CeliacChicks

Gluten-Free Recipes: Chocolate Scones

I had fun making this little set for my scone. That's my bag of Stumptown coffee in the background, sugar bowl full of birch xylitol and my favorite Seitan Is Evil mug. 

Here's a teaser recipe adapted from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. I started to make the cookbook's version of these, which are classic Chocolate Chip Scones, but chopping up the chocolate in my Vitamix made cocoa powder instead of the called for "chopped chocolate". Doh. I forged ahead with the recipe anyway and was pleasantly surprised by the extra chocolatey results!

I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about the idea of having to order expensive blanched almond flour online. I held off for awhile, tried using other almond flours, and then finally broke down and bought some. I tried to make myself feel better about the spendy purchase by silently saying to myself, "It is an investment in your health." Well, now that I've tasted the difference...I don't have to explain it away anymore. I've decided that the taste alone is worth it, and then when you figure in the health benefits of almonds, who needs refined flours and starches anymore?! The protein factor practically makes treats like these a meal. And you know I'm all about guilt-free treats!

CHOCOLATE SCONES

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup agave nectar, honey, or simple syrup made from xylitol

2 large eggs

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 chopped dark chocolate

Gluten-Free Recipes: Grain-Free Tabouli

I've been experimenting lately eating grain-free. Yes, I've finally read Breaking The Vicious Cycle, the official handbook for The Specific Carbohydrate Diet. I'm not saying I'm a "believer", but let's just say that I'm intrigued. One good thing I've noticed is that it forces me to use vegetables more in the place of starches.

Well, the other night I came home to an apartment that felt like a sauna. Since salads are always a nice alternative to turning the stove on, I thought I'd try to see if I liked a grain-free version of this fresh tasting dish. I altered the traditional recipe for tabouli a while ago by using millet instead of wheat.

So, the wheat substitute I played with this time was...

BabyCakes, The Book Of [Gluten-Free] Recipes Video

BabyCakes, the Book of Recipes: It's Here (Almost)! from BabyCakes NYC on Vimeo.

Give this just a few seconds to start playing. The intro is a little delayed. If you have trouble viewing it, click straight through to the Vimeo site (link above). It didn't work for me initially on the BabyCakes blog, but it seems to work here.

Could Erin McKenna be any cuter? I doubt it. I'm so happy about the success of BabyCakes bakery and the soon to be success of her new cookbook.

Congrats, Erin!

Gluten-Free Recipes: Gluten-Free Bread

This gluten-free bread is quite tasty and easy to make. My recipe is loosely based on Gluten-Free Vegan's recipe, but I don't care for chickpea flour and I can't eat xanthan gum due to my corn allergy. I was sooo happy with how high this loaf rose, considering it is yeast-free. It just so happens to also be corn-free, dairy-free and vegan. You could make this nut-free by substituting your favorite flour for the almond flour. AND...you don't need a bread machine to make it! I liked this so much that the next time I make this I'm going to measure out extra amounts of the dry ingredients to put into plastic freezer bags and store them in the freezer for future no-fuss bread making.

Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups potato starch flour
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup rice bran
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon salt (My friend Christine suggested more salt - you decide.)
2 tablespoons baking powder (I use this gluten-free/corn-free brand.
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons guar gum (If you can tolerate xanthan gum, Carol Fenster has concluded the perfect combination is equal parts of xanthan and guar gum.)

Wet ingredients:
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Extra water as needed

Toppings:
Sesame Seeds

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Stir flours, starch, salt, gum, baking soda, and baking powder until well combined.
- Whisk together oil, 2 cups water, molasses, and apple cidar vinegar in a small bowl.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together just until thoroughly mixed, not too much.
- Pour mix into oiled bread pan. Sprinkle top of loaf with seeds, and lightly spray with oil.
- Cover bread pan with foil, and bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes. Remove foil, and   bake another 10 minutes, or until top is brown. Test loaf with a skewer or knife to make sure it’s done.
- Cool in pan briefly, before turning out onto a wire rack to cool. For best results, store in the refrigerator and slice off pieces as you need it. After two days I like to slice up the bread, slip it into plastic freezer bag, and store in the freezer to use as needed.

Do you have a favorite gluten-free/yeast-free bread recipe? Please let us all know in the comments below. Stay tuned, in the near future a guest blogger will share her gluten-free yeast bread discoveries.

Gluten Free Recipes: Apple Cranberry Crisp

Why bother with gluten-free pie, when gluten-free fruit crisps are so easy to make? I don't know about you, but my motto in the kitchen is usually "Quick & Easy". I was craving apple crisp (or "crumble" if you live in the UK) the other day and decided to hack the classic apple crisp recipe at Simply Recipes into a gluten-free/dairy-free version. I also decided that some cranberries would jazz things up a bit and add some color. Oh, and this just happens to also be dairy-free, refined sugar-free, corn-free, vegan, and therefore, guilt-free.

More importantly, it's amazingly delicious!

 

Apple Cranberry Crisp

INGREDIENTS

7 apples, unpeeled, (it's easier!) cored and chopped; use a few more if they are small apples

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 vanilla bean cut into bits; or use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh cranberries (optional)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup quinoa flakes, or gluten-free oats
1/2 cup coconut oil 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put the apples in a 9x13x2 inch Pyrex casserole dish. (If you don't have a dishwasher, like me, then you'll appreciate the fact that you don't have to dirty another mixing bowl. I experimented with this the second time I made this.)

Sprinkle the lemon juice over the apples.

Sprinkle the cut vanilla bean, or extract over the top of the apples. 

Stir the mixture around a bit with a spoon. 

Combine maple syrup, cinnamon, and quinoa (or gluten-free oatmeal) in a bowl. Cut in coconut oil.

Sprinkle mixture over apples.

Bake 45 minutes or until topping looks crisp.

More reasons to eat this...

I'm not a nutritionist or a doctor, but I do enjoy reading about how food can affect your health. Below are some interesting food factoids about some of the ingredients in this recipe.

Apples= antioxidants and chemicals that protect cells particularly in the brain and heart (Psychology Today)

Cinnamon= antioxidants and chemicals that improve insulin function (Medical News Today)

Cranberries= flavanoids that appear to inhibit cancer growth (RealAge-Dr.Oz)

Quinoa= high in protein and one cup has more calcium than a quart of milk, loaded with iron, magnesium, other minerals and B vitamins (RealAge-Dr.Oz)

Walnuts= lots of heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids (The World's Healthiest Foods)

More tasty looking gluten-free fruit crisp recipes...

Blueberry Crisp from Karina's Kitchen

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from The Boston Globe

Traditional Apple Crisp from Gluten-Free Gobsmacked

A Spin on Apple Crisp from Elana's Pantry

Feel free to share a link to your gluten-free crisp recipe in the comments below.

Please sign up for our Email Newsletter. We promise that spam is not on our diet!