My youngest is often frustrated that we can't find banana milk at the shops. So, on a day when she was putting together a tea party for her sister, I offered to do a bit of research and figure out how to make some tasty homemade banana milk. This was so simple and worked just perfectly.  You can use an equivalent amount of strawberries in lieu of the bananas for a yummy strawberry milk, too.   

A tea party with homemade blueberry pancakes, blackberries, and some banana milk. I should mention neither of them like tea, so there's never tea served at these tea parties.

Banana Milk

Serves 4

Blend together until smooth and a milk-like consistency:

2 yellow bananas (a few brown spots are okay, but I find the best flavor is a nice yellow banana)

1 cup milk

1 cup cold water

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/4 - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Serve in a cute little cup and enjoy!

If you're feeling really fancy, you can add a dollop of whipped cream just for fun. 

My youngest dressed up the older (she gets brownie points for being up for these events). They break out the fancy glasses for these events. 

Not sure how she's wearing the same shirt, since these events were weeks apart, but my youngest requested banana milk alongside her Egyptian Meammar Rice for her birthday dinner.  She's definitely like her mom - thinking and brainstorming about food and what she can eat or cook next. 

Banana Milk Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

My girls whipped up some chocolate chip Easter cookies with friends over video chat! Minimal arguing, so that's always nice. We used the Cadbury mini eggs - and actually found some "micro eggs" which were the perfect size to bake in cookies, but if you use the regular ones, you can either chop them up or let the mixer crack them into smaller pieces for you. Add a couple other flavors of chips and you'll have a delicious chocolate chip cookie! Enjoy! 

Yummy Easter Chocolate Chip Cookies! 

Debating whether to give one or two cookies out - two won.

Easter Chocolate Chip Cookies

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

In a large bowl, mix together: 

1 cup white rice flour

1/4 - 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

In a mixer, cream together: 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar

Add and beat til frothy: 

1 egg

1/2 tsp water

1/2 - 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the dry ingredients into the the wet ingredients, just until combined. 

Fold into the dough: 

1/2 cup Cadbury micro eggs or chopped Cadbury mini eggs

1/2 cup white or caramel chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Scoop 1 Tbsp scoops onto lined pans. 

No need to flatten these, as they spread nicely while baking.

Scooping the cookies out - our friends on the video chat in the background. :) 

Bake at 350 F for 7-9 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before removing to cooling racks to fully cool. Cooled cookies can be frozen in freezer ziplocs for later. Works perfectly! Enjoy! 

Fresh from the oven! Yum!

One of her favorite things to do is serve up the treats she's helped make. 

Easter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Strawberry Mallow Cakes!

 These are so delicious - and kind of fun because they're even tastier the second day when the strawberry flavor really infuses into the biscuit bottom and chocolate topping.  I made them and plopped them on top of my daughter's birthday cake, which made for a fun decoration. These are a fun alternative to the Scandinavian Mallow Fluff Cakes recipe I posted years ago. Enjoy! 

Delicious strawberry mallow fluff cakes! Yum!

Topped her strawberry themed birthday cake with the strawberry mallow cakes. They look like little gnome hats.  

Strawberry Mallow Cakes

Strawberry & Coconut Biscuits

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

Crush in a freezer ziploc by rolling repeatedly with a rolling pin: 

1 cup freeze-dried strawberries (to make about 1/2 cup once crushed)

Mix together in a large bowl: 

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour

2 Tbsp potato starch

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

In a mixer, cream together: 

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

Add and mix in well, scraping down as needed: 

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste

Add and stir in: 

dry ingredients from above

1/2 cup crushed freeze-dried strawberries

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes

You can scoop small soonfuls directly and bake, or you can place in plastic wrap and roll into a couple 12-15" logs and freeze at least 2 hours, in order to more easily slice and bake. 

You can flatten, if desired, or leave to flatten out as they bake. Both work great.  Bake at 350 F for 7-10 minutes, until nicely browned. If you undercook, they will not be as crisp as you want for the mallow cakes.

Let rest on pans 5 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to fully cool.  

You can make larger or smaller scoops. These scoops are on the larger size.

Larger scooped cookies, out of the oven.

I prefer to make smaller scoops for smaller cookies and smaller mallow cakes. 

