Passover Gluten Free Matzo with Onion, Garlic & Dill

Passover Gluten-Free Matzo with Onion, Garlic & Dill

Making Gluten-Free Matzo with a friend, especially a blogger friend, might be one of the most fun blogging experiences I’ve ever had. Cara, from Cara’s Cravings, is a new friend. We were initially in touch with each other via email about a year ago but then you know what happens. Time has a way of getting away from you. And then through serendipitous musical circumstances, we finally met and I’m so glad we did. Though there are over 20 years between our ages, you’d never know. We talk like we’re old friends reconnecting. So much to talk about! Cara asks me which gluten-free flour I use for this or that recipe? I ask Cara how she so deftly substitutes coconut sugar and stevia in recipes that use conventional refined sugar (she has an engineer’s mind!). Needless to say, I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to develop a friendship with Cara! And her husband Ben and her sweet new puppy Eve are also delightful! And if that weren’t enough, we decided to put our gluten-free aprons on at the same time! And then after making our gluten-free matzo, both of us could blog about our experience.

I’ve blogged about my other gluten-free matzo recipes. Go to this page to see a number of links for my gluten free matzo recipes. Far and above all of them, my favorite previous Gluten-Free Matzo recipe is this one, using Bread From Anna’s gluten-free flour mix. Here’s the recipe as included on the Breads From Anna website. I will probably always remain loyal to that one because of lots of reasons not the least of which is that it was the first gluten free flour that made really kick-ass GF matzo. But this new recipe is also a good one. I wouldn’t hesitate to make either one.

Is this recipe for Gluten-Free Matzo kosher for Passover? It depends on your level of keeping kosher for Passover. It contains oats, one of the five grains that are mandatory to call something kosher for Passover. It bakes for less than 18 minutes, another criterion for it being kosher for Passover. As far as the ingredients themselves being kosher for Passover, that’s another story. If the package doesn’t say kosher for Passover and you keep strictly to the laws of kashrut (kosher), you will have to decide for yourself whether it will work for you. I looked on my Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-free flour mix, and while there is an underlined K on the bag, it doesn’t specifically say that it’s kosher for Passover. But since I do not adhere to strictly kosher for Passover, it works for me. I also might add that in Jewish law, children, the elderly, and the infirm are considered exempt from having to follow the letter of the law. I believe that if you have Celiac Disease OR if you have a gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity, you fall in that category.

This recipe uses Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour. Though I like a lot of other Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free products, I am not a fan of this flour, as it has a very heavy bean-like taste. However, mixed with the ground oats and almond flour, there is no bean-like taste AND it performs beautifully.



We didn’t try using this matzo as a substitute for matzo meal, but you can be sure that I will be trying it before our matzo eating holiday of Passover is finished.


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Gluten Free Matzo with Onion, Garlic & Dill


Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes


Yield: 5 sheets of matzo


Ingredients

1 c. Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour mix, plus extra for rolling

1/4 c. oat flour (or gluten free oats, ground finely in a food processor)

1/4 c. almond flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. dried dill

4 tbsp. olive oil

4 - 6 tbsp. water



Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flours, salt, and seasonings in a food processor and pulse to combine. Remove cover and drizzle in olive oil and 4 tablespoons of water. Process until well combined. Remove cover and pinch together some of the dough. If it holds together, it's done. If it is still a bit crumbly, add more water, a teaspoon at a time, and continue processing until dough holds together.
Gather the dough into a ball. Generously flour work surface and rolling pin. Divide dough into five equal portions. Working with one at a time, roll as thinly as possible into a rustic round or oval shape. Gently lift and place on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Poke holes in horizontal rows with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough.
Bake 12 - 14 minutes, until browned and crisp.




A zissen Pesach (pay-sach – the “ch” is a guttural sound that comes from the back of your throat) to you all! This is a Yiddish saying that people say in wishing others a happy Passover – zissen means sweet and Pesach is the Yiddish word for Passover.



You’re in for a treat when you visit Cara’s blog for her post about our gluten free matzo fun. And you’re in for a treat when you take a look at these three other recipes from Cara’s blog that are great for Passover:

Leek & Artichoke Kugel (use either our GF matzo recipe or after you gasp at the price, buy a box of GF matzo like this one)

Gluten Free Recipe With Chicken - Honey Savory Roasted Chicken

One of the adjustments that Celiacs have to make is accepting the fact that eating out is just not the same easy-go-lucky last-minute let’s-run-out-for-a-bite thing to do that it used to be. Now, eating out is always a major deal. What restaurants can you go to that you will feel safe eating in? While there are a few restaurants in our area that either has gluten-free menus or cater to our gluten-free needs (and for that I’m grateful), the bottom line is that it’s just easier to eat at home.



