gluten free baking

Pistachio & Cranberry Shortbread

This is my version of a recipe that I translated from all-purpose flour to a gf 1-1 blend with a few other tweaks to make it even better.

This holiday shortbread cookie is pretty easy to make and with fresh orange zest in the dough it has a delightful flavor. Of course, I made it with butter, so it has the proper shortbread texture and flavor. No one will ever guess that they are gluten free. They will just keep eating them!

Pistachio and Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter

2/3 cup sugar

Grated zest of a large orange; do that before you squeeze some fresh juice for these cookies. If small orange do zest of 2

1 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/3 cup King Arthur 1-1 GF flour blend

1/4 tsp. salt if using unsalted butter; leave out if you went with salted butter

3/4 cup pistachios, roughly chopped after measuring

3/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped after measuring

INSTRUCTIONS;

Put softened butter and sugar in stand mixer bowl, beat until creamy, about 2 minutes. Can use a portable mixer if that’s what you have. Add juice and extract, beat until blended in. Add flour, salt and zest on low speed, blend well. Fold in the nuts and cranberries on low or with a spatula. Form dough into 2 logs; about 2-2.5 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in your freezer for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350. Put parchment paper on 2 baking sheets. Slice dough in 1/4-inch diameter coins. Place an inch apart on the parchment papered sheets. Bake 12-15 minutes, I did 15 minutes until edges are golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5-9 minutes and then carefully move to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before eating so they have the desired crunchy texture. Store in a cookie jar. Makes about 40 cookies. Enjoy!

Note: I only baked half; other log is tightly sealed in plastic to bake in a week.

Mexican Wedding Cookies – A Classic

These miniature snowball cookies were the foundation of the Christmas cookie baking season when I was a kid.  They were always made every year, sometimes a second batch had to be baked as we had eaten them all well before the big day!   Some people call them Russian Teacakes… For me it is not Christmas without these cookies so I was extremely pleased to find a great gf recipe. My sisters think they are better tasting than the old regular recipe!

They are easy to make with not too many ingredients.  Don’t make them too big or they become very fragile… stick with the size as given. Be very careful lifting them off the pan as they are delicate until fully cooled. The texture and subtle flavor of this GF version is actually superior to the wheat flour recipe of my childhood. When you bite into one it shatters into a delicious mouthful of sweet cookie. They are delightful with a cup of tea or coffee.  My family clamors for a few to take home!

You can use pecans, but I rarely do; walnuts are somewhat cheaper, and I sort of prefer their flavor for this cookie. If you like them really sweet sprinkle on extra powdered sugar, less of it makes them perfect for those who are not used to too much sweetness. This recipe is from Annalise Roberts’ fabulous Gluten-Free Baking Classics with some minor changes by me. I have not tried them with any but this flour blend. I bet they might work with a measure for measure flour mix; just leave out the xanthan gum in that case.

Storage: they keep well; I put mine in an empty butter cookie tin with wax paper between the 2 layers; no more than 2 layers or they tend to break up easily. Or a cookie jar but do be careful about too many stacked on top of each other.  No one will ever know they are GF, and you will get complements on their flavor and texture.  Enjoy: they are rather addictive cookies!

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Mexican Wedding Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

6 tbsp. powdered (confectioners) sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups King Arther Basic GF blend flour – aka brown rice mix (recipe below)

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 cup walnuts or pecans chopped fine

Confectioner’s sugar for sprinkling

Directions: beat butter and powdered sugar in large bowl of stand mixer until light and creamy.  Add vanilla, beat in.  Add flour and gum, mix in until well blended, stir in walnuts until distributed.  Chill dough for an hour, more than 2 hours; dough gets too stiff.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Form dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar if you like.  Place on cookie sheet lightly sprayed with Pam (not the baker’s version that has flour).  Place about 1 ½ inches apart.  Bake 13 to 15 minutes until lightly browned on top and bottom.  Cool on pan for 5 min and then sprinkle with lots of powdered sugar before placing on wire rack to cool. I like to sift it onto the cookies so the coating is even.  You could put a sheet of wax paper under the wire rack to catch the excess sugar.  Store well wrapped: in airtight container, in fridge for a week or freezer for up to 30 days.  You could store unbaked dough in fridge for a few days.

Brown Rice Flour Mix base mix  (same as King Arthur’s Basic gf blend)
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch *not potato flour

1/3 c tapioca flour

Note: First posted December 2014 on my blog.  Minor revisions have been made since then.

Apple Crisp: Easy and Tasty

Apples are the centerpiece of the fall harvest culture, and we entered fall last week so it’s time for some apple-based dessert!  Some may think pumpkins are the way to go in baking, but I firmly believe the apple is king in autumn in America.  Crisp, sweet, flavorful and so very good for you. Apple crisp is nice as it goes together quickly and travels well. I will be camping next weekend, and it will be very good indeed baked on a campfire.

If you can, get the organic ones as the sprays they use on growing apples are not at all good for you.  I have made apple crisp with some baking apples from a pick it yourself farm near Milford NJ and it was very tasty.  I especially suggest you get your apples at an actual apple orchard.  Another orchard just south of Hellertown, PA is Bechdolt’s Orchard which grows many apple varieties.  Go there if you want the freshest tastiest apples in the Saucon Valley area.  Apples grow all over the globe so shop where you can get them fresh and crisp! The variety is up to you but I would not suggest any that are not meant for baking; don’t use red delicious as they are for eating only, same goes for honey crisp apples. apple-cart

This recipe is out of Gluten-Free Baking Classics Cookbook by Annalise G. Roberts with a few minor changes.  I am betting you can use any GF flour mix in this recipe, not like a cake or other baked goods that have very specific flour requirements.

And it is so much easier than a pie.  No crust to mix or roll out.  Just a simple mixed up topping to add to the cut up apples.  Bake it and voila: a yummy yet fairly healthy dessert!

I have made the topping several ways.  You can cut un-melted butter into the dry ingredients; it makes for a firmer crumb than the melted version below. I have made it egg free but it really somehow needs that egg to pull it together to mimic a wheat flour based crisp.  The oats can be left out if you don’t like them or can’t eat them. I personally love oats in my crisp.  A quarter cup of chopped nuts can be added to the topping; really a nice touch too!  I don’t like it too sweet so I use the lesser amount of sugar.  This is entirely a personal choice.  You can up the nutritional value by adding flaxmeal to the dry mix; 2-3 tbsp.

For those who love ice cream, this recipe is absolutely perfect with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream next to it.  I like it warm from the oven but it also is tasty cold the next day, if you have any left over that is!

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Angie’s Apple Crisp

1 cup King Arthur’s Basic GF flour (mix recipe is available below)

½ to ¾ cup sugar (I prefer brown sugar)

½ cup old fashioned gf oats

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

Sprinkle of nutmeg

½ tsp xanthan gum

½ tsp. salt

1 large egg

6 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples

¼-1/3 cup butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees.   Put rack in center level of oven.  Lightly butter a 9 inch square pan or spray with cooking spray.

Combine all the dry ingredients.  Add egg and stir to mix well.   Place apples in the baking pan, top with the dry mix and sprinkle with the melted butter.  Bake 40-50 minutes until bubbly and the topping is lightly browned. Let cool at least 10 minutes before dishing out. Six servings.

You can bake this on a grill with the lid down or even on a campfire although that can be chancy due to uneven heat. Let me know how you bake yours!

Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic GF blend)
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

Originally posted by me October 2015.