Real Simple Magazine Cake Recipe ~ Gluten Free

I wouldn't call this recipe real simple, it's a cake from scratch, but it's not all that difficult either. This was hands down the best, the absolute best, gluten free cake I have ever had. It stayed moist as leftovers, did not turn crumbly in texture at all. No one would guess it was gluten free. I think it's the sweet rice flour that is the trick.

Sorry no pic, we ate it and enjoyed. Thought is would be better to give you the recipe instead of holding out on you, just for that. For the record, I did a double layer chocolate cake with raspberry in the middle with chocolate frosting on top. Marvelous!

I will be making this for my brother's birthday, since he just found out he has to be wheat free. Thank goodness he has ME as his sister!

Cheers!

Mrs. GF

Chocolate Cake


adapted from Real Simple, May 2011





1 cup (2 sticks butter) softened (soften extra for pans)


3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (& extra for dusting)





The Flours (2 cups total)


1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour


3/4 cup millet


1/2 cup almond flour


1/4 cup sweet rice flour





1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon baking soda


1 teaspoon kosher salt


1 1/2 cups sugar


2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


4 large eggs, room temperature


1 1/2 cups milk





Preheat oven to 350. Butter the pans and line with parchment. Butter again. Dust with cocoa powder. Put aside.

In bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Put aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.

Put batter in pans, and bake til toothpick comes out clean in center. Cool in pans, then after 15 min, take out of pans and cool on rack.

Approximate baking times as stated by Real Simple: For two 8-inch rounds: 30 to 35 minutes. For two 9-inch rounds: 25 to 30 minutes. For one 9-by-13-inch rectangle: 35 to 40 minutes. For 24 cupcakes: 20 to 25 minutes.

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes

I have it easy this Thanksgiving, I am making a couple of side dishes and a pie. My mother is in charge of the rest. She found a turkey, Shady Brook Farms, from her local grocery store that says gluten free right on the package, she was so excited!

There are so many posts about eating gluten free at Thanksgiving, look at the links to other blogs in my sidebar, and you will find many more options and ways of cooking. Here are a just a few things that I have made for that would be great for Thanksgiving.



Desserts ~

Rustic Apple Pie with Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe
Maple Pecan Pie with Gluten Free Oat Crust

Side dishes ~

To Die For Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup Glaze
Gluten Free Popover Recipe

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cheers!!
Danielle

Rustic and Hearty Gluten Free Apple Pie

Before I had to eat gluten free, my daughter, then aged 2, and I made an apple pie together. It was a "no roll out crust" pie. I had seen the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens, and wanted to try it. It was such a fun pie to make with a 2 year old, patting balls of dough into flat pancakes with our hands to form a top crust.

My son and I had never made that pie together; he is now 5. I have been in the pie making mood lately, partly urged on by the fall weather, and was solidified by Ginger Lemon blog's pie crust recipe.

SO, I dusted off the old recipe, the last time I has used it was 5 years ago, rolled up the sleeves, grabbed my son as helper, and made that pie with him, altered to be gluten free. We had such fun!

I was terrified that it would turn out horribly, but it didn't. The crust was different, but appealing. What I found interesting, is that my children LOVED the crust. They ate the crust first, then the filling. When I was a child, I ate the filling first, and maybe the crust. The crust was a bit of an obligation to get through, in order to get another piece. (And by the way, that changed as I grew, my mother makes a fabulous pie crust.)

I think that just about any combination of flours would work for this crust. If teff isn't available, use millet or more sorghum. The apples in the filling come out a tad bit crunchy still, so if you like your apples in your pie to be completely soft, try decreasing the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for 65 minutes. And don't forget, if your crust is getting too brown, and you want to cook the filling some more, cover with tin foil and continue baking.

(Also, I think that you would probably be able to substitute for the milk in here to make it dairy free as well. Let me know if you try it!)


