Christmas Cookies

by Eva // 23 December, 2012 // No Comments

Oh Gluten Free Christmas Cookies, oh Gluten Free Christmas Cookies…

‘Twas a few days before Christmas, when all through the kitchen,
Was the smell of freshly baked gluten free cookies, & boy were they bitchin’!

Gluten Free Christmas Cookies: Eggonog Cookies

The cookie cutters sat all lined up in pairs,
In hopes they’d be chosen for the joyous affair.

Glasses filled with almond milk patiently waited,
For a dunking cookie, even if it was belated.

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gluten free Christmas chocolate snowball cookies

Gluten Free Christmas Cookies: Chocolate Snowball Cookies

And me in my apron all covered in flour,
Dropped in a chair not believing, hey, this only took me an hour!

gluten free Christmas gingerbread cookies

Gluten Free Christmas Cookies: Gingerbread Cookies

Now with Christmas Eve approaching, I make this wish with all my might,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a gluten free night!

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Spook-tacular Halloween Cupcakes

by Eva // 29 October, 2012 // No Comments

I know that Halloween isn’t about cute things, but seriously…this has to be the cutest ghost and skulls n’ bones I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t resist making a batch of gluten free cupcakes to adorn with these little ones.

A while back, I saw a post on Sweetapolita’s blog on how to stamp fondant. Such a simple technique which allows you to easily dress up any cupcake (thanks Rosie for this tip!).

So I recently found these stamps in my local Michael’s store and couldn’t resist – they were just too cute to pass up! The plates I found at Winners.

Since the stamps were more on the cute side, I thought, now how can I make these cupcakes a little spooky? I was tempted to make some chocolate cupcakes and dye them black, but I’ll be honest, I did previously try this, and it completely flopped. Let’s just say I learned my lesson – never mess with a good ol’ fashion gluten free cupcake recipe.

So instead, I decided to fill them with some ‘blood’ (or better said, some berry jam ). For this recipe, I used Smucker’s SimpleBlends Fieldberry jam for the filling. On a side note, I’m happy to report that this jam is in fact gluten free. When I called Smucker’s to inquire if it was, they informed me that all Smucker’s jams are gluten free (yippee!).

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Pure deliciousness! Happy Halloween!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

Spook-tacular Halloween Cupcakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 22 minutes

Makes: 12-16 cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened, room temperature)
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk, or milk substitute
1/2 cup or so jam or your preference (I used Smuckers SimpleBlends Fieldberry)

For Gingerbread Swiss Meringue Buttercream

5 large egg whites (5 ounces)
1 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown sugar)
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans with liners; set aside.
Mix together in bowl all dry ingredients; set aside.
Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla extract and mix well.
Add flour mixing on low speed and slowly add milk. Once all milk has been added, mix well until smooth (about 3 min).
Pour approximately 1 tbsp of mix into each liner, then drop in 1 heaping tsp of jam into each liner. Top off each liner with more mix ensuring the jam is fully covered in each one.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean – about 22 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to cool completely on wire rack. Once completely cooled, you can frost.

For Buttercream

Ensure your mixer bowl is free of any grease prior to starting.
Add egg whites and brown sugar in mixer bowl and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling). Whisk constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140-160°F, about 8-10 minutes. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test the mixture by rubbing a bit between your fingers. If egg whites are hot and you do not feel granules of sugar, it’s ready.
Remove from heat.
With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch. It is important the temperature of the bowl has cooled down as you should never add butter to warm meringue.
Switch over to paddle attachment and, with mixer on low speed, add softened butter in chunks until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture (if curdles, keep mixing on medium-low and it will come back to smooth).
Add vanilla, salt and spices, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-halloween-cupcakes/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Halloween Cookies

by Eva // 27 October, 2012 // No Comments

Halloween always feels a bit nostalgic to me, reminding me of things from my childhood. I think of the Monster Mash song (not sure why because I know it’s from before my time) and classic Scooby-Doo cartoons. But what I remember the most is Disney’s Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman – I loved watching that cartoon as a kid and always looked forward to this time of year when it would be aired on tv. You can watch part 3 of the movie here, and part 4 of the movie here (I do not own these clips from YouTube). Ok, I guess I also remember running door-to-door for treats – was I the only one who carried a pillow case?

