My husband once told me that his favorite pie was a Key Lime Pie. I think Key Lime Pie is very Florida. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I didn't know much about Florida, so I really never understood what Key Lime Pie was all about. It sounds pretty fancy. Not just lime. Key lime. (Those are those tiny limes, right?)
Read MoreThis recipe is so basic- so easy- that I almost hesitate to include it on the blog. This recipe is so simple that I first copied it down on a small 5x7 notepad from the office. There are very few measurements-- "big Jell-O pudding box," "tub of Cool Whip," and "sliced bananas."
Read MoreI haven't baked anything that called for puff pastry since my son was diagnosed with Celiac Disease over 7 years ago. A friend recently recommended GeeFree Gluten-Free Puff Pastry and I happened to be near a Whole Foods the other day, so I picked up a box. With one "sheet," I made Pigs in a Blanket... because PIGS IN A BLANKET, duh. The other sheet sat around in my freezer for awhile until a few weeks ago when I needed a quick gluten-free dessert. After a quick search of apple desserts, I came across one that seemed perfect... a salted caramel apple tart!
Read MoreMy son's favorite flavor of ice cream is Salted Caramel. I blame Grom and our trip to Venice a few years ago for his sophisticated dessert palate. It's not really something worth blaming... I love salted caramel, too... but it was a daunting flavor to attempt to make at home. Have you ever made caramel? If you read the description of the dry burn method in Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, I guarantee you will be intimidated. But, like so many things in life, it's important to do & conquer those things that intimidate us. I did and the result (this Salted Caramel Torrone Ice Cream) was amazing. So, I'm here telling you that you need to face up to the things that intimidate you. Monday Mornings, that Pile of Laundry, Your Boss, heck- Your Kid, and yes, the Dry Burn Method. You can do it!
Read MoreI checked out Cook's Country America's Best Lost Recipes at the library the other day, and was immediately fascinated by some of the crazy-sounding recipes. I mean, Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake?!?! Apparently, it's really good.... but I'm still skeptical, too skeptical to attempt to degluten that one.
But, there was one recipe that intrigued me enough to attempt: Peach Puzzle Pie. I thought the puzzle part had to do with how the pie comes apart into pieces and each piece has it's own peach, like a circular peach puzzle. Seemed like a stretch, but ok. Buuut, as I read on, it turns out that the puzzle is actually waaaay cooler than that. The "puzzle" has to do with how a melted-butter-brown-sugar-peach sauce ends up magically in an upside down ramekin. Say, whaaaattt???
Read MoreAs I finally get around to adding this recipe to the blog, we are seriously in the Last Gasp of Summer. Yeah, the kids are back in school and the flowers are still blooming in the garden, but there are leaves on the ground and it's getting chilly enough to close windows at nighttime. And, in probably one of the biggest signs that we are moving to fall, there was a bin of pumpkins for sale right next to a bin of watermelon at my local grocery store!
So, get this recipe in before it's too late. Or, maybe you're one of the lucky ones where your season is starting to turn to spring (Hello Australia!) or you live somewhere constantly tropical. Either way, this Watermelon Lemonade Sorbet comes together super-quickly and is refreshing beyond belief.
Read MoreSometimes you feel like running 10 miles... and sometimes you just can't get out of bed. Sometimes you can read all of "War and Peace" in one sitting... and sometimes you can't stop binge watching House Hunters International. Sometimes you feel like making ice cream... and sometimes you don't. THIS is the recipe for those times. No-bake, make-ahead, frozen, rich, creamy & chocolatey.
Read MoreAhhhhh, strawberry season! I have gone relatively crazy with strawberries in my kitchen lately. After forcing my children on our annual strawberry picking adventure at the start of summer vacation, we've been up to our ears in fresh strawberries. Not a bad place to be, really.
I have a soft spot for ice cream. And, the weirder the flavor, the better... but honestly, this isn't actually that weird of an ice cream flavor. The balsamic is just hinted at and, when you think about it, mascarpone is basically a really thick, slightly richer heavy cream... all the same, this isn't a flavor that you'd find at your local 31 Flavors. And, it most definitely is a flavor worth making.
Read MoreNothing says "summer" like a good old fashioned sloppy strawberry shortcake. Thick indulgent whipped cream, freshly-picked strawberries, and a flaky, buttery biscuit. I call dibs on seconds! This strawberry shortcake recipe is The Jam. It's so good, you should try it with all your summer berries. Or, heck, even just plain with a cup of coffee in the morning. So, go forth, pick your berries in season, and enjoy.
Read MoreThese Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies are a staple in my gluten-free kitchen. I have been making them ever since my son was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease over 7 years ago. They are very easy to make, don't require any crazy flour blends, and the dough can even be frozen in log-form and then sliced off to bake one-at-a-time whenever you get a cookie hankering. (Cookie hankering is a real thing, believe me you.)
