Day Twelve: Gluten-Free with RR Challenge — How To Kick A Bad Day's Arse.

by caroline

Three things that can turn a not-so-great morning into a cheery evening:

1. A snuggly kitty

2. Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies

3. A cover story in the Spring 2011 issue of Breathe magazine!

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Let's be honest: It's not always easy to pick yourself up from a crappy turn of events. However, I do always try to stay positive, and take a turn behind the rosy colored glasses to notice the things that are still looking mighty fine.

You can imagine then, my excitement when I received my latest issue of Breathe magazine and the story I wrote is featured on the cover. Woot!

Maybe I am a rare journalist breed, but I'll tell you it never gets old to see my name in print. I love it! It makes me feel all tingly inside.

When I was done staring at my name in [printed] lights, I decided to sample one of the Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies I made for Day 12 of the Gluten-Free with Rachael Ray Challenge.

Holy Moses, (is that PC?) these cookies are tasty! It's a salty sweet surprise dancing across your taste buds. Sounds dangerous, but I promise it's delightful.

RR's Ingredients	The G-Spot Used
1 1/2 cups flour	1 3/4 cups gluten-free flour (I used the G-Spot Gluten Free Baking Flour Blend, but I also like Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur mixes.)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda	1/2 teaspoon baking soda
__________________	1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature	1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar	1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter	1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 eggs, at room temperature	2 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped	1/3 cup gluten-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips.)
6 cups miniature pretzels, chopped	6 cups miniature pretzels, chopped (I used Glutino Gluten-Free Pretzel Sticks.)

Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350°. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and peanut butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until just combined; stir in the peanuts.
Place the pretzels in a bowl. Using a 1 1/2-inch-diameter cookie scoop and working in batches, drop a few balls of dough in the bowl and toss to coat. Place the cookies on the prepared pans. TIP: Give each cookie a soft press in the center to flatten them out at bit. Bake, rotating the pans after 10 minutes, until golden but still soft to the touch, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring to racks to cool.

Note: This recipe is gluten-free. (If you have allergies or food sensitivities, always check specific manufacturer’s products for allergens and/or cross-contamination issues.)

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So, it can be easily said that this frown has now been turned upside down.

The even better part? I think this icky sickness is on its way out. Fingers crossed! I was supposed to start my training for the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay today (more on that here), but I decided to rearrange my workouts in an effort to spend a little more time curing this chest cold. No one likes to see a runner hacking up her left lung on the side of the road (my lungs wouldn't really like that either).

Promise.

How about you? What one person, place or thing can make your bad day feel a whole lot better?