Halloween is drawing near and this is the first of many holidays in the next few months.  For those of us with celiac, or those who are parents of children with celiac, there are many things we have to think about as the holidays approach.  In the upcoming months, I’ll post ideas, advice and recipes in hopes of making your holiday celebrations fun, as well as keeping your bellies full and gluten-free!

When one thinks of Halloween, candy is often the first thing to come to mind.  Here are a few of my favorite gluten-free candies:

• Reese’s Cups
• Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms (all M&Ms, except the crispy, are GF)
• Starburst
• York Peppermint Patties

The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) has a great list of gluten-free candy and snacks that was updated recently, in July 2009.  Click here to download their comprehensive list.  One of the great things about candy is that as long as it’s on the GF list, you know it’s safe!  Since it’s in a wrapper, you don’t have to worry about contamination as you do with baked goods.

If your child has celiac disease and you’re going trick or treating, you might want to take along some GF candy, just in case the first few houses don’t have anything gluten-free and he or she might want something to snack on along the way.  Also, you might want to drop some GF candy off at neighbors’ homes or your child’s class in preparation for trick or treating festivities.  Be sure to go through your child’s trick or treat bag before they eat anything so that you can weed out the treats containing gluten.

I’ll be baking my monster cookies this weekend using Halloween M&Ms so that I can enjoy something sweet at the parties I’m attending.  This recipe makes a lot of cookies so you can bring them to multiple events.  This recipe includes peanut butter, M&Ms, GF oats, and chocolate chips.  Delicious and so easy!  Note: Just make sure when you bring the cookies (and other GF baked goods) to a party, you put them away from all of the crumby gluten-filled items.  Maybe ask your host if there’s a small coffee table where they can be displayed.

Happy Halloween!

Blondies are one of David’s favorite childhood desserts that his mom always baked for him so I have been determined to make yummy gluten-free blondies.

I used a mix of flours again and I think it turned out really well.  In the past I’ve used a recipe that called for mostly soy flour, and people really liked them, but they were still pretty dense.  This batch tasted much lighter and more like ‘real blondies.’ I really think the almond flour adds a nice dimension to the flavor.  Using a variety of flours improved the recipe too because it balances out the different flavors and each flour offers something different to the recipe.  Don’t be intimidated by all of the flour varieties!

I don’t really like to put nuts in my baked goods so I choose not to put any in my recipe, but you could definitely add them to this recipe if you prefer.

I made this batch on Tuesday afternoon and they still tasted yummy on Saturday night when we ate the last one.  You don’t even need to reheat them to bring back their blondie-goodness.  Definitely a successful day in the test kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ¼ cup potato starch
• ¼ cup white rice flour
• ¼ cup brown rice flour
• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• ¼ almond flour
• ¾ cup chocolate chips or chunks (I used a blend of semi-sweet, milk chocolate and white chocolate), extra for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8X8 or 9X9 baking pan or pyrex dish.

Mix the four flours, potato starch, salt, xanthan gum and baking powder in a bowl.  Set aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix on high speed butter and brown sugar until well blended and light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and eggs and continue to mix until blended.  Then add the dry mixture (the flours, starch, etc.) to the wet mixture.  Mix on low until well blended.  Add chocolate chips (and nuts if desired) and mix until blended.

Pour mixture into baking dish and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.  I used Pyrex and it took 30 minutes exactly.  Blondies will be browning on the top when ready and you can put a toothpick through the middle to see if it’s done.  Of course I don’t mind mine being a little bit gooey.

Of course blondies are great by themselves or with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  Enjoy!

I’ve decided that I want to experiment more in my baking, creating different combinations of flours and comparing the results.  I’ve done lots of reading about the different gluten-free flours that are available and found Gluten Free Girl’s ‘Guide to Gluten-Free Flours’ to be very helpful.  I had already accumulated a variety of flours in my fridge but I bought some more recently to add to my pantry.

My pumpkin craze/flour experimentation in the kitchen started last Sunday.  I wanted to try to make a gluten-free version of Sara Foster’s Pumpkin White Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  Just reading the name of the cookie made me want to eat them!