Rustic and Hearty Gluten Free Apple Pie

Pie Crust

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup teff flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grapeseed oil (or canola)
2/3 cup milk

Apple Pie Filling

6 cups sliced apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sweet sorghum flour


In a bowl stir together the dry ingredients. Mix the grapeseed oil and milk then add to the dry mix. Stir with fork until a dough starts forming. Oil hands to work with the dough and form into a ball.

Take 2/3 of dough ball and press the dough firmly onto bottom of a greased 9-inch pie plate and up the sides, pressing to form an edge at the rim.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel and slice apples. Mix cinnamon, sugar and flour in separate bowl. Add to apples and stir until all the apples are coated.

Transfer apple mixture to pie shell.

Take the remaining dough, and break into several equal parts. Pat each dough portion into circles. Top the filling with the flattened dough to create a top crust. There will be spaces between each dough portion; the top won't be covered completely.

Place pie plate on baking sheet. Bake pie for 55 minutes or until filling is bubbly in the center.

Place on rack to cool.


Cheers!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other gluten free pie recipes from fellow bloggers:
Karina's Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Maple pecan Pie with Oat Crust
Carrie's Easy Gluten Free Pie Crust
Gluten Free Mommy's Frozen Pumpkin Pie

And check this out..hot off the presses. You can get the recipe by clicking on it below.

Kathy Derr's gluten-free apple treat won the blue ribbon in a contest in Williamsburg, Virginia last month.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Molten Lava Cakes ~ Gluten Free

My mother got a card with this recipe, and there is nothing on there for me to give proper credit. The recipe is too good not to share. My family and I really enjoyed it, and it was quite easy. I liked mine topped with ice cream and would consider adding shredded coconut, nuts, or liqueur next time I made these.

Also, I did get tagged a few times for a meme, I will do it, I just do not have time right now, I barely got this recipe out! Thanks for the attention and I will get back to you!!

Molten Lava Cake

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375. Melt chocolate and butter together, over double boiler (or take a pan of boiling water and place a bowl on top to melt them in together..and some might like to use a microwave). After they have both melted, take off the heat and add 2 tablespoons sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla. Mix.

Separate eggs. In separate bowl beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Add the 2 remaining tablespoons of sugar, beat about 2 minutes longer.

Fold in the egg whites into the chocolate until just combined. Get 4 ramikins, 6 ounces, and place on baking sheet. Divide batter between the ramikins and bake for about 22-25 minutes.
And eat!

Cheers!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Healthy Redux

O.K. you may wonder...how are these healthy? Well, I guess I should word it healthier. Before going gluten free, I baked with whole grains, using a little less sugar in my baking to create treats for my children that weren't as bad as regular, offering maybe a little more nutrition instead of completely empty calories. So when I first went gluten free, and I was baking with cornstarch, tapioca flour and white flour..it felt like such a step back for me. Why bake? It was completely nutritionally devoid as far as I was concerned.

But I missed some of my gluten treats, and plodded along until I started discovering grains with a little bit more to offer nutritionally speaking..teff, sweet sorghum, brown rice...my favorites. So I decided to re-do my original recipe with these and see how they were. Definitely still a treat, my children loved them, but if you have a hankering for the old kind, try my first chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Chewy Crisp Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups brown rice flour
1 cup sweet sorghum
1/2 cup teff
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xantham gum
3/4 tsp salt
1 to 2 teaspoons flax seed
2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I use unsweetened, but both will work)

Spray pan with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, beat butter with granulated and brown sugar until fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, xantham gum and salt, and flax seed if using; stir in chocolate chips, pecans and coconut. Pour over butter mixture, stir to combine.

Drop by 1 Tbsp, about 2 inches apart onto prepared pans. Bake about 12 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool completely.

Cheers!!!

Maple Pecan Pie with Oat Crust Gluten Free

This pie was so amazingly fabulous. And the crust!! Words cannot describe how good this pie was. I would proudly carry it anywhere, knowing it would hold it's own against any other pie - even our now famous benchmark - gluten ones.

