Month: October 2014

Apple Streusel Tart…Totally Terrific

Okay, this is my fall dessert Chopped (Food Network show)…. I have some ricotta cheese, some ripe apples, leftover crumb pie topping and a lemon.  What to make?? I couldn’t find a recipe that suited those ingredients so I made up this tart. I used the cookie crust that I have been using since I went GF as it is really tasty and the crumb recipe I always use for crumb pies.  I actually had the crumbs in the fridge so I didn’t have to make a batch of them.

The apples are from my own Jonagold tree, any baking apple will do, Rome or Golden Delicious are varieties that come to mind. I would avoid eating varieties such as Red Delicious or Honey Crisp as well as those that stay very firm like Granny Smith.

apple crumb tart slice

This tart is totally nummy good, the bottom is a crisp cookie crust covered with a thin layer of ricotta cheese custard under the caramelized apple slices and a topping full of crunchy almond goodness.  I am guessing you could leave out the nuts or sub in walnut or pecans cut into small chunks.  If you can’t eat oats you could certainly leave them out of the topping but I love the homey flavor and crunch they add.  The lemon is an under flavor but it does add a really nice hint of lemon to the mix.  I used some eggs I got from a friend who has her own chickens, the yolks were so orange they made the custard layer a lovely shade of gold.  Nice.

We had it plain but it is also fantastic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  I served it slightly warm which was lovely but you will enjoy eating it at room temperature for sure.

This tart has several steps in the construction of it but nothing too tricky.  And it looks like it came from a fancy French bakery, yet it is totally gluten free.  If you make this tart I promise you no one will even believe it is GF.  They will just beg for seconds!

Make your cookie crust and the crumb topping.  Then construct the apple filling and make the custard while your apples saute.  Have all the parts ready before you put it together or you will be frazzled and your tart might be soggy.  I did have to pick a few lemon pits out as I squeezed the juice right in with the apples.  You can be smart and use a hand juicer!

I have to say that this could be translated to a regular wheat all purpose flour based cookie crust of your choice with regular (wheat flour based) crumbs for the topping: for you wheat loving folks out there….if you want to enjoy this spectacular tart but don’t want to make it with gf ingredients.

Apple Caramel Tart

*Cookie crust

Place the following in a stand mixer bowl and combine

1 cup GF flour (recipe below)

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

Add 5 tbsp cold butter, cut into 6-7 chunks.  Mix on low until the butter is just crumbs blended in.

Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tbsp water.  Blend well. Pour into a ten inch tart pan that was sprayed with cooking spray.  Spread it up the sides ½ an inch.  Press gently in so it is a cohesive crust but do not press really hard or it will be like concrete when you finish baking it!

cookie crust

Filling

Peel and slice enough cooking apples to make 3 cups of apples. I used small ones, 5-6 but I am betting 3-4 good sized ones will suffice. If you have 3 1/2 cups even better!

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a 9 or 10 inch frying pan, add ¼ cup packed light brown sugar, 2 tbsp. water and the apples. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice.  Cook 8 to 10 minutes until slightly soft.  Sprinkle with ¼ tsp cinnamon. Allow to cool 5 minutes while you make the custard and the crumbs.

apples in pan softening

*Crumb topping

Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.

¾ c brown rice flour mix

½ c sugar

½ tsp xanthan gum

1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks

You will use a heaping ½ cup of the crumbs. Put the rest in a tightly sealing glass container and store in the fridge for your next pie/tart. It should keep for several weeks.

Almond Streusel Topping: mix well

½ cup gf crumb topping

¼ cup slivered almonds

¼ cup old fashioned oats

Ricotta Custard

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, part skim

2 medium eggs

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. half and half

Lemon zest from ½ a lemon, cut with a zester so they are thin short strips

¼ tsp. lemon extract

1-2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Just mix it well with a whisk in a small mixing bowl.  If you don’t have smaller eggs use 1 large egg and an egg yolk as a good substitute.  If you don’t like or have lemon extract just leave it out and it will still be awesome.

