Life, Gluten Free

Cinnamon Crunch Cookies (Gluten-free + Dairy-free + Egg-free)

The cinnamon tree is grown for two years and then harvested by cutting it down nearly to the ground, leaving only a stump. After a year, about a dozen shoots will form from the stump. The bark is stripped off the shoots and left to dry. The inner bark is used, which slightly coil when dried, turning into cinnamon rolls. The rolls are cut into individual pieces before packaged to sell. Ground cinnamon is made by grinding the inner bark of the cinnamon tree. It's known for being beneficial for heart health and blood sugar regulation.

The thought of cinnamon creates a scene of autumn where the wind is howling through the nearly bare trees, leaves rustling on the ground. The windows in a house are open to let the cool autumn air in. Smells of sugar and spice are wafting from the oven, filled to the brim with pumpkin spice cookies. It's almost enough to make a girl want to make a costume out of dried leaves, go outside and dance in hopes for an early autumn. But no, I have to enjoy the thrills of summer. Sun on my skin, the prevailing green on the country side. The mountains rejoicing, for once, some of the snow is melted and the tips of some of the mountains are no longer freezing.

Luckily, cinnamon is like most other spices, very versatile. It is spicy, sweet and fragrant. It can be appreciated in any season.

Cinnamon Crunch Cookies

NO: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 sorghum flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup organic palm oil shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup organic coconut milk
water

Preparation:
Use two mixing bowls, one for dry ingredients and one for wet.
Add all of the dry ingredients and mix the together (minus the sugar).
In the other bowl, add the sugar and the wet ingredients and mix them together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of water and continue to mix.

Place cookies on a cookie sheet (not oiled) in your desired shape. Using cookie cutters is fun but not necessary. These cookies came out to be delightfully crunchy and chewy. If you're more into chewy, make them thicker.

Place in an oven that is preheated to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Bake for 5 minutes and turn the pan.
Bake for another 5 minutes and turn the pan again.
Bake for an additional 4-5 minutes.
Depending on cookie size and oven variations, the cookies may bake at different speeds.
You can tell if the cookie is done because the edges will be brown and the top will be *lightly* brown.
Don't over bake.
Remove from pan with a spatula and place on another surface to cool.

The cookies didn't stick to the pan for me. I removed them almost immediately with a stainless steel spatula and they came up with no problem. They will stick if you let them set for too long without removing them from the cookie sheet.

You can roll these into small slightly compressed balls or use cookie cutters. The best way to use cookie cutters is to lightly dust a cutting board with coconut flour or flour of choice. Roll out the dough and use the cookie cutters. Keep rolling out the dough until you've used it all.

This recipe is versatile, you can add raisins or other ingredients to the batch as well. Maybe some chocolate chips :) Leave out the cinnamon and add other spices, too.

Sophie enjoying a cookie with some coconut milk

Worried about using organic cane sugar? Some people avoid it's use at home - like we used to do - but consume it in limited quantities when dining out or in a gluten-free packaged cookie. It's best in limited quantities for sure, but I've taken wisdom from those who say to never heat honey. That leaves you with only a few options, especially with allergies in the house. I'm not crazy about agave, especially since it's hydrogenated when processed. The best thing to do is use what sweetener feels right for you. I'm also not sure how these cookies would come out with a liquid sweetener but I'm willing to give it a try someday. Until then, we all need a little sugar and spice in our life sometimes!

-heather

Gluten-Free Flourless Valentino and Blueberry Coconut Sherbet (Daring Baker Challenge)

This was a lot of fun and my husband was very pleased with it. I made the Valentino for him for Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, since I am allergic to eggs and also can't have chocolate, this one was truly just for him. But I did get to eat the Blueberry Coconut Sherbet that I made :)

(pictured with a lovely gluten-free lemon wafer by Glutino)

For the Valentino, I used Earth Balance (butter substitute) instead of butter and I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips instead of a block of chocolate. Each bag is 10 ounces, so I used one entire bag plus about 3/4 of another bag.

The original recipe:

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.

2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.

3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls. 4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).

5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.

6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.

7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}

8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C

9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C. Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.

10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

I want to thank Daring Bakers for the great challenge! The February challenge is from Wendy at wmpesblog and Dharm from Dad- Baker & Chef. The Valentino Recipe comes from Sweet Treats by Chef Wan.
 

Blueberry Coconut Sherbet 

Sherbet: a frozen dessert made with fruit juice added to milk or cream, egg white, or gelatin.

