You know what can bring happiness? A freshly baked cookie. A sugary, delicious treat can put a smile on almost anyone’s face. It’s also one of the ultimate comfort foods someone can make for a friend or family member who is going through a difficult time. It’s also good to do something for a great cause, which is why I’m participating in OXO’s blog campaign for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
If you haven’t heard of Cookies For Kids’ Cancer, it was created in 2007 by two OXO employees whose 2-year-old son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. At the time, there were few effective treatments available due to a lack of funding. Liam’s mom, Gretchen, organized a team of volunteers who baked and sold 96,000 cookies, and raised more than $400,000 for research. Amazing, right?
Since 2008, grant money awarded by Cookies For Kids’ Cancer has resulted in 9 promising new treatments. Boston is fortunate to be the home of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which is one of five partner centers for Cookies For Kids’ Cancer. They receive annual research grants to research and develop new treatments for pediatric cancer. Dana-Farber recently received a $100,000 grant from Cookies For Kids’ Cancer to support the research of Dr. Kimberly Stegmaier, who is working to discover details about genetic underpinnings and potential drug targets in neuroblastoma.
Dr. Stegmaier, the Co-Director of the Pediatric Hematologic Malignacy Program, says, “This generous gift from Cookies For Kids’ Cancer is advancing our ability to understand the drivers of neuroblastoma, which remains one of the most challenging pediatric cancers. This is a critical next step to help uncover novel therapeutic targets and expand treatment options for young patients battling this illness.”
So for this Cookies For Kids’ Cancer blog post, I decided to give a classic sugar cookie recipe a try from the How Can It Be Gluten-Free cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. Have you tried any of the recipes yet? Jeff has been baking sandwich bread using their recipe, which is delicious. But the sugar cookie recipe? No, but seriously, how can it possibly be gluten-free?!?! The buttery, sugary deliciousness is spot on.
These baking tools from OXO came in super handy. Baking is chemistry, so exact measurements are pretty important. I love how these measuring cups and spoons come with a scrapper so exact measurements are easy to do. And if you ever baked a gluten-free goodie before, you know how dough can be sticky. The America’s Test Kitchen recipe takes care of this issue! Hooray! But just in case you roll the dough too thin, I found another use for OXO’s frosting spatula – it is awesome to cut excess dough.
OXO is a huge supporter of Cookies For Kids’ Cancer, and every year they make a significant donation through sales of specially marked OXO products. For every stickered item sold, OXO will donate 25 cents in support of pediatric cancer research as part of its $100,000 pledge to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. (Look for specially marked OXO products at participating retailers.) That is a full grant for one of the five partner centers!
How else can you become involved? You can host a bake sale, a cookie swap, a team building activity for your workplace or school… There are a bunch of details and other ideas on the Cookies For Kids’ Cancer website.
So besides being a gluten-free sugar cookie, I put a little twist into the frosting. I made the frosting with coconut milk (had a little leftover that needed to be used), and added pumpkin pie seasoning to taste. The pumpkin pie spice added a little something special to a traditional sugar cookie. And really, who doesn’t like pumpkin flavored sweets?
Sadly, I can’t post a recipe for the cookies here because I didn’t obtain permission from America’s Test Kitchen. BOOOOOO, massive fail on my part! I’m so sorry! But I CAN tell you that the recipe is on pages 234 and 235 – you should get “The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook” out of your library or order it on Amazon.com.
You can find OXO, Cookies For Kids’ Cancer, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on social media:
Twitter: @OXO | @Cookies4Kids | @danafarber
Facebook: facebook.com/OXO | facebook.com/CookiesForKidsCancer | facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute
Pinterest: pinterest.com/OXO | pinterest.com/Cookies4Kids | pinterest.com/DFCI
* In 2014, OXO will donate up to $100,000 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer through specially marked baking tools, bake sale matches and other fundraising efforts. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a recognized 501c(3) public charity duly incorporated under the laws of the state of New Jersey. Your donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. 100% of proceeds raised by Cookies for Kids’ Cancer fund pediatric cancer research.
Disclosure: OXO provided me with the products for this blog post. I was not given any additional compensation, and opinions are my own.