Blog - Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten-Free Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Is it just me or are breadbaskets dangerous? One appears on the table, you chat with friends, and then Poof! it’s empty and you aren’t so hungry for your meal. This must be especially true for Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits because over the years, I’ve gotten a LOT of requests for them.

This recipe, which uses Cheddar, butter, and shortening, tastes just like those famous biscuits. The only thing missing is the gluten! Now if you don’t like to use shortening, omit it and use all butter. The biscuits will be extra buttery and tasty!

5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

These biscuits are rich. Really rich. Enjoy!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Servings 12 biscuits

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups finely ground white rice flour (6 ounces; 170 grams)
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/2 cup tapioca starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
6 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening, cold (2 1/2 ounces; 70 grams)
1/2 stick butter, cold (4 tablespoons; 2 ounces; 56 grams)
3/4 cup milk (6 ounces; 170 grams)
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (4 ounces; 113 grams)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In bowl of food processor, pulse together white rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. (Don't have a food processor? Use a medium bowl and whisk ingredients together.) Add shortening and butter.
Cut shortening and butter into dry ingredients by pulsing food processor a few times. Shortening and butter pieces should be about the size of a small peas. (If doing this by hand, cut shortening and butter into the dry ingredients with either a pastry cutter or by rubbing the fats in with your hands.)
Add milk and cheese and pulse until dough forms. (Stir to combine if doing this by hand.) As soon as dough comes together, stop the food processor.
Drop dough, about 1/4 cup each, onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.

3 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce in pot with wooden spoon. — Text on Image: Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.

On Monday, I set out to make a batch of “Church Windows,” marshmallows held together by chocolate-peanut butter ganache. For years I’d seen pictures of these colorful confections but I never got around to making a batch.

As I stirred the ganache, inspiration struck. The sauce would be perfect (perfect!) spooned into jars and given as gifts to friends. The combination of chocolate, peanut butter and butter makes a tasty chocolate-peanut “hot fudge” sauce. Imagine a melted down peanut butter cup poured over ice cream or stirred into milk for a peanut butter hot chocolate. That’s how good this sauce tastes.

The inspiration for these easy gifts never would have stuck if I hadn’t made those simple marshmallow “church windows.” Sure, I know how to make ganache but I never thought of making a peanut butter ganache.

Don’t you love it when this type of culinary inspiration strikes? When you are busy making one thing and you think, “You know…I could…”

I often forget that for me action creates inspiration. Too often, I get distracted by life. Tending to other things and not moving creatively. Does that happen to you? If I’m honest, I’m rarely– if ever–inspired by sitting on the couch, checking e-mail, or chatting on Facebook. But when I get moving, the ideas come.

Sometimes the inspiration is simple, like spooning peanut butter ganache into jars for holiday gifts and sometimes it’s complex, like the nugget of an idea for a cookbook. But if I don’t get myself moving, I deny myself all of those creative “what if” moments.

As we move into the darkest days of winter, I’m really curious: how do you find inspiration? Or, should I say, how does inspiration find you?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce on wooden spoon.

5 from 2 votes

3 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Sauce

Use creamy peanut butter for this recipe.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (6 ounces; 170 grams)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (4 3/4 ounces; 134 grams)
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 tablespoons; 2 ounces)
salt, to taste

Instructions

In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter. Turn on heat to low. This is important. You need to treat this sauce gently or it might scorch. Stir with a wooden spoon or heat resistant spatula until ingredients are melted and smooth. Sauce should be shiny. Add salt to taste.
Pour sauce into a small jam jar. Allow to cool. Sauce will harden.
To serve warm: remove desired amount of sauce from jar. Place in a small bowl. Warm in microwave on low setting for 30 seconds. Stir. Return to microwave if sauce isn't warm.
Store sauce in the refrigerator for up to one month.

2 Ingredient Black Bean Dip

Recipes don’t get much easier than this one for my favorite black bean dip. To make, simply take one can of rinsed black beans and combine it with one cup of salsa. Pulse a few times in a food processor and serve. That’s it.

Seriously. That’s it. I bet you already have the recipe memorized! Repeat after me: One can of black beans. One cup of salsa. And a few pulses in a food processor.

Of course, this dip tastes great with gluten-free tortilla chips or raw vegetables. But I also like to serve it in a quesadilla.

Here’s what to do: Spread the dip on a small corn or gluten-free flour tortilla. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top of the dip. Top with another tortilla. Spray a non-stick frying pan with a little non-stick cooking spray over medium heat. Heat the quesadilla until it begins to brown. Flip and cook an additional two minutes or so.

Oh, one last thing, because the black beans mute the heat of the salsa a little, I use a medium or hot salsa (or extra hot if I’m feeling spicy!). However you serve this dip, it’s a great recipe to have in your repertoire.

2 Ingredient Black Bean Dip

If you have two minutes, you can make this dip!

Prep Time 2 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 4 minutes

Servings 1 cup

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
1 cup prepared tomato salsa, hot, medium, or mild

Instructions

In bowl of food processor, combine black beans and salsa. Process a few times until almost smooth. If needed, thin with a little water. Serve. Store leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Serve with tortilla chips or vegetables

How to Make 1 Minute Egg Salad

This 1-minute egg salad uses the microwave to make quick work of the eggs.

Confession time: I love egg salad.

Confession time part two: I rarely plan for egg salad. So for a long time, I just didn’t make it. By the time I hard-cooked eggs and cooled them, the craving for egg salad usually had passed. (I tend to crave egg salad at lunch when I’m in a “FOOD NOW!” mood.)

But then! THEN! This past fall, we redid our kitchen floor. For a few days, the oven was out of the kitchen. This turned out to be less of a problem than you’d think. Thankfully it was early fall; so we ate lots of salads and I used the slow cooker a few times. One day in the midst of that, I looked up “microwave foods.” I did this mostly for fun. Nothing really grabbed me until I saw hard-cooked eggs. Even though I’d seen advertisements for Eggies , I never really believed you could microwave eggs. That sounded…well, it sounded nuts to me.

Yet things that are nuts are sometimes fun to try. So I grabbed some custard cups, eggs, and headed to the microwave. OH.MY.GOD. It worked! The eggs “hard cooked.” Well, mostly. Let me clarify!

These eggs are great for:

egg salad
breakfast sandwiches
sliced or chopped eggs on green salads.These aren’t the type of eggs you’d eat plain as a snack. But for egg salad or a breakfast sandwich? They are great! In fact, I don’t think I’ve boiled an egg since.

Here’s how you make them:

Grab two 6-ounce custard cups. Make sure they are microwave safe—-most are.

Spray lightly with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray.

Break an egg in each cup.

Pierce the egg yolk a few times with the tines of a fork. This is key. If you don’t do this, the eggs can explode.

Pretty!

Place into a microwave. For this to work, your microwave turntable needs to turn.

Cover. I can’t stress enough how important this step is to the success of this recipe. Steam builds up in the cups and causes the eggs to pop (LOUDLY). A little egg gets on the microwave cover. It’s easy to clean, really. However, if those little bits get inside the microwave, it’s a pain to clean because the pieces of egg are so small. So be sure to cover!

Microwave for a minute and you get…this! As you can see, the center is still a little runny. This works if you are using these eggs for a breakfast sandwich. For egg salad, I’d microwave in 10-second bursts until the center sets.

Now it’s set.

Turn out onto a cutting board and allow to cool. As you can see, these eggs are the perfect size for a breakfast sandwich. If that’s what you are making, don’t let the egg cool. Rather turn the egg right onto your waiting bread or biscuit.

After the egg cools, cut. Isn’t the inside lovely?? These strips are great on salad, btw.

Chop!

Done!

How great is that??

