Who doesn’t like a good cupcake? And this one is great – light and fluffy, very unusual for a gluten-free cake. I didn’t have a regular size muffin pan so I simply put the cupcakes papers in a 9×12″ baking pan instead. They didn’t all come out perfectly round but they still tasted delicious! Partnered with the Carob Buttercream Frosting, they are wonderful.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake papers in 1 or 2 regular (12 hole) muffin tins. The recipe made 14 muffins when I made it, so depending on how full you fill the papers will determine exactly how many cupcakes.
In a medium bowl, whisk:
3 tablespoons ground flax
3/4 cup agave nectar, coconut nectar, or date syrup
3/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/3 cup avocado or other light tasting oil
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
Set aside. In a large bowl, combine:
1 cup millet flour
1/3 cup chickpea flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Mix to combine the dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and whisk again to combine. Don’t overmix or the cupcakes will get tough. Fill the cupcake papers 2/3 full of batter (or, if preferred, use 2 8″ cake pans lined with parchment paper and sprayed with a non-stick spray, dividing the batter equally between the 2 pans). Bake 20-25 minutes rotating the pan after 10-12 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. If making a cake, bake 30-35 minutes. Cool in the pan(s) for at least about a half hour before removing to a cooling rack. Frost with Carob Buttercream or your favorite frosting.
If a cake is made instead of the cupcakes, freeze the layers before frosting to reduce crumb.
One of my favorite lunches used to be tomato soup with Cheezits. That cheese cracker with the tomato soup tasted so good. This cracker isn’t a cheezit but they taste very good and have a cheese taste from the nutritional yeast. And they are very easy to make in the food processor.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the food processor add:
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
Pulse to combine before adding:
1 tablespoon vegan butter or margarine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pulse until mixture is crumbly then add, 1 at a time:
5-6 tablespoons water (I needed to add all 6)
Pulse after each addition. Mixture should come together but not be sticky. This may require removing from the processor and working manually (with your hands) until combined. Place onto a sheet of parchment paper. Put a second sheet of parchment paper on top and flatten the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/8″ thickness or as thin as you can get it, the thinner the better! Mine was thicker in the middle than around the outside which meant I had to remove the outer pieces and continue baking the thicker middle so try to get the dough the same thickness.
Remove the top parchment paper and place the dough, lifting carefully by the bottom paper, onto a large cookie sheet. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the dough into small 1″ squares. The outside pieces can be removed and rerolled and recut to form squares.
If you prefer a saltier cracker, sprinkle some fine sea salt on top sparsely before baking. Make some holes with a fork in each square and bake for 16-18 minutes. As I previous mentioned, if necessary remove outer pieces that are thinner and continue baking the thicker squares for another 5-7 minutes. Cool on sheet before moving to a cooling rack. When completely cooled, store in airtight container.
I do love zucchini noodles. I remember when I first discovered Whole Foods in western Massachusetts, they had grated zucchini on their salad bar and I used to love adding it to a salad. Like many recipes I blog, this one is totally adjustable for your family’s taste. Here’s the vegetables I used.
Who doesn’t like chocolate cookies and marshmallow? But those of us with chocolate and egg allergies have long given up such things. Here’s a delicious alternative. Like most allergic friendly recipes, this takes a little more effort than the “normal” but it’s well worth the effort.
For the cookies, line a large cookie sheet (or 2 smaller ones) with parchment paper and preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl whisk together:
1 tablespoon ground flax
3 tablespoons aquafaba
Let sit for at least 5 minutes. In a medium bowl mix with a hand mixer:
1/2 cup vegan shortening (or margarine) softened
3/4 cup date sugar
1 tablespoon date syrup
Blend until smooth and slightly fluffy. Add the flax gel and
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat until smooth. Add to this mixture:
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
3 tablespoons arrowroot
1 tablespoon potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (or guar gum)
2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup carob powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Mix until blended, dough will be crumbly. Add, one tablespoon at a time:
Non-dairy milk (I only used 1 but add another one or two if your dough doesn’t come together with the first one)
Form the dough into balls, about 1 tablespoon of the dough for each ball. Flatten them into disks making sure all the disks are the same depth so that they cook evenly. Also make them about the same size since we’ll be putting two of them together with the frosting. Bake about 8 minutes, do not overbake or they will be dry. Cool on tray for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
To make the frosting, in a double boiler (or heat proof bowl over a pot of water if you don’t have a double boiler), mix together over the boiling water:
1/4 to 1/3 cup agave nectar (depending on how sweet your family likes things, remember agave is much sweeter than cane sugar)
1/3 cup aquafaba
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Using a hand mixer on high, beat the mixture for 7-10 minutes until very fluffy and the frosting forms ribbons when whipped. Remove from heat and continue to whip for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat another minute. This should be very thick, like marshmallow! I know, when I started making it, I thought this is never going to work, but after about 6 minutes the mixture actually started to form ribbons and after 9 minutes, it was thick and creamy. Continuing the whipping off the heat will make it even thicker. Chill while the cookies cool completely and it will set up even more.
