Wow.

It’s snowing today. A beautiful, steady snow with big, fat snowflakes that practically plop when they hit the ground. It’s a winter wonderland!

Did I mention it’s October 29^th?

We were given an autumn treat today in the form of snow. It’s so beautiful… the changing colors of the leaves outlined by pure white snow. *happy sigh* Our family loves snow. We practically celebrate it! In fact, this morning we did that very thing. As the flakes began to fall, I got to work on a new recipe. (I wish I could take credit for this one, but alas, the wonderful people at www.thebakingbeauties.com came up with this one.)

My review of this new recipe is so complex and detailed that I found it difficult to really express it. How does one put into words the happiness that occurred with each bite? Instead, I decided to keep it simple. Here it is.

Wow.

This isn’t something to whip up on a busy Sunday morning. This is something to bring out when you want to celebrate a birthday or Christmas… or snow. It’s a little labor intensive and there is a waiting period as you let the buns rise before baking them, but it is completely, totally and utterly worth it. I promise.

The next time you check the weather report and it says snow is on its way, do yourself a favor. Run to the store. Forget the basics you usually buy in the event of a storm. Get the ingredients for these cinnamon buns. In the quiet of the morning, make a cup of tea or coffee and get to work on these babies. After that, there is but one thing left to do.

Celebrate!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Buns

Topping:

4 Tbsp butter

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp heavy cream

Pinch of salt

Dough:

2 ½ cups all purpose gluten free flour blend (without leavening or xanthan gum)

½ cup tapioca starch

1 Tbsp yeast

3 Tbsp white sugar

½ tsp salt

3 tsp xanthan gum

¼ cup instant vanilla pudding mix (dry)

1 tsp baking powder

4 Tbsp butter

½ cup water

¾ cup milk

1 egg

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp vanilla

Filling (may want to double this if you like really thick filling):

2 Tbsp butter, very soft

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon

½ cup raisins, chopped walnuts or pecans

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.

For the topping: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir until the brown sugar loses its graininess, then add the vanilla and heavy cream. Remove from the stove and pour into the prepared pan.

For the filling: In a small bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir with a fork until completely combined. Once combined, add the raisins, walnuts or pecans (if you choose to use them).

For the dough: In the bowl of the stand mixer, mix all the dry ingredients until combined.

Put the water and butter in a glass measuring cup and microwave until the butter has melted. Remove from the microwave and add the remaining wet ingredients. Stir to combine. With the stand mixer running (use the paddle attachment), pour the wet ingredients into the dry, scraping down the sides as needed. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.

Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out on a slightly dampened countertop or cutting board, so it covers an area bigger than 8” x 16”. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of sugar on the plastic wrap and lay the ball of dough on it. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and pat the dough down into a rectangular shape, approximately 8” x 16”.

Remove the top plastic wrap and spread the filling across the dough’s surface, leaving 1 ½” of space without filling on one of the long sides of the rectangle. This will seal your cinnamon rolls.

Starting along the long end, use the bottom sheet of plastic wrap to lift the edge of the dough and roll it up, forming a long cylinder. Start with edge that has filling on it (which will be the center of your cinnamon roll).

Using a long piece of thread, cut the long cinnamon bun log into 8 even pieces, about 1 ½“ wide. You do this by placing the thread under the roll, crossing it at the top and pulling the threads so they cross each other, pulling it through the dough.

Place the rolls, cut side up, in the topping in the pan, spacing them evenly. With damp fingers, flatten the rolls slightly.

Cover with a damp paper towel and allow the cinnamon buns to rise in a warm, draft free place for about 30 minutes, until nearly doubled in size. (I place mine in my second oven with the light on.)

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, until the tops are a nice golden brown.

Allow the buns to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Invert a bun on a plate and scoop additional syrup from the pan over the bun.

Best served warm, but can be reheated in the microwave for a few seconds if they are a day old.

Makes 8 cinnamon buns.

Kiss Peanut Butter Goodbye??

