cinnamon

Pear Spice Muffins…Another Snack Option

I had few portable baked snacks and a few bosc pears so I figured it was time for a new muffin recipe. This is a riff off a recipe out of Annalise Robert’s cookbook; Gluten-Free Baking Classics. It is  similar to my recipe for apple nut muffins that I created from her banana muffin recipe. If I had to have just one GF cookbook hers would be the one for me.

Do use a fairly firm pear; I used a bosc which is naturally great for baking but almost any firm pear will do. Notice I didn’t say “hard”. Nope to that; not gonna taste great.  Don’t chop them super fine or big; 1/3 inch dice is good.

I always enjoy eating a muffin still warm out of the oven. It is smart to freeze any you won’t eat in 2 days; ziplock freezer bag works great.  They make super snacks.  These  muffins are kinda delicate; if you want to take them on a hike or car ride put them in a plastic food box – the rigid sides will keep your muffins safe from crushing.

Pear Spice Muffins              

2 cups brown rice flour mix (see below)

2/3 c granulated sugar (can use coconut palm sugar: just increase milk by 2 Tbsp.)

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

skimpy 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1  1/2  c chopped firm pear; peel and core! (about 2 pears)

½ c chopped walnuts

2 large eggs beaten

½ c milk, 1 or 2 percent

½ c canola oil

DIRECTIONS:  Heat oven to 375, placing the rack in middle of oven.  Spray muffin pans with cooking spray.  One batch makes 14-16 muffins.

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of stand mixer or big bowl

Add pear chunks and walnuts; stir to coat them with dry mix

Combine milk and oil,  Beat in eggs.  Add liquids to big bowl; stir until blended.

Fill muffin pans 2/3 full.  I use a big serving spoon and fill it about half way to dump in each muffin space. Sprinkle the top with a bit of raw old fashioned oatmeal; 2-3 Tbsp. should do it or try  cinnamon sugar.

Bake 20-24 min until golden brown. I used my convection setting and did them for 17 minutes. Perfect. Do not over bake or they will taste dry.  Rest five minutes and then remove from the pans and cool on a rack.

Freezes well for up to 3 weeks.  Keeps in fridge (well wrapped) a few days.

Brown Rice Flour Mix base mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Apple Fritter Quick Bread

Saw this recipe for apple fritter bread a week or two ago. Incredible looking so I wanted to make it but it was not a gluten free recipe.  A few days later I discovered that Better Batter has an identical recipe up on their website but made with their wonderful gf flour blend.  Didn’t take me long to decide I just had to bake a loaf. Never made anything like it in the past other than an apple coffeecake but that was a bit more cakey and was baked in a tube pan.  So armed with just two good sized apples and a lot of cinnamon and nutmeg I threw this recipe together. It is made with oil; I used canola and my dairy choice was whole milk but I am guessing you could use any sort of milk you like. The batter was kinda thin and that worried me but it thickened up as I compiled it in the 9×5 baking pan.

I used my stand mixer and several smaller bowls; one for the apples which are tossed with cinnamon sugar, a small bowl with brown sugar and cinnamon and a medium bowl with the flour and leavening agents in it.  Nothing tricky or complicated; dump and mix it together both in the stand bowl and then in the loaf pan: you layer it up with batter, then apples, then brown sugar/cinnamon mixture, do that another layer and then run a butter knife through it to swirl the cinnamon a bit.  My loaf baked the full 50 minutes and then I let it sit in the pan a while to cool and solidify.  I did make the glaze; not that much more sugar and it looks so pretty.

Yes there is just about ¾ cup of granulated sugar plus 1/3 cup brown sugar but it is a lovely fall treat and there isn’t much else to complain about; no butter or crisco and the chopped apples add a healthy touch. No one is going to whine when you serve up slices of homemade apple quick bread.  Great with a cup of coffee or tea.  Just do it!  Here is the link to the recipe.  Let me know how you like it.  http://betterbatter.org/fall-time-apple-bread