Nicely crisped, fresh from the oven.

Mallow Fluff Filling

In a mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together until soft peaks form:
3 egg whites (fresh eggs are best)
1 Tbsp sugar
pinch salt

In a metal pot on the stove, combine, with very little or no stirring:
2 oz water
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat over medium heat until sugar syrup reaches 240 F - 242 F.   Remove from heat immediately.  Turn mixture to low speed and slowly pour in the sugar syrup.  Increase the speed and beat on medium-high for 8-10 minutes.   The marshmallow will puff up nicely and get light and fluffy, while also cooling down.

Marshmallow fluffing up nicely.

Prepare a large piping bag with a large star-shaped tip (or just use a large round tip).  Place marshmallow into piping bag.  Pipe big swirls on top of each of the cookies, making a nice large mound on top of each.  You can make these as short or tall as you would like, depending on the mallow to cookie ratio you'd prefer.

Let the marshmallow-topped cookies sit at room temperature to dry for 1 - 2 hours.  These won't dry well if you're kitchen is humid, so best not to make on a rainy day.

Piped onto the strawberry biscuits! Ready to let dry and then dip in chocolate. 

Covering in Chocolate

Ideally, you would want to "temper" your chocolate for an authentic Flodeboller, however, this method of covering works very nicely, too:

In a 2 cup measuring cup, fill 1 1/2 cups full with high-quality dark chocolate (or milk chocolate) chips.  Melt at 50% power in 30 - 60 second increments in the microwave, stirring regularly.  Once the chocolate is mostly melted, add an extra handful of chocolate chips into your chocolate and stir until all the chocolate is melted.  This won't "temper" your chocolate, but will help you avoid any of the bloom or swirls that can appear on non-tempered melted chocolate.  Once your chocolate is fully melted, add 1 Tbsp light olive oil or 1 Tbsp coconut oil.  This will make it a bit runnier and easier to use for dipping your marshmallow cakes!

Work quickly! One at a time, dip your cakes into the chocolate, rotating them in the chocolate and shaking to remove excess chocolate.  You can use a spoon of your fingers to get as much or little as you like on the bottom of the cookie biscuit.  Place dipped cakes onto a parchment-lined baking tray.  Immediately sprinkle on top of cakes: 

crushed freeze-dried strawberry  

Dip quickly, so your warm chocolate doesn't have time to melt the marshmallow or you'll end up with a couple upside down creations like I did. But most work out and look so cute with the freeze-dried strawberry sprinkled on top.

Just dipped and ready to chill.

Refrigerate until chocolate has set. Remove from the refrigerator and store at room temperature until ready to serve!  These didn't last more than a few days around here, but they were just as delicious a few days out as on day one.  Enjoy!

The cutest cake with these on top. 

They're all unique and all delicious.

Yum!

Strawberry Mallow Cakes Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 My friend Haidy serves these tomatoes as a side dish regularly. They're so garlic-y and so delicious. And also so easy to whip together. If you have fresh garlic, you can even mince it and freeze it, and then use it later for this recipe - and it works perfectly! 

Some terribly minced garlic chunks there - but it's absolutely delicious!

Easy Garlic-Tomato Side

Slice and place on a plate or platter: 

2 large tomatoes

In a bowl, mix together: 

1 Tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice

1 - 2 Tbsp olive oil 

2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic

1/2 - 3/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp salt

Adjust flavor as desired - I sometimes add a bit of extra lemon or lime juice or olive oil. 

Spread over the tomato slices. Let rest 10-15 minutes prior to serving. This just helps infuse the flavor a bit. It's delicious alongside the Meammar Egyptian rice or alongside a meal of chicken and rice. Enjoy! 

I feel like if the kids are happy to grab multiple slices of tomatoes covered in fresh garlic, we have a winner of a side dish! A happy birthday girl there. 

Easy Garlic-Tomato Side Dish Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 We had the most delicious - and naturally gluten-free - salmon soup when we visited my brother in Finland earlier this year. I just had to recreate it after returning home! I've made it several slightly different ways now, usually varying up the vegetable slightly, and it's just delicious. It's perfect on a chilly day. 

Yummy Finnish-style Salmon Soup served with some homemade gluten-free baguette.

