Gluten-Free Recipes

Gluten-Free Recipes for Dessert

Grandma’s Noodle Kugel

Kugel, a sweet, egg noodle casserole, is a common sight at any Jewish party. Try making this for your next holiday event, Jewish or not.

Ingredients

• ½ stick butter or margarine
• ½ pound gluten-free lokshen (egg noodles)
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 small carton cottage cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Cook noodles and drain.
3. Separate 3 eggs and beat yolks, reserving egg whites.
4. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until stiff.
5. Melt butter or margarine in baking pan.
6. Combine noodles with egg whites, cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, cinnamon and raisins in baking pan.
7. Stir in milk and fold in egg yolks.
8. Bake 60 minutes.
9. Let stand 15 minutes. Can be served warm or cold.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pecan Pie

No Southern holiday would be complete without a pecan pie! For an extra touch, serve this pie with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

• Frozen gluten-free pie crust
• 1 ½ cups pecan halves or pieces
• 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 Tbsp. gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup dark corn syrup, molasses, maple syrup or honey
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Toss together the pecans, chocolate and flour in a medium bowl.
3. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
5. Add vanilla, salt and your choice of syrup, and beat until blended; the mixture may look curdled—this is normal.
6. Stir in most of the the pecan mixture. Set aside a few to top the pie.
7. Transfer the filling to the pie shell, then arrange some pecans on the top.
8. Bake for about 55 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with just a bit of melted chocolate. The pie should be set around the edges, but still jiggly at the center.
9. Cool the pie completely in the pan on a wire rack and then enjoy! The pie will keep for two days at room temperature.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe earned an honorable mention in the 2021 Beyond Celiac Gluten-Free Holiday Recipe Contest!

Recipe by Katie Blauser

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins by Katie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oil (coconut or olive)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups Josie’s Best Muffins & More Gluten-Free Mix
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/2 cup gluten-free chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line a muffin tin.
2. Mix the wet ingredients together well.
3. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until there’s no lumps. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin.
5. Bake for 22–24 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cups

This recipe earned an honorable mention in the 2021 Beyond Celiac Gluten-Free Holiday Recipe Contest!

Recipe by Tammy Aiken

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Peanut Butter Cups by Tammy

Pizzelles

This recipe was the grand prize winner of the 2021 Beyond Celiac Gluten-Free Holiday Recipe Contest!

Recipe by Deb Graham

Gluten-Free Pizzelles by Deb

• 2 cups gluten-free baking mix (flour)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free vanilla extract

• Anise pizzelles: 2 tablespoons anise extract and 2 tablespoons anise seeds
• Orange pizzelles: 2 tablespoons gluten-free orange extract (or Grand Marnier) and 2 tablespoons orange zest
• Coconut pizzelles: 2 tablespoons coconut extract and 2 tablespoons lemon or orange zest
• Chocolate orange pizzelles: add ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 tablespoons orange zest

Directions:

1. Add the vanilla (or other flavored extract) to the melted butter and set aside.
2. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a separate bowl until well-combined.
3. Add the melted butter and vanilla in a slow, steady stream while continuing to whisk until well-blended.
4. Add the baking mix and various spices or seeds, orange zest, etc., and using a rubber spatula stir everything together until just combined, but don’t over mix.
5. Important—let the batter sit for 10 minutes before baking. This will create a better texture.
6. Drop a rounded teaspoonful of batter into the center of a pizzelle iron.* Close lid and bake for 60–75 seconds, depending on your pizzelle iron. Check for doneness often.
7. Let cool on a wire rack.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

Recipe courtesy of our sponsor Schär

These mouth-watering Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes will delight your friends and family. We top them with Cream Cheese Icing so they look and taste just like the classic cinnamon rolls of your dreams!

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Ingredients

• 10 slices Schär Gluten-Free Artisan Baker White Bread
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cream
• 2 tsp divided vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp cream cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp butter, softened
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Make the Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Grease a 12-cup nonstick muffin/cupcake pan.
• Trim crusts from bread. Arrange bread slices on large cutting board.
• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.
• Spread each bread slice with butter.
• Evenly sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of buttered bread slices.
• Stack 2 bread slices together with cinnamon-sugar sides facing each other. Repeat to make a total of 5 sandwiches.
• Using a serrated knife, gently cut each bread stack into 8 to 10 strips, then cut each strip crosswise in half.
• Carefully line the muffin cups with the strips, in a circular pattern, dividing the slices evenly to fill all 12 cups.
• Place the eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the half & half in a medium bowl. Whisk to blend.
• Use a small measuring cup to pour the egg mixture over the bread strips, dividing the mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Let rest 5 minutes.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until cupcakes spring back to the touch. Cool pan on wire rack for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cupcakes, and then carefully invert muffin pan to release cupcakes onto a platter.

Make the Cream Cheese Icing:

• Combine powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in a small bowl. Stir until smooth.
• Spread 1 teaspoon icing evenly on top of each cupcake.
• Serve warm!

Apple Walnut Streusel Dessert Pizza

Recipe courtesy of our sponsor Schär

No-Bake Red, White and Blue Lemon Cheesecake Mousse

Recipe courtesy of Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

This is not a baked custard cheesecake. It is a gelatin-set cheesecake that I first made in England and continue to make. There is no baking (apart from the crust, which some prefer cooked but it is not necessary), no worrying if you’ve overcooked the custard, no cracking of cheesecake, no overnight cooling, etc. It is very popular with my students and clients and you can vary the flavors with different chocolates and liqueurs. It is stiff when you remove it from the fridge but softens to more of a mousse consistency when it’s been out of the fridge for half an hour. Gelatin stops it from melting in the heat. “Lite” cream cheese makes a softer-set cheesecake than 100% cream cheese, but I’ve used lite cream cheese for years.

I added my homemade, microwave-cooked lemon curd to cream cheese mix. Homemade lemon curd (made of butter, sugar, lemon, and eggs and can be used to top scones, cakes, bagels, etc) is delicious. Yes, you could substitute store-bought lemon curd, but the brands I’ve seen use lemon oil, pectin to thicken, palm oil, lemon concentrate, cornflour, citric acid, acetic acid, sodium citrate, color, egg powder, water and then call it authentic. Not in my book!

I’ve made variations of this cheesecake for years, from when I lived in London, including versions with Kahlúa coffee, chocolate peanut butter, white chocolate raspberry, dark chocolate orange, margarita, and white chocolate hazelnut praline. Play with flavor variations using these quantities as a guide.

Gluten-Free No-Bake Cheesecake Mousse

Ingredients:

• Crushed crumbs of gluten-free graham cracker, cookies, or shortbread crust. Schar gluten-free shortbread cookies, 7 oz bag, makes a generous crust
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 packet of powdered gelatin. An orange box of Knox gelatin in the grocery store is 2 and 1/4 tsp (11g)
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 lb room temperature cream cheese
• ¾ cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup, roughly 8 oz lemon curd
• 1 cup of liquid heavy or whipping cream
• ½ cup cream with 2 tbsp sugar (whip these together to make whipped cream for decorating)
• More lemon curd, if you like your cheesecake tangy
• Fresh blueberries and/or fresh strawberries

Directions:

1. Melt butter in the microwave in 15 second intervals and then add to cookie crumbs when liquid.
2. Press the butter and crumb mixture evenly into a 9” pie plate or springform pan and either bake for 10 minutes or just refrigerate. With current temps being 100°F, I microwave cookie crumbs and butter in a microwave-safe bowl for about a minute or two, then press into the pan and refrigerate.
3. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water, stir in and leave to stand for 2–3 minutes. The gelatin will set in a rubbery lump but will dissolve with microwaving.
4. Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon curd. Beat for a few minutes, until light and fluffy.
5. Melt gelatin mix in the microwave for about 15 seconds. It will stay the same light brown color but should have melted, no granules left. It is important to melt it thoroughly otherwise it will set into little nuggets of gelatin.
6. Beat gelatin mix into the cream cheese mix.
7. Beat 1 cup of cream until stiff and gently beat into the cream cheese mix.
8. Pour mix into pan, over the crust, and refrigerate for several hours.
9. Once chilled, run a thin plastic spatula or knife around edge between cheesecake and pan, release springform and remove. Leave in pie plate or brownie pan.
10. Cut a tiny sliver of set cheesecake and taste it to see if it’s lemony enough. You can hide the absent sliver with whipped cream before serving. I often spread more lemon curd on top of the cheesecake to make it really tangy. Whipping cream and adding 50% lemon curd folded in is also delicious for a topping or on it’s own with fresh fruit.
11. Pipe whipped cream rosettes around top edge of cheesecake, and top with fresh blueberries and strawberries.

You can also make this in 8×8 brownie pan, then arrange blueberries and strawberries in flag pattern.

About Chef Oonagh Williams

I have written a monthly recipe column for Beyond Celiac since January 2011. I have a Culinary Arts degree as well as celiac disease and other food allergies, so I know food and live this way daily. Remember that most real food is naturally gluten-free until manufacturers mess around with it, and only baking really needs changing. Real food is now being called clean eating.

Talks and appearances are currently canceled, but you can connect with me on Facebook at Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh or on LinkedIn. I’ve just filmed recipes at home for New Hampshire’s ABC WMUR’s Cooks Corner and they are being aired. I am also being included in the nationwide library database of online presenters.

For new recipes and lots of advice, my e-cookbook Delicious Gluten-Free Cooking is only $20 and available to download on my website. It has tips, full-color photos, and recipes like grandma’s comfort soup, shrimp and crab bisque, English trifle, buffalo chicken, tiramisu, dinner party fare, and more. Follow the link to see the table of contents and thumbnail photos of the full-size photos in the e-book.

Snow Queen Snow Balls

Recipe courtesy of Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering, from her Delicious Gluten Free Cooking ebook.

With life hopefully opening up, I made one of our favorite desserts again, but as individual portions that you can pull out of freezer—”snow balls” instead of a Snow Queen. It’s always been very popular at parties. So very easy, quick to make and freeze, and naturally gluten-free. It’s basically whipped cream and crushed meringues frozen. However, for many of us desserts to feed a bundle of people is more than we want tempting us in the house, so smaller is better! Individual portions are becoming more popular as a way to control portion sizes, plus it looks prettier on a plate. Kids love a dessert made just for them. This is truly a dessert made in heaven with the slight crunch from the meringues, the mild almond liqueur flavor and the punch of flavor from the raspberries. Made in minutes, frozen within an hour or two so great for unexpected guests, and compatible with lots of different liqueurs and sauces. Don’t prepare it more than 1 week in advance as the meringues will lose their texture. Even if snow balls soften a little, they still taste wonderful and are like an Eton Mess, a recipe of whipped cream, meringues and strawberries.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (180 ml) whipping or heavy cream
• 1–2 tbsp (15–30 ml) amaretto, or any almond-flavored liqueur you like. For a stronger almond flavor add 1 tsp almond extract to the liqueur.
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) sugar
• 3 oz store-bought meringues, or make meringues with 3 egg whites.
• Raspberries or strawberries.

Instructions

1. Whisk cream, sugar and liqueur until stiff.
2. Break meringues with your fingers into small pieces, but not crushed fine, and fold the pieces into the cream mixture. Taste and add more sugar if you prefer. Note: any frozen dessert tends to need more sugar than a room-temperature dessert.
3. I used a number 12 scoop, roughly 1/3 cup, and made 6 balls from the mixture. Put them on a plate lined with plastic wrap or in paper cupcake liners and keep in the freezer for at least an hour or two. Note: they won’t freeze solid, and the snow balls will melt rapidly in the heat.
4. Remove from freezer and peel the plastic wrap off the snow balls, or serve in cupcake liners.
5. Decorate with raspberries, raspberry sauce, chocolate sauce, fresh strawberries or other fresh fruit.

Alternatives

• Try hazelnut liqueur to marry with the raspberries.
• Try a coffee or chocolate liqueur and serve this with my chocolate mousse recipe before whipping the mousse.
• Try orange juice concentrate, grated orange rind and orange liqueur.
• Liquor stores sell ¼ cup “nips” of liqueurs for a few dollars, so mix and match different liqueurs to see what you like best or to offer options for guests.
• If you are dairy free, try whipping the solid coconut milk cream from the top of a can of chilled full-fat coconut milk (not the “lite” Asian-style coconut milk).

About Chef Oonagh Williams

I have written a monthly recipe column for Beyond Celiac since January 2011. I have a Culinary Arts degree as well as celiac disease and other food allergies, so I know food and live this way daily. Remember that most real food is naturally gluten-free until manufacturers mess around with it, and only baking really needs changing. Real food is now being called clean eating.

Obviously talks and appearances are currently canceled, but you can connect with me on Facebook at Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh or on LinkedIn. I’ve just filmed recipes at home for New Hampshire’s ABC WMUR’s Cooks Corner and they are being aired. I am also being included in the nationwide library database of online presenters.

For new recipes and lots of advice, my e-cookbook Delicious Gluten-Free Cooking is only $20 and available to download at www.glutenfreecookingwithoonagh.com. It has tips, full-color photos, and recipes like grandma’s comfort soup, shrimp and crab bisque, English trifle, buffalo chicken, tiramisu, dinner party fare, and more. Follow the link to see the table of contents and thumbnail photos of the full-size photos in the e-book.

Glazed Donut Holes

Recipe courtesy of our sponsor Schär

You asked, we delivered. Glazed, soft, easy-to-make donut holes for every donut-lover in the family.

Schär Gluten-Free Glazed Donut Holes
Serves 12