Sugar and Flour

Thank you for all the birthday wishes for my big guy yesterday! It turned out to be a great day for him. You know it's a birthday when the major food groups that need to be covered are sugar and flour.

I would say we hit those groups head on yesterday. Since all Jay requested was pizza and a cookie cake, I knew what had to be done. Jay's birthday hits so close to the beginning of the school year, he doesn't really do a party. So, we typically go out to eat for his birthday. For normal people, going out for pizza would be easy. For our family, not so much.

I read recently that some Mellow Mushroom locations are offering gluten free pizza. See honey, all that time reading about food on the internet has paid off! So, I called around and found one that was currently selling it. In fact, this was the first official one they made! The illustrator really liked it. The manager came over and asked what he thought. He gave them some feedback on maybe cooking it a little longer. He said the flavor of the crust was really good, but that it needed to crisp up a little more. They appreciated the info since the guy cooking it was quite nervous about it. In the end, it was just nice that we could all go out for pizza together as a family. We have to order three different pies, but still totally worth it for a special occasion!

For me, I got a cheeseless pizza with tomatoes and spinach!  I loved it! I hear Mellow Mushroom is going to start serving Daiya at some point, but honestly, after having pizza without cheese for so long, I don't miss the cheese part. In my opinion, it just makes it greasy. I think I enjoy the flavor of the toppings more without the cheese. Oh, and I ate three pieces without feeling gross!

Sugar...anyone, anyone? Truth be told, I am not much of a cookie person. I know, get that shocked look off of your face. I am a muffin or cupcake person. However, the rest of the family is all about cookies. The cookie cake tradition started a few years back because of Max...

the boy is not a fan of cake (unless it is angel food cake, who can blame him though). So, we started the tradition of making cookie cakes. I was very nervous years ago doing this because there is a texture very specific to the cookie cake. This is my recipe that I use and it comes out perfect every time. I halved it this year since the illustrator can't have it, otherwise we would leave way too much cookie hanging around. I am definitely going to work on the gluten free version. You all know I love a good baking challenge!

I go simple with the decoration and just load it up with icing as requested by the birthday boy. Since we were on fat and sugar over load, I used Smart Balance Light. I know some people think what's the point, but for me it is a balance and if I can cut back somewhere, I do. You can't tell with the icing, so this is what I do...

Simple Faux Butter Cream Icing

1/2 cup Smart Balance Light
2 cups powdered sugar (more if you want it thicker)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix it with a mixer until smooth.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder (1/2 cup for darker chocolate)
2 TBSP dairy free milk (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk)
1/4 cup Smart Balance Light
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix it with a mixer until smooth.

Cookie person or cake person? Which are you?

On a complete side not...my best friend from high school (the one that has the same tattoo as me, but we got it at separate times in our lives unknowingly) she had her first baby...a boy yesterday!  Twelve years later than me, but still the same day! Congratulations Claire and Rob!