baking

OLIVE OIL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES (GLUTEN-AND-DAIRY-FREE) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Happy April! I should probably be talking about buds sprouting, and green grass shooting through the earth. Maybe the fragrance of a springtime rain shower? But here we are, talking about cookies :)

These are by far my favorite chocolate chip cookies. Bold statement much? They’re dense and chewy, with crisp exteriors. There are puddles of dark chocolate, buttery pecans, and flecks of salt for that perfect bite time and again. They’re a throwback to a better version of these cookies they used to serve in middle school - slightly underdone, a little gooey, but so very satisfying. I’ve been a fan of olive oil chocolate chip cookies for a while now. I originally developed a recipe in my book years ago, and I’ve always come back to their simple complexity. The olive oil adds a subtle grassy fruitiness, that’s creates a wonderful balance with the sugar-laden chocolate chip cookies. Plus, everything is right in the world when chocolate and olive oil have the opportunity to work together.

We keep these cookies on the smaller side, about a 3-inch diameter, so that you can eat a whole cookie without feeling like it’s too much. No shade to super large cookies, but I personally prefer eating a smaller portion. Here’s a few other notes on these cookies in case you might have any questions:

  • Olive oil. I nudge you to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil here. It’s going to give you those big flavor notes you’re looking for. A few of my favorites: Birghtland (expensive for the 1/2 cup the recipe calls for, but worth it if you can swing it), and my everyday go-to, California Olive Ranch (best budget-friendly EVOO in my opinion).

  • Chocolate. I call for chocolate chunks. I generally buy bars, and chop them coarsely. You can use chocolate chips, but the cookies won’t have those mouthwatering chocolate puddles, and they will also spread more. You can also use chocolate wafers. A couple favorite dairy-free chocolate brands include: Chocolove’s 65% dark chocolate bars, and Guittard dark chocolate wafers.

  • I use a cookie scoop here, which isn’t a deal breaker, but it makes it a lot easier to evenly portion the cookies. If you don’t own one, and make cookies often, I suggest purchasing one. This is the one I have.

  • Superfine brown rice flour. This is a frequent ingredient in many of my recipes. I find that the superfine flour produces baked goods that are less grainy. But if all you have is regular brown rice flour, that will work as well, but it will effect the texture of the cookies.

I hope I’ve sold you on the magic of olive oil in chocolate chip cookies, and that you get the chance to make these!

olive oil chocolate chip cookies

| makes 18 cookies |

print the recipe

ingredients

  • 3/4 cup superfine brown rice flour

  • 1/2 cup sorghum flour

  • 1/4 cup arrowroot powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • 6 ounces dark chocolate chunks (preferably 60-70% cacao)

  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts

  • Fleur de sel or Maldon salt, for sprinkling

method

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and sugar. Whisk in the egg, and vanilla. A little at a time, mix the dry ingredients into the wet using a rubber spatula until the flour mixture is completely combined. Fold in the chocolate and nuts. You’re going to use a bit of elbow grease, but just keep going until the chocolate and nuts are evenly distributed.

  3. Using a medium scoop (approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons), portion cookie dough out onto your prepared cookie sheets, spacing about 2-inches between each cookie.

  4. Pop one tray in the fridge and bake the other for 10-11 minutes, until edges are golden and set. Cool cookies on a rack, and repeat with the other tray of cookie dough.

  5. Once cookies have cooled a bit, sprinkle with fleur de sel or Maldon salt. Eat cookies warm (if possible). Leftover cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

GLUTEN-FREE CARDAMOM SUFGANIYOT (JELLY DOUGHNUTS) /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

we’re going big for hanukkah this year! i rarely fry anything, but when there’s a pandemic and all i want is for my kids to have fun memories of this time, i drag out the oil, and fry up some doughnuts! aside from the scorching hot oil part, this is a pretty fun recipe to make with kids (i don’t advise you to fry the doughnuts with your littles, and i would recommend this for ages 4 and up). it’s actually kind of easy since there are quite a few breaks to let the dough rise a couple of times, it works out pretty nicely for having time to set up for the next phase of the recipe (in case you have impatient little ones like i do 😅).

