Gluten Free Biscuit Chicken Pot Pies To Go

Once the school year starts (which for us won’t happen for another week and a half, believe it or not), like every other family with young school-age kids, we hit the ground running. Sometimes literally! That means breakfast on the run, sometimes (hello no-bake granola bars!) and some nights even dinner in the car—at least for one of my three kids. So I’m always looking for complete handheld meals that they can eat in the backseat. Sitting down for a meal together is absolutely the ideal, and it happens quite often, but sometimes? You gotta do what you gotta do. No guilt. Especially when what you’re giving your kids is like a chicken pot pie … to hold in their hands. And since I 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!), these chicken pot pies to go are always within reach.

ETA: For the ultimate on-the-spot meal, shape these and freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and then pile them into a freezer-safe bag and keep them frozen until you’re ready to bake them. Then pop them in the oven and bake! You might need a few more minutes of baking time once they’re frozen solid, so just keep an eye on them. Thanks, Fran! ;)

I quickly broiled skinless boneless chicken breasts for this recipe, but you could easily grill them (my current favorite marinade for grilled chicken breasts couldn’t be simpler: buttermilk), poach them, or sauté them. And you could easily make the chicken a couple days ahead of time. I often cook a few pounds of chicken breasts and use them over the course of 2 or 3 days for everything from recipes like these chicken pot pies to a simple salad topped with chicken.

Don’t feel like making the filling for these? Try making them without the filling and just with more cheese. Just don’t feel like making the sauce itself? Try gluten free cream of mushroom soup (I think Progresso brand and Pacific brand each make one).

Tender, light and flaky, and loaded with tons of layers of flavor, these handheld chicken pot pies are just the grab-and-go dinner my family needs.

Prep time: 20 minutes       Cook time: 18 minutes       Yield: 6 handheld chicken pot pies

Ingredients

1 recipe gluten free biscuit dough (I used the Extra Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits from page 227 of GFOAS Bakes Bread, but the Gluten Free Biscuits from the blog would work just fine, too—try using buttermilk in place of milk or cream), chilled

2 tablespoons (28 g) extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons (27 g) basic xanthan-gum free gluten free flour blend (18 grams superfine white rice flour + 6 grams potato starch + 3 grams tapioca starch/flour)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1  cup (8 fluid ounces) chicken stock

8 fluid ounces low-fat evaporated milk

1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme)

5 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups cooked cubed chicken*

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk)

*I just placed 1 1/4 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts on a greased and lined baking sheet, sprinkled them on both sides with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and drizzled them with extra virgin olive oil. Then I placed them under my oven’s broiler for about 12 minutes, flipping them about halfway through, or until they were cooked all the way through. You can also use a store-bought gluten free rotisserie chicken, which would make things simple and still delicious!

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 375°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.

• Prepare the filling. In a medium-size, heavy bottom saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot, and cook until the onions and celery are translucent (about 5 minutes). Transfer to a small bowl, and set it aside. To the same medium-size saucepan, add the 2 tablespoons butter and melt over medium heat. Add the flour blend, salt and pepper, and stir to combine well. The mixture will clump at first, and then smooth. This is the roux that will thicken the sauce. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture has just begun to turn a very light brown color (about 2 minutes). Add the stock to the roux very slowly, stirring constantly to break up any lumps that might form. Add the evaporated milk and the thyme, and continue to stir until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by about one-quarter. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the cooked onion mixture. Stir to combine.

• Prepare the biscuit dough, rolling it out into a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. While rolling and folding the biscuit dough, sprinkle with enough additional gluten free flour that you end up with a smooth dough. If using the recipe for Extra Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits from GFOAS Bakes Bread, you should expect to use up to another 1/4 cup (35 g) Gluten Free Pastry Flour. If using the biscuit recipe from the blog, you should expect to use another 2 to 3 tablespoons (18 to 24 grams) all purpose gluten free flour.

