Kristin's Gluten-Free Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies (or Raisin or Chocolate Chip)

I really enjoy a good, chewy oatmeal cookie.  After a great deal of trial and error, I came up with this recipe for chewy oatmeal-cranberry cookies.  We like these best with dried cranberries, but you can easily use raisins or chocolate chips instead.  We enjoy those, too.  Using oil and butter keeps these cookies moist and with that nice chewy texture that's so desirous in an oatmeal cookie.  They've been gobbled up quickly in this house. Enjoy!!!

This batch I made half oatmeal-cranberry and half oatmeal-chocolate chip

Kristin’s Gluten-Free Chewy Oatmeal Cranberry (or Raisin or Chocolate Chip) Cookies

Makes 36 cookies

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

Mix in a mixer:

¾ cup white rice flour

¾ cup whole oats (gluten-free if celiac or sensitive)

½ tsp xanthan gum

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar                                              

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

¾ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg (optional)

Add and mix in at medium speed, just until blended:

¼ cup oil

¼ cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Add and mix in:

½ - 1 cup dried cranberries OR raisins OR chocolate chips!

Drop by 1 Tbsp amounts onto prepared cookie sheets.  Bake 8-9 minutes, until lightly browned.   

Remove onto a cooling rack to cool.  Enjoy!

Delicious Sourdough Dinner Rolls

There are beginning to be more and more sourdough recipes available for the gluten-free cook, but many of the recipes want you to add dry yeast to your dough mixture.  Since the sourdough starter is a natural yeast, my goal has been to work to create delicious breads and rolls using only the sourdough starter.  This method does require more patience, in the sense that your rising time will be longer, but I love knowing that I've created something from scratch - making it rise naturally.  It's a cinch to mix up, pop into pans, and tastes absolutely wonderful.  These rolls are light and airy, with a wonderfully chewy texture.  These have gotten rave reviews from non-gluten-free eating friends, too!  Enjoy!

Large gluten-free sourdough rolls with flaxseed, made in a 9x13 pan.

Small gluten-free sourdough rolls, made in muffin tins.

Delicious Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Makes 12-24 rolls

Butter 24 muffin tins for smaller rolls OR butter 9x13 pan for larger rolls.

Mix in a large bowl:
3/4 cup white rice flour
3/4 cup potato starch
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt

In a mixer, combine:
1/2 cup gluten-free sourdough starter
1 cup lukewarm water
3 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
4 Tbsp oil

Add in dry ingredients and beat 1-2 minutes, until nice and smooth.

For small rolls: Divide dough among 24 muffin tins.  Each muffin tin should be 1/2 full.
For larger rolls: Scoop dough into 12-15 large mounds in the 9x13 pan.  (I use a very large cookie scoop)

Rolls should have enough space to rise/double when covered with plastic wrap.

Cover each pan with plastic wrap. Set in a warm location to rise 4-5 hours, until doubled. *You won't see much evidence of rising until at least 2 hours have passed.

Once dough has doubled in size, bake at 350F for ~ 20-25 minutes for small rolls and 25-30 minutes for larger rolls, until a nice light brown.

Small rolls fresh from the oven.

Remove from pans and let cool on cooling rack. These rolls are best served warm.  They reheat wonderfully, and freeze well, too.   Slice, butter and enjoy!

Mmm.. Look at the soft, airy texture.  

Gluten-Free Sourdough Pancakes

I find these pancakes taste like a light, delicious whole wheat pancake.  They're very flavorful and we've been enjoying them regularly.  They're a great way to use up extra sourdough starter if you're not in the mood for making breads, which require a lenghty rise time.   We pop extras in the refrigerator and the kids like re-heating them for breakfast.  My favorite pancakes are still either my fluffy pumpkin pancakes or my regular pancakes (with either apple or blueberries added), but these are a nice pancake alternative, and you get a bit of extra sourdough starter goodness, too! Enjoy!

GF sourdough pancakes with butter and maple syrup. 

Gluten-Free Sourdough Pancakes
Makes ~ 15 pancakes

The night before (aka, before you go to bed), mix in a 4-cup tupperware:
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Then add, not mixing too much:
1 cup gluten-free sourdough starter
1 cup water

Fully cover your tupperware with a lid and place in a warm(ish) place overnight.  I just leave mine on the stovetop, and it seems to do just fine at room temperature.

In the morning, add the following to your mixture:
1 egg
3-4 Tbsp light olive oil
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Pancake batter ready to cook!

Cook over medium-low heat in a buttered frying pan. 
Enjoy with butter and maple syrup!  Enjoy! 