Assembly

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Gently pour the custard into the crust.  I tilted my pan a bit to get it to cover most of the bottom. It will not reach up the sides.  I then carefully spooned the caramelized apple slices over the custard. Do not press them into the ricotta cheese custard.  Try to spread them as evenly as possible so there are not huge gaps between apples.  I spooned every bit of the caramel sauce on top spreading it around too.

apple tart before crumbsSprinkle the tart with the streusel topping.

apple crumb tart unbaked Place in the oven and turn the heat down to 375 degrees.  Bake 35 minutes or until lightly browned and a testing straw comes out clean.

apple crumb tart  Cool at least 30 minutes.  Serve warm or cold.  Enjoy!

* Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

*from Annalise Robert’s cook book Gluten-Free Baking Classics

#apple tart

Spicy Autumnal Beef Stew

When the fall weather gets nippy I find myself craving a well made beef stew.  Now that I can’t have barley I look for other things to make my stew hearty and add flavor.  This recipe is my corruption of a roast recipe from Food Network.  I think of it as “spicy stew” and it is a refreshing take on beef stew. Chock full of chunks of veggies and lots of spice, it will warm your tummy and make your taste buds sing!  I know my picture is not the prettiest but it really is tasty and despite the long list of ingredients it goes into the pot in short order and comes out tender and flavorful.

Be sure to use a cut of beef that will stand up to a long cooking, chuck is best. I used some boneless beef chuck ribs, kinda fatty but they have great beefy flavor. Chuck stew cubes also will work for this recipe.

Parsnips are like sweet pale carrots.  I also like to use them in my pot roast veggies.

parsnips

If you have some celeriac aka celery root use it in stead of the celery ribs.  It is hard to find and kinda pricy so I seldom spring for it.  It looks like a mutant potato, all bumpy which can make it a chore to peel.  celriac

I added the carrots as carrots make any stew better, in my opinion.

You can start this stew in the afternoon and let it bubble away until supper time.  I served mine with a baked potato for a starch but gluten free noodles would also be great.   If you are avoiding carbs leave off the potato/noodles.  The gravy was phenomenal though, over my baked potato!

 spicy beef stew

Spicy beef Stew
Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
2 large yams/sweet potatoes, peeled cut into 1-2 inch pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped into 1 inch chunks
2 celery ribs cut in fat chunks

1 cup of baby carrots, left whole

1.5 lbs boneless beef chuck ribs, trimmed of excess fat or cubed chuck steak

Salt and ground black pepper
1 tbsp. all-purpose gf flour or just white rice flour
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, plain or with added chili peppers

1 tbsp horseradish

2 tbsp. maple syrup
2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

Place chopped onion, sweet potatoes, parsnips, celery root or celery and the baby carrots in bottom of slow cooker. Season beef all over with salt and black pepper. Rub flour all over beef. Place beef chunks on top of vegetables in slow cooker.

Whisk together tomatoes, maple syrup, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. Pour mixture over beef.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. I did mine on high for just over 4 hours, perfect.

Remove beef ribs from slow cooker with tongs or a long handled fork and chop up and return to the stew, stir well and serve in a wide low soup bowl.  If you used chunks of chuck just stir and enjoy!

Homemade Lemoncello….Lightly Lovely

Last winter I made some lemoncello.  This is an Italian vodka based lemon liquor.  I used the peels of Meyer lemons my brother sent me from his lemon tree in Texas last November.  But if you don’t have a supply of these sweet thin skinned lemons you can use lemons from the grocery store.  Best if you can get organic ones.  Wash them well and let them dry completely before peeling.

meyer lemons

Meyer lemons

I used some potato based vodka to be sure it was gluten free, a 750 ml bottle is enough.  This is a simple recipe although it takes a number of weeks to get the finished product.  Basically you peel just the yellow parts off the skin/rind of 8-10 or so lemons, I use my sharpest peeler and try not to get much white peel as it is bitter. Then, dump the peels in a big jar, cover completely with the vodka, let stand a minimum of 30 days; up to 40 days.  Then make some sugar syrup:  mix 3 ½ cups sugar and 2 ½ cups water, bring to a boil, stirring. Let cool completely.  Pour it over the peels and vodka and let stand overnight.

I also have made it by draining off the peels and mixing the lemon infused vodka right with the sugary syrup.  I suggest you use the peels for candying.  Pour the newly made liquor into an empty wine bottle and cork it.  Let stand 30 days before using.  Some people claim it has to be kept in the fridge and others in the freezer. I have tried the fridge; fine but I even leave it out in its bottle and have never had mold; it is really booze and sugar.  Mine seems to keep well for several months on a shelf, if it lasts that long! The finished product is a pale champagne color with a sweet lemony taste.