I was never a huge fan of pecan pie before, but this is now a staple for me. It was not as sweet as pecan pie usually is and so flavorful. Thank goodness I have a couple of pieces left in the fridge, otherwise I would have to make it again. (Here is the original filling recipe for the Maple Pecan Pie .) I made a simple sugar instead of corn syrup, I thought it was perfect. You could use corn syrup, brown rice syrup, or whatever else makes you happy.

The crust is made of gluten free oat flour, so if you can't do oats you will have to substitute. And it is a bit of a heartier crust, but still flakes a bit. I might add a tiny bit more butter next time, but it was so good, I really might not change a thing too. The only things I changed was to add about 1/8 cup skim milk to the crust for moisture, I think it really needed that, and I used vinegar instead of lemon juice. Here is where I got the original oat flour pie crust recipe. It makes one crust. Amazon.com is now carrying Cream Hill Estates Lara's Oat Flour, you can go directly there, or here for the oat flour.

Crust

1 1/2 cup oat flour (make sure certified gluten free)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup salted butter
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cider vinegar
skim milk

Whisk oat flour, tapioca flour and sugar into a large bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with fork, two knives, pastry tool, or food processor.

Add the egg yolk, vinegar, and milk to the flour mixture. Mix together until the mixture begins to hold together. Put in refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Form into ball and roll out dough between two pieces of wax paper. Place in pie plate. And bake pie according to directions.

Maple Pecan Pie Filling

3 large eggs
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Put prepared crust in freezer while preparing the ingredients (no more than an half hour). Preheat oven to 350.

Make simple sugar. Put 1/2 cup sugar and 1/8 cup water cook until sugar dissolves and it's a bit thick. I threw the butter in here to melt while I got the other ingredients ready.

Whisk eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, the sugar/butter mixture in bowl. Add chopped
pecans.

Put pie in oven and bake about 40 minutes, or until pie is set.

Cheers!!!

Other Blogger Recipes I want to try...

I am in an organizational mode, not much time to blog. We have been working on a small renovation since July, and it's (FINALLY) just about done. A little more tweaking to go, but I am able to move my kitchen around. The renovation was to turn my laundry room into a little butler's pantry, so my family could make gluten stuff in there (sandwiches, toast, etc), while the main kitchen remained gluten free.

I think it is going to great once I get everything organized.

We had been using the same kitchen, reserving a small counter for gluten foods, and it worked, I didn't get contaminated from it. But it was crowded (I do not have a huge kitchen), and the risk was always there. Not fair when Navy Boy gets home from his shift work, working through the night, exhausted in the morning, and having to think about which butter he can use.

So, finalizing this project has taken up a fair bit of my time lately, so I decided to pull a few of my links to other wonderful bloggers and post them here. I haven't tried these yet, but they are on my list. I have more, but this is all the time I had this morning to post, so I will throw more out there another time!!

Lighter than Air Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Crinkles (cookies)
Rosemary's Christmas cookies

Almond Orange Marmalade Muffins
Sweet Potato Ginger Muffins
Pumpkin Corn Muffins

Artisanal Sorghum Bread
Pizza Crust (Actually, I tried the pizza crust this week, it is very good, and easy.)
Homemade Ravioli

HoneyComb Candy
Pumpkin Custard Pie
Rice pudding (looks VERY easy!)



And, if you are wondering about the photo on top, it is off a baked polenta I made. It was pretty good, not a favorite, but good. I took leftover polenta, mixed a few things in there like eggs, cheese, spices, and baked until firm and crisp.

Cheers!!

Gluten Free Recipes That I Want to Try, That Aren't Mine

I know that this is a long title for this post. But it is exactly what this post is about. I have links upon links of recipes I want to try, but no where to reference them. So, I thought I would start doing that here. I might be doing this again, as I find out where all those links went.

And, if you try anything, or have tried any of these, let me know how they turned out!!!


Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake - Gluten Free

Gluten Free Cottage Bread

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Dark Chocolate Lime Souffle

Apple Snow


I also wanted to give a heads up for anyone planning a vacation. I found this website called Gilli's Holiday, and it has hotels that cater to gluten free diets. It seems to focus on Italy, but there are a few other destinations as well.