In a recent trip to my local Winners store, I found these cute Halloween plates and couldn’t resist buying them.

So what could be better than filling these plates with some gluten free Halloween cut-out chocolate cookies? Off to work I went.

Boo! A few ghostly treats.

What can I say I couldn’t resist making a few Jack Skellington cookies…I mean afterall, this is Halloween

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Pure deliciousness!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

Halloween Cookies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups white rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 tapioca starch
1/2 cup premium cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, room temperature

For Icing

2 1/2 cups of confectioners’ sugar
Roughly 1/4 cup warm water (make sure to add the water slowly while mixing as you may find you do not need the full amount)
1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Combine all dry ingredients in bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar for about 1 minute.
Add egg and mix well.
Add vanilla extract and mix well.
Add dry ingredients and combine until dough sticks together, being careful not to over mix. Flatten dough and put in fridge for about 1 hour. I spread the dough on a plastic tray so it wouldn’t stick and covered it with plastic wrap.
Just before removing dough from fridge, preheat oven to 350°F.
Roll out dough in batches and cut out shapes. Ensure to keep thickness of cookies as even as possible placing cookies of the same thickness on the same cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes (depending on size of cookie).
Let cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

For Icing

Combine sugar and cream of tartar in bowl of mixer using paddle attachment.
Add vanilla and stir.
Begin to slowly add water (roughly 2 tbsp at a time), continuing to mix on low. Closely keep an eye on thickness of icing ensure not to add too much water.
Every so often, stop the mixer and do the ’10 second test’ by dragging a knife through the icing and counting to 10. If it takes 10 seconds for the line to dissolve, you have achieved the correct consistency. If the line dissolves before 10 seconds, the icing is too thin. You can thicken it by adding more sugar 1 tbsp at a time until the correct consistency is achieved.

Notes

Couple of notes to share on the icing: To ensure you have the right icing consistency, drag a knife through the icing doing a 10 second test (noted below with the recipe). When I made this icing, I did not have meringue powder on hand. Even though every royal icing recipe I’ve seen requires meringue powder, I did not want to use it. The only reason really was because I have bought it in the past and because I’d only decorate cookies maybe once a year, it ends up expiring on me and I end up having to throw it out. So I decided to just add more cream of tartar to the recipe to ensure the icing dried hard enough. This royal icing recipe takes a bit longer to dry than the typical royal icing recipe using meringue powder (took me about 1 day and a half for the first layer to dry). If using this royal icing recipe, do not cover it with a damp towel. I did, left it overnight in an airtight container and it actually dried out the icing. The damp towel absorbed all the moisture. However, I had a second airtight container with some icing, without a damp towel, and it was still good. Just needed to be rewhipped by hand (using a spoon). Water measurement below is a rough estimation. You need to add the water slowly checking the icing continuously to see if it passes the 10 second test. You may find you need more or less water. I start with about 1/4 cup water and take it from there.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-halloween-cookies/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Chocolate Espresso Torte

by Eva // 21 October, 2012 // No Comments

It’s choctastic! It’s the best of both worlds – rich and delicious chocolate paired with freshly brewed bold espresso. The perfect pick me up torte! And the best part is that it’s gluten free!

Is it possible to have too much chocolate or too much espresso in one day? Maybe, but then of course there’s nothing wrong with occasionally indulging yourself…just a little bit. Nothing’s wrong with that, right?

It was nice to see a gluten free feature on a local recipe tv show (Best Recipes Ever). The recipe originally called for ground walnuts, but I chose to switch it over to ground almonds, mainly because I prefer the taste and texture of ground almond. I also swapped some of the granulated sugar for brown sugar, hoping to provide a bit more depth to the final product.

