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This recipe converts America’s favorite cookie, the chocolate chip cookie, into a gluten-free version.

More and more Americans are discovering they have a sensitivity to gluten, a protein in wheat and other popular grains such as barley and rye. A more serious manifestation is celiac disease.

Some of the best brands of gluten-free cookies we’ve tried are the result of a family member seeking to make the tastiest treats for a relative with gluten sensitivity. If you have a loved one who needs to avoid gluten, bake a batch of these as a gift.

There are more than 20 gluten-free or low-gluten alternatives to wheat flour, from familiar ingredients such as cornmeal and potato flour to amaranth and teff flours. They’re more expensive than wheat flour, which is why gluten-free baked goods, pasta, etc. are costlier than conventional products.

The substitutes vary widely in their flavor and texture contribution. People working on gluten-free recipes do a lot of experimenting to find the ingredients and proportions they like best.

TRIVIA: “Gluten” is the Latin word for glue. The protein acts as a binder to give elasticity to dough and a chewy texture to the final product.

Find more of our favorite gluten-free products.

The show has inspired (and licensed) a Mad Men clothing line from Banana Republic and a Mad Men cosmetics line from Estée Lauder.

But what about Mad Men spirits? Those ad agency folk seemed to spend more time drinking than shopping for clothes and makeup.

Our recommendation: Settle down with a good bottle of Bourbon, like Maker’s Mark, and enjoy a couple of cocktails that surely would have been enjoyed by the staff of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Below:

> Manhattan cocktail recipe.

> Manhattan cocktail history.

> Old fashioned cocktail recipe.

> Old fashioned cocktail history.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> A brief history of whiskey, styles of whiskey, and whiskey or whisky: the reason for different spellings.

> The history of cocktails.

> Whiskey Glossary: terms and definitions for Bourbon, Scotch, Irish Whiskey, and more.

> The year’s 25+ whiskey holidays.
 
 
YOU’LL NEED MARASCHINO CHERRIES

Both the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned use maraschino cherries. Back in the day, before the advent of high fructose corn syrup, they probably tasted a lot better.

But there’s one premium brand of maraschino cherries to please picky palates, made by specialty food producer Tillen Farms. You can buy it online. The maraschinos are delicious, and a perfect gift for your favorite cocktail hound.

[2] A premium Bourbon, Maker’s Mark is hand-dipped in red wax to signify its artisan origins. Photo courtesy Maker’s Mark.

The drink is made with whiskey, sweet vermouth and bitters, and served straight up. The whiskey choice varies across the board: blended whiskey, Bourbon, Canadian whisky (spelled without the “e”), rye (the traditional choice) and Tennessee whiskey have all been used.

 
Preparation

1. SHAKE the first four ingredients together with ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled Manhattan glass (Martini glass).

2. GARNISH with a maraschino cherry.
 
 
Manhattan Cocktail History

The origin of the Manhattan isn’t known for certain, but it is widely believed to have originated in the late 19th century.

One reference claims that the Manhattan was invented in the 1860s by the bartender of an establishment on Broadway near Houston Street in Manhattan. A number of printed references date to that time.

Another theory attributes the creation of the cocktail to a bartender named Jerry Thomas at the Manhattan Club in New York City in the 1870s. The drink was allegedly created for a banquet hosted by Lady Randolph Churchill (mother of Winston Churchill) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden.

In its early days, the Manhattan used different types of spirits, including rye and Bourbon.

Over time, the recipe evolved to include sweet vermouth along with the whiskey and bitters. This addition helped balance the drink and added depth to its flavor profile.

The cocktail gained popularity during the Prohibition era (1920-1933) when the quality of available spirits was not always the best. The sweet vermouth and bitters helped to cover up less than pristine whiskey.

The Manhattan is traditionally served in a cocktail glass and is often garnished with a cherry. The choice of cherry can vary, with some preferring maraschino cherries and others opting for more traditional bourbon-soaked cherries.

The original recipe had neither club soda nor a maraschino cherry, but both ingredients became popular over the years.

As fashion is always changing, the original garnish, a maraschino cherry is no longer popular and some bartenders no longer serve them.

(They became unpopular with the trending consumer awareness of, and avoidance of, artificial ingredients and food coloring—although they’re still used in other cocktails, including the Manhattan.)

Thus, an orange peel is now a common garnish (and it’s tasty to nibble on, too).

Ingredients Per Cocktail

1. Muddle 1 orange slice, 1 maraschino cherry, bitters and the sugar in an Old Fashioned (rocks) glass. Fill glass 3/4 full of ice.

2. Add Bourbon and splash of club soda. Garnish with additional orange slice and maraschino cherry. For a more impressive garnish, you can fix the cherry to the top of the orange slice with a toothpick.

If bitters and maraschino cherries are not your thing, you can find many Bourbon cocktail recipes at MakersMark.com.
 
 
Old Fashioned Cocktail History

The Old Fashioned is one of the oldest known cocktails, with roots tracing back to the early 19th century, with its first mention dating to the early 1800s.

One popular story attributes the creation of the Old Fashioned to the The Pendennis Club, a gentlemen’s club in Louisville, Kentucky, claims to be the birthplace of the Old Fashioned.

As the story goes, a bartender at the club, James E. Pepper, created the drink in the late 19th century. It is said that he made the cocktail for a customer who wanted a drink made the “old-fashioned way,” leading to the name.

However, there are no clear records as to when the cocktail was invented.

Re “the old-fashioned way”: In the early 19th century, the term “cocktail” was not as specific as it is today. It generally referred to a combination of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The Old Fashioned is essentially a refined version of this original cocktail concept (the history of the cocktail).

Purportedly, a club member who was a Bourbon distiller brought the recipe to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City.

