The Cake by Hannah

A small town girl spreading kindness like buttercream frosting

GF Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a cookie monster, y’all. I love pretty much all kinds, but I am a sucker for a good, warm and gooey chocolate chip cookie. Unfortunately with a gluten allergy, the gooey and chewy side of cookies is often robbed from me. BUT, it doesn’t have to be. This recipe is so good, and is one I made up between multiple recipes I have found that were just not QUITE what I was looking for.

The dough is BEST if chilled in the fridge for a couple of hours before popping in the oven. The shape of the cookies is better and thicker. The BEST chocolate chips I have found are from Trader Joes! My sister is a pastry chef, and when she had my chocolate chip cookies during Christmas she commented on how great the chips were. You know they have to be good if Emi says they are. 😉

The Cake by Hannah’s GF Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 1/2 c white sugar
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons GF vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups GF Multipurpose 1 to 1 flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill!)
  •  2/3 cup brown rice flour (I got this from the bulk aisle at my grocery store)
  • 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups chocolate chips

Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. The longer you refrigerate the dough, the longer you’ll bake them for. Look for a golden brown top! I like just a little bit of dough to come off with the fork when I poke through to see if it’s done.

Photos by MG Photography for The Cake by Hannah

Favorite Fall Foods

I love fall so much. I think a lot of it is to do with the tables full of food, laughs, family, friends, and the same stories that have been told a million times but never get old that inevitably accompany the season. There is something so good for the soul, something so life-giving and warm about a table full of people you love eating food that says, “I am home” while the cold winds blow outside. Whether it’s friends over for a football game, chili and cornbread on the stove for refills throughout each quarter, or a Friendsgiving celebration packed full with family favorite dishes -many of which you have never tried before, the familiarity of Thanksgiving Day, or anticipation of all the Christmas parties to come- there is something so good about a table of food and people.

Thanksgiving is no doubt my absolute favorite part of fall, though. Waking up Thanksgiving morning to the smells of decadence and sour cream, pumpkin pie, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Mamma’s house for lunch and Grandma’s for dinner, and momma’s corn casserole. She makes “Laurie’s Corn Casserole” every year, a recipe she found in a random cookbook and gave a shot at years and years ago because, well, her name is Laurie and she admittedly thought it seemed easy enough. And thank goodness she did, because I literally can’t remember a single Thanksgiving that we haven’t had this corn casserole on the table. It’s my favorite, and I crave it as Thanksgiving day inches closer. Thanksgiving wouldn’t be right without it.

As for pies, I shared my apple pie recipe last year here. I love pie and I especially have found I love making them. I really only want pie during fall, though. Nothing feels as “fall-y” to me than a warm apple or pumpkin pie next to a fire playing a card game with people. Baking a pie feels like the epitome of mastering the oven, and even somewhat mastering being a woman (at least to the best of my ability). Totally in a non-sexist, women belong in the kitchen way. I just think there is something awesome about a woman who can bake a homemade pie from scratch. Funnily enough, my daddy is actually the pie experimenter in my family. I think it’s adorable. As the holidays approach, so do my daddy’s baking desires. He will come home with a pie crust and a plethora of different pie mix fillings. His thing, he likes to mix and match fillings. Cherry pumpkin or pecan pumpkin, chocolate pumpkin, cherry and apple… and at other times rather questionable mixes I can’t even seem to recall. But, I know they have happened. The holidays aren’t the holidays without my daddy taking to his pie experiments.

I wanted to share my mom’s corn casserole for y’all today. I, like mom, make it now for any holiday party we need to take a dish to and it’s always a hit. I almost feel guilty getting praise for it because of how EASY IT IS, but it really is that good. I will be sharing my favorite family recipes leading up to the holidays with y’all!

Lauries Corn Casserole

1/2 cup butter

1 can (16 oz.) whole kernel corn (undrained)

1 can (16 oz.) cream style corn

1 carton (8 oz.) sour cream

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (I have experimented a 1/2 cup cheddar and 1/2 cup sheep’s feta cheese before, and it was AMAZING!)

1 pkg (8 oz) corn muffin mix OR Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread Mix- GF (I use Bob’s Red Mill because of food allergies, and it’s just as good as the original)

Melt the butter. Add cans of corn, sour cream, grated cheese, and cornbread/muffin mix into a large bowl. Mix until no longer clumpy. Place in cookware dish (8 x 11 is best) that has been sprayed with nonstick vegetable spray. Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes. (Check the center to make sure it’s done- you want a golden brown edge and top!)

xoxo- Han

Our Go-to Healthy Meals & Items

Something I get asked a lot is “What do you eat?” Fair enough, because I do have a lot of food restrictions! If you’ve followed me for a little while now, you know that last summer I saw a bio-magnetic doctor (a little different than usual… haha) and it changed my life. I found out reasons for a lot of issues and sickness I have had my whole life, and things have slowly but surely been getting better. A huge part of the healing for me has been changing my diet up even more than I did 4 years ago when I was told not to eat gluten.

