Gluten-Free Brazilian Pao Cheesy Rolls

Success! I never thought I'd be able to bake real rolls again. You know the kind. They are crispy on the outside, soft and light inside. This recipe is the best I've found. An excellent one from Ellen Brown's Gluten Free Holiday Baking. You know when you start baking and think, "Yeah right, these will never look like the picture in the book". Well, they actually did, fluffed up perfectly. You could hear my hoots and hollering from across the house as they rose into perfect little balls of cheesiness. Yes, I used the word cheesiness. And that cheese flavor is even better toasty with some butter. You'll think you died and went to gluten-free heaven. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) 
• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 2 cups tapioca flour
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• 2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• black pepper, to taste

I used my new silicone baking mat instead of parchment paper to line a baking sheet. Preheat your oven at 375 degrees. 

Boil ingredients up to garlic, don't forget to stir and don't burn your milk! Then remove from heat and add in tapioca flour. Bring pot back to stove and reheat, mixing the whole time for about 2 minutes. 

Let cool for a few minutes before plopping the dough into your food processor. Use the steel blade, not the bread making blade, and add eggs. Then once incorporated, add cheese and pepper. Mix again. 

Begin making your pao balls. Wet a soup spoon under cold water and drop about a 2 tablespoon amount of the dough onto your baking sheet. Continue. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes. Enjoy warm with butter. 

Can be frozen. 

Gluten-Free Strawberry Muffins

I've been working a day here and there at the local farmers market for fun. Last week there were tons of strawberries left over at the end of the day. And I realized that I had never made strawberry muffins....why should all the blueberries get all the love? 

These were by far my best gluten-free muffin attempt. And oh, they rose like no gluten-free muffin I've ever tried to make. The recipe was adapted from on the Gluten-Free Goddess 's muffin recipes and I can barely take credit. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour  

• 3 tablespoons mixed flax and chia seed mix (you can also just use ground flax seeds)   

• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed   

• 1/2 cup sorghum flour 

• 1/2 cup potato starch  

• 1 cup coconut sugar 

• 2 teaspoons baking powder 

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

• 1/2 cup apple sauce (I was out and used Plum Organics Strawberry Mash!) 

• 3 eggs 

• 1/2 cup milk (rice, oat, soy, or almond all work well) 

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

• 2 cups strawberries, cut into chunks

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with liners. You can do without the liners, but it works better with them.
For almond meal I just processed almonds, added in the chia/flax seed mixture, and the rest of the flax seeds until all were well blended using a food processor.
Next I mixed all the dry ingredients in a very large bowl and added in the almond and seed mixture.
Mix well.
In a medium sized bowl, I combined all the wet ingredients with my favorite electric mixer.
Lastly, I added in the precious strawberries by folding them in gently.
I considered chocolate chips here but held back. You might be braver!
Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!

Cherry Pumpkin Seed Corn Bread; gluten-free

Okay, it's not exactly the time for Christmas trees and snowmen, but my boys love anything baked into those shapes any time of year. Especially if it's corn bread. And one of the best things about corn bread (as if you needed another!), is that it's so easy to add yummy and nutritious tidbits to your recipe. 

An easy one, this recipe took about 45 minutes total, mostly baking time. And I wanted to show everyone my new bigger than life mixing bowl. When i first got it, I thought, 'what am I going to with suck a huge bowl'. But it's now my favorite. Nothing ever spills out and I feel very fancy every time I use it. Which in turn makes everything I bake taste better! 

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 & 1/2 finely ground cornmeal
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour (or starch)
• 1 tbs & 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar (or any of your choosing)
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter (or if vegan: coconut milk; fat and liquid blended together)
• 1 tbs mixed ground chia and flax seeds (optional)
• 6 drops liquid stevia (use 1/2 cup sugar if not using stevia)
• 1 cup milk (or any non-dairy alternative)
• 1/2 cup dried cherries (halved)
• 1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds (chopped)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat muffin pan with butter or oil. Set aside.

In a big bowl combine rice flour, cornmeal, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, butter (cooled), seeds, and stevia. 

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix with an electric mixer until combined.

Now add in your goodies (meaning cherries and pumpkin seeds or whatever suits your sweet tooth).

Fill muffin tins almost full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

If using muffin mold pan for fun shapes, cut baking time to 15 minutes. 

Enjoy with butter, honey, or jam. 

Gluten-Free Waffles with Berry Sauce

Oh my! After many attempts, the recipe is perfected and totally gluten-free. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and oh so good. Make this with or without the berry sauce, but just make it because you won't be disappointed. Use pre-made gluten-free flour mix to make it a bit easier if needed. We love Bob's red mill gluten-free flour. 