5 from 6 votes

How to Make 1 Minute Egg Salad

I like my egg salad simple, just mayonnaise, salt, and pepper for me. If you prefer onions, celery, or anything else, add it. Even though these eggs are cooked in the microwave, they work the same as traditional hard boiled eggs for egg salad.

Prep Time 1 minute

Cook Time 1 minute

Total Time 2 minutes

Servings 1

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

Gluten-free non-stick cooking spray
2 large eggs
mayonnaise
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Spray two 6-ounce custard cups with nonstick cooking spray. Crack one egg into each of the prepared cups. Pierce yolks with the tines of a fork. Place in microwave. Cover with microwave cover. This is key. Microwave for one minute. You will hear load popping from the eggs. This is normal. Allow to stand for about 15 seconds before checking. If eggs are set, remove from microwave. If not, microwave in 10-second bursts until the center sets.
Turn eggs out onto a cutting board to cool. Once cool, chop. Place eggs into a bowl. Stir in mayonnaise and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Gluten-Free Corn Dog Bites

A year or so ago, I saw a recipe for corn dog muffins on Pinterest. I made a batch with the cornbread recipe from How to Cook Gluten-Free. They were cute and tasty. YAY! So for this year’s Super Bowl “feast”, I made a batch of corn dog bites instead of our traditional pigs in a blanket. Since mini-wieners were involved, I thought it counted as “tradition.” Of course, I posted the photo to Facebook (as you do!). And someone asked for the recipe. I’m happy to share it!

The recipe comes together easily. You make a cornbread batter—I imagine you could use a gluten-free cornbread mix–and press a mini-wiener into the center of each muffin. Then bake for about 20 minutes. If you don’t like to see a naked wiener (Yes, I got that as soon as I typed it. I’m leaving it there for us to giggle at!). Where was I? Oh, yes, naked wieners. You can hide the wiener in your muffin. (OH MY GOD. NO. THAT’S TERRIBLE. *whispering* I’m sorry. #notsorry)

Let’s try this again. Where were we? Hiding wieners! Yes! You can put the wieners in the muffin tin and then spoon the batter on top. As the muffin bakes, it encases the weiner. Either way, these cornbread bites are tasty.

That’s it. No more wiener jokes. Nope! Just a recipe for corn dog bites and an apology. This post was obviously written by the 10-year-old who lives inside my head. I’m sorry.

Gluten-Free Mini Corndog Muffins

Use mini-wieners or cut regular hot dogs into bite-pieces for this easy recipe.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 36 muffins

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

1 cup finely ground gluten-free cornmeal (4 ounces; 113 grams)
1/2 cup white rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces; 50 grams)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
1 cup milk (8 ounces; 226 grams)
2 tablespoons olive oil (about 1 ounce; 24 grams)
1 ( 14-ounce) package package mini-wieners or 8 hot dogs cut into bite-sized pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 24-cavity mini-muffin pans with gluten-free cooking spray. Set pan aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Add eggs, milk, and olive oil. Whisk until smooth.
Drop batter into prepared muffin cavities, about half full. Press mini-wiener or hot dog piece into the center of each muffin.
Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan and serve.

Gluten-Free Doughnut Holes

As a kid, I knew one thing about Hanukkah: it included latkes and doughnuts and Christmas didn’t. This made me more than a little sad that my family didn’t celebrate the holiday. In my opinion, even the best Christmas cookie can’t compete with a latke or doughnut fresh from the fryer.

Thankfully my mom’s friend Judy provided all the laktes and doughnuts I could eat. This year I asked for her doughnut recipe—I didn’t want to spend another holiday season jelly doughnut-less.

The doughnuts Judy made were jelly doughnut bites. “They’re not doughnut holes because I don’t make the full-size doughnut!” Judy told me after I asked for her “doughnut hole” recipe. (When I mentioned that jelly doughnuts don’t actually have a hole, Judy laughed at me.) Thinking it might be a family tradition, I asked why she made doughnut “bites” and not full-size doughnuts. Did her mom make doughnut bites?

Her reply showed Judy’s no-nonsense nature: “Tradition? No! My mother made regular doughnuts. Bites are just easier. I got the idea from Dunkin Donuts’ Munchkins. They were new at the time and my kids loved ’em.”

After I worked with the recipe, I understood what she meant about bites being easier. The recipe makes a soft dough. Not so soft that it’s hard to fry but soft enough that rolling it out into large doughnuts might present a challenge. The size of the doughnuts isn’t the only place Judy sidestepped tradition. Her doughnut bites are cake doughnuts—yes, cake jelly doughnuts—instead of traditional yeast-raised doughnuts.

The resulting doughnuts, which include just a little nutmeg and lemon extract, are a delicately flavored and tight-crumb “home style” cake doughnut. (Actually, they are very similar to the Munchkins that inspired the recipe.)

Like Judy, you could squeeze a little jam into the finished doughnut holes. Or, if you aren’t in the mood for a jelly doughnut, dip them into a honey glaze or roll the doughnuts into granulated sugar and ground cinnamon. You could even leave them unadorned, even plain these doughnuts bites are a treat.

5 from 1 vote

Gluten-Free Doughnut Holes

You want to keep the doughnut holes small, about two teaspoons each. Any larger than this and the center of the doughnut might be raw while the outsides are cooked.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 24 doughnuts

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups white rice flour (10 ounces; 283 grams)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces; 148 grams)
1/2 cup potato starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/3 cup tapioca starch (1 1/3 ounces; 38 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk (8 ounces; 226 grams)
2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
2 tablespoons butter, melted (1 ounce; 28 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
Vegetable oil for deep frying

For Finishing

Jelly Doughnuts

1 cup powdered sugar (4 ounces; 113 grams)
1/2 cup jelly (raspberry, strawberry, or sour cherry are especially nice) (4 ounces; 113 grams)

Cinnamon Sugar

1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces; 198 grams)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Milk and Honey Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar (4 ounces; 113 grams)
2 tablespoons milk (1 ounce; 28 grams)
2 teaspoons honey (1/2 ounce; 14 grams)

Instructions

In bowl of stand mixer, combine white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, xanthan gum, and ground nutmeg. In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and lemon extract. Fit mixer with paddle attachment. Mix dough until smooth, about 45 seconds. Cover dough with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Heat oil to 375°F. Pinch off large, about two teaspoons, pieces of dough. Roll dough into a ball and slip into hot oil. Depending on the size of your fryer, you can fry a few at a time. Don't crowd the fryer or the oil temperature will drop, giving you greasy doughnuts. Fry until golden brown, about three minutes.
Using a metal slotted spoon, remove doughnuts from oil an place on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with remaining dough.
For Jelly Doughnuts Place powdered sugar into a small bowl. Roll doughnuts to coat. Fit a pastry bag with a bismarck tip and fill with jam. Insert tip about halfway into doughnut and squeeze a little jam into doughnut.
For Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnuts Combine granulated sugar and ground cinnamon in small bowl. Roll doughnuts into mixture to coat. If desired, fill with jam.
For Milk and Honey Glaze In small bowl, combine powdered sugar, milk, and honey. Stir until smooth. Dip doughnuts into glaze.

How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Fritter Bites

The last apple fritter I ate before going gluten-free was an abomination. I bought it at a cute bakery. It looked a little smoother than a traditional apple fritter but I didn’t think much about it one way or the other. Then I bit into the fritter and—What the hell?—apple pie filling burst into my mouth.

Apple fritters should not be jelly doughnuts in which the jam is merely replaced with an apple filling. No, an apple fritter is a nubby affair with crisp bits of chopped apples scattered throughout and just the slightest hint of confectioner’s glaze.

For years, I’ve meant to make a gluten-free apple fritter. The only thing standing in my way? My own laziness. Apple fritters sounded like a lot of work and I just didn’t feel like futzing with them.

