K, time is up- I have taken a month thinking and promising myself that I'm going to start this blog... I could take another month... or I could just start typing... here goes...
The problem is that I don't know where to start, the problem is that I don't know what people want to hear about, the problem is that I hate typing... all except the last are fixable with a recipe. Everybody loves cookies... so this is where I will start.
I spent most of the afternoon yesterday trying to create a recipe for gf/cf sugar cookies (recipe below) and gf/cf bread for a friend. From time to time I will get requests, but in this case it was purely for my own entertainment. Although I have been creating gf meals for the last year or so, this was my first attempt baking without dairy. What I learned in the process is that gluten-free can be more difficult when baking... without dairy, you're also compromising flavor. I should have started with a peanut butter cookie, but thought twice not wanting to deal with allergies. Either way, I should have paid better attention in chemistry class.
A sugar cookie sounded so simple, and now that I have the recipe created... it is.
Sugar cookies
dry
2c white rice flour
1c tapioca flour
2tsp xanthan gum
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2c sugar
wet
1c canola oil
2 eggs
3 tbsp almond milk (original flavor)
When beginning this process, I didn't want to go to the store, but didn't have any margarine in the house... I have oils or butter (as I said before, this is my first cf recipe). So here's the strange part... it will look so incredibly unhealthy (but- in all fairness, it is sugar cookies we're trying to make & I'm sure Pillsbury isn't any healthier)
Preheat oven to 375 deg
Start with the oil and sugar, mix together in large mixing bowl. Add eggs and blend until completely incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together remaining dry ingredients. Return to the oil/sugar combination (yes, it's correct if it looks like a grainy syrup creation- I know it looks weird, but I'm glad I didn't stop here!) Start incorporating in parts the flour mixture & almond milk, alternating between the two, a bit at a time ("ish"- one cup flour mixture, one tbsp almond milk- "ish"). You have created the batter! yeayyy! Now, you can drop spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake, but be warned- they will spread, so give them space!
What I did here is drop a couple on a cookie sheet (it's hard for me to not try something immediately) and then stick the remaining batter in the freezer for about 20 min.When I pulled the remaining batter out of the freezer, it was firm enough to scoop onto fresh parchment sprinkled with sugar. I then rolled the dough into a log that could freeze for future use (I did have to rotate the dough log a couple times to keep the round form).
I baked a few this morning, if you slice about 1/4 inch thick, straight from the freezer- 10 min is sufficient. They still spread a bit (remember- we used oil). I enjoyed the 10 min cooking time, they ended up much lighter, more "airy" and "chewy" than I expected. Just remember that this dough will soften as it cools to room temp, so, work quickly- have the oven preheated & cookie sheet lined with parchment in advance. Then put them in the oven right away.
I will be trying this with margarine soon. Hopefully it's even easier (i.e. staying solid longer at room temperature). You could try it- let me know how it turns out in the comment section!
The problem is that I don't know where to start, the problem is that I don't know what people want to hear about, the problem is that I hate typing... all except the last are fixable with a recipe. Everybody loves cookies... so this is where I will start.
I spent most of the afternoon yesterday trying to create a recipe for gf/cf sugar cookies (recipe below) and gf/cf bread for a friend. From time to time I will get requests, but in this case it was purely for my own entertainment. Although I have been creating gf meals for the last year or so, this was my first attempt baking without dairy. What I learned in the process is that gluten-free can be more difficult when baking... without dairy, you're also compromising flavor. I should have started with a peanut butter cookie, but thought twice not wanting to deal with allergies. Either way, I should have paid better attention in chemistry class.
A sugar cookie sounded so simple, and now that I have the recipe created... it is.
Sugar cookies
dry
2c white rice flour
1c tapioca flour
2tsp xanthan gum
2tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1 1/2c sugar
wet
1c canola oil
2 eggs
3 tbsp almond milk (original flavor)
When beginning this process, I didn't want to go to the store, but didn't have any margarine in the house... I have oils or butter (as I said before, this is my first cf recipe). So here's the strange part... it will look so incredibly unhealthy (but- in all fairness, it is sugar cookies we're trying to make & I'm sure Pillsbury isn't any healthier)
Preheat oven to 375 deg
Start with the oil and sugar, mix together in large mixing bowl. Add eggs and blend until completely incorporated. In a separate bowl whisk together remaining dry ingredients. Return to the oil/sugar combination (yes, it's correct if it looks like a grainy syrup creation- I know it looks weird, but I'm glad I didn't stop here!) Start incorporating in parts the flour mixture & almond milk, alternating between the two, a bit at a time ("ish"- one cup flour mixture, one tbsp almond milk- "ish"). You have created the batter! yeayyy! Now, you can drop spoonfuls onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake, but be warned- they will spread, so give them space!
What I did here is drop a couple on a cookie sheet (it's hard for me to not try something immediately) and then stick the remaining batter in the freezer for about 20 min.When I pulled the remaining batter out of the freezer, it was firm enough to scoop onto fresh parchment sprinkled with sugar. I then rolled the dough into a log that could freeze for future use (I did have to rotate the dough log a couple times to keep the round form).
I baked a few this morning, if you slice about 1/4 inch thick, straight from the freezer- 10 min is sufficient. They still spread a bit (remember- we used oil). I enjoyed the 10 min cooking time, they ended up much lighter, more "airy" and "chewy" than I expected. Just remember that this dough will soften as it cools to room temp, so, work quickly- have the oven preheated & cookie sheet lined with parchment in advance. Then put them in the oven right away.
I will be trying this with margarine soon. Hopefully it's even easier (i.e. staying solid longer at room temperature). You could try it- let me know how it turns out in the comment section!
