I’ve always loved donuts. It’s one of the things I’ve missed the most since going gluten free. Since there are no gluten free bakeries nearby, my only choice is to make my own.
A few weeks ago, my husband and I talked about getting a deep fryer. Besides talking about making donuts the way my Grandma used to, we fantasized about all the other wonderful things we could make with a deep fryer—GF breaded fish nuggets, breaded vegetables, mushrooms, poppers, etc. Unfortunately, my husband has cholesterol issues, so he finally said no to the deep fryer.
Then I found these donut pans on Amazon. I ordered two and waited patiently for them to come in the mail. Once they came, I had to find a good recipe, these Baked Vanilla Cake Donuts, which I doubled to fill both pans. The recipe calls for buttermilk, but since we’re also dairy free, I originally planned to mix a scant cup of soy milk with a scant teaspoon of vinegar. However, the boys had already drunk all the soy milk, so I mix water with the vinegar. It still worked out all right.
I liked how easy it was to squeeze the batter into the pans from a sealed freezer bag. I have to experiment with the size of the corner that I cut off, because I made it a bit too large, and only got 10 donuts out of it, instead of the expected 12. (They also took a few minutes longer to bake.) Still, after they were done, they came out of the pans very easily. I had donuts with a nice, soft texture and good flavor, even without the milk.
After cooling, I frosted them with my grandmother’s glaze recipe, which has always been gluten and dairy free:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbs. cocoa powder
Hot water

Mix the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Pour the hot water in the mixture little by little, stirring until it’s a good frosting consistency. Spread quickly. The frosting will harden into a glaze.

I let the boys each try one. Then I put the rest in the freezer. For the next few weeks, two donuts will come out of the freezer on Saturday night to thaw in the refrigerator. Then, we’ll take the donuts to church with us on Sunday morning, so the boys can enjoy them after the service, instead of sulking because they can’t eat anything on the refreshment table.
I’ll be trying out some more experiments with GF donuts. Perhaps some chocolate cake donuts, pumpkin (with a soy cream cheese frosting), apple cider … This could be a lot of fun!

Inexpensive Easter treats are easy to make

Finding traditional Easter candy for you children’s baskets can be challenging when they’re supposed to stay off of gluten and dairy. Some websites offer GFCF molded candies and other treats that you can special order, but their prices raise my blood pressure. So, a few years ago I adapted some Easter treat recipes myself so the boys can still enjoy their traditional favorites. There are some big pluses to this. For instance, the boys have fun helping make them. And these candies taste better than the purchased chocolates, because they’re freshly made.

Finding GFCF jelly beans is surprisingly easy. It seems that Jelly Belly uses corn starch and NO dairy products in theirs. Their smaller size is perfect for these Easter Nests. Note: I crush the puffed rice in a sealed plastic bag. Actually the boys like to do the crushing, with either a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat tenderizing mallet.

Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Easter Nests

20 oz. gluten and dairy free chocolate, white chocolate or almond bark
½ cup shredded coconut
2 cups crushed gluten free puffed rice
1 bag of gluten and dairy free jelly beans

Melt chocolate or almond bark over low heat, preferably with a double boiler. Stir in coconut and puffed rice until they are coated with chocolate. Drop mixture by tablespoons onto wax paper. Shape each drop into a nest, making and indentation in the middle. Please three jelly beans into each next. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until firm.

As I mentioned before, these little chocolate Easter eggs taste much better than the ones you’d buy at a discount or grocery store. The boys came up with the idea of fashioning tiny egg dippers, like the bigger versions in the egg dye kits, with florist wire.

Gluten and Dairy Free Chocolate Easter Eggs

¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup soy or rice milk
1 3.125 oz. box of gluten and dairy free pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ pound powdered sugar
1 6 oz. bag of gluten and dairy free chocolate chips

Melt coconut oil in a saucepan. Add milk and pudding and cook for two minutes. Remove from heat. Then mix in vanilla and powdered sugar. Shape mixture into small egg shapes and refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.
Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler. Using a toothpick or small wire dippers, dip the eggs into the melted chocolate. Place the eggs onto wax paper. Place back in refrigerator.

