard the used lavender. 
4. Place the chocolate/steeped cream over sauce pan with simmering water to form a double boiler. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until the chocolate is completely melted. The mixture may look a little grainy or separated, but that is ok.  Remove from the heat and add the butter and corn syrup.  Stir until well combined. If the mixture continues to look separated, return to the double boiler system & stir constantly until everything has emulsified (i.e. come together) into a ganache. 
5. Remove the white chocolate ganache from the heat & taste a little bit of it.  If you prefer a stronger lavender flavor (which I did), add a drop of essential lavender oil. Only add a little bit--we don’t want it to taste like soap! Remember that when the chocolate is cold, the lavender flavor will not be as pronounced. 
6. Transfer the ganache to a separate bowl & chill in the refrigerator until it firms slightly, but still is pliable enough to mold. Mine took about an hour to set up. 
7. Use a 
8. 1 tablespoon scoop to portion the truffles onto a parchment lined sheet pan. Refrigerate the whole pan for 30 minutes. 
9. Once the truffles are chilled roll them gently with clean hands to make them round & cover each truffle in coarse sanding sugar. Press a single bud of lavender to the top of the truffle, if desired. 
10. Store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Allow them to sit at room temperature for a few minutes to warm up (they’ll taste better that way) before serving.

**The corn syrup helps to keep the truffle from crystalizing and also increases the shelf life.  Glucose is preferred to  corn syrup, but I don’t have any available to me where I live...  You can skip the syrup all together if it really bothers you to use it.  

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

GF Red Velvet Valentines' Cookies and A Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! 

I find that people generally fall into one of two camps when it comes to Valentine’s Day: they either love the holiday or they hate it.

I tend to fall into the “love it” category, but really I love any holiday that gives me an excuse to make festive treats & decorate custom sugar cookies.  (Seriously, I just spent the better part of three days working on these cookies!)

The same thing seems true, in my experience, when it comes to red velvet cake: people either love it or they dislike it. I admit, I’m not crazy about red velvet cake, but I did really enjoy the red velvet macarons I made last year.

A couple of years ago, I saw red velvet cut out cookies on the esteemed Sugar Belle’s blog, and I filed the idea away for a future Valentine’s season. This year, I decided to give the recipe a try & convert it to a Gluten Free option.  I love my regular sugar cookie recipe, but it’s always fun to add a new variety to the arsenal.

Part of the reason I was intrigued with Callye’s recipe is that it used a couple unusual-to-me ingredients: Red Velvet Emulsion & Buttermilk Powder . I don’t always have the greatest success finding out-of-the-ordinary ingredients in my local grocery stores, but luckily I was able to find both at Walmart (though Amazon.com also carries them).

Along with imparting that particular red velvet flavor, the red velvet emulsion also contains red coloring, which then meant I didn’t have to add any additional red to the dough. And I am very intrigued by the buttermilk powder--I look forward to experimenting with adding it to other baked goods too…

While I was shopping for the red velvet emulsion, I also discovered Cream Cheese Emulsion. Since red velvet cake is traditionally paired with cream cheese frosting (and the cream cheese emulsion was free from oil--royal icing’s enemy), it seemed serendipitous to make a cream cheese flavored royal icing for the decorations. Though a word of caution, a little goes a long way when it comes to cream cheese emulsion!

And this brings me to a giveaway! In the 4+ years that I’ve been posting, I’ve never done a giveaway. But I’d like to start doing a few from time to time...  This particular giveaway will feature some of the red velvet cookies you see in this post and some of my classic Valentine’s decorated sugar cookies.

For a chance to win, leave a comment telling me your favorite Valentine treat.  And please make sure to include your email address so that I can contact you, should you be the winner! The contest will run through midnight central time on Sunday, February 9, 2014. Because this giveaway is completely sponsored (i.e. funded) by me, it is only open to residents of the United States.

Giveaway is now closed!  Thanks to all who entered! 

