Archives for January 2015

D.I.Y. Friday: Gluten Free Jiffy-Style Corn Muffin Mix

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 30, 2015 | Posted In: Basics, Cakes, Desserts, Holidays, Muffins, Super Bowl

An overhead view of corn muffins on white surface

In my second book, Gluten Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy, Chapter 8 is filled with every recipe imaginable for Make-Your-Own baking mixes—or at least at the time I thought it was every mix recipe imaginable. That’s kind of the way it goes with writing a cookbook. You think you’ve squeezed every possible recipe out of a subject (which generally means not a lot more than 100 recipes, in my experience), but once the dust clears and some time passes after the book is out in the world, you always end up thinking—how did I not include a recipe for that?! No worries, though. That’s what food blogs are for, right? Which brings me to this recipe for Gluten Free Jiffy-Style Corn Muffin Mix—just like that blue box, but gluten free … and made in two seconds in your own kitchen with just a few basic pantry ingredients.

So welcome back to D.I.Y. Fridays, an occasional blog series where we D.I.Y. a basic recipe or other ingredient that you otherwise might be inclined to buy. As always, we’ll aim to save you money, plus the bother of running to the store for every little thing.

Corn muffin mix in a jar on white surface

Jiffy may not make a gluten free corn muffin mix, but these days plenty of other companies do. If you have a natural foods section of your local grocery store, chances are you’ll find at least 2 or 3 brands of corn muffin mixes. I’ll be honest—I haven’t tried any of them. But with the intense mark-up of all gluten free mixes, and their general poor quality, I’m willing to bet you’ll welcome a D.I.Y. version!

Overhead view of corn muffins on white surface

Just like the Jiffy mix itself, this recipe for a gluten free Jiffy-style corn muffin mix is very forgiving, and very versatile. I have made muffins from this mix with and without cupcake liners (muffins and cupcakes always bake more evenly with muffin tin liners), at 375°F (which you see above—they bake faster and they are crustier, more like a skillet cornbread) …

A close up of corn muffins on white surface

… and at 350°F (for a more tender, less crusty muffin)—both with and without corn kernels mixed in. My personal favorite is the kind you see above: baked in muffin liners, with frozen corn kernels mixed in and baked at 350°F for 15 minutes. Keep in mind that this recipe makes 17 ounces of the dry mix, double the traditional 8.5-ounce Jiffy box. You can of course always cut the mix in half straight down the middle of every ingredient.

I love having this mix on hand, though. It’s perfect for serving alongside a hot bowl of chili at your Super Bowl Party this weekend, or just for a snack or light breakfast. And with this mix, you’ll have the batter ready before your oven has even finished preheating!

Blueberry Dump Cake

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 28, 2015 | Posted In: Cakes, Desserts

Gluten free blueberry dump cake is what you bake when you want to eat a cake, but don’t feel like, well, baking. Truly as easy as just “dumping” all the ingredients in and popping it in the oven!

A piece of blueberry dump cake on a white plate with whip cream

I put “dump” cakes in the same category as slow cookers: I know how popular they are, but I just couldn’t wrap my mind around them.

There are whole books written about them both, maybe even love songs for all I know. And when we’re talking about a harmless subject like how to make a ridiculously easy cake (with an unfortunate name), millions of people can’t be wrong.

I am happy to report that this gluten free blueberry dump cake is indeed super easy, and makes a really nice cake that tastes like a gluten free blueberry buckle with a shortbread base. I’m honestly not sure it could be any easier, in fact—even when you make-your-own gluten free vanilla cake mix.

Gluten Free Blueberry Dump Cake—Step by Step

They’re called “dump” cakes because, well, you just dump all of the ingredients in a pan and bake them. No mixing.

Even so, I find that the best method—by a mile—is to grate chilled butter into the cake mix. Then gently toss everything all together in the pan before pouring buttermilk over the top and baking it.

An overhead view of blueberry dump cake in a white dish

I used frozen blueberries since it’s the middle of the winter as I write this and frozen blueberries are where it’s at. But if you make this gluten free blueberry dump cake during blueberry season, you know what to do.

I made this cake quite a few times before settling on the proper proportion of ingredients and method, and the most important piece of advice I can give you is … don’t overbake it. The bottom burns quite easily. Other than that, it really is as easy, and as delicious, as it seems!

Ingredients and substitutions

Dairy-free: In place of the butter in this recipe, try using butter-flavored Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (or virgin coconut oil—I think they even have butter-flavored varieties of that, too). In place of buttermilk, use unsweetened almond milk + 1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar.