Spread about a tablespoon of the frosting on the bottom of one cookie and let sit until frosting sets up a little before placing a second cookie on the top. Repeat with the remaining cookies. This recipe will make 6-8 pairs.
Here’s another bar that’s downright delicious! Not something to eat with fingers, there’s too much soft, gooey filling in them for that. Of course, if wanted, other dried fruit (like dates or figs) would work just as well as prunes and be equally tasty. And like the raspberry bars, refrigerating the baking dish overnight or even for several hours before cutting will help the crust firm up and make removing them from the dish easier.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9×9″ baking dish with parchment paper or spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Blend in a food processor:
1/3 cup pumpkin or sunflower seeds (lightly roasted)*
1/4 cup date or coconut sugar
1 cup gluten-free organic old fashioned oats
1/3 cup millet flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Pulse until the oatmeal mixture resembles ground nuts or cornmeal. Add:
1/2 cup avocado oil or 1/2 cup melted vegan margarine, or melted coconut oil
Pulse until the mixture begins to form clumps. If the mixture is too dry and doesn’t clump add:
up to 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time
Remove from the food processor and add:
1/2 cup gluten-free organic old fashioned oats
1/4 cup hemp hulls (or if nuts are possible, ground nuts)
Stir to combine. Pour half the mix into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and press down to make a firm bottom. Reserve the other half for the top of the bars. In the food processor bowl blend:
1 16 ounce drained can of beans (whatever kind you like, I used chickpeas but any bean will work)
2 cups prune puree**
Blend until the beans are creamy so the softer the bean used, the less time and creamier this mixture will be. Add:
1/4 cup carob powder
1/3 cup date or coconut sugar (if using dates, this added sugar isn’t necessary)
1/8 sea salt
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon lemon juice and zest from 1/2 lemon (optional)
Pulse until the mixture is combined. Scoop out and spread on the crust in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining oat mixture and bake 35-40 minutes until the top is browned. Remove and cool on a cooling rack until no heat is felt on the bottom of the baking dish. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before slicing.
*To roast seeds or nuts, heat oven to 350 degree, place seeds on a dry baking sheet and roast until you smell them, usually not more than a few minutes.
**To make prune puree (or puree with any dried fruit), place the fruit in a saucepan large enough to hold the fruit and enough water to cover it. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes depending on how much fruit used. When the fruit begins to dissolve into the water when stirred, it’s sufficiently cooked. Turn up the heat and boil, uncovered, several minutes to reduce the liquid until, when stirred, very little liquid is visible. If a smooth puree is needed, use an immersion blender. For this recipe, that’s not needed since the mixture will be going into the food processor.
I revamped this recipe because chocolate and mint is a combination that my grandson absolutely loves! And I have to admit, they are pretty good. Be careful or you won’t have any batter to cook, the raw dough is that tasty!
Makes 24-30 depending on the size.
Preheat oven to 350 degree. Put parchment paper on the bottom of 2 cookie sheets (unless you have a large one that will hold 2 dozen at a time). Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
In a small, heat safe bowl, soak 16-18 dried prunes in boiling water (approximately 1 cup should be enough). Be sure all the prunes are covered. Let sit for at least 5 minutes. While they are soaking, put together the flour mixture in a gallon food storage bag mix:
1 2/3 cups millet flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup chickpea flour
2/3 cup arrowroot
2/3 cup potato starch (NOT flour)
Seal the bag and shake to thoroughly mix the flours. Be sure to refrigerate the unused flour mixture.
