Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Recipe Review: Gluten-Free Goodness' Divine Chocolate Chip Cookies


Cheryl is a dear friend. a wise counsel, and a darn good cook! She shared these cookies last week on her blog and I had to try them! I love using lower glycemic, gluten-free (or even grain-free) flours for making baked goods for myself. My husband prefers "regular" gluten-free baked goods, but I need to keep an eye on my carbohydrate intake, so I enjoy making treats like this that I can enjoy and not feel guilty about eating! 

These cookies were SO easy to make and they are just so tasty. 

Cheryl's recipe is unique for several reasons:
  • Instead of using butter, palm shortening, or even coconut oil or butter... Cheryl gets creative and uses homemade macadamia nut butter for the fat. It works just beautifully and adds a rich and creamy and even BUTTERY (with no dairy!) texture to the cookies! Check out how to make the macadamia nut butter on Cheryl's blog post!
  • Instead of chocolate chips (which I did use, just because we had them), she suggests using a 70% or higher content chocolate bar chopped up for the chocolate bits in the cookies. I have to admit, I prefer cookies made with a chopped up high quality chocolate bar, than using chocolate chips, they just seem to have a more gourmet flair and seem to taste better! 
  • NO refined sugars! Cheryl uses maple syrup to sweeten the cookies and I have to say, I was skeptical at how well that would work. And I can tell you, it works perfectly! I loved the sweetless level and amazingly it doesn't really impart a "maple" flavor to the cookies. 
  • Cheryl also suggests using ground vanilla beans, or vanilla bean paste to create the cookies and I WISH I had some on hand, because both give SUCH an amazing flavor to cookies, much more deep and vanilla-y, than just extract! If you have ground vanilla beans or the paste on hand, definitely use them!



So please hop over to Cheryl's blog and check our her recipe! Tell her I sent ya and let me know what you think about these cookies! Cheryl additionally has a great collection of recipes, along with wonderful posts about self-care and learning how to become who you really are. I value her friendship and her guidance more than she'll ever know!

(And if you have time to make her red lentil dal, cinnamon apple millet, celery in chestnut sauce, OR her sweet potato pie... oh you MUST! They are wonderful and just a few of my favorite recipes from her lovely site!) 


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Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Review: Pillsbury Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough


Pillsbury contacted me several weeks ago about working with their new promotional campaign for their brand new line of gluten-free baking doughs. To be honest, at first I was slightly hesitant. I know many of my readers prefer to make things from scratch. And generally I do too... 

BUT the longer I've been gluten-free, I've realized the more I long for shortcuts. Not all the time, but for those times when company's coming over unexpectedly, or when you just want a chocolate chip cookie! Shortcuts can be really helpful and when you're gluten-free they are not always readily available. So I agreed to participate in the paid campaign. This is my first compensated review and I can tell you, that no matter what I agree to review, the food will be reviewed with utmost honesty and integrity.

Also once I have reviewed all three products, I will have a baking set & Pillsbury product giveaway, sponsored by Pillsbury. So stay tuned!


So last week I received the 3 Pillsbury gluten-free doughs in the mail.  It's been a busy week and I wasn't sure when I was going to get a chance to try them. If you've been reading this blog very long you know my husband Michael loves chocolate chip cookies. Today I thought I'd give them a whirl.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the plastic container of dough is how much it actually looked like MY cookie dough! Same color, similar consistency. I do recommend taking the dough out of the fridge and allowing it to come to room temperature before baking. It's much easier to handle that way.


The dough was very easy to work with and we got right around 2 dozen small cookies (about 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough per cookie). We baked them for around 11 minutes and allowed them to cool on the parchment paper for several minutes before trying them.

Really, I was skeptical. I honestly didn't expect these cookies to be ANYWHERE near as good as my homemade cookies. But in spite of my reservations, I really liked them. I mean I really liked them! I went back and looked at the ingredients and told Michael that I thought they must have borrowed MY gluten-free cookie recipe! The cookies are really good. Michael really liked them too (although he would NOT say they were better than mine... I think he was just being nice though! lol)

The cookies end up being a bit more greasy than the cookies made from my homemade dough, but I absolutely would not hesitate going out and buying this Pillsbury gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough.


Charlie was really intrigued by the aroma of the cookies as they came out of the oven... I had to stop him from climbing on the table a few times.


**************
UPDATED: 8/7/2013, 10pm
Jenny G. a reader on facebook requested the ingredient list on the cookies, which I meant to include in the post.

Ingredients: Brown Sugar, Rice Flour, Semisweet Chocolate Chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural flavor), Water, Palm Oil, Canola Oil, Sugar, Corn Starch, Modified Potato Starch, Contains 2% or Less of: Eggs, Modified Tapioca Starch, Salt, Baking Soda, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavor.

CONTAINS: EGG AND SOY; MAY CONTAIN MILK INGREDIENTS.
***************

So overall, I'm really impressed with these cookies. They are crispy on the outside and chewy in the middle. They are soft and have a chewy crumb. They were honestly much better than I thought they would be. And I kinda hate to admit they were just about as good as my homemade version. A neighbor stopped by to drop off a dish while these cookies were baking and she loved them too. She even took a few home with her... and she's not even gluten-free!

Pros:
  • Easy to make, you don't have to add ANY additional ingredients
  • Resealable container, which makes the dough easy to save for later, you can easily just make a few at time, if desired. 
  • Tastes great! DOES NOT "taste" gluten-free!
  • Would be great for parents to make with kids, super easy to assemble and bake. 
  • Perfect for travel or to make when visiting friends or family. Easy to suggest to friends & family to have for you when you come to visit. 
Cons:
  • A bit more greasy than homemade gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
  • High sugar/starch/calorie content -- but this is generally the case with just about any gluten-free processed sweet treat

Good job Pillsbury!

GLG Disclosure: 
Full disclosure: this article is financially supported by Pillsbury®.
The product samples and product stock photos were also provided by Pillsbury. 
However, the opinions in this post are completely my own.


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Monday, June 24, 2013

Giveaway: Gluten-Free Baking with Betty Crocker and Joseph Joseph


One of the fun things about being a food blogger is getting to try new products and equipment. A few weeks ago MyBlogSpark sent me this cool baking kit which includes a rolling pin, a pastry brush, a small rubber spatula (I happen to LOVE spatulas!) and a super cute kitchen timer in this JosephJoseph baking gift set. To be quite honest I haven't had the time YET to try out these nifty tools, but I can tell you they are super cute!


Also included in the gift set was really nice non-stick 8x8 baking pan which is perfect for brownies or 1-layer cakes! Betty Crocker (the lovelies who provided this nice set) have brand new packaging for their gluten-free products ALONG with a few new gluten-free baking mixes. I decided to go out and purchase chocolate chip cookie mix. My husband is quite the connoisseur of chocolate chip cookies...

But instead of making cookies (I'm lazy, what can I say?) I decided to use the 8x8 pan and make a batch of chocolate chip cookie brownies! TO make the brownies all I did was add the required 1 stick of butter, but instead of one egg I used two, and then added 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup of milk. This made the brownies more cake-like, but Michael loved them. I baked the batter in the pan for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees. That's it. Super easy, super quick.

While I'm not a huge fan of gluten-free prepared baking mixes... it is fun to have these on hand for last minute chocolate chip cookie emergencies. Michael really enjoyed the mix and said he liked the brownies as much as he would have actual cookies... so win win!



But my favorite thing about companies like "MyBlogSpark" and Betty Crocker? 

They not only send me goodies to try, they offer bloggers an additional set to giveaway as well! SO Here's your chance! Want to win your own set of baking supplies?  

Here's how you can enter to win: 


This contest is now over.
Congrats to Shannon F. for winning the baking set! 

The Giveaway Nittygritty:
  • 1 prize pack of a JosephJoseph Gift Baking Set + a brand new 8x8" baking pan will be provided from General Mills and MyBlogSpark. 
  • This giveaway is open to everyone. 
  • One entry per person.
  • Enter by leaving a comment below on this post AND please include a way for me to contact you -- your email address preferably.
  • The giveaway begins June 24, 2013 and ends on June 29, 2013  at 11:00 pm eastern daylight savings time.
  • No purchase is necessary.  Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  
  • The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.  The winners will have 24 hours to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.


GLG Disclosure: 
I was given a free gift baking set and an 8x8" baking dish from MyBlogSpark and General Mills. This is not a sponsored post and I did not receive monetary compensation. The opinions in this post are completely my own. The giveaway prize pack and baking pan have been provided by MyBlogSpark and General Mills. 

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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes Recipe


Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary!! It's hard to believe that 8 years ago we were walking out on a sandy beach with about 10 of our closest family members and getting married on a beautiful October day. Every year we do something special for our anniversary. Some years it will be a little vacation or an overnight trip to the beach... but other years (especially if we're into super budgeting mode) we just spend the day together. No major plans. Nothing set in stone... just a day together...


This year we took the day off of work. Went out for a leisurely breakfast. (My favorite meal out is breakfast!) And I spend the afternoon cooking and baking. We had homemade beef tacos for dinner but I wanted something super special for dessert.

Michael's favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies. (This recipe in particular!) My favorite dessert is cupcakes. I wondered if I could merge the two into one diabetic-coma-inducing sugary treat. (Okay, not really... lol) I read lots of different recipes on the interwebs and finally went with an idea from Kevin & Amanda  that seemed much less complicated than other recipes: basically just plopping good 'ol chocolate chip cookie dough right into the cake batter.

And it worked. It worked really well. The cake rose up beautifully, even with the cookie dough being in the middle. In Amanda's cookies, the cookie dough sank to the bottom of the cupcakes and she topped them with a homemade cookie-dough flavored frosting. In my cupcakes, the cookie dough just sat on top and baked sort of in the middle, so you get a surprise bite of cookie inside the cupcake!


Want to make these cupcakes? 
Follow Amanda's directions for making and assembling the cupcakes. 

  • For the cupcakes I used my basic homemade yellow gluten-free cake mix recipe
  • For the chocolate chip cookie dough: Michael's favorite chocolate chip cookies -- chilled for about 30 minutes, I plopped about a tablespoon of dough into each cupcake. 
  • For the frosting, I followed Amanda's recipe (scroll to the bottom of the recipe ingredients!)
  • For the cookie toppers: using the remaining cookie dough, make a batch of really small (using about a teaspoon of dough or less per cookie) cookies. Once they are baked and cooled, cut them in half and stick a half cookie in each cupcake!