You’ll also need to replace the nonfat dry milk in the homemade vanilla cake mix. Try using finely ground blanched almond flour, or powdered coconut milk in its place. And the whipped cream is a no-go, or it could be replaced with whipped coconut cream.

Egg-free: It’s already egg-free. :)

Watch this <1 minute video of blueberry dump cake

Just push play ▶️ and watch how easy it is!

Gluten Free Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 26, 2015 | Posted In: Biscuits, Breakfast & Brunch, Holidays, Mother's Day, Pastry

Gluten free bacon, egg and cheese biscuits. Cooked bacon, lightly scrambled eggs and shredded cheese, all baked into a simple gluten free biscuit packet. Breakfast, or breakfast for dinner, has never been better!

A stack of 3 bacon egg and cheese biscuits on a white surface

I always (really, always) have a batch of the Extra-Flaky Buttermilk Biscuit dough from page 227 of GFOAS Bakes Bread in my refrigerator or freezer (don’t have the book? use this gluten free biscuit recipe from the blog—it’s fabulous too!).

Sometimes, I’ve already shaped the dough into biscuits that I bake from frozen as the perfect way to round out any meal. Other times, I’ve shaped it into a rectangle that I can defrost easily in the refrigerator overnight and use it however I like the next day.

One of my favorite new ways to use it? These super simple gluten free bacon, egg & cheese biscuits. They take gluten free breakfast for dinner to a whole new level!

Baking bacon in the oven

But first, a few words about cooking bacon: Even though I always end up turning my kitchen upside down with recipe testing 7 days a week, I try my best to minimize mess. Especially the mess of splattered grease. Cooking bacon in the oven not only makes super quick work of the whole thing, it does it with barely any cleanup necessary. I bake the bacon on an unlined baking sheet for 7 minutes, pour off the grease (I save that gorgeous, fragrant bacon grease—doesn’t everyone?), flip the bacon and then finish baking. It comes out perfectly crisp every time. If you like less-crisp bacon, just bake it for less time. No biggie.

Gluten Free Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits—Step by Step

Once you prepare the biscuit dough (you know, the dough you already had because you are always ready with biscuit dough) and baked the bacon, all that’s really left is to scramble the eggs very, very lightly and pile the bacon, egg and cheese into the biscuit dough.

A close up of bacon egg and cheese biscuits on a white surface

I like to serve these flaky little packets of goodness with a big salad for a light dinner. They’re also (of course!) perfect for a nice brunch spread, or with a steaming hot bowl of soup. Actually, I’m having trouble thinking of a meal they wouldn’t suit…

Gluten Free Pudding Mix | Chocolate and Vanilla

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 23, 2015 | Posted In: D.I.Y. Fridays, Puddings

Make your own dry gluten free pudding mix, in chocolate or vanilla flavor. Add milk, cook for just a few minutes on the stovetop, and have pudding any time.

Pudding with whip cream in a jar on white surface

All you need is a well-stocked gluten free pantry, and you can make pretty much anything from scratch. Plus, you can control the amount of sugar.

These puddings are much more lightly sweet than the store-bought kind, and even though I have as much of a sweet tooth as the next person, I find packaged store-bought puddings to be simply tooth-achingly sweet.

Pudding mix in 2 jars on white surface

Other uses for these pudding mixes

When I made gluten free chocolate poke cake, I needed an “instant” chocolate pudding. So I came up with the recipe for chocolate gluten free instant pudding you’ll find below.

I poured it over that chocolate cake—but it sat there on top. It was thick and rich, like proper chocolate pudding should be. But clearly it was too thick for that cake.

Since it was a D.I.Y., I just reworked the proportions and voilà! But today we’re back to those original proportions, and the pudding is perfect…for just being pudding that is ready in an instant.

Chocolate pudding in jars with plastic wrap

How to prevent that pudding skin

There are two types of people in this world: those who hate pudding skin, and those who like it best. You know, that darker, thicker skin that develops on hot pudding as it cools…

If you don’t like pudding skin, there’s an easy way to prevent it. After you’ve poured the hot cooked pudding into serving containers, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the top of the pudding. Once it’s mostly cooled, remove the plastic wrap, cover the top of the container, and refrigerate until set.

Chocoate pudding mix before cooking

Dairy: milk and nonfat dry milk

You can use whatever milk you like to make the pudding, but if you use a nondairy milk, I find that the pudding is a bit thinner even when using nice, thick almond milk. Nondairy milk is usually not quite white, either, so the vanilla pudding will be a bit off-color (only literally, though!) if you use it for cooking the pudding.