As I’ve mentioned before, on top of the gluten intolerance we also have a potato intolerance and peanut allergy in our house. My poor husband is the only one left in our little family that doesn’t have a food allergy. We are pretty sure he’ll end up with something like… an allergy to all things dairy… so that we are left to nibble on dry rice cakes for the rest of our lives. J

But back to our current issue, the peanut allergy. Giving up peanut butter wasn’t that tough. I like it, but I don’t love it. My mom…. she loves it. Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter Swirl ice cream, Buckeyes… you name it, she loves it. Since she lives in the same house, she has graciously rid her home of all things peanut. She does, however, jump at the opportunity to sneak a little while out with friends. We can’t expect her to completely give it up, can we??

I, personally, am a chocolate chip girl. Take the example above of my mom, cross out peanut butter and replace it with “chocolate chip” and you have me. There’s nothing better than the smell of warm chocolate chip cookies. There are times, though, that I want to make something a little different. In the past, I would make something like a peanut butter cookie. They were my dad’s favorite, and I learned at an early age to master the peanut butter cookie.

Enter almond butter. Oh yes, my friends. If you have a peanut allergy in your home… or if you just love almond butter… TRY THESE.

At this very moment, my mom is munching on a little cookie experiment. She spread just a little Nutella (drooling yet?) between two of these almond butter cookies and is now simultaneously crunching and “Oooooo”-ing and “Ahhhhh”-ing over her creation. So, I think it’s safe to say that it might be worth picking up a jar of Nutella (it’s peanut free!) and be prepared to spend some time ooooo-ing and ahhhhh-ing over your creation!

Giving up peanut butter isn’t that hard. May I suggest some almond butter instead? Friends, I must end this post. There is an almond butter cookie with a little Nutella on it calling my name.

Happy munching!

Gluten Free Almond Butter Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup almond butter (I used Barney Butter)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup tapioca starch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add the egg and almond butter, completely combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, baking soda, potato starch and tapioca starch. Add in two parts to the wet ingredients, beating to completely combine.

Roll into 1-inch balls, place on cookie sheet. Using a fork coated in sugar, press the traditional criss-cross pattern in the top of the cookies.

Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown on the edges. Cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling racks.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Role Reversal

Once in a while, when all other forms of dinner have been exhausted and the thought of another forkful of chicken, beef, pork or even pasta just cannot be entertained… we go for breakfast foods. There is something quite comforting about having breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs and toast… pancakes… heck, even cereal every now and then! (Don’t think badly of me after that last part.)

Pancakes are extremely diverse little guys. You can throw basically anything into them and make yummy goodness. We will often grab a couple of ripe bananas and some vanilla extract to make Banana Pancakes. My dear friend shared her secret love of Chocolate Chip Pancakes with peanut butter spread on them rather than syrup. (By the way – FABULOUS.)

For the fall, it seems only fitting to celebrate the season with the flavors that capture it. Pumpkin Bread Pancakes smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice… and, of course, pumpkin. Just the process of making them immediately makes your house smell incredible.

There is brown sugar already in these, so no syrup needed. Maybe a little butter on top, but that’s about it. They are seriously that good.

But…

If one DID want to have some sort of syrup to put on top, one COULD - hypothetically, of course - heat up about 1 cup of apple cider and about ¼ cup of real maple syrup in a small saucepan until the cider reduces and becomes thick. One MIGHT enjoy the parade of autumn flavors that march on your palette as a tiny little band plays “Autumn Leaves”.

Just sayin’. Hypothetically.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread Pancakes

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs

¼ cup canola or veggie oil

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp allspice or cloves

2 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix

1 cup milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs, oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. Add Pamela’s Mix and whisk to completely combine. Add milk ¼ cup at a time, until smooth and completely incorporated.

Let batter sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken and to let flavors blend.

If using an electric griddle, set temperature between 300 and 325 degrees. Pour ¼ cup of batter on the griddle and spread to about 4” round circles. Watch pancakes carefully, as they don’t bubble as much as “regular” pancakes. Flip when golden brown on the bottom.

Makes about 15-18 pancakes.

Soup? Or a Cheeseburger? YES!

