SO. Two big years, hey? It doesn’t actually feel that long for me, I think because there are a lot of people in my Real Life who are just finding out about my blog now that I’ve resigned from my teaching job to stay home with my kiddos and create/photograph/write about all the delicious things for a living. I just have to say: I feel insanely blessed. I have never worked harder or longer hours in my life, but I am running my own business, that I started, right here, talking about one of my biggest loves: FOOD. I get to work with amazing people and incredible brands, I get to take pretty pictures of tasty food, and I get to call it work. There are also lots of other things I do that just aren’t fun, but I push through to get to the stuff that is actually fun. So, I actually didn’t originally have a Blog Birthday post planned here. I had kind of just skipped over it when I was planning my calendar, and when I had planned my way through March, I looked back and remembered, “oh yeah. I should probably do something there.” Now, I don’t often bake gluten free. But I do have a number of gluten-free recipes on here because we have allergies in the family and I just need some easy gluten free recipes at my fingertips. Once I dreamed up these cheesecakes there was no going back. Making them would just not be optional. First, there’s a flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookie that I adapted from my girl Sarah’s recipe. I knew that M&M’s are gluten free (whereas Smarties I believe are not), so that was an easy switch, and the mini ones go perfectly with my mini cheesecakes. The cheesecake filling is so super simple (adapted from Philaelphia Cream Cheese’s Taste of Heaven cookbook), and they come together super quickly and bake in a fraction of the time as a regular cheesecake. Plus, they freeze incredibly well and you can just pull out a few to thaw when you need them! If that’s not perfection in a recipe, I don’t know what is. And since it’s my party, I get to make whatever I want. Sometimes (maybe you’ve seen on Instagram), I make really pretty cupcakes and cakes. And they look incredible but only taste good (to get buttercream that stiff takes a lot of powdered sugar — and they are sweet!). Sometimes when people ask me what I really want to do is give them something tastes incredible and looks good. Like these Monster Cookie Cheesecakes. Happy Blog Birthday to me! *Be sure to purchase certified gluten free oats if necessary. Regular oats are not certified gluten free. Create an account easily save your favorite content, so you never forget a recipe again. Register Now Tag @thereciperebel or hashtag #thereciperebel — I love to see what you’re making!
