Cheerful Summer Treat (contains gluten)

I made these white-chocolate dipped pretzels for an end-of-school party for my daughter and they were a huge hit with the parents and the kids! Super easy to make...Just melt the candy melts in the microwave, dip your pretzels and lay on wax paper while sprinkling decorations. That's it! They harden in a couple of hours and are good to go! The hardest part was actually finding bags of pretzel rods at the store that hadn't been mashed. These would be fun for all of the holidays as well with different colors and sprinkles...Endless possibilities! (I am still on the hunt for gluten free pretzel rods!)

UPDATE: I made these for the 4th of July and they were very festive!

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 Banana Cake with Milky Way Icing

Ok, so when I realized that you could literally melt a candy bar to ice a cake, I ran to the store to buy some. This cake is iced with 3 melted Milky Way's! Yu-umm. The banana cake is light and moist, with a crispy sugary crust. Alone, the cake would be amazing. But this recipe calls for 3 Milky Way's and I'm not one to deviate from a recipe. Unfortunately Milky Way bars do have barley malt in them which contains gluten, but as this is only a small amount, I went ahead and made them for my gluten-sensitive husband anyway. Mars does make Milky Way chocolate covered caramels that are gluten free which would also be delicious as icing.

Here is the recipe!

Gluten Free Banana Cake with Milky Way Icing

SIFT: In a small bowl

1 3/4 Cups Better Batter (or any gluten free all purpose flour mix)

1 1/2 t. Baking Powder

1/4 t. Baking Soda

Pinch of Salt

MIX: I used the whisk attachment instead of the paddle for a lighter texture

1 Stick of butter

1/4 Cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 Cup sugar

ADD to wet mixture:

2 Eggs, one at a time and mix

1 t. Vanilla

2 Bananas-ripe, mashed

MIX into wet mixture:

3/4 Cup Milk, alternating with dry mixture, until smooth

POUR:

Batter into greased 8 or 9" cake pan.

Tips...I LOVE the PAM spray with flour for baking. Nothing sticks. I also cut out a circle from parchment paper to put in the bottom of the cake pan to help it come out clean.

BAKE:

350 degrees for 45 min-55 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Milky Way Icing

MELT: Whisking until smooth

3 Milky Way Bars (chopped)

1/2 Cup Whipping Cream

3 T. Brown sugar

1 T. Butter

When it is all melted, remove from heat and continue whisking to bring the temp. down and allow it to thicken. When it isn't too runny, pour over the cooled cake and you're done!

Recipe courtesy of: http://lesgourmandisesdisa.blogspot.com/2010/04/gateau-aux-bananes-glacage-aux-barres.html. I made it gluten free by substituting Better Batter for flour.

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.

Maddie's newly painted room

Here are the pictures of Maddie's room, finally done. Wow, stripes are a lot of work, but really cute in the end. These pics are of the room before the art work on the walls went up, the chandelier and the new curtains went in. Our Aunt Ann helped paint all of these stripes while she was visiting...Thank you again Ann!

Gluten Free Texas Cookies

I discovered this gooey concoction on Food Gawker yesterday, and decided to try a GF version. One of the things I love best about Better Batter is how easy it is to substitute it into regular recipes. It is a one for one exchange. These yummy chocolate chip cookies are so good we barely let them cool before digging in. They are a bar cookie and are not over-baked...You want them gooey and chewy. It is a great base for whatever you want to throw on. I threw chocolate chips on the whole thing, and then a row of nuts and a row of Reeces Peanut Butter chips. You wouldn't know these were gluten free, they are smooth and chewy with a great texture.

A piece of parchment paper on your cookie sheet makes it easy to remove. Once the batter is spread onto the sheet you can throw on whatever you want...Chocolate, butterscotch, coconut, nuts sprinkles...Endless possibilities. And I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to throw a scoop of ice cream on the side. I also wanted to add that if you don't need to cook gluten free, just substitute the Better Batter for flour. It is 1:1.

Here it is straight out of the oven...Just cut into bars and dig in. Due to the amount of brown sugar and butter, it tastes like soft and chewy toffee. I think I'm going to eat another one right now.

Gluten Free Texas Cookies

Sift together 1 cup Better Batter,

1/2 tsp. baking powder,

1/2 tsp. salt in a small bowl

Cream one stick butter,

2 cups brown sugar

Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time (mix well)

Add 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix in flour mixture until well mixed

Spread onto parchment-lined or greased cookie sheet

Sprinkle on any toppings you would like...Chocolate, coconut, nuts...

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, and *promptly remove.

Cool and Cut!

*These cookies are meant to be chewy-gooey, do not overcook.

Recipe courtesy of:

http://www.thibeaultstable.com/2010/04/texas-cookies.html