Cinnamon Raisin Bread Mix Review

A good friend gave me a gluten free bread mix for Christmas, Bob’s Red Mill Cinnamon Raisin Yeast Bread.  I haven’t done many mixes for bread so it was a new experience. I made it the other week, it turned out great.  Very simple to create, not that much to add, water, two eggs and oil and beat it well, let it rise and bake the loaf.  Mine went together in a few minutes and I poured it into my tall sided 8 ½ x 4 inch bread pan and smoothed the top with a wet spatula. I let it rise the maximum; one hour.  Baked it and it rose nicely.  Cooled and sliced…very tasty.  This is not a sweet bread; rather low in sugar which can’t hurt and not overly cinnamoned, just enough.  I froze most of it sliced so it won’t spoil. I like to toast it after defrosting (my toaster has a defrost setting) and butter the hot bread.  It makes a very satisfying snack and goes well with breakfast choices like scrambled eggs or an omelet.

lemon velvet pie 004

lemon velvet pie 010lemon velvet pie 011Warning, this is not a traditionally sweet cinnamon raisin bread: seriously lowered sugar so I was put off a bit at first bite but once I adjusted my expectations I was pretty darn happy with it.  I think it would be awesome for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Maybe I will try that for lunch tomorrow.

If you can’t find it in your store (try Wegmans) you can shop for it on line: http://www.bobsredmill.com/shop/mixes.html

Happy baking!

French Apple Tart…ooh la la

This French apple tart is an old favorite of mine, been making it for years.  I have no idea where I got the original recipe from so I can’t give credit for it, I lost my copy and had to replicate it. Plus, I had to change it a bit to make it gluten free but it tastes just as good as before.  The cinnamon and lemon topping are what makes it so tasty.

It should be made with an apple that keeps its shape; Granny Smith is the best choice in that regard or Golden Delicious.  Don’t use one that goes all squishy like Empire or Macintosh.  You only need 3 large apples.  It should give you about 6-8 slices of tart. Lesser amount of slices if your family is piggy, the full eight slices if they are not big dessert eaters.french apple tart

I use my GF tart shell crust which is from Annalise Roberts’ book; Gluten-Free Baking Classics.  It is very easy; hand pressed into your tart pan.  I would say that this is a cookie crust; sweet and short, very yummy.

I rarely have any of this tart left over for more than 24 hours.  It is very popular with everyone.  I like it for how easy it is to make, how handsome it looks and that I can throw it together quickly with only 3 apples and a lemon. Sorry for the lack of photos.  Wasn’t thinking about pictures when I was making it…

French Apple Tart

Crust

1 cup brown rice flour mix

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. xanthan gum

5 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, in 5 chunks

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients in a stand mixer, cut in the butter by mixing it at a med low speed until crumbly.  Add vanilla and mix well.  If it is really dry looking add a tbsp. of water.  Press into the bottom and up the sides of your tart shell as evenly as you can make it.

For this recipe I always use an extra large 10 inch tart pan.  Mine is ceramic so it doesn’t have a removable bottom.   Bake it at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let it cool while you peel and slice the apples.

Filling

3 large Granny Smith apples; peeled and sliced – not thick or too thin

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. GF flour

Lay the apple slices in concentric circles in the tart pan over the crust. Mix the sugar and flour and sprinkle over the apples.  Cover loosely with foil and bake 25-30 minutes until the apples are soft if pricked with a fork.  Do not bake until they collapse; should still hold their shape.

While the tart is just finishing its baking make the topping.

Topping

In a small heavy sauce pan place

2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. cornstarch and mix them.

Add ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest (grate the zest and then juice the lemon)

½ cup water

½ tsp. cinnamon

Cook over medium heat, stirring it constantly with a small whisk or a spoon, until it boils and seems thickened and is no longer opaque.  This should take less then five minutes.  Remove from heat and pour the hot gloppy topping carefully over the hot apple tart taking your time so you cover the entire surface of the apples.

Let cool before serving.

This tart is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.  Don’t put it on top or it will not look so nice because of the French cinnamon topping. Or some plain organic yogurt goes well and is far healthier…just saying.

Brown Rice Flour Mix (this is the same as King Arthur’s gf all purpose blend)
2 c brown rice flour (finely ground)

2/3 c potato starch – Not potato flour!

1/3 c tapioca flour

Originally posted in September 2014.  I bake this tart quite often; it is definitely a go to tart at my house.