Halloween Cupcakes?

You bet! Who says Halloween has to be scary?? Thank you Martha Stewart! 300 mini-cupcakes baked and decorated by a team of 4 of us, ready for the big neighborhood Halloween Party! Made some Gluten-free for the kids who might not be able to have gluten. I think we're covered!

We used her Butter Cupcake recipe and got about 85 mini-cupcakes out of a single batch!


Bring on the kids!

Happy Halloween!

---

Gluten-free Rolled Sugar Cookies

Third time's a charm!



I've been baking lots and lots of gluten-FULL rolled sugar cookies for an upcoming children's Halloween party, but in the back of my mind I was wondering if there were going to be any kids there that can't have gluten. Then a friend of mine who is a teacher asked me if I had a recipe for gluten-free sugar cookies - because she had a couple of students who can't eat gluten - well, that's all it took.

I was on a mission!

I had one recipe sitting around that I found a while back but had never tried. Then I poked around and found another one online. So I tried them both. Both turned out pretty good. But a little on the crisp side. The first recipe had a nice flavor, but was a little too gritty from the rice flour, and for some reason, the cookies from the second recipe came out of the oven a little.... well.... wrinkled. They would have worked anyway, since they would be decorated - but it still wasn't exactly what I had hoped for.

Then late last night it hit me - why not just convert my regular sugar cookie recipe to gluten-free. Big duh! So 11:30 p.m. I marched into my kitchen and made the dough, just guessing which GF flours to use, and in what proportion. Then into the refrigerator the dough went to chill overnight.

First thing this morning - oven was preheating and I was rolling away.



And just for fun...



Even though it chilled, the dough was a little softer than I'm used to for rolling - which might have meant I could have used a little more flour in the batter. But I just liberally sprinkled Sorghum flour on my rolling surface (I use a silpat) and rolling pin, and it worked just fine. When it started to stick a little - I sprinkled more flour.

I cut off a piece of the dough at a time to work with, and kept the rest in the refrigerator to stay cool. You always want the dough for rolled cookies to be cool so it's easier to handle. I love working with this type of dough. It's like playing with Play Doh :-)

Into the oven they went. I watched them carefully because if overbaked, I knew they would be too crisp. They came out perfect! Get out the decorating supplies!



I'm not a cookie decorator, but I could really get into it if I had the time!



These are delicious. Crisp on the outside, but soft in the middle. Yay!



If you give these a try, please let me know how they worked for you!


Gluten-free Rolled Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup Butter ( 1 1/2 sticks), room temperature
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup Sorghum Flour
• 1/2 cup Sweet Rice Flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:

1. Mix the flours, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum together with a whisk and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each well.
4. Add the vanilla extract.
5. Gradually add the dry ingredients (at low speed) and mix until just blended.
6. Shape the dough into a round disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill overnight, or several hours.
7. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
8. Sprinkle some Sorghum flour on your work surface and rolling pin, and roll 1/4 or 1/2 the dough to about 1/4" thickness. (refrigerate remaining dough until needed). Sprinkle additional flour if needed.
9. Cut into your favorite cookies shapes, and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets, about an inch apart
10. Bake approximately 12 minutes. This may vary depending on the size of your cookies. Cookies are done when edges are just barely turning golden.
    
11. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, frost with your favorite frosting, or decorate for whatever holiday it happens to be!

Makes about 16 - 3 1/2" cookies. This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled if you need more.

---

Rugelach - a Jewish Treat!

I'm taking off my gluten-free hat for the moment. I know many of you have never heard of this delicious Jewish cookie (let alone be able to pronounce it :-), but it was one of my favorite snacks growing up in New York. I've tried a few different recipes, and this is the one I've settled on because the cookie comes out like a tender pastry. It's also is pretty low in sugar - always a plus! This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. The good news is that I do have a gluten-free version of this recipe that I will put up soon.

Rugelach can be filled with many different types of jams and nuts. Raisins and currants are often used as well. I tend to go with Apricot jam (sugar-free), chopped almonds, and mini-chocolate chips.

It's a little time consuming to assemble, but I find it fun and relaxing. Here's what the dough looks like when it's rolled out and layered with the filling, before the individual cookies are rolled up. You also can shape the dough in a rectangle, and cut strips that can be folded over into a square shape if you prefer.


I know, I know - it looks like a pizza! That's my wonderful photography at work. That dough is ready to be cut into 12 wedges, as if you are cutting a pizza. Then you roll up each triangular wedge from the outside to the inside.

Here they are ready to pop in the oven.



Rugelach

Makes 48.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Flour
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 cup Unsalted butter, COLD
• 1 - 8oz package Cream Cheese, COLD
• 1/3 cup plain non-fat yogurt (can use sour cream)
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 Tbs Cinnamon
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips, or chopped raisins, or whatever dried fruit you like
• Apricot or Raspberry Jam
• 1 Egg lightly beat with 1-2 teaspoons of water, for an egg wash.

