Recipes: Homemade Catsup, Heaven in a Cookie and Oat Pancakes

As I mentioned, some of the recipes I stumbled upon while abiding by the allergy diets are still among favorites in our house. Here are a few completely unrelated such recipes:

Homemade Catsup
Not your average bottled catsup - it has a little more kick and "flair"

6 oz. can tomato paste
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup sucanut sugar (you can use white sugar)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup water
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 ts allspice
2 tbs apple cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients in bowl and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Heaven in a Cookie
Adapted from The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Food
This has been a hit with non-allergic folks as well. Note that the naming credit for this recipe actually goes to my friend Dan, who has added the "heaven in a ..." nomenclature to my vernacular. This designation is also used to refer to really comfy pants and other such wonderful inventions.

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your mixer combine brown sugar and peanut butter (If you have a standing mixer, you'll definitely want to use it for this one. I actually broke a handmixer on this recipe - the peanut butter makes the dough very thick!). Add eggs and mix to blend. Add baking soda and vanilla and mix for 1 minute. Pour in chips and combine by hand.

Drop cookies on baking sheet 1 tbs at a time, allowing for spreading. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Notes: You can make these fluffy or mushy, depending on how you like your cookies. I like mine slightly mushy, and use older baking soda. For fluffy cookies, make sure it's fresh.

Nutrients per cookie: Cal. 80, Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 35 mg, Sodium 25 mg, Carbs 8 , Fiber 1 g

Oat Pancakes
Adapted from Carbs from Heaven, Carbs from Hell
High in fiber, with a great texture, these pancakes are a fun take the the usual flap jacks

2 cups rolled oats
1 cup soy or rice milk (you can use cow too)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp pumpkin spice (optional)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 individual sized carton of natural applesauce (about 2 -3 tbs)
1 tbs cold/expeller pressed canola oil (or one spray of aerosol version)

1. Grind oats in electric grinder or blender until well ground, but not pulverized.
2. Combine oats, cinnamon, pumpkin, salt, milk and applesauce.
3. Spray griddle pan and preheat over medium temp.
4. Pour about 1/3 cup batter for each pancake. Cook about 1 minute, or until the tops are bubbly and the edges are dry. Flip and cook other side for an additional minute or until brown.

Serve with your favorite toppings.