This year, I set my laziness aside (not an easy task) and heated up a pot of oil. The results were meh—the fritters tasted like apple doughnuts and not fritters. I texted a professional baker-friend and asked what I was doing wrong.

Here’s our exchange: (shared with permission)

Me: My apple fritters taste like doughnuts. Blerg.

Steve: ?

Me: I want to make commercial-like apple fritters and I’m getting apple-studded flat doughnuts.

Steve: How are you leavening?

Me: Baking powder.

Steve: Use yeasted dough. Laminate the filling into the dough. Roll and cut into small pieces, then press together. We use leftover dough.

Me: MIND BLOWN.

Steve: Don’t use pie filling. That’s crap. Fresh apples. Sautéed. Apple cider and thicken. Done. You’re welcome.

Me: Thank you!!!

It’s funny. Even though the recipe now sounded 100x more complicated than I originally anticipated, I suddenly really wanted to make the fritters.

I did a little more digging and found some videos backed up exactly what Steve had described. But I knew the dough needed elasticity and I didn’t want to rely solely on xanthan gum for it. So I grabbed a box of Chebe mix (it’s made with tapioca starch and modified manioc flour) and added it to my flour blend. A small amount of modified starch mimics a glutenous dough pretty well. I’m just bummed that it’s almost impossible for consumers to buy modified starch. To get it, you need to use a plain mix, like Chebe.

The dough rose nicely and rolled out nicely, but I ran into problems as I tried to cut the dough into small pieces and then work it back together. Without those lovely strands of gluten, the dough sort of smushed back together. The little squares of dough were lost. And the dough was incredibly hard to work with. It kept sticking to everything. Yet I kept moving forward, lying to myself that this would work.

It didn’t.

The fritters burnt on the edges and were raw in the center. All the work of cutting the dough into pieces was lost too. The finished fritters were just like doughnuts with apple bits here and there.

Frustrated, I almost threw the remaining dough in the garbage. Then I looked at it, grabbed two spoons, and pulled off a little dough from one of the sloppily formed raw fritters. Perhaps size was my problem here. I made some new fritters, this time smaller, more like hush puppy size.

I let one cool, always a challenge with a hot-from-the-fryer doughnut before trying. It tasted good. Like a wheat-based fritter, it wasn’t too sweet and contained bite-sized pieces of apples.

A few days later, I tried the fritters again. I skipped the messy process of laminating the apples into to the dough. Instead, I let the dough rise, punched it down, and then stirred cooked apples in. After another rise, I simply dropped small pieces of the dough into a hot fryer. Perfect.

I won’t lie. Homemade apple fritters are a little time-consuming to make. However, the steps are just that—time-consuming, but not hard. For this recipe, you need Chebe mix. You also need time. The dough takes several hours to rise and the filling is a two-step affair that requires time for cooling.

But, in the end, the fritters are totally worth it.

As I sat eating a fritter, I noticed that the yeast-raised dough tasted really great. Now I’m pondering what I can make with it beyond these fritters. Glazed doughnut holes, perhaps?

Gluten-Free Apple Fritters on a blue plate.

5 from 1 vote

How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Fritter Bites

Be sure to use original Chebe mix, not the pizza mix or cinnamon roll mix.

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 3 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 3 minutes

Servings 24 small doughnuts

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Fritters

1 (7.5 ounce) pacakge Chebe original cheese bread mix (see note above)
1 1/2 cups finely ground white rice flour (6 ounces; 170 grams)
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/4 cup granulated sugar plus 1 teaspoon, divided (1 3/4 ounces; 50 grams)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water, warm (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons; 7 grams)
1 cup milk, warm (8 ounces; 226 grams)
1 large egg (1 3/4 ounces; 50 grams, out of shell)
2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled (1 ounce; 28 grams)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Oil or nonstick cooking spray for greasing the bowl
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar

For the Apples

3 large cooking apples, peeled, cored, and diced (Granny Smith work best) (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup apple cider (4 ounces; 113 grams)
2 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
about 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

For the Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar (8 ounces; 226 grams)
4 tablespoons half-and-half (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Dough: In large bowl, whisk together Chebe mix, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and salt. Set aside.
In small bowl, whisk together warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar until sugar dissolves. Add yeast. Whisk until yeast dissolves. Set aside until doubled in size, about five minutes. (If yeast doesn't bubble and double in size, it means the yeast is dead. Discard it and start with a new packet of yeast.)
Add warm milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract to the yeast mixture. Pour milk-yeast mixture over the whisked dry ingredients. Stir, using a wooden spoon, until a stiff dough ball forms. Generously flour your countertop and turn sticky dough out onto counter. Dust dough with white rice flour and knead dough until smooth, about one minute. Lightly oil a medium bowl. Place dough in oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to double in size, about 2 hours.
For the Apples: In large cast iron or stainless steel skillet, combine butter and dark brown sugar. Melt butter and sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add apples and stir to combine. Cook until apples darken slightly and just begin to soften. In a small bowl, whisk together cider and cornstarch. Pour cider over the apples. Stir. Bring to a boil and cook until thick, about 3 minutes. Transfer apples to a bowl and allow to cool.
When dough doubles in size, punch down or stir with a rice floured wooden spoon. Stir in cooled apple mixture. Cover and allow to rise until dough almost doubles in size, about 1 hour.
To Fry: Line a rimmed baking sheet with paper towels. Heat oil, about two cups, in a 12-inch cast iron skillet, Dutch oven, or wok to 350°F. (Fill skillet about 1/2 wayAdjust flame during cooking to maintain temperature. Using two spoons, carefully drop balls of dough about 2 tablespoons each into the oil. Cook until edges turn golden brown. Turn and repeat. Using a wire skimmer, remove fritters from hot oil. Place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is fried.
Prepare the glaze: whisk together confectioner's sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a wire rack over the baking sheet. One by one, dip the fritters into the glaze. Shake excess glaze off and place fritters on wire rack.
Fritters are best served the day they are made but may be held overnight. Store leftover fritters on a plate and cover with plastic wrap.

Gluten-Free Cheerios: Yay? Or Cautious Optimism is okay.

Yesterday General Mills announced that Cheerios cereal would carry a gluten-free label later this year. (you can read more about that here.)

This news spread pretty fast in the gluten-free community. On my own Facebook pages—both personal and public— folks were pretty excited. Then something happened.

People began to question the oats that General Mills would use in the cereal.

That’s a good thing to do. I’m curious and cautious about it too.

What I don’t support is what happened soon after. Many people who questioned the gluten-free status of the oats began telling folks who were excited about the cereal that they shouldn’t “fall for it.” People were accused of being foolish, not understanding the complexities of the diet, and not caring about gluten-free safety.

Urgh.

Here’s my two cents: you can be both excited and cautious. Feeling excitement doesn’t make you a fool.

I think it’s great when new gluten-free foods are available—especially if it’s something that you’ve missed. It’s also great to question things to ensure they are safe. It’s not okay or nice or cool to get nasty about someone’s excitement.

For all you know Cheerios holds a special place in someone’s heart because a beloved grandfather gave them the cereal and now he’s gone and they want to enjoy it again.

Or, you know, they just like the taste

All are valid.

So if you’re excited about the idea of gluten-free Cheerios. Yay!

And if you are worried about it, I understand that.

But, for the love of all that’s gluten-free, could we not squabble over excitement vs. safety?

Read more information about Cheerios from the Gluten-Free Watch Dog here.

Love ya!

The Only Recipe for Pizza Sauce You’ll Ever Need!

A good pizza is only as good as the sauce that tops it. Today let’s make an easy tomato-based pizza sauce.

Chop an onion and a few cloves of garlic. Increase or decrease the amount of onions and garlic depending on how oniony and garlicy you like your sauce.

Heat olive oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions. You want the onions to sizzle when they hit the oil.