I have used blanched almond flour in place of nonfat dry milk in the chocolate pudding, as it’s just a small amount, and it worked fine. In the vanilla pudding, the dry milk is such a major component, I would stick with nondairy milk powder, like coconut milk powder.

Overhead view of chocolate and vanilla pudding on dark surface

A note on thickeners

I know you were probably expecting cornstarch as a thickener, rather than my gum-free gluten free flour blend. But I rarely use cornstarch as a thickener, particularly something I am going to serve chilled, as it tends to “leak” liquid.

That ruins both the texture and the visual experience. You can use sweet rice flour in place of my simple basic gum-free flour blend, but I do prefer the blend. The sweet rice flour creates a better texture in warm mixtures than in chilled, but it will work better than cornstarch.

In simple recipes like these that have as few as 4 ingredients, making a drastic substitution is really like creating a brand new recipe. Keep in mind that these recipes, unlike custard-style pudding recipes, are naturally egg-free, which already makes them more allergy-friendly.

Chocolate pudding with graham cracker crumbs

Gluten Free Chocolate Poke Cake

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 21, 2015 | Posted In: Cakes, Desserts, Puddings

This gluten free chocolate poke cake is an incredibly moist chocolate cake made easily from scratch with rich chocolate pudding poured over the warm cake. A surprise in every bite!

A close up of a piece of chocolate poke cake on a white surface

This is the chocolate birthday cake you make when you’re invited and asked to bring cake. Trust me.

An overhead view of chocolate poke cake on a white surface

The chocolate cake is adapted from my our one bowl chocolate cake, but scaled up in size. That’s one of our very best gluten free chocolate cakes, and this one just builds off that success.

The chocolate flavor of the cake is a bit deeper, too, and the cake is less sweet on account of the poured over chocolate pudding mixture. This is a chocolate-lover’s cake, no doubt.

Gluten Free Chocolate Poke Cake—step by step

Have you ever made a poke cake? They’re really pretty literal, poke cakes. You make the cake, then poke holes in it while it’s still warm out of the oven. Then you pour a gorgeous liquid over the top and watch the cake soak up the goodness.

It reminds me a bit of rum cake, on account of the poking holes and pouring over. Also because these sort of cakes are traditionally made with a cake mix and a pudding mix, as are most rum cakes (but not ours!). Being a chocolate poke cake, it’s not quite as easy to see the chocolate pudding mixture in those holes—except for when you take a generous bite.

A close up of a bite of chocolate poke cake on a from on white surface

This recipe for gluten free chocolate poke cake uses no pre-made mixes, since I’m simply not a big fan of the taste of (and ingredients in) cake mixes. My homemade pudding mixture is a low-starch chocolate pudding mix that is cooked before being poured over the top of the cake.

The pudding mixture is not so thick that it won’t absorb fully into the cake, but since it’s cooked it stays thick when the cake is served at room temperature. If that makes less than total sense, just carry on. I tried this cake every which way, and this is the way that delivers!

Skinny Gluten Free Blueberry Corn Muffins

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 15, 2015 | Posted In: Breakfast & Brunch, Cakes, Desserts, Muffins

A close up of inside a blueberry corn muffin on white towel

Is it fair to call these gluten free blueberry corn muffins skinny? I mean, they’re still muffins, right? Yes indeed. But they are more virtuous than their regular muffin counterparts, as they’re really very light on sugar (only 1/2 cup of sugar for all 12 muffins, with just a very light sprinkling of coarse sugar on top) and made with about half the butter as you’d normally find in muffins. These are most certainly breakfast muffins, which is exactly what my children wanted to know the minute they walked in the door from school and saw them all piled up under the cake dome on our kitchen counter. That’s where the baked goods that are going to be eaten soon live. And the kids know it! My children are not on a skinny “diet” or anything, of course, but they know that “skinny” foods are going to be low in sugar (much more important than low in fat!) and are therefore more likely to be served to them generously for breakfast.

Skinny Gluten Free Blueberry Corn Muffins

I prefer to make them with fresh blueberries, if I can, but they’re just as delicious with frozen ones. The main difference between baking with fresh blueberries and baking with them frozen is that the frozen berries (don’t defrost them before adding to the batter!) is that the frozen berries tend to bleed their color into the batter. So you end up with blue-tinted muffins. Not a big problem, of course, as the flavor isn’t affected at all.

