Archives for October 2015

Homemade Gluten Free Kit Kats | Chocolate Covered Wafer Cookies

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 30, 2015 | Posted In: Candy, Desserts, Halloween, Holidays

$A stack of \"kit Kats\" on a white surface$

Since Halloween ? is almost upon us, it’s time. Time to get crafty with another costume or brave the wilds of the party store and shell out so.much.money for a one, maybe two-time wearing. Time to explain to your gluten free kid how you know that it stinks that they can’t eat some of the candy they’ve successfully scammed from the neighbors. Chin up, though! Plenty of Halloween candy is actually safely gluten free (love the individually wrapped candies ? !). And whatever gluten-forward candy they make out there in the world, we can (and we will!) make our own gluten free version. Want proof? Remember when we made gluten free Twix? Now I bring you the ultimate crispy, gluteny candy made safely gluten free. These surprisingly easy homemade gluten free Kit Kats are just one of a whole chapter of gluten free candy recipes in my latest cookbook, Gluten Free Classic Snacks. And they’re so easy to make! Let’s get started…

A jar with vanilla wafers and a bowl of melted chocolate

You are not going to be-lieve how incredibly easy it is to make the gluten free crisp wafers that are the key to making gluten free Kit Kats. A few basic gluten free pantry ingredients combine in just the right proportions, and before you know it you’re transported right back to Halloweens past.

$A person cutting \"kit Kat\" bars on a cutting board$

To make the classic 3-finger Kit Kat candy shape, you’ll need some specialty chocolate molds (I bought mine at Sweet Baking Supply and Sugarcraft), but they’re super cheap. If you don’t want to bother with the molds, or just can’t wait for them to come (who could blame you?), skip them! Just dip the crisp wafers individually in chocolate, let them set and enjoy.

$\"kit kat\" bars on a wooden surface$

Either way, you gotta admit that it’s pretty amazing that we can even do this. The wafers are snappy and crisp even when dipped in chocolate, and stay crisp for at least a week on their own if you store them in a glass container (always store anything crispy in glass, not plastic). The combination of smooth milk chocolate and light and crunchy tort-style wafers just can’t be beat. So when the gluten free peeps in your life come home from trick-or-treating with long faces that they can’t have this or that candy, surprise them with these homemade gluten free Kit Kats. Instant King or Queen of Halloween status. ?

Maple-Iced Gluten Free Pumpkin Cutout Sugar Cookies

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 26, 2015 | Posted In: Cookies, Desserts, Holidays, Thanksgiving

These delightfully soft cutout sugar cookies are packed with pumpkin flavor and simple to make. They don’t spread at all during baking, so they keep their shape perfectly.

A close up of a pumpkin cutout sugar cookie on parchment paper

I love the smells, sights and flavors of fall, and baking with my favorite pumpkin butter (just a reduced, slightly sweetened and spiced form of cooked pumpkin/squash) is a true pleasure. Believe it or not, though, I’m restraining myself this year by not presenting you with 3 or 4 pumpkin recipes a week. These soft gluten free pumpkin cutout ? sugar cookies with a simple maple glaze made the cut, though, by a mile.

Bowl of pumpkin puree and sugar cookie dough with circle and pumpkin cutouts

Naturally egg-free (adding an egg to the cookie dough makes them taste like cake, not cookies), these soft cutout sugar cookies don’t spread at all during baking so you can cut the dough into truly any shape you like. I happen to have one silly pumpkin cookie cutter, so I made some of those shapes.

But unless you really make it obvious, your 10-year-old might hold one of the soft pumpkin-shaped cookies upside down and say something like, “oh look, a heart!”

Close up of sugar cookie with vanilla glaze on a white plate

So you might want to go old-school and just do rounds. Or maybe you’re better-prepared for the season than I am, and you have a perfectly suited pumpkin cookie cutter.

Glazed Gluten Free Cannoli Bread

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 23, 2015 | Posted In: Cakes, Desserts, Quick Breads

A few slices of glazed cannoli bread on a white surface

A light and flaky gluten free cannoli shell made with sweet Marsala wine and filled with ricotta and mascarpone cream may seem out of reach. Since we’ve made it (!), we know that it most certainly is not out of reach. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes you don’t want all the flavor without all those steps. When a shortcut is just what you need, this gluten free cannoli bread is there for you.