Cook until they soften. You don’t want the onions to turn brown. Soft and light are what you want at this stage. Be sure to stir frequently as the onions cook.

Add the garlic. Stir it all together. Since garlic takes less time to cook than onions, it would burn if we started it along with the onions. Staggering the cooking prevents the garlic from burning. And since burnt garlic tastes awful taking the time to do this is well worth it.

Cook until the garlic just begins to turn brown. The onions are soft and almost yellow-brown at this point.

Add the basil, oregano, and hot red pepper flakes. Stir. You can always adjust the spices later, adding fresh herbs right before serving your sauce, if you wish.

Now add the salt and–dare I say it–sugar. Yes, sugar! You only use a little and, I promise, it adds a nice “roundness” to the sauce without making it sweet. (I don’t like sweet sauce either.)

Now add butter. Oh, yes! This recipe contains butter. It’s an odd ingredient in tomato sauce, I know. But the richness of the butter adds a little something that’s really nice. If you aren’t dairy-allergic, I encourage you to add the butter. If you’re dairy-free, just skip it.

Cook until butter melts. Stir frequently. The onions, garlic, and spices cooking together produce my favorite scent in the world. No matter how many times I make this, I am still smitten by the aroma. (Can you get smitten by an aroma? Let’s say yes!)

For this recipe, I wanted a quick, chunky pizza sauce. One small can (14.5 ounces) of petite diced tomatoes were perfect for the job. If you don’t need a pizza sauce, you could add tomato puree or tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes. The base works with any tomatoes. It’s that good. I also added two tablespoons of tomato paste to thicken the sauce a bit.

That’s it!

The Only Recipe for Pizza Sauce You'll Ever Need!

This easy recipe makes a fabulous pizza sauce.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 2 cups

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced or put through a garlic press
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons butter increase to one tablespoon if you feel like it.
1 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes OR 15 ounce crushed tomatoes OR s OR 2 cups approx fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste increase to three tablespoons for a thicker sauce.

Instructions

In a small pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onions. Cook until soft. Stir frequently while cooking. Add the garlic. Stir. Cook until soft and aromatic. Add basil, oregano, red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Add salt and sugar. Stir. Cook for two minutes. Add butter. Cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Add tomatoes. Cook as desired. You could cook the sauce for just a minute to warm or you could cook for an hour for a rich, thick sauce.

How to Make Gluten-Free Pizza Crust in 20 Minutes

During the ten years I’ve taught gluten-free baking classes, two questions are asked more than any others: “How do I make bread?” and “How do I make pizza?” Bread and pizza. My favorites.

You want a great, easy pizza crust, right? Here’s what to do: start with a Chebe bread* mix. My students have never gasped but, I can tell, they’ve come close. They know that I bake from scratch. This recipe is the exception to that rule.

*Chebe also sells pizza mix. Be sure to select their bread mix.

Why a mix? Because of the modified tapioca starch it contains, Chebe makes an excellent pizza crust with the “chew” that’s so often missing from gluten-free baked goods. Since buying modified tapioca starch is a pain, I use the Chebe mix.

I’m not a food scientist. So, honestly, I don’t fully understand the process of making modified tapioca starch. My research proved somewhat futile, likely because modifying tapioca starch is a proprietary process. All I’ve been able to glean is that when an inorganic material is added to the starch, the characteristics of the starch change. In the case of tapioca starch, we are left with a super-stretchy starch.

How stretchy? Gluten-like stretchy.

You could almost toss this dough over your head like they do at pizzerias. Prepared as the package directs, I find Chebe unpleasantly chewy. Slightly doctored, however, it makes a great pizza.

Add white or brown rice flour, baking powder, and salt to the mix. That’s right—baking powder. Telling pizza-savvy SE’rs that this crust can be made without yeast makes me a little nervous. But it’s the truth: this crust is excellent without yeast. Since restaurants serving safe gluten-free pizza are still hard to find, it’s great being able to make this last-minute crust without having to allow it to rise.

If the thought of a yeast-free pizza is anathema to you, no problem! Replace the baking powder with one packet of active dry yeast. When leavened with yeast, the dough needs to go through about an hour of bulk fermentation (rising in the bowl) and about 45 minutes of pan rise. The baking powder dough? Just mix it up, place it into the pan and bake.

Speaking of baking, no matter which version you use, yeast or baking powder, bake the crust before you top it. Topping the raw dough and then baking makes for one really soggy pizza. I like all types of pizza, but soggy crust pizza isn’t one of them.

Let’s make a pizza!

After adding the wet ingredients to the flour and Chebe mix, the dough looks chunky. Turn the dough onto your counter and begin kneading.

At first the dough isn’t smooth. As you knead it, it becomes smooth and elastic.

The finished dough looks like this. Pretty, isn’t it?

Roll out the dough and lift it into the pan.

Bake the crust until golden brown.

Top the dough, and return pizza to the oven. Bake until cheese is golden brown and bubbling.

Easy Gluten-Free Pizza Crust

Remember to use Chebe bread mix, not Chebe's pizza crust mix for this recipe.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 1 large pizza

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

New York Style

1 (7.5 ounce) package Chebe Original Bread Mix (not Pizza Mix)
1 cup white rice flour (4 ounces; 113 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water plus additional as needed (6 ounces; 170 grams)
2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
2 tablespoons olive oil (about 1 ounce; 24 grams)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425°F.
In large bowl, whisk together Chebe mix, white rice flour, baking powder, and salt. In small bowl, whisk together water, eggs, and olive oil.
Pour water mixture over dry ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Dough should almost form a ball. If dough is dry, add one or two more tablespoons of water.
Lightly white rice flour your counter. Turn dough out onto counter. Knead dough until elastic and pliable, about one minute.
Round dough into a ball. Grease 18”x13” baking pan. Again, white rice flour your counter. Roll dough out into large rectangle. I usually roll it out about 15”x13”. In a quick movement, transfer dough to baking pan. Using you hands, press dough evenly into pan. Dough will be thin but will cover the entire pan.
Bake until lightly golden brown, about 18 minutes.
Remove pan from oven. Top as desired. Return pizza to oven and bake until toppings are hot. Time varies depending on topping.
Remove pizza from oven. Allow to cool for five minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy.

The Best Gluten-Free Funnel Cakes

Who knew a funnel cake could make a person nervous? It’s not that I have a frying phobia, but I wondered how drizzling gluten-free batter into hot oil would work. Without gluten holding things together, would the cakes fry up into the classic lacy funnel cake shape? Or would I end up with solid disks of fried batter? Turns out, they work really well gluten-free. They key is to get the batter right.

Similar to a pancake batter, funnel cake batter needs to flow easily from a funnel. My first few attempts were far too thick. The batter plopped, rather than flowed. After thinning the batter, it drizzled easily into the hot oil. This is key to create the ribbons of fried batter that make up a funnel cake. It’s also what makes creating one a bit tricky.

With the batter running freely from the funnel, my first few cakes were funnel duds. Instead of cute, circular cakes, these were misshapen dough blobs. Funnel amoeba, if you will. Even after practice, I found making funnel cakes with a funnel to be a bit unwieldy. Don’t get me wrong, it works. But I wanted to play around with other tools to see if there was an easier way to make these treats.

Before attempting a funnel-less funnel cake, I swapped my large funnel for a small one. This helped a lot! The smaller funnel opening, about 3/8-inch, gave me more control over the batter as it ran into the pot. With more control, I created funnel cakes that were actually circular!

Since a small opening seemed key to a successful funnel cake, I wondered how a pastry bag would work. I popped a number eight (small) tip into a bag and heated up my oil. It worked well. However, when I handed the bag to a friend, who’d never used a pastry bag before or made a funnel cake, she found the bag troublesome to control, even after several attempts.