So, this is sort of like sherbet :)

Ingredients:

4-6 cups of organic frozen blueberries

1/2 can of organic coconut milk (with no added water)

2-3 tablespoons of raw honey

Preparation:

Add the frozen (not thawed) blueberries to a food processor. 

Pour in the coconut milk and add a couple tablespoons of honey or agave.

Blend until the ingredients are mixed well. 

Serve! Creamy and tasty!

The reason I put 4-6 cups of blueberries is because some frozen blueberries have a stronger flavor and some have more of a light flavor. Adjust to your taste!

-heather

Coconut Cake - Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free!

A new year's hopes unfolding,

as the winds of change come in

to gently brush the trees and awaken

the sprouts of spring.

And as the wind begins to slow

and fade away, with it, it gently

takes fragments of the past.

What is left are gentle hope's for

the new year intertwined with memories

of the last.

Sprouts of hope, memories to last,

and the desires of things yet to be.

Coconut Cake 

NO: gluten, dairy, nuts, eggs 

Ingredients: 

1 cup tapioca flour 

1 cup coconut flour 

1 cup brown rice flour 

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/3 cup organic cane sugar (or sweetener of choice)

2 1/2  teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup safflower oil

1/3 cup coconut oil

2 cups of water (added when blending)

Egg Replacing Ingredients (or use 2-3 eggs)

8 tablespoons apple sauce

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon egg replacer

Preparation:

Add flour ingredients to one bowl. In another bowl, mix the sugar and oil ingredients. Mix together the egg replacing ingredients in a bowl of its own. Start to add the sugar and egg replacing ingredients to the dry ingredients. Blend using a mixer.

Add to two round cake pans or pans of your choice. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheight for 40-45 minutes. Remember: every oven is different. Use a tooth pick or sharp fork to test to make sure the cake is done.

Icing:

1 1/2 stick earth balance (or butter)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups powdered sugar (more if needed)

1 cup organic palm shortening (or more earth balance/butter)

Add water for desired consistency. Start with 2 tablespoons of water (that may be enough).

Water can help make the icing fluffy and more full, but if you put too much then it is watery.

Spread icing on the bottom layer of the icing and then sprinkle some shredded coconut before placing the other layer on top. Generously spread icing on the entire cake and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

love it! When I was pregnant with my daughter, I requested that my mom make me a coconut cake. And I am pretty sure, I devoured most of it. Unfortunately, it was not gluten free! It was also the last coconut cake that I had. So, naturally, I had to create a gluten free version. And I do believe, it past the test!

Coconut Quick Facts:

Coconut soothes the digestive system, improves immune system function, helps prevent tooth decay, supports thyroid function and kills fungus and yeast. So what are you waiting for? Make some coconut porridge too!

Naomi at Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried started the "Go Ahead Honey It's Gluten Free" event and it is just a blast to be a part of. Since I hosted this month, I will be posting the round-up near the end of this month.

-heather

Chocolate Fudge with Sunbutter Swirls

Chocolate Fudge with Sunbutter Swirls 

NO: gluten, eggs, soy, dairy, nuts

It was always a tradition when I was growing up, to make fudge when it snowed. Now, you might think that we were essentially drowning in fudge, but that was not the case. We lived in a place where it didn't snow much. So even though it snowed maybe 1/2 inch, at least we had my dad's fudge to look forward to! He made amazing chocolate fudge and peanut butter fudge... 

Lucky for me, Enjoy Life Foods sends out a newsletter, and this time they had a recipe for fudge. I tweaked it a bit, because I don't use brown rice syrup or canola oil.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Sunflower Butter

1/2 teaspoon sunflower oil

1 teaspoon honey

2 - 10oz bags (3 cups) Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1 1/2 teaspoon sunflower oil

Preparation:

Grease an 8X8 pan. Set aside.

Add sunflower butter to a separate bowl. Mix with honey. Mixture will thicken.

Add oil to sunflower butter and honey, mixture will thin out. Set aside.

Create a double broiler by placing a bowl in a pot with water. Add chocolate chips and oil. Turn heat on low to medium, the water will heat up and the chocolate chips will begin to melt in the bowl.

After the chips are melted, pour them into the greased pan and spread evenly.

Using a spoon, dollop the sunflower butter mixture on top of the chocolate. Use a fork to swirl the sunflower butter around the chocolate mixture.

Cover and put in the refrigerator to cool. This may take several hours or even overnight.

Before serving, take out of the refrigerator and allow the fudge to come to room temperature (leave the lid on). Cut into pieces and serve!

