gluten free

toll house pan cookies recipe

This recipe is a family favorite, given to my mom by my grandma over 10 years ago, and made for many an event, church dinner, and birthday ever since. Despite how many times we’ve made it, we still love it, and the cookies rarely last longer than a day or two in our kitchen.

They’re easily my favorite cookie and certainly in the running for my favorite dessert, pairing well with ice cream, milk, and coffee, while also standing strong on their own. So let’s get to making them!

This recipe makes a 9×13 pan of cookies, takes 10 minutes to prep, and 20 to bake. It serves anywhere from 1 person (there’s no one stopping you!) to 30, depending how large you decide to cut them. They are gooey and soft when fresh from the oven, and gradually harden the longer they sit out.

1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour*
12 oz. bag of chocolate chips, any flavor (I prefer semi-sweet!)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 dried fruit (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium-size bowl, mix together brown sugar, white sugar, and softened butter until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. In another bowl, mix together salt, baking soda, and flour. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, stirring until incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and any other desired fix-ins. Pour into a greased 9×13 pan, then bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes for soft cookies, or 25 for hard ones. Remove from the oven and serve to your liking.

* For a gluten free alternative, try 2 1/2 cups of almond flour and 3 eggs rather than 2.

I do hope you enjoy these tasty treats as much as I do!

homemade ice cream recipe

the cottage

With my twenty-first birthday on the horizon, I’ve had the fun task of choosing the menu items for the party — as is the tradition in my family — and, of course, one of the menu items is the cake. Now there are several in my family that don’t care for cake that much, or would much rather prefer a different dessert in place of it. For example, my older brother has had pumpkin pie for his birthday since he was five or six, which is almost my whole life. At any rate, I’ve been exploring alternative options for my “cake” and recalled last year in which I made my own ice cream.

If you know me and my dessert preferences, it’s probably come to your attention how much I love a good bowl of ice cream, trying and sampling ice cream brands, flavors, parlours, and most recently, family- and friend-made recipes. This recipe is my favorite that I’ve come across or come up with. Bonus: It’s also super cheap, simple, and easy!

2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk
4 cups (2 pints), heavy whipping cream
3 teaspoons of vanilla
1 cup raspberries, frozen (or fruit of your choice)

Note: When I make this, I make it for my family of nine, therefore it makes enough to fill a nine inch, round cake pan just under the brim. If you’re looking to make less, try splitting the recipe in half and filling a bread pan instead.

Start by pouring the vanilla, heavy whipping cream, and 1/3 of one of the sweetened condensed milk cans into a large bowl.
Beat the mixture with an electric mixer, gradually but steadily adding more of the sweetened condensed milk, until it looks about 1 1/2 to 2 times its original size (8-12 minutes, from what I’ve seen). Let the mixture sit while you prepare the berries.
Take your frozen berries out of the freezer and decide how you’d like them prepared. I didn’t defrost mine because I wanted their tartness and texture in clumps, but if you want more like a syrup, feel free to defrost them, or even add 1 teaspoon of sugar to them and heat them up in the microwave or on the stovetop to melt it, stirring constantly until it’s a syrup-like consistency. I personally put mine into a quart-size Ziplock bag and hit them with a rolling pin to break them into halves and thirds.
(If you made syrup, ignore this step.) Once your berries are as you’d like, fold the frozen berries into the cream mixture with a spatula, careful to evenly distribute them. Pour the mixture into the container(s) of your choice and freeze for 12 hours or until solid.
(If you left the berries as is, defrosted or frozen, ignore this step.) You’ll want to let your berries/syrup cool to room temperature if you heated them. Pour an inch layer of the cream mixture into the container(s) of your choice and freeze the mixture for 1 hour. Then pour a thin layer of the syrup over it and freeze again for 15-20 minutes. Repeat until all the mixture and syrup is used, then freeze for 4 hours or until solid.
Serve with your favorite toppings, or as I prefer, just plain or with more berries/syrup on top.

The end result is super creamy, with hints of vanilla, raspberry, and the sweetened condensed milk peeking through. I love how versatile and tweak-able this recipe is and always sneak a scoop as we watch TV or as an afternoon snack.