Glazed Gluten Free Cannoli Bread, Step by Step

The signature flavors of cannoli are essential here. Namely, they are sweet Marsala wine (although I have a nonalcoholic suggestion below as a sub for those who need or want it), ricotta cheese, a bit of cinnamon, and mascarpone cheese. My idea of the perfect cannoli filling is packed with miniature chocolate chips, so of course they make an appearance here. I don’t care for a citrus flavor in my cannoli, but if you’re partial to some lemon zest, by all means add it into the dry ingredients at the start of the recipe. The zest of 1 lemon should satisfy.

A close up of a slice of glazed cannoli bread on a white surface

Since this is a quick bread and not, well, a fried-to-perfection cannoli shell, the texture is distinct from the pastry. It’s a soft and tender, delightfully dense cake that hits all the right flavor notes. It’s perfect for a snack, or even for a bit of an indulgent breakfast.

Tender Gluten Free Apple Cake

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 19, 2015 | Posted In: Cakes, Desserts, Holidays, Thanksgiving

This gluten free apple cake is positively packed with fork-tender apple chunks, the cake delicate and tender from being baked along with them.

A close up of an apple cake on a silver surface

There are few things more comforting than a still-warm slice of cinnamon-rich apple cake, packed with tender chunks of apples. It needs no dollop of whipped cream, no scoop of vanilla ice cream, to delight, especially if your friends and family are lucky enough to be served a slice the same day it was baked, the whole house still fragrant with its baking.

Tender Gluten Free Apple Cake, Step by Step

Similar in ingredient proportions to a French apple cake, this much simpler apple cake is baked right in a standard cake pan rather than a springform pan. This recipe somehow still manages to deliver a cake with a custardy texture inside, but with a lovely, buttery browned crust.

An apple cake on a silver surface with a slice being taken

Have you been lucky enough to spend a day picking apples at an orchard this year, leaving you with the apple over-abundance you promised yourself you’d avoid but never seem to? This year, it seems we won’t make it to the orchard ?, so I’m just picking out the very best apples at the grocery store and baking like I mean it.?

Lightened Up Gluten Free Alfredo Sauce

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 16, 2015 | Posted In: Dinner, Pasta

Noodles with Alfredo sauce and herbs on top in a white dish

My children insist that everything that comes out of my kitchen bear a name, even if that name has little or no meaning to them at the get-go. Since it is, at times, a work in progress and therefore not yet worthy of the eventual name, I resist their demands as best I can. “What’s this?” is often met with an answer of, “Dinner.” This lightened up gluten free Alfredo sauce is, indeed, a finished work—but calling it Alfredo sauce may be misleading as it’s made with more than just the usual butter, cream and Parm. That most basic of American restaurant-style white sauces is just too heavy for me to enjoy, and I thought you might feel the same.

Lightened Up Gluten Free Alfredo Sauce, Step by Step

A few more ingredients are all it takes to lighten up this gluten free Alfredo sauce enough for it to be rich and impossibly creamy without knocking us out with its heft. As an added bonus, it also has more depth of flavor.

A close up of noodles with Alfredo sauce on a metal fork

Oh, and about those gluten free fettuccine noodles… They’re not nearly as easy to come by as I had hoped. I was able to find a brown rice version in my local health food store, but they were overpriced and just not very good. So I took one for the team and mail-ordered some Notta Pasta brand gluten free fettuccine noodles (aff link). It’s delightful, but holy cow is it expensive. ? Since the best part is the sauce itself, I’d say go with spaghetti.

Spiced Holiday Gluten Free Gingerbread Muffins

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 14, 2015 | Posted In: Christmas, Desserts, Holidays, Muffins, Thanksgiving

Overhead view of gingerbread muffins with glaze on a white surface

It’s not quite time to start singing decking the halls and singing carols (my children are greatly relieved about that second part at least when it comes to their mother singing), but it is time to start thinking about holiday baking. At least in the U.S., the weather is turning cooler and Thanksgiving is cooooooming. Are you gonna be ready? These warm, lightly spiced gluten free gingerbread muffins are just the thing to get you in the spirit.

