Gluten-Free (Freeze-Dried) Berry Waffles!

 I love the idea of freeze-dried fruit.  One day recently, I realized that the tiny flecks of berry in some frozen gluten-free waffles we'd purchased (sometimes I just cave and buy things) could be duplicated at home by crushing up freeze-dried berries!  Voila!  A berry waffle that doesn't make a juicy mess all over the waffle iron!  Hooray!  Enjoy! 

Fresh, delicious berry waffles! 

I like to put waffles onto cooling racks.  My family snatches them off the rack to eat, and it also keeps them from getting soggy - so leftovers can be easily frozen once cool.

Gluten-Free Berry Waffles!

Makes ~36 waffles (6 batches on my waffle iron that makes 6 small waffles)

Turn on waffle iron so it can preheat. 

In a large bowl, combine: 

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca starch

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Add and mix just until thoroughly combined - it's okay to have some lumps, but try to get most smoothed out: 

3 1/2 cup milk (dairy or lactose-free work great)

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup applesauce

4 eggs

Mix and stir in: 

1 cup freeze-dried berries, measured out then crushed (I just crush them with my hands before dropping them in the batter)

Fruity waffle batter, ready for baking.

Butter the waffle iron lightly, then cook waffles until nicely browned and crisp.  Remove and immediately serve on plates OR place waffles onto a wire rack.  Putting the waffles on a cooling rack after cooking helps avoid waffles getting soggy if you aren't going to eat them right away.  Cooled waffles can be frozen in a ziploc bag and reheated in a toaster oven for quick and easy breakfasts.  Serve fresh, hot berry waffles with whatever toppings you enjoy most!  Enjoy! 

Gluten-Free Berry Waffles!!!!!

Gluten-Free Berry Waffles made with Freeze-Dried Berries Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

This gluten-free monkey bread with a drizzle on top is a fun treat.  Using egg whites only and a different blend of flours helps the dough be lighter and fluffier than my original monkey bread recipe, although we still like that recipe, too.  The bread can be pulled apart to eat when it's freshly made.  Once cooled, I love to slice it in thicker slices to freeze and toast for yummy breakfasts or snacks.  Enjoy! 

Monkey bread with drizzle added while the bread was warm so it melts into the top of the bread.  You can also let it cool and then add the drizzle.

A slice of monkey bread, toasted and ready to eat.  I love it sliced and toasted best.

Monkey Bread with Drizzle

Makes 2 loaves

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line two regular-sized loaf pans with parchment paper.  

In a mixer, combine: (It's important to mix dry ingredients first in gluten-free baking)

2 cups tapioca flour

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour

1/4 c + 2 Tbsp potato starch

1/4 cup quick cook steel-cut oats (Make sure these are gluten-free if Celiac or sensitive)

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp xanthan gum

1 Tbsp rapid rise/quick yeast

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 baking powder

Add the following and beat 5 - 7 minutes, scraping occasionally: 

1 1/2 cups warm water (not hot)

7.5 oz (just under 1 cup) egg whites

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup oil (avocado, canola, light olive oil all work well)

1 Tbsp honey

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

While dough is mixing, prepare the following: 

Melt in a bowl: 

1/3 cup butter

Mix in a separate bowl: 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 - 2 Tbsp cinnamon (depends on how strong you like your cinnamon flavor)

Dip heaping teaspoonfuls of dough half into melted butter, then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.  Using a second spoon, scoop the dough into the prepared large bread pans.  Repeat until the two pans are evenly filled.  I find I make two layers of dipped dough spoonfuls for each bread pan.  

You can use smaller sizes spoonfuls, if you prefer, but I find heaping Tbsp size scoops work well. 

Let bread rise, covered loosely - I find I need more space than just covering with plastic wrap for the rising.  I like to put a small baking pan upside down over the top of pans (you can have this resting on glasses or jars next to the pans if the pans don't have lips to rest the pan on top of).  If the bread is rising in a warm location, I find it rises in about 30 - 40 minutes.  If it is a cool day, it may take up to an hour to rise. It should be doubled in size.

