Free-From Dinner Rolls! (no eggs, dairy, gluten, rice, seeds, nuts)

Similar to my Free-From bread recipe, these rolls are free from many of the common flours, eggs, dairy, nuts, and seeds commonly found in many gluten-free breads.  I do love many of my other roll varieties, but these are a delicious roll all on their own.  A nice recipe to add to your GF roll repertoire! 

Fresh from the oven!

My daughter enjoying a fresh "free-from" roll.

Free-from Dinner Rolls!

Makes ~30-35 rolls

In a large measuring cup combine and let rest: 

2 cups warm water

6 Tbsp sugar or honey

4 tsp active dry or rapid-rise yeast

In a mixer, combine: (In gluten-free cooking, it's important to mix the dry ingredients separately to avoid lumps)

2 cups tapioca starch

1 1/2 cup oat flour

1 cup potato starch

1/2 cup arrowroot starch OR cornstarch

1/2 cup GF quick-cook steel cut oats

1 Tbsp xanthan gum

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Mix in, then let beat on medium speed 3-4 minutes: 

yeast/water mixture, from above

1/2 cup butter, softened (if OK with butter) or dairy-free butter substitute

4 eggs (if OK with eggs) OR 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce + 1/4 cup oil 

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Scoop rolls onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet using a large cookie scoop (approximately 4 x 5 rolls).  Flatten and smooth the rolls, as desired, with wet hands.  Cover with an upside-down cookie sheet, and let rise in a warm location until doubled, approximately 30-40 minutes.  

If desired, brush with 2 Tbsp melted butter or butter substitute before baking. 

Rolls after rising, ready to bake!

Out of the oven! Nice and browned. They smell delicious!

Bake at 375 F for 30 minutes.  You can cover them lightly with foil the last 5-10 minutes if you're concerned about them browning a bit too much.  

Enjoy! 

Fresh from the oven, ready to transfer to a cooling rack. 

Free-From Dinner Rolls! (No eggs, dairy, gluten, rice, seeds or nuts) Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 I have been making homemade marshmallows for many, many years now, but I somehow never manage to post some of the more fun varieties.  This is SUCH a fun and easy one to make.  A huge hit with everyone who was lucky enough to eat one (or two, or three).  Enjoy! 

A bite taken out of a freshly made s'mores marshmallow. Yum!

Chocolate swirled marshmallows, ready to be topped with more crushed GF graham crackers.

Homemade S'mores Marshmallows!

Butter a 9x13 glass pan OR butter two 8x8 pans.  Sprinkle the bottom of the pan(s) with a layer of: 

GF graham crackers, crushed

Just one of the 8 x 8 pans buttered and lined with crushed GF graham crackers

Combine in a mixer with whisk attachment:

½ cup cool water

3 pkg. (1/4 oz each) (This is about 2 1/2 Tbsp or 7 1/2 tsp) unflavored gelatin

 

In a small, deep saucepan, combine the following over medium heat.  Make sure the liquid fills no more than 1/2 of your pan because it will bubble up while heating. Cook, stirring regularly, until syrup reaches 240 F 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.

Remove your hot sugar from heat.  With the 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. After a few minutes, it will start looking like marshmallow!  
 
Towards the end add and beat in:
1 tsp vanilla bean paste OR vanilla extract

Gently fold in - some will melt and swirl, but enough should remain un-melted so you have a nice blend in your marshmallows:

1/2 - 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Spread gently on top of your crushed graham cracker in your prepared pan.  Use slightly dampened hands (wet them again as needed) to spread your marshmallow evenly.   Sprinkle the top of the marshmallows with additional crushed GF graham crackers.  

Pressed in the pan, smoothed, and ready for topping. 

Topped with crushed graham cracker, and left to dry for a few hours.  Yum!

Let your marshmallows sit at room temperature for 3 - 4 hours to dry.  Slice, using a well buttered knife, buttering again as needed.  Roll your freshly sliced marshmallows in more crushed GF graham crackers.  Store extras in an air-tight container.  They will retain their freshness for 1 - 2 weeks (I couldn't tell you if they last longer because they've never made it past two weeks).  Enjoy! 

Homemade S'mores Marshmallow Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Rugelach are a delicious flaky rolled up baked treat.  Sometimes you'll find them looking more like mini croissant in style, but I grew up having them in the style here, rolled, sliced, and baked on their side.  This way you get to see the pretty swirl of filling.  A nice tart jam is perfect in rugelach.  I love plum jam, but something like a cherry or raspberry will work nicely, too.  Enjoy! 