I hope you all enjoy as much as I do!

All the recipes listed on this site are Biblically clean based on the laws described in Leviticus 11. However, if you’re looking for a specific diet, try these tags:
gluten free, kosher, vegan, vegetarian, low-carb, dairy-free, low-sugar

steeping the perfect tea

the cottage

Tea. The worldwide phenomenon that many claim dates back to roughly 2730 B.C. in ancient China. Whether we know the exact origin of tea or not, no one can deny that tea has been widely made, consumed, loved, and passed down through the generations for a very long time — and with good reason. The abundant benefits of tea are used by many to achieve healthier weight loss, sleep, pain, and energy levels. They even assist in the healing of ailments such as cardiovascular and degenerative diseases, several cancers, diabetes, and arthritis, all of which is thanks to their polyphenols, caffeine, fats, amino acids, and other such helpful ingredients. So with tea being so healthy and delicious, it makes sense that recipes may be necessary — however simple they are — to make the best, most impactful cup. And here we are!

Below I’ve done my best to compile the best temperatures, steep times, flavor pairings, and many other things about an assortment of teas for your convenience and for mine. Together we can make the best teas for the healthier us, all while enjoying the beautiful planet God made for us.

(Note: for reference, an 8oz cup of black, light-roast coffee has ~180mg of caffeine, a black, medium-roast has ~150mg, and a black, dark-roast has ~95mg)

Black

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 200-210°F, 93-98°C
Benefits: anxiety, weight loss, headache, raises low blood pressure
Caffeine: 40-60mg per 8oz
Fixins: ice, milk, lemon, vanilla
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves

Chai

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: boosts immune system, fights inflammation, colds
Caffeine: 40-60mg per 8oz
Fixins: ice, milk, vanilla
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon. Some may also contain fennel, anise, licorice

Chamomile

Times: 4-6 minutes
Temps: 210-215°F, 98-102°C
Benefits: boosts sleep, headache, bloating, anxiety, diarrhea, anxiety
Caffeine: None
Fixins: orange, lavender
Ingredients: matricaria recutita flowers or chamaemelum nobile flowers

Dandelion

Times: 5-10 minutes
Temps: 210-225°F, 98-107°C
Benefits: promotes heart and liver health
Caffeine: None
Fixins: None
Ingredients: taraxacum leaves or roots

Darjeeling

Times: 2-4 minutes
Temps: 205-210°F, 96-98°C
Benefits: lowers cholesterol, reduces risk of heart attack, boosts cardiovasular function, acne
Caffeine: 40-60mg per 8oz
Fixins: chamomile, rose, orange, lemon
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves

Earl Grey

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: oral care, digestion, stress relief, weight loss, boosts immune system
Caffeine: 60-90mg per 8oz
Fixins: lemon, orange
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves, bergamot oil

Elderflower

Times: 8-10 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: cold, flu, constipation, boosts immune system
Caffeine: None
Fixins: ice, lemon
Ingredients: sambucus nigra flowers

Fruit

Times: 4-5 minutes
Temps: 205-210°F, 96-98°C
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon

Ginger

Times: 10-12 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: bloating, colds, nausea, sore throat, PMS, dizziness
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon
Ingredients: zingiber officinale root

Green

Times: 2-4 minutes
Temps: 170-180°F, 77-82°C
Benefits: bloating, allergies, acne, weight loss, lowers cholesterol and blood pressure
Caffeine: 23-35mg per 8oz
Fixins: lemon, mint, jasmine
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves and buds

Hibiscus

Times: 5-7 minutes
Temps: 210-225°F, 98-107°C
Benefits: helps with high blood pressure and respitory diseases
Caffeine: None
Fixins: ice, blackberry, vanilla, blueberry
Ingredients: hibiscus sabdariffa flowers

Jasmine

Times: 2-4 minutes
Temps: 175-185°F, 79-85°C
Benefits: weight loss, oral health, boosts brain function, boosts cardiovascular function, reduces risk of degenerative diseases
Caffeine: None
Fixins: rose, ginger
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves, jasminum flowers