I must be honest though and confess that I did run into a little mishap while whisking the cocoa into the melted margarine/espresso mixture. Of course, as usual, I tried doing too many things at once, and well, I didn’t notice (until it was too late), that my mixture was slightly boiling, which of course resulted in a lumpy cocoa mess. Ugh! And it was definitely messy alright! I tried whisking and whisking it back to smooth. Maybe, just maybe, by some chance I’d be lucky enough and I could save it (which really, I knew I couldn’t but let’s face it, I was just humouring myself). After many minutes of melted margarine flying all over my stovetop, I finally gave in to defeat and stopped. However, even though it was lumpy, I still went through with the recipe (at this point, I wasn’t about to give up!), and in the end it still turned out to be a deliciously moist torte. So lesson be learned – don’t give up and see it through to the end because you just never know, it may all work out

I topped off my cake with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar and pomegranate seeds, which complemented it nicely. This chocolately cake with a hint of espresso is surprisingly light. So for that reason, I say, indulge with a piece…or two, or three
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Pure deliciousness!

Here is the recipe…enjoy!

Chocolate Espresso Torte

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 30 minutes

Makes: 10 servings

Recipe adapted from Best Recipes Ever

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) almond flour (or blanched ground almonds)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp (30 mL) potato starch
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon
1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
1 cup (250 mL) butter or margarine
1/4 cup (60 mL) brewed espresso or very strong coffee
1 cup (250 mL) cocoa powder
4 eggs, separated
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting top of baked cake (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8” cake pan and set aside (you can also divide the mix into 2 pans is you prefer).
In bowl, combine almond flour with 1 tbsp of the granulated sugar, potato starch, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In small saucepan, melt margarine with espresso. Add cocoa powder; whisk until smooth. Let cool. Meanwhile, in bowl of mixer using paddle attachment, beat egg yolks with brown sugar until thick and pale. Beat in chocolate mixture. Stir into almond mixture.
In bowl of mixer using whisk attachment, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in remaining granulated sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form. Fold one-third into chocolate mixture; fold in remaining whites. Scrape into prepared pan. Bake in centre of 350°F oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 30 min. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan and transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Dust top of cake with confectioners’ sugar if desired.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-chocolate-espresso-torte/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Ginger Cookie…with a chocolate on top!

by Eva // 14 October, 2012 // 1 Comment

Ok so you’re probably thinking – what’s with all these recipes where ginger plays the star role?? I can’t help it! It’s that time of year where you just need a little spice to put a jump in your step and keep you heated through these chilly nights. Ok, that, and I had to use up the candied ginger I made recently. I promise though, this will be the last ginger related recipe for a while…of course until it’s Christmas time, because then it’s all about gingerbread people cookies.

But who could resist, at any time of year, a gingy cookie that’s crackled on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside? Not me! So I had to give in to yet another ginger inspired gluten free recipe (sorry).

I found a recipe on the Food Network site which looked very tempting –of course though, it wasn’t gluten free; but that didn’t stop me from revamping it.

Sometimes, converting a wheat flour recipe into a gluten free flour recipe can be a bit tricky. However this time, I decided to use some of the Better Batter all-purpose gluten free flour I had on hand. If you live in Canada (more specifically the GTA area), you may find it difficult to find this brand in your regular grocery store. I found this brand in my local HomeSense store (which by the way, is a great spot to find lots of gluten free goodies that you can’t find anywhere else!).

With a couple of tweaks here and there, the recipe came together nicely…aaand…the result was a gluten free cookie that was soft and yummy!
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Pure deliciousness!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

Ginger Cookie…with a chocolate on top!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 13 minutes

Makes: 28-30 cookies

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown)
1/4 cup light olive oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 cup chopped candied ginger
Enjoy Life Chocolate Mega Chunks (enough to top each cookie with 1 chocolate chunk)
Granulated sugar for rolling the cookies