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Product Review: Hodgson's Mill Gluten-Free Brownie Mix


Product: Hodgson's Mill Gluten-Free Brownie Mix
Company: Hodgson Mill Inc.
Location: All products made in USA
Self-purchased or Company Sample: Self-purchased

I don't keep a lot of gluten-free mixes in my kitchen. I like making things from scratch and brownies are no exception. However a few weeks ago I found this brownie mix from Hodgson's Mill and it was very reasonably priced (a little over $4.00 I think?) so I thought I'd try it out.

Last night was the perfect opportunity. Because is there ever a bad opportunity to make brownies? :-)

The mix called for 1/2 cup of butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 egg, and water. To save a few calories, I used 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce (instead of butter) and added about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. I mixed as directed and then decided to put the mix into cupcake liners to make individual servings.




On top of each brownie "cupcake" I added  a small sprinkling of chocolate chips and 2 pecan halves. I baked them for about 18 minutes and voila... some really cute & delicious brownie cupcakes!

Michael and I really enjoyed these. They were chewy and cakey at the same time. SUPER chocolately and rich... definitely a match for any chocolate craving!

This is a gluten-free baking mix I think I definitely plan to keep in the pantry for a quick dessert!
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Chocolate Cherry "Milkshake" -- a green smoothie in disguise



Basically I just wanted chocolate a few nights ago... then I wanted a milkshake... then I decided just to make a healthy version of a chocolate shake... I had frozen cherries in the freezer from a friend. I had spinach. I had raw cacao powder. I had bananas. I had almond milk. All that stuff + ice = mmmmm. Unexpectedly mmmmm.

This one's a win! It's a green smoothie in disguise. You can add more greens if you like. It's quite sweet with the stevia and fruit, so you could definitely pack in some more spinach or kale. They will never know... it's chocolate, so it's supposed to be brown... they'll never guess that's partially from the greens as well.

Michael also likes this with a few tablespoons of peanut butter thrown in for good measure. I, however... am the purist... just give me the chocolate and the cherries.

Chocolate Cherry "Milkshake" 
Gluten/Grain-Free, Dairy/Casein-Free, Soy-Free, Vegan, No-Added-Sugar
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com

1/2 medium banana
1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen, pitted cherries
1-2 handfuls baby spinach
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (of course if you don't have this laying around just toss in some Hershey's cocoa powder!)
1/2 cup almond milk
3-4 ice cubes
few drops liquid vanilla stevia

Add all to high powdered blender and blend on high for 1-2 minutes until thoroughly creamy and resembles a dark chocolate milkshake. Makes 1 large serving -or- 2 small servings.


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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Gluten-Free, No-Sugar-Added, Chocolate Fudge Cake

really horrid phone camera pic of some seriously awesome cake.
please don't judge the book by it's cover on this one...
trust me... you want to make this cake!

Wow... it's been a while... it feels rather like when you spend a prolonged period at home or on vacation and you're not the one driving... then when you get back in the car on Monday morning to head to work it feels strange... 

I've missed you. I've missed blogging... but I'm ready to come back! 

My Dad is very, very, very slowly on the mend. We are still traveling every other weekend to see him in the hospital. And it's been a joy to see him slowly progress. Some days are better than others both physically & mentally for him. He has a very long road ahead with many, many steps of recovery along the way... and we pray the end result will eventually be a heart transplant. It will be quite a journey to that point.... but I believe in him. 

In lighter news... I'm also a fan of cake. Densely, richly chocolate cake. My friend Jaime W. makes this amazing gluten-free, flour-free chocolate cake. She brings it to local gluten free potlucks and I might as well forget about portion sizes, sugar intake, or my calorie content for the day. It's all out the window if she brings that marvelous cake. 

My friend Heather invited us over for dinner the other night and I instantly wanted to make cake... which is odd since I haven't felt like cooking or baking in months... but suddenly I wanted to make cake. And I wanted a low-sugar, but super chocolate-y cake. I remember seeing a version of Jaime's cake in Paleo Comfort Foods, but it didn't contain ANY added sugar and I thought surely that must taste horrible.

But I decided to give it a go. I didn't want to use as much butter or eggs as the recipe called for... so I played and came up with the following version. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have... it's definitely better cold (it's AWESOME cold! Richly dense and super delicious!) but almost like a sponge cake when warm... so you can pick how to enjoy it...

(Additional Note: This cake is EXTREMELY rich, fudge-y, and not very sweet. It almost has a coffee overtone (which we loved!)... but I don't think it would appeal to children because of the lack of sweetness and due to the hint of bitterness from the intense dark chocolate.) 

and another really awful phone camera pic of this marvelous
cake... I probably need to apologize to the cake...
she's truly much more stunning in person...
and strangely enough I rather like the retro feel
of these sort of 70's orangish pictures...
moving on...  :-P

Gluten-Free, No-Sugar-Added, Chocolate Fudge Cake
Adapted from the version in Paleo Comfort Foods
Free of gluten, grains, soy, and added sugar
Printer-Friendly Recipe

The Good Stuff:
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
1 bag (11.5 oz.) 60-75% dark chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients: 
5 large eggs (preferably at room temperature)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut flour
* 1/4 teaspoon corn-free baking powder (optional)
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a double broiler on the stove or a glass bowl in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips and butter together. In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, applesauce, almond milk, and vanilla. Very, very slowly & gently whisk in a small stream of the melted chocolate and butter into the egg mixture. If you add the hot melted chocolate too quickly it will cook the eggs, so do it very slowly and gently. Mix the melted chocolate, butter, and egg mixture until it's thoroughly incorporated. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Pour cake batter into a greased pie plate or cake pan. If you want to serve the cake on a platter make sure to line the cake pan with parchment paper so you can remove it easily. Place in 325 degree oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. The time can vary depending on the temperature of your oven and how wet the batter is. The cake will be completely done on the edges and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out MOSTLY clean, there will be some crumbs. Allow cake to cool completely on the counter (the edges will pull away from the pie pan and look as if it's shrinking a bit -- that's okay!) before transferring to the fridge to chill overnight. Slice and serve!