• Shape and fill the pastries. With a sharp knife or pastry cutter, slice the rectangle of dough into 5-inch squares. Gather and reroll scraps. You should have at least 6 squares. Separate them from one another and place about 2 teaspoons of the filling on top of each square, slightly off-center so the filling is enclosed when the dough is folded, not caught in the fold. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of chopped chicken, top with another small dollop of filling and about 1 tablespoon grated cheese. Moisten the edges of each square with a wet finger, and fold the dough in half diagonally to create a triangle, gently pressing out the air as you fold. Press the edges of the triangle to seal and, using a sharp knife or pastry cutter, slice three vents on top of each turnover. Place the turnovers an inch apart on a prepared baking sheet, and place in the freezer until firm.**

  **ETA: At this point, you can freeze the shaped and filled pastries in a single layer on a baking sheet, and then pile them into a freezer-safe bag and keep them frozen until you’re ready to bake them. Then pop them in the oven and bake! You might need a few more minutes of baking time once they’re frozen solid, so just keep an eye on them.

• Bake the pastries. Remove the chilled turnovers from the freezer and brush each generously with the egg wash. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the turnovers are puffed and pale golden all over, and more brown around the edges (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

• Inspired by this Pillsbury Chicken To Go Biscuits recipe.

Gluten Free Zucchini Flour Tortillas

These tortillas are just like the Gluten Free Flour Tortillas on page 203 of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread (reprinted here on the blog). Except that they’re green. Before you turn the virtual web page, hear me out! Even though eating your “greens” can seem to be a sort of punishment for some, what if your “greens” were just as good for you, but didn’t taste green (despite looking green)? And what if this were just.one.more.way. to use up that summer zucchini. Have I hit you over the head too hard with gluten free zucchini recipes yet? I blame it all on my husband and his green thumb.

Here’s the big difference in this recipe: instead of straight up water, the liquid is pure zucchini puree. That’s it. No additional water. And if you have zucchini that demands to be used up right now before it shrivels up and dies, make the puree right now, stash it in the refrigerator and use it within a couple days to make these flour tortillas.

So although they don’t taste “green,” they do have a slightly different taste than the more traditional flour tortillas. It’s more like a bit more depth of flavor than it is a totally different flavor. They’re still clearly flour tortillas, and they behave just the same for all your tortilla needs. But everyone in my family loves them, including my one no-I-don’t-care-for-any-vegetables-at-all-not-really oldest child. Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned it before, these flour tortillas (and the traditional ones) are absolutely 100% perfect for making wraps for your child’s school lunchbox. Score!

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 5 minutes       Yield: About 15 tortillas, depending upon size

Ingredients

1 medium or 2 small fresh zucchini, washed, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 3/4 cups (245 g) all-purpose gluten-free flour, plus more for sprinkling (I used Better Batter)

35 grams (about 1/4 cup) Expandex modified tapioca starch*

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt

4 1/2 tablespoons (54 g) vegetable shortening

*For information on where to find Expandex, please see the Resources page. For information on how to replace Expandex with Ultratex 3, readily available in most countries outside the United States, in the gluten free bread recipes in GFOAS Bakes Bread, scroll to #6 in Resources. I have not yet tested Ultratex 3 in this recipe, but I would recommend trying a mix of 268 grams all purpose gluten free flour + 12 grams Ultratex 3 in place of the blend above. Ultratex 3 is at least 3 times as strong as Expandex.

Directions

• In a blender or food processor, place the chopped zucchini and blend until as smooth as possible. The zucchini may be pureed and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least 2 days before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

• In a large bowl, place the all-purpose flour, Expandex, baking powder, and salt, and whisk to combine. Add the vegetable shortening and toss it in the dry ingredients. With the tines of a large fork, break up the shortening into small pieces about the size of small peas. Create a well in the center of the mixture, and add 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) of the pureed zucchini. Mix to combine. The dough will come together and be thick. Press together into a ball, cover with a moist tea towel, and allow to sit for about 20 minutes. The dough will stiffen a bit as it absorbs more of the moisture.

• Heat a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Divide the dough into five pieces. Begin with one piece of dough, and cover the rest with a moist tea towel to prevent them from drying out. On a lightly floured surface, with a rolling pin, roll out the first piece of dough until it is a bit more than 1/8 inch thick (as compared to the regular recipe for gluten free flour tortillas, these can be a bit harder to roll very thin and still be stable enough to transfer to the skillet). Cut out as many rounds as you can (should be three or four) with a 6- or 8-inch metal cake cutter. Stack the raw tortillas on top of one another, dusting lightly with flour between them, if necessary, to prevent them from sticking. Gather the scraps and set them aside. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, including gathering and rerolling all of the scraps together.

