Easy as... Pie?

Tonight, my mom mentioned she had a hankerin' for pie. Being the attentive daughter that I am, I immediately  jumped into action, explaining that I've been wanting to try my hand at a Lemon Crumb Pie. We agreed this was a good plan... I could tackle my pie project, she would get to eat pie. Win-win!

Here's the thing, though. Whoever came up with the phrase "easy as pie" obviously never actually made a pie. You see... one does not just whip up pie ingredients, slice oneself a piece and then sit with tea and indulge. Oh, no. There are 47 steps (give or take 10) to making pie... all of which require a refrigeration phase, resting phase or heating up phase. In the end, pie takes 3 days to make. OK, that's a little bit of an exaggeration. But it does take more time than I had tonight.

So - I love you Mom, but pie is out. For tonight, that is.

Instead, I went with a Lemon Cornmeal Cake. By nature, it's already gluten free... thus making my life so much easier. No tweaking, no calculating... just baking!

My mom, being the type who is always up for spontaneity and adventure, was all for the change from pie to cake. Such a good mama.

In comparison, this recipe really is easier than pie! It only bakes for 25 minutes or so... and because it's a thin cake (think tart) it cools incredibly fast so that you really do have enough time to sit with a cup of tea and enjoy it.

Though I must admit... it smelled so good that we sliced it up and stood there, in my kitchen, next to the cake pan... and munched away. It was mostly silent, except for the "Oh wow, is this good" and the "I love the crunch on top!" and then "Mmmm... I want another slice" that came from my mom.

Forget pie. Think Lemon Cornmeal Cake! It's yummy, it's got great texture... and it's easy as pie.

Gluten Free Lemon Cornmeal Cake

1 cup (gluten-free) cornmeal

1/2 cup ground almonds

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coarse sugar, such as turbinado or organic sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9-inch or 10-inch cake pan with 2-inch-high sides (I used a springform cake pan). Dust pan with cornmeal, tapping out excess.

Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, beat butter in large bowl until smooth and fluffy. Beat in lemon peel. Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping sides of bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Add cornmeal, ground almonds, baking powder and salt to wet ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Transfer batter to pan and smooth top. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on rack 10 minutes. Run knife around pan sides to loosen. Turn cake out onto plate then turn onto a rack, coarse sugar side up. Cool completely.

Low Fat Chewy Goodness!

Hello, dear Reader. Come, sit. Here... have a cookie and some hot tea.

Pardon? You don't want a cookie? Trying to lose those 5 (*cough* 10) pounds you gained over Christmas? Oh, dear friend... do not fret. For I, Katie, have got your back on this one.

You see... I, too, am in the middle of a diet lifestyle change and am trying to be good. I managed to not gain any weight over the Christmas holiday (a miracle, to be sure!) and don't want to start now! But, dear friend, we both know that sometimes in life... we need a cookie.

Not an Oreo or Fig Newton (though we both know a Fig Newton isn't a cookie, it's fruit and cake)... but a real, homemade, warm cookie. Chocolate Chip, to be precise.

I don't know about you... but in this house, sweets must still abide, even if in smaller amounts. We have a bowl of dark chocolate in the living room and grant ourselves one piece every day. (Wait, you don't? Don't you know a piece of dark chocolate a day is GOOD FOR YOU? It's true. Read, my friend, and then run immediately to the store and get some Dove Dark Chocolate: http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/6-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate.html#b)

Recently, I've been craving a cookie. The pre-made gluten free cookies in the grocery store, bless them for trying, don't do it for me. They are rather dry and crumbly. I want warm and chewy.

So, sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands and make a cookie! Below.... oh yes, below... is a low fat, gluten free CHEWY chocolate chip cookie recipe. I just had one after my lunch and I have to tell you that although I baked them yesterday, they are still moist and chewy today! Another gluten free miracle, right there folks.

If you are in the middle of a diet lifestyle change like I am... be sure to give yourself a little treat now and then. Just a cup of tea and this little cookie and you'll be ready to hit the treadmill with renewed vigor... because yes, my friend, you can have your cookie and still lose weight.

Just don't eat ALL the cookies. That wouldn't be good. Not good at all.





Low Fat Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
3 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpats.

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the dark brown sugar, white sugar, egg, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir to complete combine. Fold in chocolate chips.

Using a medium sized cookie scoop (a heaping, rounded tablespoon), space cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes until slightly golden around the edges and set in the middle.

Remove from the oven, let sit for 3 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Makes about 18 cookies, depending on your scoop size.

Dunkin' Good!

Doughnuts are one of those foods that I always felt very guilty eating. Well, at least, after I was done eating one. The guilt would creep in as I ordered a fat-laden goodie at the counter... then I would shut it down as I munched... but as soon as the last bite was gone, the guilt would return. I mean, seriously, one doughnut from the local doughnut shop probably has a week's worth of fat allowance in it.... and I just ate it in 3 minutes. I was afraid to listen closely for fear of actually hearing my arteries clogging.

I should mention that I would partake of doughnuts maybe 3 times a year. Still, the guilt would come.

I've seen recently seen, in stores, these nifty baking pans shaped like doughnuts. And every time I passed them I would think, "Huh. Gotta give that a try some time." I did that many, many times... walking by and thinking I would get one some time.

I'm happy to report that my dear husband, who had witnessed the walking and thinking routine probably one too many times, decided to take matters into his own hands and give me the pan as a Christmas gift. Yay! No more walking and thinking... at least about the doughnut pan.

I wasn't sure where to start... cinnamon sugar doughnuts? Pumpkin doughnuts? No, no, no.... BANANA doughnuts. Ah, yes.

My first baked doughnut experience! It was exactly what I'd hoped it would be. If only I had whistled whilst making them, it could have been a Disney movie. I'm digressing.

These little guys are soft and sweet and... banana-y.... delicious. One word of caution... make them the day you plan to eat them. The banana makes them so moist and lovely that they lose their doughnut texture after a while (meaning, the next day). So - make 'em for breakfast or brunch and munch away!



Low Fat, Gluten Free BAKED Banana Doughnuts

1 1/2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup light sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a doughnut baking pan with non-stick baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the Pamela's mix, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, mashed bananas, vanilla and sour cream. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Spoon the batter into the prepared doughnut pan, about 3/4 of the way full. Baked 15-16 minutes until set. Let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Cook another 5 minutes, then roll each doughnut in some granulated sugar. Let cool completely before serving.

Makes about 12 doughnuts.