A close up of a blueberry cron muffin on white surface

These muffins are adapted from my lighter gluten free blueberry muffins, but of course with coarsely ground yellow cornmeal and a slightly difference balance of moisture and other ingredients. These are heartier than the others. And you have a few more options with these, like making them entirely without any berries at all (they’ll be a bit smaller, and bake a tiny bit faster), or with fresh or frozen cranberries in place of blueberries (just cut the cranberries each in half before folding them into the batter). If you make them into cranberry muffins, replace the lemon zest with orange zest, and the lemon juice with an equal amount of freshly squeezed orange juice. So good!

Here’s to a new year/new you! For the record, though, I like the regular you just fine. :)

Looking for more Skinny Gluten Free Recipes? Try these:
Lighter/Skinny Gluten Free Chocolate Muffins
Lighter/Skinny Gluten Free Banana Snack Cake
Lighter/Skinny Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Lighter No-Butter Pie Crust

Thick & Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 14, 2015 | Posted In: Cookies, Desserts, Paleo

A chocolate chip cookie on top of a glass of milk

I’m definitely not good at everything (who is? I’ll hate that person, thank you), but my chocolate chip cookies baking skillz are top notch. So as I get deeper into Paleo baking in this, my second NewYearNewYou January Paleo baking-fest, I have taken it upon myself to build the perfect Paleo chocolate chip cookie. I’ve given it a shot a few times in the past (here and here), and I really do like those recipes. They’re solid, and very tasty. But, frankly, they’re just not the thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies that I’ve been making for at least half my life (both before and after gluten free), to rave reviews all around. Could it be done? Crispy on the edges, thick and soft and chewy toward the center?

Cookie dough ball and chocolate chip cookies on parchment paper

You know where this is going, right? It has taken countless batches (not a big problem, in the grand scheme), but at great long last I would like to introduce you to thick and chewy Paleo chocolate chip cookies. Everyone, these are the perfect Paleo chocolate chip cookies. Cookies, everyone.

Stack of 3 chocolate chip cookies on a wooden surface

I am proud to report that I did not resort to using a million different types of Paleo flours in these cookies. Just blanched almond flour and tapioca starch/flour, leaning more heavily on the almond flour (so make it the right brand!). The rest of the ingredients are pretty much what you’d expect from a chocolate chipper, but as with all cookies (and most other baking recipes, be they cakes, cookies, scones, etc.) it’s about the balance of ingredients, and the temperature of each as they’re combined and before they’re baked. If you don’t chill the dough as instructed, for example, you will be cursing me as you sometimes do. So chill the dough, and nobody gets hurt, right? xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Gluten Free Chicken Fried Chicken

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 9, 2015 | Posted In: Chicken, Dinner

Fried chicken with white sauce and herbs on a white plate

In these final stages of prep of my next cookbook, Gluten Free Classic Snacks (it’s going to print in just 10 days!!), I’ve been doing what I always do before a book launch: baking my way through it, of course! It calms my nerves (the recipes really do work perfectly!) and allows me to tweak the recipes a teeny tiny bit here and there (shouldn’t the Little Debbie-style Cosmic Brownies have, like, 1/8 teaspoon more salt, to bring out the rich chocolate flavor?). It’s a good thing that, at this late date, it’s mostly out of my hands since I’m probably about 2 tweaks away from total insanity—and my publisher would kill me if I made any changes now. But I’m still baking from the book here and there, as I can’t seem to help myself when I go through the proofs and ooooh and ahhhhh over all the gorgeous photos of every imaginable packaged snack under the sun. This book has got to be The Best Thing that ever happened to my children. They’re in snack heaven! As you know, Chapter 4 of the book is crackers and other savory, crunchy snacks. When I found myself staring at a nice, big batch of Gluten Free Keebler Town House-Style crackers (page 175),* I knew the time had finally come to make gluten free chicken fried chicken. Tender, moist and buttery, and honestly so ridiculously easy (and not even messy!), this is the chicken your family wants this weekend.

*Just so we’re 100% clear, Keebler does not make gluten free crackers of any kind! I do—and so will you when you get your copy of Gluten Free Classic Snacks!

3 pieces of chicken being fried

Shallow-frying isn’t the healthiest thing in the world to do (actually, deep frying is more healthful, since the food absorbs less oil), but it’s just so easy and not nearly as much of an undertaking as a deep fry (not that I don’t adore a good deep fry).

