on the 6th day of g-free christmas ...

we've made it to the halfway point! hoorah! wade reminded me last night that the actual 12 days of christmas doesn't begin until AFTER christmas. while  i am determined to finish what i've started ... 30lb weight gain and all (okay slight exaggeration), i might have to take advantage of an extended deadline to januray 5th. we'll see.

so what have we enjoyed thus far? here's the recap:

today day 6 - a recipe for the coffee lover in your life: red + green biscotti

ingredients:

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 3/4 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter @ room temp
1 cup sugar + a little more for sprinkling
4 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted chopped pistachios

1 // to prepare ... preheat oven to 375º and line a baking sheet w/ parchment paper. place your cranberries in a small bowl of boiling water and let sit until ready to use. sift together your flours and xanthum gum along w/ baking powder and salt and set aside.



2 // w/ electric mixer, cream sugar and butter on medium until fluffy. add 3 of the eggs - mixing between each addition. add the vanilla. then, lower the speed and add the flour mix. drain your cranberries & add them to the mix along w/ the pistachios.

3 // on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half. roll each half into a long thing log (approximately the length of your baking sheet and 2 inches wide). transfer to your prepared baking sheet and flatten a bit with the palm of your hand.



4 // in a small bowl, lightly beat the extra egg. brush beaten egg over the surface of each of your dough logs and sprinkle w/ sugar.

5 // bake for 25 minutes rotating the cookie sheet halfway through. remove the logs from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300º.



6 // once the logs have cooled, transfer to a cutting board and cut the logs into 1/2" thick slices. arrange them on a cookie sheet and bake for an additional 15 minutes. remove them from the oven, flip each piece and return to the oven for 15 more minutes. remove pan from oven and let cool.

enjoy!

on the 5th day of g-free christmas ...

okay before i get to today's treat, a little story w/ 1 more reason i love my husband.

tuesday night was our bible study christmas party. i already mentioned my airhead moment yesterday ... but there were lots and lots of laughs that night. wade and i missed last week so monday night we were informed that we needed to grab a couple of "dirty santa" gifts for tuesday night. the email gave a price limit of $10 so i assumed it was just a $10 gift exchange not gag gifts. and i assumed correctly. however - not everyone was so lucky? enter poor new(er) gal. after the first gift was opened ... you could see the horror on her face. "you mean we aren't doing gag gifts?" she then proclaimed "no one pick the container store bag". when it came wade's time to choose, you guessed it - he went straight for her bag. so we brought home one windup squeaking dolphin and ...

the cutest measuring cups EVER:



win!

and who woulda thought these little lovelies would come in perfectly handy w/in the week. enter today's recipe + a "pinch" of salt.

day 5: {surprise} chocolate snowballs:

ingredients:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup unsalted butter @ room temperature
2 1/3 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup chopped pecans (optional but delicious)
powdered sugar
1 bag of hershey's kisses (unwrapped)

day 1:

1 // to prepare - sift together the sorghum flour, tapioca flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon and a "pinch" of salt (yay mini measuring cups) and set aside. melt the chocolate chips carefully over low heat and set aside.

2 // w/ your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar @ medium speed until light and fluffy (approx 2 minutes). add the eggs mixing in between. add the vanilla, the melted chocolate and the milk. lower the mixer speed and add in the flour mixture. hand mix in the chopped pecans. cover and chill overnight.



day 2:

1 // to prepare  - preheat oven to 355º. lightly grease 2 baking sheets w/ extra butter and set aside. place a little powdered sugar on a plate or a shallow bowl.

2 // shape dough into heaped teaspoon balls (approx 3/4"). flatten each ball and place a hersheys kiss on top. wrap the dough around the kiss and roll into a ball again. then roll the ball lightly in the powdered sugar.




3 // place powdered sugared balls on the cookie sheets 2" apart. bake approx 12 minutes until lightly browned. leave to cool.

... then enjoy! these have been my favorites so far!!! yum. and sorghum flour and dark chocolate are both high in antioxidants so i like to think i'm being "healthy". ha.

on the 4th day of g-free christmas ...

tomorrow a non-food related post ... hooray! every year i attempt to conquer 1 big christmas project for christmases to come. last year, i made our stockings (from our wedding runners). remember. this year, i've been working on our tree skirt and i'm pretty excited to share. time away from the kitchen! oh the anticipation.

in the meantime, another childhood favorite: cornflake wreaths. 



(by far, wade and my favorite gfree treat this holiday season! thankfully i took all but 4 to work - and my co-workers agreed. must limit the sweets in our apartment ... gah!)

ingredients:
1/3 c butter
1 package regular marshmallows or 4 c mini mallows
1 tsp green food coloring
6 cups gfree cornflakes (i used nature's path organic fruit juice sweetened corn flakes)

1 // in saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
2 // add the marshmallows and stir until melted. (hello, melted butter & marshmallows!!!)



3 // remove from heat and stir in the food coloring.
3 // add the corn flakes and stir until well coated. (an incredibly sticky task!)
4 // quickly spoon out approx 1/4 cup of cereal mix onto wax paper. w/ buttered fingers, shape each spoonful into a small wreath.

oh yum! enjoy.

on the 3rd day of g-free christmas ...

if i had to limit all of my holiday baking to one type of christmas cookie, i would most definitely opt for sugar cookies. since as far back as i remember, it has been a tradition in our home to decorate cookies at christmas (and every holiday in between!). despite being gfree, the tradition must live on w/ wade and i and our future family!

  {my brother ross, sisters brooke & leigh, me and bro-in-law josh - christmas 1999}

{wade - christmas 2009}

thankfully, i just happened to stumble on the yummiest gluten-free sugar cookie recipe via gluten-free girl & the chef. it is absolutely a winner! (oprah.com, gourmet.com, and bonappetit.com having voted their blog one of the best food blogs in the world ... all w/o a hint of gluten.) three cheers! 

the perfect sugar cookie (not too sweet) + powdered sugar icing (way too sweet) = my ultimate favorite christmas treat:

my mom would wrangle all of us into the kitchen to decorate. she taught us how to carefully use pastry bags so that they wouldn't burst and which tips worked best. but most of all she encouraged us to be creative (why yes that is a "christmas cow"). then when our hands were tired, we would grab a big glass of milk and pick out our least impressive cookie to "taste test"!

nowadays when we are all back in town for christmas, we still decorate! that makes it officially christmas! my sister discovered these decorator bottles from pampered chef which are perfect for beginners and kids (and husbands).

 what's your ultimate favorite christmas treat?

on the 2nd day of g-free christmas ...

when i decided to do 12 days of g-free christmas ... i didn't consider that there were only 20 days left until christmas! now only 17 days out w/ the tree still half decorated and only 1/4 of our presents purchased ... basically i'm a baking machine! luckily a few of my christmas favorites require minimal time in the kitchen. today's cookie included ...

but first, let me introduce you to my flour "collection":

what's the deal w/ all the different types of flours, eh? so far i haven't had luck w/ pre-made mixes. 1 // they're rather expensive. 2 // i like the flavor, dislike the texture or vice versa. so the fun begins - finding which flours you do prefer depending on what type of food your making. unfortunately, there isn't a 1:1 flour substitution for wheat flour. and unfortunately there isn't a mix that works for all recipes!

i store my flours in marked freezer bags in the refrigerator to increase their shelf life. when using flour that has been refrigerated or frozen, be sure to bring it back to room temperature before measuring. cold flour can result in a heavier, denser baked item.

a gfree baker must - xanthan gum. xanthan gum is the gfree substitute for gluten. it holds everything together. it's pricey! but you use a teeny bit at a time and luckily it has a rather long shelf life.

here are a few sites that i reference ALL THE TIME:

gluten free mommy's gluten free grains 101
karen robertson's gluten free flour alternatives via celiac.com
dummies' guide to gluten free flours (yes - they have a book for that too!)
living health mom's gluten free flours

oatmeal shortbread

ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp salt 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
not g-free? then substitute 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour for 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup sorghum flour and 1/4 tsp xanthan gum.

oh - and 1 important note: sweet rice flour is not the same as white rice flour. whole foods didn't carry it - but our international market in town did and for super cheap (they also carry tapioca flour cheaper than whole foods.) it is made from glutinous rice ... but do not worry - it does not contain the gluten fraction that is prohibited to the gluten intolerant. it's a great thickening agent for your favorite stew recipe. and combined w/ other gfree flours, smooths the grit. (i am a picky texture person!)