Carrie's Notes: 
  • I have no idea what you can use in place of coconut flour, sorry I can't offer a substitution! If you would like the full sugar version that doesn't use coconut flour, try this cake recipe
  • I have no idea what you can use in place of the eggs in the cake... the eggs are very important here. For a dense egg-free gluten-free chocolate cake, try this one
  • The baking powder will help the cake rise a little more, but it's not necessary if you choose to leave it out. For a homemade version of corn-free baking powder, check out this recipe
  • Also the chili powder adds just a hint of kick to the cake, which is awesome... but if you're not into awesome, you can leave it out too! 
  • I just baked the cake and served it out of a glass pie pan, which I think works well! And it's pretty!  
  • I recommend refrigerating the cake overnight before serving. It will be a dense, rich, dark chocolate-y cake. 
  • If you prefer it warm, it will have more of a sponge-cake type texture and is still quite good... but I personally prefer it cold!


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Friday, May 25, 2012

Emergency Gluten Free Cupcakes for Celiac Awareness Month


I know cupcakes are supposed to be pretty. Even before you add the sugar-rush frosting, they are supposed to be elegant and have a pretty round top... well these don't. But they don't know that. So try not to hurt their little chocolate cupcake feelings.

These little cupcakes are special. They are EMERGENCY gluten free cupcakes. Gluten free chocolate cupcakes that you can make in less than 5 minutes from mixing to frosting. Nope, I'm not kidding. You know those days... when you find out right before school that's there's a birthday party in your child's class, or a lunch pot luck at work? Or when you realize you're the parent that's responsible for snacks at soccer practice today (and you happen to have a little gluten-free soccer player!)... You know... those moments?

Or the "It's 10 pm and I'm DYING for a chocolate cupcake" moment... that's totally acceptable as a chocolate gluten free cupcake emergency.


If you're a person who happens to have emergencies like that... then this recipe is for you. It's a small recipe for chocolate cake that would make about 6-8 small cupcakes using the microwaveable egg poacher tray below or you could divide the batter between two large ceramic coffee mugs and make two VERY large cupcakes, or cut the finished cupcakes in half and make 4 nicely-sized "normal" cupcakes.

Yep.... these are cupcakes you make in the microwave! That amazing machine from the 80's that I still love no matter what the anti-microwave purists say. (Did you know you could make a MEAN and SUPER-fast meatloaf in the 'wave machine? You sure can! Works great in the summer!) The small cupcakes take less than a minute to cook, while the larger cupcakes take about a minute and 20 seconds. That's it. It takes you longer to mix the batter than it does to bake the cupcakes.

Now remember, they aren't the cutest little cupcakes you'll ever make. Nope. But just because they aren't cute doesn't mean they won't taste amazing. If you want to use the plastic microwave-safe egg poacher in the photo below, I found that at the Dollar Store... yes... it was $1. (Michael's mom will ask.) But if you're not into the whole using-plastic-in-the-microwave thing, then you can simply use 2-3 ceramic coffee mugs! There are directions for both below!


I created these cupcakes not only for emergencies but for 5 years of being gluten free! At the very top of this post you'll see five little gluten free cupcakes (all of which were consumed immediately after being made by my hubs and inlaws!) -- they symbolize the past five years of gluten-free freedom!

Beth Hillson, who is the Food Editor of Living Without Magazine, the founder of the Gluten Free Pantry line of products, and a cookbook author challenged gluten free bloggers through the month of May to make 1 cupcake per year they had been gluten-free. So for me? This August is my fifth gluten-free birthday!! And for five years of living well with no gluten-induced migraines. Check out Beth's initial post on her blog sharing the 17 gluten-free cupcakes she made for herself!

Emergency Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
(made in the microwave)
free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 tsp. brown rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
3 tablespoons sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional -- batter will be a little bit runny without it, but should still make fine cupcakes!)
1/8 tsp. salt (optional)

