Cheez Its – Warning: They can be Addictive!

Okay, I have been seeing these new gf Cheez It crackers in social media. Didn’t see them in the Giant grocery store until today; they are not in the gluten free section but right next to regular Cheez Its in the cracker aisle; bold as brass! Buy one get one free; okay; I’ll do that. Got them home. Forgot about them for 3 hours. Opened one and ate just one. Nice crunch. Kinda burnt tasting but in a good way. Ate another. And another. And like 20 more! Okay, they are definitely dangerously addictive. The ingredients are relatively mild for a highly processed food. They are a tad burnt looking; could just be the batch mine were made in; the picture on the package doesn’t look that dark. The price was high-ish but not when you are getting the second one for free. I had to seal up the box and put it away so I couldn’t eat them all. 30 crackers have 150 calories. So, ten small crackers have 50 calories. and it has 2.5 g of saturated fat in those 30 crackers. Plus 230 mg of salt and 5 pm of cholesterol. No sugar; a blessing.

So, if you’re itching to try them; get them now while the sale is on and enjoy this blast from your past; I haven’t had a Cheezit in like 14 years. Tasty if somewhat addictive for me who I like to think of myself as having a non-addictive personality… or highly addictive if that’s your personality. Worth a try regardless. Enjoy! You’re welcome!

Best Brownies Ever!

Running late and still trying to figure out a special dessert? Let me suggest a brownie recipe that everyone falls in love with because of the delicious flavor and perfect texture of these bars.  Plus, bonus points as it is really easy to make.  All of the ingredients can be purchased at a regular grocery store.  I rarely post this recipe because then I want to make and eat them, and I would be a blimp if these brownies were around all the time!  I dare anyone to think these are GF until you tell them! Everyone who tastes these falls in love and begs for some to take home! Make them to please your special someone for dessert this week.

Notes: I prefer to use really great quality chocolate like Ghirardelli for the best flavor.  I sometimes add a 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the flour mix to add extra kick to these kick ass brownies. I am thinking of replacing some of the sugar with coconut palm sugar. I will update with my results.

Perfect Brownies

Ingredients:
– 2/3 c King Arthur Basic GF flour blend or the brown rice flour mix at bottom of post
– ½ tsp salt
– ½ tsp baking powder
– ½ tsp xanthan gum
– 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
– 4 oz semisweet chocolate *strongly suggest Ghirardelli or other top-notch chocolate
– ½ c butter
– 1 ¼ c sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 3 large eggs
– ¾ c chopped walnuts

Directions:
Heat oven to 325 F, with rack in middle of oven. Line bottom and side of 8-inch square pan with foil, spray with cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients in small bowl. Melt chocolates and butter in heavy medium sauce pan over low heat. Remove from heat, whisk in sugar and vanilla. Whisk in eggs one at a time. Whisk until mixture is smooth and glossy. Add flour mixture and whisk just until incorporated. Stir in nuts. Pour into prepared pan, bake 45 minutes until test (I use a steak knife or my fancy long tester skinny metal stick) in middle of pan comes out with wet crumbs. Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, remove from pan by lifting out foil. Cool completely on rack and then cut into squares. Store in fridge for up to 5 days or freeze-wrapped in plastic wrap and foil. Frankly, you won’t have much left over by the end of the second day!

Brown Ric Flour Recipe
Ingredients
– 1 c brown rice flour
– 1/3 c potato starch (not potato flour)
– 3 tbsp tapioca flour

Posted originally in June 2014, some changes made for this posting.  This recipe comes from Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts.

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