gluten free zen
Taking The Stress Out Of Gluten-Free Grain-Free & Dairy-Free Living
Carrot Cupcakes With Walnut & Ginger Topping
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
1 Box Simply Organic Carrot Cake Mix
1/2 of a 15 oz. can of Organic Sweet Potato Puree
1/4 cup Organic Raisins, heaping
1/4 cup Sweetened Coconut
1/2 cup Shredded Organic Carrots
2 Large Organic Eggs
1/2 Cup Water
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/8 Cup Chopped Walnuts, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. of Crystallized Ginger, finely chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting of your choice.
I used Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Cream Cheese frosting because it is gluten-free and dairy free. If you’re not dairy free you can easily make homemade cream cheese frosting with cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. You could also try the non-dairy cream cheese, it has a similar texture to cream cheese but I feel it lacks the cheesy flavor and tartness of the real cheese. If you’re worried about the partially hydrogenated oils, you could just simply do a vanilla frosting with powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla, and skip the cream cheese flavor.
Pour cake mix into medium glass bowl. Add sweet potato puree, raisins, coconut, shredded carrots, eggs, water, and olive oil. Stir just until combined and batter is evenly moist.
Next, line a muffin pan with cupcake papers, spray lightly with non-stick spray (I didn’t spray mine and they stuck to the paper a little). Fill with batter about 3/4 full.
Place in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes, remove from muffin pan and place on cooling rack until completely cool.
Finely chop the nuts and crystallized ginger.
Frost with your choice of frosting and sprinkle lightly with walnuts and crystallized ginger. A little bit of ginger goes a long way, so remember to just sprinkle a tiny amount on each cake.
Cherry & Sea Salt Double Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Cherry & Sea Salt Double Chocolate Sugar Cookies
Makes about 28 2 1/2 in. cookies, give or take 1 or 2 testers
1/3 Cup Butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan Sticks)
1/3 Cup Shortening (I used Crisco)
2 Cups Mama’s Almond Blend All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
1 Egg
3/4 Sugar
2 Tbsp. Chocolate Rice Milk
1 tsp. Instant Coffee Granules
1 tsp. Baking Powder
3/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Vanilla
(See Frosting Recipe Below)
Cream margarine and shortening until completely combined and fluffy, scraping down once during process.
Dissolve the coffee granules in the 2 Tbsp. of chocolate rice milk.
Add about half of the flour, the egg, sugar, milk and coffee mixture, baking powder, xanthan gum,vanilla, and salt, to the creamed butter and shortening. Mix on low until the flour is incorporated and then beat until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Add the remaining cup of flour and beat again until thoroughly combined, scraping down bowl once or twice during the process. Remove batter from bowl, form into disc, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
After the dough has chilled, remove from fridge and allow to sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. Flour your work surface with gluten-free flour. Working with 1/2 of the dough at a time, roll out to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
Cut into desired shapes and place on lined baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Allow to rest on sheets for a couple of minutes before transferring to cooling racks, allow to cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
1 1/2 Cups Enjoy Life dairy free, gluten-free, miniature chocolate chips
1 tsp. Instant Coffee Granules, heaping
1/2 Cup Hot Water
1/2 Cup Dried Cherries, chopped small
Course Sea Salt
Place chocolate chips in a glass measuring cup. Sprinkle in the instant coffee granules and pour 1/2 cup hot water over chips and coffee granules. Let sit 5 minutes. Stir.
Microwave in 10 second increments, stirring in between, until chocolate is smooth. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate.
Chop the cherries into small pieces. They will stick together but you can separate them with your fingers when you place them on the cookies.
Place a cooling rack over parchment paper, I used the parchment paper that I baked the cookies on, and lay cookies out on rack. Stirring the chocolate as you go along, frost each cookie with about a teaspoon of chocolate. Carefully spread around the cookie with the spoon.
Carefully separate the cherries with you fingers and drop a few on each cookie. Wait 10 minutes and sprinkle with a small amount of course sea salt. Allow frosting to set completely before storing.
It has been my experience that chocolate frosting or glaze does not freeze well. The fat solidifies and floats to the top, turning the cookies a speckled white. These cookies are to be enjoyed fresh.
Frosted Sugar Cookies
Gluten Free/Dairy Free Sugar Cookie Dough
*Makes 64 3″ cookies
2/3 cup Dairy Free Butter
2/3 cup Spectrum Shortening
4 1/2 cups Mama’s Almond Blend All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, plus more for rolling
2 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups of Granulated Sugar
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp. of Xanthan Gum
2 tsp. of Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
Beat butter, shortening, and sugar in mixer on medium to high for 30 seconds until fluffy scraping down bowl once or twice. Add about half of the flour, the eggs, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour.
Divide dough in half and flatten to discs, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight before using, or freeze for later use.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Flour surface where you’re going to roll out the dough. Let the dough warm up on the counter for about 15 minutes, 30 if it came out of the freezer. Roll out half of the dough at a time. Cut into desired shapes and place on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake for 8 minutes and let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Decorate as desired when completely cooled.
Fruity Chocolates With Sea Salt
Fruity Chocolates With Sea Salt
24 oz. Dairy Free 72% Chocolate (Theo’s is my favorite)
1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1/4 cup dried, wild blueberries
1/4 cup mixed dried berries, chopped (I used cherries, cranberries, and strawberries.)
1/4 cup gluten-free pretzels, lightly smashed
1/8 cup coarse sea salt
about 40 miniature candy paper cups
Measure out blueberries, chop mixed berries, crush pretzels, and unwrap chocolate squares.