But the batter almost escaped from the top of her bag… Enter the squeeze bottle!

Most of my squeeze bottles have very small tip openings. One or two have a more generous opening, about 3/16-inch—an opening that’s still smaller than a funnel. I grabbed one, filled it with batter, and made a funnel cake. It was perfect. I handed it to my friend. She, too, made a perfect funnel cake! The squeeze bottles offered the control of a pastry bag while being much easier to handle—and refill.

Squeeze bottles turned out to be my favorite tool to make funnel cakes, yet all three tools did work to create funnel cakes. No matter which tool you use, keep these three things in mind:

Heat your oil to 375°F. Hotter oil fries the funnel cakes too quickly–the center is done before the edges. Cooler oil creates greasy funnel cakes.
Swirl. As soon as the batter hits the oil, begin swirling it in tight circles to make one cake. I found starting from the inside and going out was the best method.
Know when to stop. Big funnel cakes might be popular at the fair but at home, smaller is better. Keep your cakes about four to five inches across.

Gluten-free funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar on paper towel.

5 from 7 votes

The Best Gluten-Free Funnel Cakes

Crunchy and light, these are the perfect funnel cake.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 4 minutes

Total Time 24 minutes

Servings 12 funnel cakes

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

1 cup finely ground white rice flour* (4 ounces; 113 grams)
½ cup cornstarch or tapioca starch* (2 ounces; 56 grams)
¼ cup sweet rice flour* (1 ounce; 28 grams)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar (1 ounce; 28 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum*
1 cup milk (8 ounces; 226 grams)
2 large eggs (3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegetable oil for frying about one quart
Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

In medium mixing bowl, whisk together white rice flour, sweet rice flour, cornstarch, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Add milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Allow to stand for ten minutes. (Begin preheating oil while batter rests.)
In either a deep fryer or deep, heavy pot with four-inch sides, heat oil to 375°F i. Pour batter into either funnel, pastry bag fitted with a #4 tip or plastic squeeze bottle with a large opening. Don't overfill. Cover funnel opening and place over deep fryer. Allow the batter to flow into the fryer. Starting in the center of the oil, swirl the batter to make a four-inch disk. Fry disk for about two minutes. Carefully turn and fry until golden brown.
Remove funnel cakes and place on paper towels to drain. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

*Using All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour

This recipe was tested with individual flours. If you want to try the recipe with a gluten-free flour blend, omit the rice flour, cornstarch, sweet rice flour, and xanthan gum. Replace it with 1 3/4 cups of your favorite gluten-free flour blend.

If your gluten-free flour blend doesn't include xanthan gum, don't leave it out. Use the amount called for in the recipe.

How to Make Gluten-Free Panettone

To me, Christmas morning smells like burnt panettone. After spending Christmas Eve cooking a huge meal, my mom did not make Christmas breakfast. Instead she burned panettone. And I loved it.

I’m sure she didn’t mean to burn the panettone. But the Italian holiday fruit bread never seemed to make it out of the toaster without singeing—sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. Looking back, I can see that paper-thin slices of a sweetened, rich bread never stood a chance in our toaster. And now, it’s hard to find a gluten-free way to recreate that taste memory.

Unless, of course, I made my own gluten-free panettone. With a little patience (this bread takes about 16 hours from start to finish), a sturdy mixer, and a few gluten-free flours, homemade gluten-free panettone is fairly easy.

If you’ve never made gluten-free bread before, you might want to check out my recipe for sandwich bread for a few tips on gluten-free bread baking.

Getting Ready

Traditional panettone uses a biga—a pre-ferment made from a mixture of flour, yeast and water that ferments overnight—to achieve a high rise and a nice deep flavor. This is good news for gluten-free baking—thanks to the lack of gluten and the amount of fat and sugar in the dough, this loaf needs all the help rising it can get. (By the way, the biga doesn’t work alone. The finished loaf contains a generous amount of active dry yeast and a little baking powder to aid its rise.)

To get the full benefit of the biga, mix it about twelve to fifteen hours before you plan on baking. Just stir the ingredients together and let the yeast do its thing while you sleep. You might find the consistency of the biga a little startling. This gluten-free biga is wet, thick, and sticky. It looks a bit like marshmallow fluff.

After mixing your biga, combine the dried fruits with lemon and vanilla extract. Macerating the fruits overnight infuses them with flavor. Since many people dislike the classic panettone fruits of citron and candied lemon and orange peel, I’ve include a list of alternative dried fruit options for the recipe. No matter which fruits you choose, all benefit from an overnight soak.

Mixing the Dough

To prepare the dough, you’ll first mix the wet and dry ingredients together until a dough forms. Like most gluten-free bread dough, this dough does not form a firm ball. Instead it’s a really thick, wet dough, almost a cross between a dough and a batter. To chug through the dough, you’ll want to use a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.

After the dough forms, add the butter. Be sure to use very soft butter for this step. Anything harder leaves clumps of butter throughout the dough. To test the butter’s softness, stick your finger (or a fork) into it. If your finger sinks easily into the butter, it’s the right consistency.

The dried fruits go in last. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the fruits, mixing until the fruits are just incorporated.

Rising and Punching

The panettone goes through two rises. For the first rise, just cover your bowl with a piece of greased plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about two hours. In approximately two hours, the dough should double in size. Once it doubles it needs to be punched down.

Since this dough is so sticky, you don’t want to punch it with your bare hands or you’ll end up with dough all over yourself. Instead, stir it gently with a greased wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is almost fully deflated, or use the piece of greased plastic wrap that covers the bowl to help punch down the dough. I prefer the second option. Simply remove the plastic wrap from the bowl and place it loosely over the dough. Deflate the dough by using your knuckles. The plastic wrap barrier between your hand and the dough prevents the dough from sticking to you.

No matter how you do it, deflate the dough about 75% and then spoon it into a prepared pan.

Shaping: A Pan or a Paper?

Tradition dictates that you bake panettone in paper. While pretty, paper doesn’t make the best vessel for baking gluten-free bread. Each time I made this recipe in paper, I ended up with raw spots in the center of the loaf. Gross!

Baking panettone in a tube or Bundt pan can help to prevent raw spots. The rod in the center of the pan gets hot during baking and thoroughly bakes the center of the loaf. Of course, it doesn’t look quite like a traditional panettone, but I’d rather have a funny-looking panettone over a raw one.

Baking

This loaf takes about one hour to bake. The finished loaf should be between 207-211°F. (Take the temperature in the center of the loaf, not near the sides.) When the bread reaches the correct temperature, remove it from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

Serving and Storing

I love this bread served as is or toasted. To avoid burning panettone like my mom did so many times, slice the pieces at least 1/2-inch thick. And be sure to keep your eye on the bread as it toasts.

Wrapped, this bread keeps for about three days on the counter. If you don’t plan on eating the entire loaf in three days, wait until the panettone cools, slice it, and freeze.

Ready to Bake? Here’s the Step-by-Step

The dry ingredients are mixed with the wet ingredients and the biga. At first the dough is thick.

Softened butter goes in a little at a time. You want your butter soft, not cold.

After you add all the butter, the dough looks very soft. This is totally normal.

After the fruit is added, transfer the dough to a large greased bowl. Why large?

The dough doubles in size! Hence the need for a big bowl.

Have a bit of pent-up holiday anger? Take it out on the dough! It needs to be “punched” down before the second rise. Don’t have holiday anger? Punch it anyway!

Once you’ve punched the dough, transfer it to a well greased bundt pan.

The dough rises again. This rise takes about one hour. And then…

You bake it! Isn’t it pretty?

Slice it up. Pour yourself a cup of coffee and call it day!

Gluten-free panettone dough on stand mixer attachment.

