Key Lime Curd & Lemon Sugar Cookies

Key lime curd served alongside homemade gluten-free lemon sugar cookies or key lime cookies are a perfect summertime dessert when you want something light, but flavorful.  The homemade curd is wonderfully pleasant, filled with key lime zest and juice.  If you need to juice your own, you will need quite a lot of key limes. I think something around 20 or so for that much juice.   The cookies are lovely made into little sandwiches, or served with a dollop of curd on top of each cookie.  Or, you can serve alongside on a small plate, as shown in the picture here.  Enjoy!

Key lime curd served alongside homemade key lime cookies, but equally delicious with the easy, no-fuss lemon sugar cookie recipe below! 

Key Lime Curd & Lemon Sugar Cookies

Whisk together in a pan:
1/2 cup key lime juice
zest of 7-10 key limes
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2/3 - 3/4 cup cold water

Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly.  Once mixture boils, let boil for 1 minute.   Then add and whisk in:
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 Tbsp butter

Allow the curd to boil for 1 minute only. Remove from heat.  Pour curd into a large bowl (or several smaller bowls) and cover with plastic wrap (have the plastic wrap tight to the top, like you do for pudding.   Let cool or serve warm with key lime coolers or the lemon sugar cookies, below.  Enjoy!!!

Lemon Sugar Cookies
Make one batch of Kristin's Favorite Sugar Cookies, adding 6 drops lemon essential oil (high quality - I love the Doterra lemon oil) and 1 tsp lemon zest.    I've retyped the recipe with modifications here for convenience.

Makes ~40 small cookies (it really depends on your cookie cutter or cookie scoop size)

Preheat oven to 375F.  Line baking sheets with silicon lining or parchment paper.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl: (it's important to do this in GF cooking to avoid clumping)
1 1/2 cups Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour mix
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Beat in a mixer until fluffy:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter

Add and mix in thoroughly:
1/2 egg (beat the egg in a bowl with a fork and dump in approx. half the egg - the recipe is forgiving)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
6 drops lemon essential oil
1 tsp lemon zest

Add dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.   If you want to roll and cut shapes, then wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to chill.   Otherwise, you can scoop and then flatten the cookies with a plastic-bag wrapped glass or your hand.

Roll out chilled dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to approx 1/4" thickness.  Cut into whatever shapes you like and place on prepared cookie sheets.  

If desired, you can sprinkle the cookies with decorative sugar crystals before cooking for a fancier look, or dust with powdered sugar after baking. 

Bake cookies ~6-9 minutes (depending on size) until just barely browned on edges of the cookies.  Remove pan from oven.  Let sit a few minutes before placing your cookies on a cooling rack.

Perfect served alongside fresh key lime curd, for a decadent treat.  You can dust your cookies with powdered sugar, if desired.   Enjoy!

Key lime curd, sandwiched between cookies. Yum! 

Homemade Butter Chicken

This easy gluten-free butter chicken recipe is wonderful!  Despite the name, there's very little butter in it, but it's nice and creamy and not too spicy, being a family-friendly Indian dish.  I've made several renditions of butter chicken over the years, but never been satisfied until now.  Make sure you start a day ahead, so you can marinate your chicken overnight, allowing the flavors to have ample time to sink into the meat.  None of the steps in this recipe are tricky, but it doesn't require quite a bit of simmering time, so make sure to read through the recipe ahead of time.   This was a perfect dish for my brother's birthday dinner, served alongside chicken saag, in which we used paneer in place of chicken (wonderful) and fresh, homemade GF naan bread.  Enjoy!