That was a huge adjustment for us we work out of our home (when we are not out on the road if you are interested, go to our website at http://www.peterandellen.com/) and often times, we work until hunger screams out at us – TIME TO EAT!!! In the past (pre-Celiac), we'd run to our local Vietnamese restaurant (Dalat in Worcester). Nope, no more. There IS a Vietnamese restaurant (Pho Dakao) that works for us now they even purchased a special kind of gluten-free flour to make their Vietnamese pancakes that we love to order – but even then, sometimes, it's just easier to eat home. When we go there, we pretty much order the same as meals. And I will confess, one does get tired of ordering the same thing all the time.

So, what is a food lover to do? The answer is simple: eat at home. It took a lot of soul-searching and admitting that we had fallen prey to how most of our contemporaries live. And I ain’t knocking it, believe me. If it weren’t for the Celiac diagnosis, chances are we’d still be running out for those quick, inexpensive meals. But not any longer. Now, we eat at home more often than ever before. And we eat well by being prepared. We love to eat delicious foods – we love regular ol’ American nothing-fancy dining and we also love interesting cuisines and unique flavors – so, our pantry is well-stocked. We stop at Whole Foods whenever we’re near one (we live about 45 minutes from a whole slew of them) and we make short local supermarket runs every few days for fresh meats and veggies or for the occasional ethnic ingredient that we’ve run out of – by doing it this way, we can pretty much create quick, easy AND homemade gourmet meals every day.

So, here a recipe that will get you started. While it’s cooking, throw a salad together, steam some fresh veggies and then sit down to a beautiful gourmet dinner!

Honey Savory Roasted Chicken

2 pounds chicken (any combination of parts you prefer, i.e. breasts, thighs, etc., with skin, without skin – your preference)
salt & pepper
¼ cup honey
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup pomegranate juice (if you can’t find this, use twice as much OJ)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. thyme
½ tsp. rosemary
½ tsp. oregano
½ cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 350°. Season the chicken with salt and pepper to taste, then place in a roasting pan. In a bowl, mix the honey, orange juice, pomegranate juice, olive oil, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. Pour over the chicken. Add the chicken broth to the pan and mix until it blends. Bake until finished, basting several times (I use a thermometer fork to test it) – general rule of thumb is 20 minutes per pound. If you want it particularly crispy, broil it for a few minutes at the end – but watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. Strain the pan juices into a saucepan and reduce until slightly thickened. Serve over the chicken.



Response to this post:

Sasha January 17, 2018, at 3:59 pm
It is hard to be spontaneous. I have kids ages 3 and 4 and one is GF (as am I) and one is allergic to eggs. Mostly when we are out we just know which grocery stores have microwaves and GF frozen foods that we like.

REPLY

GrewUpRural January 17, 2018, at 4:12 pm
Working two jobs, it’s hard to eat at all. Most nights I don’t get home until 11pm. I try to keep frozen gf foods, like Amy’s Rice Lasagna on hand.

I am learning to make foods in bulk on my days off for later in the week. There is a Whole Foods in Providence, but it’s not right around the corner for me. WF is building another location near my part-time job in Cranston. I am hoping this will help me with cooking.

REPLY

Mike Eberhart January 18, 2018, at 12:48 pm
Needless to say, most of my eating is at home as well. There are very few places where I feel my diet is truly safe if I eat out. It doesn’t bother me much, though I feel like I am holding back my wife and daughter when they want to go out to eat since even if I say to go without me, they don’t always want to.

REPLY

Lynn Barry January 18, 2018, at 2:31 pm
This chicken recipe looks to die for. Thanks!

REPLY

Ellen January 19, 2018, at 11:40 pm
Sasha,

My kids were grown by the time I was diagnosed, so I don’t know how I would handle it if I had young kids like you. I’m sure it’s a challenge. For me, I find that I have to really plan my outings carefully. And I never leave the house without something to eat in my purse whether it’s soymilk (the little 8 oz cartons) or a Larabar or something like that. Good luck!