Ingredients:

Waffles:

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup arrowroot (you can also sub potato starch or cornstarch)
• 3/4 cup tapioca flour
• 2 cups milk (or milk sub)
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1 tbs ground flax and chia seed combo (sub 1/4 tsp xanthan gum)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs (separated)
• 1 Tbsp butter, softened or melted (sub coconut oil or veggie oil for vegan)
• 3 tbsp. coconut sugar (sub 1 drop liquid stevia)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Berry Syrup:

• 2 cups berries
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp coconut sugar

For waffles:
Preheat waffle iron. Now get a bunch of bowls out and begin.
Soft all the flours, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, mix milk, vinegar, and add in flax and chia seeds.
 Let sit for 5-10 minutes to curdle and activate the jelliness of the seeds.
In a very small bowl, separate your eggs and reserve the yolks. Beat your whites until they form stiff peaks. (Don't over beat, or they'll fall)
And in the biggest bowl, mix butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
Now add in the egg yolks, mix.
Add in the flour, mix.
Add in the fluffed yolks and fold in carefully to not deflate too much.

Batter will be pretty watery, so test first on waffle press. Add flours if needed.
Cook on waffle iron until a medium golden color. It will take longer than you expect.

For berry sauce:
Blend all sauce ingredients.
Heat or leave cold.
Serve on top of waffles or dip waffles in sauce on the side. I preferred on the side.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

                                     

It's high time that I tried another banana-chocolate chip combo. This is much like my old stand by banana chocolate chip bread, but bunt style and a bit moister. And my absolute favorite part about this ake, is it's great texture!

This recipe is adapted from the great Bette Hagman's The Gluten-Free Gormet Cooks Comfort Foods. She has a great guide to gluten-free flour mixes that is simple and has always turns out great. I made this a mini-bunt cake simply because I thought it'd look really cute. And I was right. I also made a cupcake and a mini loaf version to and they turned out perfect! 

Ingredients: 

• 2/3 cup and 1 tbs brown rice flour
• 2/3 cup and 1 tbs tapioca flour
• 2/3 cup and 1 tbs arrowroot
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large very ripe mashed bananas
• 2/3 cup buttermilk, or milk alternative (add lemon juice to milk if not using buttermilk, but recipe works best with diary milk.)
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup coconut sugar (use 1 and 1/2 cups sugar if not using stevia)
• 10 drops liquid stevia
• 2 tbs ground chia-flax seed mix
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup chopped sunflower seeds
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 340 degrees. Use a greased or non-stick bunt pan. 

In a medium bowl, shift all dry ingredients. 

In a large bowl. cream sugar, stevia, and butter. Then add in ground seed mix, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.

Add in mashed bananas and mix with an immersion blender or hand mixer if you have one (cuts down on mashing time). 

Add in flour mix a bit at a time until it's all a nice consistency. Mix for about 1 minute.
Stir in nuts, seeds, and chips.
Pour into pan and bake for 40 minutes. Bake for 55 minutes if making mini loaves.
Let cool a bit before turning over onto a plate. Powdered sugar or your favorite glaze would work well, but we just do it plain and love it. Marvel at your creation!
Now go eat!

Wheat-Free Apple Cranberry Cake

This apple cake is surprisingly moist and tasty. It's another adaptation form The Gluten Free Goddess and well worth the prep time. Very highly kid approved as well. We had it for breakfast and then again later as a snack. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 
• 1/4 cup tapioca four/starch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup coconut sugar

Wet ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup rice 
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice 
• 2 tablespoons agave or honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

The Good Stuff:

2 cups peeled and chopped apples

1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift all dry ingredients up to the sugar. Then add in sugar and stir. 

Next, mix eggs, then prepare the chia/flax mixture. Grind chia and flax seeds and then mix with water until a paste is formed. (This replaces any xanthan gum.) You can grind in a hand grinder or in a coffee grinder for a finer powder. Add slurry to eggs. Add remaining ingredients to mix and combine. 

Add dry to wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Now add apples and cranberries. 

Oil a 9 inch round cake pan or use oiled parchment paper to make things easier. Pour in cake batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until firm in the center. 

Gluten-Free Blueberry Cake

A great little snack. Here is a gluten-free variation of The Country Cook's version. And yes, it's been great as a breakfast treat. I made a double recipe, cut, and wrapped up half to freeze. I was not sure what flour mixture to use, but I've come to love an arrowroot and brown rice flour mix. If you'd like to learn more about mixing your own gluten-free flour mixes check out Gluten-Free Girl's posting. She breaks I all down for us novices. Now let's get down to business. 

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp orange or lemon zest
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup agave
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp GF vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup arrowroot 
• 1&1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1/2 cup rice milk (cow milk, almond, hemp, or oat milks all work as well)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I prefer to use parchment paper and lined a 9X9 baking dish. You can also butter the dish instead. 
2. I melted the butter because I did not have softened butter and it worked well. Add sugar, vanilla, and agave and beat with a mixer. 
3. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl. 
4. Save 1/4 cup flour flour blueberries.
5. Slowly add in flour and milk alternating until all combined. 
6. Toss blueberries in flour and then add to batter. 
7. Bake for 60-80 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. (Gluten-free baking takes a really long time, but set a timer. I've forgotten a few times and it really sucks when you're expecting a tasty treat!) 