• Once all the tortillas have been rolled out and cut, place them one at a time in the center of the hot skillet and cook on one side until bubbles begin to appear on the top surface and the tortilla darkens in color a bit on the underside (about 45 seconds). Flip the tortilla over with a wide spatula, and cook on the other side until more bubbles form and the tortilla darkens in spots on the underside (about another 45 seconds). Remove the tortilla from the pan, place on a moist tea towel, and cover gently. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

• Using the tortillas: (1) They can be used right away; (2) They can be placed, still wrapped in the towel, in a plastic bag to seal in the moisture and used within a few hours; or (3) They can be cooled completely, wrapped very tightly in a freezer-safe wrap and stored in the freezer for at least 2 months. When you are ready to use frozen tortillas, defrost at room temperature and then refresh in a hot, dry skillet to restore pliability. They’ll be as good as new!

• Adapted from the Flour Tortillas on page 203 of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread: Biscuits, Bagels, Buns, and More by Nicole Hunn.

No Bake Gluten Free Granola Bars

I know. It can be kind of difficult to get too excited about a granola bar recipe. So you’ll forgive me if I trot out the old saw: these are different! And anyway you can trust me when I say that because it’s not like everything we make around here is meant to be “different.” In fact, lots and lots of the recipes that we make are designed to be exactly the same. The same as you remember, before you went gluten free. For crying out loud, I’m in the middle of writing a whole cookbook about recipes that are exactly the same as you remember. See? (By the way I have a preliminary cover for the new book and I’m dying to show it to you but I’m not allowed and it’s killing me softly.) So back to these no bake gluten free granola bars. They’re different. And once you see how incredibly easy they are to make, you’ll be sure to always keep a stash on hand for those crazy busy school mornings when grab-and-go breakfast is all anyone can manage.

These granola bars (other than being no bake, which is a nice bonus in the summertime and really any time) are different in a few more ways: (1) They have no nuts—unless you want to add some chopped nuts in place of, say, some of the coconut chips. So if you’re tired of super-nutty granola or just can’t have nuts, these are the granola bars for you. Not to mention that nuts are expensive. (2) They are ready so fast you can’t even believe it. Cooking the brown sugar for about a minute, just until it liquefies and simmers slightly, ensures that everything sticks together super well, and super fast. And anyway speaking of sugar: (3) I have made these bars so many times, in so many slightly different ways and I can proudly report … that you can replace the brown sugar in the recipe with an equal amount, by weight, of coconut palm sugar, a much more nutrient-dense, unrefined sugar.
These are the granola bars that I stashed in my purse when we went to pick up my kids from a few weeks of sleepaway camp last week. And I have to choose carefully when I bring them food from home at a time like that. They eat a lot of processed food at camp, something they are not used to for obvious reasons (I’m no supermom, I just cook and bake for a living—you understand), and they do not like it. As my husband says, when they first come home, they’re pretty “food angry.” I’m happy to report that these highly portable, nearly nonperishable, on-the-healthy-side no bake granola bars went over very well with all 3 of my children. High fives all around!

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: none       Yield: 12 bars

Ingredients

2 cups (200 g) certified gluten free old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (60 g) certified gluten free oat flour (I just processed old fashioned rolled oats into flour in a blender or food processor)

2 cups (60 g) gluten free crisp rice cereal (like Erewhon brown rice cereal)

1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened coconut chips (large flakes)

4 tablespoons (56 g) virgin coconut oil

1 cup (218 g) packed light brown sugar (can use an equal amount, by weight, of coconut palm sugar (an unrefined sugar))

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (168 g) honey

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

• Line an 8-inch square baking dish with crisscrossed sheets of unbleached parchment paper, with the paper overhanging all 4 sides of the dish, and set it aside. In a large bowl, place the rolled oats, oat flour, rice cereal and coconut chips, and mix to combine well. Set the bowl aside.

• In a medium-size heavy-bottom saucepan, place the coconut oil, brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar) and salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture liquifies and comes to a simmer. Cook, undisturbed, for 45 seconds more, and then remove from the heat. Add the honey and vanilla, stirring constantly until the mixture stops bubbling. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, until no longer hot to the touch. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the large bowl, pour in the warm sugar mixture and mix throughly, working quickly to prevent the warm sugar from sticking to the bottom of the bowl. Continue to mix until all of the dry ingredients have been absorbed into the mixture.

