Product Review: Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been waiting for months to write out that title.  Today is finally the day!  Can I get an AMEN??  LOL!  I posted yesterday that I had finally found the GF Chocolate Chex & 3 of the 4 Betty Crocker Mixes at Kroger.  I had to make one of the mixes and the Chocolate Chip Cookies it was.  Jon wanted to help/watch.  See if they looked any different than the ones I make from scratch. 

Jon, ready for action (Please excuse the goofy look on his face.  Why he can’t smile is beyond me.  Oh, wait, I almost forgot, he is 13):

 

First things first, get all your ingredients out.  This mix is super simple.  You only need to add 1 egg and 1 tsp of vanilla.  It doesn’t get much easier then this.  I went ahead & told Jon not to get his expectations set too high.  He is in love with my homemade, from scratch, chocolate chip cookies and I didn’t want him to be disappointed with the cookies from the mix.  I didn’t think that the cookies would be bad, but just that they might not live up to the expectations of a 13 year old boy. 😉 

Box & powdered mix:

 

Into the bowl go the wet ingredients:

Dough mixed together:

 

On the tray, ready to bake:

Coming out of the oven….oh, boy, these smell amazing:

 

All plated up, ready to chow down:

 

Jon asked me to make him a “monster cookie”:

This thing was huge!  It was on the same size plate as those 2 “normal” size cookies above.  Jon treated this as his “pre-baseball game snack”, along with a glass of milk.  He made quick work of it:

Yes, he did indeed lick the plate.  That’s my boy!

Not only did Jon & I sample these cookies, but I fed them to 2, super-picky 6 & 7 year old non-gluten-free girls and they loved them!  was super impressed with the taste & texture.  They were freakily (is that a word?) close to my homemade, from scratch, chocolate chip cookies.  I also fed one to my Dad when he came to pick up my sister, he also loved it and couldn’t believe how good they were.  The last, but not least, taste tester was my BFF, Amanda.  She commented that she couldn’t tell they were GF at all and they tasted just like “normal” chocolate chip cookies!  Well done, Betty Crocker, well done.  🙂  I can only find one negative about this cookie mix and that is that the price is a little higher than I expected it to be at $4.49/box.  It is cheaper than a lot of other GF mixes on the market, though, so really, not too bad.  Also, Betty Crocker’s mixes are available on Amazon.com and if you sign up for the “Subscribe & Save” program, they end up being $3.33/box (only come in cases of 6) and your shipping is free.  The program is free to join and you choose the frequency and can change or  cancel at any time. 

LiveJournal Tags: Betty Crocker mixes,gluten free,chocolate chip cookies,product reviews

Estoy Loco por esta Crema de cacahuate

Did you get that?  It says “I am crazy for this peanut butter”!  For months I have read about P.B.Loco on many blogs, but never could find any in my local stores.  Sure, I could have ordered it online, but I really try to avoid shipping charges at any cost.  I waited patiently.  Good things come to those who wait.  🙂  While on vacation last week in Sunset Beach, NC, we traveled South (my Mom & I) to Myrtle Beach for a day full of shopping & lunch out.  We hit up a store called   “The Peanut Shop“.  I love all things nuts, so I figured that I couldn’t go wrong in that store!  LOL!  I was purchasing some gifts (I can’t share yet) and overheard this woman saying something about chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter.  My little ears perked right up and I made a beeline right over to where these nice ladies were.  Imagine my surprise when there was a nice display rack of P.B.Loco jars sitting there!  I almost squealed!  Okay, maybe I did a little bit.  I quickly grabbed the Dark Chocolate Duo, as it was the only one they had!  Hands off my dark chocolate, people!  😉  Next I snagged a Sumatra Cinnamon Raisin and a Jungle Banana.  The only other kind they had that day was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.  I wasn’t sure if that variety was gluten-free, so I left it behind.  Later I saw that all 3 jars that I did pick up had “Gluten-Free” written on the side.  I wish I would have looked closer at the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough!  My Mom could do nothing but giggle at me. 

Fast forward to this morning.  Yes, I still have other nut butters open in my pantry, but had to open the Sumatra Cinnamon.  I couldn’t wait any longer.  I spread this delicacy on my brown rice cake (lots of raisins!).  I topped with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin butter.  If that was not just a little party in my mouth!!  OH.MY.GOSH!  Yes, I know those flavors say “Fall” more than “Summer”, but I don’t care.  My mouth doesn’t care.  This was an amazing combo.  This peanut butter is one of the most unique nut butters that I have tried.  A definite must purchase again product! 

Meal picture (sorry for the poor lighting…it was still dark out when I ate).

Now, onto the other new love of my life (my first love, other than my dear husband, is Barney Butter) is Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter.  I picked this up on the spur of the moment when I had won a gift card to Trader Joe’s.  It has been in my fridge, unopened, for about a month.  I thought today would be the perfect time to give it a try.  Another win!!  Wow!!  Perfect pumpkin flavor for the pumpkin freak that I am . 

If you love raisins, peanut butter & pumpkin, give these products a try! 

LiveJournal Tags: pb loco,pumpkin butter,barney butter

National Eat Your Vegetables Day

June 17th, that is what today is.  I was so excited to hear that vegetables get their own day!  I love my veggies!!  The best thing about veggies?  They are gluten-free in their natural state!  YAY!  I don’t think I could pick just one favorite, so I will list my top choices, in no particular order:

• asparagus
• spinach
• zucchini
• tomatoes
• eggplant
• brussel sprouts
• sugar snap peas
• snow peas
• butternut squash
• sweet potato

 

I started my day out with an egg white scramble with spinach & Roma tomatoes (not pretty, but tastes great!).  I top with Frank’s Red Hot.  🙂

A site with all kinds of great veggie info.

What is your favorite veggie?

LiveJournal Tags: vegetables

Homemade Frozen Yogurt

I love frozen yogurt and when I bought some Fage today at Trader Joe’s, I decided to take half of it and pop it into the blender along with some raspberries & strawberries and then freeze for an after dinner treat. 

I blended up my concoction at lunch time & went to eat about 8 PM.  Well, it was a little more frozen then I would have liked.  I need to find a happy medium.  LOL!  I ended up popping it in the micro for a few and it did soften up a bit.  Probably a better choice would be to take out of the freezer an hour or 2 before eating if it has been frozen for a while.  I topped mine with coconut & a few chocolate chips.  YUM!!  This was super easy & the Greek yogurt makes it super creamy!  🙂

I think I am going to toss in bananas & peanut butter next time…YUM!

LiveJournal Tags: frozen yogurt,fage