Lavender

Times: 4-5 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: digestion, nausea, upset stomach, bloating, headache
Caffeine: None
Fixins: ice, lemon, ginger
Ingredients: lavandula flowers and buds

Lemongrass

Times: 5-10 minutes
Temps: 195-205°F, 90-95°C
Benefits: anxiety, lowers cholesterol, prevents infections, oral health, bloating
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon, lime, ginger
Ingredients: cymbopogon stalks

Licorice

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 195-205°F, 90-95°C
Benefits: heartburn, soothes gastrointestinal problems, boosts immune system, anti-inflammatory
Caffeine: None
Fixins: cinnamon, orange, star anise
Ingredients: glycyrrhiza glabra root

Matcha

Temps: 175-185°F, 79-85°C
Benefits: burns belly fat, boosts immune system, detoxifier
Caffeine: 30-40mg per 8oz
Fixins: ice, milk
Ingredients: ground camellia sinensis (tencha) leaves

Nettle

Times: 7-20 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: acne, joint pain, pregnancy, asthma, allergies
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon, ginger
Ingredients: urtica dioica leaves

Oolong

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 185-205°F, 85-96°C
Benefits: weight loss, boosts metabolism, lowers cholesterol
Caffeine: 30-50mg per 8oz
Fixins: peach, pineapple, citrus
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves and buds

Pu’erh

Times: 3-4 minutes
Temps: 195-210°F, 91-98°C
Benefits: boosts metabolism, reduces blood sugar, boosts immune system, lowers cholesterol
Caffeine: 30-40mg per 8oz
Fixins: lemon
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves and stems

Peppermint

Times: 1-3 minutes
Temps: 195-210°F, 91-98°C
Benefits: bloating, nausea, PMS, bad breath
Caffeine: None
Fixins: None
Ingredients: mentha × piperita leaves

Raspberry Leaf

Times: 5-8 minutes
Temps: 200-205°F, 93-96°C
Benefits: nausea, diarrhea, PMS, nausea, anemia, assists with pregnancy (please research that before starting for the purpose of pregnancy)
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon
Ingredients: rubus idaeus leaves

Rooibos

Times: 5-8 minutes
Temps: 200-205°F, 93-96°C
Benefits: anti-inflammatory, PMS, diabetes, boosts cardiovascular health, delays wrinkles, weight management
Caffeine: None
Fixins: vanilla, cinnamon, fruit
Ingredients: aspalathus flowers

Spearmint

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 195-210°F, 91-98°C
Benefits: nausea, gas, balances hormones, reduces blood sugar, stress, improves memory, fights bacterial infections
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon
Ingredients: mentha spicata leaves

Valerian

Times: 12-15 minutes
Temps: 85-100°F, 29-37°C
Benefits: promotes sleep
Caffeine: None
Fixins: lemon, ginger
Ingredients: valeriana officinalis root

White

Times: 2 minutes
Temps: 175-185°F, 79-85°C
Benefits: reduces stress, weight loss, detoxifier, anti-aging, reduces risk of cancer
Caffeine: 10-15mg per 8oz
Fixins: berry, citrus, cucmber
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves and buds

Yellow

Times: 2-3 minutes
Temps: 200-215°F, 93-102°C
Benefits: promotes cardiovascular health, diabetes, promotes digestion, weight loss, delays wrinkles
Caffeine: 40-50mg per 8oz
Fixins: jasmine, peach
Ingredients: camellia sinensis leaves

Yerba Mate

Times: 3-5 minutes
Temps: 200-205°F, 93-96°C
Benefits: mental focus, boosts energy, protects against infections, weight loss, burns belly fats, boosts immune system
Caffeine: 35mg per 8oz
Fixins: lemon, orange, lime
Ingredients: ilex paraguariensis leaves and twigs

And I’ll leave you with this super cool color-changing tea made with butterfly pea flower tea and lemon. I’ve never made it myself but would like to sometime. If anyone tries it, let me know how it goes!

Please note: I do not know this YouTuber and have only watched this one video from them for the purpose of the tutorial.

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