Month: December 2020

Marshmallow Project

I have always wanted to make my own marshmallows. Just too busy every Christmas. I think my mom made them once when we were kids. Faint memory of soft pillows of yumminess. With covid restrictions and my grands living 1,350 miles away I finally have time. I got this recipe from my sister Karen who makes them every year. It is fairly close to many I have researched. It is not a difficult process but there are a few truths I have gleaned. Do not let the fluff get cool much less cold before you try to pour it into the prepared pan. The pan must be glass or ceramic, 9-x13. Know that as it cools it gets sticky. So, pour it quickly while warm, smooth with damp hands, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and let it stand a good long time to reduce the stickiness. You will find clean up easy with lots of hot water.

You can buy a box of unflavored jello; inside the box are 5 packets of dry unflavored gelatin. I think each packet is one tablespoon.

People like to flavor them with extracts like peppermint, almond or other fruity flavors. You can dip them sticky into melted chocolate and then dip/roll in crushed peppermint or coconut. Try sprinkles or other fun toppings. I did dark chocolate and toasted coconut; I loved it best with both toppings! It is a keeper and yet I am not that big of a fan of typical marshmallows; just so much better!

Karen’s Homemade Marshmallows

2 ½ Tbsp. unflavored gelatin

1 ½ cups white sugar

1 cup white corn syrup

¼ tsp. salt

2 Tsp vanilla

Confectioners sugar (maybe ½ a cup total)

Directions

Combine gelatin with ½ cup cold water in mixer bowl; let stand 30 min. At the 20 minute point start the wet sugar pan: combine sugar, corn syrup salt and ½ cup cold water in a small heavy saucepan. Heat to dissolve sugar. Wash down sides of pan with wet pastry brush. Put on candy thermometer. Heat on high, stirring, until it reaches 240 degrees. Immediately turn off.

Turn on your stand mixer, on low and add hot sugar mix slowly and carefully to gelatin mix until blended. Then turn up to high and beat 10-15 minutes until white and tripled in volume.   If you are using a KitchenAid you will probably have it done by 10 or 11 minutes. Stop before it cools. 

While it beats, put a decent amount of powdered sugar in 9×13 glass pan; very thick, thick sprinkle to well coat the entire inside of the pan is best. Maybe a ¼ inch thick. Pour hot sticky mixture into it. Smooth top with wet hands. Sprinkle with more powdered sugar. Let stand 8-12 hours. Longer is better.

Dump out onto powdered cutting board (this is where lots of powdered sugar put in before helps it free from pan) and cut with dry pizza wheel into rows and cubes. If tool gets sticky wash in hot water and dry before cutting more. Dip some into melted chocolate. Then dip in plain or toasted coconut. Roll them in toasted coconut. Or powdered sugar. For kids try colored sprinkles.   

You can use different flavorings instead of the vanilla. Next batch!  I stored each variety in a different container so the flavors stay distinct and it is easy to pick what I want.

These make excellent gifts wrapped in cellophane or put in baggies. Enjoy!

You could give these as a hot chocolate DIY gift; especially nice if you give homemade cocoa mix.  My ratio mixture per serving is 1 heaping Tbsp each of sugar and plain unsweetened cocoa. So put equal amounts in a jar and dip out 2 heaping tablespoons per serving. So… I heat ½ cup water with the dry stuff (Double for the two servings) and then add 1 ½ cup milk to it; heat stirring often until hot but not boiling. You can add a sprinkle of cinnamon if you like and of course some small homemade marshmallows.  This simple recipe makes 2 mugs of hot chocolate.

Buckeye Candy Bars

OMG: these buckeye candy bars are big trouble. Easy to make; 4 ingredients, not that much sugar, no baking.  TROUBLE! I can’t believe I have never made them before; where was this amazing treat hiding? They are seriously tasty and rather addictive.  And they are naturally gluten free; just no flour in these babies so no one will miss as it doesn’t belong in buckeyes.

I rarely buy peanut butter cups as I gobble them up immediately. These bars taste very close to a peanut butter cup. And they need no baking so kids could definitely make a batch all on their own.  A must make treat for anyone addicted to chocolate and peanut butter together.

The recipe is either plain or chunky peanut butter; commercial not natural peanut butter; the natural won’t work. You could make them with dark chocolate chips; I am thinking about that! They store at room temp asl long as your room isn’t too hot; I wouldn’t make these in the  hot days of summer unless you plan to keep them refrigerated.  You can cut them in small square or big ones or long bars to mimic a candy bar; what ever floats your boat.