The state of your gut is seriously going to dictate how the rest of your body is.

So what are my go-to foods and snacks? I have picked my top 5 for you below!

1. Dark meat chicken (thighs and drumsticks): Listen, dark chicken meat has gotten the short end of the stick in nutrition, but I am here to  say BUMP THAT. We eat thighs and drumsticks almost every single day in our house for lunch and/or dinner. It’s only 10 calories more per serving than white chicken breast, stores way better as left-overs (so for meal prep, etc., it’s much better), and it just tastes juicier and tastier. Ten calories more and significantly better? Yes please.

2. Boom Chicka Pop: This is my go-to afternoon snack. I eat a serving of it for just 120 calories, and it satisfies my sweet tooth around 2 PM every day. I love the kettle corn flavor and when I am feeling real adventurous, I like to add some m&m’s.

3. Sweet Potato “Chips”: We eat sweet potato almost every single night in some form or fashion. But, our favorite way to prepare them is in quarter inch slices laid in a pan with coconut oil dripped over the top, baked at 425 degrees, and for about 20 minutes. I put salt, pepper, and cayanne pepper for a yummy flavor! (The thinner you make them, the crunchier they’ll be!)

4. Brussel Sprouts: Brussels are another staple for us, but our favorite way to prep them is sliced in half with coconut oil in the pan. Add salt, pepper, and some honey over the top, and you sizzle them until soft. (Keep at medium heat.)

5. Banana “Pancakes”: One of our favorite go-to breakfasts is SO simple and SO easy. It’s one banana per person + 2 eggs, and a dash of cinnamon. Mix well until frothy, and pour like batter into an oiled skillet (again… we use coconut for EVERYTHING.) Give about a minute on each side, and serve with a dollop of peanut butter and/or drizzle of honey. SO TASTY.

We cook just about every single meal in our house. Both for budgetary reasons and simply because it’s a lot easier to eat at home than go out to eat with so many restrictions. Lunch Tip: Every week, we do a crockpot of chicken with coconut oil and salt & pepper to keep in the fridge to pair with some kind of veggie. It’s easy for grab and go with our busy life, and it keeps us from munching or splurging on foods we would rather not.

Then, of course, my go-to for keeping healthy and in shape is at the barre.

Healthy eating paired with regular workouts is so key to overall health. You will never regret treating yourself to an hour at the gym, or in my case at Pure Barre. I am so grateful for my community at Pure Barre, and I would love to see you there with me! This March they’re doing a March Madness challenge- what better time to join?!

Love y’all! Happy Friday, and happy healthy eating!

xoxo- Hannah

Donuts with Chocolate Icing

Y’all, one of my resolutions for 2017 (more on them to come!) is to become a better baker.

Your feedback has already been great, and I promise to keep you updated on my progress. 😉

For Christmas, I got a cookbook I had on my list called “It’s A Pleasure” by food blogger Virpi Mikkonen. Last night I tried my first recipe from it, and am SO EXCITED about how they turned out. We first off didn’t have an actual donut pan, and the store we went to for one didn’t either… so we bought a mini bundt cake pan and it did just fine. We chose the caramel donut recipe from the book, but made the avocado chocolate icing recipe for topping. Y’all… we ate all but 4 of them. They were AMAZING.

I have so many recipes dog-eared from this book to test out, and I have a couple other books I will be diving into this year including my sweet friend, Jenni of The Urban Poser’s Paleo Patisserie book. It’s amazing!

I have some of my favorite kitchen items linked below for you (including these ADORABLE mason jar measuring cups), my apron, and more.

xoxo- Han




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Crockpot Creamy Chicken Chili

A couple weeks back I saw a friend Instastory a cream cheese chili…

I immediately asked for the recipe and went out the next day to get the ingredients so I could make it myself. It didn’t disappoint!

I adopted the recipe from here.

Crockpot recipes are basically life for us. We have such long days, are in and out of the house, and most nights have something to be at. The last thing we want to do is come home at 8:30 and cook dinner. (Ugh, like last night!) So, the Crockpot saves us weekly. This recipe literally you pour everything in and are like… “uhh… this can’t be right.” But it is.

Recipe:

4-5 dark chicken thighs, still frozen
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, do not drain
1 can kidney beans, do not drain
1 t chili powder
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

Directions:

1) Put the chicken in the crock pot.
2) Top with the tomatoes, corn,
the beans, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
stir to combine then top with the cream cheese.
3) Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice
to blend in the cheese.
4) Shred the chicken into large pieces

We ate ours with tortilla chips in it!

Enjoy, friends!

xoxo- Han

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