Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes

Our baby girl turned two this month and requested cupcakes for her birthday.  She calls them "Happy Birthdays".  I love that.  She loves the color pink lately and strawberries are one of her favorite fruits, so strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting was the only way to go!  My husband says these are the best cupcakes he's every had and probably his second favorite dessert behind Aunt Betty's Chocolate Cake.  They really are that good!

Gluten Free Strawberry Cupcakes

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (3 oz package) gluten free strawberry jello mix
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups gluten free flour mix
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
4-6 strawberries; chopped and mashed or pureed to equal 1/2 cup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan(s) with 12-15 cupcake papers.  In a large mixing bowl beat sugar, jello and eggs at medium speed for 1 minute.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on medium speed for 1 minute.  Pour batter into the pans dividing evenly and filling each cupcake 2/3 full.  I like to use my 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop and put 2 scoops of batter in each cupcake liner.  Bake cupcakes in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of cupcake comes out clean.  Let cupcakes cool for a few minutes and then remove them from the pan to finish cooling.  Frost cooled cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. (below)

**I never frost all of my cupcakes.  Instead I put half of them in the freezer, unfrosted and I store the extra frosting in the fridge.  Whenever we want cupcakes I grab a few out of the freezer along with the frosting from the fridge.  The cupcakes thaw on the counter within 20 minutes or 15 seconds in the microwave.  Just frost and enjoy.  Fresh cupcakes every day for a week (less in our house)! 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

2 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 Tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1 strawberry, chopped & mashed or pureed (1-2 Tablespoons)
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
milk if needed

Place cream cheese, butter and pureed strawberry in a mixing bowl and beat until combined. Mix in the lemon juice (optional but brightens up the flavor).  Add the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined then turn mixer to high and beat for 1-2 minutes until frosting is light and creamy.  Check the frosting's spreading consistency at this time.  Cream cheese frosting tends to be on the soft side so you probably won't need any additional liquid.  If the spreading consistency is too stiff mix in some milk 1 teaspoon at a time checking spreading consistency after each addition.  Store frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

**The strawberry makes the frosting a pale pink.  I added a little food coloring to make it brighter.

Strawberry "Happy Birthdays"

Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad - Gluten Free

We've been eating a lot of salads lately.  Not only are salads a great way to incorporate veggies into our diet, but it's been crazy hot in Arizona and salads make a nice cool meal!  It can get a bit boring having salad 3 times a week, so I'm always on the lookout for a new twist on a familiar favorite.  The buffalo wing sauce used in this otherwise traditional Cobb Salad fits the bill and tastes delicious.

**a note about bleu cheese**

Bleu Cheese was traditionally made using bread as the starter and there was a question about whether or not it was gluten free.  Many companies now use chemical starters for the cheese instead of bread, making the cheese free of contamination and safe for the gluten free world.  However, there are some cheese makers that still use bread to make bleu cheese.  Bleu Cheese tests have detected gluten at less than 1ppm (part per million).  That's even smaller than itty bitty, but if you are super sensitive research some brands before you buy.  And ALWAYS read the ingredients on salad dressings...or make your own using bleu cheese that you are comfortable with.  That being said, my husband doesn't like bleu cheese so I used sharp cheddar cheese and gluten free ranch salad dressing instead!

Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad

-serves 4

6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

1 large chicken breast, cooked & shredded (1 1/2 - 2 cups)

1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (check ingredients)

1 head of your favorite lettuce, leaves torn

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese or 4 ounces bleu cheese crumbles

1 avocado, cut into cubes

1 large tomato, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1/4 cup diced red onion

gluten free Ranch or Bleu Cheese salad dressing for serving

Toss the shredded chicken with the buffalo wing sauce.  Cover four dinner plates or one large platter with the lettuce.  Arrange the bacon, chicken, cheese, avocado, tomato, eggs and red onion in columns on top of the lettuce.  Serve with your favorite gluten free dressing.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

This is one of my husband's favorite recipes from his mom.  Before being diagnosed with Celiac Disease I used to make these all the time but never thought to convert them to a gluten free version until today.   Chuck full of chocolate chips and oatmeal with a touch of cinnamon, these are once again on our family's list of favorites!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

3/4 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 cups gluten free quick oats
2 cups gluten free flour mix
2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 9X13 cake pan with cooking spray.  Combine oil, sugars, egg, milk and vanilla in a mixing bowl and mix on medium for 1 minute.  Add the dry ingredients except for the chocolate chips and mix until just combind.  Stir in the chocolate chips and spoon dough into the prepared pan spreading to the edges.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Cool slightly before cutting into bars.

