Thursday, November 24, 2011

Gluten-Free Biscuits

I love any kind of bread, including biscuits. However, when I discovered I had a severe wheat/gluten allergy I never imagined I would be able to have them again, let alone they be any good. This recipe is my third attempt at biscuits over the last year and I have finally achieved success. The first time, my biscuits turned out grainy and the second time, they were unpleasantly doughy. Since it was Thanksgiving, I thought I would give biscuits another try. I am so happy that I did because what I discovered was the perfect gluten-free biscuit, that is grain-free and not doughy(but not dry). I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do! :)

Ingredients
~ 2 cups of Better-Batter all-purpose flour
~ 1 Tablespoon baking powder
~ 2 teaspoons sugar
~ 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
~ 1/4 teaspoon salt
~ 1/2 cup of butter
~ 2/3 cup of buttermilk(you may need to add more, if you do- add 1/3 cup of regular milk) 


Flour mixture

biscuits baking


Finished biscuits


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.
3. Cut in the butter either with two knifes, a pastry cutter, or a paddle attachment for your electric mixer.
4. Add the buttermilk. If the mixture seems dry add a little bit of regular milk.
5. You should have a dough that is not too wet and not too dry. (You should be able to touch it without it falling apart, or sticking to your hands.)
6. Using a ice cream scooper transfer the biscuits onto a baking sheet.
7. Bake in a 450°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.
8. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Squash and Potato Smash

I love mash potatoes. I always have and I always will. I love them even more now that I am gluten-free. Since I eat potatoes almost 1-3 times a week, I wanted to mix it up a little since it was Thanksgiving. This is the easiest recipe and perfect for the holidays or the winter months. I love the evaporated milk in this recipe because it is a low calorie version of cream, and imparts a rich flavor without all the calories.

Ingredients
~ other half of evaporated milk from this recipe.
~ 1 stick of butter
~ 5-6 potatoes
~ 1 large butternut squash
~ salt/pepper to taste
Potatoes/Squash cooking

Squash and Potatoes smashed

Directions
1. Clean and peel potatoes and squash
2. Cut potatoes and squash into small pieces(you can pick the size, just make sure they are even.) 
3. Cook potatoes and squash over medium-high heat until tender
4. After the potatoes and squash are cooked, add the milk, butter, and seasonings and smash.
5. Enjoy!

XOXO,
The Gluten-Free Project

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

For all of you who know me personally you know I have kinda have a thing for pumpkin(in fact my nickname is pumpkin). Ever since I was little I would always have a big piece of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even my birthday. I figured when I went gluten-free I would not be able to have pumpkin pie again. Although this recipe is not the conventional pumpkin pie it tastes exactly the same... in fact I think it might be better! Although this is a cake it has the texture of pumpkin pie filling with a crumble topping. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I did. :)

Ingredients
~1/2 bag of Pamela's vanilla cake mix; divided in half again
~ 1/2 large can of pumpkin-29 oz can(make sure it's the 100% pure pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling) 
~ 2 eggs  
~ 2 tsp. cinnamon 
~ nutmeg to taste
~ 1/2 can of evaporated milk(12 oz) 
~ 1/2 + 1/8 cup of packed brown sugar 
~ 1 cup of chopped nuts(you can use pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc) 
~ 1/2 stick of butter(1/4 cup) 


pumpkin crumble cake baking
pumpkin crumble cake(finished product)
Directions 
1. Preheat your oven to 350° F
2. Divide the half of the cake mix in half again(so you have 1/4 of the cake mix)
3. Combine 1/4 of the cake mix with the pumpkin, eggs, spices, milk, and brown sugar 
4. Blend until smooth in an electric mixer or by hand. 
5. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. 
6. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cake mix with the chopped nuts onto the cake batter. 
7. Drizzle with the melted butter. 
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
9. Enjoy!