I made a 9×9 square of them; you can easily double the recipe and make it in a 9×13 pan. It goes without saying that a box of these is a lovely gift for a dear friend!

Buckeye Candy Bars

Ingredients

1/2 stick of softened butter plus 1.5 Tsp. more for the chocolate layer

¾ cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

1.5 cups powdered sugar; sift if lumpy

6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips (half a bag)

Directions:

Line a 9×9 baking dish with parchment paper or wax paper. Put the half cup of butter and peanut butter in a mixing bowl; beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar gradually running the mixer on slow speed. It needs to be well combined; press into the prepared pan. Melt the chocolate chips and 1.5 Tsp. butter in microwave on low. Stir to combine. Drop blobs of chocolate over the pan and spread over the peanut butter mixture until a thin even layer is achieved. Chill at least 30 minutes before cutting into bars or squares.

Store in cool location. Lasts about a week if no one finds your stash and gobbles them up! You could wrap in heavy duty foil and freeze for a few weeks. Thaw before eating, 30-60 minutes on countertop.

Easy to double recipe and make in a 9×13 pan.  Enjoy!

Cheddar Cheese Biscuits: Guilty Pleasure

I don’t buy redi-made mixes that often, in fact I have never bought a gf biscuit mix except these. These were from Aldi’s; a fav hangout! Cheddar cheese biscuits in the orange and blue box. This was my third time making them.

You add water, quarter cup oil and a third of a cup of grated cheese, stir and it becomes this slightly weird fluffy white stuff that looks more like cotton batting than anything else. Next, plop big clumps of this fluffy mixture onto a parchment paper lined (or baking oil sprayed) baking sheet and pop them into the hot oven to bake.  After about 16-17 minutes out comes the pan.  Each biscuit gets brushed with a buttery mixture you create with an herb/garlic powder that is blended with fresh melted butter. Super easy to make and definitely popular at my house.

cheddar cheese bisquits

They are browned on the bottom and tender. The flavor is buttery and definitely has a garlic vibe going on. We had them with a big bowl of beef stew I made for supper.  My guy took home a container of stew and two biscuits. He wanted more cheesy rolls than two but I said; “Hey, those are my gf biscuits! Two is enough!” He left happily clutching his treats including those biscuits.   That should tell you they are tasty; Joe does not need to eat gf and he is fairly picky about his bread.  If it passes the Joe test; it is pretty tasty!! cheddar cheese bisquit

They were a couple bucks and the add ins are minimal. I made 10 decent sized biscuits. I froze two which were destined for consumption in January. Totally yummy even if not particularly healthy, white gf flour, sugar,  cheese and butter as major components.  Not gonna tell you how many calories are in them but frankly regular rolls have lots of calories. If it tastes buttery it gonna have calories…. Still, not often I find something this easy to make and this tasty.  I put this in my win win column. Enjoy!

Christmas Stollen, 2.0….Even Better!

Gluten-Free Holiday Stollen Yield: two 10″ loaves

The classic Christmas stollen dough is made with yeast. This quicker, easier gluten-free version, made with baking powder as the rising agent, is even tastier in my humble opinion. Filled with dried fruit and toasted almonds, and covered with a layer of melted butter and powdered sugar, this pastry is delicious with a cup of coffee or tea. Great choice for when company is coming as it isn’t that much work or time needed to create this masterpiece. Everyone will think  you slaved all day to bake it. No need to tell them how easy it is! If you are searching for the perfect gluten free holiday treat; look no further. I cannot say enough good things about this treat. It is loved by all and that second loaf makes a wonderful gift.

I made it 2 years ago, lost the recipe; had to get it again from the King Arthur Flour’s web site customer service center as they have removed it from their recipe rotation. They said it needs some tweaking. I disagree, it is just delectable. My family adores it and will do nefarious things to get more stollen at Christmastime.

It is far easier made without yeast and I frankly don’t miss it like I thought I would. This dough is very tender and flavorful. You could use orange rind instead of lemon rind and the dried fruit selection is entirely up to your tastes or your pantry. I am looking forward to enjoying stollen in a couple of weeks. One more good thing; it doesn’t require aging like a fruit cake. As soon as it cools you can cut a fat piece and enjoy a slice of heaven on earth!