• Transfer to the prepared baking dish and press very firmly into an even layer. Allow to sit at room temperature until cool and set before lifting out the bars by the overhung pieces of parchment paper. To speed the cooling and setting process, you can place the baking dish in the refrigerator. Place the bars on a cutting board and, using a large, sharp knife, cut into 12 rectangles. Wrap each bar separately and store at room temperature until ready to serve.

Gluten Free Bubble Up Pizza

I know I’ve said before that whatever life’s problem, gluten free biscuit dough is the solution. And while I love love love having biscuit dough in the freezer, ready at a moment’s notice to be a special treat or, say, an impromptu crust for a chicken pot pie (my favorite), gluten free pizza dough from GFOAS Bakes Bread is at least as versatile. And let’s be honest, when you add just another couple ingredients like cheese and sauce, it’s pretty easy to call it dinner. Even though I know that some of you (judging from Amazon reviews of Bakes Bread) have mixed feelings about yeast bread dough that enjoys a long slow rise in the refrigerator before being shaped, I promise that you’ll see how much of a time-saver it is when you start making this pizza dough a part of your weekly routine.

There are 6 step by step photos here, but not because this gluten free bubble up pizza recipe really needs 6 step by step photos to explain itself. It’s really because, well, the photos were pretty and it was either do a 6-photo collage—or be one of those food blogs that makes you scroll through 10,000 photos for 20 minutes before you actually get to the recipe itself. I hope it’s obvious what side of that issue I come out on…

So do yourself—and your family—a favor. Throw together the pizza dough for this recipe at the start of the week and let it rise until whatever day this week you need a fast meal on the table that you can basically guarantee that every member of the family will love. Serve it with a salad, and it’s a complete dinner. You could even just have everyone grab a fork and eat it right from the baking dish before running out the door to sports or meetings or whatever keeps your family busy. Embrace the make-ahead pizza dough!

Prep time: 15 minutes       Cook time: 25 minutes       Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

3 to 4 cups tomato sauce

1 recipe Thick Crust Gluten Free Pizza Dough from GFOAS Bakes Bread, with 2 teaspoons (6 g) instant yeast in the dough stage, instead of 1 1/3 (4 g) instant yeast in the original recipe, prepared through the first rise*

2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated

12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

8 to 10 leaves fresh basil (optional), torn by hand

*Note: If you prefer, rather than allowing the dough its first rise for at least 12 hours in a sealed container in the refrigerator before working with it, you may make and use the pizza dough on the same day. It will not be as easy to handle, however, but you can work with it. To use the dough the same day it is made, after making the dough, set the covered dough to rise in a warm, draft-free environment to allow it to rise to double its size (about 1 hour). Once it has doubled, place it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes or until it is chilled. This will make it much easier to handle. Then, continue with the rest of the recipe instructions.

Directions

• Grease a 9-inch x 12-inch oven-safe casserole dish, and cover the bottom of the dish with about 3/4-cup of the tomato sauce.

• Cut off pieces of the risen and chilled pizza dough that are about 3/4-ounce each, and roll loosely into rounds about 1-inch in diameter. You don’t want to pack down the dough. Place each of the pieces of dough, about 3/4-inch apart, on top of the sauce in the casserole dish. Cover the dish with a piece of lightly oiled plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm, draft-free location until the pieces of dough have risen to about 1 1/2-times their original size (about 30 minutes). As the dough is nearing the end of its rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.

• Once the dough has finished rising, uncover the dish, mix the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese with 2 cups of tomato sauce and cover the risen pizza dough completely with the sauce. Add more sauce if necessary to completely cover the dough. Sprinkle about half of the grated mozzarella cheese evenly over the top, sprinkle with about half of the torn basil, and place in the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle evenly with the remaining mozzarella cheese and return to the oven. Continue to bake until the cheese is melted and the pizza dough is cooked through (about another 10 minutes). Remove from the oven, allow to sit briefly for the cheese to set, sprinkle with the remaining torn basil, and serve.

• Adapted from the Budget Savvy Diva’s recipe, as selected by you from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest board.