Wet Ingredients:
1 egg
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions: 
  1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. At this point, you could place dry ingredients in a glass jar or ziplock baggie and store for future emergency cupcakes! 
  2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add all wet ingredients. Whisk batter together thoroughly with a fork or whisk. 
  3. To make the cupcakes with coffee mugs: Use 3 coffee mugs. Spritz each mug with non-stick cooking spray or a little bit of olive oil. Add 1/3 of batter to each mug. Place mugs in the microwave individually and cook on high for 40 seconds to 1 minute and 20 seconds until they are cooked thoroughly and "bounce back" when touched on the top. Allow the cake to cook for about 3 minutes, then pour out of mug onto a small plate. cut each cake in half horizontally to make 2 small cupcakes per mug. Place cupcakes in liners and frost when cool with your favorite gluten free frosting/icing. Makes 6 cupcakes.   
  4. To make the cupcakes with plastic microwave-safe egg poacher pans: Using the egg poachers -- place about 2-3 tablespoons of batter into each egg poacher, until it's about half-full. Place the plastic pan in the microwave and cook on high for about 40 seconds to 1 minute depending on how hot your microwave cooks. The cupcakes will "bounce back" when touched on the top when they are done. Turn cupcakes out onto a plate to cool for several minutes. Then place cupcakes (They will be small! They won't get as tall as they would in the oven) into cupcake liners and frost as usual. Eat immediately, or store in fridge for later. You can also freeze these cupcakes for anytime cupcake emergencies! Makes 6-9 cupcakes depending on how much batter you use per cake. 

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Monday, May 21, 2012

Gluten Free Weekly Menu -- Chocolate Chip Cookies


So I just read over at Celiac Family that the theme for this week's Gluten Free Menu Swap is CHOCOLATE.. uhh... I think I can handle that... how many ways can I add chocolate to this week's menu? :-P

Since chocolate is the menu theme, it gives me a perfect excuse to make a batch of Michael's favorite chocolate chip cookies. I might even make a batch of almond flour chocolate chip scones from The Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. Hmm... what else could I do? I think I might make a quick 20 minute chili and add a little cocoa to the spices... cocoa and chili is such a crazy good combination!

This Week's Menu 5/20-5/26: 
  • Sunday -- Sandwich night using Udi's bread, we weren't too hungry after a large breakfast/lunch 
  • Monday -- Pan-grilled steaks with mushrooms and served over wilted spinach with cooked apples on the side
  • Tuesday -- Barbecue chicken, quartered red potatoes, and green beans 
  • Wednesday -- Ground turkey & zucchini one pot meal 
  • Thursday -- Southwestern Salmon Burgers from "The Almond Flour Cookbook" pg. 53 by Elana Amsterdam w/ salad and/or sweet potato fries -OR- breakfast for dinner 
  • Friday -- Quick gluten free pizza & salad
  • Saturday -- A quick 20 minute chili recipe with added cocoa powder... I'll share the recipe soon if it turns out well! 


Make sure to check out more gluten free menus with the Gluten Free Menu Swap! This week hosted by Heather of Celiac Family. You can also get hundreds of menu ideas with the weekly menu share at OrgJunkie.com.


Stella & Dot Anabel Necklace -- my exercise goal reward this month!!

Exercise Plan 5/20 - 5/26: 
The plan I'm doing this month is to walk 28 miles total using Leslie Sansone walking DVD's. They are more challenging than they sound! Trust me! I already have 19 miles total so far this month! SO my goal for this week is 8 miles throughout the week. At the end of the month if I meet my goal, I'm going to treat myself to a piece of Stella & Dot jewelry. My friend Clara is now an independent stylist with Stella & Dot and I hope I can slowly build up a collection of pretty accessories as I meet my workout goals! 


GLG Disclosure: 
The Stella & Dot links above go directly to an online trunk show hosted by myself and my Stella & Dot Independent Stylist -- Ms. Clara Ogren. If jewelry is purchased via those links I will receive a small credit towards a "trunk show" gift and Ms. Ogren will receive a small commission. 
The opinions regarding Stella & Dot jewelry are my own and I did not receive compensation for this post. 

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Thursday, October 13, 2011

gluten free coconut flour vanilla cupcakes


See that?

Light, fluffy, airy, moist (but not TOO moist), gluten free cupcakes!! AND... wait for it... 

They are low glycemic, lower carb, and made with coconut flour, coconut oil, real vanilla extract, a pinch of salt, some baking soda, and agave nectar. (I know there's a big debate on whether or not agave's good stuff or bad stuff... you don't have to fight it out here) Soooo...since they are full of fiber, healthy fats, and yummy ol' protein-filled eggs, I'm declaring them kind of good for you! ;-)

But it's not my recipe. It's Elana's. She is a coconut flour and almond flour genius. Seriously. genius.

The cupcakes I made are the yellow cupcakes from Elana's newest cookbook: gluten free cupcakes cookbook! Elana also shares basically the same recipe (minus the strawberries) with this post.

I also slathered them with Elana's vegan chocolate 'buttercream" frosting (also in that lovely little book). Drool.

I suggest making them. soon. It's a really good thing these are being eaten at a work shower today... because really I just want to eat all of them!

The only change I made to Elana's recipe is I used melted coconut oil instead of the grapeseed oil called for. And that was only because it's what I had on hand.

So try them out. Let me know what you think... and let's chat about it here on the blog! And go give Elana some comment love!


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Thursday, August 18, 2011

Reader Favorites - Sara P.'s Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

Bittersweet

Here's a recent letter from one of my readers. I've been meaning to try this cake from Sara P. for several months and I haven't gotten a chance. This is Sara's version of a flourless chocolate cake with NO added fats and less eggs than most recipes like this call for. I love that this recipe is lower in fat AND sugar than most gluten free, flourless chocolate cakes. If you try Sara's cake, please share with us what you think and send me a picture!