REPLY

Ellen January 19, 2018, at 11:42 pm
Dear grewuprural,

That’s some schedule you keep – have you heard about OAMC? It stands for once a month cooking. I know you’d have to be super organized to do it, but if you would consider it, I’ll bet it would help your situation. But you are definitely challenged! Good luck!

REPLY

Ellen January 19, 2018, at 11:44 pm
Dear Mike,

Aren’t we lucky to have spouses that understand? My husband never ever complains about eating home. And if it keeps us safer, all the better. To home-cooked meals!

REPLY

Kaz from Worcester Love May 8, 2018, at 10:17 am
Hey Ellen- What are the “same safe meals” that you get at Pho Dakao? I go to the Boynton and Nancy Changs quite often and I’m very ready to try something else. Thanks!!

REPLY

Ellen May 8, 2018, at 6:56 pm
Hi Kaz,

We tend to get the same thing all the time at Pho Dakao. We get the chicken soup with rice noodles and the summer rolls (no peanut sauce, only the nuoc cham dipping sauce), sometimes the crepe (in the appetizer section) made with rice flour/powder. That’s pretty much it! Boring, predictable, but safe!

REPLY

Gluten Free Ginger Cake Cookies

Hello, you beautiful people! And, I mean everyone. This Christmas season has given me new reasons to look at the world, remembering how blessed I am. The big things. The little things. I’m truly a blessed individual.

OK, I wasn’t thrilled when the Little Man and I were sick all but 3 days in the last two months, but we got better. And, it’s small potatoes. I have had several friends going through some very rough times lately. Some are online friends. Some are real-life friends. Some are both. To all of you, I send love and hugs and happy, happy thoughts.

gluten-free ginger cake cookies

And, somehow, this actually leads to the post I was going to write today. One of the many, many things that I am grateful for is my family. All of them. And, this recipe is an adaptation from a recipe of my step-MIL. If you can call it an adaptation. She freely admits that she doesn’t write down recipes or measure. She just throws stuff together, and most of the time, it works out. Well, this is one that worked out well. Very well.

About a month and a half ago, my FIL and step-MIL stayed the night at our house. Step-MIL brought these fabulous ginger cookies. I call them ginger cake cookies. They are cakey, and gingery, and yummy goodness. I asked her for the recipe, and she sent me an approximate idea of what she threw together. So, I did some work and came up with this recipe. It tastes pretty much like what she brought.

I also adapted this recipe to make a gingerbread “house” for a contest that my friend, Kim, is holding on her blog, Cook It Allergy Free. So, this brings me to the picture at the top of this post. I loved the picture this made when we were walking on my in-law's property. It’s not theirs. It belongs to their neighbor’s son, but they share the beautiful walking property. And, I felt good about my photographer’s eye, when I heard my step-MIL say it was such a great picture as I was bringing out my camera. (She used to be a professional photographer.) So, I was inspired to make this for the contest.

gluten-free gingerbread house trailer

So far, it’s not getting many votes. Like any. But that’s ok. It was my first attempt at anything like this. The Little Man helped me a lot. That boy has patience. He helped form an hour before he got bored and tried to put kidney and black beans on it. (He thinks the m’n'm’s are beans. And he will continue to think that as long as I can make it happen.)

So, if you feel inclined, you can vote for my trailer at Kim’s Gingerbread House contest. It’s #16. You can vote once per day. That would be cool.

Or, you can make the Gluten-Free Ginger Cake Cookies. That would also be cool. Let me know if you do. I would love to know how you like them.

[print_this]

Gluten-Free Ginger Cake Cookies
Ingredients:

1 cup sweet rice flour
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
1/4 cup palm sugar
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
Directions:

Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Add palm sugar.
Add ginger, molasses, and egg.
Pile into little mounds on a cookie sheet. We might want to use parchment paper, but it isn’t absolutely necessary.
Bake at 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes.
Test at 8 minutes for doneness.

Gluten-Free Ginger Cake Cookies

Notes: If you don’t have fresh ginger, or the gumption to grate it, you can sub 2 teaspoons of ginger powder. I used McCormick Roasted Ground Ginger I got at BlogHer Food. It worked very nicely.

Also, I adapted this recipe for the gingerbread house by doubling the recipe, using a total of 3/4 cup molasses and 3 eggs. I let it sit in the fridge overnight before rolling. It made it cakier (not a word, but you know what I mean), and we are still eating it days later. It still tastes good. (Oh, yeah, I so destroyed it as soon as I took the picture. Not really impressed with how it turned out, but it was my first attempt.)