 XOXO, 
The Gluten-Free Project

Happy Thanksgiving! /One Year

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a day to give thanks for all of life's blessings. I thank God for my amazing, supportive family and friends who have never left my side even in the tough times. Besides today being a day of food, family, and friends.... today is my one-year anniversary of being gluten free. This year has gone by so fast and I have learned so much from experimentation and from other bloggers. I hope that in the years to come I will continue growing in my journey of freedom from gluten. Today was a special day filled with love, food, and most importantly no stomach aches(well... maybe from overeating, but that's another kind of stomach ache!) My family and I had grilled chicken w/ goat's cheese spread, butternut squash smashed potatoes, asparagus, biscuits, and pumpkin crumble cake. I would love to hear about all of your thanksgiving adventures. :)

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

Squash and Potato Smash




 XOXO,
The Gluten-Free Project

Friday, November 11, 2011

Peach-Apricot Scones

I know the name peach-apricot scones is not the most appealing names for a bake-good, but believe me these scones are not like the English ones that almost break your tooth(no offense if you like English scones, I personally just don't like them). I have been trying to experiment with more recipes since the weather is getting colder. When the holidays come around I always get in the mood to bake more. : ) Today I had some flavored Greek yogurt that needed to be used up, and as they say "necessity is the mother of invention." These scones are one of the recipes that you can eat them anytime of the day. They are not super sweet, but they are sweet enough that you can have them for dessert.


Ingredients
~ 1/4 cup of dried fruit(You can put more or less depending on your taste.) Note: I used dried apricots.
~ 2 cups of Better Batter All-Purpose Flour
~ 1/4 cup of brown sugar
~ 2 teaspoons baking powder
~ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
~ 1/4 cup of butter
~ 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
~ 2 egg yolks
~ 18 oz of Greek flavored yogurt(the one with the fruit at the bottom) Note: I used Chobani peach 0% yogurt)
~ 1 cup of old-fashioned oats
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 400°
2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. After you have the butter cut in, add the oats. You can add the oats before you cut the butter in, but I think it is easier to add them afterwards.
5. In a small mixing bowl combine the dried fruit, yogurt, egg yolks, and vanilla
6. Mix the wet and the dry ingredients together.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have always loved chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are something that remind you of your childhood. You always see those commercials for Toll House cookies that have the mother or grandmother baking cookies with the kids. Since I have grown up with chocolate chip cookies giving me that "warm and fuzzy" feeling of home when I eat one, I was devastated when I went gluten-free almost a year ago. I told myself that I would never be able to have that feeling again. Well, I was wrong. I have found a recipe that is like my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies that I was raised on. I have had a lot of people asking for this recipe, so here it is. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. 

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups of butter(softened, not melted)
2 cups of sugar(you can use brown if you like the flavor)
2 teaspoons of vanilla(seems like a lot but I like vanilla- you can use less if you like)
1 egg
3 cups of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix(be sure to sift!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips(you can put more or less depending on how chocolate you like)
1 1/2 cups coconut

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F
2. Cream the butter and the sugar.
3. Then add the egg and vanilla.
4. Sift the baking & pancake mix(important step!)Then, add the flour and salt.
5. Next, add the coconut and chocolate chips.
6. Mix everything together until incorporated.
7. Scoop onto a greased aluminum foil with a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop.
8. Make for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven.
9. Enjoy!   
Yields: 2 dozen 

 Note:  
1. You can add dried fruit(for example cherries which are very good with chocolate) 
2. If you can't have chocolate you can use cherries, raisins, cranberries, etc. 
3. You can add orange or lemon yest if you add dried fruit instead of vanilla

"Gluten Free Please!"

I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in a while. My life has been crazy busy between school, babysitting, and college applications. Tonight, however, I had the pleasure of going to a bakery opening. This wasn't just any bakery opening though, this was the first gluten-free bakery to open in Fresno/Clovis area. Although I am a baker myself, having the option of someone else doing the work is nice. This new bakery is located on 435 N. Clovis Street, Suite 106 in Clovis, Ca. They also have a Facebook: www.facebook.com/gfpleasebakery

Any way... back to the important stuff: the food. Overall, the food was really good. They serve everything cupcakes(savory ones too!) to biscuits, and even bread by the loaf. While, they served only a few flavors of cupcakes tonight, I can tell already that they have a bright(and long) future in the Fresno/Clovis area. Although I HATE when people go on and on about all the things they didn't like, I do want to offer my honest opinion. I will compare them in a "pro/con" form to give a clearer picture.