5 from 2 votes

How to Make Gluten-Free Panettone

A holiday classic made gluten-free. This panettone is studded with dried fruit. However, if you don't like raisins and other dried fruits, you can use chocolate chips!

Prep Time 16 hours

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 17 hours

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Biga

3/4 cup water (6 ounces; 170 grams)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups finely ground white rice flour (6 ounces; 170 grams)
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

For the Fruit

1 cup raisins (about 4 ounces; 113 grams)
1/3 cup candied orange peel (about 1 1/2 ounces; 42 grams)
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon freshly squezed lemon juice (1/2 ounce; 14 grams)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract

For the Dough

2 1/3 cups brown rice flour (11 1/2 ounces; 326 grams)
3/4 cup sorghum flour (3 3/4 ounces; 106 grams)
1/2 cup potato starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams)
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk (whole or 2%), warmed to about 100°F. (8 ounces; 226 grams)
2 (1/4 ounce) packets active dry yeast
3 egg yolks (about 1 1/4 ounces; 33 grams)
2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (3/4 ounce; 24 grams)
2 tablespoons corn syrup or honey (1 1/3 ounces; 39 grams)
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup; 4 ounces; 113 grams)
non-stick cooking spray

Instructions

Prepare the Biga: Combine water and yeast in a small bowl. Stir. Allow mixture to stand until yeast dissolves, about two minutes. Whisk together white rice flour and xanthan gum in a small bowl. Add water and yeast. Stir to combine. Mixture will be thick and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise overnight at room temperature.
Prepare the Fruit: Combine raisins, candied orange peel, lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.
Prepare the Dough: In a small bowl, stir together milk and yeast. Allow to stand for five minutes.
In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, granulated sugar, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Add yeast mixture, egg yolks, eggs, vegetable oil and corn syrup. Mix on medium speed with flat paddle attachment until dough is thick, about three minutes.
Add biga. Mix for one minute to combine. Scrape down bottom and sides of bowl with rubber spatula.
With mixer on medium speed, add butter one tablespoon at a time. Wait for each tablespoon of butter to incorporate before adding next tablespoon.
After all butter is added, mix dough for one minute. Dough should be thick and smooth. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dried fruits. Mix until fruits incorporate throughout dough.
Lightly oil medium bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer dough to greased bowl.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about two to two-and-half hours.
Deflate dough by about 75%. Do this by either punching down dough with a piece of plastic wrap between your hand and dough or stir dough using a rubber spatula.
Generously grease 12-cup Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon dough into pan and smooth top with rubber spatula.
Cover pan with greased plastic wrap and set aside until dough almost reaches top of pan, about one hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake loaf until internal temperature reaches 207-211°F, about one hour. Loaf will be dark brown. If loaf gets too dark before internal temperature reaches 207°F, cover pan with a piece of aluminum foil and continue to bake.
Invert loaf onto wire rack to cool. Store tightly wrapped in plastic for up to three days or freeze.

Recipe Notes

For the Fruit

The listed fruits are suggestions. Any dried fruit works well in this bread. Dried cranberries, apricots, and cherries are especially nice.

Easy Gluten-Free Yellow Cake

There’s one go-to recipe I believe all bakers need: a single-layer cake. There’s a time and place for multi-layered cake (usually birthdays and other celebrations). But a single-layer cake isn’t about celebration, it’s about simplicity.

My love for single layer cakes comes from my mom. Occasionally, I’d come home from school and find one sitting on the counter. It was always a yellow cake, iced with chocolate buttercream, and, if she felt like dressing it up, a single maraschino cherry in the center. Before baking, she’d throw a couple of chocolate chips into the batter. She said whoever got the slice with the chips was guaranteed a “good luck day.” Who am I to argue with that mom-logic?

The yellow single-layer cake I bake tastes very similar to the ones I ate growing up. It’s just butter, sugar, eggs, and gluten-free flour. The funny thing is the method. It doesn’t require you to cream the butter and sugar together. You simply dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix. That’s it. The only thing to watch out for is the butter. You want it soft. Not melty. Not microwaved where the ends are hard and it’s melted in the center. You want the butter soft.

If you don’t have room-temperature butter ready when you want to bake this cake, try this trick: set up a double boiler. (Nest a small bowl on top of a small pot of very hot but not boiling water. You don’t want the water to touch the bottom of the bowl.) Place the butter, still wrapped, into the bowl. Turn the stick every few minutes until it’s soft. If you’re microwave is gentle enough, go ahead and soften the butter in the microwave. Use a very low setting and heat the butter in 15 second bursts, then turn the stick. If you are very careful, this works. I’ve noticed that if I stand my butter up while nuking the center doesn’t melt but that could just be my microwave.

As for finishing the cake, frost it with a simple buttercream. Or not. This cake works well without any type of frost. If you don’t want buttercream but want to finish the cake with something, I’d strongly recommend a citrus glaze. I prefer lemon but any citrus works. Stir together some powdered sugar and a little milk (or water) until you have a thick glaze. Then add the zest of your favorite citrus and pour the glaze over the top of the cake.

From start to cooling, this cake takes less than an hour to make. Of that time, only about fifteen minutes requires any activity. So remember this recipe on a busy days when you want a little something sweet but don’t have the time—or the energy—to do much in the kitchen.

Gluten-Free Yellow Cake slice on white plate.

5 from 5 votes

Perfect Gluten-Free Yellow Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 8

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Gluten-Free Yellow Cake

Gluten-free non-stick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups white rice flour (5 ounces; 142 grams)
1 cup granulated sugar (8 ounces; 226 grams)
1/2 cup potato starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (4 ounces; 113 grams)
2/3 cup milk or water (5 1/3 ounces; 150 grams)
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For Chocolate Buttercream

2 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar, sifted (8 ounces; 226 grams)
6 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted (2 1/4 ounces; 65 grams)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (4 ounces; 113 grams)
4 tablespoons milk (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8x2-inch square cake pan or a 9x2-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set pan aside.
In large mixing bowl, whisk together white rice flour, granulated sugar, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Add butter, milk (or water), eggs, and vanilla. Using a handheld mixer,mix until a thick batter forms, about one minute. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake until cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Place cake, in pan, on wire rack to cool. If desired, frost with buttercream icing when cool.

For the Chocolate Buttercream

Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat butter until light. Add powdered sugar-cocoa mixture, milk, and vanilla extract. Cream until smooth. Adjust thickness, if needed, by adding more milk, one tablespoon at a time. Frosting should be thick and spreadable.

How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Bun Waffles

One Sunday I woke up craving cinnamon buns. Yum, right? But making a batch of cinnamon buns means mixing dough, allowing it to rise, and then, of course, baking. All told, I wouldn’t have eaten the cinnamon buns I craved until the afternoon.

And my craving didn’t want to wait that long! I had things to do. (Like eating breakfast.) Since it was a “waffle-Sunday” in our house, I decided to try making a batch of “cinnamon bun waffles.”

Oh my goodness. Just writing about them makes me want to run into the kitchen and make a batch! I love these waffles.

At first I thought about simply adding ground cinnamon to my waffle recipe. But that wouldn’t have tasted like a cinnamon bun! It would have tasted like cinnamon waffles. Which might have tasted good but wasn’t what I wanted.

What I craved was that delicious swirl that makes a cinnamon bun a cinnamon bun. I don’t know about you but that’s my favorite part of a cinnamon bun! In my pre-gluten-free days, I’d “unwind” a cinnamon bun before eating it. (Odd eating habits? Oh yes! I have them!) Unwound meant the cinnamon-sugar filling hit my tongue first with each bite.

Happily, It was ridiculously easy to add a swirl to waffles!

Here’s how to do it:

In a bowl, combine ground cinnamon, dark brown sugar and soft butter. (My cinnamon hid under the brown sugar. You can’t see it but it’s in there.)