Lessons learned when making a gingerbread house:
Roll the dough thin. Mine was much too thick to work with. The walls were heavy.
Mix the royal icing for a very long time. I didn’t mix mine long enough, and it took forever to harden. Seriously, the reason the windows look so you-know-what-ed up it because after 3-4 hours of laying down, I tried to put the walls up, and everything came running down. Not pretty. But, it’s still tasty.
If you use this recipe, you can take cookie cutters to it after. The Little Man has lots of his gingerbread “stars” to eat for a while.

Until later, here’s to…Living better, easily!™

PS – If you like this post and want to receive notices whenever a new recipe/review/rambling, etc. goes up, sign up for email updates in the upper right-hand corner of this page.

PPS – I am linking this recipe to Calling All Cookies – Gluten-Free cookie round-up, being held by Nancy at The Sensitive Pantry. Another dear friend.

PPPS – If you haven’t already, go vote for my trailer at Kim’s Gingerbread House contest. It’s #16.

PPPPS – I am linking this post to Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker. Linda is collecting cookie recipes this December as well as other great gluten-free recipes.

Gluten Free Bagel Recipe

I am in heaven. Bagel heaven. Last night, I was in focaccia heaven (see picture below). A few days ago, I was in pita heaven. Today, I am in bagel heaven.

You must see a pattern, don’t you? I guess I’ve been craving bread lately!

I tried my hand at bagels about a year ago. I considered myself modestly successful. But maybe I was deceiving myself. I never made them again until today.

yes bagel

My inspiration? Two people:

#1: Rick Flask from Good For Life Foods – he is the originator of a most fantastic pizza which is available at the Boynton Restaurant in Worcester, MA. He makes bagel sticks for On The Rise, a local Worcester bakery that offers gluten-free baked goods. They are fabulous! Yesterday morning, I walked there with a friend and had a fantastic cup of coffee and a gluten-free bagel stick. Yeah! I think I’ll make that a Sunday morning ritual. Thanks, Rick! You’ve helped me feel normal again. Imagine, going to a cafe and having a cup of joe and a bagel. Incredible!

#2: Bette Hagman – again and again. We are all standing on her shoulders. She blazed trails that made it possible for all of us to live a gluten-free happy life. She was my influence for the bagel recipe. I followed the basic outline in one of her cookbooks, but I changed up the flours quite a bit, as I was going for a different texture.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking. That is a ridiculously long list of ingredients. But listen, trust me, if you love bagels like I love bagels (bagels were my life pre-diagnosis), it is worth buying every single ingredient and making these bagels. THEY TASTE LIKE BAGELS!!!!

We scoffed down a few of them and then immediately froze the rest. I know they’ll be fresher tasting if I defrost and then toast them.

Yes, Gluten-Free Bagels!
Recipe created by Ellen Allard
Servings: 12 bagels (this will change depending on how big the bagels are when you shape them)
(Printable Recipe)

1 cup millet flour
½ cup brown rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch
2/3 cup potato starch
2/3 cup cornstarch
¼ cup ground flax meal
¼ cup almond meal
3 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup shortening melted in ½ cup HOT water (I used Spectrum Organic Veg. shortening)
4 egg whites
1 cup warm water (110 degrees) with 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 packet of yeast
Cornmeal for sprinkling on cookie sheet.

Note #1: Have extra potato starch on hand to add to mixture if it is too sticky
Note #2: Have some shortening set aside. You will need to rub it on your hands when forming the bagels.
Note #3: The egg whites are best if they’re at room temperature – if you forget to take them out of the frig, before separating the egg whites, soak the eggs in a bowl of hot water.
Note #4: After dissolving the sugar and yeast in the cup of warm water, cover with a piece of plastic wrap. It will speed up the proofing of the yeast.

Grease one or two flat cookie sheets. Sprinkle cornmeal on it.

1. Place the dry ingredients, from the millet flour through the sugar, into the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Using your bread hook, mix the dry ingredients together just until blended.

2. Add the hot water/shortening mixture and remix the ingredients for about 15 seconds.

3. Add the egg whites, mix again until blended.

4. Finally, add the warm water/sugar/yeast mixture and blend until well mixed. This should take about 3 minutes. The dough will be quite sticky. There is a good chance you will need to add some extra potato starch to the mixture. I added about 2 extra tablespoons and while the mixture was still a bit sticky, by rubbing shortening on my hands when I shaped the bagels, the stickiness wasn’t a problem.