Directions:

1. Cut cold butter and cold cream cheese into small pieces.
2. In a food processor (Not a mixer), pulse flour, salt, butter, cream cheese, and yogurt until crumbly.
3. Remove the dough from the processor, and shape it with your hands into 4 separate round disks.
4. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days.
5. When you're ready to bake the cookies, Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Then combine the sugar, cinnamon, chopped nuts, and chocolate chips or raisins in a bowl.
6. Sprinkle a little flour on your surface, and roll one of the doughs into a 9" circle (keep the others in the refrigerator).
7. Warm up the jam until it's easily spreadable, and brush the jam onto the entire dough.
8. Sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the dough.
9. Gently roll your rolling pin over the surface to press the filling lightly into the dough.
10. Cut the dough into 12 wedges, and roll each section from the outside of the circle to the inside (wide to narrow).
11. Assemble on parchment-lined cookie sheet, and brush with the egg wash/
12. Put the cookie sheet into the refrigerator to rest for 20 minutes (this step is important to keep the top of your rolls from popping up during baking).
13. After chilling (out :-), bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until golden. Move to wire racks to cool.

I usually work on the second disk after I pop the first batch in the oven.

These keep at room temperature for several days if placed in an airtight container. They freeze very well too. Don't you just want to put your hand through the screen and grab one :-)

---

Gluten-free Lemon Cookies with White Chocolate

I love all things lemon! I squeeze it on my cooked veggies, on chicken, on fish, and in my salad. And it's one of my favorite ingredients to use in baking whether it's cookies, cakes, muffins, or bars. And lemon zest! Don't get me started on the wonderful fragance and flavor it adds to baked goodies.



OK - so maybe I'm being a little over dramatic - but it truly is one of my favorite flavors.

I came across this recipe for White Chocolate Lemon Cookies here which had been adapted from a recipe using limes here, who got the recipe from here. Isn't the internet just grand! ;-).

So of course, I had to stick my two cents in, and adapt it further to make it gluten-free.

I am so pleased with the results - another one of those success stories that if you didn't tell it was gluten-free, no one would ever know. The texture is like a real cookie - slightly crisp on the edges and chewy in the middle.

They are simple to make.





Gluten-free White Chocolate Lemon Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Unsalted Butter, slightly softened
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 2 Tbs Lemon Zest
• 2 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 3/4 cup Sorghum Flour
• 3/4 cup Rice Flour
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 12 oz White Chocolate, chips or chopped

Optional Sugar Roll:

• 1/2 cup Fine Sugar (you can sift regular sugar through a mesh food strainer mixed with 1 Tbs lemon zest, dried out and pressed through a mesh food strainer

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

1. Mix the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum together with a whisk and set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer beat the butter until creamy, and add the sugars, blending well.
3. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each well.
4. Add the almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended.
6. Gently stir in the white chocolate. The dough will be soft, and slightly sticky. You can work with it as is, or refrigerate it for an hour or two to make it easier to work with.
7. Spoon (I used a small scoop) a full tablespoon of dough and roll gently into a 1" ball.
8. Optionally, you can roll the ball into the sugar-zest mixture. Not necessary, but a nice touch.

Bake on parchment paper-lined cookies sheets approximately 12-13 minutes until the edges start to get golden. Let cookies cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to cooling rack.

These can be served as is, sprinkled with powdered sugar, or drizzled with a mix of 1/2 cup powdered sugar mixed with 1-2 Tbs lemon juice.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

---

Gluten-free Blueberry Peach Crumb Bars

...or buh bye to summer.

The last of the peaches (white peaches actually), mixed with blueberries and baked up in crumb bar. I found several different recipes for wheat -based fruit crumb bars online, and took a little from each, and then made it gluten-free. This is different from the Peach crisp I a few months ago, because it has a soft cookie-like base. It came out quite good.

TIP: When I have to work cold butter into flour, I like to quickly grate it into the flour using the largest grater size on a box grater. This works even better with frozen butter. You do have to work quickly if you do it this was because the butter becomes warm quickly as you're holding it. But you can also cut the butter into small pieces, and work it into the flour. Either way, it does take a few minutes to get it to a fairly fine consistency.



Pressing the dough into the baking pan. I smoothed and leveled it once it was all in there. I used parchment paper - but next time I won't. This is easier to serve up without the paper on the bottom.



Assembled. Baked. And about 55 minutes later...



I'm thinking that even though fresh peaches and blueberries are pretty much gone for the year, I'll bet this recipe would be great with apples or pears.

Peach Blueberry Crumb Bars

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 1/2 cups Rice Flour
• 1 cup Sorghum Flour
• 1/2 cup Potato Starch
• 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Xanthan Gum
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted butter, cold

Filling:

• 4 cups Peaches, sliced
• 1 cup Blueberries
• 2 Tbs lemon or orange juice, approximately
• 1/2 cup Rice Flour
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar (plus extra)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

1. Whisk together the dough dry ingredients, including the sugar.
2. Cut up or grate the butter into the flour mixture, and work in with finger for a few seconds.
3. Mix together lightly beaten egg and vanilla, and add to flour-butter mixture.
4. Work the dough with your fingers for a few minutes until the butter is complete incorporated and the mixture is fine and crumbly.
5. Press half the dough into the prepared pan, smoothing and leveling.
6. Mix the peaches, blueberries, and juice.
7. Whisk together the filling dry ingredients, and sprinkle over the fruit, mixing gently
8. Spread the fruit mix over the dough.
9. Optional: Before sprinkling the remaining dough over the fruit, add about 1/4 cup light brown sugar to the dough mixture and work it in.
10. Sprinkle the remaining dough mixture over the top of the fruit. (I didn't use it all)

Bake for about 55 - 60 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting (I know, it's hard to do that).

Now... on to some Fall baking...

---