An allergy-friendly, gluten-free Halloween treat!

Makes 30 mini muffins

Ingredients:
For the muffins:

• 1 box (14.5oz/411g) Enjoy Life Foods Muffin Mix
• 1 cup + 2 tsp cold water
• 1/4 cup olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the frosting:

• 1/2 cup dairy-free buttery spread
• 2 cup powdered suger
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp dairy-free milk, plus more as needed
• 1/3 cup Enjoy Life Foods Mini Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a mini muffin tin with liners or oil well.
2. Put the Muffin Mix in a large bowl. Add the water, oil, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
3. Divide the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each one about half full.
4. Bake for 10 to 13 minutes, until golden brown on the edges and a toothpick inserted slightly off-center comes out clean.
5. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer each one to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
6. To make the frosting, put the dairy-free buttery spread in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl. Using the stand mixer or a hand mixer, beat on high speed for 1 minute, until the mixture begins to lighten.
7. Add 1 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat for 2 minutes until smooth, light, and fluffy. Add the remaining powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the nondairy milk, and the vanilla extract. Beat for an additional minute until smooth and creamy, adding a teaspoon of dairy-free milk at a time if needed. Stir in the Mini Chips. Divide the mixture into three portions to create orange and yellow (the frosting itself will be the white layer).
8. To make the orange frosting using food dye, mix 1 drop yellow food dye and 12 drops red food dye into one of the portions, adjusting by one drop, at a time until desired color is reached. To make orange frosting naturally, grind gogi berries into a fine powder and mix it into the frosting, adding as much as needed until desired color is reached.
9. To make the yellow frosting using food dye, mix 20 drops yellow food dye into one of the portions, adjusting by one drop, at a time until desired color is reached. To make yellow frosting naturally, sprinkle turmeric into the frosting, adding as much as needed until desired color is reached.
10. To frost the muffins, pipe the orange frosting each muffin, covering the top of the muffin completely. Top with a round of yellow frosting, then the white frosting.
11. Serve, storing leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days, moving any others to the freezer for up to 3 months.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

This recipe (originally from Lithuanian Heritage magazine) would have been made with one of the hams, bone in, really thick layer of fat and skin and selling for about 79c/lb, versus the very expensive (and yes, delicious) spiral cut ham ($10/lb) from that chain that sells fancy hams. At my last Lithuanian cooking demo in March with an Easter menu, I was saying how my father and then I, would soak one of these cheaper hams for 24 hours, drain, fresh water and cook, then drain and finish in oven. This used to be the only type of ham that was available. One of the ladies said her mother always did it that way, so did she until her husband asked her why and she really didn’t know.
To get rid of excess salt–
she and her husband were happy to get a sensible answer.

Last year I bought for the first time, Carando labeled gluten-free, sliced, spiral boneless brown sugar and spice ham. $2.99 or $3.99 per lb, at my local Market Basket with long refrigerated shelf life. Remove red foil cover, then netting. Hold plastic vacuum wrapped ham over sink, cut open, drain off juices and then I put it in large ziploc bag on a dinner plate in fridge. I find that if you separate the spiral slices and immerse them in raspberry wine glaze and refrigerate for 1-2 days, they really absorb flavor of raspberry, wine and butter. Then gently reheat in sauce to serve. The ham darkens in color, remember raspberry glaze will stain white tablecloth.

Gluten-Free Raspberry Wine Glazed Ham

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup dry white wine or sherry – I used Fetzer Gewűrtztraminer
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 2 teaspoons gf cornstarch
  
• 1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam _ I use Trappist, ~$3 for 12 oz jar in my local store -Market Basket.
  
• 1 tablespoon butter
  

Elsbeth, a German lady from my Lithuanian cooking demos, suggested adding 3 crushed Juniper berries (I buy juniper berries from Penzey’s –Nationwide mail order or stores) and one whole clove to deepen flavor as you make glaze, just remove them as you serve.

Roughly three times quantity, so more glaze for soaking slices of spiral cut, rather than glazing whole ham:

• jar of seedless raspberry jam
  
• 2 oz butter, I actually used a 4 oz stick last time.
  
• 3/4 c wine
  
• ¼ c lemon juice – ~1 lemon, genuine lemon please, not the bottled stuff.
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325*. Place whole boneless spiral ham in deep serving dish, If you are leaving the spiral ham whole.

2. In a small saucepan, blend wine and lemon juice with cornstarch.

3. Add about half the jam. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the remaining jam and butter. Heat and stir until butter and jam are melted.

4. Brush ham with the raspberry glaze. Bake in 325 * oven until glaze is bubbling and browning without burning- 15-30 minutes. Check internal temperature of ham. It needs to be cooked or reheated to 140*. Spoon any remaining glaze over ham. With a spiral cut ham left whole, you can ‘persuade’ the glaze to drizzle down between slices.

Remove from oven, let stand 15 minutes before serving. You can really taste the butter so don’t leave it out. Or just gently reheat the slices in glaze/sauce.

Or

1. Drain soaked raw ham, cover with fresh water, gradually bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for about 1-2 hours, timing from when the water boils (which could take almost an hour). This helps remove more salt (there seems to be more salt in cheaper cuts) and keeps ham moister during cooking, rather than drying out in oven. I normally only give the ham one hour in the oven to finish off with a glaze after simmering. With a fully cooked ham, I still prefer to soak it, change water and simmer for about 45 minutes, then finish with the glaze.

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Gluten-Free Cooking with Oonagh

I give monthly Lithuanian cooking demos, as I studied in Vilnius, Lithuania for summer school. I also give talks, with photos, souvenirs, scrap books and a buffet of Lithuanian dishes.

The original recipe for this cake is from Treasures of Lithuanian cooking, which says it’s “an easy and delicious cake for family gathering or a weekend treat.” In Lithuanian, it’s called obuolinis pyragas.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp (15 ml) cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) neutral tasting oil—I use avocado oil
• 1 cup flour King Arthur all purpose gluten-free
• 1/2 tsp (3ml) xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp (3 ml) baking powder
• 1/2 tsp (3 ml) baking soda
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, washed, cored (no need to peel) and either shredded in food processor or cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup (56 g) toasted chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk—fat free or almond milk works fine.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°c) and spray an 8×8 or bundt pan and dust with flour.
2. Beat eggs and sugar together until fluffy, then beat in oil.
3. Add in the rest of ingredients except for the apples and nuts.
4. Stir in apples and nuts.
5. Bake in oven for an hour.
6. Remove from oven and insert a toothpick or fork into the middle to make sure it’s cooked through. Cake should be well-risen, nicely golden brown but soft to the touch.
7. If using an 8×8, let the cake cool in the pan. If using a bundt pan, let cool for about 10 minutes, then use a thin plastic spatula to loosen edges and turn out onto serving plates. It might break.
8. Drizzle warm caramel sauce over cake.
9. Serve warm with ice cream. As an extra touch, add orange or lemon rind, or crystallized fruit.

Caramel Sauce

I buy Trader Joe’s caramel sauce, but Wegman’s and Rothschild’s also carry caramel sauce labeled gluten-free. If you want to make your own caramel sauce, follow the instructions below. If you don’t like caramel, I sometimes substitute sour cream mixed with honey as a topping.

• 1/2 cup butter melted
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients in small saucepan and boil for 3 minutes over medium heat.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1½ cup finely ground Crunchmaster® Original Multi-Seed Crackers
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 Tbsp butter, melted

Filling

• 1 ½ cup pecan halves, divided
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup dark corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp butter, melted
• ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
• 1 Tbsp tahini

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.
4. 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.
5. Bake the tart about 30-35 minutes at 350°F. Filling will become golden.
6. Cool before serving.