Cheers!

Date Bars

DATE BARS!!! I wanted to scream, giddy as a little kid about to get a favorite treat. Warm from the oven the sweet, sweet taste. Date bars. Yum. The filling tickling my teeth with the sweetness of it all. Happy, happy sigh.

I never thought I would eat them again. The day I got my certified gluten free oats, I had to try to convert my Mom's recipe. I have always loved date bars (the whole tickling of the teeth thing), even though my Mom thinks I never liked them. And, I always have to remind her that I LOVE them. And, I bet you will too.


Date Bars

Crust:

1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup teff flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup shortening or butter


Filling:

12 oz. pitted dates
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water

(Note: If you have the 10 oz. package of baking dates, use 1/2 cup sugar & then same amount of water)

Boil pitted dates, water and sugar for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Crush dates while stirring. Put aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift (or whisk in bowl) flours and soda together. Stir in brown sugar and oatmeal. Cut shortening into the flour until it is all together in a crumble consistency. Add more shortening if too dry.

Spread half of flour mixture in bottom of greased 9 X 13 pan. Press down lightly. Cover with date mixture. Sprinkle remainder on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until slightly brown.

Cut before completely cool.

Cheers!

Absolutely Amazing Upside-down Apple Cake

This is now one of my most favorite gluten free sweet treats. It is so good. I have been experimenting with different flours, and there is one of those in here. Teff. It is a whole grain with dietary fiber, iron, protein, and calcium. Click on the above link to find out more. I had to buy mine online, stores here don't carry it, but it is worth it. Here is a link to Bob's Red Mill Teff page. I don't know the best place to purchase it yet, but I will be researching when I need to buy more.

I also used sweet sorghum flour in this recipe, as well as brown rice. Substitute whatever you have on hand. Make this recipe even if you don't have teff, or sorghum. It is so good, I am sure it will come out fine with whatever mix of flours you use.

Also, I found a great page that explains all the nutritional benefits of different flours. It also seems like a great website to explore. Recipetips.com, and when I get a chance I will be browsing around to see what else they have on there.

When my friend came over and we had this cake with and afternoon cup of tea, we fell over with how good it was. This will be a frequent recipe made in my home, especially for company. I got the original recipe from Better Homes and Gardens October issue.

Apple Upside-down Cake, Gluten Free Version

5 tablespoons butter, cut up
another 5 tablespoons softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 apples, cored and sliced in wedges, skin on
1 large apple, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup teff flour
1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon xantham gum
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3.9 oz applesauce, unsweetened (I used Mott's little packaged one)
1/2 cup walnut, pecan, or other nut (optional)
1/4 cup rolled oats (also optional, I did not do this this time, I am going to next time)

Preheat oven to 350. Put the chopped butter in the pan, a 9X9, and put in the oven until melted, don't brown the butter. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter, mix together. Put in the apple wedges and the nuts if using (as well as oatmeal if using), and put back in the oven for 15 minutes.

In a bowl, combine flours and dry ingredients and whisk. Add wet ingredients, including milk, egg, vanilla and applesauce. Use a mixer if you have one, otherwise stir until combined. Fold chopped apples into the batter.

Spread batter evenly over the apple/nut mixture in the pan. Bake about 35 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

This is awesome as is as a coffee cake, or afternoon tea. As a dessert, serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Cheers!

Black Moons by Jean (aka Whoopie Pies!)

This is based on my Mom's recipe. Whenever we came home and found black moons there, we went out of our minds. They were so good. A little labor intensive, so they weren't made often.

I wanted to use organic shortening, but since I was not sure how well it works, I went with the old fashioned kind. Next time I will try it. Check out organic shortening here. My mother uses egg whites in the frosting, and the frosting is not cooked. If you don't like that, then there are a million different frosting recipes out there. But I do have to add that you will be missing out, since this frosting is amazing. Think Rocky Balboa, he drank raw eggs to be healthier and stronger.

