GF Oatmeal Raisin Bars

3/4 cup vegan butter (Can use butter if you aren't dairy free)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups GF flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups GF oats, quick or old fashioned

1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars with hand mixer or by hand until fairly smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix flour mixture into the bowl with the other ingredients. When mixed, add in oatmeal and raisins. Press dough into a 13x9 inch pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a light golden browned. Cool on a wire rack and cut into 15 bars. 

Candy Cane Mallo Pops

• 1 Bag of Large Marshmallow (check ingredients Jet-Puffed contains blue dye)
• Mini Candy Canes (You CAN find dye free)
• Crushed Candy Canes
• Bag of Chocolate Chips (I use Enjoy Life brand, it's gluten and dairy free)

Insert a candy cane into each marshmallow. Crush candy canes so you have about 1/2 cup. Very carefully melt chocolate. Dip each marshmallow into chocolate, then in crushed candy canes. Set on non stick foil, wax paper or parchment paper. Let cool. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Ginger Molasses Cookies

 

2 cups gluten free flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup dairy free margarine or vegan butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sugar for rolling

Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, cloves and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl mix the margarine with the brown sugar. Beat with a handheld mixer. Add eggs, molasses, vanilla, and beat til smooth. Add half the flour mixture, mixing until smooth, then add remaining flour. 

Refrigerate at least one hour or overnight. When ready, scoop about 1 1/2 TBS of dough. Roll in ball and roll in sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup coconut oil
1 can (16oz) pumpkin
3 1/2 cups GF flour (I used Pamela's Artisan Blend)
4 eggs
2/3 cups water
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt


Mix sugar and oil together. (Coconut oil solidifies around 76 degrees.  If yours is solid, warm it to bring it back to liquid.) Mix in eggs and pumpkin. In separate bowl, combine flour, spices and soda. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mix alternately with water. Pour into 2 well greased 9x5 in loaf pans. Bake 350 1 1/2 hours or until done. Remove from pan to cool. If using 3 smaller loaf pans, check at 1 hour.

Another Gluten Free Banana Bread

You wake up in the morning to the milk smelling a little on the sour side. You reach for a banana instead, but overnight they have all turned black. What's one to do? Some might opt for a pregnancy test since everything seems off. For me? That means it's time to make banana bread.

I was given a recipe in the 1980's for banana bread that required sour milk. The problem was, we went through milk so quickly, it never had a chance to sour. I had to improvise. Nowadays, my milk nearly always goes past the best by date. One latte a day doesn't use it up fast enough. So whether you have sour milk or not, make sure you have very ripe bananas. Here is my altered-through-the-years recipe for a nice gluten free bread.

1-1/2 cups sugar (depends on how ripe they are, less for black, more for yellow)
1/2 c. coconut oil (Below 76 degrees it is solid like shortening, over that and it melts to oil)
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
2 eggs
2 cups GF flour ( I used a new one  )
2-4 bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
5 TBS sour milk (If you don't have sour milk, add 1/2 tsp lemon juice to milk)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt

Dissolve 1 tsp. baking soda into milk, set aside. In large bowl, cream sugar and coconut oil together.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Measure out 2 cups of flour and add salt to it. Alternate flour and milk mixture into the sugar/oil until well blended. Add mashed bananas and nuts, stirring well.

Pour into a large, greased loaf pan, or 3 small ones. (I couldn't find my large loaf pan, so used 2 medium sized loaf pans. They came out on the small size, but oh well.

Bake large loaf for an hour at 350 degrees, smaller loaves for 45 minutes. Test for doneness with toothpick inserting in the middle. If it comes out clean its finished.  If not, bake an additional 5 minutes and test again.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Donuts

This was my first try at gluten free donuts.  The original recipe came from King Arthur's Flour site.  Their recipe as written is not gluten free.  Besides using gluten free flour, I only made a few minor changes.

1 1/2 cups of Canned Pumpkin
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cups of Gluten Free Flour
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ginger

Mix oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spices, salt, and baking powder together until smooth.  Gradually add the flour, stirring until well blended.  Spray a donut pan with non stick spray.  Fill each one about 2/3 full.  Bake 15-18 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  

Let cool 5 minutes in pan.  Loosen by running a knife around edges of each donut.  Remove to a wire rack.  Dust with cinnamon and sugar mix, or add a glaze.

I like this mix for topping the donuts:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon

Not sure if everyone is aware, but King Arthur's packages not only their lovely gluten free flour, but they also carry a line of the dreaded All Purpose, Gluten Stuffed Flour.  Please don't make the mistake of buying their regular all purpose thinking you are baking gluten free.

The flours to the left are both made from wheat flour and are not gluten free.

If you are planning to bake gluten free, please look for this flour that specifically says gluten free on the front.  The bread flour with the blue label looks similar.

Gluten Free Owl Cupcakes

I forgot to post the owl cupcakes. Elisabeth & Brian made these gluten free cupcakes for Hilary's birthday.

GF Brownies with Peanut Butter Swirls

For the brownies, I started with a delightful, flourless recipe I found on the Whole Food's Website.

1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 cup melted butter, more for the baking dish
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons  sugar
1/2 cup gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (Since I was adding peanut butter, I didn't add nuts)

*1/2 cup honey peanut butter (I used Bee's Knees which is gf, but you can mix 1/2 TBS honey in regular or crunchy peanut butter)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter an 8-inch baking pan. Place the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Remove the blade and gently stir in the chocolate chips. Transfer mixture to the prepared pan.

Soften peanut butter in microwave for 20 seconds.  Drop by spoonfuls onto brownie batter.  Using a knife, swirl peanut butter.

Bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set in the center. Cool before cutting into squares.

*A special note to those who are trying to make a gluten free treat, but aren't familiar with cooking gluten free. When using a jar of peanut butter, if it has been opened and a knife used to spread on wheat bread (this includes "white" bread also) the peanut butter is contaminated with wheat. It is not suitable for gluten free baking. Open a new jar to bake gluten free. Whomever you're baking for will appreciate it.

GF Peppermint Bark

My nephew started a baking blog.  I shared a couple of his recipes when he was here visiting.  His first blog recipe is Polygonal Peppermint Bark.  After hearing how wonderful it was, I embarked on my own journey to create a gluten free candy/dessert. I love mint, and thought a layer of dark chocolate would be delightful with the white chocolate. I have one daughter who does not like mint, so I tried not to make it too minty. If I was making this for myself, I'd add a bit more mint.

9 oz. Bakers Premium White Chocolate
1 Bag Ghiradelli Dark or Semi Sweet Chocolate
4 tsp. shortening, divided
2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2-3/4 cup crushed candy canes

Line 9 x 13 inch pan with non stick foil or parchment paper.  Place dark chocolate in glass dish and melt in microwave.  I have a setting to melt chocolate and used that.  Do not overheat.  Stir frequently to avoid burning.  Stir in 2 tsp. peppermint extract.  Spread in pan.  Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to harden.

Melt white chocolate as you did the dark.  You can add more peppermint if desired, but I left the white layer plain.  Spread over dark chocolate.  Sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top.  Place in refrigerator to harden.  Can be broken or cut into pieces for serving.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

I was in the mood to experiment with cookies last night. So far, my favorite gluten free cookies are these Peanut Butter Cookies.


I found this recipe for thin mint cookies that are gluten free. I would have followed the recipe exactly (as I'm known to do only occasionally) but I didn't have all of the ingredients. So this is what I came up with:

2 1/4 cups GF Oat Flour
1/4 cup Cornstarch
6 TBS Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Coconut Oil (Contrary to the name, this is solid at room temperature)
1 cup Sugar
1/3 cups Milk*
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3/4 tsp Peppermint Extract

Chocolate Topping:
2 cups GF Chocolate Chips (Ghirardelli Semi-sweet were perfect)
1/2 cup Butter or Coconut Oil
1/8 tsp Peppermint Extract

Place coconut oil in a large bowl. I microwaved mine for 15 seconds to soften. Cream oil and sugar together. In a separate bowl blend flour, cornstarch, & cocoa. Add in flour until mixed well. Split dough in half. Shape each into logs about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Slice each log into 1/4 inch circles. Line baking sheet with non-stick foil. If you don't have non-stick, use parchment paper. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Melt chocolate, butter/oil, and mint extract carefully in the microwave or double boiler. Dip each cookie into the chocolate. Use a fork to remove. Place on non-stick foil to harden. (I used the same foil I lined the baking pan.) Can be placed in freezer or refrigerator to harden more quickly.

*For gluten free, casein free omit milk and use coconut milk. Instead of butter, use coconut oil.

GF Banana Bread or muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar (if bananas aren't real ripe, use up to 1 1/2 cups sugar, white sugar can be used)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups gluten free flour (I used a flour combination of white, brown rice, sorghum, tapicoa flours and xanthan gum)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup sourdough discard
1/2 cup pecans
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas

In a bowl or large measuring cup, mix flours, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream butter & sugar together. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk. Add mashed bananas, then fold in pecans. Spread into greased pan(s). Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes-1 hour.

For muffins, bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.   