Adding the butter
Butter is now integrated into dough using pastry cutter

Dough

2 1/4 cups King Arthur basic blend Gluten-Free Flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt*

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) cold butter

3/4 cup ricotta cheese, part-skim milk type

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Grated rind of 1 small lemon; or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil, or 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup of your favorite dried fruits, chopped to 1/2″ pieces (I do apricots, dried cherries, currents, raisins or dried peaches/pears)

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and cooled

—————

*Reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon if you use salted butter.

dried fruit and citrus zest

Topping

the dried fruit is mixed in!

Adding the toasted almonds
Adding the wet mixture into the dry dough
formed stollen ready to bake
baked and powdered
More powdered sugar sprinkled on using a sieve

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with

parchment.

2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum in a mixing bowl.

3. Cut the cold butter into small chunks, then blend it into the flour mixture to form uneven crumbs.

4. In a separate bowl, mix together the cheese, eggs, vanilla, and flavors.

5. Toss the fruit and almonds with the flour mixture until evenly distributed. Then combine the wet and dry ingredients, mixing until most of the flour is

moistened.

6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead it two or three times, until it holds together. Divide it in half.

7. Pat each piece of dough into an 8″ x 7″ oval about 1/2″ thick.

8. Fold each piece of dough roughly in half, leaving the edge of the top half about 1/2″ short of the edge of the bottom half. Should you fold the long way, or the short way? The long way will give you a longer, narrower stollen, with shorter slices; folding the short way will give you a wider, fatter stollen, with longer slices.  I do the long way, your choice.

9. Use the edge of your hand to press the dough to seal about 1″ in back of the open edge; this will make the traditional stollen shape. It’s also the familiar Parker House roll shape, if you’ve ever made them. The dough will probably crack; that’s OK, just smooth it out as best you can.

10. Carefully place the shaped stollen on the prepared baking sheet.

11. Bake the stollen until they’re very lightly browned around the edges and on top, about 40 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the center should come out clean.

12. Remove the stollen from the oven, and transfer them to a rack. Brush them each with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle heavily with confectioners’ sugar.

13. Allow the stollen to cool, then brush with butter again, and sprinkle with sugar again. Wrap in plastic wrap until ready to serve; serve within a week. If desired, sprinkle with additional sugar just before serving.

14. Yield: two 1-pound stollen loaves. I like to freeze one for another occasion if I am not gifting it right away. Enjoy!

Blueberry Tart 2.2

I have made this tart many times. This time I used a simple, sweet, press in, gf pie crust. It adds a bit of sweetness and is super easy; no rolling out the pie dough. In the past I always had leftover filling that I baked in a separate pan. This recipe revision endeavored to end that practice; I reduced the volume to make just enough to fill the tart pan, success!

Notes; you can leave out the lemon ingredients if you don’t want that flavor. I use King Arthur’s basic gf flour blend when I make a homemade crust, the one that is just flours, no xanthan in it. I used blueberries but I am sure you could make this with raspberries or a mixture of the two.

The ricotta adds a delicate texture and crumb. These were definitely off season blueberries but tasty none the less. I used a little of the rind and juice of a Meyer lemon which has a delicate flavor compared to regular lemons. Do let the ricotta cheese and eggs warm up to room temp before using them; always good advice with gf baking.

Ricotta Blueberry Tart

Cookie crust:

1 cup brown rice blend; King Arthur Basic GF Blend

1 tsp. xanthan gum

¼ cup sugar

5 Tbsp. cold butter cut into 10 pieces

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients in stand mixer bowl.  Add the butter, mix until fine like sand.  Add extract. Blend briefly.  Spray pan with cooking spray.  Sprinkle in the mixture into the pan and spread evenly. Press lightly in with your hands. DO not press too hard or it becomes way too firm.

Or, roll out that premade pie crust and fit into your pan; trim off extra crust. Fill.

Filling:

1 cup ricotta cheese, whole milk is best but any will do.

2 lg eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. lemon extract

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon rind grated

1 Tbsp. plus 1 Tsp. tapioca starch or corn starch

Pinch sea salt

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350 degrees/ Mix ricotta with eggs in the mixer bowl you just made the crust in and then add the rest of ingredients except the blueberries.  Carefully pour into the tart crust. Top with the berries.

Bake tart 40-45 min at 350 degrees. It should be fairly firm in the center.  Let cool before slicing.  You can sprinkle it with powdered sugar if desired. I am always so eager to try it I totally forget to do this! Enjoy.

GF Flour blend (if you want to make it yourself)

2 cups brown rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca starch