So we began our Christmas countdown with our 1st advent activity:

Pumpkin Cookies!  The kiddos love to help measure and taste the ingredients.  We made a couple batches: one with whole wheat flour (in the back row), and another that can be gluten-free.  I was impressed with the gluten-free version…they tasted great.  I substituted the wheat flour with the gluten free cookie lady, Jeanne Bayse’s gluten free flour mixture.  I mixed up a big mixture large enough to have on hand for our next gluten-free baking adventure. 

Here’s the recipe:

2 sticks of butter
1/2 c turbinado sugar (i found mine at smith’s)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 can pumpkin puree
1 c rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 c chocolate chips
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

For the gluten-free batch, I combined:

3 c brown rice flour
1 1/2 c sweet rice flour
1 1/3 c tapioca starch
2/3 c cornstarch
1/2 c navy bean flour (i used garbanzo bean)
1/2 c almond flour (meal)
1/2 c sorghum flour
1/2 c potato starch (not flour)

(the mix makes 8 1/2 cups of gluten free flours, I simply took 2 1/2 cups of it…)

Though it took a while to get going, grower to feed, diapers to change, and a motherly break-down moment…but we enjoyed our first advent activity!