5. Rub some shortening on your hands. Take a ping-pong sized ball of dough out of the mixing bowl and roll into a ball, then press it between your two hands to make it flatter, then insert your pointer finger into the middle of it to make a hole in the center of the bagel. Place the bagels on the greased cookie sheet(s), cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place. At the beginning of this process, I turned my oven to 350 degrees for about 2 minutes, then shut it off. It was still warmish when I put the bagels in there to rise.

6. Set your timer for 50 minutes. When it rings, remove the tray of bagels from the oven. Let them sit on the counter for another 10 minutes or until the pot of water comes to a boil. The bagels should have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

7. Bring a large stockpot of water and 1 teaspoon of sugar to a boil. Once it reaches boiling, quickly place four bagels in the pot. After 30 seconds, flip them over. Remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place on a rack to cool. Repeat with the remaining bagels. The extra water will drip onto the counter below the rack. Return the bagels to the cookie sheet(s).

8. At this point, add any toppings you might like. I added white sesame seeds to some of the bagels, poppy seeds to some of the bagels, and left the rest plain, naked and still yummy.

9. Place them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. When my oven timer went off at 20 minutes, my bagels were done. Your bagels might need an extra few minutes, depends on your oven. When finished, remove from the oven and place the bagels on a cooling rack. Do not eat all at once!

Once again, as a reminder, if you have any leftover, slice and freeze them. I have found that gluten-free breads are just not that great the next day (even if you put them in a ziplock bag).

And if that weren’t enough, focaccia with olive oil and dried rosemary! The recipe comes from Annalise Roberts’ book Gluten-free Baking and is a must if you are serious about baking gluten-free. Every single thing I’ve made from this book is spectacular. Hands down. We had this for dinner last night, with a really crisp baked potato and salad with one of our new favorite vegan caesar salad dressings.

So, now you know why I’m in bagel, pita, and focaccia heaven!!!

Gluten Free Recipe: Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

I walked out of my yoga class, feeling pretty blissed out. I sent a quick text message to my husband telling him I'd be home in 10 minutes. Several minutes later, I received a text message. At the next traffic light, I took a quick look/see. Here's what it said: "Cool. Great chili btw!". Score:). And one of the best parts: early this morning, I made the chili, threw it in the crockpot, and left for about six hours. How easy was that?!




When I meal plan for the week, I can always count on spending less money at the grocery store, throwing out less food (that hadn't really been planned for), and eating out less. Last night, I sat down and planned our meals for the rest of this week, with inspiration in large part from Diane Eblin's 30 Days To A Food Revolution event. Diane, whose blog is called The W.H.O.L.E. Gang, put a huge amount of work into creating an event that turned out to be an eye-opening experience for me, and as I said, was partially responsible for tonight's Three Bean Vegetarian Chili. Not only was my participation in the event enlightening for me, but I was honored to be among the other 29 bloggers who contributed their voices and stories and recipes to the event. I learned so much, just by reading all the posts. Two of the very valuable lessons I was reminded of (among many) include the importance of planning ahead and choosing meals that are quick and easy (like Kickin' Kidney Bean Burgers or Karina's Veggie Loaf), especially for days when you don't really have time to do much cooking. With that in mind, I sat down last night and planned my weekly menu. Tonight's dinner would be Vegetarian Chili. Normally, I'd soak dried beans overnight, but for this chili recipe, canned beans were the way to go. You see, part of my meal planning includes taking a look at my schedule and determining how much time I have in the kitchen for cooking. I knew I'd be away most of today and would have just enough time to make the chili and throw it in the crockpot before leaving for the day. The result: dinner this evening, definitely tomorrow night's dinner AND the rest will be frozen in meal-size portions.



Daiya has arrived and I am SO EXCITED!!! It has become a staple in my kitchen. Whoever created it is a genius. It makes gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free (though I don't have a problem with soy) living a cinch. The damn stuff melts, I mean REALLY MELTS!!!! And I can buy it at my local small health food store. The cheddar Daiya tastes like cheddar. The mozzarella tastes like mozzarella and you should see the pizza made with it. Unbelievable, that's all I can say!




