Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

I've been lunging around the house for the past week anticipating the arrival of a pair of sequined skinny pants purchased in a spur of the moment click of the mouse.  It would only figure that during this time Danielle and I got to chatting about Udi's gluten-free snickerdoodles and this led to the cheapskate in me (uh, $7 for a little package of cookies = not happening) lunging into the kitchen to see if mastering a version of these cookies could be a possibility.  In a word:  victory!

After searching the internets, I discovered this raved about recipe on Smitten Kitchen.  The only substitution was a one-for-one of my favorite gluten-free flour blend (listed below) in place of the regular flour and ta-da.  Truth be told there was a bit of trepidation taking on this recipe because any cookie or cake of a pale variety in the gluten-free world can be tricksy (Lord of the Rings residue after marathoning all weekend), but this went off without a hitch.  Examine the evidence:

Chill the dough for at least an hour to make sure it can be rolled into little balls and then dipped

in a sugar/cinnamon combo before being placed on a cookie sheet.

I line my cookie sheets with parchment paper because, well, I'm a freak that values 

my Williams-Sonoma cookie sheets and doesn't want them scratched up.  Confession.

They cracked on top and were cake-like in the middle just like the recipe made with

regular wheat flour.  I love it when these things work out.

Here is the gluten-free flour blend so you don't have to click back:

Gluten-free Flour Blend
*I use this blend in place of regular flour in a one by one substitution for cookies, pancakes - you name it.  This will make a large batch of the Flour Blend that can also be stored and used for future.*

1C        Brown Rice Flour
1 1/4C  White Rice Flour
1/4C     Potato Starch Flour
2/3C     Tapioca Starch Flour
3/4C     Sweet Rice Flour
1/3C     Corn Starch
2tsp      Xanthan or Guar Gum

And now I must get back to lunging and squatting away seeing as the pants arrived this afternoon and it is officially time for Operation Sequin Skinny Pants.  Please enjoy the cookies and have one for me...I managed to eat approximately 20 of them over the span of 3 days before releasing the remainder to the Chef.  They're that good.  If you try them let me know how they work out--would love to hear what you think!

The Ultimate Escape

This weekend may have gone down as a massive fail on the blogger front due to approximately zero photos taken, unless you count the instagram of the pumpkin pie sliders taken in the wee hours Sunday morning, but in every other way it was a total win.  We hauled it to Laguna on Thanksgiving for dinner at the Chef's uncle's place where we listened to crazy stories, ate and drank... until I had to get cut off after spilling water all over the table upon hearing how the uncle used to work at a burger joint in his teens where they snotted in the burgers of particularly rude customers.  The next time you hear a burger employee holler, 'we need a SPECIAL' I highly recommend you immediately vacate the building and find another establishment.


I purchased zipola on Black Friday (victory!) and didn't even get out of bed until 5pm as a result of sleeping, Felicity marathon, Lord of the Rings extravaganza and more sleeping.  Did you hear about the mayhem that ensued at a Walmart here in SoCal?  Some lunatic woman pepper sprayed herself a path to the Xboxes leaving 20 sets of burning eyes in her wake.  Really lady? Really?? And people wonder why I refuse to leave the house.  There's something about Black Friday that has become so distasteful.  People camping out 5 days in advance, stampeding each other for crap they don't need and consuming en masse.  It's kind of gross.

The rest of the weekend went by in a blur of Elf, more Felicity, visits with friends, a closet purge and lazing about on the couch for hours on end.  Somewhere in there I finally managed to leave the house for margaritas and a mini dance-off, but that was it.  Yesterday when tossing out the Bed Bath and Beyond catalog I noticed something I might actually feel like buying:

If I had a Wii this inflatable car might be set up in my living room right now.

Given the hysteria taking place in stores over the next 30 days, however, I will be remaining at home in a mace-free zone, eyeballs and hair safely in my head.  

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Did you take your life into your own hands on Black Friday?  I want the mad details.

This or That: Fisherman Knits

I'm in the market to update my closet with a couple of sweaters for winter, and have 

always been a fan of this style.  Isabel Marant's version is a real beauty, but at a whopping 

(at least for my budget) $775 there's basically no chance of that mother landing in my 

closet anytime soon.  The other day I was out shopping when Alexa Chung's version caught my eye.

It looks pretty close, is cut to hit just at the hip and has a bit of a shrunken fit like so many of 

the cable knits that are out now.  I do believe that was a rhyme.  I scooped up Alexa's version and think 

it'll be cute with shorts and tights or denim and boots.   

What do you think?  Go big or go home?

ps-Madewell has up to 30% off online starting today!