Quilted/Tufted Cookie Tutorial
(inspired by Sugar Belle  and Sweet Ambs)

Use a Food Writer Pen and a ruler to draw diagonal lines 0.5” apart from each other. Then, draw lines perpendicular to the original ones to form a grid system. (I started by drawing a line down the center of the heart & using that as a guide with my clear ruler and my edible food marker.)

Use 20 second icing & a #1 tip to begin filling in the squares, making sure that no two squares are touching in any manner (see above photo). I usually try to fill in just inside the lines. Allow to dry for 20ish minutes to create a 3D look.

Go back and begin filling in the squares again (see photo above) Allow to dry again for 20ish minutes.
Fill in the remaining squares & allow to dry 20ish minutes if adding edible pearls (using a tweezers make this process easiest), or dry completely if piping dots in a contrasting color.

Further Technique Resources: 

For the (above) wet-on-wet flower technique or the (below) brush embroidery technique (or video here), visit Sweet Ambs.

For the piped lace designs, visit Sugar Belle and Bake at 350.

GF Red Velvet Cut Out Cookies
Adapted from Sugar Belle 

8 oz / 2 sticks / 1 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
8 oz / 2 cups Confectioners Sugar
1 egg, room temperature
2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste 
1 Tbl Lorann Red Velvet Emulsion 
2 Tbl Milk
1.5 oz / 1/2 c Hershey’s Cocoa Powder
23 g  / 1/4 c Buttermilk Powder
13.8 oz / 3 1/4 c GF Flour {I used Jeanne's GF AP Mix; or use regular AP if not GF}
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
additional tapioca starch for dusting (optional) 

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the unsalted butter & the confectioners sugar on low speed until they are well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
2. Add the egg, vanilla, red velvet emulsion and milk. Mix on low speed to combine & scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Meanwhile, sift together the dry ingredients (cocoa, buttermilk powder, GF flour, baking powder, and fine grain sea salt) in a separate bowl. 
4. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl & mix on low speed.  When the dry ingredients are halfway combined, add the vinegar and continue to mix until a dough forms.  If the dough is very sticky, add an extra 1/4 c GF flour, if the dough is still crumbly, add an additional Tbl of milk.  (note, mine required extra flour, but the original recipe did not call for any additional flour). 
5. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
6. Preheat the oven to 400 F and line baking sheet with parchment paper. 
7. Roll out the chilled dough either between two pieces of parchment, or on surface well dusted a tapioca starch .
8. Cut out shapes & place on the prepared baking sheets. 
9. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the cutouts. 
10. Cool completely before decorating with Almond Cream Cheese Royal Icing (recipe follows). 

Almond Cream Cheese Royal Icing

2# confectioners sugar

2.25 oz Meringue Powder

3/4 c Warm Water

3/4 tsp Imitation Almond Extract **see note below**

1 tsp Cream Cheese Emulsion 

1. In the bowl of a very clean stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the confectioners sugar and meringue powder.  Mix on low speed to combine. 
2. With the machine running, add the warm water. Increase the speed to medium until all the confectioners sugar/meringue powder is combined. Then increase the speed to high & continue mixing for 5 additional minutes (or until very stiff and glossy).  
3. Add the imitation almond extract and the cream cheese emulsion.  Mix on medium speed to combine.  
4. Color the icing as desired and thin to the desired consistency for decorating. Remember that colors containing lots of reds/pinks/blacks will continue to develop color & should be made at least 12 hours before use for proper color development.
5. Store the icing in a clean, airtight container in the refrigerator. Top with a wet paper towel to keep the surface of the icing from drying out. 

**Note: Why use imitation almond extract? Real almond extract uses almond oil & oil is an enemy of royal icing, so imitation almond extract (which does not contain almond oil) is required.**

note: this post may contain affiliate links. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Salted Caramel Millet Squares (GF) and a snow walk

Greetings from the Atlanta airport! This week has been an interesting one, to say the least.  Last Thursday, I flew out to the Atlanta area to drive to Birmingham, with my friend Tami, the following day for the conference Food Blog South. The conference was excellent and I’m still digesting all that I learned… A recap post will be coming soon.

