Category: Baking

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Cookies

turkeygfcookiesAs I was reviewing the recipes I’d be making for Thanksgiving weekend gatherings this year, I realized that someone likely to eat at least one meal at my house is gluten intolerant and wouldn’t be able to share the best part of dinner: dessert!  Luckily I had a recipe that was easily converted to gluten free, whew, crisis averted!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Mix together in a bowl and set aside:

  • 3 1/4 Cups All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour (I use Krusteaz)
  • 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder

In stand mixer cream until light and fluffy:

  • 2 Sticks (1 Cup) softened butter
  • 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/3 Cup  Brown Sugar (Light or Dark)  then add
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/4 Cup Canned Pumpkin Puree

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

On low speed slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated and dough forms a ball.

Divide the dough in half and put into 2 large Ziplock bags.  Flatten to a large disk and put both into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Once dough has chilled place first disk on a lightly floured surface (MAKE SURE YOU USE THE GLUTEN FREE FLOUR), roll out to about 1/4″ and cut into Turkeys, Leaves, Footballs or any other fall shape.  Place on a cookie sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper and then throw the pan in the freezer for a couple of minutes to help cookies keep their shape when you bake them.  Repeat process with what is left of first disk then the second disk until you have used all of the dough.

Bake for 9-12 minutes (until lightly browned on the bottoms and starting to brown on the tops) depending on your oven and the thickness of your cookies.  Remove cookies from the oven.  Allow to cool on pan about 1 minute then remove to wire racks to completely cool.  Do not leave on the pan too long or the cookies might start to lose their shape.

When completely cool ice with Royal Icing or pre-made cookie icing and enjoy.

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Bananas Foster Bread

ripebananasI was looking at 4 very sad – very ripe bananas while cleaning up my counter this morning and knew this was likely the last day they’d be good for anything more than freezing for smoothies.  I still feel crummy and wasn’t really in the mood to bake, but I went online in search of something easy, outside the ordinary banana bread, to do with them.

Like I knew they would, Food Network came to my rescue:

Damaris Phillps’s Bananas Foster Bread

  • 4 Medium ripe bananas mashed
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 Cup sugar
  • 1/2 Cup coconut oil, melted
  • 3 TBLS plain yogurt
  • 1 tsp rum extract (I used a tsp of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum)
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 2 Cups All-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/2 Cup dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 Cup spiced rum (Captain Morgan is my favorite)
  • 1 tsp orange zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine the bananas, eggs, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt, and rum and vanilla extracts in a bowl.

In another, larger bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the flour is incorporated and batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the glaze.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and 1/2 cup water and stir. Cook until the sugar dissolves, and then continue cooking another 3 to 5 minutes over low heat until the mixture bubbles around the edges. Turn off the heat and carefully (in case it flames) stir in the rum and the orange zest.

Slowly pour half of the glaze over the banana bread, allowing it to seep into all the surfaces. Wait until the glaze has been absorbed, about 30 minutes, and then turn the loaf out of the pan.

Slice and serve with vanilla ice cream, if using, and the remaining glaze.

bananasfosterbreadThis was easy to put together and made the house smell amazing while it was baking!

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Chocolate Red Wine Cake + Cupcake Wine = Yum!

Tonight I’m showing some dessert love.

What’s better than a deep dark chocolate cake?

A deep dark chocolate cake that has red wine in it!  Word of caution: this cake isn’t for kids.  Some of the alcohol remains after baking.

chocredwineloafcakeDeep Dark Chocolate Red Wine Cake

8 TBLS (1 Stick) Room Temp Butter   3/4 Cup Brown Sugar     1/4 Cup Bakers Sugar     2 Eggs (At Room Temp)   2 tsp Vanilla   3/4 Cup Dark ChocolateRouge Wine   1 Cup Flour (Can add up to 1/4 Cup more as needed)   1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder   1/2 tsp Baking Powder     1/4 tsp Cinnamon

In a bowl combine 1 cup of the flour with the dry ingredients; in the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugars, add the eggs one at a time (scrape the bowl between additions), gradually add in the wine and vanilla.  Stir in the dry ingredients (if the batter is too wet add a bit of the extra flour), spoon into a loaf pan, greased with solid coconut oil or coconut oil spray, and bake @350 for 60 minutes.