While the specifics of the creation story may be elusive, what is clear is that the Old Fashioned has a long and storied history, and is one of the classic cocktails enjoyed today around the world.
 
 
> Find more of our favorite cocktail recipes by pulling down the food categories menu on the upper right.
 

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At Melissa’s, Tom has every type of special fruit and vegetable at his disposal. Instead of orange segments, he used seedless Ojai Pixie tangerines in this recipe. You can use whatever tangerines or oranges you can find locally (or treat yourself to some Ojai Pixies from Melissa’s). The benefit of tangerines over oranges is that the segments are smaller and can be eaten in one bite.

We like the contrast of sweet and tangy, so substituted the dried blueberries for sliced black olives.

TANGERINE & FENNEL SALAD

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. Place the first 3 ingredients in a bowl and toss to incorporate.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the vinegar and olive oil. Add to the salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper.

3. Garnish with the fennel tops (leaves). Save extra leaves for garnishing another dish.

FENNEL FACTS

A member of the parsley family, fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) may look like celery (Petroselinum crispum), but is actually a perennial herb, indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean.

They are botanical cousins, members of the same order (Apiales) and family (Apiaceae).

Records of fennel’s use date back to about 1500 B.C.E, although it has been enjoyed by mankind for much longer.

Fennel is highly aromatic and flavorful, with both culinary and medicinal uses. The bulb and stalks resemble celery, the leaves look like dill (Anethum graveolens, also of the same order and family), and the aroma and flavor resemble sweet licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabraa, a totally different order [Fabales] and family [Fabaceae]).

Necessity being the mother of invention, we experimented with making our own PB swirl ice cream. To please our friend Rose, we also made some pints with Nutella.

It’s easy to do, just by softening a plain pint of your favorite ice cream or frozen yogurt, and adding the swirl.

PEANUT BUTTER OR NUTELLA SWIRL
ICE CREAM

Ingredients

*If you tend to like things on the sweet side, you may want to bring the peanut butter closer to the sweetness of the ice cream. We prefer the contrast, without the sugar.

Preparation

1. Combine the peanut butter, cream and corn syrup in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until smooth. Chill the mixture for an hour or longer.

2. After the mixture is chilled, soften the ice cream on the kitchen counter until you can slide the contents out (use a knife to loosen the edges). Slice the ice cream horizontally into five circles.

3. Repack the ice cream into the container, alternating the slices with spoonfuls of the peanut butter or Nutella mixture, along with a sprinkling of the optional nuts. Return to the freezer until ready to eat.

How Many Frozen Desserts Have You Tried?

Check out our Ice Cream Glossary to see what you’ve been missing.
  

Sophie Yogurt, a new Greek yogurt brand,
offers delicious flavors that have no added
sugar. Photo by Elvira Kalviste | THE NIBBLE.

The problem with the flavors, however, is the sugar. We really like these brands, but not some 20 grams of sugar for a small portion:

 
Now, a team of nutritionists at EatStrong.com has come up with a product that the marketplace should embrace: thick, creamy 0% fat Greek-style yogurt with no sugar added. Sophie Yogurt has 5 g milk sugar per 5.3-ounce serving, plus 8 g sugar alcohol.

What is sugar alcohol?

Sugar alcohol is a natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables. The body absorbs it slowly and incompletely (it’s low glycemic). Erythritol, maltitol, sorbitol and xylitol are sugar alcohols you may have heard of. Here’s more information.

Sophie Yogurt: Delicious Flavors

While the company makes a plain Greek yogurt and Plain with Fiber, it is the fancy flavors that delight: Banana Cream Pie, Caramel, Chocolate, Strawberries & Cream, Vanilla Bean and White Chocolate Almond.

The ingredients are primo. Banana Cream Pie, for example, uses real banana purée instead of a flavor extract.

“Coming Soon” flavors include Lemon Chiffon, Passion Fruit, Pumpkin Pie and Sour Cherry Pie. Our only wish is that the company would make the line lactose-free, so the growing number of Americans diagnosed with lactose intolerance can also enjoy good yogurt.

The line is all-natural, gluten-free and made with non-GMO milk. It will soon be certified kosher by OU.

The company, which is based in New York, recently signed with a distributor. But the best way to find out if Sophie is coming to a store near you is to post an inquiry on the brand’s Facebook page.

You can also check out the company’s website.

Sugar Free Greek Yogurt Vs. No Sugar Added

Sugar-free means the product contains no sugar. No sugar added means that the manufacturer has added no sugar; although fruit, milk and other ingredients contain natural sugar. Note that lactose (milk sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar) are natural sugars, which metabolize more slowly (are better for you) than refined sweeteners such as table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

All milk and milk products contain lactose, also called milk sugar. Look at a carton of milk or plain yogurt and you’ll see how much sugar (lactose) is in a serving. In the case of milk, it’s 11 to 14 g of sugar per eight ounces. The same amount of plain Greek yogurt has about 9 g of sugar.

All flavors of Sophie Yogurt have 5g of milk sugar (lactose), although no sugar is added.

Why Milk And Yogurt Are Good For You

1. PROTEIN. Milk and yogurt are good sources of high-quality protein.

2. CALCIUM. Dairy products are rich in calcium, which is vital for healthy bones/skeleton. Most Americans do not get the recommended daily value of calcium.

3. VITAMIN D. Dairy products are a major source of vitamin D, which is added by government mandate to the milk supply. Vitamin D is crucial for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. It is also an immune system regulator, and helpful for everything from preventing rheumatoid arthritis to healthy brain function in later years.
Find more of our favorite yogurt brands, recipes, a yogurt glossary and other yogurt features.