They're nice and fluffy!

Easy Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter

This method for creating a gluten-free sourdough starter is for the home cook that isn't looking to have some gargantuan starter growing on their counter.  I have been shocked that it doesn't have much of a smell, either!  It is also so amazingly easy to make and maintain, I still find myself baffled that it actually works and makes bread rise using only starter as the source of yeast!  I find for our family of four, having a little starter ( I use a 4 cup container) is a perfect size.  If anything, I still have too much starter! I have had great success with recipes thus far, and plan to keep playing around with recipes that use up my starter in a way that makes everyone happy.  I'll try to keep updating recipes here that use GF sourdough starter as I post them! Enjoy!

My Sourdough Starter Recipes:
Delicious Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Fabulous Sourdough Waffles - Gluten Free!
Lemon-Blueberry Sourdough Waffles
Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter Pancakes
Gluten-Free Sourdough Brown Bread
Gluten-Free White Sourdough Bread
Spinach, Ham & Cheese Brunch Casserole
Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Rolls
Our Favorite White GF Sourdough Bread and Rolls
Fabulous Thin & Crispy Sourdough Pizza Crust
Chocolate Chip Sourdough Waffles

This is the starter in a glass jar.  I found it was a bit more temperamental over the long-term than using a tupperware.

This is the starter in a tupperware.  I've stuck with using tupperware for weeks now, transferring the starter to a clean one every week. 

Easy Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter

Use a container (I find something around 4 cup/1 liter size to be perfect) that can breath. 
*I've used both a 4 cup tupperware that I can leave one corner of the lid up and I've used a 1-liter glass jar with cheesecloth on top (using the screw-lid to hold the cheese-cloth down).   I've thus far had better luck with my starter being happy using the tupperware vs. glass jar. 

To start:
Every morning and night (before bed), mix/add into the container:
1/4 cup lukewarm water (without chlorine - so use filtered if you're not on well-water)
1/4 cup brown rice flour OR sorghum flour (you want something with fibre/protein/substance so your yeast will be happy).

If desired, you can add in a pinch of dry yeast to help things get going.  You can do this anytime, if you notice your starter not bubbling as much.

Store in a warm(ish) location.  Within 2-3 days, you should see bubbling beginning.  This is the yeast at work!  If there is any liquid film on top, just mix it in.  This is called 'hooch' and is a natural part of the process.  Mix the hooch in before you remove starter for recipes. You can now use your starter for any recipes calling for gluten-free sourdough starter!

To keep it going:
A few notes to help keep things going:
- Once your sourdough starter is going along fine, I would recommend transferring it to a clean container every week, just to avoid any mold that may want to grow along the top of your container off the drips from your mixings. 

- If you're worried about how your starter is looking, you can always scoop out 1/4 - 1/2 cup and pop it in a clean container, and start again, adding a pinch of dry yeast.  I've found this perks things right back up.  I've only ever had to do this once, and haven't had to do it again since using tupperware containers for my starter.

- After 4-5 days, you can start feeding your starter 1x a day, using 1/4-1/2 cup flour and 1/4-1/2 cup water (use even amounts of flour to water).  I have found my starter to be perfectly happy being fed 1x a day using 1/4 cup flour/1/4 cup water - alternating between sorghum and brown rice flours randomly.  The starter seems happiest being fed 2x a day using only 1/4 cup flour/1/4 cup water.  Although it's been perfectly OK being fed once every 2 days when I've forgotten.  In other words, it's very forgiving!

- From my experience, YES, you can pop your starter in the refrigerator and ignore it for a week. Feed the starter prior to putting it in the refrigerator, and feed it again once you remove it from the refrigerator.  It will pick right back up where you left off.

- The recommendations for sourdough starter are to keep in a warm area.  I find room temperature (and it's not a very warm room temperature, generally around 17-18C/65-67F has been perfectly adequate, although nights when it's really cooled down here (I am in Canada) it doesn't seem as bubbly in the morning.  If it's really cold, I'll keep mine on top of the stove, so it gets a bit of extra warmth anytime I bake or cook (Just don't leave it ON the stove during baking/cooking or it will bubble too much from the heat and your starter will die - Yes, I've done this a couple times. No worries, the starter is easy to restart).  It definitely will be more bubbly at warmer temperatures, and you will want to make sure you have a properly warm location for any rising that you're doing (except for the overnight pancakes or waffles - they are fine at RT).  

Good luck!

