GF Gingerbread

Real gingerbread.  Moist and spicy, this satisfies my need for gingerbread in the deep winter months.  I made this for Christmas, and will be a tradition for sure!  

Gingerbread 

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla 

1 egg + 1 egg white

Mix together:

1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbs. Almond flour

1 Tbs coconut flour 

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat over to 350. 

Mix together the wet ingredients in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, mix thoroughly the dry ingredients.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and blend at medium speed until well combined. 

Bake in an pikes 8x8 pan for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  

 Cool for a few moments before serving.  To butter or not to butter; that is your discretion. 

Gluten Free Shortbread

I recently purchased a package of gluten free pecan shortbread, delicious, no doubt, but I knew I could do better at home.  So can you.

GF Shortbread

1 1/3 cup rice flour 

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup arrowroot

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. xanthan gum

2 sticks butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. vanilla 

Preheat oven to 300.

In a small bowl mix together rice flour, arrowroot, salt, baking powder & xanthan gum.  Stir together & set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, sugar & vanilla.  Cream together with electric mixer.  Slowly add and mix in the dry ingredients, blending completely.

Once mixed, it will look like crumbs and you will wonder how in the world it will become cookies.  If you've never made shortbread, it's like magic how it all comes together.  Trust me, it will!

Once mixed, you can add various ingredients to make different types if shortbread.  For pecan, I added about 1/2 cup of finely ground pecans to the mixture, stirred it in completely and they turned out perfectly.  

Yum Yum Suggestions:  

•1/4 cup finely ground nuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, cashews; whatever you like.  If adding almonds, substitute 1 tsp. almond extract for the vanilla extract

•1/4-1/2 cup chopped milk or dark chocolate, increase vanilla extract to 2 1/2 tsp

•1/2 cup chopped dried cherries, substitute 1 tsp. almond extract for the vanilla extract 

•1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut 

After mixing in desired ingredients, grab a handful of the crumbly mixture and squeeze it into a flat ball, sort of like a hamburger patty.  Don't try to roll out all of the dough at once.  It will crumble apart and leave you super frustrated!  Take it in small batches, a couple of handfuls at a time.  The goal is a compressed patty that you can roll out without it falling apart.  

Carefully press it together, pressing in around the edges to keep it from crumbling apart.  Place the dough patty on a floured surface to roll out on.  

Flatten the patty with your hand and then roll out to about 1/4" thickness.  I turn the dough to roll it out in every direction.  I also keep compressing in the sides, as to not get the edges too crumbly.  

Roll to about 1/4" thickness then cut into desired shapes (I used small round cookie cutters).  Bake at 300 for 30 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Corn Souffle

Gluten free, of course, this was supposed to be a Christmas dinner dish but we never got around to making it, until after the new year.  We were so pleased with the outcome, it has become a regular in our kitchen!

Mix together in a large bowl:

3 beaten eggs
1 Tablespoon sugar
black pepper
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar or monterey jack)
1/3 cup  milk, cream, or half & half

Stir everything until well combined.
Pour into a baking dish, bake at 350 for 55 minutes

The original version is amazing, but we have made tons of variations to this dish.  The last time I made it, I mixed in a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans, and layered in corn tortillas.  I also added a handful of cilantro and a few chopped green onions.  This is an extremely versatile dish.

You can also add up to 3 Tbs. Gluten free baking mix/biscuit mix or flour blend if you prefer a thicker souffle. 

Gluten Free Shortcakes

This time of year, I can't get enough strawberry shortcake.  I made some a few weeks back with homemade GF Pound Cake, which was amazing.  The pound cake got better with time, and will definitely make it again, but not for strawberry shortcake, because now I have this amazing recipe.  I have always loved a biscuit type of shortcake as opposed to a cake style.  This fits the bill, perfectly.  With a little less sweetener, these are going to be perfect for morning biscuits!

GF Shortcakes
Preheat oven to 425.
In a medium bowl, mix together:
2/3 cup rice flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
2/3 cup tapioca flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix all dry ingredients well with a whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup coconut oil + up to 2/3 cup sugar. ( next time I make this recipe, I'm using honey, and will prob only use about 1/4 cup)
Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Alternate adding the dry mixture & the milk into the sugar mixture, until all combined.  The dough will look kind of fluffy.  Success!  Make shortcakes!
Drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
I flattened mine out a little bit with the bottom of a glass dipped in water.  I wanted flat cakes.  They bake just fine if you don't flatten them out too, just like a drop biscuit.

For the berries, I cut up strawberries and tossed them with a little maple syrup and a bit of homemade vanilla extract.  I added blueberries and blackberries whole, and let mingle in the fridge while we cooked out on the grill.  Add a little homemade fresh whipped cream, and you have the quintessential summertime dessert.  Enjoy!