Mash with a fork until a paste forms.

Add the milk. The mixture might look “broken”–almost curdled. Usually you want to avoid a broken batter but in this case, it’s fine.

Transfer mixture to a piping bag. If you don’t own a piping bag, put the mixture into a large ziplock bag and snip one of the corners of the bag.

Fill waffle-iron with batter. Right away, grab your piping bag.

Squeeze cinnamon filling all over the waffle iron. Be sure your waffle iron is nonstick. Most are but if you have an old one, it might not be.

Bake until golden brown.

Drizzle with cinnamon bun icing or maple syrup. Both are delicious!

Enjoy! (How good does that look? Really good, right? I’m so thankful I woke up craving cinnamon buns!)

this page may contain affiliate links to products or services I love. I am NEVER paid for my opinion. Ever.

Gluten-Free cinnamon bun waffles on plate with glaze.

How to Make Gluten-Free Cinnamon Bun Waffles

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4 waffles

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Cinnamon-Swirl

¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 tablespoon butter, softened (increase to 2 tablespoons for a richer swirl.) (½ ounce; 14 grams)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons milk (1 ounce; 28 grams)

For the Waffles

1 cup finely ground white rice flour (4 ounces; 113 grams)
½ cup cornstarch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
¼ cup sweet rice flour (1 ounce; 28 grams)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (½ ounce; 14 grams)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1 ¼ cups milk (10 ounces; 283 grams)
2 large eggs (about 3 ½ ounces; 100 grams)
¼ cup vegetable oil (1 ¾ ounces; 50 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar (4 ounces; 113 grams)
2 tablespoons milk, plus more as needed (1 ounce; 28 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Icing: Stir together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. It should flow easily from a fork. Adjust with additional powdered sugar (to thicken) or additional milk (to thin) as needed. Set aside.
Make the Swirl: In a small bowl, combine dark brown sugar, butter, and ground cinnamon. Mix until a thick paste forms. Add milk. Stir to combine. Mixture will be thick and look curdled. This is normal. As long as it's thoroughly combined, you're fine. Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with a small (number 4) tip or, if you don't have a tip, cut a hole in the bag later. Set aside.
Make the Waffle Batter: In medium mixing bowl, whisk together white rice flour, cornstarch, sweet rice flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt, and xanthan gum. Add the milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Spray iron generously with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon batter onto hot iron (amount of batter will vary depending on your iron).
Quickly squeeze the cinnamon-swirl over the batter.
Cook until crisp. Serve with icing. (Note: to clean your waffle iron. Heat on the low setting. This loosens the stuck-on sugar. Wipe (carefully) with a damp cloth while the iron is warm.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Pie

Apple pie. Pumpkin Pie. Blueberry Pie. To me, those are the holy trinity of pies. If I’m honest, in this area, I’m a terrible Foodie. Or food enthusiast. Or gourmand. Or Food Lover. Or whatever the current term for someone who enjoys putting good food in her face hole is called.

I prefer the classic versions of these pie. I know. I know. There’s a million ways to make each of those pies. Yet I always some back to the classics.

In this case, it’s just blueberries, a little lemon, enough sugar to sweeten, and just enough cornstarch to hold the whole thing together. That’s it.

Now, if you were to top my slice with, say, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, I wouldn’t say no to that. Of course I wouldn’t! Pie a la mode is a classic.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Pie on cooling rack.

5 from 1 vote

Classic Blueberry Pie (Gluten-Free, of course)

Classic blueberry pie, made gluten-free. I love this pie served warm. But it's just as good cold. Eaten for breakfast. (ahem)

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Crust

1 1/4 cups brown or white rice flour (6 1/4 ounces; 177 grams)
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/2 cup tapioca starch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or solid shortening, cold and cut into tablespoon-size pieces (8 ounces; 226 grams)
5 tablespoons water, more if needed (2.5 ounces; 70 grams)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

For the Filling

3/4 cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces; 150 grams)
zest of one lemon
5 tablespoons cornstarch (1 1/4 ounces; 35 grams)
2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (1/2 ounce; 14 grams)
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 cups blueberries, washed and picked over (about 2 1/2 pounds; 1 kilo)
3 tablespoons butter, cold and cut into six pieces (1.5 ounces; 42 grams)

For the Topping

1 large egg whisked
granulated sugar
Ice cream or whipped cream for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together brown rice flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, and salt. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, cut butter into the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal and contains little nuggets of butter. Add water and vinegar. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. If the dough is dry, add an additional tablespoon of water (more if needed) until the dough holds together. Pat dough into a rectangle and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Cut dough into two equal pieces. Return one piece to the refrigerator. Dust your counter with white or brown rice flour. Roll out one of the dough pieces. Roll out the dough into a 13-inch circle. Move the dough several times to prevent it from sticking on the counter. Working quickly, roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch deep pie pan. Don't trim the edges of the pastry yet. Place the pie pan in the fridge while you prepare the filling.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub it together so no there are no clumps of zest in the sugar. Add the cornstarch, sweet rice flour, and salt. Stir to combine. Add the blueberries. Stir to combine.
Remove the pie pan from the fridge. Spoon the berries into the crust and set aside. Place the six pieces of butter evenly on top of the berries. Roll out the remaining piece of pastry. Roll out the dough into a 13-inch circle. Move the dough several times to prevent it from sticking on the counter. Working quickly, roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer the dough to cover the berries. Fold the top pastry under the bottom and crimp, either with your hands or by pressing the pastry together with a fork.
Brush the egg over the crust and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cut several slits in the pastry. This allows steam to vent. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake the pie until the crust is golden brown and filling bubbles, about 45 minutes. If the crust turns brown before the filling bubbles, remove the pie from the oven, cover the top with foil and return the pie to the oven.
Allow pie to cool for at least four hours before serving. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

The World’s Easiest One Bowl Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

When friends visit in the summer, I like to have something a little sweet on hand that they can munch on whenever the mood strikes. So I’ll put out a bowl of fruit and this all-day lemon cake. It’s one of those cakes that goes equally well with a morning cup of coffee or a post-dinner, end-of-day drink.

Although the finished cake tastes like you spent a lot of time on it, the only prep required is a bowl, a whisk, and about five minutes. The recipe is what my mother would call a “dump cake:” You throw all the ingredients into one bowl, whisk by hand, plop the batter into a greased cake pan, and bake it for about thirty minutes. That’s it. And the best part? Your minimal effort is rewarded with a delicate, lemon-scented cake that’s a bit like a cross between a coffee cake and a birthday cake.

To finish the cake, I sometimes make a thick white icing from powdered sugar and lemon juice. Other times, I’ll boil simple syrup with some lemon zest. Both glazes intensify the lemon flavor without making the cake too sweet. The simple syrup glaze changes the texture of the cake a little, making it damp, while the powdered sugar icing leaves the coffee cake-like texture in tact.

By the way, if you have extra berries on hand, toss them into the batter. This cake welcomes fruit. Blueberries are my favorite, but that’s because I’m partial to anything lemon-blueberry. Or, if you don’t want to put berries in the cake, put them on top. Macerate some ripe, chopped berries with just enough sugar to make the juices run and spoon the berries over the cake. Either way, with berries or without, this cake tastes like summer all day long.

Gluten-free lemon cake squares on wood board.

