Glazed Over

The other day a box of Krispy Kreme donuts was delivered to my door. A fundraiser was happening through a friend, so I signed up for a dozen donuts... for my mom. You see, she is the President of the Krispy Kreme Donut Fan Club.

OK, not really.

But if there was a KKDFC, she would most definitely be the President. I don't think she can drive past a KKD store without stopping. Thankfully, they aren't in the local area so she can only stop when she's traveling... which is a very good thing, because she would be a very large woman, indeed.

She was incredibly kind about having them in the house, never eating one upstairs in my presence. Although watching someone eat a "regular" food doesn't bother me anymore (except for pizza, eating that in front of me is just plain MEAN) she is always sensitive to my gf status.

So, although I never saw one of the donuts, they did get me thinking... about glaze. There is just something about a glazed donut. The slightly set, yet still soft glaze that covers it sends a donut over the top.

Glaze.

I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I decided to do something about it.

Below you will find a once-glutenous-now-gf cake recipe called "Honey Bun Cake"... complete with.... you guessed it... GLAZE.

Here's the thing, though. It will be tempting to shove your face right into the pan after glazing. Don't do that. Two reasons.

First, searing hot cake.

Second, it actually tastes even better after it has completely cooled.

Trust me, it will be worth the wait.

My apologies for the terrible photo. After waiting and waiting for this cake to cool, I must confess my mind was NOT focused on getting a good shot. It was focused on EATING IT.


Gluten Free Honey Bun Cake

1 cup brown sugar (I used light brown)
2 tsp cinnamon

1 box gf yellow cake mix (I used Wegmans, you can also use Betty Crocker)
1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
4 eggs
1/2 cup melted coconut oil (or veggie, canola)

2 cups powdered sugar
5-6 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

In a small bowl, blend the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, sour cream, eggs and oil using a whisk. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture over the batter, then spoon the remaining batter over the brown sugar and spread, covering all the brown sugar.

Using a knife, swirl the batter, running the knife in a zig-zag pattern.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. While the cake is baking, combine the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. Immediately after removing the cake from the oven, drizzle the glaze over the cake and spread with a spatula.

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

Kid Friendly!

I'm in that season of life where my kids can't seem to coordinate things.

For example, if they would just get their winter colds at the same time, as opposed to having one get sick, then sharing it with the other, who then shares it back again, etc... so that they are sick (off and on) all winter, that would be GREAT.

My kids can't seem to agree on what dinners they like. If one likes it, the other doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I don't make separate meals for my kids. What I make for dinner, I make for dinner and that's that... but it sure would be nice if they BOTH sat down to the dinner table, a look of joy on their sweet faces as they explain, "OH MOTHER! What a wonderful dinner you have prepared for us!"

What! A mama can dream, can't she?

I have, however, come across a dinner that, though it doesn't render them speechless with excitement, DOES get eaten without any complaint. In fact, my 5-year-old actually said, "Oh, THIS chicken? I like THIS chicken!" and my daughter, who generally is a good eater, sat down and munched away.

Can I get an "amen"?

All around, this dinner is actually fun to eat. It's like eating a sourdough pretzel with mustard, only it's a chicken dish. It's fast and easy, and only requires 3 ingredients (unless you decide to dip your tenders in honey mustard dressing, which I highly recommend). And your kids will like it!

Can I get just one more "amen"?

Gluten Free Pretzels 'n Mustard Chicken Tenders

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders
1/4 cup yellow mustard
3-4 cups of gluten free pretzels

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Place the pretzels in a gallon size baggie and smash with a meat mallot or rolling pin until ground into very small pieces. Pour pretzel bits onto a large plate.

Place mustard on another large plate.

Using a basting brush (or your hands if you don't have a brush!), thinly coat a piece of chicken with mustard. Then place the mustard-covered tender in the pretzels bits, flip it over and press down to coat on all sides. Place tender on the cookie sheet and repeat for the rest of the chicken.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for 9 minutes, flip the chicken tenders and cook for another 9 minutes.

A Return to the Norm

I'M BACK! Did you miss me?

It's OK, I understand that you hadn't really noticed that I've been gone. Time flies, doesn't it? But I have a good reason. Let me explain. No, let me summarize.

I got sick. Something like what I had when I first was diagnosed as gluten intolerant, but different. Something was very wrong.

