I was blown away by how popular these gluten-free, nut-free bakewell bars were at my house.  Nut allergies inspired me to adapt the idea of the bakewell tart first into a nut-free variety, then into bar form, for easy baking, slicing and eating.  Who would've thought that coconut flour would give such a perfect texture when used to replace the more traditional almond flour.  These have been eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks around here. Enjoy! 

Yummy gluten-free British bakewell bars. 

Bakewell Bars made with leftover cranberry sauce (cranberry sauce made with half water & half orange juice simmered with the cranberries and sugar)

British Bakewell Bars - gluten-free and nut-free!

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Butter 9 x 13 pan. 

In a bowl, dice together with a pastry cutter until butter is in small, pea-sized pieces: 

1 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour 

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 tsp salt

10 Tbsp (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) butter, chilled

Add and mix in with a spoon: 

1/4 cup milk

Press into prepared 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes, until pale golden. 

The pastry crust, baked for 15 minutes, until just browning at the edges.

While baking, prepare this topping: 

Beat until fluffy: 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

Add and mix in: 

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk 

Add and mix in until well combined (no lumps): 

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup white rice flour

Place the fluffy topping in a piping bag (or freezer ziploc) until ready to use.  

After 15 minutes of baking, remove the crust from oven.  Immediately spoon small spoonfuls across the top of: 

12 oz raspberry jam OR strawberry jam OR cherry jam OR 2 cups leftover cranberry sauce (from Thanksgiving)

Spread the jam gently and evenly over the surface of the crust.  It should spread nicely because it melts a bit on the hot crust. 

12 oz of raspberry jam spread on top of the crust.

Snip a small piece off the corner of your ziploc bag.  Pipe lines of topping gently back and forth on top of the jam.  You can use wet hands or a wet spoon to gently smooth the top layer after piping.  (I find this doesn't "spread" well without making a mess of things, but the piping works really well. and just keep dipping your hands or spoon into water to get it to spread nicely). 

Piped top crust.  You could bake it like this if you prefer.  However, I like to smooth it out.

Used a wet spoon (dipping repeatedly) to smooth out the topping.  I didn't aim for perfection. 

Bake the bakewell bars at 350 F for another 30 - 35 minutes, until golden.  Place pan on a wire rack to cool.   We can't help sneaking pieces of hot bakewell bar, but if you want nice, neat pieces, then let it cool before slicing.  Cool, slice and enjoy!  

Mmmm.. fresh from the oven.  We couldn't resist and had to taste-test immediately.

Look at those layers. Yum! 

British Bakewell Bars - Gluten Free and Nut Free by Successfully Gluten Free! 

Gluten Free Hamentashen!

Homemade Gluten Free Hamentashen cookies!  Easy and delicious! My dad's birthday falls on the Jewish holiday of Purim this year, so in lieu of a cake, he requested homemade hamentashen!   These triangular shaped cookies are filled with either jam or poppyseed filling.  I've seen them big and fat, small and crispy, with way too little filling, and overflowing with filling.  These are a nice middle-ground.  A good balance of flaky orange-flavored cookie crust with a perfect amount of jam in the middle.   The best part it, the dough can be shaped into cookies easily without refrigeration since it's rolled out between plastic wrap.  Happy eating!

Alternating peach and raspberry-filled gluten-free hamentashen.  They kept disappearing as they cooled. 

Fresh hamentashen, ready to eat! 

Gluten Free Hamentashen
Makes ~30 filled cookies.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line three pans with parchment paper.

Beat until light and fluffy:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp sugar

Add and beat in until smooth:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp orange zest
1 drop lemon essential oil (I like the DoTerra lemon essential oil for cooking)

Mix in a small bowl  before adding to wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt

Mix dough together until smooth.   Most recipes recommend chilling, but I find because I am making these rolled between plastic wrap, I can just make them right away without any refrigeration. 

Scoop 1 Tbsp scoops onto plastic wrap.  Place another piece of plastic wrap on top and gently roll with rolling pin into a circle of about 3 - 4" diameter (I roll one way partly, then turn and roll the other way until it's a circle).

Rolled out between plastic wrap - no sticking, no mess!

Place 1 tsp jam of your choice in the center. (High quality jam is recommended - I used a homemade raspberry jam and a peach jam for these.  You can also fill with a poppyseed filling, which is more traditional.) 

Neatly folded hamentashen. Just use the plastic wrap to help fold and pinch edges/corners.  

Pick up carefully and place on the parchment-lined pan.

Use the plastic wrap to help you fold and pinch sides of the cookie inward, folding up three times to make a triangular cookie.  Carefully use your fingers to gently transfer the filled cookie to a parchment-paper lined baking pan.   Repeat until you have 12 cookies on a tray.

A tray ready to bake!

Bake cookies at 375 F for 16-18 minutes.   I like to make up another tray while the first are baking.

Some jam will bubble up and over the cookies, but this is fine.  After you move them to the tray the jam will just be left on the parchment paper. 

After removing from oven, let the cookies rest 3-4 minutes before removing to a cooling tray to cool completely.

Cooling cookies! Yum! 

If you're not serving on the same day, store cooled cookies in a tightly sealed container.  They'll be just as delicious day 2!  Enjoy! 

The cookie dough was wonderfully flaky, as you can see here. 

Spiced Vanilla Pear & Apple Jam - sugar-free!

This is the most delicious jam!  It's perfect for the fall when apples and pears are ripe!  I canned a big batch of spiced vanilla pear jam with my friend Julie.  (We used this recipe using all pears).  However, I wanted to just be able to whip some together anytime without having to deal with peeling and chopping so much fruit and canning things.   I also used local fresh apple cider.  This jam is great and easy to whip together and use or pop in the refrigerator.  It's a great spice and vanilla-filled jam for fall. Enjoy!

Finished spiced vanilla pear & apple jam in a 2 cup and 1 cup containers

Spiced Vanilla Pear & Apple Jam

Makes ~2 cups

Combine in a metal medium-sized saucepan:
1 lb apples, peeled & chopped 
1 lb ripe pears, peeled & finely diced
1 cup apple cider
2 tsp fresh lime or lemon juice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (OR 2 tsp vanilla extract & scraped out insides from 1 vanilla bean pod)
1/3 tsp ground cardamom

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.  Lower heat to medium-low and allow to simmer ~45-50 minutes, stirring regularly so it doesn't stick to the bottom.

Mixture just coming to a boil, before 45 minutes of simmering.

It will thicken naturally (apple has natural pectin), and so should make a nice, lumpy jam.  It's so delicious, the kids wanted to eat it by the spoonful!   Store in a covered glass container in the refrigerator and use within 2-3 weeks.
Enjoy!

Spiced Vanilla Pear and Apple Jam Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!