Healthy Gluten Free Zucchini Muffins

[pinit] These days, I’m in heavy-duty stock-the-freezer-for-breakfast mode. During the summertime, I don’t go out of my way to make a hot breakfast most days. Mostly, they eat cereal with almond milk. They’re o-kay with it, but there are definitely some grumbles as they are very food-spoiled. But on school days? You’re not leaving my house without a hearty, stay-with-you-all-morning breakfast and that’s that. The easiest way to make that happen is with something like these healthy gluten free zucchini muffins, made with just 1/2 cup of brown sugar in 24 muffins (that means about 1 teaspoon of sugar in each muffin), healthy coconut oil fat, and whole grain oat flour. Not to mention allll the zucchini (and/or yellow squash) in there. They’re a riff on the Carrot Muffins in Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread, since, well, I’ve got zucchini coming out of my ears these days and I thought maybe you did, too.

I made mine with raisins, and not too many of them at that, but you could of course replace the raisins with anything from chopped pecans or almonds to chocolate chips.

Fill those muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full, and then pop them in the oven. The batter mixes up very easily—but you do have to squeeze much of the water out of the zucchini or you’ll end up with batter that’s way too wet. It would expand quickly in the oven, and the muffins would sink in the middle as they cooled. Not good.

These healthy muffins are moist, tender, only lightly sweet and still really flavorful. Breakfast is served!

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 20 minutes       Yield: 24 muffins

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups (about 300 g) grated fresh zucchini and/or yellow squash (I used 1 medium zucchini and 1 medium yellow squash)

1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used my Better Than Cup4Cup blend)

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

2/3 cup (180 g) certified gluten free oat flour (I just grind up certified gluten free rolled oats into a powder)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 cup (109 g) packed light brown sugar

1 cup (100 g) raisins (can replace with chopped nuts, chocolate chips or another small dried fruit)

1/2 cup (112 g) virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled

4 eggs (240 g, out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature (can replace with 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, soured with 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line 2 standard 12-cup muffin tins and set them aside.

• Prepare the zucchini/squash. Place the grated zucchini and/or yellow squash in the center of a large clean tea towel or flour sack (a kitchen towel with a flat weave), gather the towel around the zucchini, and twist tightly to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set the zucchini aside.

• Make the batter. In a large bowl, place the all purpose flour, xanthan gum, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon, and whisk to combine well. Add the brown sugar and whisk again to combine, breaking up any lumps. In a small bowl, place the raisins (or nuts or chips) and add about 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients, toss to combine and set the bowl aside. To the large bowl of dry ingredients, add the grated zucchini and mix to combine, breaking up any clumps in the grated zucchini. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the coconut oil, eggs and buttermilk, mixing to combine after each addition. The batter will be thick but not stiff. Add the raisins and reserved dry ingredients, and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

• Bake the muffins. Fill the prepared wells of the muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full with batter. With wet fingers, smooth the tops of the batter in the wells and place them in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when pressed gently and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

• Freeze for later. These muffins freeze very well in a freezer-safe container. Just eliminate as much air as possible from the container before freezing the muffins in a single layer, and defrost on the counter overnight before serving. They can be refreshed in the toaster oven before serving.

• Adapted from the recipe for Carrot Muffins on page 235 of Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread.

Gluten Free Vanilla Bean Ricotta Pancakes

If a recipe for 12 generous gluten free ricotta pancakes has only 2/3 cup (8 grams per pancake) of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar (4 grams per pancake), it probably qualifies as low carb, right? I honestly don’t know, though. I know that some of you want me to know (I even got an email asking me if it was even  legal for me to post recipes without nutrition information! P.S. it’s perfectly legal, no worries). And part of me wants to know and wants to care, for you, you know? But mostly, I simply can’t commit to either the time it would take to plug all the information for every recipe into an online nutrition calculator—or the weight of that responsibility. Now, I cook and bake from all 3 Gluten Free on a Shoestring cookbooks all. the. time. And one of my favorite recipes from my  first cookbook is the Ricotta Pancakes on page 67. Every time I make them, I think, wow, these are so light and fluffy, and they really must be low carb and isn’t that nice. But … that’s as far as I ever get.

Recently I started playing around with the recipe from the book (one I know from emails over the years is also a reader favorite! yay!), and found that it works even better with my basic gum-free gluten free flour blend. So ridiculously light and fluffy! And the batter is so easy to pour, too, which makes the actual pancake cooking a dream.
Instead of the subtle lemon flavor from the lemon zest that the original recipe calls for, I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract plus the seeds from half a vanilla bean (I buy vanilla beans pretty cheap in bulk online and keep them stored in rum, which I occasionally use as homemade vanilla extract but mostly just use to store the beans and keep them from drying out or going bad). The result? Light, fluffy, deeply vanilla, probably low-carb, definitely low-sugar gluten free ricotta pancakes.

