Monday, February 21, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookie Update

The best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies ever!
By tweaking the recipe for Snickerdoodles, I was able to make the most amazing gluten-free chocolate chip cookies on the planet!

Use the recipe posted and do the following:
1. omit the cinnamon
2. do not put cinnamon sugar on top
3. add another egg
4. mix in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips at the end

I made the cookies a little smaller this time, about 1 teaspoon each, and put them on parchment paper to save clean-up time. I got about 4 dozen this way, which is even better!

Wow, these were amazing and we can't stop eating them. If your kids are craving cookies like the rest of their friends, look no more. Use this recipe and their friends will want your cookies instead, trust me! Anne Byrn scores again!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Snickerdoodles!

Gluten-free Snickerdoodles (I am in love!)
Oh man, I am loving Anne Byrn's book. Tonight, I made these snickerdoodles and they are terrific. Very easy, very quick. I just used the recipe in the book, which is one Gluten Free Pantry Cake & Cookie Mix, one stick of butter, one egg, 1 tsp of vanilla, 1/4 cup light brown sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. I added a touch of fresh ground nutmeg and Wow, these are brilliant. Just mix it all together until it forms a ball of dough, place cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2" apart, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake for 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove immediately from the pan onto a cooling rack and try not to eat them all in one night!

Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Fresh oranges and cake...the perfect combo!

Glazed orange cake
One of the great things about living in Arizona (and there are many great things) is the lovely winter navel oranges on the trees in our yard. We get to have fresh juice every morning, mimosas on Christmas morning and orange cake using fresh oranges. Oh yeah!

Last night I went to Changing Hands Bookstore, a lovely independent bookstore in Tempe, AZ, and listened to Anne Byrn, who was there to promote her newest book, The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free. I was inspired by her mad-scientist approach and couldn't wait to start baking.

I've never been a very confident baker, and never really had the time to make things from scratch. That's what I love about Anne's books...she doctors cake mixes. I've been doing that for some time now and it works great. Add an egg here, extra vanilla, etc. And when Betty Crocker came out with cake, brownie and cookie mixes, I was so thrilled. Check out the Betty Crocker Brownies we made by tweaking the box recipe and making them so much better.

But, tonight I decided to utilize the awesome oranges we still have on the trees outside. Anne has a recipe for orange cake in her book, and I used it just about exactly, using just a touch more fresh juice and a bit more zest to make it really pop. Wow, that worked like a charm. My husband went back for seconds and my daughter couldn't stop eating it. The orange glaze on top is amazing... make sure you use fresh orange juice if you can. You won't believe this is gluten free, really, and neither will your friends. This would be wonderful with a cup of tea on a warm spring day.

Basically, use the recipe on the box of Gluten Free Pantry Old Fashioned Cake & Cookie Mix using the following substitutions: Use fresh orange juice instead of water, use 3 eggs instead of 2, add the zest of 2-3 oranges, depending on the size. You can also use Betty Crocker's yellow cake mix, but I can't seem to find that in my local store. But this was just wonderful, so no worries. Bake as directed (about 25-30 minutes).

I made this in a 9-inch round pan, but you could use an 8-inch square also. Poke holes in the top after it's cooled a bit and drizzle on a glaze made from 1 cup of confectioners sugar and 2 TBS fresh orange juice with a little orange zest mixed in.

If you can wait for it to cool, the glaze will harden into a crunchy, yummy topping. But then again, it's soooo good when it's warm, I dare you to wait that long.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

How to have a bridal shower with GF options 101

I hosted my niece's bridal shower at my place this weekend. Apart from the cupcakes and sandwiches, which were brought in from the outside, I prepared everything else and made sure it was gluten free and vegetarian. My daughter knew what to eat and what to stay away from.
Tomato/mozzarella/basil drizzled with balsamic
These wonderful tomato/mozzarella/basil bites were a hit. I ended up having to refill the plate three times. Drizzled with aged, thick balsamic/garlic/olive oil and parsley, they are so yummy and low-carb. It's what I munched on all day. Putting each on a toothpick just makes it so much easier to eat.

Fresh strawberries with cream cheese dip

The strawberries were also a hit. Fresh fruit is always lovely on a buffet and these are asy to arrange, then dipped in cream cheese/marshmallow fluff. (OK, not 100% vegetarian, but most people don't care about that. I love the strawberries!)

And although the cupcakes ordered for the party were not GF, I did buy four GF red velvet cupcakes from Sprinkles for the occasion, making sure the gluten-free guests were taken care of. They were wonderful and we were all happy, most of all my niece, who is marrying a wonderful guy!

Enjoy!