Let cool 5 minutes in pan then remove to wire rack to finish cooling.  Serve with a dollop of freshly whipped cream or a rich scoop of vanilla ice cream and a glass of the decadent wine below.

redvelvet-_x550Cupcake Vineyards Red Velvet

I discovered this wine over the weekend shopping at my local Albertson’s that was having a 30% off wine special.  I get adventurous when I’m not paying full price, and at $6.98 a bottle I was adventurous enough to buy two bottles.

Cupcake Vineyards is not a wine I generally buy, having tasted a few different blends and found them to be too sweet.  Happily, this was not the case at all with this Red Blend of Zinfandel, Petite Syrah and Merlot.  Their description perfectly describes this creamy, smooth finishing wine:  Aromas of chocolate, deep dark blackberries and luscious red fruits that finish with a hint of coconut and creamy mocha that shows unmistakable intensity and length.

I couldn’t agree more!

A glass of Cupcake Red Velvet alongside this decadent chocolate cake would be the perfect way to finish after a great steak dinner!  I guess I’ve figured out Saturday’s menu. 😉

UPDATE:  We loved the Cupcake Vineyards Red Velvet wine so much that I went back yesterday, while the sale is still on at Albertson’s, and bought another 6 bottles to put in the wine closet for a nice “every night” glass choice.

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Indulge Without Feeling Too Guilty This Weekend

Clean-Eating-CupcakesI try to stick to a mostly clean diet of lean meats, fish, fruit and vegetables during the week, but come the weekend all bets are off.  I am an admitted carb fiend and the weekend gives me just the excuse I need to indulge in as many “bad for me” foods as I can get my hands on.  I justify it by swearing that my weekday workouts will offset the weekend damage, although it never quite works out that way.

For once, I’d like to wake up the morning after a game without seeing a puffy face in the mirror, regretting a night spent drinking like we’re still in college, and trying to force my rings over chubby salt swelled fingers.

With USC playing an away game in Tempe, Arizona this weekend, I won’t be cooking for our usual tailgate crowd of 15-20 pre-game partiers.  It’ll just be two or three of us in front of the TV watching the game Saturday night, so, if I work it right, sneaking a healthier choice or two into the mix may not result in a game time mutiny (and call to have pizza delivered) at my house.  Fingers are crossed I can get away with it.

I’ll give into the boys’ need for “football food” by getting them all-beef hot dogs (Yuck!) to grill and devour with baked beans and whatever chips and dip they insist on eating.  After I’ve satisfied their need for game day stadium food, I’ll clean all of that crap food up and ease them into the experiment by baking up a gluten free cheesy bacon jalapeno bread (aka Cheesy BJ Bread) to snack on while we are watching the game.  If there is any left over, it will be great toasted and served with scrambled eggs Sunday morning.

jalapenoGluten Free Cheddar Bacon Jalapeno Bread

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9″ x 5″ Loaf Pan.

Whisk together 2 Large Eggs, 1/4 Cup Melted & Cooled Unsalted Butter and 1 1/2 Cups Room Temperature Buttermilk and set aside.  In a hot frying pan, cook 6-8 Slices Thick Cut Bacon until Crisp.  Drain and cool then roughly chop the bacon and add to the buttermilk mixture.

In a large bowl combine 3 Cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, 2 TBLS Sugar, 1 1/2 TBLS Baking Powder, 1 1/4 tsp Salt, and 1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper.  Add 3 Jalapeno Peppers (seeded and diced) and an 8 oz pkg of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (2 Cups) to the flour mixture.  Add the buttermilk mixture and stir until well combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out with just a few dry crumbs.  Cool in pan 5 minutes then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.

I don’t think I’ll get a lot of grief for the bread.  It’ll smell great and they’ll never notice it’s Gluten Free if I have enough cream cheese, sliced jalapenos and maybe even some guacamole for them to slather on it.  Maybe they’ll be so happy eating the spicy, cheesy bread that they’ll start mindlessly nibbling without complaint on the vegetable tray that’ll be sitting beside it.

A girl can hope.

If you are on Facebook and are interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to, recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water, I have a page on Facebook you can visit too:  https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood