A perfect way to close out the year: So many firsts!

I didn't intend to spend so much time away from my blog. The holidays are a time of confusion, worry and fear for newly diagnosed gluten intolerant folks, and so I had intended to share my favorite holiday recipes with you. And, then I had a family emergency.

My grandpa was not well, and we rushed to be at his bedside. Unfortunately, we got stuck in the first (and practically only) snow to track through the central United States. We did not make it in time to be with him, but we made it in time to support my family and to lean on them as we all grieved. After that, I've been in a funk. I haven't been able to get myself into the mood for much of anything. Christmas was something we tried to muddle through even though we never really felt like buying gifts or doing anything festive.

But we did it.

We got our annual Christmas letter out on-time, albeit very pared down from previous years. I think pretty much everyone got a gift from us. I'm behind on my thank-you notes, but I've done what I could to this point. The last item on my holiday checklist is my Three Kings Cake. I make one every January 6, hide a baby Jesus in it, and we make a game out of seeing who can find the hidden baby in a slice of cake. I have made a different style of King Cake every year, and I was searching through some of my favorite blogs to see what I could make this year.

One of my favorite bloggers is Gluten Free Girl, but she has started making all of her recipes by weight, which left me only able to enjoy her recipes visually. I felt unable to bake by weight, but her writing and culinary creations still inspired me.  As curious happenstance would have it, my dear best friend bought me a kitchen scale for Christmas. Only a week later I happened upon this gem of a recipe for Cardamom Fruit Bread on Gluten Free Girl's blog. I decided this bread would be a perfect challenge for me. My Grandpa had an uneaten fruitcake in his refrigerator before he went into the hospital. For whatever reason, I could not stop thinking about that fruitcake. I had never had fruitcake before, and had never really thought of trying it. I believed Johnny Carson that only one fruitcake was in existence and was re-gifted throughout history. But, there had been one in Grandpa's refrigerator, and this fruit bread on GFG's website looked like something I wanted to try. Besides, I had a kitchen scale now and had no excuse not to make it.

The only things I didn't have on hand were candied fruit and cardamom. Cardamom was easy to get, but I could not find any candied fruit without high fructose corn syrup. So, I bought golden raisins, dark raisins, chopped dates, green and red maraschino cherries (Yeah, I know, not healthy at all), and an orange. I chopped the cherries and the orange zest and then followed this recipe for candying fruits. Super simple! You should give it a try! I blanched the orange peel twice and then followed the syrup recipe. Once I made the simple syrup, I poured in some rum and then brought all of the dried fruit and orange peel to a simmer for 30 minutes.

I didn't have a bundt cake pan, but I did have an angel food cake pan. The end result was beautiful!

Lots of color throughout. My favorite part was the candied orange zest. Yum!

We worked on the bread for a couple of days, and then I decided to make french toast with the rest of it. I sliced up the leftover bread and used my recipe for Almond French Toast. I topped mine with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

And so, my hope for you is that your new year will be filled with newness. Try a new recipe. Bake by weight, if the fancy strikes you. Go out and accomplish that goal you've always dreamed of but were too afraid to try. Candy some fruit. It really isn't that hard. Whatever it is that you do, do it to the best of your ability. But, above all else - love. Have a very happy, love-filled (and fruit-bread-filled) new year!





Donut "Wholes"

Yes I know you can buy gluten-free donuts at the store.

But, there's just something about buying food that is vacuum sealed and contains a packet for freshness that says "DO NOT EAT." Yeah, something about that just isn't appetizing to me.

I made baked donut holes a while back (recipe here), and they turned out so well! But, I kinda wanted something more. I wanted a whole donut...the only problem being that I do not have a donut pan, nor do I intend to buy one any time soon.

And, so I present to you Donut Wholes - a complete donut with no hole in the middle. And yes, I know, that pretty much makes this a muffin. But, whatever. The texture is light and airy just like a delicious bakery-style donut. So, I'm still calling it a donut. You are free to call it whatever you would like. I make these in a muffin pan, filling each cup about 1/2 full. If you fill the cups more than that, the mixture grows and expands and starts looking a little too muffin-ish. At that point, you can't really get away with calling it anything but a muffin!

This was also my first time working with ground flax seed.

Glorious golden goodness right there.

***Donut Wholes

1/2 cup (heaping) brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 Tbsp. ground flax seed (about 1/2 Tbsp. whole flax seed) mixed into 2 Tbsp. boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp. almond milk
3 Tbsp. oil
2 eggs

Topping (if desired): Melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.

Using a coffee grinder, grind 1/2 Tbsp. whole flax seed. Add the ground flax seed to 2 Tbsp. boiling water. Set aside.

In medium-size bowl, combine brown rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and cinnamon. Stir until thoroughly combined. Slowly add in almond milk, eggs, oil and flax seed mixture. Stir until a smooth batter forms.

Grease 8 cups in a standard size muffin tin. Fill prepared muffin cups about 1/2 full. Bake 16-18 minutes, or until "donuts" spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool slightly, then brush with melted butter and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.

If you want them more like muffins, just brush butter and put cinnamon-sugar on the tops. Otherwise, go for the gold and coat the whole thing!

Just a word of caution. These muffins are fairly low fat, and so they have a tendency to stick to the muffin cups. Make sure you liberally grease the pan. Once they've cooled slightly, go around each "donut" with a fork until you are able to loosen it from the cup. Be patient. They usually don't break :)

Carrot Muffins - my new favorite!

Yum! Carrot muffins are my new favorite muffin, and I'm thrilled to be able to share this recipe with you! For my readers who don't eat GF, just use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour as a substitution for the white and brown rice flours.

I think muffins are my favorite GF "bread" product to make. Because they form a natural crust as they bake, I've found that I can skip out on the xanthan gum most of the time with no problem. My kids love having muffins for breakfast, and usually they freeze well for breakfasts on the go.

***Carrot Muffins
2 cups grated carrots (right around 4 large carrots)
3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup brown sugar (I mixed 3/4 Tbsp. molasses into 3/4 cup white sugar)
1/2 cup applesauce (I use naturally unsweetened)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 12-count muffin tin. In large mixing bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar. Stir until well combined. Slowly stir in 2 cups grated carrots, eggs, and applesauce until batter forms. Divide mixture evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If necessary, slowly go around the muffins with a knife to loosen them from the muffin tin.

Baked Donut Holes

Who ever said gluten-free breakfast had to be boring? Probably the same people who think good donuts have to be fried.

Last week, I woke up craving donut holes. I had no idea what to do, but I was determined to make them. The secret is to use a mini muffin tin. My mini muffin tin can make 24 mini muffins at once, and luckily, the batter I whipped up was the perfect amount to make 24 donut holes. I rolled the baked donut holes in melted butter and then powdered sugar, but you could do a cinnamon-sugar mixture instead. My whole family ate these up, and I look forward to making them again. I hope you love them too!

***Baked Donut Holes
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup corn starch
2 Tbsp. tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. oil
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup almond milk (regular milk will work, too)
Melted butter and desired donut hole topping (cinnamon-sugar, or powdered sugar work well)

Preheat oven to 350. In mixing bowl, mix sugar, brown and white rice flours, cornstarch, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum. Stir in egg, oil and vanilla. Slowly stir in almond milk (or regular milk) until soft dough forms. I did not grease my mini muffin tin, but you are welcome to do that if you think your pan will need to be greased. Roll dough into walnut-size balls (or slightly smaller) and place one ball in each mini muffin spot. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the donut holes turn a very light brown, or until each donut hole is firm to the touch (not hard, but firm). Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Roll donut holes in melted butter and then into desired topping.  A ratio of 1/2 cup sugar to 2 tsp. cinnamon works well. Or you can use plain powdered sugar. Serve while still warm. Makes 24 large donut holes, or 36 smaller donut holes.

Gluten-Free Pancakes - with variations

Everybody says that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but it is also the meal that is the easiest to skip. If I don't eat breakfast, it sets me up to make poor eating choices all day. I've also noticed, though, that almost all the popular breakfast items for Americans are breads, starches, and things that are totally filled with wheat/gluten. Part of it is that we are all so busy in our lives and with our schedules that we don't think we have time to make something more substantial for breakfast on work/school days. I relate to that. As a working mom, I hardly have time to get myself dressed some mornings, let alone make something healthy to eat before heading out the door. For me, the key to a healthy start in the morning is advance preparation.

This pancake recipe is a cinch to make. It also creates a fluffy pancake that freezes well. Pop it in the microwave and heat to thaw for 45 seconds, and you've got breakfast.

Pancakes before stepping out the door? Yes, please!

***Gluten-Free Pancakes
1 cup rice flour
1/3 cup plus 3 Tbsp. tapioca starch/flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
2 eggs
3 Tbsp. oil
1 1/2 cups water
dash of salt

In a mixing bowl, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, and dash of salt. Mix in eggs and oil. Slowly stir in water and beat well until batter is mostly smooth and few lumps remain. Heat large, greased skillet over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter into skillet for each pancake (you can make them larger or smaller if you want). Cook until bubbles form throughout pancake. Flip and cook until the pancakes are golden brown on each side. Serve warm.

Freezing leftovers: Allow pancakes to cool. Store in freezer bag with wax paper in between pancakes. I will make a layer of 4 pancakes in the bag, add wax paper, do another 4 pancakes, etc.

***Fruit-filled variations
For banana pancakes, mash one ripe banana and add to batter when you add in the eggs and oil.

For peach pancakes, drain one small diced peaches fruit cup and add peaches to batter when you add in the eggs and oil.