Spiced Holiday Gluten Free Gingerbread Muffins, Step by Step

These ridiculously easy muffins are not too sweet (only 1/2 cup of refined sugar in the whole dozen muffins) and have just the right simple blend of spices. And since they call for oil instead of butter, they’re naturally dairy free too. They’re perfect for breakfast or just a snack or lunchtime extra. Muffins for everyone!

A lose up of a gingerbread muffin on its side on white surface

The wee bit of glaze on the top of each muffin is just as simple as could be (to confectioners’ sugar, add water 1/4 teaspoonful at a time until you have a very thickly pourable glaze), and is mostly because the gingerbread muffins were looking for a little jingle, a little bling to look like they were in the spirit.? Not too much bling, because it is early and less is more.

Quick and Easy Gluten Free Apple “Dump” Cake

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 7, 2015 | Posted In: Cakes, Desserts, Holidays, Thanksgiving

The ridiculously easy, delightfully delicious gluten free apple dump cake does have a terribly unfortunate name. So-called because all you do is “dump” the ingredients into a pan and pop it in the oven, it’s the very essence of quick & easy—whether you use my make-your-own gluten free vanilla cake mix recipe or an actual off-the-shelf boxed gluten free vanilla cake mix.

A piece of apple dump cake on a white plate

Since it’s apple season, we’ll pile in the chopped apples and add plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg. That’s pretty much all it takes to make your house smell like an autumn dream come true!

$A white dish with apple \"dump\" cake$

The method for making this gorgeous, simple cake is just a little bit different than, say, my blueberry dump cake.

Quick and Easy Gluten Free Apple "Dump" Cake, Step by Step

Here, we have to make sure that the chopped apples are perfectly tender, but without turning to mush. The secret’s in raising the oven temperature a bit to 350°F, tossing the fruit with a bit of the cake mix, and covering the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil for the first half hour of baking time. That allows the apples plenty of time and steam to cook perfectly, and the bit of flour helps keep the apples from releasing too much thin liquid that is more likely to burn. It works!

$A close up of apple \"dump\" cake on a plate with whip cream$

The only part that might take you a few minutes of prep (but no more than 10 minutes—really!) is peeling, coring and chopping the apples. I like to use a simple apple corer (aff. link) to remove the cores first, then a basic vegetable peeler (aff. link) to remove the peel. Then a rough chop of the apples, and you’re ready to go. Start with large apples if you can, since they’re easy to core and peel.

You can even prepare the cake ahead of time, cover with plastic wrap and store it, unbaked, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before baking. The apples will turn brown, but it doesn’t matter one bit as we’ll expect them to brown in the oven.

Classic Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pie

By Nicole Hunn | Published: October 2, 2015 | Posted In: Desserts, Pie

A slice of chocolate chip pie on a white plate

How is it that I’d never, ever heard of a Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie? So many people seem to have misty-eyed childhood memories of this fudgy cookie-like pie with the flaky pastry crust. They made it every year for Christmas! It was a fixture on their Thanksgiving tables! *sigh* Having made it, sampled it and served it to my family more than a few times now, I can say with certainty that my children will not suffer the same, sad fate as adults that I am suffering now. They will have their gluten free chocolate chip pie memories. And, with a little luck, they’ll be misty-eyed too at their mother’s relentless determination to give them those sweet memories.

Classic Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pie, Step by Step

For the unfamiliar, let’s cover a few bases: This is not a skillet cookie. A skillet cookie is, well, basically a big cookie baked in a skillet. It’s lovely, but it’s no chocolate chip pie. Something else it’s not? A cookie cake. A cookie cake is also basically a big cookie. So much fun, but still—a delicious big ol’ thick and chewy cookie. Chocolate chip pie is something different, indeed.

A close up of a slice off chocolate chip pie with a scoop of ice cream on top

A light and flaky pastry crust (or a cookie crumb crust, if that’s the way you wanna go (instructions included below)) with a rich, smooth, fudge-like chocolate chip cookie filling. I adapted the original Nestlé recipe pretty heavily, since it just wouldn’t set up as written, and went with all chocolate chips instead of chips and chopped nuts which I knew would be met with protest. And a chocolate chip pie should be all pleasure and no protest. Let’s leave the protest for the vegetables.