Edible Wednesdays: Allergy-Free Cookies

So it came to my attention (thank you Dr. Sodhi) that my lack of energy and near constant stuffed-up-ness was not due to a combination of a lagging cold and sheer exhaustion from raising two toddlers,,,it was actually an intolerance to those oh-so-common food allergies. Say goodbye to wheat, dairy and others my friends. I have had these reactions in the past but for some reason (again, perhaps from the sheer exhaustion) I did not put two and two together. Thankfully, I finally drove by ass over the bridge to visit Dr. Sodhi who it seems may solve all of my life's problems.

Just to test out the theory (ok, so I was still skeptical..maybe not skeptical but afraid) I decided to eat a very delicious cupcake 4 days after starting my new "diet"...and BAM BAM Thank You Ma'am, I was stuffed up and paying the price for it all night. I am actually STILL stuffed up from it. Damn wheat.

So hello garbonzo bean flour and arrowroot. Yuck, right? Well, again, thankfully I live in a city that is home to the BEST gluten-nut-free-vegan-organic bakery, The Flying Apron. In you are ever in Seattle, a stop here is a must even if you aren't allergic. The goods are just that good.

To top it off, she wrote a cookbook - bless her heart! So now I can enjoy her marvelous creations from the comfort of my own home. If you are curious, here is one of my favorites:

Berry Tea Biscuits

Ingredients

• 2¾ cups brown rice flour
• 1½ cups plus 1 tablespoon garbanzo bean flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cup organic whole cane sugar
• 1 cup rice milk
• 1 cup berries
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of the biscuits

Directions

1. Combine the brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the canol a oil and organic whole cane sugar until well mixed. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and rice milk alternately, a little at a time, until well mixed, about 3 minutes. Chill the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F.

3. Place baseball-sized balls of dough onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced 2 inches apart. Lightly flatten the balls with the palm of your hand.

4. Place 4 berries on top of each disc of dough, pressing them in gently. Sprinkle turbinado sugar on top. Bake until golden and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes