Gluten-Free Kitchen Sink Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Crunchmaster® Hint of Sea Salt 7 Ancient Grains Crackers, crushed
• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 cups gluten free baking mix
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 1/3 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. all-spice
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1/6 tsp. fresh orange zest

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Slowly add eggs and almond extract continue to mix.
3. In a separate bowl, combine gluten free flour mix, Crunchmaster Cracker crumbs, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to egg mixture and mix well to combine. Add cinnamon, all-spice and orange zest. Mix well and portion out teaspoon sized balls onto baking sheets.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove from oven; set aside to cool before serving.

Gluten-Free Pecan Cranberry Tart

Ingredients:

• 1½ cup finely ground Crunchmaster® Original Multi-Seed Crackers (Crust)
• 1 ½ cup roasted* pecan halves, divided (Filling)
• 2/3 cup sugar (Filling)
• 1/3 cup dark corn syrup (Filling)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract (Filling)
• Pinch of salt (Filling)
• 4 tbsp. sugar (Crust)
• ¼ tsp. salt (Crust)
• Refrigerated
• 3 eggs (Filling)
• 2 tbsp. cider vinegar (Filling)
• 1 tbsp/ butter, melted (Filling)
• 4 tbsp. butter , melted (Crust)
• ½ cup dried cranberries chopped (Filling)
• 1 tbsp. tahini (sesame paste)

Directions:

1. * Roast pecans 5-10 minutes at 350°F. Remove from oven and cool.
2. Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind the Crunchmaster Original Multi-Seed Crackers in a food processor. In a large bowl, combine cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt. Mix until ingredients are well blended. Add melted butter and stir until the crumb mixture is thoroughly moistened.
3. Press crumb mixture firmly into a 9” deep dish pie pan, distributing mixture evenly throughout the bottom and sides of the pie pan. Bake for 10 minutes. In another large bowl, combine sugar, egg, corn syrup, vinegar, butter, vanilla extract, tahini, and salt. Mix until smooth. Gently stir in dried cranberries and roasted pecans. Pour the filling mixture into the prepared crust, spreading evenly.
4. Bake the tart about 30-35 minutes at 350°F. Filling will become golden.
5. Cool before serving.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

Have you taken a good look at what’s in the commercial packets of fruit jell-o? They say no artificial sweeteners but also make one that’s sugar free. Artificial flavor, color, and lots of sugar. What are those chemicals doing to our bodies and more particularly the kid’s bodies? I haven’t used one in several years.

This goes back to the basics of fruit juices set with packaged gelatin(e). One of my English cookbooks has fruit set with sweetened wine. It was delicious, but even though I would happily drink a glass of this wine, in a jelly (English name not jam) it was too strong. Make this just with fruit juices, just check that the juices have as many real ingredients as possible on the label and have high fruit content not just flavored water. Think of the various berry juices with berries, peach juice with fresh peaches or nectarines, mango juice (I love ‘Best’ brand from Egypt with 50% juice) with fresh mangoes (not frozen, I thought they were horrible) and raspberries. If you use wine, you have to use a wine you like the taste of in the glass, a Moscato, Prosecco with bubbles, Reisling, fruit wine, even one of the small bottles of champagne.

Fruit Jell-O

Basic proportions for 4 generous ramekins, custard cups or cocotte dishes:

• 1 packet of Knox gelatin(e) 7 g packet from orange box in grocery store
• 1 c (250 ml., 8 fl oz) fruit juice or wine and fruit juice mixed 50/50. You can make it 100% wine, I just thought it too strong.
• 2 Tbsp ( 1 oz, 30 ml) sugar
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) liqueur to enhance flavor – optional with either wine or fruit juice for Adults.
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 cup fruit of choice – I tend to buy the fresh container of mixed cut strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, but I find you need to make this the day you buy the berries or they taste fermented or go moldy rapidly.

Directions

1. Arrange fruit in ramekins. Don’t overfill with fruit or you won’t taste wine/juice. Prettiest fruit on the bottom as you’ll be turning it out.

2. Sprinkle gelatin on top of water, stir in and it will turn into solid lump. Microwave for about 11 seconds, it will turn to a pale gold, see through liquid with no lumps. Dissolve sugar in 1/4 c of juice/wine in microwave.

3. Combine gelatin mix, wine/juice and sugar mix and plain wine/or juice , stir, taste to see if you want more sugar or teaspoon more liqueur, and then gently divide liquid between 4 dishes.

4. Refrigerate for several hours, then turn out onto plates. I like vanilla Greek yogurt as a sauce.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

Another variation of my master almond cake that was a 4 page cover wrap for Food and Wine magazine. Substitute different nut flour.

The geraniums are Martha Washington, and so were quite suitable for a July 4th party.
White Chocolate Almond Raspberry Cake

Cake

• 2 oz (1/2 stick, 56 g) very soft butter or coconut oil
• 2 oz (1/3 c, 80 ml) gf semi sweet chocolate chips
• 4 oz (1/2 c, 112 g) sugar
• 4 oz (1 c, 112 g) almond flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp cocoa (30 ml, 1/2 oz)
• 1 tsp (5 ml) gf baking powder
• salt
• 1 tsp almond or vanilla extract

Filling

• 1/2 c (120 ml) seedless raspberry jam or jelly – add 1-2 tbsp Chambord to jam if you want.
• Punnet fresh sweet raspberries

White Chocolate Topping
I like the flavor of Lindt white chocolate but I’m still uncertain about safety. I have made this with Kraft Baker’s white chocolate that do say they will tell us if there are ingredients containing gluten. Why can’t it just be labeled gluten-free!!

• 8 oz (224g) cream cheese, softened, I do use lite but it makes a softer frosting
• 1 x 4 oz (112g) Lindt white chocolate bar or Baker’s white chocolate. I don’t like most store brand white chocolate chips as they taste waxy.
• 1/4 c (60 ml) cream to melt white chocolate
• 1/4 c (60 ml, 1 oz) powdered sugar
• 1/2 c ( 4oz, 120 ml) cream, whipped to 1 c.
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) seedless raspberry jam or jelly

Directions

1.Melt butter with chocolate chips in microwave. Add rest of cake ingredients and beat together until smooth and then beat for 1-2 minutes, until fluffier.

2. Bottom line 9+1/2 ” spring form, spray bottom and sides with gluten-free food spray, dust with cocoa

3. Bake for 30 minutes in 350 degree oven

4. Remove from oven, top with seedless raspberry jam, let soften for a few minutes then spread out evenly

5. Once cool, arrange most of raspberries on top, saving a few for decoration.

6. Heat 1/4 c cream in microwave for about 40 seconds, break up white chocolate, add to cream, wait a minute, then stir until smooth.

7. Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.

8. Beat in melted white chocolate cream mix.

9. Gently beat in whipped cream and spoon on top of cooled raspberry topped cake. At this stage the frosting is almost runny, you can let it flow down sides, it will set in fridge. Large raspberries will show through the frosting.

10. Put 2 tablespoons of seedless raspberry jam in microwaveable bowl. Gently heat until runny but not boiling hot. Spoon jam into snack size ziploc, snip off tiny corner and pipe parallel lines across cake, the more lines you make, the fancier the design.

11. Then take small skewer and draw tip of skewer through raspberry lines all in one direction or alternating. Garnish with a few leftover raspberries.

Keeps well in the fridge, but serve at room temperature.

Note, I did try making this with strawberry jam, fresh strawberries and semi sweet chocolate in topping rather than white chocolate but I have a weakness for raspberries and white chocolate.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

The original wheat version of this recipe came from Darbštuolė – a Lithuanian recipe magazine similar to Pillsbury Monthly. The recipe states it is from Laima Andrijauskaitė.

The original has one making an unsweetened dough, that is chilled, grated (presumably by hand like potato pancakes) and then baked to make a crunchy mix. I tried this and it was pretty awful, but it did stay very crunchy for several days in the creamy mix. So in my wheat flour days, I used a very neutral shortbread cookie ‘Sandies, simply shortbread by Keebler.’ They also boiled the can of condensed milk as we used to, to make a caramelized condensed milk. That is now available as Nestle – La Lechera – Dulce de Leche about $3 in the Goya/Mexican food aisle. Make sure you buy the right can, they also do ordinary condensed milk that looks the same but isn’t caramelized. My friend and I agreed that we had to add some rum. And then I used my chocolate ganache of cream and real chocolate melted as a topping, rather than cocoa, milk and sugar. It is very rich, so it could be cut as a small candy rather than sliced as a dessert.

Gluten-Free No-Bake Nut Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 x 7.25 oz (206g) packet of Pamela’s gluten-free butter shortbread, broken into large pieces. This is quite a soft shortbread but it doesn’t turn to mush.
• 1 x 380g (13.4 oz or thereabouts) of Nestle Dulce de Leche caramelized condensed milk
• 2 cups, (8 oz, 250g), nuts, coarsely chopped and toasted in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. I used almonds and pecans. Walnuts would have been more available.
• ½ stick (2oz, 56g) butter melted
• 2-4 tbsps (30-60 ml) rum, brandy or chocolate liqueur. Or go for orange or almond liqueur to your own preference. I used 4 tbsp Myers dark rum. 2 tbsps give a nice flavor, 4 tbsps you can notice the alcohol. Plain rum should be naturally gluten-free, it’s the flavors added that are the dangers.

Topping/glaze:

• 1 c (8 fl oz, 224ml) heavy or whipping cream
• 1 c (6 oz, 168g) gluten-free semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar
• 2-4 tbsps (30-60 ml) rum, optional

Directions:

1. Open can of dulce de leche and empty into 4-6 c (1-1+1/2 ltr) microwave safe bowl. Add solid butter and microwave for a short time, stirring, until milk softens and butter is melted.

2. Stir in some of alcohol to give a smooth even mix.

3. Stir in nuts and shortbread. Now taste and decide if you want some more alcohol. Remember strength of flavor develops and you’ll be adding rum to topping/glaze.

4. Spoon mix into 9-10” spring form pan (for a fancy dessert) or 8×8” brownie pan to cut into candy pieces. OR line star, christmas tree or heart shape pan or other designs with plastic wrap and press mix into all the corners so design turns out crisp. The mix is ‘lumpy’ so won’t press into detailed design mold.

Smooth out as much as possible and then take a piece of plastic wrap, press onto surface of cake and press out even more to smooth top and compress mix and prevent too many air bubbles.

5. Refrigerate for several hours until firm enough to cut. I had originally tried this with cream instead of butter, but butter firms mix up more.

6. While mix is chilling, heat cream and sugar together, add chocolate and stir until chocolate has melted and is smooth and creamy, it should look like a cross between condensed milk and Hershey’s syrup – no lumps. Stir in alcohol and chill. I usually use an immersion blender to make it smooth.

7. Remove ‘torte’ from fridge, remove from spring form, remove plastic wrap and place on decorative plate. Pour about half of chocolate mix over top of cake and allow to start dribbling down sides. If the mix is too runny when you stir once you remove from fridge, then beat it slightly with electric mixer so it doesn’t ‘run’ so easily.

8. Beat remainder of chocolate mix with electric mixer until consistency of whipped cream and then pipe around top/bottom of cake. Finish with nuts, or any decoration you want.

This lasts for several days in fridge, easily made in advance of summertime parties, but will soften too much if left out in sun during party. Still delicious, but spoonable not cutable after sun.