Have a blessed and tasty GFCF Easter!

Easy Rice Flour Crackers

Last night, my 10-year old came down with the stomach flu. While he moped around the house carrying a bucket, I ran out to the store to buy the usual items. This bug must be making the rounds here this week, because I felt lucky to grab the last bottle of ginger ale. Unfortunately, my local grocery store doesn’t carry rice crackers, and I didn’t want to travel out of town to buy some. So, I looked up a recipe and adapted it for my son’s personal tastes (doesn’t like sesame seeds) and the ingredients I happen to have on hand. They turned out nicely enough.

Gluten and Dairy Free Rice Flour Crackers

1 cup white rice flour
½ cup potato starch
1 tsp. xanthan gum
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. basil
2 tsp. garlic powder
4 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. honey
6 Tbs. soymilk
1 tsp. cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients. Mix together the last four (wet) ingredients and then add to the dry ingredients.
Sprinkle a board with white rice flour and roll out the dough thinly. Cut into small squares with either a knife or a pizza cutter. If the crackers still seem too thick, you can roll the individual squares out even more.
Place the squares either on a greased cookie sheet or a sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, when they’re browned nicely. Let cool.

Pumpkin Pancakes and a Bread to make with pumpkin puree leftovers

Usually, people are in the mood for pumpkin recipes in the fall, but my family loves pumpkin all year round, so we continue with our favorites throughout the winter. A few weeks ago was no exception, when the boys were clamoring for pumpkin pancakes.
In our pre-gluten free days, I had received a pumpkin pancake recipe from a cookbook writer I interviewed when I was a food writer for the local paper. After the first try, it immediately became a family favorite. When we became gluten free, the boys were a bit sad about not having these anymore. However, by doubling the dry ingredients from a regular pancake recipe I had and combining it with a GF recipe that required an expensive mix, I made the boys happy again. We couldn’t tell the difference from our original wheat flour recipe. So, here is the inexpensive, but easy recipe.
GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN PANCAKES
Dry Ingredients

1 cup rice flour
½ cup bean flour
½ cup potato starch
4 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

1 egg
3 Tbs. brown sugar
2 cups soy milk
1 cup pumpkin puree

Blend the dry ingredients well.
In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients with a handheld electric mixer or a whisk. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until there are no lumps.
Use a 1/3 hot cup measure to scoop out pancake batter onto a hot, lightly oiled skillet. Flip the pancakes when the bottoms are golden brown. Serve with maple syrup.
Of course, that leaves us with an extra cup of pumpkin puree in the can. Rather than let it go to waste, we bake pumpkin bread. This recipe is a convert from a regular flour recipe my husband wanted to try one day. I told him that I wanted him to make pumpkin bread that I could eat, too. So, we sat down and made some changes. Success! It doesn’t get dry (a downfall of a number of gluten free bread recipes). We brought it to a church potluck brunch a few weeks ago, and there were no leftovers. The non-gluten free people liked it, too, apparently. We’ve baked it as loaves in the oven or in the bread machine. It works well either way.

GLUTEN FREE PUMPKIN GINGER BREAD
1-1/2 cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
½ can pumpkin puree
1 tsp. ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1-3/4 cups gluten free flour
¾ tsp. xanthan gum (if it isn’t already included in your GF flour mix
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
3/8 tsp. baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two 9”x5” loaf pans. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, oil and eggs until smooth. Blend in the water. Stir in pumpkin, ginger, allspice and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, xanthan gum (if not already in the flour mix), soda, salt and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and just until all the ingredients are mixed. Divide the batter between the prepared pans or pour the batter into the bread machine pan. Bake four one hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean.