More on Cherrybrook Kitchen!

This afternoon, my son Lennon and I made the Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix. Some of you may be wondering why I'm using mixes when I have my own hypoallergenic recipes. Good question. And here's the answer: When I did the Al Roker special "Edible Enemies" for the Food Network, they had just come from Cherrybrook Kitchen, and the producer was kind enough to give me all her samples, since my kid's got food allergies, and her's didn't. But whether or not they'd been donated to me, I'm sure I would have bought them just to test anyway. So here are my updates. I've used the pancake mix (contain wheat) a couple more times, which I have found stick with a nonstick surface. But if you make the pancakes in a cast iron skillet with a little canola oil or safflower oil, they cook up beautifully. I have added old-fashioned oats and berries, to make them a little more nutritous. Thumbs up!

The chocolate chip cookies (contain wheat and soy) are pretty good. They are impossible to mix, however, and I gave up using a wooden spoon and just kneeded the dough with my fingers to combine it. They also take about 15 minutes to cook instead of the listed 8-10 minutes. But all in all, are a great time-saver in a pinch. They have a slightly bitter after-taste which I wasn't crazy about, but my sons said they were yummy, and they dunked them in chocolate soy milk and were none the wiser. As anyone who reads my blog or book knows, I'm a great believer in unrefined sugar alernatives, like honey and maple sugar, but I must admit, it's fun to have the ease of whipping up a mix once in awhile, and so far, this one is the best one I've found.

But I have a question. These are marketed as being manufactured in a nut free peanut free facility. So clearly they are for people with nut/peanut allergies. But some of the mixes require adding cooking oil. Has anyone found a vegetable oil, that is soy free, and processsed in a nut free facility? That's not olive oil? I'm still on the hunt for a vegetable oil that is completely risk-free for cross contamination from nuts. Please Please email me if you know of one, so I can share the news!

Now, I'm going back to those cookies!

cybele