"All the recipes I have tried on your site have been lovely. It's made gluten free baking a lot more pleasant and you helped me to get to know my gluten free flours better and how to use them for a pleasing end result. I'd like to share with you my latest recipe. It's an adaption of the flourless chocolate cake to make it more healthy and I do believe it has a lot of options for flavors too. Such as white chocolate with grated lime peel as just one such example." 

Sara P.'s Flourless Chocolate Cake
free of gluten, dairy/casein, grains, and soy

4 oz dark or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup apple sauce or other fruit puree
3/4 cup sugar or splenda depending on dietary needs
3 eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • Preheat oven to 375 
  • Chop chocolate and mix it with applesauce, melt in microwave safe bowl and mix until lumps are gone. 30 seconds at a time. 
  • Whisk in sugar and eggs. 
  • Whisk in cocoa powder a little at a time until smooth. 
  • Prepare 8-9" baking pan by lightly oiling it. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom and lightly oil it as well. 
  • Pour in batter and bake 25 minutes. 
  • Cool 5 minutes then invert on serving plate. 

Notes from Sara P: 
  1. Top with ganache or any other toppings of desire or just eat plain, it's fantastic.
  2. Nice thing about this recipe is it doesn't take any expensive or unusual ingredients and by varying out the chocolate with other baking chips, I do believe a host of flavors could be achieved. I haven't tried yet though. It's on my to do list. 
  3. I also believe a variety of mix ins could really make the difference in flavors with this cake. 
  4. Even with the sugar and whole eggs at 9 servings it's still only 160 calories a slice. It'd be easily adaptable for diabetics.
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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A frugal gluten free gift idea


Here's a super easy & frugal gift idea for you.

For Father's Day I decided to give my Dad a bunch of my homemade gluten free chocolate chip cookies. It may seem silly since he doesn't follow a gluten free diet himself... but he loves these cookies! Why not make a gift out of them? I also gave him a jar of homemade pickles I canned last summer and some of my favorite cooking seasoning.

I found an old tin that I was about to recycle and I colored a label on white paper with cookies on it. I glued the label to the tin. Taped an additional label on top and made a batch of my gluten free chocolate chip cookies. I made the cookies super small -- bite size really -- so the whole batch would fit in the tin without being smashed or broken. It worked great.

Michael and I also made homemade cards to go along with all the other homemade treats and I think for my Dad it was one of the best gifts I had ever given him.

So when you can't think of anything to give, or if you need to give someone a gift but don't have a lot of money to spend... make a batch of bite-size gluten free cookies! The people you love will be so impressed at how much time & thought you put into their homemade gift.

What are your favorite types of frugal, homemade gifts?
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Friday, June 17, 2011

{Gluten Free Review} Sof'ella Chocolate Cake Mix



A few weeks ago I was sent an email about a grocery store on the west coast that had a large variety of gluten free products. While glancing through their list of gf products I noticed they carried several baking mixes by a company called "Sof'ella." I was curious since I had not heard of this company. I contacted them and asked if they if would send me a few samples to review for the blog.




Sof'ella sent me both the chocolate cake mix and their all purpose baking mix. I made the chocolate cake for a family cookout a few weeks ago. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant. The mix uses navy bean flour and I thought for sure the cupcakes would taste beany. I'm learning to like bean flours a lot more than I used too, but I still am not crazy about baked goods that taste super beany.

But these cupcakes? Not beany. Not one bit. SUPER chocolaty, very rich, and the taste was excellent. These cupcakes are very soft, moist, and have a great texture. Another company (which isn't yet in production that I know of) sent me a mix to try earlier this year and their batter contained so much xanthan gum, that the dough literally mixed into a big ball -- it was very wierd... the Sof'ella batter on the other hand? Like a normal cake batter, a little more wet than my homemade gluten free chocolate cake, but even the batter tasted delicious, despite being made with navy bean flour.




The Sof'ella chocolate cake mix is expensive, it retails on the website for $6 a box + shipping, so I'm guessing it's probably around $7 at the grocery store. Overall, I'd probably buy this chocolate cake mix. I think it has a better taste & texture than the Betty Crocker gluten free mix, but not as good as my personal favorite homemade gluten free chocolate cake.

Have you tried Sof'ella? What is your favorite store bought gluten free chocolate cake mix?
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Saturday, May 21, 2011

Gluten Free Chocolate Cobbler/ Hot Fudge Sauce Cake Recipe


My mom-in-law and dad-in-law came over this afternoon, they helped deliver a new lawn mower for hubs. He's been wanting one for a while and the state income tax refund came back just in time, since our yard looks more like a jungle than the suburbs. 

The house is a mess, but I managed to wipe down the bathroom counters before they arrived! I made a super easy ground beef stew and pondered what to make for dessert. 

You see, I ALWAYS serve dessert to my inlaws. I know we don't need dessert, but dessert is special. I like dessert. It makes a meal for company seem complete! 

I only had a small amount of ice-cream in the freezer, as hubs supply was dwindling... but I did have some coconut ice-cream as well... and father-in-law loves coconut. What could I serve with it? 

I remember several times my great-grandma making what she called a "puddin' cake." A very easy cake that created it's own sauce/pudding on the bottom and I LOVED that cake! I browsed the web, looked through a few of my favorite church cookbooks, and finally settled on a tweaked version of this Chocolate Cobbler recipe



The best part of this dessert is how insanely EASY it is to throw together. It's a bit unconventional and I have no idea exactly how it works chemically to create that amazing sauce... but it works! No, it isn't the prettiest dessert you could make, but it sure is tasty! I used my homemade gluten free master baking mix as the base and I am SO pleased at how delicious it turned out. 