Read MoreYou've heard of breakfast for dinner, but have you heard of dessert for breakfast? I think this might just have to become a thing. A scoop of Gluten Free Coffee & Donuts Ice Cream is the perfect summer breakfast and I think you should definitely work it into your morning routine. Right after that early morning run, alright?
Read MoreWhen I was in high school I worked at our local Baskin Robbins and through that job, I developed a true hatred for chocolate ice cream. THIS has changed my worldview on chocolate ice cream. Yes, it can still be tricky to scoop, but the flavor is incredible and makes the sore wrist worthwhile. It's flavored mostly with cocoa powder, so it truly tastes like hot chocolate, but with the creaminess of a cold, cold fine chocolate buttercream. Fold in some mini marshmallows before freezing, and you've got what I call Frozen Hot Cocoa & Marshmallow Ice Cream.
Read MoreI know salted desserts are kind of overdone at this point. But, there's a reason for that. Salt and sweet taste great together! Duh. Since our kitchen went gluten-free over 7 years ago, I've kind of been searching for the best gluten-free brownie recipe.
Read MoreIt's 7pm on a Sunday. You're wrapping up dinnertime, negotiating bath times, getting ready for pjs, and thinking about the week ahead. And, oh yeah, by the way, "Mom, tomorrow we're having a party in my class. I forgot to tell you. Can you send in a treat for me?"
You've been there, I know. I always keep a box of King Arthur GF Chocolate Cake Mix and even a tub of Duncan Hines frosting on hand... but, there are ways to make even a boxed mix something special. The techniques I'm about to share aren't exactly hard to do.... but they do take a couple of extra steps. That said, they're worth it and will give your GF kid the chance to safely taste the magic of a Hostess Cupcake. Marshmallow fluff pumped into the middle and all.
Read MoreDo you remember begging your mom to put these in your lunch? Hostess Snack Cakes? Maybe you wanted Twinkies or Ding Dongs or Tiger Tails... but they're really all the same thing, right? Tons of preservatives, almost sickeningly sweet, can survive a nuclear war... but oh-so delicious. According to Hostess, Ho-Hos are "so sweet, we had to name them twice."
Well, I do remember really wanting these rolls of goodness, but my son doesn't. He's never had them before. Ever. Last I checked, Hostess hadn't really cashed in on the big gluten-free food trend. Sooooo, challenge accepted!
Read MoreRocky Road was my grandfather's favorite dessert and family history has it that his mother Marion would make it to lure him back home after he had run away. My grandpa Jack was pretty smart, so my guess is he figured this out fairly quickly and would run away just to get more Rocky Road.
Read MorePeanut Butter Kisses... Peanut Butter Blossoms... Kiss Cookies... they go by many different names, but they all share the most perfect of taste combinations: Peanut Butter and Chocolate. When we first went GF, I really wanted to find a recipe for a peanut butter Hershey Kiss cookie. It's a great one to make with kids because they love unwrapping (and snitching a few) of the Hershey Kisses. And, this recipe is pretty perfect.
Read MoreGreat food comes with the fall-- apple cider, pumpkin-flavored everything, soups and, really, just buckets of apple cider. I have a great recipe for a gluten-free skillet apple crisp which I'll hopefully post soon. We make it every year. Multiple times.
Anyways, this year, I began to wonder if I could combine the yumminess of the skillet apple crisp with my ice cream making obsession. Since I have not fallen in love with making ice creams (or custards, to be specific) with egg yolks, I decided to go with Jeni's ice cream base. Her cookbook "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home" has a baked apple sorbet recipe, but I wanted to make an ice cream. Something about the apple flavor mixed with the creaminess of ice cream drove me to the successful kitchen experiment I call "Apple Crisp Ice Cream!"
Read MoreThis is a treat I look forward to making every year. And, apparently, I'm not the only one. I adapted this recipe from a NYTimes recipe, a recipe that the paper has published every year since 1983. It is an easy recipe to convert to gluten-free since it really doesn't use all that much flour-- only a cup. Bake it and enjoy. And, please, don't be shy about eating this for breakfast. It includes fruit after all. It's practically healthy!
Read MoreThis one is a tough one to post. See, these cookies are something special. I mean, really, something special. They are the cookie that I get the most compliments on and the most requests for. I bet you're wondering what they taste like. Maybe this crazy gluten-free baker just really likes corn, but in cookie form? That's crazytalk! Who wants a savory cookie? (Is that you?) Well, let me tell you who wants this cookie, you do. You and all your gluten-free friends and gluten-eating friends, to boot. So, what does it taste like? It's like creamed corn in cookie form. It's like a shortbread cookie with depth. It's like the best cookie you will ever eat. Period.
Read Morebutter + sugar: baking treats that taste good without the gluten