A delicious meal of butter chicken and paneer saag (made with diced paneer in place of chicken) over rice 

Homemade Butter Chicken
based off a NYTimes recipe
Serves ~8, about 1 hr 15 minutes cooking time (most of it simmering time)

In a large tupperware, mix together the night before you want to make this dish to marinate chicken thighs: (aka, ~24 in advance)
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt (lactose-free works great)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp garam masala
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 Tbsp ground tumeric
3 lbs boneless chicken thighs

In a large pan over medium heat, melt butter, then cook 2-3 minutes:
1/4 cup butter
1-2 Tbsp oil
1 large onion

Add to onions and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until onions are just starting to brown:
2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp cumin seeds

Add to the pan, and cook about 10 minutes, lowering heat to just below medium heat:
16 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno, minced OR 1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp salt

Add to pan and cook 5 minutes:
Chicken, marinated plus marinade sauce

Add to pot and cook, simmering over medium-low heat for 30 minutes:
3/4 cup GF chicken stock (or 3/4 cup water + 1 tsp Asian mushroom seasoning)

After simmering, add and simmer an additional 15 minutes to thicken:
1 - 1 1/2 cups coconut cream (OR thick part of canned coconut milk if you can't find canned coconut cream)

Serve over fresh basmati rice.  If desired, you can sprinkle with fresh cilantro before serving.  Absolutely wonderful served alongside homemade gluten-free naan bread, too!  Enjoy!

A delicious meal of butter chicken and paneer saag (made with diced paneer in place of chicken) over rice with GF key lime cookies and key lime curd (recipe to be posted soon) on the side! 

Update!  Another option for your butter chicken meal!  Add some fresh spinach during the last five minutes of simmering.  Top your dish with thinly sliced oven roasted carrots and potatoes.  It was a hit at my house! To make your roasted veggies, thinly slice carrots and potatoes. Toss in a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, spread out evenly and roast on a cookie sheet at 425F until just browning.  My kids especially loved this addition to our butter chicken.  Enjoy! 

Butter chicken with spinach added, topped with roasted carrots and potatoes. Yum!

Dark Chocolate Whoopie Pies!

Whoopie pies are a fun, delicious treat that come in all sizes and with a variety of fillings.  These ones are a dark, rich chocolate puffy cookie filled with marshmallow frosting.  The cookie itself is puffy and moist, a mix between a piece of cake and a cookie.  I recently posted a family favorite oatmeal whoopie pie recipe.  You can easily fill these cookies with an ice cream of your choice for a delicious ice cream sandwich, too!  For a proper chocolate whoopie pie (reminiscent of my days travelling to Bova's bakery in the North End of Boston), you can fill your chocolate whoopie pies with freshly whipped cream sweetened with just a touch of powdered sugar, then store them in the refrigerator for up to a day.  Yum!  Enjoy!

Homemade Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Whoopie Pies

Chocolate Whoopie Pies!
Makes 12 whoopie pies

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line two pans with silicon liners or parchment paper.

Mix in a bowl, and then set aside: (it's important to mix gluten-free flours first to avoid clumping when baking)
1 cup extra dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

In a mixer, beat until fluffy:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

Add and mix until well combined, scraping down the bowl a few times:
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 eggs

Scoop 12 cookies onto each parchment paper/silicon lined pan.  They will spread a bit and puff up during baking.   Bake at 375 F for 7-9 minutes.  (less for softer, fluffier - more for harder with a slight crisp edge)

You can leave scooped for puffier whoopie pies, or flatten slightly before cooking (with your hand in a plastic bag) for flatter/wider cookies.

Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Chocolate Whoopie Pie Cookies, cooling before being filled.

Once cool, fill with delicious marshmallow fluff frosting *(measurements below for the right amount for these cookies) OR whipped heavy cream/whipping cream (1 cup heavy cream + 2-3 Tbsp powdered sugar).   Make sure to refrigerate if you use the whipping cream.   These are great right away, but I find even better if they're left refrigerated overnight to let the flavors mesh a little before serving.  Enjoy!

*Marshmallow Fluff Frosting - just enough for filling 12 whoopie pies!
Beat together until smooth, then use to fill whoopie pies:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste
~1 cup marshmallow fluff