Alien Muffins! (aka, pigs in a blanket, muffin-tin-style)

 These muffin-style pigs in a blanket had us all laughing - and happily enjoying. My youngest wanted to try making pigs in a blanket, but easier - by baking them in a muffin tin. Worked great! And lots of fun had by all. Enjoy!

Alien muffins, fresh from the oven!

Alien Muffins!

Preheat oven to 425 - 450 F.  Butter 12 muffin tins.

Open a package of hot dogs: 

1 package hot dogs (I like to use no nitrate ones)

And cut each hotdog into 3 or 4 pieces, then set aside: 

Typically 10 hot dogs are in a package, so each alien muffin will get just a bit less than one hot dog. 

In a mixer, combine: 

3 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

2 tsp xanthan gum (there is some in the flour mix, but you'll want a little extra)

1 Tbsp rapid-rise/quick yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp dried onion flakes (optional)

1/2 - 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes (optional)

1 tsp freeze-dried or dried cilantro (optional)

Add, and beat 2-3 minutes, until nice and smooth: 

2 1/4 cup milk, a little warmer than room temperature (lactose-free works well)

2 eggs

1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

Scoop the batter into the buttered muffin tins, filling each ~halfway.  Press hot dog pieces into batter. 

Brush the alien muffins with:

2 - 3 Tbsp melted butter

Alien muffins, buttered and rising. 

Bake at 425-450 F for ~15 minutes, until a dark golden brown.  Remove from oven. After a couple minutes, remove from the muffin tin and set on wire rack.  Serve with ketchup and mustard, as desired. Cooled leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated, or they can be frozen and reheated.  Enjoy!

They definitely are a little wonkier to eat compared to the regular pigs in a blanket, but they made everyone so happy. Worth it! 

Alien Muffins recipe by Successfully Gluten Free (aka, pigs in a blanket, muffin-tin style)

 I've been reading about making cookies with browned butter, but I've just been too lazy to go through the ordeal of browning and then cooling. But then, after some trial and tweaking, I discovered this method of browning butter - cooling a bit, and then adding in the other ingredients, similar to making my favorite brownies recipe. Enjoy!

Freshly cooled browned butter chocolate chocolate chip cookies! Yum!

Browned Butter Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a small saucepan over medium heat, place: 

3/4 cup butter

Stirring constantly, making sure to scrap the bottom well, let cook and bubble for 5-7 minutes, until it turns into a nice golden brown. Make sure to keep an eye on it, since you don't want to overcook the browned butter. The little bits at the bottom are nice browned bits of milk, which have a lot of flavor, so that's totally normal to see and you'll want to keep and add them into your cookie dough, as well.  

Remove from heat. Pour the browned butter into a bowl. Stir in: 

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Set the cocoa powder and browned butter on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, to cool down.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: It's important to do this in GF baking to avoid clumping.

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

Beat together in a mixer 2-3 minutes (just to help it cool down a bit):

browned butter-cocoa-vanilla mixture

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

Add and beat until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes: 

2 eggs

1/2 - 1 tsp water (if you'd like them to spread more - the ones in the photos did not have this extra water, so they did not spread much)

Stir in the flour mixture from above, just until combined. 

Add and stir in: 

2 cups chocolate chips, an assortment is nice (white, milk, semi, dark, etc)

Scoop onto parchment lined pans. Flatten slightly, if desired, for a wider cookie. Bake at 350 F. Small scoops (1 Tbsp) bake ~7-9 minutes OR Large scoops (should be flattened) bake ~13-14 minutes.

Scooped and ready to bake. The more chips, the less they'll spread. If you like fewer chips, they will tend to spread a bit more during baking. (But not too much).

Fresh from the oven. 

Let rest on the baking trays ~5 minutes before removing to the cooling racks. Best of luck not eating them immediately off the cooling racks.  If any are left, cooled cookies can be frozen for later. 

For an extra special treat, you can dip frozen cookies halfway in melted caramel chocolate or any other chocolate.  Yum!  Enjoy!

Cooling on the cooling rack. The house smells delicious.

Dipped in some caramel chocolate leftover from making chocolate dipped banana slices. Yum!

Browned Butter Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe By Successfully Gluten Free!

 Sometimes, it's fun to just have a bit of variation with your chocolate chip cookie dessert.  I have posted another version of a chocolate chip cookie pie before, but made some modifications this time around with ingredient preparations and cooking temperature, which we really enjoyed. This version turned out with a delicious taste and texture.  And, my favorite thing about a cookie pie is that you can pack in the chocolate without affecting the general spread like with a regular chocolate chip cookie. Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven! Yum!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie!

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter 1 pie dish. 

In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt: 

1/2 cup butter

Add and mix in: 

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup 2 Tbsp maple sugar (Use white sugar if you don't have maple sugar)

Add and mix in: 

1 egg

1-2 tsp vanilla bean paste

In a separate bowl, whisk together: 

1 cup white rice flour

1/4 - 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Fold the dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. 

