Over the summer I began to reflect on this. John and I have lived in three cities in the nearly three years we’ve been married and have moved nearly twice that amount in the meantime. While that has allowed us to latch onto and let go of several new friends in our life, it’s left me with an almost eerie sense of not knowing who my community is at any given time and where I belong. When I start to feel a bit estranged in this world I begin to feel like my piece of the island has broken off from the big island and I’m floating off into the sea, all by myself, disconnected, adrift and hardly known by anyone but myself. And some days I’m not even so certain of that last part. But the good news is I can always make change where I see necessary. In most cases healthy, positive change is just one conversation or perspective shift away. The change I needed was to make new community where we’ve currently laid roots. I don’t know how long we’ll be here but for the time that we are here, I want to be present and intentional with the people around us. So John and I did the best thing we knew how to foster that community feel: We invited people over for dinner. Close to 15 of our dearest friends from various settings including high school, work, church, and other random life events filled our humble little studio apartment one recent evening and it all felt so right; like a big hug from that favorite aunt you haven’t seen in years. I provided the essentials: Two batches of chili, cornbread (gluten free and non) and these gluten free cookies. Wine, laughter and plenty of dirty dishes soon followed. At one point my friend and wedding photographer Rebecca leaned over and mentioned that the cookies reminded her of Girl Scout Caramel Delights or Samoas. They had all the essential elements but were just missing the caramel and chocolate coating to give them that finishing touch. I didn’t think much of it then but when I recalled I had a batch of my bourbon caramel sauce tucked away in my fridge I knew gluten-free Samoas needed to be born. Since then I’ve made these several times each with positive results and resounding feedback. I gave my (gluten-free) friend Laura a small batch one night and she devoured them all in a matter of minutes before my eyes. I believe the adjective she kept using was “uuhhhmaaayyzzing.” Needless to say I think we found her (and my) new favorite cookie recipe. These cookies may lack the abundance of flour, butter and sugar of traditional Samoas, but they in no way lack the flavor and definitive texture of the real thing. These are a must make not only for the holidays but for all your special gatherings in between. Gluten free decadence has never tasted so good. BOURBON CARAMEL SAUCE RECIPEadapted from this recipe from the Sprouted Kitchen Cookbook
