Delicious and gluten-free, the name glutinous rice flour is confusing - but it's just a white rice flour made from a sticky rice. You can find it called "sweet rice flour" as well. I find it depends on the packaging. When you cook with glutinous/sweet rice flour, it adds a natural gooey quality to the bake. It's the flour that is used to make mochi (double check when purchasing them since not all of them are GF, but many are). I've been wanting to use more dates in my baking in honor of our dear friends celebrating Ramadan - and combining them with the three overripe bananas and some glutinous rice flour turned into the most delicious mochi-style dessert! Enjoy! 

A delicious square of Banana-Date style Mochi Bars!

Mochi-style Banana Date Bars

Makes one 8" x 8" pan. 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line your 8" x 8" pan with parchment paper. 

In a mixer, beat until well mixed (1-2 minutes): 

3 bananas, overripe and peeled

2 eggs

3 oz pitted dates, finely diced

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup plain yogurt

Then add:

1 cup glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour is another name for glutinous rice flour)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional

Pour into prepared pan.  Bake at 350 F for 30 - 35 minutes, until nicely puffed and set in the center.  It will still jiggle a bit overall.  

Fresh from the oven! The dark spot in the middle is a date. 

Let cool on the counter and then fully cool and chilled in the refrigerator.  If you do this, then it will slice cleanly. However, we love it warm, so dig in when it's fresh! It reheats well, too.  Enjoy! 

Quite nice warm with a little dollop of cream

Mochi-style Banana Date Bars Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Chocolate Chocolate (& Mint) Chip Cookies!

 So... these cookies came about at the end of a long, stormy icy day - and they hit the spot perfectly!  Soft chocolate chocolate chip cookies, packed with plenty of chocolate chips. I love the addition of mint chips, but these would be great with any combination of chocolate chip varieties. Enjoy! 

Yum! Soft, chocolate packed - what's not to love?

Out exploring the day after the ice storm. 

Chocolate & Mint Chip Cookies

Makes ~36 - 48 cookies, depending on your scoop size~

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

Whisk together in a bowl, then set aside: 

1 cup white rice flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder (a rich, dark cocoa powder is my favorite)

3/4 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

Cream together until nice and fluffy: 

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

Add and mix, scraping down regularly: 

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

Add GF flour mix from above, and mix in, just until combined. 

Add and mix in gently (you can adjust the amounts and types of chips as you prefer): 

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

1 cup mint chips (You can just add extra chocolate chips - any type - if you don't want to use mint)

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Scoop heaping 1 Tbsp scoops onto the prepared pans.  I aim for 12 per pan.  Bake at 350 F for 10-12 minutes.  Let rest a few minutes on pan before removing to cooling racks.  Leftover cooled cookies can be frozen for later.  Enjoy!!! 

Scooped and ready to bake!

Fresh from the oven!

Just one more picture of the yummy chocolate chocolate chip cookies! 

Chocolate Chocolate (& Mint) Chip Cookies Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 I've used a decent amount of garlic lately when cooking - and no one around here complains because we do love garlic.  However, I had the funniest conversation the other day with my two girls. 

Younger: Is there a lot of garlic in this? 

Older: Oooooh yeah. 

Younger: That's okay. Doesn't garlic make your breath smell good? 

Older: Uh, no. 

Me: Um, nope.

Younger: But mom told us that, I thought! 

Older: She was joking. 

Me: Yep. Sorry. [starts laughing]

Younger: Argh!!!! 

Despite this, they still love dishes with plenty of garlic, like this yummy pasta dish. If you make sure to cook your garlic nicely, it removes a lot of the spice and you're left with the wonderful garlic flavors.  Enjoy!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy pasta meal! 

Light & Easy Pasta with Garlic, Peas & Lemon

*You'll prepare the vegetables and noodles while you're making the sauce, then can toss everything together in the sauce pan.*

Steam Vegetables (peas (or broccoli) with option to add spinach)

*While you're boiling water and cooking pasta, below, prepare your steamed vegetables.*  

Add to a pot with a tight fitting lid:

1 cup peas OR 2 cups broccoli (if you prefer vs peas) 

Add ~1/2" water, and put on high heat, with lid on, until steam is visibly coming out.  Turn off the heat and leave the pot where-is until I'm ready to use.  *Drain before adding to the pasta/sauce.*

If you want use fresh or frozen diced spinach, you'll add this after the vegetables have cooked and sat ~5 minutes.  Just add:

 ~1/2 - 3/4 cup frozen diced spinach or 1 - 2 cups diced fresh spinach on top of the steamed vegetables and put the lid back on.  Let sit 2-3 minutes, then mix.  Put lid back on and leave until ready to drain and add to the pasta later.  *Make sure you drain this before adding to your pasta/sauce!*

Cook Pasta

Cook one package gluten-free pasta as directed on the package.  Make sure to taste, so it's to the softness you desire.  I find GF pasta typically needs an extra couple minutes of cooking.  Drain and rinse in cold water and set aside.  There are many kinds of GF pasta - personally, my favorite types are ones that include a mix of brown rice, white rice, corn, and quinoa.  I find these noodles give me the best texture and flavor.  But go with your favorite!

A couple tips that I find helpful when cooking GF pasta

1. Salt the water. I usually add about 1 Tbsp salt to my pot.

2. Taste before draining, since often it needs an extra couple minutes of cooking.  

3. Drain and rinse in cold water.  

Garlic & Lemon Sauce

In a large saucepan, heat over medium to medium-high heat:  

3 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

Add and cook until fragrant (~2 minutes):

1 - 2 bulbs garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (This is a lot of garlic, yes)

Salt & Pepper, a few dashes of both

My daughter: how much garlic did you put in this?  Me: two bulbs.  Her: oh. Okay. Wait, two BULBS?!!

Add and stir in quickly: 

~1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh juice from lemons (~1 1/2 lemons)

1 - 2 tsp dried oregano

1 - 2 tsp dried basil

Mix together, then add and mix in: 

1 cup cold chicken broth (you can use 1 cup water + 1 tsp GF bouillon paste)

2-3 tsp cornstarch

*If you don't have cold chicken broth, then mix your 2-3 tsp cornstarch with 1/8 - 1/4 cup cold water before adding.  

Whisk/stir sauce over medium heat until bubbling and the mixture has thickened slightly.  

Stirring in the cornstarch/broth mixture to thicken. 

Add in your steamed vegetables (peas (and spinach, if used)). 

Mixed in the steamed veggies from earlier. In this case here there are peas and a bit of spinach.

Turn off heat. Add and stir in: 

1/2 - 1 cup grated Parmesan

Yay for cheese!

Nicely mixed in and ready for the tomatoes.

Add and stir in: 

large handful grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced

Folding in some tomatoes - ready to add the pasta

Fold your drained pasta, from above. Season with additional salt & pepper, to taste. Enjoy! 

Light & Easy Pasta with Garlic, Peas & Lemon Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!