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 15 minutes       Yield: About 12 pancakes

Ingredients

2/3 cup (93 g) basic xanthan gum-free gluten free flour blend (61 grams superfine white rice flour + 21 grams potato starch + 11 grams tapioca starch/flour)

1/4 cup (50 g) sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs (120 g, out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

1 cup (250 g) low-moisture ricotta cheese (part-skim or whole milk), at room temperature

1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

• In a large bowl, place the flour blend, sugar and baking powder, and whisk to combine. In a separate small bowl, place the eggs, vanilla seeds, ricotta cheese, milk and vanilla extract, and beat to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet ingredients, and beat until smooth. The batter should be pourable.

• Heat a griddle or lightly greased nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Grease it lightly, and pour as many portions of about ¼ cup of batter onto the hot griddle as can fit comfortably, without touching. Allow to cook until large bubbles begin to break through the top of the batter in each pancake and the edges are set (about 1 ½ minutes). With a wide, flat spatula, carefully flip over each pancake, and continue to cook until set (about another 2 minutes). Remove from the skillet, and repeat with the remaining batter.

• Adapted from Ricotta Pancakes on page 67 of Gluten Free on a Shoestring: 125 Easy Recipes for Eating Well on the Cheap (2011).

New York Times-Style Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Once a person who calls herself a food blogger (that’s me!) has adapted the famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies to gluten free (and then made an oatmeal cookie version), you’d have to imagine that a gluten free double chocolate chip cookies version isn’t too far behind. And even though my children are still away at sleepaway camp for another week or so, * I know that for some of you back-to-school has already happened (or is coming any day now). And there’s nothing that eases their way back to school like a surprise 5-inch chocolate chip cookie in their lunchbox.

*If my children are away at sleepaway camp, then who is that lovely young hand model in the photo? That would be our neighbor’s young daughter, who graciously agreed to stand in for my youngest in the role. She was a total natural, and should probably look into an agent. Her future is bright.

To keep the cookies from burning on the edges as they bake, just press the balls of dough into 3/4-inch tall disks. They’ll bake up just right.

Now, if you’re new to this style of cookie, you’ll notice that they call for a few different kinds of flour—including the Bread Flour blend from my newest book, Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread. It’s this blend of flours that gives this style of cookie its unique crunchy-chewy texture. If you’ve never tried it, you’re really in for a treat. And of course, since we’re in for the double chocolate this time, it’s a chocolate-lover’s paradise. Give it a try! It might just become a new family favorite.

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 15 minutes       Yield: 10 5-inch cookies

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, roughly chopped

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (88 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used my mock Better Batter)

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

1 1/2 tablespoons (14 g) cornstarch

7/8 cup (122 g) Gluten Free Bread Flour*

3 tablespoons (15 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed is better, but natural will work, too)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (120 g) granulated sugar

10 tablespoons (140 g) packed light brown sugar

1 egg (60 g) at room temperature, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

10 ounces bittersweet chocolate disks

Coarse salt, for sprinkling

*BREAD FLOUR NOTES

1. 1 cup (140 g) Gluten Free Bread Flour, as discussed more fully on pages 8 to 10 of GFOAS Bakes Bread, contains 100 grams Mock Better Batter all purpose gluten free flour (or Better Batter itself) + 25 grams whey protein isolate (I use NOW Foods brand) + 15 grams Expandex modified tapioca starch.
2. For a calculator that helps you build the flour without math, please see my Gluten Free Flour page.
3. If you would like to use Ultratex 3 in place of Expandex, please see #6 on my Resources page for instructions.

Directions

• In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the chopped butter and chopped chocolate. Place the bowl over a small pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl, stirring occasionally until the butter and chocolate are melted and smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and set the bowl aside to cool briefly. (Alternatively, you can melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave on 60% power in 30-second bursts.) In a large bowl, place the all purpose flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, bread flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the light brown sugar, and whisk again to combine, working to break up any lumps in the brown sugar. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the cooled butter and chocolate mixture, plus the egg and vanilla, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough will be thick. Add the chocolate disks, and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout. Wrap the cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate ideally for 24 to 72 hours.