Zucchini Cranberry Bread- gluten-free, low sugar

If you haven't noticed, zucchinis are everywhere. If you live in a city, you just wouldn't understand. Take a big pot, plant yourself a zucchini plant, and put it out on your fire scape. Now watch it grow, and never stop. I had no idea of how much zucchini could come from one plant until I moved out of New Your City. 

But what to do with all that lovely squash? Bread. And you'd be surprised how amazing it tastes. For a good recipe, I turned to The Gluten Free Goddess. I am never disappointed by her recipes. Below is my version. I added I some butter (for taste and just because I love the stuff), cut down on the xanthan gum (texture is a bit odd sometimes and isn't always digested well), swapped out the brown sugar for coconut sugar , dates, and prunes (lower combined glycemic index, adds fiber, and good as a combo), added cranberries, and lastly increased the vanilla just because I could. It's passed my picky children's test, now you give it a try. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup grated zucchini 
• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch/flour (Bob's Red Mill is wonderful and ensures gluten-freeness)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 6 dates (pitted of course)
• 6 prunes1/3 cup melted butter (olive oil/ coconut oil if vegan)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (I use Native Forest, they have very sustainable practices)
• 1 teaspoon lemon or orange juice
• 2 tablespoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts 
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

optional:

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and butter a 8x8 baking dish or lining it with parchment paper. Start by sifting all the dry ingredients together (not sugar). Grate the zucchini and place it all in an absorbent kitchen towel and wring all the moisture you can out of it. Put in a bowl and fluff with a fork. 

Next, place butter in oven or saucepan to melt. Combine dates, prunes, sugar, coconut milk, juice, and vanilla in a blender and mix until the dried fruits are well processed. Now add the eggs and melted butter and blend for a few seconds or until just mixed. 

Combine wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add nuts and chocolate chips if using. Either cranberries or chocolate chips, don't go crazy here or you might wind up with a granola bar. Check after 60 minutes, but mine took almost an hour and a half. After adding the dried fruit, it made it a bit moister and took more time. But bake until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean. And let me know what you think!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread gluten-free

This is my favorite gluten-free banana bread recipe ever! Not just because it's so damn good, but my kids make crazy noises when the I even mention it. This has fast become a staple in our house. I recommend making 2 loaves, a double batch. And I thought of leaving the chocolate chips out, but then id it really banana bread without them? I think not! 

Dry ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 1 and 1/4 cup almond meal (or ground almonds)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
•  1/8 tsp nutmeg (or less)
• 1 cup coconut sugar (or try 1/2 cup and 10 drops stevia liquid)
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas (mushy is best, they are sweeter)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil

• 1/2 cup- 1 cup good quality chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Makes 1 loaf. 

Heat an oven to 340F.

Butter pan or line with parchment paper for easy bread removal. 
Mix the wet ingredients in a big bowl, put aside. In a medium sized bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

Slowly mix the flour mix into the bowl with the wet ingredients. 
Add in chips and raisins if using. Mix until just combined. 

Bake for approximately 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Push all the children away from the bread so they don't burn themselfves by diving right in. Let cool or a few minutes, butter slices. Yumm!

Wheat-Free Pumpkin Bread

I was thinking the other day that maybe it's kind of ridiculous to try and substitute wheat flour all the time with tons of combinations of flours until it tastes and looks like the real thing....wheat. But then I realized that it's actually much more nutritious to use flours like almond, coconut, arrowroot, and quinoa. So I will keep experimenting! 

I was reading a whole bunch of pumpkin bread recipes, but was inspired by She Let Them Eat Cake's recipe and adjusted it. Here is our version of pumpkin bread:

Pumpkin Bread

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar 
• 6 drops stevia liquid 
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup softened or melted butter (or coconut oil)
• 2 tbs vanilla extract
• 1 &1/2 cups Bobs Red Mill GF flour mix
• 1/2 cup almond meal (you can buy it or just grind up some almonds finely in a food processor if you want it to be fresher) 
• a handful of quinoa flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1//2 cup raisins

Preheat oven at 350 degrees and butter a loaf pan. 

Mix first 7 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine all dry ingredients (sifted). 

Slowly add flour mix into wet mix until just combined. Then fold in raisins. 

Drizzle butter and sprinkle a handful of sugar on top. Pour batter into loaf pan and let bake for 40 minutes. My oven has varying temperature, so test your bread out after 25 mins to make sure it's not baking too long, then check again every so often. The challenge with this bread was to cook it enough to avoid a soggy middle, but not overdo it. Tasted great, but may add more applesauce next time. You can't go wrong with more applesauce.

Kids loved it, so it was a success!