Gluten Free Cornbread

We like a sweeter cornbread, so this is doused in warm butter and honey. Tonight we had chili and cornbread because it is my husband's favorite. If you haven't seen Rachel Ray's beer chili recipe, check it out- it's amazing. I only had Bud Light and not a stout beer, but it was still great. Back to the cornbread...SO good. It is VERY difficult to tell this is gluten free. Our kids

fight over this, which means you definitely need to try it!

Gluten Free Cornbread

1 cup Jules or other all purpose gf flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

3 T. sugar

2 1/2 t. baking powder

3/4 t. salt

1 T. butter

2 beaten eggs

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter-melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Mix dry ingredients and whisk

3. Mix eggs, milk and 3/4 c. melted butter

4. Mix dry ingredients slowly into wet ingredients until just mixed-do not over stir

5. Place the 1 T. butter in your round baking dish and place in hot oven until butter is melted (about 1 minute)

6. Pour batter into buttered round pan

7. Bake 15-20 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean!

***I don't recommend using any type of electric mixers...Wooden spoons and spatulas work great and prevent over-mixing which just gets you heavy brick-like baked goods.

This delicious recipe comes from http://glutenfreemommy.com/

GF Cinnamon Rolls

I think it's the same for all of us. We walk past Cinnabon in the mall and immediately start salivating. What is it with the smell wafting out? Butter, cinnamon, frosting, puffy, soft bread...Take your pick. Last week we passed by Cinnabon and my GF husband almost wept. So I was determined to make a gluten free cinnamon roll that was at least par with Cinnabon. No small feat. This is my very first attempt at GF cinnamon rolls. I think they turned out perfectly! The ONLY thing I would have done differently is to bake them in a smaller pan so they are all touching and kind of bake together. Mine turned out great for making individual servings all perfectly rounded. This is a great recipe and definitely worth the different steps.

I like to use saran wrap to roll out gf dough so it doesn't get sticky.

Then you can also use the saran wrap on the bottom to roll the dough.

Here the rolls have doubled in size and are ready to bake. I let them sit for about an hour and a half. Again, next time I'll use a smaller pan so they grow together more.

This is why you flip the pan out onto your serving platter...The gooey stuff stays on top and dribbles down over the rolls.

They smell this good while baking.

Recipe for GF Cinnamon Rolls

ROLLS:

1/4 c. water (warm for proofing yeast)

1 T sugar

1 pkt. yeast

1 t. vanilla

1 t. salt

2 eggs

4 T. melted butter

3/4 c. milk

3 c. GF flour ( I prefer Jules)

1/4 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

***All items should be at room temp.

FILLING:

4 T. melted butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 1/2 T. cinnamon

FROSTING:

3 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

THE HOW TO:

1. Proof the yeast in warm water with 1 T. sugar about 5 minutes or until good and frothy

2. In small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and baking powder

3. In large mixing bowl, beat vanilla, salt, eggs, melted butter and milk

4. Add yeast mixture, scraping down sides

5. Add flour mix little by little until all incorporated

6. Line counter top with layer of saran wrap and spray with PAM

7. Dough in center and use hands to flatten out, then place second sheet of saran wrap on top and roll into a 10"x 18"-ish rectangle

8. Remove top layer of saran wrap (you may not even need it if the dough isn't sticky) and spread with the 4 T. melted butter for the filling.

9. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the dough

10. Begin rolling on one end of the dough by pulling up the saran wrap under the dough and helping it along.

11. Slice in 8-10 equal pieces and place in a greased baking dish.

12. Cover with saran wrap and place in a warm place to allow the dough to rise. It should double in size.

***Can also put pan into fridge at this point to bake the next day.

13. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top and bottom are golden

14. Flip out the entire pan onto a serving platter to allow the cinnamon sugar that has run out to coat the top.

15. Mix up the frosting by blending all together and spread on rolls. You can let them cool first or just glop it on the hot rolls. Either way it's Heaven!