Latkes - Potato Pancakes

It was a tradition in my home as a child to make potato latkes during Hanukkah, and it's something I've carried with me now that I have a home of my own.  We all love to make (and eat!) latkes, also called potato pancakes, during this time of year.  Growing up, there were some years where they tasted divine and others where they weren't so good.  As I've gotten older, I've been working to modify the latke recipe so it always turns out well for us.  This version is my favorite - you get a crispy outside with a slightly softer inside.  They're nice and flavorful.  It always seems like I'm making a massive amount when I peel and grate 5 lbs of potatoes. But, trust me, they go fast!   In fact, I often feel like I'm not actually getting any cooked because they seem to disappear off the cookie sheet next to my frying pan by the time the next batch has been fried.  I've been asked for this recipe by a number of people, so it seemed time to get it posted.  Enjoy!!!

The latkes that finally made it to the table.

Latkes - Potato Pancakes
Serves ~ 6
Makes ~ 50-60 (by my estimate - these go so fast it's hard to keep track!)

Peel & grate (I like to peel by hand, placing them in a bowl of cold water until I'm done to keep them from turning brown, and then grate using a food processor):
5 lbs russet potatoes

Start heating 1/2" canola oil OR avocado oil (yum!) over medium-high heat in a large frying pan with high sides.

In a large bowl, mix together:
4 eggs
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
4-5 Tbsp Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix (*see note below)
1 Tbsp dried chives (or 5-6 fresh scallions, diced)
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
2-3 tsp salt
Dash of pepper

Squeeze as much liquid out of your grated potato as you can and add to your large bowl. 
You can do this one handful at a time - I tend to just squeeze the liquid out of one handful at a time OR you can put the grated potato in a kitchen towel and twist to squeeze out the liquid - you'll want to rinse out your towel after this, or it can turn a bit brown from the potato juice.

Mix potatoes into egg mixture until thoroughly mixed/coated. Now you're ready to fry!

Make a small latke in your hand (a little smaller than palm-size), flattening and squeezing out any excess juice.  Place latke carefully in your oil and fry on each side, approx 4-6 minutes per side, until a nice light brown.   Turn carefully with a slotted spatula.   Don't overfill your frying pan, cooking 5-8 latkes at a time seems to work well.  

Watch for the edges of the latkes to turn brown before flipping over. 

Remove from oil and place on a baking sheet lined with a few layers of paper towel.  Best served warm.  Leftovers reheat nicely in an oven or toaster oven.

Latkes out of the fryer.  I tend to fill a cookie sheet 3 times with fried latkes (really I'm re-filling since the first tray of latkes seems to disappear, so I just fill the tray again)

Serve with applesauce or sour cream.  Enjoy!!!

* Flour note: If you're not gluten-free, you can make this recipe using regular flour.  If you don't want to make up a whole batch of my gluten-free flour mix, mix together 4-5 Tbsp GF flour and a pinch of xanthan gum for this recipe. 

Kristin's Fabulous Coconut Cream Pie

This is my absolute favorite pie recipe.  It came about after experimenting with a number of coconut cream pie recipes, and eventually led to this easy-to-make and deliciously light coconut cream pie.  I've made this many times now, and it's always the first request from my friend Julie if I ask her what sort of pie I should bring to her house for Canadian Thanksgiving.  I made this for the recent American Thanksgiving at my friend Lisa's hosue (Yes, we celebrate both Canadian and US Thanksgivings - I'm not sure there can be too many Thanksgivings in a year), and my friend Marti's comment was that it was "like it's dancing in my mouth."  I have to agree. I find it's a light, creamy pie which is perfectly complimented by the crunchy toasted coconut topping. Yum!  Enjoy!

The fabulous Thanksgiving pie - ready to be served!

Kristin's Fabulous Coconut Cream Pie

Prepare 1 baked pie shell:
Make 1/2 recipe of my Buttermilk Pie Pastry (or make whole recipe and use the other half for another pie or quiche).  Press into pie dish and bake until light brown, as directed.  Let cool.

Pre- and post-cooked pie shell.  I used a bit less crust than normal in this particular pie b/c I was making a deep-dish pie with the rest of the pastry dough - hence a few cracks in the final cooked product.  Luckily, it gets covered so no worries!

To prepare filling, place in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat:
2 1/2 cups milk (lactose-free works great)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Meanwhile, mix and whisk in a small bowl:
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 egg yolks

Once your milk/sugar/salt is boiling, whisk in egg yolk mixture, stirring constantly.  Let boil ~1 minute, until thickened. 

Remove from heat and immediately add:
2 tsp vanilla extract (not bean paste)
3/4 cup flaked coconut
2 Tbsp butter, chopped

Mix well, and pour into prepared pie shell.  Cover the top with plastic wrap and let chill completely in the refrigerator. 