In a medium size food processor add:
Prunes
2 tablespoons of the prune soaking water
1/2 cup date or coconut sugar
1/3 cup agave, honey, date or coconut syrup
1/2 teaspoon mint extract (or about 2 dozen fresh mint leaves torn)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vinegar
Blend until the prunes are smooth and the mixture has combined. Don’t worry if the prunes are entirely smooth since they will continue to blend with the next steps. Add:
1/3 cup avocado, sunflower, palm, or coconut oil (melted)
Blend again until the mixture is smooth. If the food processor is large enough add (if not scrap the prune mixture out of the food process and into a medium size bowl and add the dry ingredients):
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (see above)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 cup carob powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pulse until the flours are combined. Remove the dough from the food processor and stir in:
1/4 to 1/3 cup unsweetened carob chips
Mix thoroughly. Using a tablespoon measure or small cookie scoop, measure out the dough and form into approximately 1 inch balls (although slightly sticky, it’s easy to shape into balls using damp hands). Place the balls on a cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart and, again with a slightly damp hand, flatten them to about a 1/2 inch in depth. Bake for 8-10 minutes; 8 minutes will give you a chewy, fudgy, softer center while 10 minutes will be chewy but not as fudgy in the center. Cool on the sheet for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
I’ve always preferred making bars instead of cookies, takes less effort and time and tastes just as good. So I was pleased to find a recipe for raspberry bars (my favorite berry) that I think came out pretty good with revamping.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously grease a 9×9″ baking dish being sure to grease at least a 1/2 inch up the sides. Combine in a food processor:
2/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
3 tablespoons potato starch
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1/3 cup date sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
Pulse until blended. Add by spoonfuls:
2/3 cup shortening or vegan margarine
Pulse until combined and mixture forms pea like bits (it looks a lot like pastry crust. Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture to a small bowl. Press the remaining mix into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. While it’s baking, stir into the 1/2 cup of mix reserved:
2 tablespoons date sugar
1/4 cup hemp hulls (or any seed your family likes such as pumpkin or sunflower, chopped)
1/4 cup gluten-free old-fashioned oats
Set aside. In another small bowl mix:
1 cup sugar-free raspberry jam
1 cup fresh raspberries
zest of 1/2 a lemon
juice of 1/2 a lemon
Stir together, breaking up some of the raspberries, until combined. Spread this over the top of the hot crust when it’s comes out of the oven. Sprinkle the reserved flour/hemp/oat mixture over the top of the raspberries. Bake another 20-25 minutes until the top has browned and the filling is starting to bubble. Cool on a cooling rack and then in the refrigerator at least 2 hours before cutting into squares.
TIP: I left the other half of the bars in the baking dish, covered them and left them in the refrigerator overnight and they came out of the dish much cleaner the next day, keeping more of the bottom layer intact.
As I’ve previously mentioned I haven’t had much luck making gluten-free breads. I found a new method in a cookbook entitled The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook. Their flour blend however includes dry milk powder which doesn’t work for those of us allergic to dairy. It’s also heavy on the carbohydrate flours – white rice, potato starch and tapioca. And their English muffin recipe includes eggs and cornmeal (for dusting the muffins). So I gave it a go and here’s what actually worked. I left their flour mixture the same, same ratios without the milk powder.
It took me awhile to try this because it is quite a long recipe and somewhat complicated but I finally decided if I took it step by step it wouldn’t be bad and it wasn’t. In fact, it was quite simple, just took a while to complete all the steps but the tasty muffins are definitely worth it. The frozen ones I was buying were tough on the outside, almost impossible to slice while these are easily split with a fork. Says it makes 10 but I got 11 and several of them are quite small so I think next time I make them, I’ll increase the individual muffins and perhaps only get 9 instead.
Prepare 2 medium size baking sheets by dusting with ground millet (or if you can use it, cornmeal which is the traditional coating for English muffins). It takes approximately 1/2 cup so process the whole millet in a food processor to a medium grind (coarse is too little and fine makes flour which doesn’t work either, we want it the consistency of cornmeal. Sesame or poppy seeds would also work.
In a large bowl combine:
4 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
2/3 cup aquafaba
Let sit for several minutes to form flax gel. While that happens, in a smaller bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups white rice flower
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch (NOT potato flour)
1/4 cup tapioca flour or starch
3 tablespoons powdered psyllium husk
2 tablespoons date sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (or 1 packet which is 2 1/4 teaspoons)
Stir to mix in the yeast before adding:
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Whisk into the flax gel:
2 cups warm water (approximately 110 degrees)
2 tablespoons oil or melted vegan margarine
In increments, with a hand mixer or heavy spoon (stand mixer would be better with a paddle if you have one), mix the flour mixture into the wet mix. When it gets too thick for the hand mixer, use your hands (with gloves) and keep mixing until the dough comes together. It’s about the consistency of cookie dough.
