Happy Pi Day!

Happy 3.14159265 Day!  Our oldest child was at it again… celebrating numbers and all things circular today.  Pi is the symbol  used in mathematics to represent a constant (the ratio of a circumference of a circle to its diameter). What makes it so fascinating for those who love numbers is that Pi will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern.

To add to the fun of the day, we sent this awesome giant cookie to school.  We challenge you to enjoy all the fun computations this day brings and to create the circular sweet below to go with it!

GF, DF, NF Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

GF, DF, NF Giant Cookie Celebrates Pi Day

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup arrowroot starch
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 scant tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 cup Spectrum Palm oil shortening or other dairy free shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses (you can substitute agave syrup)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp GF vanilla extract
• 1/2 – 1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips (GF, DF, NF) (or even raisins!)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare two 8 inch pie plates (we use disposable aluminum pie plates for this giant cookie) by coating the inside of the pans with a thin layer of shortening and then lining with a round of parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a medium size bowl, combine sorghum flour, tapioca starch, arrowroot starch, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum. Set aside.
4. Using a stand mixer, add shortening and both sugars. Mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add molasses and vanilla extract to the mixer bowl and mix until just combined.
6. Add eggs one at a time, then mix on medium speed for one minute.
7. Lower mixer speed and gradually mix in dry ingredients.  Once combined, turn off the mixer and add the chocolate chips, stirring them into the batter with a spatula by hand.  The batter will be thick and sticky.  (Note: for Pi Day, we chose not to mix in the chocolate chips. Instead, we carefully placed the chocolate chips on top of the smoothed batter in the shape of the greek letter for Pi. Raisins also work well in this recipe)
8. Divide the batter between the two prepared pie plates, smoothing out the top of each cookie with an offset spatula.
9. Bake in the center of the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.  Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Visit the website piday.org if you are interested in learning more about Pi Day.