Yummy homemade gluten-free jam rugelach, with some chocolate rugelach in the background. 

Jam Rugelach

Preheat oven to 375 F (or wait and do this later if you're going to chill your dough - I usually skip the chilling and don't mind if they're not as neatly sliced).  Line 1-2 baking pans with parchment paper.

Have a jar of high quality thicker (not runny) jam available.  Good flavors are plum jam, raspberry jam, or cherry jam. 

Prepare your dough:

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
zest of 1 lemon

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.   Roll out the dough between plastic wrap to make a rectangle about 8" x 30".  

Spread your choice of high quality jam above evenly over the dough using the back of a spoon to avoid tearing the dough.  Have a small bowl of water available to use to help with any stickiness while you're rolling and slicing your dough.  Use the plastic wrap and wet fingers, as needed, to tightly roll up the dough so you have a long, 30" log. 

My studious little daughter spreading homemade yellow plum jam on our rugelach.  

You have THREE options at this point.  You can chill the log of dough for 60-90 minutes before slicing (this does make for neater cuts), or you can slice the dough right away and then chill them for 20-30 minutes on the baking pan before baking.   If you're short on time, you can just bake them right away, but you'll end up with neater rugelach cookies if you can chill them for at least the 20-30 minutes before baking. 

Use a sharp knife that you clean between each slice, slice the rugalach into 1" pieces and place them on the parchment-lined pan.  These don't spread much, so you can fit quite a lot on one pan.  

I like to keep the bowl of water nearby in case I need to dip my fingers so they don't stick.  Here are the jam rugelach, ready for the topping before baking!

Just before baking, brush the tops of the rugelach with: 

1 egg, beaten

And sprinkle with: 

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture (1/2 cup white sugar + 1-2 Tbsp cinnamon mixed together is a nice ratio)

Bake trays of rugelach at 375 F for about 20-23 minutes, until a nice golden brown.  Let cool on the pans ~5 minutes before removing to wire racks to fully cool.  Enjoy!!! 

Brushed with egg and sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar. Ready to bake! 

Fresh from the oven.  The dribbles of jam don't matter so much once they're moved to the cooling racks. 

Jam rugelach cooling on the rack.  We made a batch of chocolate rugelach as well as the jam rugelach.  Yum! 

Jam Rugelach Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

I was inspired to experiment making proper donuts after whipping up a batch of the navajo tacos (which are delicious and so quick and easy to make if you haven't given them a try).  These puffed up wonderfully and tasted like proper cake donuts.  I had a bit of extra chocolate fudge sauce around, so I warmed it just slightly and dipped the donuts halfway for chocolate topped donuts.  They were a hit!  The best part is they don't absorb much oil, which is great! The extras we froze on a cookie sheet first, before transferring to a plastic ziploc. They can be re-heated for a quick snack or breakfast. Enjoy! 

Fresh donuts w/ a chocolate glaze

Gluten Free Cake Donuts!

Makes ~12-15

Heat in a large skillet over med-high heat:

1-2 inches oil (I love avocado oil, but canola oil or similar will work, too)

Mix in a bowl:

1 cup brown rice flour

½ cup sorghum flour

½ cup tapioca starch
½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup potato starch

¾-1 tsp xanthan gum

3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp salt

Add and mix in with a spoon (I find using the back of the spoon helps get things properly mixed in gluten-free baking):

1 cup milk (lactose-free works great)

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

Dough, ready to shape and fry!

The dough will be a little sticky to the touch, so you will want to get yourself a little bowl of oil (vegetable or olive oil are fine). 

You’ll be shaping these with your hands, so you want to make sure you get only enough dough that you can easily handle the dough. Put some oil on your hands, so the dough doesn’t stick to you. Grab a small handful of dough. Use one finger to create a hole in the middle and widen it a bit (oil your hands anytime things get sticky).  

Carefully place the dough into the hot oil.  It should sink and then rise to the top. Fry on each side until golden brown, should be about 1-2 minutes per side.  You’ll see them puffing up nicely.   

Cooking the donuts - they will puff up while cooking, and they brown nicely.  I always pop a small bit of dough into the oil to make sure the oil is hot enough (and not too hot) before beginning. 

Remove and place donuts on a paper-towel lined cookie sheet and allow it to drain while you fry the other pieces.  I have found that these don’t absorb much oil, which is great considering they're donuts!!!

You could roll these in cinnamon-sugar immediately out of the frying oil, if you like.  You can also drizzle with your favorite topping.