Then fold in: 

1 - 1/2 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

Spread gently into the pan. 

Pressed into the pan, and ready to bake! Definitely full of chocolate. 

Bake at 375 F for 19-20 minutes, until nicely golden brown.  Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack. Best to cool most of the way for cleaner cuts when serving, but it's hard to resist. Great plain or with a dollop of ice cream. Or, with a dollop of gelato and drizzle of chocolate syrup, according to my daughter (see photo below). 

Enjoy! 

It makes the house smell soooooooo good.

The version my youngest prepped for herself.

My plain and preferred method of eating. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 These rolls came about by chance.  I had a bit of extra dough from making pigs in a blanket, and rather than making cheese-stuffed buns, I haphazardly piped dollops of dough and stuck chunks of cheese on top.  The resulting rolls have quickly turned into a favorite - particularly good as hamburger buns! You can pipe them smaller or larger, depending on what size roll you'd like. Enjoy!

Rolls topped with chunks of cheddar cheese. 

Rolls topped with chunks of Monterey Jack cheese. Yum!

Cheddar Swirl Rolls!

Makes 12-18 rolls, depending on how you pipe.

Preheat oven to 425 - 450 F. Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

In a mixer, combine: 

3 1/2 cups Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

OR 

1 1/2 cup brown rice flour

3/4 cup sorghum flour (or additional brown rice flour)

1/2 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup arrowroot starch OR cornstarch

1/4 cup potato starch

1 tsp xanthan gum

Also add and combine in the mixer:  

2 tsp xanthan gum (there is some in the flour mix, but you'll want a little extra)

1 Tbsp rapid-rise/quick yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp dried onion flakes 

1/2 - 1 tsp red chili pepper flakes 

1 tsp freeze-dried or dried cilantro 

Add, and beat 2-3 minutes, until nice and smooth: 

2 1/4 cup milk, a little warmer than room temperature (lactose-free works well - I usually pop this in the microwave for 1 minute)

2 eggs

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Scoop the batter into a large freezer ziploc bag. Cut off ~1/2" from the corner.  

Pipe into swirls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a second sheet, if needed. It depends how you pipe them.  You'll want the rolls to rise at least 15 minutes before baking, but you can dice the cheese, top and brush with butter during this time. 

These were slightly smaller, so I had enough dough to also pipe an additional 6 rolls on a second pan.

Top the rolls with: 

sharp cheddar (or similar), diced or chunks ~5 pieces per roll

Brush the rolls prior to baking with: 

1/4 cup butter, melted

Topped with cheddar chunks.

Brushed with butter, ready to bake after a 15-20 minute rise.

After rising 15-20 minutes, bake at 425-450 F for ~17 minutes, until nicely golden brown.  

Remove to a cooling rack to cool. They can be sliced and used as sandwich rolls or hamburger buns. Absolutely delicious! Enjoy! 

Fresh from the oven! This batch I had 12 on one pan and 6 extras (these) on a smaller second pan.

Cheddar Swirl Rolls Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 When you just need a little batch of brownies. Something to last just a couple days or to eat in tiny bites because you're trying to be good - this is your recipe! You just need one bar of 70-75% dark chocolate and a half bar of white chocolate. Easy peasy! 

A yummy piece of brownie - filled with chunks of white chocolate.

Delicious Brownies - Small pan style

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together (at 50% power, stirring every 30-60 seconds): 

100 g / 3.5 oz 70-75% dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces

1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp butter

Add and mix in: 

1/2 cup sugar

Stir in until smooth: 

2 eggs

Stir in: 

2 - 3 Tbsp Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix or white or brown rice flour 

Fold in: 

50 g / 1.5 - 2 oz white chocolate bar, diced

Bake in a parchment-lined pan (something a bit smaller than an 8 x 8" is perfect) at 350 F for 20 minutes.  Let rest and serve! 

Brownies in a parchment-lined pan, ready for baking!

Fresh from the oven!

Best to let them rest before slicing for a nice, neat slice. 

Delicious Brownie - Small Pan Style Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

These chocolate covered hand-dipped banana bites might be one of my favorite little frozen treats ever! I fell in love with chocolate covered frozen bananas as a kid - but I much prefer the chocolate-banana ratio of these yummy little slices.  Since I spend my life playing around with recipes and trying to simplify recipes that I make to make things faster, easier, and cleaner. These hand-dipped banana bites remove some of the mess from cleanup, since you can just dip them by hand.  (Yes, it's a bit cold on your fingers, sorry! Maybe grab someone to share the chocolate dipping with so your fingers don't freeze.) If you prefer to dip with forks, I still have my original banana bites recipe here. Enjoy!

Don't mind the missing slices - they were lost to quality control. These were dipped in milk and semi-sweet chocolate. Yum!