GF Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

I'll experiment more with this type of bread. It was a big hit and gone the first day.

1 pkg. bread mix (I used Pamela's Wheat Free Bread Mix)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Blend sugar and cinnamon together. Prepare bread mix for baking in oven. Spray a bundt pan with oil. Drizzle a couple of TBS of butter in pan. Sprinkle 3-4 TBS of sugar/cinnamon and 1/3 of nuts. Plop spoonfuls of dough to cover the bottom of pan. Brush or drizzle more butter and another layer of sugar mix & nuts. Spoon the rest of the dough in balls in another layer and finish with the remaining butter, cinnamon/sugar, and nuts.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 40 minutes or so. I place it in the oven to rise. I don't preheat, just turn the oven on. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Invert on plate, let cool slightly, and serve warm.

This time I made a glaze for the top:
1 1/2 TBS butter, melted
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 TBS milk

Mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Drizzle milk in until desired consistency.

Ice Cream Pie

This pie recipe comes from PW's Place. It is topped with caramel. I am not a caramel fan, so I found it necessary to add chocolate. Nobody noticed that it was gluten free.

Crust:
2 large Egg Whites
¼ tsp Salt
¼ cup Sugar
1 cup Pecans, Finely Chopped

Filling:
1/2 gallon Ice Cream (Vanilla or 1/4 vanilla, 1/4 coffee or other flavor )

Caramel Topping:
4 TBS Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar, Packed
½ cup Cream or Half and Half
Dash of Salt
1 TBS Vanilla

Chocolate Drizzle:
1/2 cup gf Chocolate Chips
1 scant TBS Coconut Oil or Butter

To make the crust:

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add sugar and salt and beat until well blended. Fold in nuts. Spread mixture in a pie tin, (not glass) covering the bottom and sides well. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, at 350 degrees. Remove from oven when crust is light golden brown. Watch closely the last few minutes, as it browns quickly. Allow crust to cook completely.

Let ice cream soften a bit before spreading into pie crust. If using 2 flavors, layer coffee ice cream first, then vanilla on top.

To make the caramel sauce:

Mix butter, brown sugar, cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium low heat. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla and cook another minute to thicken. Let cool.

When crust is cool, remove ice cream from freezer. Allow to soften. When soft, spread in crust. Top with a layer of caramel sauce.

Gently melt chocolate chips and butter on low in sauce pan or in microwave. Drizzle over the caramel. Place pie in freezer until ready to eat.

Pumpkin Pie Fail

I decided to practice my gluten free pumpkin pies before Thanksgiving. I wanted to do one crustless and one with crust. Last year I made one gfcf, thanks to coconut milk. I couldn't remember what I did for the crust. I found some lovely, albeit expensive, gluten free crusts. I grabbed a can of Libby's Pumpkin and set to work. I followed the recipe on the back label-as I did back in my gluten days.

As I measured the sugar, it didn't seem quite right. I peered at the label more closely. One quarter of a cup. I poured half the contents into the prepared shell, and the other half into a prepared pie tin. They smelled wonderful while baking.

Elisabeth sent me a text message. She was having a lousy evening at work. I asked her if pumpkin pie would make it any better. She answered, "absolutely!" I felt like such a good mom.

She sampled this first slice.


"Hmmm...it isn't very sweet." Oh no. My suspicions were right. I knew one quarter of a cup didn't sound right. I retrieved the can from the trash.

"Elisabeth, how much sugar does this recipe say to use?"

"Three-fourths of a cup."

Sigh. It's obvious. I need reading glasses.

Click here for another pumpkin pie story.

Another Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe

1 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter (I used half of each)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
Blend baking powder and sugar, then cream together with peanut butter.  Add egg and vanilla.  In a small bowl, pour additional sugar, 2 TBS or so.  Roll dough into balls, then in sugar.  Place on baking pan lined with silicone lining or non-stick foil.  Dip fork tines into sugar and flatten a criss-cross into each cookie ball.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet before removing.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Gluten Free White Chocolate Cheesecake

This is a delightful cheesecake made by my nephew Kestrel. It is a no crust cheesecake so gluten free. Yay! I was in the kitchen "helping" him, but as I'm looking at the recipe he gave me, I'm quite certain that he did not follow the directions he gave me. Sigh. He bakes the way I cook, lol. I'm going to copy what he gave me and I'll come back and change it if necessary.

And this is the fine young man who created it.

4-8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. sugar
4 eggs, separated
8 oz. white chocolate

Place the following in large mixing bowl: softened cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg yolks. Mix thoroughly. Melt white chocolate-reserving 2 oz. or so for topping, and combine with cream cheese mix. Beat egg whites until stiff. Gently fold in beaten egg whites, until blended.

