This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It can also be (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup brown rice flour, or another flour like sorghum or millet
• 1/4 cup pea or bean flour
• 1/2 cup white rice flour, or a starch such as arrowroot or tapioca
• 1 cup good quality baking cocoa – we like Rodelle Dark Baking Cocoa and Frontier Organic Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
• 1 1/2 sticks margarine (Fleishmann’s unsalted is dairy free) or butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups milk (dairy, rice, soy) plus 1 1/2 tsp vinegar to mimic buttermilk

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

This makes 2 dozen cupcakes or 2 9″ round cakes. Lightly grease the bottom of the baking pans, then dust with a little cocoa powder, or line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.

Whisk the three flours together. Add cocoa, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda to the flours and whisk together in a medium bowl.

In a separate bowl, with your mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Slowly add the brown sugar and the granulated sugar. Whip this mixture until fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time to the creamed mixture, then add the vanilla.

Turn the mixer to low and alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk.

Pour into the prepared pans – if making cupcakes, use an ice cream scoop to measure an equal amount of batter into each cupcake liner. For cakes, bake for 25-30 minutes; for cupcakes 12-15 minutes, until the cake/cup cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool, then serve as is or frost with a “butter”cream or faux-cream cheese frosting. Yum!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It can also be (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, vegetarian, vegan, and top 8 allergen free recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup GF flour (I like 1c brown rice, 1/4c pea flour)
• 1/2 cup starch (arrowroot starch, white rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
• if not gluten-free, just use 1 3/4 cups flour and omit xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2-3 brown, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/4 cup dairy/soy/rice milk mixed with 1/4 tsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs (or equivalent egg replacer)
• 1 cup mini-chocolate chips (we like the Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
  , which are gluten/dairy/soy/nut free)

Method
Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray or grease muffin pan or insert paper muffin cups.

Whisk flour through salt together in a medium bowl. In your mixer’s bowl, beat bananas through eggs. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the banana mixture, until it’s completely combined. Add the mini-chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

Add 1 ice cream scoop of batter into each muffin cup and bake at 350*F for 18-20 minutes.

This recipe makes 18-20 muffins. But don’t expect them to last very long! Ours rarely last a day!

I love to munch on the Bakery on Main Gluten Free Granola, and had found the (gluten, dairy, and nut-free) Enjoy Life Cinnamon Crunch Granola to be a bit too dry to be eaten plain. The Bakery on Main Gluten Free Granola is too chunky to cook with, but the Enjoy Life Cinnamon Crunch Granola is absolutely perfect to use in place of Grape-Nuts Cereal for GrapeNut pudding! Yum!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, and vegetarian recipe.

Not-quite-extensive testing with my stepfather, my family, and some of my stepfather’s coworkers indicated that this recipe leads to great results – and people never knew it was gluten-free!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Cinnamon Crunch Granola

• 4 cups milk (or milk substitute – I would suggest coconut milk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 pinch kosher salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Optional toppings: ice cream, whipped cream, or whipped topping

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the granola with the milk/milk substitute. Bring up just to the boiling point, stirring regularly, then remove from the heat.

While the granola and milk are cooking, combine eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl. Whisk together well.

Pour the egg mixture into the milk/granola mixture slowly, stirring constantly. If you add too much at a time you’ll end up with cooked eggs, not a custard!

Once the custard is combined, pour into a 9×9 oven-proof pan, and put into the oven.

Bake at 350 for 45min to 1 hour, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm, with ice cream or whipped cream/whipped topping. (Whole Foods and other natural food stores now sell canned soy-based whipped cream next to the dairy whipped cream)

Yum! Enjoy this warm custard with your family, and make your own memories!

My family has been loving the Impossible Quiche Pie variations, and while I was Googling for more ideas, I found an apple pie variation. My oldest and youngest daughters love almost any dessert, but my middle daughter loves apple pie and chocolate only. It was lovely to find an easy workaround for the hassle of making gluten-free apple pie! As a bonus, it tasted delicious!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 large apples, peeled and sliced

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• several grates fresh, or 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup gf biscuit mix – we like Bob’s Red Mill Biscuit mix or Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix
  • 1/2 cup all purpose gf flour mix (or 1/4 cup rice or sorghum flour & 1/4 cup tapioca or corn starch)

  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute (cow, coconut, or soy work the best, rice is a bit too thin)
• 1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted, or oil (Fleishmann’s unsalted is dairy & gluten free, Earth Balance has a dairy, soy, & gluten-free tub)
• 2 eggs (these are necessary, don’t try to substitute)

Topping Ingredients

• 1/2 cup gf flour or baking mix

• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3-4 TBS cold margarine, butter, or shortening (for shortening, we like Spectrum)
• 1/2 tsp allspice

Method:
Oil a 9″ pie pan with deep sides, and preheat oven to 350.

Peel and slice apples, and set in a medium-sized bowl. Add cinnamon and nutmeg, stir, and let sit.

In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the biscuit mix, sugar, eggs, milk/milk substitute, and melted margarine/butter.

In a third bowl, combine the dry topping ingredients. Cut the fat into small pieces, and cut into the flour mixture into it using a pastry blender or two knives. Mix together until it becomes crumbly, as you would with a fruit crisp topping.

Pour the apples into the pie pan, and cover with the egg mixture. Sprinkle topping on top.

Slide into the oven, and bake for 30-45 minutes, until it becomes browned. Touch the top of the pie to make sure it’s firm and set.

Let cool and serve, with or without whipped topping or ice cream. Don’t expect there to be many leftovers!

A friend of mine linked me to a similar recipe, and I’ve adapted a bit and made it safe for our allergies. This is delicious, and much less work than one would think. I’ve been craving Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups for years now, and this hits the spot. It’s also a great recipe to use to wow friends who think that folks with dietary restrictions don’t eat well!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, fish free, shellfish free, and vegetarian recipe. Unfortunately, my brownie recipe doesn’t work well without eggs, so this is not vegan or egg-free.

Ingredients

• 1 batch Super-Easy Brownies, or another brownie recipe that makes a 9×13 pan of brownies

Filling

• 1/2 cup dairy-free margarine or shortening, softened

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (we like Jif Natural), OR sunbutter or another peanut butter substitute should be fine too
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons milk substitute (soy, rice, almond, hemp)

Topping

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have their own brands of dairy-free chocolate chips, and Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips are dairy/soy/nut free)

• 1/4 cup margarine or shortening (half a stick)

Method:
Make super-easy brownies according to recipe instructions. Let cool in the pan.

In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Spread the peanut butter mix evenly over the cooled brownies.

In small bowl, microwave the topping ingredients for 60 seconds; stir well with a whisk until smooth. You may need to microwave an additional 30 seconds if your chocolate was cold (we keep chocolate chips in the freezer so they don’t melt)

Spread gently and evenly over peanut butter filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set.

Cut into 1-2 inch cubes, and serve to much applause.

This recipe is fine on a counter unless the weather is hot, in which case I suggest refrigerating. So, they were fine on the counter for most of the 2009 “summer” in New England!

My daughter heard that her friend’s mom made brownies with fluff on top, and had to have them right away. We came up with this recipe, which is delicious. When we told her friend about it, it turned out that my daughter had misunderstood, and her friend’s mom doesn’t make these, so it’s now our special recipe. They are gooey and good, but they need to stay chilled or they get very, very sticky!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, and shellfish free recipe. Unfortunately, my brownie recipe doesn’t work well without eggs, so this is not vegan or egg-free.

Ingredients:

• 1 batch super-easy brownies

• 7 oz Marshmallow Fluff or similar product
• 1 cup chocolate chips (we like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods’ store brands, and also Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips)
• 1/4 cup dairy-free margarine

Method:
Follow the recipe for the super-easy brownies. Let them cool completely

Spread Marshmallow Fluff over cooled brownies, making an even layer.

Mix together margarine and chocolate chips in a bowl, then microwave in 60 second intervals, stirring until well combined.

Pour chocolate mixture over fluff, and spread with a spatula until you have an even layer of chocolate.

Place the entire pan into the refrigerator for at least an hour to chill.

Slice into 1 1/2 inch squares. Serve chilled.

My dear friend Nanny Ogg had an overflowing zucchini crop last year, and every time I sent her an instant message, her status had something to do with making, serving, or eating Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread. It does taste every bit as good as I thought it would, too!

This makes 2 loaves. This doubles wonderfully, too!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, and vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs

• 2 cup sugar
• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 2 cups gf flour (sorghum, rice, brown rice, millet, or another mild flour)
• 1 cup starch (tapioca, arrowroot, or corn)
• 1 TBS xanthan gum
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chocolate chips (the miniature Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips are perfect here if you have them!)

Method:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour or use parchment to line 2 loaf pans

In a stand mixer or medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, and sugar. Beat well. (Since this recipe has 3 eggs, it is not easily changed to an egg free recipe)

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

Add zucchini and vanilla, and combine well. Stir in flour mix, and mix well.

Add chocolate chips and stir just until they are distributed well.

Divide batter into two loaf pans, then bake for approximately 1 hour. Start testing with a toothpick after 45 minutes – when the toothpick comes out clean, it’s done.

Cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack in the pans, then knock out of pans and cool completely. Slice and serve. While it’s delicious hot, it might be better to wait for it to cool – it’s only somewhat crumbly after it’s cooled, but quite crumbly when hot.

This recipe freezes well if your freezer isn’t already crammed with zucchini and the bread isn’t inhaled by your family!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 14oz cans coconut milk

• 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 8 drops green food coloring (optional, but a good way to differentiate between mint chip and chocolate chip)
• 1/4 tsp xanthan or guar gum
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Method

In a blender, combine coconut milk, peppermint extract, food coloring, xanthan gum/guar gum, and sugar. Blend until well combined.

Chill for 1 hour in the blender jar.

Blend the chilled mixture for a moment, then add to ice cream maker. Follow ice cream maker directions for time in the ice cream maker.

Add chocolate chips at the end of ice cream maker cycle

Scoop into a container with a lid and put in the freezer until ready to serve. This makes great sundaes or “milk” shakes too!

Variation:
If you can’t use coconut milk, use 4 cups of your milk substitute in place of the 2 cans of coconut milk. The mouth-feel isn’t quite as creamy as coconut milk, but it still tastes great!

Our family has been living gluten-free due to Celiac Disease for over 6 years. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and very similar to the protein found in outs. This means that any food needs to be made specially – bread, pasta, cake, pizza crust, pretzels, cookies, etc. Finding the Betty Crocker gluten-free mixes was a wonderful surprise!

Over the past 6 years there has been a huge increase in availability of gluten-free products, but most of the GF products have been found in the health food aisle of the grocery store or in a specialty store.

However, gluten-free products are becoming more mainstream as the number of people diagnosed with celiac disease rises, as well as the number of people living gluten-free for other reasons. Last summer, General Mills introduced a new, gluten-free formulation of Rice Chex (they changed the sweetener from barley malt to another sweetener). In addition to becoming more mainstream, gluten-free products are becoming much more commonly available and found in most grocery stores.
Read the rest of the review

One of my friends on Facebook posted her variation of the Chewy Chocolate Raspberry Cookies in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. This is my adaptation of her adaptation.

I’ve now made this with 3 types of preserves – Lingonberry, blueberry, and raspberry (a special sneaky batch while the berry-allergic child was out of the house). Of the three, I have to say that the Lingonberry preserve version was the best, hands down. We used the preserves from Ikea, but you can buy 2 brands of lingonberry preserves them through Amazon if you don’t find any in the international section of your grocery store. This is a wonderfully easy and adaptable recipe, so I’m sure I’ll be trying more flavors soon!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, top 8 allergen free, and vegan/vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup preserves. Great flavors which work with chocolate include lingonberry, blueberry, pomegranate, cherry, or orange marmalade. (For those who can tolerate seeded berries, the original recipe called for raspberry preserves, and strawberry would likely taste good too)

• 1 cup sugar if using a sweet jam, 1 1/2 cups if using a tarter preserve such as Lingonberry
• 1/3 cup melted margarine, or canola oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup GF flour (my current favorite is sorghum, but millet, bean, pea, or brown rice would also work well) Reserve the 1/4 cup, that might not be needed.
• 1/2 cup starch (I prefer tapioca or arrowroot starch, but corn starch is acceptable if you aren’t sensitive to corn)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
• (if you can eat gluten, use 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus an extra 1/4 cup reserved, and omit the xanthan gum)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips – (we usually use Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chocolate chips, but Enjoy Life Baking Chips, Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are allergy-friendly and also soy free)

Method:
Note: each brand and variation of preserves/jam is different. Just as we need to add more sugar if using lingonberry preserves, sometimes more flour is needed when the preserves are quite liquidy, and sometimes a bit more sugar is needed if the preserves are tart. Be patient with this recipe, as the results are well worth it!

Preheat oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with silpat, Reynolds non-stick foil or parchment paper. Or you could grease a cookie sheet, if you don’t have any of the above.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), stir together preserves of choice, sugar, oil/melted margarine & vanilla in one bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk together well. (this replaces sifting in this recipe)

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well with a whisk or fork between additions (or using the paddle of your stand mixer). If the dough becomes quite stiff, doing the final integration of the flour with clean hands works very well. If the dough does not become stiff, add the reserved 1/4 cup flour and incorporate it into the dough.

Mix in the chocolate chips after the wet and dry ingredients are well combined.

Use an 18/8 cookie scoop (or roll walnut-sized balls of dough) flatten to make a cookie about 2″ diameter. Drop the balls of dough and gently push them down, leaving about 2″ apart on cookie sheet (they can spread out a bit as they bake). This makes 24 cookies

Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to let them cool completely. Eat and enjoy!