like any doughnut recipe, these require some planning ahead, and some kitchen equipment that will make everything pretty seamless. i wanted to make this recipe extra easy, so we’re using a gluten-free baking mix. the most frequent messages i get are having to do with not wanting to purchase multiple gluten-free flours for a single recipe (which i completely understand!).

like any other sufganiyot recipe, we make the dough, let it rise, punch out the doughnuts - let them rise/puff again. then we’re off to fry them, give them a sugar bath, and fill them with some jam! super easy ; ) but there is some equipment i find quite necessary that i outlined below. a digital food scale, a candy thermometer, a slotted spoon, and a pastry bag or squeeze bottle are my top picks. and of course we need some fancy serveware to make hanukkah feel extra special this year. a cake stand, dainty dessert plates (or a festive platter) all seemed pretty crucial to making this a memorable hanukkah at home. i love that everything i need to make this hanukkah special can be purchased under one roof (or website) at bed bath & beyond, it’s the perfect place to get everything you need for the holidays.

much love to you this holiday season, xo.

this post was created in partnership with bed bath & beyond. all thoughts and opinions are my own.

COOKING EQUIPMENT & SERVEWARE

cardamom sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) | gf & df

print the recipe

| makes 18 doughnuts |

ingredients

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, warmed to 105-110°F

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 4 teaspoons instant yeast

  • 500 grams (3 cups) bob’s red mill 1 to 1 baking flour, plus more for dusting

  • 1/3 cup cane sugar

  • 2 teaspoons cardamom

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

  • 4 ounces (60 grams) miyoko’s plant-based butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing the bowl

  • 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

  • sunflower oil, for frying

filling & topping

  • 1 cup cane sugar

  • 1 cup raspberry jam

method

  1. make the dough. turn your oven to its lowest temperature (preferably 170°F or lower), have it come to temp, then turn it off. (we’re going to use it let our dough proof.)

  2. whisk together the warmed milk and honey in a large bowl. sprinkle the yeast over top and allow it to rest and bloom for a few minutes.

  3. in another large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cardamom, and salt.

  4. to the yeast mixture, whisk in the cooled butter, egg and egg yolk, and vanilla until combined. 1/3 at a time, add the dry ingredients to the wet, until completely combined, the dough will be slightly sticky, but workable. knead it in the bowl a couple times until it’s smooth.

  5. grease a large bowl, and scrape the dough into it. cover the bowl with a clean dishtowel (or plastic wrap), and place in your oven (at this point your oven should be slightly warm, not hot. if it’s too hot, open the door to vent it for a few minutes. we don’t want to dry out the dough). let dough rest for about 1 1/2 hours, until it’s puffed and doubled in size.

  6. prep a baking sheet with parchment, and set it aside.

  7. roll and cut the dough. dust a work surface with flour, turn dough out onto it, and dust with a bit more flour. roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. use a 3-inch round cookie cutter and punch out as many doughnuts as you can. place them on your parchment lined baking sheet. re-roll dough and punch out doughnuts once again. scrap the remaining dough (or you could also use a 1-inch round cookie cutter to make doughnut holes with the scraps).

  8. cover the doughnuts with your dishtowel and place back in the oven. let them rise once more until puffy, about 1 hour.

  9. *prep a few things ahead of time to make your life easier: 1. line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack inside of it. 2. place sugar in a bowl for rolling the doughnuts. fill a piping bag with your jam (i like to whisk the jam first, especially if it’s a bit firm), and attach a small tip.

  10. fry your doughnuts. when there’s about 20 minutes left in your rise time, fill a heavy bottomed pot with 3-inches of oil and attach a candy thermometer to the side. turn heat to medium-high and heat the oil until it reaches 350°F.

  11. a few at a time, drop the doughnuts gently into the oil. cook 1 minute, then flip, and cook another 1 1/2 minutes on the other side. use a slotted spoon to transfer the doughnuts to your cooling rack. repeat with remaining doughnuts (if making doughnut holes, cook for 45 seconds, then 1 minute). roll in sugar while still warm, and return to the rack.

