Author: thesweetcaffeine

With the freezing temps today I had an urge to bake!!!  I decided to go with snowball cookies since they have always been a favorite and I haven’t attempted a gluten-free version.  These cookies are light and sweet and compliment that cup of coffee or tea perfectly.  Don’t forget to add these to your holiday cookie list!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of salted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar for dough and roughly 1 cup sifted into bowl for coating cookies
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• few drops of almond extract
• 2 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free One to One flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Put the gluten free flour, cinnamon and nutmeg then whisk in pinch of salt in a medium bowl, set aside.

In a mixer blend together the softened butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in the vanilla and almond extract and mix until combined.  Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined.  Add in pecans and mix then add in the teaspoon of water and mix quickly until it forms a dough (this doesn’t take long at all, don’t over-mix).

Form dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment.  Place in the fridge for about 20 minutes then place directly into the oven.  Bake for about 14 minutes then remove from the oven to cool for a few minutes.  Carefully coat in powdered sugar while still warm, let cool, then coat one more time.

Enjoy!

This recipe needs no reason or introduction.  Just.  Make.  It.

Ingredients:

Crumbs:

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I use Bob’s One to One)
• 1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups Gluten-Free all purpose flour (Bob’s One to One)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons almond milk

Glaze:

• 1 cup confections sugar
• 3 teaspoons almond milk
• a little fresh nutmeg, a few drops of vanilla and almond extract and a pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 pan with parchment and set aside (I find adding a little grease to the pan before hand helps the parchment to stick).

Make the crumbs:

Mix all of the dry ingredients together then add the butter, stir until combined and set aside.

Make the cake:

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl and set aside.  In your mixer, cream together the sugars and the butter.  Add the egg and mix until well blended.  Add the pumpkin and mix, making sure to scrape to make sure all ingredients are combined equally.  Add the dry ingredients and then the 2 tablespoons of almond milk and stir until combined.

Spread the mixture (it will be thick) into your pan and squeeze the crumb mixture then break into crumbs and top.  Press down gently.

While the cake is baking, mix your glaze ingredients together and set aside.

Put into the oven for 35-40 minutes.  The cake is done when the top bounces back.  Let cool (Ha!  Who really does this part) and then top with glaze.

Enjoy with a large cup of coffee or chai tea!!!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1 cup almond milk

Walnut Spice Mixture:

• 1 cup (measured prior to smashing) crushed walnuts
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prep muffin pan with parchment liners.

Make the walnut spice mixture.  Simply mix all of the ingredients together and set aside for later use.

In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add eggs, then vanilla and mix on high until well incorporated.  Adding the baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix for a few seconds more.  Add the flour and almond milk, alternating, making sure to begin and end with the flour.

Using a one inch cookie scoop, place one spoonful of batter on the bottom of each muffin liner.  Sprinkle with the spice walnut mix and pat down gently with the back of a spoon.  Top each muffin with another scoop until you have used up all of the batter and top with the remainder of the spice nut mixture and pat down.  Feel free to swirl the mixture in a bit with a toothpick.

Place in oven and bake for 20-22 minutes, until tops bounce back.  Let cool for a few minutes then place on a cooling rack to fully cool down.

Enjoy!!!

I have a thing for grilled chicken.  I love to make a batch just to have around to throw on salad, in a quesadilla, to make chicken salad, etc.  This is a new favorite that goes great with asian inspired dishes for example with rice noodles and a peanut sauce or a Thai chicken salad.  Make ahead and store in the fridge for a few days for easy lunch or dinner making.  SO easy and so yummy!

Marinade recipe:

• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons tamari
• 2 teaspoons Sriracha (I would use more but the kids eat this as well)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• cracked pepper to taste

Mix ingredients well in a bowl then add to four chicken breasts in a ziplock.  Allow to marinade for about a half hour then, using a grill pan, grill on each side and finish in the oven until the breasts reach 165 degrees.  Let rest then serve or refrigerate for later use.

This is the kind of hummus I could eat with just a spoon, it doesn’t need much in the way of anything fancy for dipping.  Perfect with fresh veggies or a simple tortilla chip, I often end up eating this for lunch or dinner especially when I’m feeling lazy and want nothing to do with the stove or grill.  If you’ve been waiting to make your own, this is the perfect recipe to start with.

Ingredients:

• 8-10 marinated artichokes, about half of a 12 ounce jar  (my favorite is Trader Joe’s)
• 1 bag/can of chick peas (adore Fig Food Co.’s beans!)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)
• 2 teaspoons tahini
• pinch of cayenne pepper (I use anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon depending)
• pinch of kosher salt

Directions:

This is so easy!  Just throw everything into your Vitamix/blender or food processor.  Blend until it reaches your preferred texture, should only take about a minute.  You can add little reserved chick pea water or oil to loosen if needed but the artichokes lend extra moisture so it really shouldn’t be necessary.  I always top mine with a little extra virgin olive oil and red pepper flakes but that is totally optional.  Serve along side fresh veggies or gluten-free tortilla chips.  Enjoy!

