Gluten Free Tuilles - Daring Bakers January Challenge

It's been over 3 years since I've had an ice cream cone, so when I found out the daring bakers challenge was tuilles I knew that I wanted to shape them into cones.  These turned out delicious (albeit fragile as can be!)  I need to experiment with some other flour combinations to see if I can come up with one that is a little more malleable, but over all I feel great about my results!

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux

Following is a recipe taken from a book called “The Chocolate Book”, written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

I’ve substituted the flour with ½ cup cornstarch.

 Recipe:
Yields: 6-8 5 inch cones (or whatever shape you choose)

 Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch


 ¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)


½ cup sifted confectioner’s sugar


1 sachet vanilla sugar (substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)


2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)


½ cup sifted all purpose flour
(corn starch for gluten free)

1 tablespoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice


Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template(I traced a small bowl on the paper and flipped it over to follow the lines and get my shape for the cones.) Press the stencil on the baking sheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations if desired.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones….


Gluten Free Apple Cider Donuts

This recipe was taken from one of my favorite gluten free cookbook authors, Annalise Roberts.  It is posted in its entirety on her website .  I followed her recipe exactly and ended up with these delicious donuts.  My husband gave me the highest compliment when after taking his first bite he asked if they were gluten free!

I used a wide mouth glass for the donut shape and a shot glass for the donut holes.  Since we don't drink alcohol it was nice to see the shot glass finally get some use!

Watch the temperature of your oil while making these.  If you add too many donuts the temperature drops and they don't cook correctly.

We covered ours in cinnamon sugar, but a nice apple cider glaze would be yummy too.  I think I'll try that next time.

Crock Pot Chipotle Chili and Skillet Cornbread

I think I've found my new favorite meal! I came across the chili recipe in the Jan/Feb issue of Midwest Living. My husband and I both like the smokey flavor of chipotle and I had most of the ingredients on hand so it was a bit of a no brainer to make it for dinner. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, but I only had 1/2 pound so I substituted an extra can of beans and doubled the hominy to take its place. I also used chipotle seasoning instead of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - it's a personal preference.

After getting the chili into the crockpot I started thinking of what to serve with it. I love cornbread and have a decent gluten free one already posted on my blog, but unless you eat it right from the oven it's a bit on the dry side and doesn't re-heat very well (must eat with milk to choke it down although the flavor is nice). I was thinking of ways to add some moisture (sour cream, applesauce, etc) when I remembered that I had some creamed corn in the pantry. I thought creamed corn might help make my cornbread moist, and after doing some online searches realized that others shared my same line of thinking - there were lots of recipes online for cornbread using creamed corn. I used this one because it looked like I could easily make it gluten free. Here are the recipes exactly how I made them. They are so yummy and the cornbread is my new favorite!

Chipotle Chili

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 2 cups water
• 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 14 oz can mexican stewed tomatoes
• 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15-oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 30-oz. can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
  
• 2 cups loose-pack frozen diced hash brown potatoes with onions and peppers
• 1 teaspoon beef flavored better than bouillon
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle seasoning

Brown hamburger and place in slow cooker with all of the ingredients. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve with sour cream, chopped avocado and shredded cheddar cheese if desired.

Skillet Corn bread

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 
  
• preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk cornmeal, gf flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and xanthum gum in large bowl to blend. Add creamed corn, butter and egg. Stir just until blended. Spoon batter into an 8 inch cast iron skillet.
  

Bake until edges begin to pull away from pan sides and tester inserted into center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with butter and honey.

Easy Skillet Cookie Sundae

I'm not big on gluten free mixes (brownies, cake etc...), but there are a few you'll always find in my cupboard for those times I want the taste of homemade but don't have a lot of  time to bake.  One of these such mixes is Pamela's Baking and Pancake mix.  There's a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the package that is delicious and so easy that I can make an amazing skillet cookie sundae in less than 30 minutes.   Here's the recipe from off of the package:

Pamela's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter 

1/4 cup white sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 egg 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1-1/2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix 

1 cups semi sweet chocolate chips 

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Yield: approximately 20 cookies

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla and beat together. Add Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix and chocolate chips (and nuts) mix thoroughly. Place tablespoon sized scoops of dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Flatten. Bake in preheated 350° oven for approximately 15 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly and use a spatula to remove from cookie sheet.

To make a Skillet Cookie Sundae:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Make cookie recipe as directed but instead of using a cookie sheet press 1/3 of the dough into a 6 inch cast iron skillet and bake for 15-18 minutes.  (Adjust baking time and amount of dough if your skillet is larger.)   Remove from oven and cool for 3-4 minutes.  At this time remove the ice cream from the freezer.  Any flavor will do, but my favorites are plain old vanilla and chocolate marshmallow.  Scoop ice cream on top of the cookie and drizzle with chocolate sauce or your favorite topping.  Enjoy!  

Place the unused dough in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days or bake into cookies along side your skillet.