Following the conference, we headed back to Tami’s in Georgia & I planned to fly back home to Texas on Tuesday. Well, the weather (specifically winter storm “Leon”) had other plans.... Instead of heading home, I found myself stuck at Tami’s house, due to the inclement weather.

Mingus, wearing his sweater & ready to go on a snow walk. 

But honestly, I can’t think of a better place to be stuck!  Tami & Mike are so kind and hospitable! Even with our snow/ice adventures, propane shortages, and cats lost/stuck in unacessible portions of the attic, it was a fantastic stay! I loved having time to relax, catch up on some computer things, cuddle with Mingus and the kitties, and spending time with good friends.

So now today, I’m trying to head back.  Fingers crossed that I’ll actually make it!  But in the mean time, while I’m chilling in the airport, I thought I’d share something I made last week before the trip: Salted Caramel Millet Squares, which I perhaps should have named “mile high salted caramel puffed millet squares.”  They are a little on the tall side...

After making copycat KIND bars last fall, I found myself with a good amount puffed millet. I thought about making a a variation on rice krispy treats, only gluten free, since the particular brand of Puffed Millet Cereal I found is gluten free, and regular crispy rice cereal is not gluten free.  (yes, I know you can get gluten free rice krispies, but my local grocery store doesn’t stock them).  My one complaint is that my millet had got a little stale and was not quite as crunchy as I would have liked, but fresh cereal shouldn’t have that problem.

Regular old rice krispy treats are great, my browned butter version is even better, and now adding salted caramel adds a whole extra flavor dimension.  These squares aren’t quite as easy--you do have to make both the caramel sauce & brown the butter. But the taste, in my opinion, is completely worth it!  And they might make an easy Super Bowl snack? If you can’t get puffed millet, feel free to substitute an equal amount of crispy rice cereal.

Salted Caramel Millet Squares
yields 9 very generous servings 

Salted Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
4 oz / 1 stick / 8 Tbl Butter
8 oz Marshmallows
5.6 oz Puffed Millet Cereal (or substitute crispy rice cereal, though it may not be GF! Check the ingredients)

1. Prepare an 8x8 baking pan by spraying it liberally with non stick spray (alternately, use a 9x13 if using the millet & you do not want quite as tall squares). Set aside. 
2. Make the salted caramel sauce (recipe follows), and reserve. 
3. In a tall, heavy stock pot, brown the butter.  Heat the butter over medium high heat. Once it melts, it will become a bit bubbly or foamy.  Keep cooking, gently swirling the pan occasionally, until the bubbles or foam dissipate, and the milk solids begin to brown in the bottom of the pan. Once the solids reach a rich golden brown color, remove the pot from the burner.  
4. Add the marshmallows and stir with a heat tempered spatula until the marshmallows all melt completely. If the residual heat in the pot does not completely melt the marshmallows, return the pot to the burner briefly. Once the marshmallows have completely melted, stir in the salted caramel sauce. 
5. Pour the puffed millet into the butter/marshmallow/caramel mixture. Quickly stir until all the cereal is well coated.  
6. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press to compact.  Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. Store any leftovers, covered, at room temperature.  

Salted Caramel Sauce

200g / 7 oz / 1c Granulated Sugar 

3 Tbl Water

2 oz Heavy Cream

2 tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt

1.  In a 3 qt sauce pan, mix together the granulated sugar and water until the two resemble wet sand. 
2. Place the pan over medium high heat and cook, without stirring, until the mixture turns a medium/medium dark caramel color. Swirl the pan occasionally, if the browning is uneven.  
3. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream. Warning, the mixture will bubble violently when the cream is added, so be careful!
4. Finish by stirring in the salt. Use as directed above.  

This post contains affiliate links. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Waffle Weekend: Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles

This week has been full of changes.  We decided spur-of-the-moment that I should attend Food Blog South next weekend!  I designed new business cards to take with me to FBS (because my old ones were three years old & full outdated information).