Ready to cover with a upside down cookie sheet to rise.

It's always difficult to see the amount bread has risen in a photo, but if you look at the glass side of the dish on the left of the first photo compared to how the parchment paper is covered by the risen dough in the bottom photo, you can see now nicely it has risen.  

Bake bread at 350 F for 50-60 minutes.  You can cover the top of the bread loosely with aluminum foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking if you don't want it to brown too much.   Let bread cool in pans for 5 minutes before carefully removing bread from pans (and removing parchment paper) and placing bread onto a cooling rack to cool.  

Fresh from the oven - let it rest 5 minutes before removing from pan and removing parchment paper.  

Once you place it on the cooling rack, mix together the following glaze: 

1 oz cream cheese, softened (optional)

2 Tbsp butter, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

milk, 1 tsp at a time until smooth consistency

You can glaze your bread while hot if you'd like the glaze to melt into the bread a bit, or you can wait until the bread has cooled a bit, and then glaze.  Once the bread has cooled a bit, it's ready to eat!  You can pull pieces apart to eat, which is fun.  When the bread has fully cooled, you can slice it into thick slices and freeze.   I find this toasts up beautifully in the toaster oven.  Yum! Enjoy! 

Monkey Bread with Drizzle by Successfully Gluten Free!

 So, there's this delicious pizza place in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island called Famous Peppers.  They have such delicious and creative toppings.  We decided to recreate their fun taco pizza at home.  My kids were SO excited and loved helping prep toppings since this is one of their favorite pizzas.  Since then, we've made it over and over and over because we love it so much.  It's a similar idea to a loaded Navajo taco, but there's something fun about it being a pizza on crust.  Enjoy! 

Personal sized taco pizzas - made four to a tray for these particular ones.  SO yummy! 

Taco Pizzas!

Makes 6 medium sized pizzas or 12 individual-sized pizzas. 

Make a batch of naan bread for the crusts, or use the desired crust of your choice.   You can make them larger (2 crusts to a pan) or smaller (4 crusts to a pan) - you'll use 3 pans lined with parchment paper for the crusts.   The naan crusts can be made in advance and frozen until you want to thaw and make your pizzas. Let them cool on a wire rack before freezing in large ziploc bags.  You can place on your parchment-lined pan to thaw.  

Cook up your taco meat - I like to use the recipe I'd use for regular tacos.  I'll include the recipe here for ease:

Taco Meat: 

Heat in large, low sided saucepan over medium heat:

1 Tbsp olive oil

 

Add and cook until softened:

½ onion

5-6 mushrooms, diced (optional)

 

Add and cook until browned:

1 lb. ground beef

 

Then add:

1 Tbsp chili powder

½-1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp salt

½-1 tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp ground cayenne (add an extra ¼ tsp for a spicier meat)

1 cup water

 

Bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower heat to low and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes.  Once it's simmered, it's ready to eat!

Preheat oven to 425 F (or lower temperature to 425 F if you just made your naan bread.  You can also cook these at 450 F or 475 F for a slightly crisper pizza).

  

Place your pizza crusts on a parchment-paper lined pan. 

Top the crust with a very thin layer of:

spaghetti sauce of your choice 

Spread cooked taco meat, from above (drained) on top of your sauce. 

On top of your taco meat, sprinkle with: 

grated mozzarella

grated cheddar OR mexican cheese blend

thinly sliced bell peppers

Bake pizzas until nicely done at 425 F for about 6-9 minutes.  

Remove pizzas to cooling racks.  

Immediately top the pizzas with the following:

Iceberg lettuce, thinly sliced

Diced tomatoes (I like cherry or grape tomatoes since they're less juicy on a pizza)

Doritos, crushed (or tortilla chips)

sour cream (put it in a ziploc and snip the end to pipe on easily)

fresh green onions, sliced

Pizzas topped with lettuce, diced tomatoes and Doritos

Pizzas with the final topping - a swirl of sour cream and some fresh, sliced green onions 

Taco Pizza Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!