I used soy flour for some of the flour called for, I would have rather used teff flour, but I didn't have any. Also, in the original time I tried this I used tapioca flour, I am making these today (01/27/08), and I am trying it without; I will let you know how it goes. I added unsweetened shredded coconut in here, you don't taste it, it just adds something like in the chocolate chip cookie recipe...a certain chewiness.

Jean's Black Moons

Cookie Part:

1/2 cup shortening
1 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
1 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup brown rice
3/4 cup sweet sorghum
1/2 cup soy (next time teff)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
2 teaspoons xanthum gum

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cream shortening and sugar. Add egg yolks, milk, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Sift dry ingredients and add to shortening ingredients. Add the coconut. Mix until combined. Drop by teaspoonful on greased baking sheet. Bake for about 8 minutes, making sure not to burn the bottoms. Cool on counter on wax paper or paper towels.

Filling:

2 egg whites
1 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups confectionery sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix until thick. Take one cake and frost the flat side, find another cake that somewhat matches and place on top. Yummy!! Black Moon time!! YAY!

Cheers!!

Mini Cheese Cake

I love this recipe. I made these for my birthday, they are fabulous. Using the whipped cream cheese made these cakes quite light, not as dense as regular cheese cake. I got the original recipe from First Magazine. They did have a cookie crumb crust, so I put in the coconut instead, but that was the only difference. Also, the BEST thing about these is that they freeze very, very well. So you can make a bunch, and freeze some for another time. I may do that for my next dinner party. :)

Mini Cheese Cake

shredded coconut
1 cup blueberries (or other berry, I used strawberry)
16 oz. whipped cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon curd
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 325. Line muffin tin, then sprinkle coconut to cover the bottoms. Puree the berries and spoon 1/2 teaspoon over the coconut. Beat the cream cheese and 1/4 cup of sugar, then the lemon curd. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Divide the mixture evenly among muffin cups. Top with remaining puree and swirl. Bake 20 minutes, or until almost set in the middle. Cool completely. Add whipped cream for fun an extra berries if you have them!

Enjoy!

(You can play with this recipe by changing out the lemon curd and berries, and subbing with something else. Have fun. And let me know if you come up with something good!)

Coconut Rice with Mango - A recipe for Karina

I decided to do the recipe challenge that Gluten Free By the Bay put out. If you have ever been to a Thai restaurant and gotten the Sticky Rice with Mango..you will know the taste I am shooting for. But, I wanted to make it with stuff that could be easily obtained at the local grocery store, and with more healthful rice than white. I did not use sweetener in my batch, since I did not know if the lovely Karina could have any..but I would add a little of whatever sweetener you can use..not much though..I had it without any, and really did not miss it.

If you would like to see an "official" recipe, try Mango Sticky Rice. I would do it my way, then make the sauce recipe from this link..it would be much creamier. I just didn't have the time last night. This also makes a great breakfast. Have fun!


Coconut Rice with Mango

1 cup rice (I used brown jasmine)
1 can light coconut milk
toasted coconut (I used unsweetened and toasted it myself)
1 ripe mango
sweetener of some sort if using...sugar, maple syrup, honey, stevia..etc.
cinnamon
vanilla

Using your rice cooker or whatever way you cook your rice...cook your rice in the coconut milk adding water to get the right amount of liquid. Add a shake or two of cinnamon,sweetener if using, and a teaspoon or so of vanilla. Cook rice. When done, slice up mango. Top rice with mango, sprinkle with coconut and enjoy.

(The recipe for the sauce is as follows - warm coconut milk together with a pinch of salt, sugar, and vanilla on medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved (5 minutes). Add cornstarch or arrowroot powder (dissolved in water) to the sauce and stir. As it thickens, turn down heat to low. Remove from heat. Spoon over rice.)

Katherine Hepburn's Brownies (new and improved)

Yet another reason to love the movie star...these brownies. My Mom got this recipe out of a newspaper years and years ago; it was an article about the star, and then she gave this recipe. It has been a favorite ever since. If I was craving brownies, I would make these instead of pulling out a mix, it's that easy.