After submitting my new business card designs to the printer, I suddenly panicked because my new card design didn’t match my blog site design. Thus, the blog also received a slight facelift, with some design changes and an updated "About Me & FAQs" page.  And I created a Sweet Treats Facebook page! (I should have made one *years* ago...) I In less than a week, there have been over 230 likes!!  If you haven’t already, please venture over there and “like” the page :)

But there have also been some bittersweet changes too.  We said “see you later” to some very dear friends who are moving from Texas to Washington for a job transfer. We’re excited about this new adventure they’ll have, but we’re also really sad to lose them...

So this weekend, in celebration and in consolation, I made Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles and topped them chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and raspberries.  They made a great breakfast in bed while binge watching "Veronica Mars" :)

Gluten Free Chocolate Waffles
adapted from Gale Gand via Waffelizer 
Yields approximately 6 waffles, depending on waffle iron size 

5.3 oz / 1 1/4 c Gluten Free Flour (I used Jeanne’s GF AP Mix, or use AP if not gluten free)
1.5 oz / 3 Tbl Brown Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Sea Salt
0.75 oz / 1/4 c Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)

2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 c Whole Milk (room temp, if possible)
1 oz / 2 Tbl Unsalted Butter, melted
1 oz / 2 Tbl Vegetable Oil, plus additional for greasing the waffle iron

Chocolate sauce, optional, for serving (recipe follows)
Vanilla Ice Cream, optional, for serving
Raspberries, optional, for serving

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt. Sift in the cocoa powder & stir to combine. 
2. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the egg yolks (reserve the whites), milk, unsalted butter, and vegetable oil.  
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. 
4. Preheat the waffle iron. Whip the egg whites to medium stiff peaks, using a handheld mixer (or just a whisk if you’re in need of a good arm workout). Fold the egg whites into the waffle batter. 
5. Cook on the preheated waffle iron, greasing with additional vegetable oil if necessary (we did need to grease ours). Hold finished waffles in a 200 F oven until all the waffles are cooked. 
6. Serve the waffles drizzled with chocolate sauce, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream & a sprinkling of raspberries. Store any leftover waffles in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Chocolate Sauce
3 oz semisweet or dark chocolate, broken or chopped into small pieces
3 oz Heavy Cream

1. Place the chocolate into a small/medium bowl.  
2. In a small sauce pan, heat the cream until just before the boiling point (small bubbles around the edges of the pan as well as steam should be visible. 
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until all the chocolate pieces are melted. 
4. Serve drizzled over the waffles. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator. 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

GF Oatmeal Creme Pies

The beginning of a new year is “supposed” to be about renewal, setting new goals & starting fresh. But here I am, bringing a recipe for homemade oatmeal creme pies, which doesn’t exactly fit into the “eating healthier” goal many people set at the start of a new year.  Sorry, not sorry :)

By making your own, at least you have complete control over the ingredients go into (or are left out of) your version? These homemade oatmeal creme pies may not have the same shelf life as their pre-packaged Little Debbie predecessors, but these particular ones are gluten free, yet very tasty. In fact, I may need to send the remaining oatmeal creme pies with my husband to work because I can’t seem to stop eating them!

Because I attended a private elementary/middle school that didn’t have a hot lunch program, we had to bring a packed lunch from home. Bless my poor mother for packing lunches for myself and my sisters for 12 years!  On very special occasions, we were allowed a treat, like Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies, in our lunch box.  Sometimes there were zebra cakes or star crunch, but I think the oatmeal creme pie was my favorite :)

It has been years since I’ve had a Little Debbie oatmeal creme pie.... Especially now that I eat a mostly gluten free lifestyle, many of my favorite childhood lunchbox items are out of the question.  Instead, I’m experimenting with making my own versions to fit my changing dietary needs.

I looked at many recipes online for homemade oatmeal creme pies before settling on the one I used. Many images showed the cookies much puffier than my memories of  the prepackaged version.  Some used a straight frosting as the filling, while I wanted something more marshmallow-y.

The cookie dough for these pies is much more sticky than traditional dough. And it really spreads in the oven during the baking process. In fact, during the baking process for my first test pan, I did have serious doubts about whether the recipe would work! Thankfully, it did.