I decided to cut Sara Foster’s recipe in half and make it twice, using two different flour combinations.  The other major change that I made to the Foster’s recipe was substituting chocolate chips for the butterscotch chips she uses.  (Nestle’s butterscotch chips have barley in them and I couldn’t find any other brands that I was sure were GF.)  I felt like the chocolate chips worked really well!  Each batch made about 2 dozen cookies.  Feel free to double the recipe below if you want to make more.  (If you do double the recipe, I recommend that you still only use one egg.)

I didn’t have any real rhyme or reason behind the flours that I used, but I did use potato starch and xanthan gum in each combination.

Pumpkin White Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup GF baking flour mix (I’ve listed my flour combos below)
• ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (if you’re a gluten eater, and using one cup of regular flour, you don’t need the xanthan gum)
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ cup chocolate chips
• 6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup canned pumpkin or fresh mashed pumpkin
• ½ cup GF rolled oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• ¾ cup white chocolate chips

Batch #1 GF Flour Mix:

• ¼ cup tapioca flour
• ¼ cup white rice flour
• ¼ cup teff flour
• ¼ cup potato starch

Batch #2 GF Flour Mix:

• ¼ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup brown rice flour
• ¼ cup potato starch
• ¼ cup garbanzo bean flour

(Note: I didn’t use a flour sifter for any of these, but I also didn’t pack it tightly in the measuring cup.)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or grease lightly.  Mix flour, baking soda and xanthan gum in a bowl.

In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together for 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed, until fluffy.  Add the egg and pumpkin puree and stir to combine.

Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.  Add the oats, white chocolate chips and chocolate chips.  (You can also add ½ cup of walnuts, but I omitted this part in my recipe.)  Stir until the ingredients are combined and there is no visible flour.

Refrigerate mixture for at least 10 minutes or overnight.  Drop balls of cookie dough onto baking sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes on a center rack of the oven, until they start to darken a little at the edges.  Rotate the cookie sheets halfway for even baking.  Let cool on cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes before putting them on a plate or wire rack.

So what were the results of my test kitchen?  (Can you tell I’ve been reading a lot of Cooks Illustrated lately?)

Batch #1 (tapioca, white rice, teff):

Batch #2: (almond, brown rice, garbanzo)

Well, you can see from the pictures that the two batches came out different colors and different consistencies.  My taste tester (David) preferred Batch #2 (almond, brown rice, garbanzo) when the cookies were fresh out of the oven, but as we went through the week, he and I both preferred Batch #1 (tapioca, white rice, teff).  In the photos below, Batch #1 is on the right below (the darker one.)

Batch #1 held together better over time and didn’t fall apart when I brought them to friends to try.  The good news is that they were both tasty cookies, but they tasted entirely different.  So the flour combo you use does make a difference in baking, but I don’t think there’s a ‘right’ answer.  I’m going to continue experimenting and I’ll let you know what I find.  I do think it’s good to keep some potato starch in the combination and it’s smart to not use all of one flour, but that’s just me.  Let me know what baking flour combinations you like to use.

Happy Fall!

Macaroons are a naturally gluten free dessert but I’d never made them until this past week.  Alden found this recipe in Martha Stewart Living and it was so easy and delicious!  We made a couple of changes to the recipe as we used less sugar because we could only find sweetened coconut.  I’m not usually a huge fan of coconut but these ingredients work well together and the crunch from the browned edges makes for a nice texture.  This was a great and low-stress dessert and I already made a variation of it yesterday, that made more cookies.

Ingredients:

¼ cup sugar

1 egg white

1 cup unsweetened coconut

½ t. vanilla

¼ cup almonds, chopped

Preheat oven to 350.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.  Mix ingredients in a bowl with hands.  Make balls of dough and drop them on the cookie sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until browned on top and bottom.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet.  (Makes 8 cookies.)

Variation on macaroons: When I made macaroons yesterday, I decided that I wanted to make a larger batch and was craving a little chocolate.  Here’s what I used:

1/2 c. sugar

2 egg whites

2 ¼ c. sweetened coconut (I still haven’t been able to find unsweetened coconut; if you use unsweetened, then I would add 1/4 c. extra sugar.)

1 t. vanilla

¼ c. almonds, chopped

¼ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Follow the same baking instructions given above.

(This recipe makes about 15-20 cookies.  I made mine a little bigger this time so it made 15 cookies.)

Yesterday I ventured out to the Howell Mill Publix to in search of Betty Crocker’s new gluten free mixes. Having read about them from the Atlanta Gluten Free Examiner, I was eager to try them out. They were a little difficult to find because they were mixed in with the ‘gluten filled baking mixes,’ but the manager was very helpful. I thanked him profusely for carrying them in his store. So I walked out of the store arms full with boxes of chocolate chip cookie, brownie and devil’s food cake mix. The first product I tested were the brownies.

Why I love them:

Simple: There are a lot of reasons why I fell in love with Betty Crocker again yesterday. The mix was extremely simple. All it involved was combining the mix with 2 eggs and half a stick of butter. (And of course I added chocolate chips!) I didn’t even need to break out the Kitchen Aid!

Cheap(er): Betty’s mixes are cheap. They were only $3.99 at the Howell Mill Publix. Most GF baking mixes tend to be in the $5-$6 range.

Taste: The brownies were/are delicious. David and I dug into them last night. Chewy, chocolaty, dare I even say moist? And they don’t leave that weird after taste that some GF baked goods do.

Just Because: I love these mixes because it means that the GF diet is becoming more mainstream and getting more attention from major companies. Hopefully this means that GF prices will start to drop and other companies will follow Betty Crocker, Chex and others that acknowledge what a large consumer base we gluten free eaters (and our families) are!

Ask your local grocery store manager to carry Betty Crocker gluten free mixes! Next week I’ll report on the chocolate chip cookies.

As any celiac knows, the holidays can be tricky with the many parties and festivities where gluten filled goodies will be served. Many of my friends are wonderful about putting out gluten free snacks whenever hosting me, but I like to bring something sweet and gluten free to my hosts. This way you’re guaranteed to have something you can eat…just make sure they aren’t put on the same tray as other cookies that do contain gluten.

Throughout the next few weeks I will be blogging about holiday cooking and baking in hopes that I will provide you with culinary ideas you can use at your own parties, share with your friends or even use as gifts. The holidays are a time to give, share and spend time with friends and families. This time of year is a perfect opportunity to show others how good gluten free food can be and remind yourself that you don’t need to miss out on all of the fun simply because of your dietary needs. Happy GF Holidays!

Christmas Monster Cookies:
These cookies are delicious and using Holiday M&Ms can add a festive touch. I also love this recipe because it makes enough cookies for a large group (think gift giving or holiday parties) and they freeze well. I’ll be bringing a batch to my friends’ Whit and Meredith’s holiday party this weekend:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup softened butter
¾ cup brown sugar (tightly packed)
¾ cup sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 t. gluten free vanilla (McCormick now specifies on the back that its vanilla is GF…Hooray!)
2 eggs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3 cups gluten free oats (Note: Bob’s Red Mill now has certified gluten free oats; you can order them online; they can be difficult to find in stores so when I find them, I buy a lot. I most recently found them at Ukrop’s in Richmond.)
1 cup holiday plain M&Ms
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease cookie sheet.
Using a mixer, combine butter and sugar. Then mix in eggs, vanilla and baking soda. Add peanut butter and mix until blended.

Mix in oats on slow speed (I usually start with 2 ½ cups and add more, depending on what I want the consistency to be like.) Then add M&Ms and chocolate chips and mix slowly.
(If I have time, I refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes, but it’s not necessary.)

Using a spoon, place balls of mix onto cookie sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on how brown you want them and how big you make your cookies. I usually check on them after 9 minutes and see how their looking.
Place on cooling rack and enjoy!