Three Bean Vegetarian Chili



1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 - 2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp chipotle chili powder, optional
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp ground cumin
One 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
One 15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
One 15.5 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
One 15.5 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

One package Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo, removed from casing and sauteed (this ingredient is optional but highly recommended as it provides a hearty texture to the chili)
One package Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, oregano, chipotle chili powder, cinnamon, and cumin. Mix well and cook for another minute.

Pour the mixture into a 6-quart crockpot. Add the crushed tomatoes, beans, water, salt and pepper, and chorizo. Cover the crockpot and cook on low for 4 - 6 hours.

Serve with a handful of Daiya. If it doesn't melt, put the bowl (with the cheese) into the microwave and heat on high for about 20 - 30 seconds until melted.

So, what's on your menu for this week?

This recipe is included in The Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays weekly.

Gluten Free Cookies Recipes | Balsamic Fudge Drops

This morning, I made a new version of Huevos Rancheros. Instead of serving it over corn tortillas, I served it over the leftover cornbread from last night. It’s basically a salsa type sauce (canned fire-roasted tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, cumin, coriander, S&P; chopped in the blender) served over two fried eggs, served over cornbread. Nothing fancy, but boy, it tasted great on a Sunday morning.

The finishing touch was tonight’s dessert. Homemade chocolate cookies. But not any old’ chocolate cookies. These were Balsamic Fudge Drops which I got from the Habeus Brulee blog which in turn got them from Alice Medrich. I don't know much about Alice Medrich, but if these cookies are any indication, I am definitely going to read everything she's ever written.

I made a mistake that I think turned out to be fortuitous. It was the first time I replaced wheat flour with a gluten-free flour mix. But I forgot to add xanthan gum, which I think you’re supposed to do when you make substitutions with GF flours. But the cookies came out fantastic. Oh, and instead of using what I imagine is dark balsamic vinegar, I used white balsamic vinegar, as I didn’t have any of the dark stuff in the house. Cookies were so chocolatey and so crisp and lacey. A real keeper. In fact, I could see making a chocolate crust using these cookies.




Balsamic Fudge Drops



Balsamic Fudge Drops
I think the recipe made about 18 cookies.

1 cup gluten-free flour of your choice (I used Annalise Roberts Brown Rice Flour mix)
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon SALT
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Vanilla sugar (see note)
Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it is all melted and sizzling, remove from heat and stir in the cocoa powder, and then both sugars. And then the yogurt, vanilla, and balsamic vinegar. Once that is mixed together nicely, add the flour mixture and stir it just until it is fully incorporated, trying not to overmix.

Measure out tablespoons of the dough about 1 ½” apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle vanilla sugar on top. Bake for about 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through.

When the cookies come out, they will look somewhat crackled on top, and terrifyingly soft. You will probably be convinced they are not yet done. Take them out anyway. Slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a rack to cool – the cookies will harden as they cool, and then you will be able to remove them from the parchment paper.

Note: To make vanilla sugar, mix sugar and inside scraped flesh from one vanilla bean in your food processor. Sift to remove any big chunks. To use the vanilla bean, make a slice from top to bottom with a sharp paring knife, as if you’re opening it to see what is inside. Then take the blade of your knife and slide it from the top down to the bottom, dragging the inside pulp out of the vanilla bean and then putting it into the food processor.

So, long post. Lots of yummy food. Lots of cooking. That’s what I do. In order for me to stay safe, I’ve needed to learn to eat at home. We go out periodically, especially when we travel out of town. But when we’re home, we eat home. And I have to say, I ain’t looking back at all. I feel good and on my way back to mending my health, after many years of stomach aches and who knows what else. I’m doing what my friend told me when she first advised me – it’s not a death sentence – you can do it and eat well. So, right back at you girlfriend. Make it work, you’re worth it!

Gluten Free Muffin Recipe - Oat and Cranberry Muffins

The other day I found myself checking out a blog called Frills in the Hills. I saw this muffin recipe and HAD to make it.



So I converted this recipe to be gluten-free, and it turned out really well. I love the oats in the batter- they make it more of rustic texture. You can find the original recipe here.

Ingredients
1 c. gluten-free flour (1/3 c. each of brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch. Plus 1/8 t. xanthan gum)
1/2 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup craisins or dried cranberries, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes
2 T. light olive oil
1 egg
1/2 + 1/3 cup buttermilk or yogurt (I used vanilla yogurt)
1/2 t. vanilla


Preheat your oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients together, and mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Mix them all together. Drain the cranberries and mix those in, too.

Pour the batter into 6 lined muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.