PROS 
~ Their dairy-free vanilla and spice cake(with goat cream cheese frosting) are amazing! They are sooo moist and I will definitely be going there just for those two cupcakes.
~ They have the BEST gluten-free pizza I have ever tried. Over the last year I have been experimenting with different recipes, so I wasn't expecting to like it. It was so good that I forgot it was gluten-free(which is a huge compliment!).
Pepperoni/Cheese Pizza

Shortbread(bottom left), Dairy-free vanilla cupcakes, gluten-free stuffing

Spice cupcake with goat cream cheese frosting(yum!)

IN-BETWEEN
Note: There were a few bake goods tonight that were not awful, but needed a little help. Because of this, I decided to have an "in-between section."

~ I liked(not loved) the carrot cake. It was moist, but it didn't have enough "carrot" flavor for me.
~ Like the carrot, the chocolate was moist, but I couldn't tell it was chocolate(I wanted a "deeper" chocolate flavor)
~ The biscuits were good, they just need maybe something on top(maybe garlic salt?)
~ The snickerdoodle had really good flavor, but they were a little crumbly




CONS 
NOTE: I feel really bad for saying anything negative, because I hate being critical. However, I want people to know that I love their food overall, but I want to give constructive criticism to allow them to improve.
~ The shortbread was very dry(I know shortbread is dry but like a different kind of dry, if that makes sense). It also needed more butter-y/shortbread flavor. 
~ I want to first say that I made some french bread and it turned out the same way...crumbly and dry. I was really hoping that they had found the secret. However, that was not the case. I think that gluten-free bread is just really hard to get right. 
~ The business is small....more of a take-out place. I am hoping that they will continue to expand, allowing them to get a bigger place.

As a final note, I wanted to say that I enjoyed myself tonight. I got to meet other gluten-free bloggers and enjoy some really good gluten-free food. I am looking forward to trying their lemonade cupcake with strawberry butter cream and their savory cupcakes(my mouth is watering!)

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Gluten-Free Biscuits

I love any kind of bread, including biscuits. However, when I discovered I had a severe wheat/gluten allergy I never imagined I would be able to have them again, let alone they be any good. This recipe is my third attempt at biscuits over the last year and I have finally achieved success. The first time, my biscuits turned out grainy and the second time, they were unpleasantly doughy. Since it was Thanksgiving, I thought I would give biscuits another try. I am so happy that I did because what I discovered was the perfect gluten-free biscuit, that is grain-free and not doughy(but not dry). I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do! :)

Ingredients
~ 2 cups of Better-Batter all-purpose flour
~ 1 Tablespoon baking powder
~ 2 teaspoons sugar
~ 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
~ 1/4 teaspoon salt
~ 1/2 cup of butter
~ 2/3 cup of buttermilk(you may need to add more, if you do- add 1/3 cup of regular milk) 


Flour mixture

biscuits baking


Finished biscuits


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450° F.
2. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt.
3. Cut in the butter either with two knifes, a pastry cutter, or a paddle attachment for your electric mixer.
4. Add the buttermilk. If the mixture seems dry add a little bit of regular milk.
5. You should have a dough that is not too wet and not too dry. (You should be able to touch it without it falling apart, or sticking to your hands.)
6. Using a ice cream scooper transfer the biscuits onto a baking sheet.
7. Bake in a 450°F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.
8. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Squash and Potato Smash

I love mash potatoes. I always have and I always will. I love them even more now that I am gluten-free. Since I eat potatoes almost 1-3 times a week, I wanted to mix it up a little since it was Thanksgiving. This is the easiest recipe and perfect for the holidays or the winter months. I love the evaporated milk in this recipe because it is a low calorie version of cream, and imparts a rich flavor without all the calories.

Ingredients
~ other half of evaporated milk from this recipe.
~ 1 stick of butter
~ 5-6 potatoes
~ 1 large butternut squash
~ salt/pepper to taste
Potatoes/Squash cooking

Squash and Potatoes smashed

Directions
1. Clean and peel potatoes and squash
2. Cut potatoes and squash into small pieces(you can pick the size, just make sure they are even.) 
3. Cook potatoes and squash over medium-high heat until tender
4. After the potatoes and squash are cooked, add the milk, butter, and seasonings and smash.
5. Enjoy!