I went through the usual battery of tests and ended up at the GI Specialist again. Basically, I'm completely healthy, yet sick. My doctor decided to put me on one of THE most miserable diets ever created. The FODMAP diet. Ever heard of it?

Google it. Better yet, here... read this: http://www.med.monash.edu/cecs/gastro/fodmap/

Anyway, I had to go on this diet for 6-8 weeks. It includes a gluten free diet, as well as LOTS of other things. The thought is that a lot of people with gut trouble heal their systems through this diet. About 75% of the people who try it have success!

So, I went on the diet. I hated every minute of it. I whined, I complained, I sulked.

It wasn't pretty.

The trial period ended with me in the GI doctor's office for a consultation. The conclusion?

I'm not one of the 75%.

So, I'm off the diet! Yippee! But I'm still not completely well. Boooo! But, I am back to eating just gluten free. It's amazing how your perspective changes! "Just" gluten free? It seems like a walk in the park now!

So today, in celebration of being back, I have a present for you.

I have THE best gluten free chocolate chip cookie ever. Now, don't get me wrong. You'll find two other GF CCC recipes on my blog. The first is my super-duper-completely-from-scratch-refrigerate-for-an-hour-before-baking cookie recipe. It's the monster recipe of all recipes and it makes a monster sized cookie. The other is a reduced fat cookie that only has 3 tablespoons of butter in the entire recipe. Both recipes rock.

But if you miss Toll House Cookies... if you long to walk down memory lane for a minute... then I have a recipe for you. Now, they aren't low fat. But on the upside, the batter doesn't require refrigeration before baking.

It's all about compromise, right?

Try these. Today. Don't have the secret ingredient in your cupboard? Go today and get it so you can make them tomorrow. Then sit down with a glass of milk... or tea... or coffee... whatever floats your boat... and take a stroll down memory lane.

I promise, you will not be disappointed. Chewy, soft, with melty chocolate. Oh, yes.

PS - The bite out of the cookie below may or may not have been made by me. I may or may not have been able to wait to have one before I finished taking the photo.

PPS - You have no proof it was me.

Best EVER Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie
1 cup room temp butter (if you use unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to dry ingredients)

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding mix*

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix

1 10-oz. package mini-chocolate chips (I used "Enjoy Life")

*the secret ingredient... shhhhhhhh....

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use sil-pats on cookie sheets or non-stick cookie sheets.

With a hand mixer, mix butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each one. Add pudding mix and vanilla extract, mixing until combined completely. Add Pamela's Mix and beat until completely combined. Add chips and beat on low to incorporate throughout the batter.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto cookie sheets and back for 10-12 minutes (I bake for 11 minutes). Cookies will look slightly puffed and maybe a little under-cooked in the center when done. Wait 3-5 minutes before transferring from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Cookie to the Rescue!

Ready for a cookie adventure?

Yesterday was the first day of Vacation Bible School at our church. Since my son would be attending this year and has a peanut allergy, I decided to go ahead and bake some cookies for him to have during the nightly snack time.

I also knew there would be a newly married guy in the band, Tom, who is gluten free... so I thought I would throw a few cookies in a baggie for him to snack on, as well.

I whipped up a batch of Toasted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies and put 2 cookies in a baggie for my son and 3 in another baggie for Tom.

As the kids gathered in the sanctuary for the opening part, a mom approached me with a small baggie of cookies, explaining that her daughter was gluten free, and asked if I would make sure these got to her during snack time. Wanting to be proactive (meaning, being terribly afraid I would flake out and completely forget), I immediately brought the baggie of cookies over to one of the leaders in charge of the little girl's age group.

There. Taken care of.

Fast forward about 20 minutes. I was down in the dining room, photographing the game time with groups of kids. There was a plethora of yelling, cheering and screaming as the kids raced to and around a hazard cone with frisbees on the heads.

Suddenly, a man who also was volunteering as a helper at VBS quickly entered the room and announced he had just received news that lightning had struck his home and it was on fire. He grabbed his things, his wife and grandkids who had come to be part of VBS and left.

It hit me about 3 minutes later. His wife was the woman I gave the little girl's cookies to... and who probably still had them somewhere on her person as she sped to her lightning-struck house.

Oh, dear.

I raced around to key people - kitchen staff, other teachers - asking if anyone knew about the little girl's cookies.

Nothing.

Then it occurred to me... the cookies I had given to Tom! I ran back up to the sanctuary, quickly explained the situation to him and his wife and before I could even ask, Tom volunteered a cookie. What a guy!