Dipped in a caramel and dark chocolate, these were popped out for a sweet treat.

Chocolate Hand-Dipped Banana Bites

You can make as much as you like, but I find 2-3 bananas per 10"x12" tray work well.

Use a small metal baking sheet for your banana bites. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Slice up in ½” slices and lay on parchment paper: 

2-3 nice, ripe yellow banana (not the overripe, spotted brown ones)

Pop that into the freezer, and allow to freeze completely (1-2 hrs at least, but you can leave it overnight).  I've forgotten I froze the banana slices and left them several days before - no problem!  

Use two types of chocolate for dipping. 

In two microwave safe bowls place: 

1/2 cup dark, semi-sweet, milk chocolate, caramel, OR white chocolate chips

1/2 - 3/4 tsp oil

Heat each bowl of chocolate at 50% power in the microwave for 60 seconds, stir, and then another 20-30 second increments until melted, stirring each time. 

Work quickly with the frozen banana.  If you feel like they're softening, return them to the freezer for 5 minutes to chill. 

Remove the frozen banana slices from the freezer.  You’ll want to use your fingers to pull them off the parchment paper, since they’ll stick a little. 

Dip each banana halfway in one type of chocolate, returning to the frozen parchment-lined pan immediately after dipping.  

Bananas dipped halfway in a delicious caramel chocolate. Ready to dip the other side! We think they look like little creatures dipped like this. hehe.

It's best to work quickly - or pop the bananas back in the freezer for 10 minutes before dipping the other side. Repeat, dipping each banana slice halfway in the second type of chocolate.  

Dipped in a dark chocolate on the second side.

A delicious combo of milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate for these banana slices. Yum!

The chocolate hardens quickly, so you can eat right away, or store in the freezer for later.  For storing, make sure you put the frozen dipped banana bites in a Tupperware or Ziploc in the freezer to retain the best taste.   Perfect for summer!!! 

A few bites for each person, ready to serve!

Extra chocolate?! No problem! Put those frozen cookies to good use and dip them in the extra melted chocolate. Dipped some triple chocolate cookies in a caramel chocolate. Scrumptious!

**I love using Callebaut chocolate chips for dipping.  They are a high quality chocolate and they give you the fluidity of the chocolate, which is helpful.  A 3/5 or 4/5 fluidity is the easier to work with for these. Their caramel chocolate is divine!** 

Chocolate Hand-Dipped Banana Bites Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 You may notice I've never posted a strawberry-rhubarb crisp recipe. It's because I just never really loved the combination of the oat crumble topping with the flavors of the strawberry rhubarb. But a strawberry rhubarb cobbler - now we're talking! This is absolutely delicious and whips up so quickly! Perfect to use with all the fresh rhubarb and you can use fresh or frozen whole strawberries in the recipe. The topping recipe can be used for one pan or split between two pans for a lighter topping. If you would prefer a lighter cobbler topping, consider whipping up a cherry cobbler or peach cobbler alongside! Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven - strawberry rhubarb cobbler!!! Yum!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

In an 8" x 8" glass pan, fill pan to 3/4 full with: 

~2-3 cups diced rhubarb, diced/sliced

~1-2 cups whole strawberries (slightly defrosted whole strawberries from the freezer works perfectly)

I aim to use approximately 1/3 strawberry and 2/3 rhubarb for a nice flavor ratio.  For me, this worked out to spreading some strawberries mostly covering the bottom of the 8x8 pan, and then adding chopped rhubarb until the pan was filled 3/4 full.  Rhubarb and strawberries come in all shapes and sizes, so exact measurements aren't great for this recipe.  I found one bunch of rhubarb worked great to fill the pan to the 3/4 full along with the strawberries. 

Add and mix in: 

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-free Flour Mix

Set aside and prepare the cobbler topping. 

The pan filled 3/4 with fresh rhubarb and whole partially thawed strawberries. Ready to mix in the bit of sugar and flour mix.

Cobbler Topping:

If you want a lighter topping, make half the amount listed here - it'll work perfectly well, too!  In fact, I tend to prefer the lighter topping. I often make the full amount and split it between a cherry cobbler or peach cobbler.  I add a bit of cinnamon to the flour and sugar mixed with the fruit for those cobblers, otherwise everything else is the same!

In a large bowl, mix together:

1 cup Kristin's Gluten-free Flour Mix
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add, chopping in with a pastry cutter until you have a crumbly topping:
3 Tbsp butter, chilled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the prepared cherries. 

Topped and ready to bake - this is topped with half the cobbler topping, so it'll look like twice as much if you use the full cobbler topping. Both ways are equally delicious!

Bake at 350 F for ~50-55 minutes, until topping is nicely browned.  Great served hot or warm. 

The cobbler can be served alone - but we love it with a tiny dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream needed!  Enjoy!

Strawberry rhubarb cobbler and a cherry-apple cobbler, fresh from the oven! Yum!

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!