Pour into a greased springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until center if fully cooked. Let cool.

Melt extra white chocolate chips in a saucepan with a little bit of sugar and milk. Pour over top and spread evenly.

For the cool design: while the chocolate on top is still warm, melt a small amount of dark chocolate in the microwave and pour in to a plastic bag, (or icing bag if you have one.) Make four or five circles, each larger than the last in the middle of the cheesecake spreading out. Once finished with the circles, with a toothpick, do a line from the outside in, then the inside to out. make 8 lines in all.

Graham Crackers-Gluten Free

I had a great time baking this week with my nephew, Kestrel. His challenge was to make gluten free dessert. Since he loves to make cheesecake, he wanted to try his hand at gluten free graham crackers for the crust. He started with this recipe:

2 Cups Gluten free flour-we used 1 cup Bob's Red Mill, 1/2 cup quinoa flour, 1/2 cup white rice flour
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 TBS honey
2 T cold milk

Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl. Grate a stick of butter over all and with a fork blend in until it resembles a crumb mixture. (You can also just soften the butter and mix it in. But as most of you know, I prefer to do things last minute. Grating works better, in my humble opinion, than using soft butter.)

In a separate bowl, stir milk and honey together. Add to dry ingredients. Blend with fork, adding another tsp of milk if necessary for the dough to stick together.

On parchment paper, spread a little rice flour. Using half the dough, roll out into a 10 x 14 inch rectangle. The dough should be about 1/16 inch thick. Trim the edges and prick dough with a fork. (I forgot to trim the edges here.) Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 16 rectangles.

Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes or until a light golden brown color. Let cool and break apart at scored marks. Repeat with other half of dough.

These make delightful smores!

Chocolate Cake w/raspberry sauce

I was so excited when I pulled this cake out of the oven. It looked like REAL cake. I haven't had great success with gluten free baking, and GFCF is even more of a challenge. I'd like to try this one again, using dairy products. But if you baking without, this worked wonderfully!

1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I used dark cocoa, if I'd used regular, I might have added up to 3/4 cup)
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup coconut milk (use regular milk if you aren't dairy free)
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup mayonnaise
4 eggs

Mix dry ingredients together. Beat eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until mixed well. Add vanilla, milk, and flour into dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased 9x13 inch cake pan or 2 round cake pans. Spread batter to edges and smooth evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 23-30 minutes. Toothpick inserted in center will come out clean when it is finished and cake will begin to pull away from the edges of the pan. Let cool before icing.

Chocolate Glaze:
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup honey
1-2 TBS hot water
3 TBS dairy free margarine (or butter for dairy lovers)
Add chocolate, honey, and water to melted margarine. Pour or spread over cake. Place cake in refrigerator to set.

Raspberry Sauce:
1 pint of strawberries, + more for garnish
1/4 cup sugar
2 TBS cornstarch
1 cup water
1/2 lime

Mix sugar and cornstarch in a pan. Add water and juice of half a lime. Heat over medium high heat. Add in raspberries and cook, stirring until sauce thickens. Strain through a fine metal seive to remove seeds. Cool in refrigerator until ready to use. Drizzle over cake, top with fresh strawberries and serve. Raspberry sauce can also be used over ice cream, pancakes, etc. Chocolate glaze can also be used as a topping, but thin with more water to make it pour easier.

GF Zucchini Bread

2 small zucchini (2 cups) grated zucchini
2 eggs
2 cups GF Baking Mix (I like Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 TBS orange juice or milk
a smidge of grated orange peel, to taste (optional)

Grate zucchini onto paper towel to absorb moisture. Mix baking mix, salt & cinnamon together. In another bowl beat eggs, oil, and sugar, & vanilla together. Add dry ingredients and blend. Fold in grated zucchini. Spoon into large greased loaf pan Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely. Blend glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle bread with glaze. Tastes almost like cake...delicious.

Gluten Free Peach Crisp

I'll have to add a pic of the finished product later. This was so delicious, I ate it before I even thought to take a photo.

4-5 peaches, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup certified gluten-free oatmeal (Gifts of Nature)
1/2 cup gluten-free baking mix (I use Pamela's)
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Lightly butter or grease a pie plate. Add peaches. Aren't they pretty?


Melt butter. Add in brown sugar, baking mix, cinnamon, and oats. Mix together and spread over the top of fruit.


Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees until lightly browned and juices are bubbling up. Enjoy with a dollop of ice cream after it has cooled a bit. If you don't have gf baking mix, just use a gluten free flour mix with a dash of salt.