I grabbed a cookie on a tissue and got down the snack room just as they were handing out cookies to the kids in the little girl's age group.

Whew!

Who knew a cookie could come to the rescue at Vacation Bible School?

PS - Tom declared this was, hands down, the best oatmeal cookie he had ever had. So now you understand the true sacrifice he made in giving up 1/3 of his cookie stash. Thank you, Tom!

Gluten Free Toasted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup toasted coconut
1/2 + 1/8 cup ground gf rolled oats (or oat flour)
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/8 cup gf all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
2 1/4 cups gf rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, egg and extracts until light and fluffy.

In another bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients (except coconut and rolled oats) to wet mixture and beat until just combined.

Stir in coconut and oats.

Using a medium cookie scoop, drop on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 13-14 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes before moving to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies.

It's All About Priorities

Summer is here.

You'll notice I didn't end that statement with an exclamation point, as one would do if saying this with some sort of joy or excitement.

No, I ended it with a plan ol' period... because the fact that summer is here is just an obvious observation... one, I should mention, that I am not thrilled about.

I loathe summer.

As a side note, I love the word "loathe"... it's so much better than "hate". Loathing consists of more of a burning hate... it says it all and then some.

Back to summer.....

My friends and family know that the arrival of summer also means the arrival of my hibernation period. I do not sunbathe... mostly because I do not enjoy being burnt to a crisp or uncomfortable sweaty.

Thus, I usually spend the summer working on home projects... reorganizing closets, rearranging and reorganizing the homeschool room... things like that.

This summer, however, has been slightly different. By slightly, I mean completely.

Yes, I have a plethora of projects I should be working on. But really, all I want to do is read. I have a stack of books lined up that I have been meaning to read all year and just haven't gotten to... so all I aspire to do is sit and read.

One does not cross things off one's To Do List whilst sitting on one's tushy, reading.

It's rather easy to get caught up in a good book. Fortunately, my daughter is exactly the same way. So the other day, it was quite the normal afternoon... with the two of us couched out in the living room, reading. My 4-year-old son was happily entertaining himself with some Legos.

Have you ever noticed how time slips by much faster when you are caught up in a good book? Frankly, I think it's an insult to an author to stop reading at the climax of the story just because, say, it's time to make dinner. Consider this... the author poured him or herself into this story, spending countless hours getting the facts straight and the plot perfect. Who am I to put that book down at its peak just because I have a family to feed?

It is at times like these, friends, when you need to have a plan. A dinner-on-the-table-in-30-minutes plan.

I've got one for you.

With this recipe, you can make hot sticky rice, steamed broccoli and the main dish in 30 minutes. I kid you not.

It's summer. It's time to pick up that book, sit that tushy down in your most comfy chair (in the air conditioning!) and get engrossed in your favorite book.

Oh, but first... you may want to print out this recipe. Might just come in handy later today... around 5:00 PM.


















Gluten Free Barbecue Smoked Sausage

1/2 of a medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp butter
1 lb smoked turkey sausage (or kielbasa), cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 cup ketchup
1/3 to 1/2 cup brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, lightly brown sausage. Lower heater to medium and add sliced onion and saute until onion is soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a light boil. Lower heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes until sauce is thickened and all flavors have combined, stirring occasionally.

Serve over hot rice. Makes 4 servings.

Rock Star Dessert!

The other night we had dear friends over for dinner and games. These folks, in particular, are such comfortable friends that our get-togethers are more like time spent with family.

For dinner, I decided to make my trimmed down version of Giada's Lasagna Rolls (you can find the recipe here) along with my Cheesy Garlic Rolls (will post soon!) and salad. One of my dinner guests is a huge garlic fan, so I knew this meal would score big points with her.

Can I just tell you... there is nothing like the smell of sauteing garlic. Between the lasagna rolls and the cheesy garlic rolls, my house was full of the aroma of garlic. My husband kept walking through the kitchen, muttering things like, "It smells so amazing in here" and "Mmmm.... I love garlic".

What I couldn't decide on, however, was dessert. I knew I wanted to do something with lemon... a lighter flavor after a nice Italian meal, but I just couldn't decide on which lemon dessert. At one point, I thought I had settled with my Lemon Cake Pie (recipe here) but for some reason, it just didn't seem right for that particular evening.

Did you know that if you search for "Italian Lemon Desserts" via Google you'll get 7,620,000 in 0.37 seconds? No exaggeration. Give it a try.