With wet hands form about 1/3 cup of dough into balls (I’ll probably do 1/2 cup of dough next time) and set them on the dusted baking sheets widely spaced, about 5 per sheet (so they have room to rise). I heated my oven by setting it at 170 degrees for approximately 2-3 minutes before turning it off. Cover the muffin balls with a clean kitchen towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.*
Remove them from the oven and make sure the rack is on a lower-middle setting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the dough and using a greased spatula, flatten the balls to approximately 3/4 inch disks. Dust the tops with the millet (or cornmeal).
Spray a 12″ skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat before placing 4-5 muffins in the pan. Brown over medium heat and brown on each side (about a minute per side). Repeat with the remaining muffins. If the muffins begin to puff up, gently press them down, doming isn’t what we want and means you’re probably cooking them too long. Transfer to a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake until firm, about 30-35 minutes, rotating baking sheet half way through cooking. Cool on a cooling rack for at least 15-20 minutes before splitting with a fork and toasting. Store unsplit muffins in a zip-lock bag for up to 3 days. I put 2 per sandwich bag, sucked out the air and then put the sandwich bags into a gallon freezer bag and put the extras in the freezer.
*In a previous life, when I lived in a house with steam heat radiators, I used to place my bread dough to rise on a towel on top of a radiator. It worked quite well as long as the heat didn’t get too hot while they were on there!
Get the feeling I’m really into pumpkin right now! I think it may be because I haven’t been feeling very well and knowing pumpkin can aid in calming an upset stomach, I’m turning to it to help me deal with stomach issues.
I’ve never had a snickerdoodle! Now that I’m allergic to chocolate (actually the caffeine in chocolate), I’m expanding my cookie horizons. Found this recipe on-line and thought it easily adjustable however, the cookies are not the easiest to make, especially if you’re new to cookie baking or don’t have a stand mixer like me. Treat them much like you would a peanut butter cookie – roll in sugar and then use a fork to flatten the balls.
Make Chai Sugar by mixing together:
1/3 cup date sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl mix:
1/3 cup aquafaba (if you don’t have a can of garbanzo beans handy or powdered aquafaba, substitute water)
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
Let sit for several minutes to form flax gel and then add:
1/2 cup vegan shortening or margarine (I use Spectrum shortening)
1 cup date sugar
With a hand or stand mixer, beat on low/medium until the mixture is combined and almost fluffy. Add:
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix to combine and then add:
1 cup all purpose gluten free flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice or nutmeg
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
Mix to combine before adding:
1 cup all purpose gluten free flour.
At this point, unless you have a stand mixer, it’s best to continue mixing with a large spoon or even, if you’ve washed your hands or are wearing gloves, with your hands. Mixture will be quite crumbly until all the flour is worked into the dough. The consistency reminds me of gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies. I used my hands and found the mixture combined quite easily. Scoop out by tablespoonful and roll into a ball (so you have to use your hands anyway!). The mixture shouldn’t be at all sticky but if it is, add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the stickiness is gone.
Roll each ball as you make them into the chai sugar mixture and place 1-2″ apart on the cookie sheet. When the sheet is full, using a fork, press down each ball into a flat disk.* Bake 8 minutes then check. If the cookies have puffed up (domed), flatten more with the fork. Bake an additional 2-3 minutes until the outside of the cookies are firm while the inside is still slightly underdone. Cool on sheet for several minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
*If you prefer, bake the balls for 8 minutes and then flatten them with the fork. Their appearance differs and I found the ones I flattened before baking were chewier. The smoother ones were flattened before baking (on the right) while the ones flattened after baking were rougher looking (on the left).
If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you already know how much I love curry! If I could, I would put curry in everything. Pumpkin soup has always been a favorite so I’m surprised I never thought to put curry in it. But today, here it is. And an easy, quick, very warming soup. Just perfect for these subzero days here in Minnesota. Makes 4 -6 servings.
In a high sided skillet or a large saucepan, heat over medium heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped mushrooms
Cook until onion is translucent and mushrooms are slightly browned. Add:
1-2 teaspoons madras curry powder (I used 1 1/2 and it was almost too spicy for me)
Stir and let cook on low heat until you can smell the curry, about a minute. Add:
2 tablespoons all purpose gluten-free flour
Stir in and let the flour cook for a minute. Slowly stir in:
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock (or if preferred chicken or turkey)
Cook for a minute and then add:
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or just a sprinkle of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, allspice)
Combine and leave on the burner until the soup is thoroughly heated, about 2 minutes. Optional: Garnish with chopped scallions or chives.
cookingwithoutallergens 