5 from 5 votes

One Bowl Gluten-Free Lemon Cake

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 8

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/4 cups white or brown rice flour (5 ounces; 142 grams)
1/4 cup tapioca starch (1 ounce; 28 grams)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (6 ounces; 170 grams)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup buttermilk (8 ounces; 226 grams)
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest from 2 to 3 lemons
1/2 cup vegetable oil (3.5 ounces; 100 grams)
2 large eggs

Lemon Icing Option 1: Simple Syrup Glaze

3/4 cup granulated sugar (5 1/4 ounces; 148 grams)
2 tablespoons zest and 6 tablespoons fresh juice from about 4 to 6 lemons

Lemon Icing Option 2: Powdered Sugar Icing

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar sifted
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
In large mixing bowl, whisk together rice flour, granulated sugar, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup or a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and lemon zest. Pour buttermilk mixture over dry ingredients. Whisk in vegetable oil and eggs until smooth.
Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Icing Option 1: Simple Syrup Glaze Combine granulated sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring gently until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to low and cook syrup until it thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.Store cookies in a covered container on the counter for up to four days.
While cake is still warm, poke it all over with a fork. Brush top of cake with syrup and allow to absorb fully, about 5 minutes. Repeat until all syrup is absorbed.
Icing Option 2: Powdered Sugar Glaze. Allow cake to cool completely. In small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Stir with a fork until smooth. Icing should be thick but spreadable; if the icing is too thick, add a little more lemon juice. Spread icing on cake and allow to set for 15 minutes before serving.

Cupcake Decorating Hacks to Make You Look Like a Pro!

Some folks are real artists when it comes to decorating cupcakes. Then there are the rest of us. Who want pretty cupcakes but don’t have the time to create mini-masterpieces. These techniques, using just frosting, food coloring, and sprinkles, make you look like a pro. And take only minutes!

You’ll Need

Favorite vanilla cupcake recipe or mix

Paper cupcake liners (For fun, I used red.)

Red and pink food color

Red and Pink Sprinkles (Jimmies)

Parchment paper (if making the “Sprinkle Heart” cupcakes)

Icing, homemade or gluten-free canned

Tie Dyed Cupcakes

Since Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to create slightly over-the-top baked good, I decided to make tie-dyed cupcakes. (Skip this step if you don’t feel like messing around with food dye or if you are making chocolate cupcakes.)

Divide batter evenly among three bowls. Color one bowl pink and another red. Leave one bowl plain. Or color it another color. You do you!

Drop batter evenly into cupcake cavities. (Fill each cavity about 2/3 full with batter.) It doesn’t matter how much of each color you put into the pan. Have fun! Each cupcake will be slightly different.

Bake cupcakes according to recipe/mix directions. Remove from pan and allow to cool. When they’re cool, it’s time to decorate! If you frost warm cupcakes, the icing melts and I cry. Seriously, I could be out with my family and just burst into tears because you are frosting warm cupcakes. Now you don’t want that, do you? I didn’t think so!

First Decorating Hack: Edgy!

The first cupcake we’ll make is the easiest.

Slather some frosting on the cupcakes. Vanilla, dyed or not, is the best. Sprinkles don’t pop the same way on chocolate frosting. the cooled cupcakes. Put your sprinkles on a plate. Gather them near the edge of the plate.

Roll edge of the cupcake in the sprinkles. That’s it!

Done!

Next Decorating Hack: Stripey

The next cupcake is almost as easy to decorate. This one uses two colors of sprinkles.

Ice cupcakes. Fill plate with one color of sprinkles. Dip about 1/3 of cupcake into the sprinkles.

Now, that’s cute, right? You could stop there. But let’s go for a little more zing!

Fill another plate with sprinkles. Dip another 1/3 of the cupcakes into those sprinkles.

As you can see, I left the center uncoated. I like how this looks. If you wanted to, you could coat each half with sprinkles, leaving no white icing showing in the center. That’s cute too!

Neck Decorating Hack: Heart-y

What’s Valentine’s day without an abundance of hearts? Boring. That’s what!

Ice cupcakes and cut a heart out of a piece of parchment paper.

Ice cupcakes and allow the icing to firm up a little. (Usually by the time you’ve iced the last cupcake, the first one has a thin sugar crust. That’s what you want.) Put the stencil over the top of the cupcake.

Sprinkle red or pink sprinkles over the stencil. Using your fingers, press the sprinkles down into the icing so they’ll stick.

Gently pull stencil off the cupcake. (If your icing firmed up a little, it should not stick.)

Decorating Hack: Swirly

Isn’t that pretty?

You’ll need a few disposable decorator bags to make these cupcakes, a food-safe paintbrush, gel food colors, and a large star tip.

Inside the bag, paint two stripes of color (you can use the same or different colors) on opposite sides.

Carefully fill bag, trying not to disturb the icing stripes as little as possible.

The icing stripes spread over the white icing. Pipe icing onto cupcakes. If you run out of icing, you’ll need to make another bag. This is the only thing that makes this a little putzy. Reusing the bag, gives you pink icing, instead of white icing striped with red.

Each cupcake is unique. (I put a little gluten-free candy heart on this cupcake.) That’s it!

Okay, one more!

Decorating Hack: The Lazy 😉

Don’t feel like doing any of the projects above but want to decorate the cupcakes a little? Coating cupcakes in completely in sprinkles is always a fun and pretty (and easy!) way to decorate! Ice your cupcakes, fill a plate with sprinkles, turn the cupcakes over to coat, and you’re done!

Just ice your cupcakes. Plunk the entire thing into sprinkles and call it a day.

Messy

At the end of the project, your kitchen might look like this…

The Pioneer Woman’s Chocolate Sheet Cake, Made Gluten-Free!

Like most of the internet, I fell in love with “The Pioneer Woman,” several years ago.

Anyway, two years ago she posted a recipe for “The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.” At the time, I wanted to make the recipe gluten-free. Somehow life intervened and I never got around to doing it.

Well, Ree’s new cookbook was just released. To celebrate, I sat down a few weeks ago and converted the recipe. I’ll admit, I was curious. In the introduction, she calls the cake, “The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.” That sets the bar pretty high! And I love chocolate cake — that’s why there’s a chocolate cake slice on the cover of my cookbook? I am a woman who really loves chocolate cake!

I have to say, this recipe lived up to its name. Between the cake and the icing, the recipe uses almost two pounds of butter; so, you know it is going to be good. Every person I handed a slice to tipped back their head and moaned with pleasure upon taking a bite. (Okay, maybe they didn’t do that exactly but I knew they wanted to. The cake is that good!) A cross between a brownie and rich chocolate cake, this recipe is a winner. Plus, you’d never know the converted recipe is gluten-free. The texture is smooth and silky. I don’t even think Ree would be able to tell the difference between her version and my gluten-free version.

The cake is big. In fact, you might know this recipe as “Texas Sheet Cake.” If you are hosting a party, this is the cake to make. Everyone will swoon with joy and, I promise, your party will be a hit. And if you aren’t hosting a party? Make the cake anyway! It freezes nicely, icing and all!

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

For the Cake

2 cups granulated sugar (14 ounces; 396 grams)
1 cup finely ground white rice flour (4 ounces; 113 grams)
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1/2 cup cornstarch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoons salt
2 sticks unsalted butter (8 ounces; 226 grams)
5 tablespoons natural cocoa powder (about 1 ounce; 26 grams)
1 cup boiling water (8 ounces; 226 grams)
1/2 cup buttermilk (4 ounces; 113 grams)
2 large eggs (3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Icing

1 3/4 sticks butter (7 ounces; 198 grams)
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (14 ounces; 396 grams)
5 tablespoons natural cocoa powder (about 1 ounce; 26 grams)
6 tablespoons milk (3 ounces; 85 grams)

Instructions

Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12x18x1 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Whisk together granulated sugar, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
Melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and allow mixture to cook for 3 minutes. Stir in boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30 seconds.
Pour mixture over dry ingredients. Stir to combine. (You can use a balloon whisk for this.) Blend until smooth. Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until a batter forms. Pour batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for 25 minutes or until cake springs back to the touch. Remove cake from the oven.
Make the Frosting: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder. Stir to combine. Turn off heat. Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour over warm cake.