Finnish-Style Salmon Soup

In a large pot over medium heat, cook 4-5 minutes: 

1/4 cup butter OR 2 Tbsp oil + 2 Tbsp butter

1/2 - 1 onion, diced OR 1-2 leeks, sliced & washed

2 - 3 carrots, peeled & sliced

Add and cook, stirring regularly ~5-7 minutes: 

700 g / 1.5 lbs potatoes, diced (peeled, if thick-skinned)

1 sweet potato, peeled & diced (optional - not traditionally used, but I am always looking for ways to add veggies)

My girls would tell you to just leave it as carrots and potatoes - but I did add a small sweet potato to this particular batch of salmon soup. 

Add and bring to a low boil, simmer ~8 minutes: 

3 - 4 cups water

1 tsp GF chicken bouillon (optional)

1 - 2 Tbsp freeze-dried dill OR 1 bunch fresh dill

1 tsp parsley (optional)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Simmering - and smelling delicious with all that dill.

Add and return to boil: 

1 cup milk OR 10% cream OR heavy cream

If you'd like to thicken your salmon soup, you can - though this soup is a thinner, lighter soup naturally thickened slightly by the potatoes in the soup. It is not typically done, but if you'd like it a bit thicker, you can mix together in a small bowl the following, then stir into the soup: 

1/4 cup milk 

1-2 Tbsp cornstarch

Add and let simmer in the soup 10 min: 

3 - 4 salmon filets, diced (~1 lb / 500 g)

Simmering with the salmon filets. 

If desired, slice and serve alongside: 

1 lemon, cut into wedges

The soup is ready to serve! It's absolutely delicious with fresh gluten-free bread and butter. They had a neat egg butter in Finland, but I haven't quite made it to whipping that together yet. 

Yummm... look at that lovely salmon soup. I did not thicken this batch, so it's a lighter, thinner broth.

Finnish-Style Salmon Soup Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 This upgrade on my older cornbread recipe is great, since it includes corn within the batter as well. Yum!  We really enjoy eating it with corn and bacon chowder - a cozy winter meal. My older cornbread recipe is equally delicious, but I often use that one when I'm making stuffing, whereas this is a nice bread to accompany stews and soups. Enjoy! 

A yummy slice of cornbread - filled to the brim with fresh corn, too!

Cornbread

Makes 8 x 10 or 9 x 13" pan. 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line pan with parchment paper. 

In a bowl, whisk together: 

1 1/4 cup cornmeal

1 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix (OR 1/2 brown rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca starch, 1/4 potato starch, 1/2 tsp xanthan gum)

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Add and whisk in: 

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup honey

1 egg

Fold in: 

2 cups thawed sweet corn kernels (or fresh kernels)

Spread batter into pan. Drizzle with honey before baking (optional, but quite nice). 

Drizzled with honey and ready to bake.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until nicely golden brown.  

Just out of the oven. 

Remove and let rest in pan for 5-10 minutes. Then I like to slide it onto a cooling rack to avoid any sogginess as it cools.  Slice and serve! Delicious with butter. Leftovers store perfectly cut and in the refrigerator for several days. Reheat with a dollop of butter on top.  You can also slice and freeze for later. Enjoy! 

So yummy served with corn and bacon chowder, or a homemade chili. 

Cornbread Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

This is a great cookie recipe, since you can mix it by hand or in a mixer - both work great - making it nice and versatile.  Of course, it helps if you like oatmeal and raisins in cookies - so feel free to not make them if you dislike that combination. Plenty of other delicious recipe ideas on my blog! 

GF Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - fresh from the oven!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes ~36 cookies. 

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

In a bowl or in a mixer, mix together: 

3/4 cup white rice flour

1 cup GF quick cook oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

Add and mix in, just until combined: 

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste

Mix in: 

1/2 cup raisins

Scoop 1 Tbsp scoops onto parchment-lined pans. Bake 9-11 minutes at 350 F. A bit lighter color will lead to a softer cookie. I prefer to aim for a darker brown, so they have a bit more of a bite and caramelized crunch to them.  Let rest a few minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool. Leftovers freeze perfectly! Enjoy! 

Scooped and ready to bake!

Ready to cool a bit then transfer to wire racks. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!