1 // preheat the oven to 325º. spread the oats on a rimmed baking sheet and toast 4-6 minutes until lightly brown. cool completely.



2 // in chopper, grind 1/2 cup of cooled oats until finely ground.

3 // in mixer bowl, combine sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour and xanthan gum. add 1/2 cup of ground oats, confectioners sugar, and salt. add butter and pulse until mixture is the consistency of a course meal. 

4 // transfer to an 8" square baking pan and press firmly into the bottom. sprinkle w/ the remaining 2 tablespoons of oats on top and press lightly to secure.

5 // bake until firm and lightly brown about 30-35 min. using a pairing knife, score the shortbread into 16 squares. cool completely before removing. (these yummy shortbread treats are very fragile - careful careful!)

enjoy!

on the 1st day of g-free christmas ...

hi lovelies! yesterday i mentioned that wade and i went to our first class (besides yoga) @ our gym. we attend a rock climbing gym where the average attendee has to be a 25 year old dude (aka - not me!). the classes are super intimidating. after 2 weeks in hawaii w/ my sister who woke herself and her 2 little guys up @ 6.00am 2 days a week to attend a boot camp, we decided it was time. this particular class was a 15 station circuit complete w/ lunges, stair running, kettle bell swinging ... and SORE MUSCLES! (muscles that i didn't even know existed hurt, in fact!).


and the point ... it's christmas season, y'all. and that means there's an excuse to eat around every corner. best of all - christmas cookies! can i get a "woot woot"? this thanksgiving was my first g-free thanksgiving and i had to go w/o my ultimate favorite thanksgiving dish - old-fashioned egg noodles (purchased in IL over the summer, stored in nashville, and carried on the plane to hawaii)! sad day. w/ invites left + right to cookie swaps and christmas parties ... i'm determined to not go w/o @ christmas bc of a silly allergy. presenting ...

today we'll start off easy-peasy w/ dark chocolate peppermint bark:



ingredients:
1 12oz bag of dark chocolate chips
1 12oz bag of white chocolate chips
8 peppermint candy canes



triple check to make sure that your chocolate chips are g-free. though you might not see any wheat products on the label, gluten is often hidden in "natural or artificial flavors". i used kroger's private selection brand - verified as gfree here. here is a list of verified gluten-free chips from nestle: milk chocolate chips, semi sweet morsels, chocolate chunks, semi sweet mini morsels, milk chocolate morsels, premier white morsels, peanut butter & milk morsels, milk chocolate & peanut butter swirled morsels and semi sweet & premier white swirled morsels. and a list from hersheys: butterscotch chips, special dark chips, cinnamon chips, semi sweet chips and milk chocolate chips. for a gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, tree-nut free, soy free, egg free and casein free option, check out enjoy life.

1 // prepare a cookie sheet w/ a piece of aluminum foil. 

2 // unwrap the candy canes. place them in your food processor and chop until crushed into small pieces.

3 // place the dark chocolate chips in a pot and melt over medium heat while stirring. be careful not to let the chocolate burn. pour the melted chocolate onto the prepared cookie sheet. using your spatula spread it to an even thickness (about an 1/8"). place the cookie sheet in the fridge to firm.

4 // place the white chocolate chips in a pot and melt over medium heat while stirring. again be careful not to let the chocolate burn. stir in about half of the crushed candy canes. remove the cookie sheet from the refrigerator, and pour the melted chocolate/peppermint mixture over the dark chocolate. spread it to an even thickness over the dark chocolate layer quickly so that the dark chocolate doesn't melt.

5 // while the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the remaining peppermint pieces over the white chocolate/peppermint layer. press down w/ your spatula to secure the pieces. then return to the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).

6 // once the bark has cooled, the final step is to break into pieces. make sure to peel away the aluminum foil as you go ... enjoy!