Fried chicken with herbs in a white dish

I’ve got all sorts of tips and tricks for how to keep the gorgeous cracker coating firmly in place on your chicken breasts. You want that nice, thick crust, don’t you??

How to make Gluten Free Chicken Fried Chicken—Step by Step

The step by steps are mostly for show here. It’s just easy peasy. They’re also a way to show off those homemade Keebler Town House style crackers, too. Keebler elves are so right.** They are uncommonly good! **(remember—you make them, not Keebler, when you get your copy of Gluten Free Classic Snacks!)

A close up of fried chicken in beige surface

Slice through that crispy, crunchy, buttery crust to find the most tender white chicken breast you’ve ever tasted. The cream gravy is a nice, authentic touch of southern cuisine, but really? You don’t need it. You can see for yourself that it’s perfect—just the way it is. Like you! ;)

Chocolate Chip Paleo Scones

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 7, 2015 | Posted In: Paleo, Pastry, Scones

A chocolate chip scone on a gray plate

Light and flaky Paleo scones? Yes! It can be done. And we’re going to do it together. January, the official month of New Year’s Resolutions, when the gyms are packed and intentions are good, is the perfect time to talk about Paleo recipes. And I’ll tell you why (p.s. It’s not what you think).

Raw and baked chocolate chip scones on brown surface

There’s plenty of room for debate about whether eating Paleo is better for you, or healthier overall. Carbs are good, carbs are bad, eat like a caveman, eat like a bird (hey, aren’t birds essentially dinosaurs anyway?)—I try not to get too involved, to be honest.

Simply put, I see Paleo recipes as useful for a few reasons: First and foremost, baked goods made with nut flours like almond flour are naturally higher fat and lower carb, and for that reason they’re just more satisfying. So they don’t create those ugly just-one-more-please carb-style cravings. Second, if you do them right they honestly simply taste really, really good. I try not to focus too much on making them taste exactly like their more conventional counterparts, like I do with straight-up gluten free recipes (which absolutely must taste spot-on like you’re used to or what’s the point). I want the texture to be right (which means sometimes I have to use some Paleo-legal starches), but the taste of almonds in almond flour and coconuts in coconut oil and milk is just different than a rice flour blend, which can mimic conventional flour quite readily. And that’s okay by me! They taste great.

A close up of the inside of a chocolate chip scone on a silver plate

Finally, since all Paleo recipes are, by their very nature, gluten free and dairy free, it creates a whole new category of recipes for me to create that can reach even more people than just my regular gluten free baking recipes. And reaching more people, helping them to eat well within their dietary needs, is just plain good. Don’t you agree??

This recipe for Paleo scones is one I’m especially proud of, too, since it really turns out uncommonly light and flaky pastries. I used miniature chocolate chips, but you could easily sub in any small pieces of dried fruit or even fresh blueberries. If you use fresh blueberries, though, use a full cup (about 120 grams), toss them with some extra starch, and add them at the very end so they don’t get crushed!

Gluten Free Taco Soup

By Nicole Hunn | Published: January 5, 2015 | Posted In: Chicken, Dinner, Meat

Taco soup in a white bowl

Is it just me, or do you feel a bit sad for your kids that they’re back to school after a long break? I mean, I feel kinda good for me that I have the house to myself for at least a few hours to get as much work done as possible without having to be answer someone’s burning question every 5 seconds. But I do feel their pain. Our 3 dogs are always sad and confused, too, when the kids and Brian march out the door bright and early and they’re left with … me. But since I’m the one who cooks and bakes all day and occasionally (okay often) drops food on the floor that they can eat: silver lining! Apart from putting some thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies in their lunch boxes today, since it’s freezing cold outside this time of year, I’ll make it allllll better with some serious comfort food. Gluten free taco soup—all the flavors and textures of tacos, in a warm bowl of soup—it is!

Gluten Free Taco Soup: Comfort in one easy, healthy bowl, with beef or chicken!

I usually make taco soup with shredded chicken (and since you cook the chicken breasts in the soup itself right on the stove, it’s quick, easy and packed with flavor), but ground beef does seem more like traditional taco fare. I leave that choice to you!

Taco soup in an orange pot

And if you’ve got any sort of New Year/New You sort of resolution going on, the roux that thickens this hearty soup is made entirely with heart-healthy olive oil.

Overhead view of taco soup on white surface with avocados

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients, as almost all of them are straight off the supermarket shelf and into your saucepan. But with just the right mix of herbs and spices, this gluten free taco soup tastes like home. Stay warm, friends!