GF Pound Cake

Rich, dense, buttery, moist and gluten free pound cake.  Real pound cake, made with real ingredients and homemade vanilla.  This cake is so delicious in it's purity of just being pound cake, but I have to say that this cake is so delicious, it's amazing.  I baked the leftover batte rinto a mason jar, and put it in the fridge after a day of being in the pantry.  The flavors had developed so well it was like a whole new cake.  YUM!  I will be experimenting with this recipe a lot.  Possibilities are endless.  Citrus zest, chocolate, caramel, coconut, blueberries and lemon, even savory herbs such as rosemary and fennel would lend well to this amazing and REAL pound cake.  Just because its gluten free (GF!), doesn't mean it's health food.  It's real pound cake with butter and sugar.  It's the quality of the ingredients that count.  I used my best friend's farm-fresh, free range Michigan eggs.  It make a difference in taste, and using real local ingredients just makes sense.

So, go get the best butter and eggs you can find, and a quart of fresh berries from the farmers market.  You can thank me for it later!  Enjoy!


Gluten Free (GF) Pound Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup melted butter

4 eggs

4 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla

3 cups Gluten-Free Flour Blend:

            Gluten-Free Flour Blend: To make flour blend, combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch,                 1/3 cup tapioca flour and 1 teaspoon xanthan gum. Use appropriate amount for recipe; store                         remainder in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.

2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder

1 cup milk

 

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-cup Bundt pan or 10-inch angel food cake (tube) pan; sprinkle with gluten-free flour blend. Set aside. (I used a multi mini-loaf pan, like a muffin tin but with 8 little loaf shapes, you could use a muffin tin with good results.)  Im sure this cake could be baked into any available oven proof container.  even a clean tin can!  And, when in doubt, use parchment paper!

Combine sugar and melted butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well mixed.

Stir together gluten-free flour blend and baking powder in small bowl. Gradually add flour blend mixture alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating at low speed until well mixed.

Pour into prepared pans or paper lined muffin tins,  bake at 350 for :  10 minutes for mini muffin size, 10-15 minutes for muffin size, 10-15 for mini loaf size, 50-60 min for full bundt or cake pan size.  I also had success baking this into mason jars.  PERFECT for strawberry shortcake, just slice the pound cake into rounds!

GF Chocolate Cupcakes

As I experiment with gluten free and flourless baking, I'm having to learn to adjust sugar amounts.  As I revise the recipes, I will update them on here.  I don't like to use sugar, and use replacements whenever possible.  I always have to make the recipe as directed first, that way I know what it's supposed to taste like!

GF Chocolate Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.

Mix together in a large mixing bowl:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 Tbs. tapioca flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

In a small bowl, whisk together:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm water or coffee

Add the liquids to the dry mixture and stir until well combined.
Fill muffin tins almost to the top, give them a little room to grow!
Bake at 350 for about 10 min. for mini muffins, 15-20 for regular size. (I made mini!)

Gluten Free Mimi

NO MORE GLUTEN!

In the past few weeks I have confirmed a definitive sensitivity, if not intolerance, to wheat gluten.  Argh.  This is one bread and wheat loving girl!  The entire reason that this blog was created was to save the focaccia recipe!  And the chocolate cake recipe!  SO, I'm shifting gears here, but alas, it's not really that big of a change, I'm finding out.  And gluten free baking has been a fun adventure so far.  After a few excruciating stomach aches following a considerable intake of wheat based products, I felt like I had a cactus farm in my gut.  So I DIY tested it out, and sure enough, self-diagnosed a sensitivity to wheat products. I emptied my pantry in recent weeks of everything that contained gluten, and surprisingly, there really wasn't that much to get rid of.  I thought, ok, this will be easy.  And so far so good.  There are so many gluten free products available, and especially where I live, not only do I have two Whole Foods Markets to choose from, but my local grocery store three blocks away also carries a good variety of gluten free pre-packaged items.  I find though, that I never really did buy a lot of pre-packaged stuff in the first place, but what I'm missing is bread, bagels, and pizza crust.  So I'm on a mission, and I'm now armed with a few recipes that I'm starting to try out.  Tonight, I made banana waffles  that contained only two ingredients, the latter being eggs. I love recipes like this that make you wonder, "is this really going to work?!" This one was a gamble as I poured it into the waffle iron, closed the lid and crossed my fingers!  I was pleased when it didn't stick, first off, and second, it was delicious.  A moist and eggy waffle, not like the traditional flour variety, but delicious just the same.  I added a handful of shredded coconut to the second half of the batter, which was yummy!  I'm thinking coconut flour would be a great addition too.  Next time though, I'm adding cinnamon, as it had kind of a french-toast flavor! 

Bananas and eggs, that's all you need.  You can make pancakes or waffles.

Banana Pancakes/Waffles
1 banana, mashed
2 eggs, beaten

Stir together ingredients well, I used a hand mixer for about a half a minute.
Pur onto hot oiled skillet and cook like you would a regular old pancake.  Or a hot oiled waffle iron and cook until done.  (I choose waffles over pancakes any day!)
Enjoy!