You can glaze with your favorite icing or glaze or ganache. I used Chocolate Fudge Sauce as the glaze (primarily b/c I had some leftover in the refrigerator after making it to top my favorite brownies - it is a rich sauce with a dark chocolate flavor).  It worked perfectly to dip the donuts in halfway.  You can use your favorite frosting or glaze.   (An easy vanilla glaze is: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)) 

Fresh dipped cake donuts. 

Donuts are always best fresh, but you can freeze them by laying them out on your cookie sheet, freezing for an hour or two until firm, and then popping them in a freezer bag.  You can reheat anytime, similar to the GF donuts sold at the groceries store freezer sections (only these are better!).  Enjoy!!! 

Yum! 

Gluten Free Cake Donuts Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

A tasty gluten-free raisin (and/or cranberry, currant, cherries) cinnamon swirl bread.  It's nice and fluffy, and a bit easier than my other favorite cinnamon swirl-style breads: apple-cinnamon swirl bread, cinnamon swirl bread, monkey bread, monkey bread with drizzle, hearty-bread with cinnamon-raisin option, and pumpkin swirl bread. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Bread with currants, cranberries, and raisins. Yum!

Easy Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread!

Makes 2 large loaves, 6 mini loaves, or 3 mini loaves and 1 large loaf (it's versatile!)

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

In a mixer combine:

2 cups brown rice flour

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup potato starch

3/4 cup tapioca starch

1/3 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

4 tsp rapid-rise/quick yeast

4 tsp xanthan gum

2 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

Add, and let beat 3-4 minutes:

2 cups warm water

6 eggs

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 Tbsp oil 

4 tsp apple cider vinegar

Fold in: 

1 cup dried fruit, like cranberries, currants, raisins, or cherries 

A combination of cranberries, currants, and raisins is my favorite, but I've done the following and it's also been delicious:

1/2 dried cranberries + 1/2 raisins

1/2 dried cherries + 1/2 currants

1/2 golden raisins + 1/2 currants

Batter ready to be scooped into prepared pans.

Scoop into prepared baking pans, filling about 2/3 full.  Smooth the tops with wet hands.  Let rise in a warm location until the dough has puffed up just above the sides of the pan.  

Mini pans filled and flattened with wet hands.

Large pan filled and flattened with wet hands, ready to rise.

Puffed nicely just over the edges, ready to bake!

Bake the loaves at 375 F.  Mini loaves will bake for ~30 minutes.  Large loaves will bake for ~45-50 minutes.   Let cool out of the pan.  Slice and enjoy!  These slice reasonably well even while still a bit warm.  We often have enjoyed this fresh with butter.  This bread will slice and toast nicely.  Delicious used in French toast, too.  Leftovers can be sliced and frozen.  Enjoy! 

Fresh from the oven.

Fresh from the oven and cooling.  These always smell so nice!

Golden raisins and dried cherries in this loaf! 

Easy Raisin Cinnamon Swirl Bread Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie/Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

A large, oversized chocolate chip cookie is a fun alternative to regular chocolate chip cookies.  You can, of course, vary the sorts of chips you put in your giant chocolate chip cookie.  A handful of mint chips is nice for the holidays.  If you're in the mood for smaller cookies, I've posted LOTS of options:  Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies, Triple Chocolate Cookies, Fabulous Chocolate Chip Cookies, Delicious, Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies, Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownie Chocolate Chip Swirl Cookies, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies, Huge Cake-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, and many other cookie varieties!

Heart-shaped for Valentine's Day! 

A slice of chocolate chip cookie pie! 

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Preheat oven to 350F.  Generously butter a 10" pie dish or cast iron baking dish.  You can also gently heat your cast iron baking dish with 1-2 Tbsp butter until butter is melted.

Cream the following:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup +2 Tbsp. white sugar

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. dark brown sugar

Then add and mix lightly:

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

In a separate bowl, mix together: (you want to mix gluten-free flours with xanthan gum before adding it to the wet ingredients, so you don’t get clumping)

1 cup white rice flour

1/4 - 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (aka, heaping 1/4 tsp)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mix.

For generously filled Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie, fold in:

1 - 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can use less if you prefer)

Ready to bake! 

In a cast iron skillet, ready to bake!

Gently press the dough into your prepared 10" cast iron pan OR prepared smaller pans, like the smaller heart baking dishes.  Bake your chocolate chip cookie pies at 350 F for 15-17 minutes for smaller pans and ~25-27 minutes for your larger pan until nicely golden.  Cool at least 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.  These are delicious served hot with ice cream! A fun treat!

Fresh from the oven! Yum!