**You can use coconut oil or oil of choice, you do not have to use sunflower oil.

We had it today, on Christmas Eve! I am going to make another batch and use coconut oil instead of sunflower oil. You can also top the fudge with shredded coconut.

Recommended brands of Sunflower Butter:

Once Again Organic Sunflower Butter

SunGold Natural Crunch SunButter Sunflower Seed Butter

enjoy!

-heather

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache

A couple of days ago it finally snowed a relatively decent amount. It was enough for Sophie to enjoy sledding a bit on the hill by our house. Here is a picture of her all dressed, ready and waiting for us to hurry up! 

I had to come up with a recipe for chocolate cupcakes and cake that would be really, really good. My mom's friend wants us to make her daughter's gluten-free cupcakes to take to her class at school, and then a gluten-free white cake for her birthday party. She also needs it to be egg-free, so she came to the right place. I made this recipe and am really pleased with it. It made 12 cupcakes and 1 round cake. It would make 24 cupcakes just fine.

Since this was a test batch, I decided to make a chocolate ganache for us as the frosting.

The wet ingredients plus the cane sugar: 

I don't usually use cane sugar for us, but I had it because my mom gets a lot of stuff because she works with a broker for natural health companies and it is high quality cane sugar.

Ingredients mixed together plus the cocoa powder:
 

Here are the cupcakes before the ganache:

And the cake:

After the ganache hardens:

This was really, really good. I am proud of myself. I am very modest, so you must know it is good if I am really excited about it :) I eat a low sugar diet, though you may not think so because you have seen a lot of desserts on my blog. My husband really gets to eat most of the desserts. I also am not able to eat very much chocolate, though I love it so. My poor husband, I am pretty sure he has put on weight since I started this blog. Hehe. He doesn't complain, because he really loves desserts. His mom used to make all the wrong kinds (gluten, white sugar, etc) but they were undoubtably good. 

Cupcakes (makes 24, or a 2 layer cake, or 12 cupcakes and a 1 layer cake!)

1/2 cup potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 cup coconut flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/3 cup cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup oil or butter substitute 

2 1/2 cup water

Egg replacing ingredients (or 2 eggs):

6 tablespoon apple sauce

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon egg replacer

Mix dry ingredient in separate bowl. Combine wet ingredients plus sugar in a separate bowl.

Mix egg replacing ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine them and the wet ingredients with the dry. Beat with a mixer for about three minutes, stopping to scrape the sides.

Add to unbleached cupcake holders, or to a cake pan of choice (greased).

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until done.

Ganache:

1 cup enjoy life chocolate chips

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 tablespoon coconut cream

Add ingredients to a double broiler (a bowl over a pot with water on the stove works). Heat on medium to low, using a whisk to stir the ingredients as they begin to melt.

Drizzle on cupcakes and cake after they are completely cool but before the ganache cools.

Please let me know if you try this recipe. Then I would really be excited!

 -heather

Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is my first gluten-free chocolate cake that's not from a mix. I tend to stay away from mixes, because I enjoy creating my own and also I like to add my own sweetener. I really like how it turned out but I do want to try another chocolate cake made with partly coconut flour.

For the sake of print-friendlyness, here is the full recipe. See below for my photo preparation!

Frosting Ingredients: 

8oz cream cheese (tofutti dairy-free, or similiar)

1/3 cup earth balance + 1 tablespoon (needed more after all)

1/2 cup organic powdered sugar + 6 tablespoons during mixing

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake Recipe:

Dry ingredients:

1 cup sorghum flour

1/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 teaspoons xantham gum

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Add later:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients in separate bowl:

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/3 cup agave syrup

1/2 cup organic cane sugar (not a wet ingredient, but you combine with these)

1/3 cup of coconut oil, liquified

Egg replacing ingredients (or 2 eggs):

6 tablespoons apple sauce

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp egg replacer

Preparation:

Add dry ingredients to a large bowl. 

Combine wet ingredients (minus the egg replacing ingredients) in a separate bowl as well. 

Let them sit while you prepare the egg replacing ingredients. 

Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the egg replacing ingredients. Stir well.

 Add the cocoa powder and after ingredients are mixed together well, add chocolate chips and lightly stir in.

Add to a 8 X 8 glass baking dish (greased with coconut oil) or cake pan of choice.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until tooth pick is inserted and comes out clean.

