Gluten Free, Allergen Free Oreo Cookies

My 4 year old (can't believe he is that old now) is always asking to buy the Oreo-type cookies when we go looking for snacks that he can have.  Since he is currently on an allergen free diet, even the gluten free versions are not an option for him.  It is so hard to have to tell your child, yet again, that he cannot have another something sitting on the store shelves.  I have a great recipe for fig bars, one I am working on for Ritz-type crackers, and have now got a yummy recipe for Oreo cookies that are free of ingredients my son is not supposed to have! I can't lie- I wasn't able to finish making them before sneaking a cookie, or 2!!  I actually prefer these to any store-bought brand, which I find tastes like sweetened cardboard.

Dry Ingredients
1 1/4 cups GF flour blend- I like Bob's Red Mill GF 1 to 1 Baking Flour
1/2 cup Raw cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, room temperature- I used Earth Balance Soy free
3/4 c Organic Cane Sugar
1 Tbs Ground chia mixed with 3 Tbs warm water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream Filling
2 Tbs butter, room temperature
6 Tbs Spectrum brand shortening
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In the bowl blend butter and sugar. Add in Chia/water and vanilla and blend.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

4. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and blend until fully combined.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll rounded teaspoons of batter into balls with hands, and place onto parchment paper. Use the bottom of a glass/cup to flatten the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. (I used my kids' plastic cup that had a slight edge on the bottom of the cup that made nice, contained circles, and also kept the thickness of each cookie about the same.

6. Bake 12 minutes.  Cool slightly, then remove from baking sheet and allow to completely cool.

7. Beat together butter, shortening, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar on low speed.

8. Spread thick layer of filling onto 1 cookie. Place another cookie on top of the cream. Press lightly. Continue until all the cookies have been used.  (The great thing about making your own, is you can use as much, or as little filling as you like to make your cookies, make them different colors, or add different flavors)

9. ENJOY!!!

Gluten free fig bars

My oldest son loves fig bars.  He would eat them a couple times a day- well more often if I would let him!  He was quite distraught when I told him we had to get rid of all the food that hurt his belly and his skin, and that he couldn't have his fig bars anymore.  We are on an allergen free diet, that makes finding snacks the boys like and will eat quite challenging.  So I searched for a fig bar recipe!  I of course lost the site I found the recipe on, so thank goodness I wrote the recipe down.  I altered the recipe to correspond to our current allergen free situation.  While they are not quite the same as the ones he loved, they taste really good and are a great snack.  I also found that these are a great simple snack for my 7 month old to practice with finger food and chewing.  It crumbles enough when given in small pieces so I don't have to worry about him choking, but allows him to practice chewing- which he loves to do! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Ingredients

Fig filling
9 calimyrna figs
16 mission figs
1/2 c. Pomegranate juice
1/4 c.  Cranberry juice
1/4 c. Lemon juice

Soak figs in juices overnight.  After soaking, place in food processor and blend into a thick paste.

Dough ingredients
Wet
1/2 c. dairy free butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. organic cane sugar
1 Tbs Chia in 3 Tbs warm water
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs molasses
up to 1/4 c. water

Dry
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c. white rice flour
1/2 c. tapioca starch
1/4 c. teff flour
1/4 c. millet flour
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 tsp nutmeg

1. Mix all dry ingredients together. 
2. Melt butter.  Add sugars, and mix.  Add chia mixture, vanilla, and molasses and mix.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until blended.  Add up to 1/4 c. water.  Add small amounts of water at a time until you are able to squeeze the dough into balls.
4. Chill dough for 1 hour.
5. After chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Divide dough into thirds.  Roll 1 section to 1/2" thickness on parchment paper on 1 end of the parchment paper.
7. Spoon fig paste onto half of the rolled out dough.  Fold the other half over top of the fig using the parchment paper to help fold it over and avoid breaking. 
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 placing the next section of dough in the middle of the parchment paper and the third section on the other end.
9. Pull parchment paper onto a baking sheet and bake approximately 20 minutes until firm and lightly browned.
10. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into sections.  A pizza cutter works well for this!
11. ENJOY while they are warm or store in an airtight container.  I've noticed they will get a little hard after the initial cooling.  Keep in the airtight container overnight and they will have softened nicely!