Miscellaneous Monday-Do you use parchment paper?

Welcome to my first Miscellaneous Monday! It has taken me a lot of thought to what I wanted my first miscellaneous Monday to be but I decided to write about my love of parchment paper. Since we have gone gluten free I use parchment paper on almost everything. I love the fact that I don't have to worry about any cross contamination with my old pans where gluten might be hiding. I also don't have to wonder if my grandma used the pan (she is not gluten free) and how clean it is.
The second reason that I have discovered a new love of parchment paper is the fact that sometimes gluten free baking can lead to sticky messes or a new recipe that does not want to leave the pan. This is where parchment paper steps in and saves the day. Today I made fresh strawberry and banana cookies that can be found here. They were really yummy but the strawberries caramelized if they were on the bottom of the cookie, which then stuck to the parchment paper.
 
I use If You Care unbleached parchment paper (I also have their muffin liners also) and I have never had a problem with it.
Do you use parchment paper and if you do what kind?

Fast Friday: Waffle sticks

Ever since watching Karen Morgan make ice cream cones in the baking class at the Gluten Free Expo I have been looking for an iron to make some. Instead I found a waffle stick maker and thought it would be a great treat for my kids. Since going gluten free I have not made waffles because I have not bought a new waffle maker. Needless to say the waffle sticks were a hit and it maker will be coming out to the camper with us. The book that came with the waffle machine did not have any gluten free recipes so I decide to wing it. The results were awesome! I had to take a picture fast before they were gone!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Waffle Sticks












1 cup flour blend of choice (make sure it has either xanthun gum or guar gum)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 T brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 T maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg or 1 egg substitute (I did use an egg substitute in it and it worked great)
1 cup Chocolate Almond Milk
1/2 T Oil (I used sunflower)
Mix your dry ingredients together. Then add rest of the ingredients except for the peanut butter. Stir till it come together. Then add peanut butter and use a hand mixer to combine it in. This will thicken the batter to a nice consistency. In my waffle stick maker it takes 3 minutes for them to be done. I do not have a waffle iron to try full size waffles in so if you find a time let me know.

This is the waffle stick maker that I have. It is the Bella Waffle Stick Maker and I found it at Target. It is a hit and so easy to use that it is coming camping with us this summer!
What flavor do you think I should try next?

Wonderful Wednesday

Welcome to the first Wonderful Wednesday! Today is a real treat. I'm not sure where the idea came from (might have been an e-mail or on pinterest) but we made PB&J cookie sandwiches. I used the basic no flour peanut butter cookie recipe, baked them and let them cool. I then matched them up with another cookie that was about the same size and filled them with peanut butter and cherry jelly. Needless to say they were a hit and we had them with our lunch.
Don't they look yummy!








The cherry jelly we use is local and all natural, read you labels as you never know where they can sneak gluten in.

Peanut Butter Cookies
2 cups peanut butter
2 cups sugar (for the above cookies I used 1 cup sucanat and 3/4 cup sugar)
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peanut butter and sugar together and mix till well combined. Slowly add eggs one at a time and mix till combined. Then add the rest of the ingredients blending well after each addition. With using the sucanat they didn't roll well but the did stick together so I squished them into cookie shapes. Make sure you bake on parchment or grease your cookie sheets to prevent them from sticking. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes depending on the size you make. A good sandwich size like in the picture took the full 10 minutes in my oven. Let cool till set and move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling. Once they are cooled make your sandwiches with them. They almost reminded me of a certain snack cake that makes PB&J pies like their oatmeal pies. What is a treat from childhood that you miss?