Try to top with as few air bubbles as possible when you put plastic wrap on the top.

To serve, prepare toasted coconut, below, to top the pie.  Remove plastic wrap and top with toasted coconut.

Toasted Coconut
Place on a baking sheet in a 350-375F oven:
1/4 - 1/3 cup flaked coconut

Watch VERY closely, and let cook just until it is lightly browned (don't worry if it's not all lightly browned - it's nice with a mixture and it will all be nice and crispy). 

Remove from oven, let cool and top pie just before serving.  Serve with whipped cream, if desired (although I never find it needs anything extra).

Enjoy!!!

A final picture, just because... Yum!

 

Homemade marshmallows are wonderfully delicious.  The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it is so versatile. You can make big fat marshmallows, or smaller marshmallows, or cut marshmallows into festive shapes.  You can decorate the tops with colored swirls or sprinkles.  And, you can even flavor the marshmallows!  My favorite part is ending up with scraps of marshmallows, which are fun to eat, pop in hot chocolate, AND work perfectly in recipes calling for marshmallows, like my amazing marshmallow brownies.  Yum!  You will need a mixer with a whisk attachment and a candy thermometer for this recipe.  Enjoy!

Marshmallows cut in shapes in hot chocolate. You can just make square marshmallows, too.

Homemade Marshmallows

 

Butter 9x13 glass pan for larger square marshmallows OR butter cookie sheet for thinner marshmallows to cut into fancier shapes OR butter 9x13 pan and an 8x8 pan to make half thick, half thin marshmallows.

 

Combine in a mixer with whisk attachment:

½ cup cool water

3 pkg. (1/4 oz each) unflavored gelatin

 

In a small, deep saucepan, combine the following over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until syrup reaches 240F on a candy thermometer:

½ cup cool water

1 ½ cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/8 tsp. salt

 

I find heating to 240F takes ~20-30 minutes, and will go in phases of seeming not to increase in temperature to suddenly jump up 5-10 degrees.  So, make sure you’re paying attention, particularly at the end.

 

Showing the progression of sugar boiling.  It does bubble up a bit, but not too much.  Even so, I recommend using a pot that it the liquid will fill no more than halfway.

 

Remove from heat.  With mixer on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup into the softened gelatin.  Increase speed to high and whip until closer to room temperature, about 8-10 minutes. 

This is how the gelatin and boil-sugar mixture will look initially.

Keep whisking and it will fluff up and look like delicious marshmallow fluff.

 

Towards the end, add flavorings, such as:

Add:

1 tsp vanilla

Or (other options):

Peppermint candies, a few drops peppermint oil or peppermint extract, a few drops other flavoring, food coloring (if you want a different color), a few drops fruit-flavored oils (the kind used to flavor candy) or flavored extracts

 

Use wet hands to smooth and flatten marshmallow into greased pan or pans.  You can use food coloring (optional) on wet top, swirling around for decoration.  If you want to add decorative sprinkles (optional), add them at this point.  Sprinkle top with powdered sugar.  Let sit several hours before cutting with a greased knife or cookie cutter.  I find I need to re-butter the cookie cutters every 3-4 cuts or they start to stick. 

You’ll want to toss your marshmallows in powdered sugar to keep them from sticking together. You can either: 1. Place cut marshmallows aside on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with powdered sugar, then toss in a large Ziploc with some powdered sugar; or 2. Place directly into a large Ziploc with powdered sugar once cut, and toss occasionally while you're cutting so marshmallows don’t stick together.    

In this batch, I made one 9x13 pan and one 8x8 pan, so I could cut thinner, shaped marshmallows (pictured below) and cut some larger square marshmallows (which I later dipped in chocolate).

Using a buttered cookie cutter, it's easy to cut marshmallows into fun shapes.

I cut stars, gingerbread men, and candy-cane shapes and packaged them up for the school's Christmas bake sale.  There is, of course, some extra marshmallow in the pan after cutting out the shapes.  I chopped it up into hap-hazardly shaped pieces and used it in one of our favorite recipes - my amazing marshmallow brownies!

 

These are some square-cut marshmallows I made at a different time.  I put on a bit of red food coloring after flattening the marshmallows with wet hands, and swirled it around.  I then put on colored sprinkles.  Finally, I sprinkled the top with powdered sugar and let sit a few hours before cutting, tossing in a bit more powdered sugar, and popping into bags.

 

Enjoy!!!

Another picture of our hot chocolate fun!

 Homemade Marshmallows Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!