This is my first remake of an old recipe, and this one was easy to do - it did not call for much flour. I brought some over to my friend, Jen, to taste. She doesn't have celiac, but her husband and daughter do. They all tasted and gave it a huge thumbs up, commenting, "It's even better than Pamela's." So, thanks Maddie and Jen, for giving me your honest opinions!

And if you don't have to eat gluten free, just make these with 1/4 cup flour, no xanthan gum.

And now, a big warm welcome for...

Update: Did I think these needed a remodel? Nope. But did I anyway? Yes. I wanted to reduce the sugar, and I did, and the batch I just made came out great. I think better. I even think I could take out just a little more sugar too.So, I will post the one I just did, and following that will be the original recipe. I didn't use the xanthan gum, so I think you might not need it for the original.

Also, if you bake in a glass dish, like I do, heat oven to 300, and cook 38 minutes.

Here goes:

Katherine Hepburn's Brownies (New and Improved!!)

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/4 lb butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
dark chocolate chips to sprinkle on top (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt chocolate and butter over very low heat in heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Quickly stir in nuts, flour, and salt. Spread batter in well greased 8x8 pan, sprinkle chocolate chip on top if desired. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pan to rack and cool.



Katherine Hepburn's Brownies

2 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/4 lb butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt chocolate and butter over very low heat in heavy saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Quickly stir in nuts, flour, gum, and salt. Spread batter in well greased 8x8 pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pan to rack and cool.

Easy Gluten-free Layer Bars

It was my turn to bring snack to a friend's house, so I thought I'd try these. As you know, I have been trying to find easy things to make that are gluten free. This definitely qualifies. They are delicious and very decadent.

Watch out for the butterscotch chips! Not all are gluten free, Nestle's are not gluten free.
I used caramel swirl chips instead, and they worked great. I also used unsweetened coconut, I am sure this will taste great with sweetened as well.

I got the original recipe from allrecipes.com, click here for the link. Gluten Free Goddess has her own version, check out her recipe for one a little different than the one here.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup shredded or flaked coconut
1 cup caramel swirl or butterscotch chips
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C ). Generously grease one 13x9 inch baking pan. Spread 2/3 cup of the flaked coconut evenly on the bottom of the baking pan. Sprinkle the caramel swirl morsels, chocolate chips, and peanuts evenly over the coconut layer. Pour condensed milk evenly over the whole pan. Top with sliced almonds and 1/3 cup coconut . Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Quick Brownies

I have been on the search for easy, fast recipes that are gluten free. You know the last minute thing you need to bake for your kids school, or your book night, or any other social event? That kind of thing. I saw this recipe from erbetty on celiac.com , and thought it would fit the bill. My kids went crazy. Next time, I think I will caramelize the leftover sweetened condensed milk, and make them turtle brownies. And, of course, I always throw in my milled flax seed, and you don't have to, it doesn't alter the recipe at all.

This picture was taken when it was fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips were all melty and yummy.

Update: The next day, these brownies are more fudge-like than brownie like. Still delicious, and not dry and crumbly like other gluten-free baked goods. I stored them on the counter with plastic wrap. Next time I would add more nuts too, although I really like nuts in my baked goods!

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2(1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate melted
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons brown rice flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup Ghiredelli chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or other nut (optional)
handful milled flax seed

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In mixing bowl mix 1 cup sweetened condensed milk and chocolate. Add egg, add flour, vanilla and baking powder; mix well. Fold in nuts. Spread into greased 8-inch baking pan. Sprinkle choclate chips over batter. Bake 20 min. Cool.

Mom G.F.'s Cheater Pavlova

I know this isn't the greatest picture, This was my second helping, and I snapped it quickly before I was going to eat it.

This was my mother-in-law's invention. Simple, yummy, low fat, and nothing really to do. This is a bit crunchy to eat, I would save this for a family night, and we felt forks for eating worked a little better than spoons.

