gluten free

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.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Blast this like-winter weather.  It’s no fun unless you like to slog through cold rain or sloppy snow.  Soup is often my remedy for winter chillies.  This is a simple soup made of roasted produce thinned with chicken broth and a touch of milk.  It will warm your tummy and fill you up without too many calories.  The leek adds a slightly different flavor and the apple a touch of sweetness which I find refreshing.  This mellow winter treat is great with a salad for lunch or a sandwich.  No fuss, very little muss.  Just a short list of ingredients and a fairly simple recipe.  Enjoy!

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Roasted Butternut squash Soup

1 decent sized butternut squash

1 medium onion

1 leek

2 fat carrots

1 Rome or Gala apple (any baking apple except Granny Smith will do)

1 garlic clove, unpeeled

3-4 cups of chicken broth, preferably homemade

½-3/4 cup of half and half or whole milk, even 1 percent will work!

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Directions:

First, cut the butternut squash down the length and scoop out the seeds. No need to peel. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Cut the onion in half and likewise the apple, the leek and carrots; cut off the leek above the light green portion and core the apple halves.  Put apples cut side up.  Roast them all in a 375 degree oven until the squash is tender when poked with a fork.  About 35 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash.  If the other fruits and veggies are browned and done early slide them off to a plate to cool.  Caramelized is fantastic but no burnt leeks in my soup thank you!

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When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a big spoon to scoop out all the meat of it into your blender.  Add the scooped out contents of the apple halves, the garlic you have squeezed out of its skin, the carrots and leek halves.  Pour in 2-3 cups of chicken broth, blend until smooth, and add more broth until you reach a consistency you like.  Mine was kinda thick and porridgey.  If you prefer to use a food processor that will work or put the scooped out veggies into a large sauce pan and blend with your immersion (boat motor) blender.  This will not be as smooth as the blender makes it but it is more fun and less cleaning as no blender container to wash!

After the blending is done pour it into a large sauce pan and add up to ¾ of a cup of half and half or whole milk.  I used a half cup but you may like it creamier.

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Originally posted in 2014, no recipe changes made to this version.

Bratwursts From Aldi’s are Still the Best!

This re-post is one of my most popular posts ever. I don’t think any other product review even comes close. We had them for supper recently. As great tasting as ever. It’s Oktoberfest time so here it is again!

I bought the package of 4 uncured Bavarian bratwurst at Aldi’s. They were pale and unexciting looking in the shrink wrap but when I pan fried them in a bit of olive oil they browned up nicely. Each brat was still juicy and tender with a delicate flavor I was very impressed with. bratwurst

I have bought brats before at other grocery stores and found them rather dull and pedestrian. These are thinner, longer and far tastier.  bratwurst packageUncured means they have less junk added in the curing process of many sausages.  Definitely a yummy and healthy-ish choice for sausage in any recipe. They cook in about 8-10 minutes. They make a quick supper with some pan-fried potatoes and a veggie. And grilling them is on the package as an alternative to the frying pan. I need try them on my grill. Maybe for camping next year…

They are imported from Germany, and I have heard that they are very authentic compared to most of the brats made in the USA. I give these an A plus in every category. Enjoy!

Originally posted June 2018.

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.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is all about those pumpkin flavored things like pumpkin spice lattes etc. I agree that pumpkin makes homemade baked goods even better tasting. A few years ago I made a batch of pumpkin muffins; they turned out nice.  Next, I did the upgrade version: mini chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.  Really amazing flavors and great texture in the resulting muffins! Today I am baking them with the addition of a heaping 1/3 cup raisins; I tried a few in the batter last time and loved the sweet flavor of the raisins sprinkled throughout the muffins. Doing that but even more raisins!

This recipe is my version using the banana muffin recipe from Annalise Roberts’s wonderful cookbook: Gluten Free Baking Classics as my jump off place.  They are easy to make, perfect in texture and totally yummy. I used coconut palm sugar; low on the hypoglycemic scale which is great for me.  I do love to sprinkle the raw muffins with chunky sugar before baking.  I sprinkled them last time with oatmeal, but I do love to use coarse sugar too. Today they are naked; in a rush so no time for sprinkle efforts.

I freeze any I won’t eat in 2 days; in a Ziplock freezer bag.  They make perfect snacks. My guy loves them about as much as I do. Enjoy!

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (14 muffins)

2 cups brown rice flour mix (see below)

2/3 c granulated sugar or coconut palm sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

¾ tsp xanthan gum

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp. ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 c packed canned pumpkin

½ cup mini chocolate chips

½ cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup heaping of raisins (optional)

2 lg eggs beaten

½ c milk, 1 or 2 percent plus 1 extra tbsp. if you use the palm sugar

½ c canola oil

Heat oven to 350 degrees, placing the rack in middle of oven.  Spray muffin pans with cooking spray.  One batch makes 12-14 muffins depending on how large you want them.

Mix all dry ingredients in bowl of stand mixer or big bowl. Add nuts and then pumpkin puree, stirring into the dry ingredients. Combine milk and oil, beat in eggs.  Add liquids to big bowl; stir until fully blended.

Fill muffin pans 2/3 full.  Bake 22-23 min until golden brown. Do not over bake or they get dry.  I baked these on the convection setting of my range; done in 17 minutes. Rest for five minutes and then remove from the pans using a fork, cool on a rack. Freezes well for up to 4 weeks.

Brown Rice Flour Mix
2 c brown rice flour

2/3 c potato starch

1/3 c tapioca flour

Originally published in 2016; minor updates to recipe as to adding raisins and using a convection oven.