Please make this dessert... it's a hit when your in-laws come over and watch movies with you after having a very humble meal of ground beef stew. How I love cozy Saturday afternoons with family. Especially when they end with a chocolate dessert! 

Gluten Free Chocolate Cobbler/ Hot Fudge Sauce Cake Recipe
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and eggs

Cobber/Cake Ingredients: 
4 tablespoons coconut oil 
1/2 cup sugar
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup almond milk -or- your favorite nondairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cobbler/Cake Topping: 
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon coconut oil into a casserole dish or large pie pan. Place the pan in the oven to melt the coconut oil. In a medium sized bowl mix together the homemade master baking mix, sugar, cocoa powder, almond milk, and vanilla. The batter should be have the texture/thickness of a muffin batter, if necessary, add additional almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a thick, but pour-able batter. Using a potholder, remove the baking dish with the melted coconut oil from the oven. Pour the cake/cobbler batter into the dish and spread it evenly. The melted coconut oil will probably come up over the batter, that is okay! In a small bowl mix together the sugar & cocoa powder for the topping and sprinkle evenly over the cake/cobbler batter. Lastly pour the boiling hot water over the whole cake. It will look like a hot crazy mess, but trust me it will work! Place the cobbler/cake in the oven and bake for 35 minutes until the top is crusty & dark brown. If it seems to be browning too much mid-way through baking simply place a sheet of foil over the the baking dish. VERY IMPORTANT: After 35 minutes remove the cobbler from the oven and allow it to cool for about 35-40 minutes before serving. This will allow the fudge sauce to "set" beneath the chocolate cake crust.  Serve warm (it will still be warm after 35-40 minutes!!) with ice-cream, whipped cream, or just by itself! It's delicious! Enjoy!





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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Gluten Free Master Baking Mix/ Homemade "Bisquick" Recipes



In this gluten free journey I've created quite a few recipes over the years. One of the most popular on this site is my gluten free master baking mix. I revised the original recipe last year to create a healthier, whole-grain, soy-free, and dairy/casein-free version. Since then I've used it for countless recipes... dinner recipes...dessert recipes...snacks...you name it! It's so easy to use. It's much healthier than the Betty Crocker version, it's a more frugal option, and it's incredible easy to make.

Today I'm sharing the Revised Whole Grain Gluten Free Master Baking Mix recipe again, along with 5 additional SUPER easy recipes that you can make with the master baking mix.

I would really love your feedback on these recipes. I love the biscuits. I love the cakey-cookies. I love the easy muffins. And mostly... the pancakes just rock.

What are your favorite OLD Bisquick recipes? What would you make using this mix or the original mix? If you have a recipe you'd like me to try & feature on the blog using this mix, please email me your suggestions!

Soft & sweet chocolate chip cookies made using the GF Whole Grain Master Baking Mix. 

Flaky,  Buttery Drop Biscuits made using the GF Whole Grain Master Baking Mix. 

Ginger Lemon Girl's Gluten Free/Casein Free
Master Baking Mix (Like Bisquick)
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
Created by Carrie Forbes @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe

3 cups brown rice flour
2 cups sorghum flour -or- millet flour
1 1/2 cups arrowroot starch -or- tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup brown rice protein powder -or- almond flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (optional - great for a whole grain texture & extra fiber!)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup coconut oil or spectrum palm shortening (I used spectrum)

Whisk all dry ingredients together thoroughly. Cut in shortening, until it is thoroughly mixed into the dry ingredients and looks like tiny peas. Store in a tightly-sealed container in fridge or pantry. Makes about 7 cups.

***********************

Half Recipe: 
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup sorghum flour -or- millet flour
3/4 cups arrowroot starch -or- tapioca starch
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons brown rice protein powder -or- almond flour
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (optional - great for a whole grain texture & extra fiber!)
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup coconut oil or spectrum palm shortening (I used spectrum)

Whisk all dry ingredients together thoroughly. Cut in shortening, until it is thoroughly mixed into the dry ingredients and looks like tiny peas. Store in a tightly-sealed container in fridge or pantry. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

A Few Gluten Free Master Mix Recipes

1) Easy Muffins: 
1 cup MASTER MIX
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
⅓ c. blueberries, chocolate chips, chopped apples, etc...

Mix all ingredients. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners. Fill ¾ full of batter. Bake 350 for 17-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of muffin comes out clean. Makes 6 muffins.

2) Pancakes: 
1 cup MASTER MIX
¾ cup - 1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
1 egg

Mix all ingredients together, you can add additional milk if necessary depending on how thick or thin you like your pancake batter. Grease pan (with butter, oil, or non-stick spray) and heat until droplets of water will sizzle. Pour about 2 tbsp. batter per pancake onto preheated hot skillet. Cook on med. high heat until bubbles form & pop on top of pancakes -or- until edges look dry. Flip cook an additional minute or so. Serve hot. Makes about 9 (2") pancakes.