Pour sea salt onto a small dish, place 40 candy wrappers on parchment paper.
Place chocolate squares in double broiler over medium-low heat. Add instant coffee granules.
Melt, stirring occasionally until smooth.
After chocolate is completely melted, slowly add the blueberries, chopped mixed berries, and pretzels, incorporating one at a time. Stir until completely combined and remove from heat.
With a teaspoon, carefully fill paper cups about 3/4 full. Stir the chocolate in the double broiler as you go so that you have an even amount of fruit and pretzels in each paper cup.
After the paper cups are filled, sprinkle with a small amount of sea salt. Allow to set.
Chicken & Vegetable Soup
Chicken & Vegetable Soup
1 Whole Organic Free Range Chicken, rinsed, keep innards
3 32 oz. Boxes of Organic Free Range Chicken Broth (gluten free)
6 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Organic Sweet Onion, roughly chopped
1 cup Organic Sweet Onion, diced
3 Organic Carrots, roughly chopped
1 Cup Organic Carrots, sliced bite size
4 Organic Stalks of Celery, roughly chopped
1 Cup Organic Celery, sliced bite size
6 Organic Medium Size Red Potatoes, cut bite size
4 Organic Cloves of Garlic, whacked, peeled and left whole
4 Organic Cloves of Garlic, peeled and diced
10 Sprigs of Organic Thyme, left whole
6 Sprigs of Organic Thyme, leaves removed and saved
1 Sprig of Organic Rosemary, left whole
3 Leaves of Organic Sage, torn in half
3 Leaves of Organic Sage, chopped
2 Whole Organic Bay Leaves
Sea Salt & Pepper To Taste
For The Stock
Drizzle about 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large stock pot, warm on medium-high heat. Add the roughly chopped onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Add the 10 sprigs of whole thyme, 1 sprig of whole rosemary, and 3 torn sage leaves. Saute just until the onions begin to turn translucent.
Next, add the whole chicken with parts (neck, liver, etc.), about 1 tsp. sea salt, 6 grinds of pepper, and 2 boxes of the chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, cover lightly with an opening, lower heat, and simmer slowly for 1 hour and a half. Simmering slowly stops the chicken from becoming overdone and tough.
Next, remove chicken carefully from broth and place in strainer over large bowl. Allow to cool about 15 minutes and remove chicken from bones, discard bones. Place chicken in bowl and set aside.
Pour broth from stock pot into strainer over large bowl, discard stock vegetables. Allow to cool slightly and skim some of the fat off of the top. Set aside.
For The Soup
Drizzle about 3 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the 1 cup diced onion, 1 cup sliced carrots, 1 cup sliced celery, and 4 diced garlic cloves. Saute until onions are translucent.
Add potatoes, thyme leaves, chopped sage, bay leaves, strained stock pot broth plus 1 more box of broth, and bring to a boil. Boil lightly until potatoes are fork tender.
Add chicken pieces, warm for 5 minutes and serve. The leftovers freeze very well. I like to freeze mine in individual sized containers.
Gluten Free Pie Crust
Pie Crust From Heaven
*makes four pie crusts
5 to 5 1/2 cups Mama’s Almond Blend All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (plus more for turning out and rolling, it will be pretty wet when you turn it out of the bowl, don’t panic, it all comes together.)
4 tsp. xanthan gum
1 Tbsp. sea salt
1 1/2 Tbsps. sugar (if I’m using this for a savory recipe, I only add 1 Tbsp. of sugar)
1 lb. of Spectrum Shortening (Remember, this makes the equivalent of 4 crusts…don’t freak out.)
1 egg (beaten with fork in measuring cup and then filled to 1 cup with water)
Place 5 cups of Mama’s Almond Flour in large bowl. I use the spoon in cup method and level with a knife. Mama’s Almond Flour is very soft and dense, not dry and grainy like wheat flour. I think if you used the scoop and scrape method it would pack into the measuring cup and you would end up with way too much flour and a dry crust. Add salt, sugar, xanthan gum, whisk to combine. Next scoop 1 lb. of shortening onto flour mixture.
Work the shortening into dough with your hands, sifting through your fingers until the shortening is somewhat combined and the flour resembles small pea size (about) pieces.
Next, whisk 1 egg in a measuring cup and fill to 1 cup with water.
Add the egg and water in a well in the center of mixture. Work together with a fork just until mixed.
Scoop out onto floured ( Mama’s Almond Flour) parchment paper.
Work it a little to form it into a smooth-ish log. But don’t overwork it!
Cut into four sections.
Pat into discs, wrap with plastic wrap and either freeze in freezer bags for use later or chill in fridge for same day or next day use. If you’re going to freeze the dough for use later, simply remove it from the freezer and put in the fridge the night before, or, thaw on counter for 20 minutes.
When rolling gluten free pie dough, be sure to start on floured parchment paper. Gluten free dough is sticky and will need flour underneath it and flour on top of it as you are rolling it out. I use the parchment paper to help me get it into the pie plate. Sometimes, but not always, it even works to roll it up on your rolling pin like a regular gluten crust. If it tears on you, don’t panic, you can start again or you can patch it by pinching the dough together in the pan, no one will ever know. With a little practice, you’ll have a perfect pie crust in no time.
It’s also versatile! Here are some examples:
(Click on the link to get the recipes)
Raspberry & Apricot Pie Dough Cookies
Mini Mixed Fruit Pies & Cherry Pie
gluten free zen 