XOXO,
The Gluten-Free Project

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

For all of you who know me personally you know I have kinda have a thing for pumpkin(in fact my nickname is pumpkin). Ever since I was little I would always have a big piece of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even my birthday. I figured when I went gluten-free I would not be able to have pumpkin pie again. Although this recipe is not the conventional pumpkin pie it tastes exactly the same... in fact I think it might be better! Although this is a cake it has the texture of pumpkin pie filling with a crumble topping. I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I did. :)

Ingredients
~1/2 bag of Pamela's vanilla cake mix; divided in half again
~ 1/2 large can of pumpkin-29 oz can(make sure it's the 100% pure pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie filling) 
~ 2 eggs  
~ 2 tsp. cinnamon 
~ nutmeg to taste
~ 1/2 can of evaporated milk(12 oz) 
~ 1/2 + 1/8 cup of packed brown sugar 
~ 1 cup of chopped nuts(you can use pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc) 
~ 1/2 stick of butter(1/4 cup) 


pumpkin crumble cake baking
pumpkin crumble cake(finished product)
Directions 
1. Preheat your oven to 350° F
2. Divide the half of the cake mix in half again(so you have 1/4 of the cake mix)
3. Combine 1/4 of the cake mix with the pumpkin, eggs, spices, milk, and brown sugar 
4. Blend until smooth in an electric mixer or by hand. 
5. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. 
6. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cake mix with the chopped nuts onto the cake batter. 
7. Drizzle with the melted butter. 
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 
9. Enjoy!



 XOXO, 
The Gluten-Free Project

Happy Thanksgiving! /One Year

Happy Thanksgiving! Today is a day to give thanks for all of life's blessings. I thank God for my amazing, supportive family and friends who have never left my side even in the tough times. Besides today being a day of food, family, and friends.... today is my one-year anniversary of being gluten free. This year has gone by so fast and I have learned so much from experimentation and from other bloggers. I hope that in the years to come I will continue growing in my journey of freedom from gluten. Today was a special day filled with love, food, and most importantly no stomach aches(well... maybe from overeating, but that's another kind of stomach ache!) My family and I had grilled chicken w/ goat's cheese spread, butternut squash smashed potatoes, asparagus, biscuits, and pumpkin crumble cake. I would love to hear about all of your thanksgiving adventures. :)

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

Pumpkin Crumble Cake

Squash and Potato Smash




 XOXO,
The Gluten-Free Project

Friday, November 11, 2011

Peach-Apricot Scones

I know the name peach-apricot scones is not the most appealing names for a bake-good, but believe me these scones are not like the English ones that almost break your tooth(no offense if you like English scones, I personally just don't like them). I have been trying to experiment with more recipes since the weather is getting colder. When the holidays come around I always get in the mood to bake more. : ) Today I had some flavored Greek yogurt that needed to be used up, and as they say "necessity is the mother of invention." These scones are one of the recipes that you can eat them anytime of the day. They are not super sweet, but they are sweet enough that you can have them for dessert.


Ingredients
~ 1/4 cup of dried fruit(You can put more or less depending on your taste.) Note: I used dried apricots.
~ 2 cups of Better Batter All-Purpose Flour
~ 1/4 cup of brown sugar
~ 2 teaspoons baking powder
~ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
~ 1/4 cup of butter
~ 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
~ 2 egg yolks
~ 18 oz of Greek flavored yogurt(the one with the fruit at the bottom) Note: I used Chobani peach 0% yogurt)
~ 1 cup of old-fashioned oats
Directions
1. Preheat your oven to 400°
2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. After you have the butter cut in, add the oats. You can add the oats before you cut the butter in, but I think it is easier to add them afterwards.
5. In a small mixing bowl combine the dried fruit, yogurt, egg yolks, and vanilla
6. Mix the wet and the dry ingredients together.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Monday, November 7, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have always loved chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies are something that remind you of your childhood. You always see those commercials for Toll House cookies that have the mother or grandmother baking cookies with the kids. Since I have grown up with chocolate chip cookies giving me that "warm and fuzzy" feeling of home when I eat one, I was devastated when I went gluten-free almost a year ago. I told myself that I would never be able to have that feeling again. Well, I was wrong. I have found a recipe that is like my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies that I was raised on. I have had a lot of people asking for this recipe, so here it is. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. 

