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.

GF Banana coconut crumble muffins

These "muffins" turned out really good. They are "muffins" because they are almost cupcakes. What is the difference anyway? These are made with butter and sugar, but I feel like the bananas and coconut add a little fiber and nutrition-so that's why they are "muffins". Once again, I'm amazed at how awesome Jules GF flour is. I was expecting flat-tops and I got puffy little mounded muffins! So cute! Jules has yet to disappoint.

By leaving some of the banana diced instead of mashed, you get little chunks of yummy banana in every bite.

Recipe for GF Banana coconut crumble muffins

Preheat to 350-Makes 12 muffins

Crumble-Mix with a fork until crumbly-set aside

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. Jules or other all purpose GF flour

1/4 c. coconut

1 T. melted butter

Whisk in small bowl

1 1/2 c. Jules or any All purpose GF flour

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

Mix in large bowl

1 1/2 t. vanilla

2/3 c. sugar

1 lg. egg

Add (whisk-in) to wet

6 T. Slightly cooled melted butter (not too hot or it will cook the egg)

Add gently to wet

1 c. or 2 mashed ripe bananas

1 diced banana (in chunks)

Optional add-ins

1/4 c. coconut

1/4 c. chopped walnuts or other

Mix dry into wet with a spatula, do not over mix

Fill muffin liners about 3/4 full

Drop crumble mix on top of each uncooked muffin

Bake 20-25 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean!

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!

Jules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour

I can't believe I haven't done my Jules post yet! I meant to do this a month ago. I've been using this miraculous flour without giving credit where it is due. Here it goes!

I used to be a Better Batter disciple. It was the first all purpose baking powder I tried after being really disappointed by Bob's Red Mill. And I tried Bob's after baking from scratch with 5 different flours with less than inspiring results. So, I'm using Better Batter and it is great. But it is still missing the texture of wheat flour. So baked goods are just slightly off. Then one day I'm searching my GF sites and I was drawn to the fun, whimsical packaging of Jules. I decided to order some and give it a whirl. I did my shake test before opening it to test the grittiness. It didn't sound like sand being shaken in a bag! This flour is soft and fluffy! Seriously, it's hard to tell it is gluten free. It truly can be substituted 1:1 in most any recipe. There is NO after taste, NO grittiness, NO brick-like heaviness. Just light, fluffy baked goods. You do need to practice GF baking tips like not over-mixing and always whisking or sifting, but beyond that it is pretty awesome!

I am a fan of not having to purchase 5 different flours/starches/xantham gum to create usable GF flour. Jules makes it so easy and it honestly tastes delicious. Ok, that is my Jules post. Please buy this product for your GF baking because you owe it to yourself or whomever you bake GF for, to EAT GOOD FOOD. Happy baking!