Hope you Enjoy!

GF Orange Chocolate Cake

Hello again! I promise this blog is still alive. Life has been crazy

for the last couple of months. I really haven't tried any new GF

recipes up until tonight-I've just been resurrecting oldies. But

thanks to one of my bests, Stacy, (see photo at bottom) for sharing

this fabulous recipe with me, I have gotten back on the bloggin' wagon.

This orange chocolate cake is in one word Fabulous. It also calls for a

crazy amount of orange that will have you going "Whaaaaat?", but

trust the recipe-it tastes delish! If you are a fan of orange and

chocolate together, then this recipe is for you. Try it out for

a dinner party because you can sure fancy it up. Unfortunately I had

to frost it (read glue it) with chocolate after I accidentally dropped the thing and

it split in two. Still delicious. My very discerning crew gobbled it up! Thanks Stace!

The first thing you do (like 2 or 3 hours before you plan on baking) is

boil 2 large oranges or 3 cute clementines in water for 2 hours. That is

a WEIRD thing to do with oranges!!! Stay with me.

Aaaaand, then you pulverize those softened oranges in your food

processor. Peel, pith, juice, everything. (But the seeds). We are

talking serious orange flavor here.

The bulk of the batter is made up of almond flour. It adds a smooth,

nutty flavor to the chocolate. We have a lot of nutty around here.

Moist, firm, smooth orangy-chocolatey goodness. Enjoy!

Stacy and I with our crew in Portland, Christmas 2010. Love ya Stace! (I told you

I was kidding about posting a picture of you 8 months pregnant!)

Recipe for GF Orange Chocolate Cake

2 oranges

6 eggs

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups ground almonds

1 1/4 c. superfine sugar

1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa

Put whole oranges in a pan and fill with water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 2 hours or until soft. Drain and once cool, slice and remove any big seeds/ends. Once completely cooled, place in food processor (the whole orange...peel, pith and all) and pulse. Add eggs, baking powder, baking soda, almonds, sugar and cocoa and process until smooth. Pour into greased 8" spring form pan and bake in 350 degree oven for an hour. Check after 45 minutes, as the top tends to be done but center needs a bit more time. Put piece of tin foil over cake and continue to bake until tester comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar or orange peel, if desired.

***Stacy recommends drinking red wine with this dessert. I concur.

Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pancake

Recipe for Gluten Free Dutch Apple Pancake

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2/3 cup flour (Use Jules or other GF all purpose flour for gluten free)

6 tblsp. butter, divided

3 tblsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 apple or pear, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 lemon

2 tblsp. confectioner’s sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Add the eggs, milk, flour, 4 tablespoons melted butter, sugar and vanilla to a blender. Blend until well mixed.

Melt the remaining two tablespoons of butter in a heavy, cast iron skillet over medium- high heat. Add the apple slices and stir to coat with the butter. Pour in the batter and transfer immediately to preheated oven.

Cook for approximately 35 minutes or until edges have puffed up and are golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dust with confectioner’s sugar. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Thanks to: Never Enough Thyme http://www.lanascooking.com

Mini cherry crumbles-Gluten Free of course!

Aren't these mini crumbles cute? These are for dessert tonight and I think they might need

a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. They were super-easy to make, and if you have Jules

Gluten Free Flour or another all-purpose flour you are set!

The filling goes in the shells after they have cooked 10 minutes and then the remainder

of the crumble goes on top of the cherries. They cook another 15 minutes. Be sure to spray

cupcake tins first with PAM and they will scoop right out after they have cooled.

RECIPE FOR GLUTEN FREE MINI CHERRY CRUMBLES

Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin tins

1 can cherry pie filling or other fruit filling

Mix:

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup GF or regular flour

1 cup oats

Add:

6 T. melted butter and stir

Press enough crumble into the bottom and sides of about 9 muffin cups

and leave a little crumble to sprinkle on the top of the cherries

Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes then spoon your filling into each shell and

sprinkle the remaining crumble on top of each cherry mound

Bake again for 15 minutes or until the top is golden

Let cool for 20 minutes in tins, then cut around outside with a knife and

carefully remove to a cooling rack.