Served warm, it won't slice as neatly, but will be gooey and delicious!

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe/Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie by Successfully Gluten Free!

GF Pork Stuffed Rolls!

These are a fun alternative to make when you don't want the mess of frying egg rolls.  They use the same filling, including the rice vermicelli noodles, but then you make a nice soft dough to wrap around the filling. If you're not up for making the rolls, you can always serve the pork filling and noodles as it's own dish. Enjoy!  

Pork stuffed bun, sliced open. Yum! 

Cooling pork stuffed rolls! 

Gluten Free Pork Stuffed Rolls!

Makes ~12-18 stuffed buns, depending on size you make them

Pork & Veggie Filling:

In a large frying pan over medium heat cook: 

1 lb ground pork
3 carrots, grated
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (omit or add just a dash if you're using a GF soy sauce that isn't Bragg's Soy Seasoning)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper

Once the pork is about halfway cooked, add and continue cooking until pork is fully cooked: 

1 bell pepper, finely diced

When the pork is fully cooked, add and cook 1-2 minutes: 

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated

6-7 garlic cloves, minced OR 1 heaping Tbsp minced cloves (they sell jars in the vegetable areas at most large supermarkets)

2 Tbsp freeze dried red onion, optional

Add and cook 1-2 minutes: 

4 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Soy Seasoning OR Gluten-Free Soy Sauce

1-2 tsp agave

Pork and vegetable filling, ready to cool a bit.

Remove from the heat and let cool while you prepare the noodles and dough. 

Rice Noodles:

Fill a large pot halfway full with water and 1 Tbsp salt.  Bring to a full, rolling boil.  Add to the pot:

Half or whole package of very thin rice noodles (I like the Maifun rice sticks for this recipe - the amount you cook depends on if you'd like any leftover noodles to eat with cooked pork filling if you get tired of making and wrapping egg rolls)  

Turn off the heat and leave noodles to rest in the pot for 10 minutes.  They are then ready to use!  You can just use them straight from the pot.  Drain and remove a portion of noodles into a small bowl for convenience when you're going to use them.    

Dough:

Here, you'll be making a tangzhong-style dough by first cooking part of the liquid and flour on the stovetop.  It helps the texture of your final dough. 

In a small/medium pot, stir over medium-low heat until lines appear in dough as you pull your spoon back and forth:

1/3 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

1 cup water OR liquid part of canned coconut milk

Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the dry ingredients.  

In a mixer, combine: 

1 1/4 cup tapioca starch

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup cornstarch

2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

5 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp quick (rapid-rise) yeast

Add and mix in, letting it beat at medium speed for 3-4 minutes: 

1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk (thick part of canned coconut milk)

1/2 cup tangzhong stovetop mixture from above

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 egg

Use wet hands (just dip in a little bowl of water) anytime you need to handle the dough.  You can also use a small-medium sized cookie scoop to get evenly sized rolls. 

Assembling your rolls:

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line baking pan with parchment paper. 

Take a small piece of dough.  Roll it out between plastic wrap.  Fill with a bit of pork filling and top with some rice noodles. Use the plastic wrap to help you wrap the dough up and over the filling, pinching together at the top.  Use wet hands to carefully place your roll on the prepared parchment-lined pan.   Repeat with the remaining dough.  

Dough filled with pork & noodles

Pinched together around the filling.

Placed on the pan to rise, then be brushed with an egg wash. These are 1/4 sized baking sheets, so half the size of a normal cookie sheet. 

Let the buns rise in a warm location for ~30 minutes, until nicely puffed up.  I find if I put another pan upside-down on top of the pans, it helps them rise faster.  

Beat in a small bowl 1 egg + 1 tsp water.  Brush the tops of your puffed buns after they've risen.  If desired, you can sprinkle with sesame seeds before baking.  I'd recommend sprinkling the sesame seeds, then adding the egg wash. It helps hold the seeds on top. 

Risen and ready to bake!

Bake your pork stuffed buns at 375 F for 25-30 minutes, until nice and golden brown.  The filling has been pre-cooked, which is helpful, so you just want your bread dough to be thoroughly cooked.   Let rest a few minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack to cool.    These are delicious served with a simple dipping sauce, like a sweet chili sauce or the one below. 

Dipping Sauce:

Mix together the following:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
3 Tbsp Bragg's soy seasoning (or GF soy sauce)
1-2 tsp agave
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garlic-chili sauce

Fresh from the oven! 

Cooling after baking. Yum! 

Gluten-Free Pork Stuffed Rolls/Buns Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!