Instead of sandwiching the cookies with a frosting or meringue, I turned to one of my favorite marshmallow recipes (the one I used for homemade peeps and adapted to top chocolate stout cupcakes) and used that recipe for the filling. I do have a serious love for homemade marshmallows :)

Stay tuned, there may be more Little Debbie copycat recipes in the future!

Note: If you’re following a gluten free lifestyle, please make sure the oats you use are certified gluten free.  While traditional oats themselves do not contain gluten, they are often processed on equipment shared with gluten products, thus resulting in cross-contamination.  Or the oat fields are cross-pollinated with glutinous grains, again resulting in cross-contamination. I personally have had good luck with Trader Joe's Gluten Free Rolled Oats and Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats but everyone is different. Also, some people who cannot tolerate the proteins that make gluten also cannot tolerate the proteins in oats, so check with your doctor before consuming.

Oatmeal Creme Pies
Yields approximately 60 cookies or 30 sandwiches. 

Cookie Base
adapted from Babble 
8 oz / 2 stick unsalted butter, room temp
5.6 oz / 3/4 c Light brown Sugar
3.5 oz / 1/2 c Sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbl Honey
1 tsp vanilla
7.45 oz / 1.75 c GF Flour (I used Jeanne’s Gluten Free AP mix or substitute AP if not GF)
1 t Baking Soda
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4.7 oz / 1 1/2 c GF Oats (I used Trader Joe's version or substitute regular if not GF)

Marshmallow Filling 
note: do not make until ready to assemble or else the gelatin will set in the bowl not on the cookies!) 
2/3 c Cold Water
0.5 oz / 2 packets Granulated Gelatin
14 oz / 2 c Granulated Sugar
1/2 c Water
2 tsp Vanilla

1. To make the cookies: Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed the butter and sugars until the mixture has completely combined, and is lighter in color and fluffy in texture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Add the eggs, honey and vanilla and mix on low until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
4. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Set aside. Pulse the oats in a food processor or clean coffee grinder until coarsely chopped. Mix the oats in with the dry ingredients. 
5. Add the dry to the mixer bowl and mix on low speed until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
6. Use a small 1 Tbl scoop to drop batter onto the prepared baking sheets. Pan the cookies 3 rows by 4 rows. Always start by portioning the outer edges (see photo below) & then filling in with the remaining rows. 
7. Chill the cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 F.
8. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the edges are light brown.  Rotate the pans halfway through baking. 
9. Remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheets. 
10. To make the filling (do so just before assembly): Bloom gelatin in cold water in bowl of a 6 qt stand mixer. Attach the bowl (during the blooming process) & whisk attachment to the mixer.
11.  In a 3 qt saucepan, combine the sugar & water. Stir just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Heat the pan over medium high heat to 238 F (softball stage). Do not stir during the heating process. 
12.  With mixer running on low, pour syrup over gelatin.  Increase speed to medium for 3 minutes. Put on the splash guard as a precaution against burns.  Increase speed to high & beat for 3 additional minutes.
13. Add the vanilla extract. Beat on high for an additional 7 minutes (splash guard is not necessary). 
14.  While the marshmallow is whipping, prepare a large piping bag by fitting it with a large round tip (I used an Ateco 804).  Prepare the cookies by matching like sizes & flipping over the bottom cookies for piping. Also gather a back up baking sheet with sprayed parchment for the extra filling. 
15. Once the marshmallow is very thick & holds its shape/a stiff peak, use a portion scoop to scoop it into the prepared piping bag.
16. Pipe the marshmallow in a spiral pattern onto the bottom of one cookie & top with another cookie to make a sandwich. Press slightly to adhere. Repeat with the remaining cookies. Work quickly so that the marshmallow does not set up in the mixing bowl or in the piping bag.  
17. Pipe any remaining marshmallow (there will be extra) into sprayed, parchment paper. 
18. Allow the sandwiched cookies to set at room temperature. 
19. Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature. Eat within a few days, though they really do taste best have the best texture the day they are made. 

panning example from step 6 

reade more... Résuméabuiyad