Summer Dessert: BBQ Brandied Peaches 'n Cream (GF of course!)

I know! Peaches on the BBQ! What a delicious and easy way to use those tasty summer peaches. I was trying to come up with a gluten free dessert to make for Matt's parents who are in town. I thought about a cobbler, a pie or even a crisp. Then I thought about how much work I would have to do to make batter or dough. But since it took me so long to look up recipes, I had basically timed myself out of being able to make anything. Then I saw this recipe on Food Gawker. Of course I made a few changes, because I'm lazy and forget what I'm supposed to do. The peaches were really good and better topped with Haagen Dazs. (Isn't everything?)

First you slice the peaches in half and remove the pit. Then you dip them face down in a mixture of brandy and honey, then dip them into a mix of brown sugar and cinnamon. This is the peaches ready for the grill.

Here are the peaches post-grilling ready for ice cream. Aren't they pretty?

BBQ Peaches: How To

There really isn't a recipe per se, just ingredients thrown together. Here's what I did:

Drizzle on a plate: Honey and Brandy- enough to coat the face of all your peaches

On another plate: 1/4 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 t cinnamon.

Dip halved and pitted peaches into honey mix then brown sugar.

Make sure grill is REALLY clean. You don't want old charred chicken bits sticking to the peaches! Then spray PAM so they don't stick.

Grill peaches face down first for 3-4 minutes (depending on how ripe your peaches are)

Flip over and grill face up for another 3-4 minutes or until a knife easily drops through. You want it soft enough to eat with a spoon. We had our grill at about 350-375.

Sooo good with vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

Gluten Free Focaccia Bread

Thought I would try another GF bread adventure last night and it actually turned out fabulous. I had this idea of eating lightly broiled focaccia, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt, cracked pepper and herbs. Sometimes I'm disappointed but this time I wasn't. The texture was spot-on, the crust crispy and the flavor was huge. I adapted this recipe from the Gluten Free Goddess but of course switched out her flours for Jules All Purpose GF Flour.

I sliced the baked wedges in half and brushed them with EVOO, and broiled them a minute or so until the top was crispy. We dipped them in oil and vinegar, and ate some topped with tomatoes and parmesan. Lots of options for the easy easy easy bread!!!

*** PS...This is another recipe that does NOT taste GF. Nobody will know.

Turn on the oven briefly- to warm it- then turn it off.

Whisk together these dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

2 1/2 cups All Purpose GF Flour (recommend Jules or Better Batter)
2 teaspoons xanthan gum (Not needed if using Jules or BB)
1/ 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried basil

Proof the yeast in a large glass measuring cup:
Add 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast- or rapid yeast to:
1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cup warm water (at 110 degrees F)
A pinch of raw sugar

When the yeast is poofy, pour the mixture into the dry ingredients and add:
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey or raw agave nectar (this helps bind and keep texture moist)
1/2 teaspoon mild rice vinegar or lemon juice
1 egg whisked

Stir to combine. The dough should be sticky- it doesn't really feel like typical wheat bread dough-

more like a thick muffin batter. Scoop the dough into a 9-inch, greased cake pan dusted with

cornmeal. Using wet hands pat and shape the dough into a rounded loaf. Sprinkle with extra herbs and a little sea salt.

Place the pan into the warm oven and allow it to rest and rise for 20 minutes or until doubled.

Turn on the oven to 400 degrees F. Set the timer for 10 minutes, then turn oven down to

350 degrees F for another 12-15 minutes. Bake until golden and firm. If you thump it it should sound hollow.

Remove from the pan as soons you can and cool it on a wire rack. Slice with a sharp bread knife.

Makes 8 wedges. If you bake at a lower altitude, or you use eggs, the loaf might be done sooner- closer to 22 to 25

minutes. Keep an eye on it.

Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

Gluten Free Coconut Macaroons

This recipe is from Ina Garten, whom I love! Even though most of her recipes contain gluten, there are a few gluten free gems in her cookbook. These macaroons are so easy to make and are chewy and gooey. Delish.

Ina Garten's recipe for Coconut Macaroons

14 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 extra large egg whites, at room temp.

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Combine

Coconut, condensed milk and vanilla in large bowl

Whip

Egg whites and salt on high speed in separate bowl until med. peaks form

Fold

Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture

Drop

Batter onto parchment lined baking sheets in about 2 tsp. scoops

Bake

25-30 minutes at 325 degrees until golden brown

Cool and Serve!

Also can be dipped in chocolate...

Gluten Free Coconut Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie has always been a favorite of ours, but once we became a gluten free household, it was something we had to say goodbye to. I always knew I could probably whip up some graham crackers from scratch...Yeah right. So when I finally found GF graham crackers online I ordered 4 boxes right away. Kinickkinick foods...You are my hero. These graham crackers are pretty good as a cracker. But crumbled up and combined with coconut, butter, sugar and almond flour for a crust...Divine.

Recipe for GF Key Lime Pie

Crust:

Crumble or mash one box of GF graham crackers, or about 1 cup

1/4 cup almond flour

1/4 cup chopped coconut

1/4 cup sugar

6T melted butter

Stir all together and pat into tart pan or pie dish

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes-allow to cool several min. before pouring filling in

Filling: (From the Nellie and Joe's lime juice bottle)

1/2 cup key lime juice

3 egg yolks

1 can sweetened condensed milk

Mix well with beaters and pour into baked crust

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Chill several hours or overnight before serving

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Ok, so cut-out sugar cookies have been on my list of items to learn how to bake Gluten Free for a looooong time. I have kind of avoided it because sugar cookies have always been a favorite with my family and we have amazing recipes that have been passed down through generations. I guess I haven't wanted to tarnish the memories of these delicious treats by making a less-great gluten free version. It finally took my GF husband BEGGING for sugar cookies, for me to finally take the plunge. And OH MY, OH MY...

These cookies have an amazing moist, crumbly inside just the way a sugar cookie should. They don't fall apart like a lot of GF baked goods...Actually, there isn't anything about this cookie that screams "GF". It is buttery, sweet and smooth.

I used better batter for my universal GF baking flour and as usual, I was not disappointed. As you can see from this photo, this looks like a typical sugar cookie batter.

I like to use parchment paper when rolling out dough...It keeps it from sticking and the clean-up is a breeze.

After rolling to the desired thickness, just peel the top layer of paper away and you are ready to cut-out!

Cutting, cutting, cutting...This dough is really easy to work with.

These babies are done after only 8 minutes.

Time to decorate and try not to eat more than 2 in a sitting, because we are saving these for Dear Hubby when he gets home from work. I did eat a few of the burned ones...My kids each had a couple. I promise there were some left for DH when he got home! He seriously enjoyed them (we all did) and couldn't even tell they were GF...The best compliment for a GF baker!

Have fun with these, and get out this recipe for holidays or just on a sunny, Spring morning, when you want to surprise your fam!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Recipe

Sift 2 1/2 cups Better Batter (Already contains xantham gum)

2 t. Baking Powder

1/2 t. Salt

Cream 3/4 Cup Butter (1 1/2 sticks)

3/4 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs (Mix well between each addition)

2 t. Vanilla

Pinch of Nutmeg

Add dry mixture to butter mixture and mix well

Chill dough ball in fridge until firm (30 min)

Roll dough between parchment paper and cut out into shapes

Bake at 375 degrees for 8-12 minutes, or until cookies JUST start to brown

Cool on rack and frost.

Enjoy! This recipe was adapted from Shauna's cookie recipe on http://www.glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com, with a little of my mom's famous shortbread cookie recipe thrown in.