Breakfast Pie

Yesterday morning I woke up craving breakfast pizza. I wanted something breakfast-y with no cheese or milk, and I was coming up empty. I decided to make a breakfast pizza and skip the cheese, but then I realized I had no yeast. Ugh. So, breakfast pizza was not going to happen. Then I started thinking about quiche, but I didn't really want to spend the time making and rolling out a crust. That's when I got a weird idea.

Why not make a crust out of crushed Rice Chex? Ya know, kinda like a graham cracker crust, only not sweet? So, that's what I did!

***Rice Chex Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed Rice Chex
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. salt
dash black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Combine crushed Chex, melted butter, salt, and pepper in medium-size bowl. Pour mixture into pie plate and lightly press it into a crust shape. The mixture won't press totally flat, just try to even it out so that the whole bottom of the plate is covered as well as most of the sides. Bake for 10 minutes. Chex will lightly brown in the oven.

So, I had an awesome looking crust, but no idea what to put in it. I was still thinking about quiche, but I had no breakfast meat, and was trying to avoid milk and cheese. I used veggies from my garden, but you could use anything. I think asparagus would be fantastic. A meat addition would be great too. So, here's what I did.

***Breakfast Pie Filling
5-6 eggs
3-4 cherry tomatoes, diced
handful of pole beans, finely chopped

Heat oven to 400. Mix eggs and diced veggies together in a bowl, until eggs are thoroughly scrambled. Pour into prepared Rice Chex crust. Bake for 25 minutes, or until eggs are firm and beginning to brown. Enjoy!

Banana-Oat Breakfast Cookies

Who says you can't give your kids cookies for breakfast?

This morning when I woke up, I noticed I had 6 bananas that were over-ripe and would go bad if I did not use or freeze them that day. My husband offered to make banana bread, but I wanted to try something different. That's when the idea hit me for breakfast cookies, and let me tell you they were a huge hit! My kids felt like they were getting a huge treat by getting cookies for breakfast, and I was happy because what they were eating was really no worse that oatmeal doctored up with a little fruit and sugar. Win-win situation. It doesn't get any better!

So, here it is...

***Banana-Oat Breakfast Cookies - yields around 18 cookies

3 over-ripe bananas, mashed

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 farm-fresh egg (or 1 egg + 1 yolk)

2 cups oats (check to make sure they are GF)

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour

Preheat oven to 350. Mash bananas on a plate or in a small bowl. In medium-size mixing bowl, combine sugar, brown rice flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add egg and vanilla. Stir until sticky dough forms. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until bottoms are brown and tops are firm. Tops will not brown a lot.

Reduced Sugar GF Banana-Applesauce Muffins

My kids are addicted to muffins for breakfast. Even my two year old will ask me, "Mommy, can I have nuffins?" nearly every morning. I love that muffins are not very messy to eat, and it thrills me that there is usually some kind of fruit in muffins, but I'm not so thrilled about the amount of sugar most of my recipes contain. So, I set out on a quest to make a less-sugar muffin that was gluten-free, and while I was at it I decided to ditch the xanthan gum. Muffins have such a nice solid form that I didn't think the xanthan gum was necessary. Turns out, it isn't!

If you want a muffin that is more like a dessert, this is not the recipe for you. If you want a fruit filled, no oil, gluten-free breakfast you can be happy your kids enjoy (and you too!), then keep on reading.

***Reduced Sugar GF Banana-Applesauce Muffins

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

2 really ripe bananas (ya know, as ripe as you want them for banana bread)

1 cup applesauce (I used no sugar added)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 12-count muffin tin. In small bowl or on a plate, mash bananas with a fork. In mixing bowl, combine flours, cinnamon, soda, salt and sugar until well combined. Add in applesauce, mashed bananas, and egg. Stir thoroughly. Spoon muffin batter into muffin tin, dividing mixture evenly between the 12 cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until lightly golden brown, and top of muffins spring back when touched. If you really want to make sure it is good and done, insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. If it comes out mostly clean, your muffins are ready. Cool, and enjoy.

Some muffins are awesome when they are piping hot. I prefer to let these muffins cool most of the way down before eating.

Almond French Toast

I have recently really gotten into almond milk. It is so creamy, delicious, and has more calcium than regular milk. Yum! So, I've started making lots of things with it. I even like to drink it plain. I've got plans to make my own almond milk and save the almond meal that is leftover to use in recipes, but for now, I've been buying it by the carton at the store.

The first thing I made with my almond milk was french toast. Oh it was so good! The almond flavor is very subtle, but I love it. I'm never making it with regular milk again!

***Almond French Toast

8-10 slices of gluten-free bread (I used Udi's brand)
3 eggs
3/4 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
few drops of vanilla extract
oil for greasing the pan

Beat eggs, almond milk, sugar and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl. Beat until well-combined. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Dip both sides of the bread into the egg mixture. Cook in skillet until both sides are golden brown.