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans.
In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
In bowl of mixer with paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes.
Add egg and beat well.
With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients and mix for 2 minutes until well combined.
Add the candied ginger and mix by hand, using wooden spoon, until well combined.
Using a small spoon, scoop dough and roll each cookie by hand into 1”balls. Roll in granulated sugar, place on pan and flatten slightly.
Top each cookie with an Enjoy Life Chocolate Mega Chunk, and press lightly into cookie.
Place in oven and bake for 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled and soft inside.
Let cookies cool for 1-2 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Notes

*I used Better Batter brand gluten free all-purpose flour, which already includes xanthan gum. If the all-purpose flour you use does not include xanthan gum, you will need to add about 1/2 tsp to the mix.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-ginger-cookie/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

Ginger Cupcake with Dairy Free Maple Meringue Frosting

by Eva // 8 October, 2012 // No Comments

When I hear the word ‘ginger’ it reminds me of two things: 1) Ginger Grant the movie star character from Gilligan’s Island. With her long dark batty eyelashes, always perfect red locks and trendy clothes (which never really made sense since they were stuck on that forsaken island for so long!), what young girl wouldn’t be fascinated by her. 2) Ginger Amanda the Cabbage Patch Kid doll. I know you folks won’t know the specific doll I’m referring to (which by the way, was actually not mine), but at one point in my life she was around quite often! She had yellow braided pigtails, blue eyes and wore a little dress with lace accents…and went everywhere with ‘mommy’. This is why I call this cupcake The Ginger (Amanda) Dahling Cupcake.

To make this gluten free ginger cupcake a bit more interesting, I decided to add some candied ginger (or crystallized ginger). I figured this would give a subtle but true ginger taste to the cupcake while adding some texture to the final product. If you cannot find store bought candied ginger which is gluten free (as from my experience it’s noted on the ingredients that it may have traces of wheat), you can view my previous post for an easy homemade candied ginger recipe.

Hmmm, and what would taste yummy with ginger? Let’s go with maple syrup – that should complement it nicely! Yes, yes it does.

And voila! A yummy gluten free, dairy free cupcake…fitting for a movie star and doll alike.

Pure deliciousness!
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Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians!

Here are the recipes…enjoy!

Ginger Cupcake with Dairy Free Maple Meringue Frosting

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 22 minutes

Makes: 12-16 cupcakes

The Ginger (Amanda) Dahling Cupcake...fit for a movie start and doll alike :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (I used golden yellow brown)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened, room temperature)
3 eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk, or milk substitute
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger, if you wish to decorate tops of cupcakes

For Dairy Free Maple Meringue Frosting

3 egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water (do not use hot water)
1 tbsp brown rice syrup (I used Lundberg Organic Sweet Dreams Brown Rice Syrup) (link)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp maple syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare pans with liners; set aside.
Mix together in bowl all dry ingredients; set aside.
Grind up candied ginger in mini chopper or food processor; set aside.
Beat sugars and butter until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add vanilla and maple syrup and mix well.
Add flour mixing on low speed and slowly add milk. Once all milk has been added, mix well until smooth (about 3 min). Fold in chopped candied ginger.
Pour mixture into liners making sure to only fill liners 1/2 - 2/3 full.
Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean – about 22-24 minutes.
Let cool in pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to cool completely on wire rack. Once completely cooled, you can frost.

For Frosting

Before starting, make sure mixing bowl is completely grease free.
Add egg whites, sugar, water, rice syrup and cream of tartar in bowl and simmer over a pot of water (not boiling), whisking constantly but gently, until temperature reaches 140-160°F, or if you don’t have a candy thermometer, until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot (about 8-10 minutes).
Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of mixer, begin to whip until the meringue begins to thicken and cool. You will find you will need to whip it for a while (minimum 10 min before it starts to thicken).
Add maple syrup and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Meringue will be thick but will still be slightly runny.
Pour some meringue into a small bowl and carefully dip the top of the cupcake.
Sprinkle some chopped candied ginger on top if desired.
Once dry, a slightly hard thin layer will form overtop.
If you have leftovers, you can store in a grease free container and store in the refrigerator for about a week. Re-whip by hand prior to using.

http://www.pastelbakery.ca/gluten-free-ginger-cupcake/

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcomed and encouraged.
Eva

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