Gluten Free S'mores Pie

Chocolate marshmallow is my husband's favorite flavor combination.  When I saw a recipe for s'mores pie in Rachael Ray's June 2011 magazine I knew I had to make this for Father's Day - gluten free, of course!  This super sweet chocolate delight is so easy to put together. 

I put a layer of chocolate chips between the pudding and marshmallow topping for that melted chocolate effect that you get with smores, but only some of the chocolate chips melted.  It was still really yummy (I ate 2 slices!), but next time I might try mixing the chips in with the marshmallow topping to see if they melt better.

Gluten Free S'mores Pie

Crust:
4 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups gluten free cookie crumbs (I use a 6 oz box Orgran gluten free vanilla animal cookies crushed in the blender)

Filling:
1 5.1 oz box gluten free instant chocolate pudding
2 cups cold milk
1 cup gluten free whipped topping

Topping:
1/2 cup gluten free chocolate chips
7 ounce jar gluten free marshmallow creme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a 9 inch pie dish combine the crust ingredients and use a fork or clean hands to pat the crust into the pie dish.  Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool.

While the crust is cooling, whisk together the chocolate pudding mix and milk until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Stir in whipped topping.  Spoon chocolate filling into the cooled crust and top with chocolate chips.  Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  (If you're making this ahead of time, refrigerate the pie until 30 minutes before serving.  At that time, place it in the freezer for 15 minutes).  Turn on your oven to broil, remove pie from the freezer and spoon marshmallow creme over the pie sealing the edges.  It's sticky, so use a wet knife.  Place pie under the broiler until marshmallow topping starts to brown.  This only takes a few minutes so watch it carefully!

Remove S'mores Pie from the oven and serve immediately.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

Churros- Gluten Free Pate a Choux Ratio Rally

How did I not know churros were made using pate a choux?  My mom taught me how to make cream puffs when I was a little girl and I made gluten free pate a choux for eclairs soon after I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  If I'd known frying the dough would make churros I would have tried it years ago!  I'm not much of a food fryer - mostly because I don't like the smell that lingers in the house from the hot oil.  That being said, these were so easy to make and yummy to eat I might start making them every year to celebrate the beginning of summer.  There's nothing like a churro to usher in the months of summer fests and  amusement parks!

Pate a choux is this months Gluten Free Ratio Rally.  Our host was Erin, The Sensitive Epicure.  You can check out her blog to see all the wonderful gluten free eats made with pate a choux this month.  I chose to make churros because 1- I love them, 2- I missed them, 3- I'd never made them, and 4- they are made out of pate a choux (but mostly because of 1).  The pate a choux ratio is:

1 part flour

2 parts liquid

2 parts egg

1 part fat

or 1:2:2:1

The ratios are done by weight.  I start by weighing my egg and adjusting everything else from there.

Gluten Free Churros

makes 10-12 5 inch churros

53 grams water (almost 1/3 cup)

27 grams butter (about 5 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

27 grams gluten free flour mix (about 1/4 cup)

53 grams egg (1 large egg)

Oil for frying
1/3 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon for rolling the churros in once they are cooked.

Boil water, butter, salt and sugar. Add gluten free flour mix. Work mixture together and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Continue working the mixture until all flour is incorporated and dough forms a ball. Remove pan from heat and cool pan by dipping into cold water for 3-4 minutes - don't let any water get into the pan. You want the dough to cool down so that it doesn't scramble the egg, but it still needs to be warm.  Add the egg, and using a whisk beat the dough to fully incorporate the egg.  The dough will look slippery and messy at first but continue to whisk and it will come together after a minute or so.  If you double the recipe add the eggs one at a time fully incorporating each one before adding the next one. Once the mixture is smooth, refrigerate it for 1 hour or overnight.

Put refrigerated dough into a pastry bag fitted with a 1M tip.  Pipe dough into 5 inch lines onto small baking sheet.  Freeze for 15 minutes or overnight.

Add 2 inches of oil to a medium pan and heat over medium until it reaches 375 degrees.  Remove the churros from the freezer and place 1 to 3 into the hot oil.  Fry for 60-90 seconds and then flip the churros to cook the other side an additional 60-90 seconds.  Remove from oil and place on a plate covered in paper towels.  Allow the churros to cool 1-2 minutes and then roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Make sure the oil is at 375 before frying the rest of the churros.
Best eaten warm.