Let me be honest here.  My children are not the healthiest of eaters.  My daughter tends to eat some veggies and fruit but my son, my son is an avid eater of junk.  He wants nothing but toast, pizza, burgers, fries, sandwiches and basically any kind of sweet you’ll throw his way.  I’ve given up on making separate dinners for them (most of the time) so sometimes they hardly eat, enter Mom Guilt.  This led me to try to make a smoothie that my son would actually finish but that still had some health benefits.  And since he seems to have some tummy issues, due to  the fact that he doesn’t eat much in the way of fresh fruit and veg, I included some really awesome probiotics from Klaire Labs.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup ice
• 1 very ripe banana (the ripeness of the banana will either hinder or help digestion.  Very ripe ones will actually aid in healthy digestion)
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free oat flour
• 3 tablespoons almond butter (you can replace with sunbutter, peanut butter or cashew butter)
• 2 teaspoons ground flax seed
• 1 tablespoon organic chocolate syrup (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods are my favorite)
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1 Klaire Lab probiotic pill or your favorite encapsulated probiotic (some, including Klaire Labs also sell a powder form but I take these as well so I opt for the pill form) opened with contents added to blender

Directions:

Add all ingredients to your Vitamix or blender of choice and blend on high.   Add to glass and thats it!  Or you can add little syrup along the rim as shown, adds a wow factor for the kiddos.

Browsing through Facebook this morning I came across a new recipe from Nicole Hunn, writer of the gluten free on a shoestring blog and cookbooks and her recipe for “Oatmeal Bars” jumped out at me.  I love oatmeal in all forms especially one I can grab to go on busy mornings so I just had to give the recipe a try.   And since I can never leave a recipe alone I added the flavors of  dried cranberry, caraway seeds and extra spices.  Topped with a cinnamon maple drizzle, these treats will be sure to go down easy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups bobs all purpose one to one flour
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons gluten free oat flour (blend 2 cup oats in your Vitamix or food processor until oats become flour, save the excess for another recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup gluten free oats (BOB’S)
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 2/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 2 extra large eggs, beaten
• 6 tablespoons grass-fed butter (LOVE Kerry Gold)
• Almond milk, as needed to form dough

Drizzle:

• 1/3 cup confections sugar
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• almond milk until it reaches the right consistency
• dash of cinnamon
• small dash of salt

Directions:

Combine the flour, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, caraway seeds, spices and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk to combine.  Add coconut sugar and oats, whisk again.  Fold in the cranberries with a spatula and set aside.

Melt your butter and let cool for a few minutes.

Crack eggs into a bowl and whisk, add vanilla and stir.  Once butter has cooled enough add to the eggs and stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry.  Begin stirring with a spatula, then use your hands to bring the dough together.  This is where you add almond milk to make the mixture into a cohesive dough with no dry spots but it should not be overly wet.  Mine took about 1.5 tablespoons.

On your counter top (this sounds weird but it keeps the parchment from moving when you begin to roll out the dough) flick a little water down then top with a piece of parchment.  Place the dough onto the parchment and shape into a rectangle.  Take another piece of parchment, place on top of the dough, and roll out to about 1 inch thickness, shape into a rectangle again using a large knife and roll again until about 3/4 inch thick (I did mine a little thinner, by accident. lol)

Cut into bars and place onto your parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes and remove from oven to cool completely on a cooling rack.

While the bars cool, make the drizzle.  Mix all ingredients together and place in a small ziplock.  Cut a tiny hole and use to drizzle over bars once they have cooled.

Adapted from Nicole Hunn’s, Oatmeal Bar recipe.

I somehow always end up with a pint of fresh blueberries in my fridge over the summer.  I’d like to say that we eat them fresh and in their natural state but I would by lying.  Most of the time they end up baked in some form of delicious breakfast or dessert.  Today I was craving donuts and thought I’d give the fresh blueberries a new purpose.  It was totally worth it.  These are light and fluffy with the perfect amount of sweet.

Makes 9 donuts, you can easily double this recipe.

nutmeg

some of my favorite ingredients

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg, 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• a few drops of almond extract (optional but adds so much flavor)
• 1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour (I use Bob’s one to one) Measure this out and pour into a bowl, remove 2 tablespoons and replace with 2 tablespoons cornstarch.  This makes a cake flour that makes the donuts tender and pillowy, not dense.
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (see notation above)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Cinnamon sugar topping:

1/2 cup confections sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed together.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your donut pan with non-stick spray, my favorite being coconut oil.

In a medium sized bowl, add the flour and refer to note above about the flour/cornstarch.  With a whisk blend together then add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, whisk again and set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and egg yolk and blend until nice and light in color.  Add the vanilla and alomond extract and mix until blended making sure to scrape down the sides.

Place the blueberries in a bowl and top with 2 tablespoons of your flour mixture and toss together until coated, this is to make sure the blueberries don’t sink to the bottom of the donut.

Beginning with the flour mixture and ending with same, add the flour mixture then buttermilk.  Make sure to scrape sides, do not over mix.