  12. fill your doughnuts. when doughnuts are cool enough to handle pierce the side of your doughnuts (i like using a chopstick, but you could use a knife, too) and fill with about 2 teaspoons worth of jam. if you can, stack them upright so the jam fills the cavity and doesn’t pour out. serve warm. like most doughnuts, they are best served the day of, but will last for up to 2-3 days. however, they will get dry.

gluten-free artisan bread in 5 minutes a day: seeded 100% whole grain gf bread /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

did i ever tell you all that when i was growing up friends would call me pizza-bagel?  perhaps it was because i loved eating pizza and bagels, maybe it was because i actually loved putting pizza toppings on my bagels.  but i think it was mostly because i was part italian and part jewish, and that's how people would lovingly refer to me.  i guess i defined myself by that in a way, and also took on the food stereotype of what it meant to be both jewish and italian growing up in new york.  bagels were eaten, almost ritualistically each and every morning - and the bagels were so good, you didn't even think about skipping out on them for cereal.  every sunday was pizza night, where my dad would stretch out some dough, whip up a batch of my italian grandmother's tomato sauce (seasoned with manischewitz instead of regular red wine, naturally), and top it with slices of fresh mozzarella.  there was always pasta and ravioli, bialys, and round casa bread from the bakery where my dad grew up in the bronx.  

those memories are all but distant; as i grew up and learned that a steady diet of carb-y white flour was not exactly the most nutritiously sound.  fast forward a few years and i had discovered a gluten intolerance; so, my bagel every-once-in-a-blue, was a bagel no more. and while there are plenty of gluten-free bagels in the stores, i never liked, nor understood, half the the ingredients on the back of the package.  so, when was asked if i wanted a copy of gluten-free artisan bread in five minutes a day, (basically an opportunity to make my dream breads from scratch) i emphatically said yes!  

the book is somewhat of a dream to someone who longs for homemade, freshly baked gluten-free goods. but the book encompasses so many recipes i never would have thought were possible: from every day boule loaves, to baguette, challah (!) and rye bread (!). there's also a lovely pizza and focaccia dough recipe that i cannot wait to make; and recipes for bagels and bialys are obviously getting made asap.  however, first up was this seeded 100% whole grain loaf.  the recipe yields quite a bit of bread dough, so i wanted it to be a wholesome loaf i could eat on the day-to-day. each loaf i made was enjoyed at different times of the day, all with different accompaniments, and it even made an appearance at a pre-thanksgiving dinner with my folks where we sopped up some good olive oil with it.  i am so looking forward to baking more from this book, as it's already changed my entire gluten-free bread baking game!  perhaps it will change yours too!

a couple of links to include :) my recipe for cacao nib coconut macaroons is featured over on People.com in a really rad holiday cookie countdown!  and i have a couple of interviews: one over on get the gloss, and another on lucca magazine, if you're so inclined :)  hope you're having a good start to december!!! xo

seeded 100% whole grain loaf (gluten + dairy-free)

below i indicate "mixture #2", this refers to the two gluten-free all-purpose flour mixtures that the book provides recipes for.  mixture #2 is merely the whole grain flour mixture, whereas mixture #1 is not a whole grain-based mix.

From Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day 

ingredients

  • 6 1/2 cups mixture #2 100% whole grain gluten-free flour
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/2 cup pepitas
  • 1/2 sunflower seeds
  • 1 tablespoon granulated yeast
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 4 cups lukewarm water
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 4 large eggs
  • cornmeal, for pizza peel

instructions

mixing and storing the dough

  • whisk together the flours, grains, seeds, yeast, and salt in a 5-to-6 quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container
  • add the water, honey, and eggs, and mix with a spoon.  cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises, approximately 2 hours
  • the dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold.  refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days.  Or freeze for up to 4 weeks in 1-pound portions and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before use

on baking day

  • pull off a 1-pound (grapefruit size) piece of dough.  place it on a pizza peel (i used a wooden cutting board) prepared with a good amount of cornmeal.  quickly shape it into a ball and smooth the surface pressing and smoothing with wet fingers.  cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 60 minutes
  • about 20 minutes into the resting period, preheat a baking stone near the middle of the oven to 450°F, with an empty metal broiler tray on any shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread
  • after the bread is rested, make 1/2-inch-deep slashes with a wet serrated bread knife, in a cross pattern.  slide loaf onto the hot stone. pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the boiler tray, and quickly close the oven door.  bake for 45 minutes, or until richly browned and firm.  smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time
  • allow loaf to cool on a rack before eating

enjoy!