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups of butter(softened, not melted)
2 cups of sugar(you can use brown if you like the flavor)
2 teaspoons of vanilla(seems like a lot but I like vanilla- you can use less if you like)
1 egg
3 cups of Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix(be sure to sift!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups of chocolate chips(you can put more or less depending on how chocolate you like)
1 1/2 cups coconut

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350° F
2. Cream the butter and the sugar.
3. Then add the egg and vanilla.
4. Sift the baking & pancake mix(important step!)Then, add the flour and salt.
5. Next, add the coconut and chocolate chips.
6. Mix everything together until incorporated.
7. Scoop onto a greased aluminum foil with a teaspoon or small ice cream scoop.
8. Make for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven.
9. Enjoy!   
Yields: 2 dozen 

 Note:  
1. You can add dried fruit(for example cherries which are very good with chocolate) 
2. If you can't have chocolate you can use cherries, raisins, cranberries, etc. 
3. You can add orange or lemon yest if you add dried fruit instead of vanilla

"Gluten Free Please!"

I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in a while. My life has been crazy busy between school, babysitting, and college applications. Tonight, however, I had the pleasure of going to a bakery opening. This wasn't just any bakery opening though, this was the first gluten-free bakery to open in Fresno/Clovis area. Although I am a baker myself, having the option of someone else doing the work is nice. This new bakery is located on 435 N. Clovis Street, Suite 106 in Clovis, Ca. They also have a Facebook: www.facebook.com/gfpleasebakery

Any way... back to the important stuff: the food. Overall, the food was really good. They serve everything cupcakes(savory ones too!) to biscuits, and even bread by the loaf. While, they served only a few flavors of cupcakes tonight, I can tell already that they have a bright(and long) future in the Fresno/Clovis area. Although I HATE when people go on and on about all the things they didn't like, I do want to offer my honest opinion. I will compare them in a "pro/con" form to give a clearer picture.


PROS 
~ Their dairy-free vanilla and spice cake(with goat cream cheese frosting) are amazing! They are sooo moist and I will definitely be going there just for those two cupcakes.
~ They have the BEST gluten-free pizza I have ever tried. Over the last year I have been experimenting with different recipes, so I wasn't expecting to like it. It was so good that I forgot it was gluten-free(which is a huge compliment!).
Pepperoni/Cheese Pizza

Shortbread(bottom left), Dairy-free vanilla cupcakes, gluten-free stuffing

Spice cupcake with goat cream cheese frosting(yum!)

IN-BETWEEN
Note: There were a few bake goods tonight that were not awful, but needed a little help. Because of this, I decided to have an "in-between section."

~ I liked(not loved) the carrot cake. It was moist, but it didn't have enough "carrot" flavor for me.
~ Like the carrot, the chocolate was moist, but I couldn't tell it was chocolate(I wanted a "deeper" chocolate flavor)
~ The biscuits were good, they just need maybe something on top(maybe garlic salt?)
~ The snickerdoodle had really good flavor, but they were a little crumbly




CONS 
NOTE: I feel really bad for saying anything negative, because I hate being critical. However, I want people to know that I love their food overall, but I want to give constructive criticism to allow them to improve.
~ The shortbread was very dry(I know shortbread is dry but like a different kind of dry, if that makes sense). It also needed more butter-y/shortbread flavor. 
~ I want to first say that I made some french bread and it turned out the same way...crumbly and dry. I was really hoping that they had found the secret. However, that was not the case. I think that gluten-free bread is just really hard to get right. 
~ The business is small....more of a take-out place. I am hoping that they will continue to expand, allowing them to get a bigger place.

As a final note, I wanted to say that I enjoyed myself tonight. I got to meet other gluten-free bloggers and enjoy some really good gluten-free food. I am looking forward to trying their lemonade cupcake with strawberry butter cream and their savory cupcakes(my mouth is watering!)