So, thank you so much, Mom G.F.!!

Mom G.F.'s Cheater Pavlova

a package of meringues
1 tub frozen sliced strawberries with sugar
a few fresh, sliced strawberries to mix in (optional)

Take tub out of freezer, morning of or night before and put in fridge. At dessert, put meringue cookies in dish, top with strawberry mixture. Eat and enjoy.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think I got these from www.celiac.com, I do not know who to give credit to, but they are good! I originally posted these in Feb., but I didn't have a picture, and I didn't edit the recipe to show my changes. I thought about taking the coconut out, but, no one notices it in there, and I think it adds something to the chemistry of the recipe. These taste and look like the real thing. I usually freeze half the dough, so I can make them another time. And since I made these last week, and I now want more, I just might have to pull that dough out now!

And, don't forget, I like to add some ground flax meal in there, as always to add more nutrition.

Update: I did make some more, straight from the freezer with frozen dough, I just broke some off. They took about an extra 3 to 4 minutes from frozen. Learn something new everyday!

Chewy Crisp Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 cups brown rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xantham gum
3/4 tsp salt
small handful flax seed
2 cups chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup shredded coconut (I use unsweetened, but both will work)

Spray pan with non-stick spray. Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, beat butter with granulated and brown sugar until fluffy; beat in eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, potato and tapioca starches, baking soda, xantham gum and salt, and flax seed if using; stir in chocolate chips, pecans and coconut. Pour over butter mixture, stir to combine.

Drop by 1 Tbsp, about 2 inches apart onto prepared pans. Bake about 12 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool completely. If you can, I couldn't.

(Note from the original recipe submitter: Also, these are especially good warmed in the microwave for about 10 seconds.)

Berry Coulis

You could do just about anything with this, and it would still taste great. Use any berries you like, or a combination. Use different liqueurs to jazz up up : cognac, brandy, amaretto, Frangelico, etc. You can do an uncooked version of this by throwing all the ingredients into the blender and then it's ready to go. I like to do that with fresh strawberries in the summer. If you want this one smooth, puree in a blender after. And, if you want the sauce thicker, throw in a little cornstarch, stir and add until you have the consistency you want.

This is great with just about anything, ice cream, chocolate torte, brownies, meringues..etc.

2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces)
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
2 tablespoons liqueur (optional)


In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off burner; add liqueur and cool. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

My Kitchen Stuff - Ice Cream Maker

My good friend, Robin, told me all about this, gosh I think years ago. I thought, "Eh, what do I need an ice cream maker for? Easy enough to buy at the store, it's just one more thing to store in my kitchen..."

Once I needed to become gluten free, I decided it would be a good investment. I could make my own flavored ice cream..I was thinking of one with chopped up Snickers bars or anything else decadent. (You could even make your own version of gluten free cookie dough ice cream..think about it...)

So, I bought the one you see down there. Buyer alert: The ice cream is so good, and so easy to make you must be working out or doing something to get rid of all the extra calories you will be consuming.

I love this machine. And the almond ice cream we made and ate. I love that I can reduce the sugar intake for my children. Make sorbets and sherbet..and probably gelato. This will be a delicious summer.

Dangerous. A great addition to my kitchen. And to my calorie intake. Thanks Robin! ;)

Almond Ice Cream
(This ice cream would be fabulous with the flourless chocolate torte below. It is unexpected to have almond ice cream; it would add a nice different mix to the dessert.)

1 ice cream maker
1 cup whole milk, chilled
1/2 cup sugar, granulated (The original recipe called for 3/4 cup;I cut the sugar back by 1/3, and it still tasted great!)
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and then chilled
1/4 cup shredded coconut (optional)

In bowl, whisk milk and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Stir in heavy cream and almond extract. Add to machine, and follow machine instructions. Add almonds and coconut during the last 5 minutes. Takes about 25 minutes, total. Serve immediately for soft serve texture, or freeze for a few hours to get hard ice cream.