You can roll the wet lemon peels in granulated sugar and let them dry on wax paper or in a dehydrator.  Fully dry, they can be ground up in the blender to make lemon sugar for adding to flour mixtures for dessert items; adds just a touch of lemon flavor.

Some people like it less sweet; use a cup less sugar in your simple syrup mixture.

lemoncello top

I like to pour about an ounce, maybe two into a short glass, add an ice cube or two and top with some filtered or bubbly seltzer water and perhaps a thin curl of lemon or even a skinny wedge of ripe honeydew melon.  Yummy in the hot summer and even as the fall cools down.  Perfect on a Sunday afternoon.  Get peeling!

Cowboy Cookies to Crush On!

My freezer is empty of cookies.  This is Not good.  Cookie baking was a priority for this week.  I saw this recipe a while ago on a favorite website; Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.  I saved it and made a mental note to put it at the top of my “gotta bake sweets” list.  Tonight I finally had time to throw it together.  These cookies are created just like that; dump and blend and then there is a bit of stickiness in the shaping of them but no matter, just wash those sticky fingers and hands before you put on the oven gloves!

I revised her recipe just a bit.  I like to use all dark brown sugar, I added walnuts, less vanilla and one batch I didn’t have quite enough Better Batter flour mix so I used a brown rice flour mix for the last ½ cup.   I sometimes don’t bother to beat the eggs; added them one at a time though. I got the coconut chips at Freys Better Foods here in Hellertown, on sale this week!

coconut chips

Cowboy cookies have been around a long time.  Popular with cowboys I assume! I have provided the recipe revised by it was published by Nicole Hunn in her fabulous blog, a great resource for gf baked goods.

They are sturdy and yummy.  The flavor is a mixture of semi-sweet chocolate chips, cinnamon, brown sugar and oats with a healthy dose of butter.  Totally. nummy. good.

cowboy cookie

I never heard of them before my first batch although apparently they have been around for decades. I read today that Laura Bush baked a version of them in her smack down with another First Lady wanna be.  Whatever.  They are hearty and really big so I am guessing they might well be from Texas!

cowboy cookies

My batch made 24 cookies, the recipe said 20….  So mine were a tad smaller than suggested but still really large.  I ended up baking mine for 14 minutes so I suggest you do likewise.  If you bake them one sheet at a time they should be done in 12 minutes but I would rather bake 2 sheets simultaneously.  Some of the sets of six cookies were done on the parchment paper and one sheet was just on a cooking sprayed non stick cookie sheet.  Both ways worked fine.  They spread some but not a lot; leave some space between them.

I plan to freeze most of them so they last a bit.  I am guessing success will be my ability to pull one of these big boys out of the freezer and snack down after work next week!

Cowboy Cookies, GF

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour (Better Batter works great)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it) *BB does!

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp kosher salt

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups coconut chips

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs at room temperature, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set them aside.

In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, and whisk to combine well.

Place about 1 teaspoon of the dry ingredients in a separate, small bowl and add the chocolate chips to the bowl. Toss to coat the chips, and set the bowl aside.

To the large bowl, add the granulated sugar and the brown sugar and whisk to combine, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Add the oats and coconut chips and mix to combine. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, eggs and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add the chips and reserved dry ingredients, and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout. If necessary to bring the dough together, knead it with your hands. Divide the dough into 20 pieces, each about 2 ounces. Roll each into a ball and place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball into disk about 1/4-inch thick with your palm or a big spatula.

Place the baking sheets in the center of the preheated oven, two at a time, and bake until lightly golden brown all over (about 14 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes or until firm before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy these fat and tasty big cookies; no one will ever guess they are gluten free!

Postscript: these freaking cookies are addictive! They are subtly flavored by the combination of the above named ingredients.  My grandson loves them too.  He and I shared 2 this evening. I ate another one after I took him home.  Trust me, they are the bomb!

Post script: I made a new batch today.  Note to self; follow recipe exactly and they are even better….  I make sure to beat the eggs first before pouring them on top of the softened butter and the vanilla.  I also remembered to add the chips last and watch them closely in the oven.  This batch is so  yummy I had to put most of them in the freezer to keep myself from eating more cookies.  Perfect warm out of the oven.  OMG: I am in love with these cowboys!