shopping list and a recipe

You guys!!!

You know how I have been trying to come up with a (real) recipe for the perfect low carb chocolate chip cookie?

I've done it!!

I've really done it!!

I can't even tell you how many tries it took me to get to this point.

(Of course, I'm still working on the coconut browned butter cookies. I can only do so much, People.)

It'll be a few days before I can get it typed up, patented, and what not

so I thought I'd post a shopping list of odd items that the recipe requires

(yes, requires) so that if they aren't already in your pantry, you can get them there asap.

(i'm just kidding about the patent ;-)

Protein powder   

I haven't tried this one yet, but I think it would have excellent results, too.

There really are no other protein powders that I'd recommend.

You'll also need xanthan gum.

Those two ingredients are game changers for low carb baking.

Oh, and if you don't have almond flour, you'll need that too.

Sadly, you really need the bought kind, as homemade is just too coarse for satisfactory cookie results.

The consensus among low carb bloggers seems to be that the Honeyville brand blanched almond flour is best for cookies.

I also purchased this almond flour from Azure Standard , which is less expensive than the honeyville and seems to be quite comparable to me.

I haven't tried it yet as I was only changing one thing at a time, I'm sure you'll agree that was prudent,

so my brand of almond flour had to remain constant.

Now that I have my recipe settled, I will try the Azure almond flour and report back.

If you haven't yet made my baking mix - get crackin' 'cause you'll need it, too.

Homemade almond flour works just fine in it.

~

Since I can't share my cookie recipe with you just yet,

and Sandy has been needing my deodorant recipe for a long time,

wait - that didn't come out right at all -

Sandy has been patiently waiting for me to get her the recipe

for my deodorant,

I'll share that real quick instead.

Put the following ingredients into a small mixing bowl:

about 3 Tbs shea butter

about 3 TBs coconut oil*

about 3 Tbs corn starch

about (are you getting the sense that this doesn't have to be exact?) 3 Tbs baking soda

Mix well (a table spoon works just fine) and add a few drops of tea tree essential oil and/or a few drops of lavender e.oil

and mix again.

You should have a cream that is about the consistency of a buttercream frosting

and you can be done right there.

I personally don't care for the smell of those oils, so I add enough orange e. oil to cover the scent.

*Now, about that asterisk.

The deo, as stated to this point, is perfectly sufficient and works well,

but the addition of some cocoa butter makes it divine.

Yes.

Divine.

Divine Deodorant.

Shhh.

So, what I do is take a little bit - not all - of that 3 TBS of coconut oil and put it into a small glass bowl with about 6 cocoa butter wafers 

and microwave or melt over a pan of water

(cocoa butter has a high melting point and somehow, the addition of a bit of the coconut oil helps speed the process along)

and add it to the mix

(or you can just wait to mix it all up 'til you've added the cocoa butter)

Store it in whatever clean small lidded jar you can scrounge up,

a rub just a tiny bit over your pits every day

and you'll be smelling fine.

~
edited to add:
Tyler and Brandon were gone when I made the cookies last night,
so I, alone, proclaimed them perfect
(the 4 younger ones pretty much think they've all been awesome, so long as they aren't burnt...)
I'd only made a small batch, so there was only 1 cookie for the guys.
I handed Tyler his - pointing out how nicely it sat in my hand, not crumbling or breaking,
and only bending a little as I waved my hand around.
He set it back down, broke off a little piece and said,
"I'm not feeling real great - I'll just have a bite."
He raised his eyebrows,
"You made some changes. Does this have wheat in it? Real sugar??"
And then,
ya'll,
he proceeded to eat the whole thing.

So, I think,
that even though I was hasty and pronounced them perfect without anyone else's opinion,
I was completely justified.

~
edited again
I no longer use the Swanson's protein powder because they changed the recipe and now use inferior ingredients :-(
but
I finally posted the cookie recipe!!!