3) Drop Biscuits: 
1 ¼ cup MASTER MIX
3 tablespoons palm shortening, crisco, or butter
1 egg
2-4 tablespoons cold water

Cut shortening or butter into master mix until it looks like small peas. Stir in egg. Stir in1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have a stiff dough. (You may not need all 4 tablespoons of water.) Drop batter (2-3 tbsp. at a time) on greased baking sheet, each biscuit about 2” apart. Shape each biscuit into a circle. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Place a pat of butter or margarine on top of each biscuit in the last few minutes of baking. My oven underheats, so things tend not to brown -- you may need to turn up your oven to BROIL for 2-3 minutes to brown the biscuits. DO NOT allow to broil for longer or they will burn.  Makes 6 biscuits.

4) Basic Cookies: 
2 ¾ cups MASTER MIX
½ cup palm shortening, crisco, or butter
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
2-4 tablespoons water
ADD IN'S -- 1 cup of any of the following (or mix of the following): chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, raisins, coconut flakes, macadamia nuts, rolled oats, chopped candied oranges, etc...

Cream sugar with shortening or butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir in master mix. If needed, add 2-4 tablespoons of water until you get a stiff (not crumbly) batter. Fold in any additional flavorings/spices/additions. Drop by tablespoons onto baking sheet.  Flatten cookies slightly with the bottom of a glass or the palm of your hand, as they will not spread. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen 1" cookies.

5) Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb. ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (dairy free version -- shredded daiya vegan cheese)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup MASTER MIX
1 cup milk (or non-dairy milk)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" pie pan or a large baking dish. In a large skillet brown ground beef and chopped onions. Spread browned ground beef & cooked onions in the greased baking dish. Sprinkle ground beef with cheese or daiya vegan alternative. In a small bowl mix together the salt, master mix, milk, and eggs. Pour over the ground beef & cheese. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and/or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Makes 8 slices. Serve each slice with the option of being topped with mustard, ketchup, chopped tomatoes, and dill pickles!
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Gluten Free Vegan German Chocolate Cake Recipe


Gluten Free, Vegan German Chocolate Cake anyone? Anyone? I've made this cake twice during the past two weeks, first for a gluten free cookout with some dear friends & then for Easter Sunday. 

It was a hit. I had completely forgotten how much I LOVE German Chocolate Cake. I haven't had it in YEARS. It was memorable for me to make this cake because it was a favorite of my great-grandmother's. I miss her so much! I know she would have been proud of this cake. (Well she wouldn't have understood the point of the whole vegan thing, but that's okay! lol) 

This cake is actually quite simple to make! I simply took my favorite gluten free chocolate cake recipe and then added Susan of FatFreeVegan's German Chocolate Cake filling. I chose Susan's filling because it didn't use any artificial ingredients and I wanted a recipe that was casein free/ dairy free.

That's it! 

I did make some changes, but they were slight: 
That's all I changed. Everything else was the same and you can better believe I'll be making this dessert for YEARS to come! I loved making it. It was cathartic to me and very meaningful to know that I had learned how to make a gluten free version of one of the cakes my great-grandmother made when I was growing up!

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have!

Thoughtfully,
Carrie

PS... I will be attending the Charlotte NC GF/AF Expo this weekend. If you're in the area, please stop by! Tickets are still available for $10 at the door -- a serious STEAL for the amount of programs being presented and the incredible number of vendors that will be there!!  I hope to meet you there!
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Monday, February 7, 2011

Gluten Free Almond Flour Double Chocolate Brownies Recipe



Here's a quick lower glycemic chocolate treat for you. I made these last night and was really impressed at how well they turned out! If you can tolerate almonds & eggs, I highly recommend these tasty little brownies. They are very fudgy & chocolately without a lot of sugar or simple carbohydrates.

Since I'm seriously watching my "sweets" intake, I ate one of these little brownies and wrapped the rest of them up and froze them. Michael loved them and took 2 to work with him. I don't feel bad about him eating these little brownies because they are full of healthy fats & just a little bit of sugar.



Almond Flour Double Chocolate Brownies
free of gluten, dairy/casein, and soy
created by carrie forbes of gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (252 grams) blanched almond flour
1/4 cup (26 grams) cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup sugar -or- palm sugar (I used palm sugar)

Wet Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil  -or- your favorite oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons applesauce
1/2 teaspoons liquid vanilla stevia (optional -- but adds a bit more sweetness!)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Optional Add In's:
1/2 cup allergen free chocolate chips like Enjoy Life

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13" baking dish with parchment paper or spritz with non-stick cooking spray or oil. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and finally fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared 9 x 13" baking dish and spread evenly throughout with a spatula. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out (mostly) clean - you may run into chocolate chips, so there may be a little on the toothpick, or until the brownies, spring back just a little when you gently touch them. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then cut into 24 brownies with a sharp knife. Eat one or two slowly and enjoy them! They are filling since they are made with almond flour! Wrap the rest & freeze! Pull one out when you need a chocolate fix!

Carrie's Notes:
  • I added the weight measurements for the flours in this recipe for those that weigh their ingredients. If you don't use weight measurements, please note I pack almond flour in a cup much like you would brown sugar. 
  • I used palm sugar in this recipe to lower the overall white sugar content and glycemic index. Feel free to use the sugar or sugar substitute of your choice.
  • Egg-Free - I'm fairly confident this recipe would work using a flax seed or chia seed egg substitute if you are intolerant of eggs. Here's a handy Vegan Egg-Free Baking Substitutes Chart
  • I used canola oil, because it's what I keep on hand... but use the oil you like best! 
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