Lastly, gently FOLD the blueberries into your mixture.  Do not do this in your mixer or else you will have mushy blue donuts.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops bounce back and they are a nice light brown. Remove from oven and turn out onto a cooling rack.  Using a sifter, top donuts with confections sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Enjoy!

Smells devine

Someone started eating them before I could take a picture!

No, no my children did not eat this dinner but my husband and I devoured it.  We’ve been trying to incorporate more veg into our daily routine and I’ve become quite obsessed with the portobello mushroom.  So versatile and delicious and makes me forget that I’m not eating meat.  This recipe is more like a three in one.  There is the honey dijon grilled portobellos, the kalamata olive and caper spread and lastly the sautéed kale.  All of which can be eaten alone or in other recipes but when you put them all together on some toasted gluten free bread, heaven.  Heaven, I tell you.

Ingredients:

Grilled Honey-Dijon Portobello Mushrooms:

• 4 large, organic portobello mushrooms
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard

Sautéed Kale

• 4 cups organic kale, chopped and stems removed
• drizzle of olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• hot pepper flake, to taste
• kosher salt, to taste
• 1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Kalamata Olive and Caper Spread:

• 1 cup kalamata olives, drained
• 4 heaping teaspoons capers, drained
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Juice of 1 lemon and zest of same
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 handful of parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

Begin by making the spread, throw all of the ingredients, except for the parsley, into your food processor or, my favorite for anything like this, my Vitamix.  Process until a nice chunky paste forms.  DO NOT over-mix or else you will not end up with a spread but a bunch of overly runny mush.  Stir in the parsley and set spread aside.

Next, begin making kale.  Over a low flame add the olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes and salt to the pan.  Allow to cook until garlic is fragrant but not browned.  Add in the kale and toss occasionally while it wilts.  I like to cover my pan for a little bit during this process. Once fully wilted, add the cider vinegar.  Turn off the heat and set aside.

While the kale is cooking you can begin with your mushrooms.  Preheat your grill or grill pan.  Mix together the honey and dijon mustard and spread on the tops of your washed and dried mushrooms, saving a little for the under portion.  Place the mushrooms on the grill and pour the rest of the honey Dijon over the mushrooms.  Cook until mushrooms are tender but not overly cooked.

To assemble, toast your gluten-free bread of choice, I happen to love Trader Joe’s gluten free whole grain bread.  Spread the kalamata and caper spread on one side, throw some of that kale on there then top with sliced, grilled portobello.

That’s it.  You’re welcome.  😉

Wheat makes the most amazing breads, muffins and of course, one of my most favorite, cinnamon rolls.  How I missed the delicious, tender rolls of pillowy dough in between the buttery, cinnamon-y swirls of goodness, until Bob’s Red Mill came out with their gluten-free pizza crust mix.  I followed their recipe, adding some of my own tweaks, and I could once again enjoy what I consider to be one of the most delicious things in this world.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• Zest of 2 Mandarin oranges
• 1 cup almond milk, heated to 120/130 degrees and mixed with 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
• 1 package of yeast (included in Bob’s Gluten-free Pizza Dough Mix)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 1/4 cup Bob’s Gluten-free pizza crust mix
• 1 1/2 teaspoons  vanilla extract

Cinnamon Swirl:

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Zest of 1 Mandarin orange

Frosting:

• 2 cups confections sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, until lightly browned pieces appear
• Juice of 2 Mandarin oranges and zest of one more
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• little pinch kosher salt
• a little almond milk until it reaches a thick but spreadable consistency

Mix all of these ingredients frosting ingredients together while rolls are baking and set aside.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.   Spray an 9 inch round pan with non-stick spray, I prefer coconut oil, and set aside.

Mix together the cinnamon swirl ingredients and melt butter for same, over low flame, set aside.

Heat almond milk until it reaches 120/130 or really warm if you don’t have a thermometer but make sure not to boil as it will kill the yeast.  Add the tablespoon of sugar and then top with the yeast and set aside.

In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and zest.  Once lightened in color, add your eggs and mix until incorporated.  Add in the almond milk/yeast mixture then add in the gluten-free flour, spices and salt and mix until it forms a dough.  It will be sticky!

Place a large piece of parchment down on your counter and liberally sprinkle with gluten-free flour or my most favorite for this job, tapioca flour.  Make sure to cover the entire piece of parchment or you will be sorry.  This dough is not the easiest to work with but if you stick with it, it will be totally worth it in the end.  Flatten out the dough with slightly wet hands until you can form a rectangle.  Add a nice amount of tapioca flour to your rolling pin, making sure to keep adding a bit if it begins to stick, and roll until you have a nice larger, flatter rectangle.

Brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon, nutmeg, zest mixture.  Roll up, using the parchment to aid you and try to keep it as tight as possible.  Cut into 8 even pieces beginning by cutting in the middle.  Place into your greased pan and set aside to rise for a half hour, in a warm place.

Place cinnamon rolls into the oven and bake for 25 minutes.  Remove and let cool for only a few minutes before topping with the frosting.  Enjoy!!!