Egg replacing ingredients:

This is what it looks like. It starts to bubble up :)

Time to add the wet, dry, and egg replacing ingredients together:

I like to then add the cocoa powder:

Finish mixing ingredients together, then add the chocolate chips. 

For Frosting:

Add cream cheese and earth balance to a bowl:

Add powder sugar:

And begin to mix, adding 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar:  

Add vanilla extract and the remaining 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat fully:

After cake is fully cooled, frost and enjoy:

Eat a slice with some coconut ice cream :)

-heather

Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger: Carrot Cake

This my first time participating in Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger! I adopted Vittoria from Deliciously Gluten free and made her Carrot Cake. I met Vittoria (online) shortly after I started my gluten free blog. She is a great friend and a great addition to the gluten-free blogging community! She also posts recipes that comply to the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet), so be sure to check out her blog.

I had to substitute for Rhubarb because it was not in season. I did some research and found out that the growing season is from April to September. I want to try this again when I can get some rhubarb, because I am very curious to see how that will taste! Instead of 1 cup of rhubarb, I used 1/2 cup of carrot and 1/2 cup of celery in addition to what the recipe called for carrot and celery. I also had to leave out the pecans because my daughter is allergic to nuts, so we don't have any nuts in the house.

I made this for Thanksgiving, and we couldn't wait to try it so we decided to eat dessert before we had our Thanksgiving meal :)

The colors were so beautiful.

Here is the final batter, ready to go in the oven.

Making the frosting is almost my favorite part :)

This is my first time decorating a cake, beyond just simply icing it.

I tried to add some juice from a carrot to make the icing orange to add some final touches, but....

It didn't quite work. We laughed that it was more like mustard. But for the sake of pride, I shall call it Buttercup Yellow.

The cake was so beautiful, I had a hard time not taking photos of it. We really enjoyed this cake, and towards the end of nearly devouring it, we sprinkled on some shredded coconut which also added a nice flavor.

last picture.. really.. promise!
 

Thanks so much to Vittoria for loaning her Carrot Cake recipe! And thanks to Sea at Book of Yum for hosting, I really enjoyed participating and I can't wait to see what other bloggers made!

I hope that everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving. I made some bbq tempeh and pinto beans which were a big hit. I will post the recipe soon. My mom made an amazing goldenberry cornbread stuffing, which I will also be posting the recipe for soon.

I am thankful for my gluten-free Thanksgiving. Last year, I did not know I had celiac disease. My symptoms were just beginning to manifest. After a gluten-filled thanksgiving dinner, I had a horrible stomach ache. This year, after my gluten-free thanksgiving dinner, I felt thankful and did not have a stomach ache :)

 -heather

Chocolate Holiday Rounds

This would be an amazing treat for any holiday party. They are easy to eat and healthy too.

1 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds, soaked

12 dates, unsoaked

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon raw honey

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons water

Process until smooth, scraping the edges well. Mold teaspoon size drops with your hand. Roll in coconut if desired (or cinnamon).

If you like this dish, my flour-less chocolate fudge cake is similar. 

enjoy!

-heather

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cake (nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free)

1 1/2 cups raw sunflower seeds, soaked

10 small dates, unsoaked

1 tablespoon raw honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2-4 teaspoons water

Process in a food processor. Add the teaspoons of water for desired thickness and consistency.

Use a spatula to scrape the filling into a pie or cake dish. Use unbleached parchment paper greased with coconut oil to line the dish with before adding the filling (optional). Sprinkle with shredded coconut or top with berries of choice. Refrigerate and serve!

This was so amazing. Anyone who loves chocolate will love this. Let me know if you try it out. It's incredibly easy to make too. You can substitute the sunflower seeds for nuts if you are able to eat nuts. 

enjoy!

-heather

Papaya Coconut Clusters

My friend Kelly at The Spunky Coconut made some Orange Apricot Clusters that look amazing. I told her that I would make some without nuts for my blog.

Papaya Coconut Clusters:

1 cup enjoy life chocolate chips (dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free certified)

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 teaspoons orange powder (optional)

Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in a double broiler (a bowl sitting on top of a pot of simmering water). Once melted, remove from heat and add:

1/2 cup dried papaya cubes

2 tablespoons shredded coconut (optional)

3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

Mix well. Add teaspoon size drops to a cookie sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper.

Refrigerate until solid and then refrigerate in a container with a lid. 

These are so good.. it is hard to stop eating them. The only draw back is that the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips are already sweetened. I would prefer to use unsweetened chocolate, like Kelly did, and add my own preferred sweetener (honey).

-heather