Thankfully, I found the one after just a couple of clicks. Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake.

Oh. My. Word.

I topped it with some homemade candied lemon zest. Personally, I look for excuses to make candied lemon zest. If it is even remotely possibly that candied lemon zest *may* work in a dessert, it's there.

If you want to really wow guests with a dessert, I beg you to give this a try. It's so creamy, yet the lemon keeps it light, somehow. The crust is a great compliment because it's in the background and it, too, is light in flavor... and flaky.

You may, however, want to leave out the fact that there is a total of four - yes, four - packages of cream cheese in there. No reason to burst your guests' cheesecake bubble. Let them enjoy the cheesecake love without the guilt.

PS - You have to make this the day before of first thing in the morning the day of the dinner. Cheesecakes need to spend time in the fridge, joining little mini-cheesecake hands together to form that creamy, lemony flavor.

PPS - Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake makes a great lunch the next day. Just saying.















Gluten Free Lemon White Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/4 cups gluten free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur brand)
1 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold

2 to 4 Tbsp cold water

Filling:
4 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
10 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
2 Tbsp gluten free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur brand)
2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place a 9- or 10-inch springform pan on heavy duty foil. Securely wrap foil up around the sides of the pan and set aside.

In a food processor, combine gf flour, salt and sugar. Pulse processor a few times to combine dry ingredients. Cube cold butter, add to processor and pulse until butter pieces are pea-sized. With processor running, add water a tablespoon at time until the dough begins to clump together.

Roll dough out between two pieces of parchment paper or wax paper, big enough to cover the bottom of the springform pan and 1-inch up the sides. Press dough into pan and up sides.

Bake crust in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the melted and cooled white chocolate, flour, cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs and beat on low until just combined. Pour filling into the pre-baked crust.

Place the foil covered springform pan in a larger baking pan, add 1-inch of hot water to the larger pan. Place in the center of the oven and bake at 325 degrees for 65-85 minutes until the top appears dull and the center is set, but jiggly.

Remove the pan from the water bath and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust. Allow cheesecake to cool on the wire rack for 1 hour. After 1 hour, refrigerate cheesecake for at least 6 hours or overnight. Remove sides of the springform pan, slice and serve.

Makes 12 servings.

The "As Is" Recipe

I have a rule about trying out a new gluten free recipe. If the recipe is already written by someone and I'm giving it a try, I always make the recipe exactly the way the original recipe is written first. Usually, I end up tweaking ingredients to improve taste or texture the second time around.

You see... I have this thing about texture. Always have. Too gritty? Yuck. Too dry? Blech. And let's not even discuss pastiness. *shudder*

So when I cook or bake gluten free, my goal is always a good texture. The best part is, if I am able to achieve a good texture, I can happily share my gf goodies with my non-gf friends because they usually don't know they are eating something sans gluten!

Once in a while, I stumble across a recipe that doesn't require tweaking. Oh, the joy! I can enjoy the labors of my work without my thoughts wandering to my next attempt at it.

This recipe is one of those wonderful non-tweakers. I whipped up a small batch (this recipe only makes about 16 cookies) and was quite skeptical, honestly. The cookie dough is... odd. Wet, dense, shiny... not very cookie dough-ish. I even mentioned in passing to my husband that I was pretty sure I had a impending disaster on my hands.

I was so very wrong.

So. Very. Wrong.

The odd cookie dough transformed in my oven into moist, chewy deliciousness. There is a gentleness about this cookie... the almond butter is a mild flavor against the burst of chocolate. Both of my kids - even my 8-year-old who doesn't care for almond butter or oats - loved them.

Below is my shortened version of the recipe with a couple of steps combined. But if you would rather just use the original recipe I worked from, here it is! http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2013/03/peanut-butter-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-cookies-flourless-no-butter/

A great big "thank you" to Monique over at the Ambitious Kitchen blog... your recipe was such a fun surprise!

Gluten Free Almond Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Dairy Free!)

1 cup creamy almond butter
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
2/3 cup rolled oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Certified Gluten Free Oats)
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together almond butter, packed dark brown sugar, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the oats and baking soda and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.

With a medium cookie scoop, place dough on non-stick cookie sheet or a sheet covered with a silpat. Bake for 9-11 minutes (I baked them for the full 11 minutes) until the edges are lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 3 minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Makes about 1.5 dozen cookies.