I have this strange quirk about me. You see, I love to make soup. It’s probably one of my most favorite things to cook. I love to chock my soups full of veggies and deep flavors. There’s only one problem.

I don’t really like soup. I endure soup, but it’s never really a culinary event for me. Know what I mean?

I know, I know. Quirky. What this phenomenon has done, though, is set me on a quest to find soups I really do like! So be prepared, there will most likely be a lot of soup recipes on this blog in the future. The ones already posted… Broccoli Cheese, Creamy Cauliflower… they are probably the top two out of three soups I like. What’s the third, you ask?

After covering the veggie-based soups, I wanted to find something really different. Not your everyday chicken noodle or even the beloved Italian Wedding Soup. Thus, I give you… Cheeseburger Soup.

This is one hearty soup. Save this recipe for a cold winter’s night when you’ve been out all day and are chilled to the core. This soup will thaw you right out. It begins deep within, slowly warming your chill. Don’t eat this at the table, though. Grab a bowl, spoon, blanket and your favorite movie and feast on it whilst curled up on the couch.

Now, you see? That, my friend, is a culinary event worth having.

Gluten Free Cheeseburger Soup

1 Tbsp butter

½ lb ground beef

¾ cup chopped onion

¾ cup shredded carrots

¾ cup chopped celery

3 cups chicken stock

4 cups cubed potatoes

¼ cup cornstarch

2 cups cubed cheddar cheese

1 ½ cups low-fat milk, divided

¼ cup light sour cream

2-3 tsp yellow mustard

1 Tbsp ketchup

In a large soup pot, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until slightly tender.

Add the chicken stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.

Add 1 ¼ cups of milk, bring almost to a boil, stirring occasionally. In a small bowl, mix together remaining ¼ cup milk and the cornstarch. Add to the soup and stir until it becomes thickened. Lower heat and add cheese, mustard and ketchup (when cheese is almost completely incorporated, taste test to see if more mustard and/or ketchup is needed). When the cheese is melted, add the sour cream and heat through, but do not return to a boil. Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat at a later time.

Serves 8.

Deep Fried No-No

You know those foods that you LOVE but just cannot get yourself to eat because they are so incredibly bad for you? I have a list. It includes Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream (or any ice cream that comes in that small container that screams “757 grams of fat per spoonful!”) and anything deep fried. I think Funnel Cake was made to torture us… so yummy, sooooooooo very bad. And don’t even get me started on Mozzarella Sticks. Seriously, folks. Batter dipped, deep fried cheese. The food of champions, right there. Still, those sticks were probably my Achilles Heel in the war of Katie versus Deep Fried Food. If anything was going to get me to eat fried food, it was that.

And let’s not forget doughnuts. Yes, I know they are no longer on my list of safe foods (unless, of course, you make my outrageous GF Pumpkin Doughnuts… for guests, of course!) but still, there was something about the smell of a Dunkin’ Doughnut that had the ability to almost make me forget my list and snarf one down. Hey, don’t judge me. I said almost. *wink*

If doughnuts were at the top of your list prior to giving up gluten, I have a sweetly wrapped little gift for you. A nugget of love.

Donut Bites. No deep frying involved. Yes, you read that right.

Below you will find a recipe for little bites of doughnut goodness, BAKED. Let me make something clear, though. It may not be fried, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually good for you.

Make these for a Sunday brunch with friends as a little sweet treat to compliment your omelets and fruit. Have one (let’s stress the importance of the word “one”) with a cup of tea after a long, tiring day.

A nugget of love. For you, my friend and fellow gluten-free foodie.

Do you feel warm and fuzzy?

Gluten Free Doughnut Bites

½ cup sugar

¼ cup butter, melted

¾ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup milk

1 cup Pamela’s Baking Mix

Topping:

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 24 mini-muffin cups with non-stick spray.

Mix ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup melted butter and nutmeg in a small bowl. Stir in the milk and then add the Pamela’s until combined. Fill the mini-muffin cups half full.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Put remaining ¼ cup melted butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl mix together remaining ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Remove muffins from the cups, dip each in butter and roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Allow to cool completely.

Makes 24.