• On baking day, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper. Divide the dough into 10 balls, each nearly 3 1/2 ounces (the size of generous golf balls), and place them  at least 6 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets. Press the balls of dough into 3/4-inch thick disks, and sprinkle the tops lightly with coarse salt. Place in the preheated oven and bake until mostly set, but still soft toward the center (about 15 minutes). The cookies will spread to about 5-inches in diameter. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, or until set.

• Adapted from my New York Times-Style Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are adapted from the famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

Easy Gluten Free Crepe Cake

Is it just me, or do crepes ( gluten free or otherwise) not really get the props that they deserve? Maybe it’s because they have that Frenchie name and stuff, but really? There’s a pretty good argument to be made that they’re at least as easy to make as pancakes and, like, more versatile since you can roll things up in them … or layer them up into a delightfully easy no bake gluten free crepe cake. Like this one!

Since the crepes we make aren’t If you like, you can even make the crepes ahead of time, wrap them well and keep them at room temperature for a day (or even 2!) before layering them into a cake. But the best part? It’s a make-ahead cake like this gluten free chocolate wafer icebox cake, and it needs to set up in the refrigerator so that it can be sliced properly.

See how easy it is to assemble? Just layer a crepe with some whipped cream, followed by berries and more whipped cream, and another crepe. Keep going until you reach the tippy top. That’s it! I usually store it in the refrigerator just like that, and then put the final layer of whipped cream and a sprinkle of artfully placed berries just before serving.

The result is kind of more impressive than the relatively small effort involved deserves. But isn’t that the best kind of summer dessert? Celebrate the days of cheap, flavorful berries while they last with this easy no bake cake. Then sit back and enjoy these last weeks of summer break.

Prep time: 15 minutes       Cook time: 10 minutes       Yield: 1 no bake cake

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210 g) basic xanthan gum-free gluten free flour blend (139 grams superfine white rice flour + 46 grams potato starch + 25 grams tapioca starch/flour)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons (36 g) granulated sugar

3 large eggs (180 g, out of shell) at room temperature, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 1/4 cups (18 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature (not nonfat)

3 cups (24 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream, chilled

1/4 cup (29 g) confectioners’ sugar

1 pound fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

1 dry pint (about 2 cups) fresh blueberries, washed and patted dry

Directions

• First, make the crepe batter. In a large bowl, place the flour, salt and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the eggs and butter, blending well after each addition. In a slow and steady stream, add the milk while whisking to combine. Continue to whisk the mixture until the batter is smooth. The batter should be thin and easily pourable. Continue to whisk until it begins to thicken. For best results, blend the mixture in a blender and process until smooth, then place the batter, covered, in the refrigerator to sit for about 30 minutes until chilled. It should thicken a bit as it chills.

• Make the crepes. Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, hold the skillet just above the heat source and ladle 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. As soon as the batter hits the pan, swirl the pan to spread the batter evenly and thinly into a circle. Place the pan on the heat and allow to cook until the crepe is set but not crispy (1 to 2 minutes), and flip with a wide spatula. Allow the other side to cook for about another 30 seconds or until just set. Remove the crepe from the pan and cover with a moist tea towel. Repeat with the remaining batter and stack the crepes, covered. There should be about 8 crepes by the end, and you will likely only need 6 of them. Set them aside to cool.

• Make the filling and assemble the cake. In a large bowl with a handheld whisk or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, place the chilled heavy cream. Beat the cream on medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the confectioners’ sugar, and continue to beat, increasing the speed to medium-high (but not to high), until stiff, shiny peaks form. Whipping the cream slowly yields a more stable whipped cream. To assemble the cake, on a cake plate (and/or on a 10-inch cardboard cake circle), place one of the cooled crepes. Cover with a thin layer of about 1/4-cup of the whipped cream, and top with a single layer of the strawberries and/or blueberries, pressing the berries gently into the whipped cream. Top with another even layer of whipped cream to create an even single layer of filling. Cover with another crepe, follow with more whipped cream, another layer of berries followed by cream and another crepe. Continue layering until there is a total of 6 layers of crepes. On top of the sixth crepe, spread a layer of whipped cream and scatter some of the remaining berries toward the center of the cake. Press them down gently to adhere. Place the cake in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to overnight for the cake to set. Remove from the refrigerator, slice and serve chilled.

• Crepe recipe adapted from the Crepes on page 209 of Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread.