Gluten Free Apple Butter Layer Cake

We finally did it (and just under the wire in September): we went apple picking. The crowds are legendary, the bathroom facilities far from ideal, and the apples no cheaper than what we’d buy in the store by the pound. But we love going every year with dear friends of ours. It just wouldn’t feel like it was really fall without it—even though the weather on Saturday seemed more like summer here in the northeast. In the past couple years, I have brought my fancy work camera with me for photographic evidence of the yearly ritual, but the shots are not the artsy, kitschy photos with an urban-homesteader vibe that the Internet seems to favor these days. Instead, they’re of mine and my friend’s children, reaching for the highest apples on a willing adult’s shoulders (or in the case of my oldest, climbing the trees even though that’s a big no-no). So instead of our family photo album, I figured we could talk about this gluten free apple butter layer cake. The minute I saw a similar cake in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, I knew this would be a fabulous way to make use of that gorgeous, smooth apple butter we’ve been making.

This moist and tender, lightly spiced yellow cake, filled with smooth apple butter and topped with a very special apple-flavored traditional buttercream frosting, is more than worth your time. There are a few steps to making it, but, well—that’s true of any layer cake. The steps are simple, and the cakes can be made and cooled, then wrapped and frozen until you’re ready to thaw at room temperature, then fill and frost. And let’s face it—if it weren’t for Martha (good ol’ Martha), I never would have believed that apple butter could be used as a layer cake filling, and then sliced so cleanly. Just look at that perfect slice!

My method for making super chunky applesauce couldn’t be simpler, with little to no added sugar—it’s really just apples, ground cinnamon, and a bit of water—but if you’re interested in more detail, just see the second paragraph of the apple gingerbread snack cake post. The chunky stuff on top of the cake is really just for dramatic effect, but I highly recommend it. If you’re going to make a layer cake, go big or go home!

Prep time: 25 minutes       Cook time: 22 minutes

Ingredients

Cakes
2 1/2 cups + 2 tablespoons (370 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used my Better Than Cup4Cup blend)

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon apple pie spice*

11 tablespoons (154 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar

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

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (7 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature

Filling
About 2 1/2 cups (1 recipe) apple butter

Apple Buttercream Frosting
16 tablespoons (224 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 to 4 cups (400 to 460 g) confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup (60 g) smooth applesauce

1 to 3 tablespoons milk, at room temperature

For finishing
1 cup chunky applesauce (optional)

*To make your own apple pie spice, combine 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom + 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions

• First, make the cakes. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans well, and set them aside.

• In a separate, medium-size bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and apple pie spice, and whisk to combine. Set the bowl aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer), place the butter and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the granulated sugar and light brown sugar, then the eggs and vanilla, beating to combine well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl in 3 parts, alternating with the milk, and beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the two prepared cake pans and smooth into an even layer with a wet spatula in each. Place the cakes in the center of the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached, rotating the pans halfway through baking (about 22 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the pans for at least 30 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

• Fill the cakes. Trim any domed top on both cakes with a large serrated knife and place one cake, cut side down, on a cake plate. Spread the apple butter into an even layer on top of the overturned cake, creating a clean edge all around. Place the second cake, cut side down, on top, and press evenly to adhere. Place the layered cakes in the refrigerator to set while you make the frosting.

• Make the frosting. Place the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer) and beat on medium speed until the butter is light and fluffy. Add 3 1/2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and mix on low speed until the sugar is absorbed into the butter. Increase the speed to medium-high, add the smooth applesauce and 1 tablespoon milk, and continue to beat until the frosting is light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add more confectioners’ sugar by the tablespoon as necessary to bring the frosting to a thickly spreadable consistency. If necessary to thin the frosting after adding too much confectioners’ sugar, add more milk by the half-teaspoonful.

• Frost and finish the cake. Remove the cake from the refrigerator, and spoon a generous amount of frosting on top. Cover the entire top and sides of the cake, using the offset spatula, in a very thin layer, filling in any gaps between the layers with frosting. This is the crumb coat, and it will keep the top layer of frosting from showing any cake crumbs. Place the thinly frosted cake in the freezer for 10 minutes, or until firm. Remove the cake from the freezer, and cover the sides and then the top generously with swirls of frosting. Top with the optional chunky applesauce, piled in the center. Refrigerate until set before serving.

• Inspired by the apple butter layer cake in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine.

D.I.Y. Friday: Spinach Dip with Homemade “Onion Soup Mix”

Welcome back to D.I.Y. Fridays, an occasional blog series in which I’ll show you how to D.I.Y. a basic (sometimes naturally gluten free) recipe (like today’s homemade onion soup mix, which we’ll use to make spinach dip) or other ingredient that you might be inclined to buy. As I understand it, Lipton Onion Soup Mix, which I grew up using to make spinach dip, used to be gluten free–until they started adding a barley derivative to the product and bye-bye gluten free. But if you look at the ingredient list of the product, it’s not much more than onion, salt, a touch of sugar, and starch. It does boast dehydrated onions, but we can get around that quite easily in our homemade onion soup mix. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I served it in one bread bowl made from the No-Rye “Rye” Bread from page 101 of GFOAS Bakes Bread—and another made from the Lean Crusty White Sandwich Bread on page 43. You really just want a crusty bread, and those are stellar examples.

Now, for our homemade onion “soup mix,” in place of the dehydrated onions, I just minced and sautéed a small yellow onion. To give the minced garlic more bite, I mince it very fine, and then use the flat side of a large knife to press the garlic and a bit of kosher salt into a paste. This method releases all of the oils in the garlic, and I much prefer it, but of course you could always sauté it briefly when you cook the minced onions. Your choice!

Since spinach dip really does get better if it sits in the refrigerator for at least an hour, and even better at least a day, this is a great make-ahead option. The longer you let it sit, the better the crusty bread it’s sitting in will taste, too. Happy D.I.Y. Friday!

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 5 minutes       Yield: About 3 cups spinach dip

Ingredients

Homemade Onion “Soup Mix”
2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon (9 g) cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)

1 tablespoon (12 g) sugar

Spinach Dip
16 ounces chopped frozen spinach

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, peeled and minced (about 1/2 cup)

2 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (about 3/4 cup)

1/3 cup (75 g) mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups (336 g) sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free Worcestershire sauce

Homemade Onion “Soup Mix”

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated

2 stalks celery heart, chopped fine (about 3/4 cup)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced very fine

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the homemade onion “soup mix,” and whisk to combine. Set the bowl aside. Cook the spinach according to the package directions. Place the thawed spinach in a tea towel and squeeze it until as much of the moisture as possible has been removed. Set the spinach aside.

• In a small, heavy-bottom saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it ripples slightly. Add the minced onion and carrots, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is translucent and lightly browned (about 5 minutes). Remove the mixture from the heat and set it aside to cool briefly.

• In a large bowl, place the mayonnaise, sour cream and Worcestershire sauce, “soup mix” and black pepper, and whisk to combine well. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, celery, spinach, onion and carrot mixture, and mix to combine. Place the garlic and salt on a flat surface, like a cutting board, and press into a paste with the flat side of a large knife (like a chef’s knife). Add the garlic paste to the dip, and mix to combine. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour, and up to 3 days. Serve in a bread bowl with chips or celery for dipping.

Gluten Free Apple Gingerbread Snack Cake

This lightly spiced, tender gluten free apple gingerbread snack cake is perfect for enjoying with a cup of tea after a good meal, or with your morning coffee (preferably after the children have already left for school, if you’re me). It’s even moist enough that you can seal it up and store it in the refrigerator, something I don’t normally recommend for cakes (my freezer is full of baked goods, but my refrigerator is mostly for fruits, vegetables and meats).

The cake calls for two types of applesauce, one smooth and one as chunky as you can manage. For the smooth applesauce, I used jarred applesauce. Yeah, that’s right. From a jar! I actually really like smooth applesauce from a jar, both for baking in cakes like this and by the spoonful (although my incredibly food-spoiled children tend to turn up their noses at it). I’m not even too picky about it, so nearly any brand of no-sugar-added jarred applesauce will do. For the super chunky stuff, I make my own. All I do is peel, core and slice thinly whatever apples I have on hand (any kind works, but of course the firmer ones will make the chunkiest sauce), add cinnamon to taste (usually 1/4 teaspoon per apple) and about 1 tablespoon water per apple, then cook in a covered, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat until the apples are fork tender.

A light dusting of confectioners’ sugar might seem like gilding the lily, but even a heaping tablespoon should be enough to cover the whole cake—and it helps let everyone know that this quiet cake might not make a dramatic presentation, but it’s got it goin’ on all the same.

Prep time: 15 minutes       Cook time: 45 minutes       Yield: 1 9-inch square cake

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (350 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon apple pie spice*

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

1/4 cup (55 g) packed light brown sugar

8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 egg (60 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

1 tablespoon (21 g) unsulphured molasses

5 tablespoons (105 g) pure maple syrup

4 tablespoons (84 g) honey

1/2 cup (122 g) smooth applesauce

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

4 ounces chunky applesauce

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

*To make your own apple pie spice, combine 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom + 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan, and set it aside.

• In a large bowl, place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, apple pie spice, salt, granulated sugar and light brown sugar and whisk to combine, working out any lumps in the brown sugar. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, egg, molasses, maple syrup, honey, smooth applesauce and milk, mixing until just combined after each addition. The batter will be thickly pourable. Add the chunky applesauce, and mix until the apples are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula.

• Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is an even, light golden brown, the top feels mostly firm when pressed gently, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. If you insert the toothpick directly into an apple chunk, it will come out wet even if the cake is baked through. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before slicing and serving, if desired.

• Adapted from my recipe for Gluten Free Gingerbread Cake.

Gluten Free Bacon Jalapeño Cornbread

This gluten free bacon jalapeño cornbread is light and fluffy, plus smoky and even a little bit sweet and spicy. I served it alongside an easy buttermilk-marinated grilled chicken and simple garden salad, but it would be completely at home with a hearty bowl of chili. Believe it or not, one of the most searched-for recipes on this old blog (did you know that I first started this blog in May 2009?) is gluten free cornbread. The recipe that comes up early and often when you google “gluten free cornbread” is this one. It’s long been a favorite in my family—and, I dare say, in some of yours. It’s naturally gluten free (no all purpose gluten free flour—just cornmeal), and a version of it even made it into my first cookbook.

This super fluffy cornbread is about half all purpose gluten free flour, half cornmeal, with smoky bacon (and bacon grease!) and sweet and spicy jalapeño jam. But you can make it with any type of jam (call it Bacon Cornbread) and even without the bacon (but why would you want to?!).

Like any cornbread, it’s best when baked in a cast iron skillet. But if you don’t have one, don’t let that stop you! Just bake it in a 9-inch round or square baking dish. My current favorite brands of baking dishes are stainless steel Nordic Ware and Fat Daddio. They’re not nonstick, but nothing sticks to them when they’re greased, and they bake really evenly. I usually buy them on amazon.com.

But nothing beats the crust you get by baking cornbread in a cast iron skillet. Mine is a 12-inch preseasoned Lodge cast iron skillet, and it gets a workout in my kitchen almost every day (and Lodge cookware is so economical). What cookware or bakeware do you reach for first, day after day?

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 45 minutes       Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

6 ounces uncured bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups (198 g) coarsely-ground gluten free yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)

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

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled*

3 tablespoons (60 g) jalapeño jam (you can replace this with any other jam you prefer)

3 eggs (180 g, weighed out of the shells) at room temperature, beaten

3 tablespoons (63 g) honey

2 1/4 cups (18 fluid ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature

*When the bacon is cooked in Step 1 of the directions, it will leave behind rendered bacon fat—the most delicious fat ever known. I pour off the rendered bacon fat into a small, heat-safe bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. Then, I use it to replace an equal amount, by weight, of unsalted butter in the ingredient list.

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease well a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or a 9-inch square or round cake pan) and set it aside.

• In a medium-size, heavy bottom saucepan, cook the bacon pieces over medium-high heat until cooked through (about 5 minutes). Transfer the cooked bacon to a small, heat-safe bowl and pour off the bacon grease into a separate, small heat-safe bowl. Set both aside.

• In a large bowl, place the cornmeal, flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter (reduced to account for the optional bacon grease, if using), the optional bacon grease, jalapeño jam, eggs, honey and buttermilk, mixing until just combined after each addition. The batter will be thick. Add the cooked bacon pieces, and mix just until the bacon is evenly distributed throughout the batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared skillet or pan, and smooth into an even layer.

• Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F and continue to bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cornbread comes out with, at most, a few moist crumbs attached (another 10 to 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Gluten Free Bierocks

I have a very strict policy about dinner in my house: don’t ask what it is. Really, the policy has everything to do with not allowing the children to know “what’s for dinner??” before it’s served because I really don’t want to hear any whining and I really do mean any whining. So if you are ridiculous enough to ask what is planned for the last meal of the day, every.single.day, you’ll likely be answered with one word: “dinner.” But when it comes to something like these German meat-filled turnovers, I find myself hiding behind the don’t-ask policy … since I don’t really know how to pronounce what it is. And frankly there’s just no agreement on the subject on the Internet. I do know that these gluten free bierocks are another in a growing list of handheld dinners that I find myself relying upon more and more as fall sports are in full swing and a weeknight dinner on the run is sometimes all we can manage. And they manage to be full of savory flavors without relying one bit upon any sort of shredded cheese. Imagine that!

You absolutely can make these with gluten free biscuit dough, but I prefer our recipe for Gluten Free Texas Roadhouse-Style roll dough. As much as I love gluten free biscuit dough and feel that, whatever the question, biscuit dough is the answer as a general rule, I think that bread dough just pairs best with these hearty beef-and-cabbage bierock fillings.

As with all filled breads and pastries, resist the urge to overfill them before baking. And when you roll each piece of dough into a round, roll it a bit thinner on the edges and a bit thicker toward the center. The edges will overlap during shaping and produce a thicker dough, but the center of the dough alone with serve as the top of the bierock.

If you have previous bierock experience (which I, for one, did not), you may have other ideas for how to season the fillings. By all means, tailor tthem to your tastes. And share your favorite fillings with us in the comments! Just don’t ask me what’s for dinner.

Prep time: 25 minutes       Cook time: 30 minutes       Yield: 8 bierocks

Ingredients

1 recipe Gluten Free Texas Roadhouse-Style Roll Dough

1/2 pound 85% lean ground beef

1 small onion, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced fine

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

4 ounces diced pancetta or cubed bacon

5 ounces cabbage, shredded

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

• Prepare the bread dough, with the instructed ingredient modifications, through the first rise.*

  *If you prefer, instead of allowing the dough to rise slowly in the refrigerator as directed in the instructions, you may make and use this 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.

• Prepare the fillings. In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan, sauté the ground beef and onions over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned and the onions are translucent (about 6 minutes). Add the minced garlic and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant (about 3 minutes). Transfer the cooked ground beef, onions and garlic to a small bowl and set aside, draining any excess fat from the beef. Place the pancetta (or bacon) in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the pancetta is browned (about 3 minutes). Add the cabbage, Worcestershire sauce, then cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted (about 3 minutes). Add the caraway seeds and mix to combine, then transfer the cabbage and pancetta mixture to a separate bowl, draining any liquid. Set aside.

• Prepare the dough and the bierocks. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside. On a lightly floured surface, divide the bread dough in half, then divide each piece in half again until you have 8 equally-sized pieces of dough. Work with one piece of dough at a time, covering the other pieces of dough with a moist tea towel to prevent them from drying out. Sprinkle each piece of dough lightly with flour as necessary to prevent it from sticking to the surface, and roll it into a round about 6 inches in diameter, rolling the edges of each round a bit thinner and keeping the center of the round a bit thicker. Top with about one-eighth of the cabbage and pancetta filling, and one-eighth of the beef filling, placing the fillings in the center of the dough. Pull the edges of the dough toward the center, overlapping the dough. Pinch to seal, then invert each bierock onto the prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart from one another. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling. Dust the tops of the bierocks lightly with more flour and cover the baking sheet with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Place in a warm, draft-free location to rise for about 45 minutes, or until the bierocks have swelled to about 150% of their original size (you will not see a full doubling because of the fillings). Turn on your oven to preheat to 350°F. 

• Bake. Remove the plastic wrap and brush the tops of the risen bierocks generously with the melted butter. Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the bierocks are golden brown all over (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and serve hot or allow to cool completely, wrap tightly in freezer-safe wrap and freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet before transferring to a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Unwrap, allow to come to room temperature and reheat in a toaster oven at 250°F until warm.

• Adapted from Allrecipes.com, as chosen by you from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest board.

D.I.Y. Friday: Homemade Apple Butter

Welcome to D.I.Y. Fridays, an occasional Friday blog series in which I’ll show you how to D.I.Y. a basic (sometimes naturally gluten free) condiment (like today’s homemade apple butter) or other ingredient that you might be inclined to buy—for a whole lot more coin. Usually, the recipe will be for something that I either have used in the past in recipes here on the blog, or intend to use in the future. I tend to bury recipes like this in other, bigger recipes, but then they can be hard to find when you’re looking for ‘em. Friday is really the start of the weekend, and the weekend is a great time for cooking and baking, and for saving some money in the process. Have you ever bought apple butter? It’s nothing more than cooked apples that have been sweetened, spiced and reduced, but a small 1-pound jar can easily run you $8 to $10.

When I’m making applesauce, I peel, core and slice apples thinly. They cook down really quickly that way, and the sauce is still pretty chunky if you handle it gently. But when I’m making apple butter, a quick and easy medium-grate is the way to go. There’s no need to core the apples when you grate them, either, which saves some active cooking time. Just grate down to the core and move on to the next unsuspecting apple. Once the mixture is cooked and reduced, process it in a blender or food processor for a silky smooth butter (or leave it as is—it will still taste nearly the same and perform just as well in recipes).
Why make apple butter at all, you ask? Well, allow me to refresh your recollection of (or introduce you to) all of the recipes that we made last year and the year before with the homemade pumpkin butter you see above: everything from pumpkin chocolate chip squares and pumpkin donuts to crispy pumpkin animal crackers and fudgy pumpkin brownies. Why pumpkin butter instead of pureed pumpkin? Same reason for preferring apple butter to applesauce in baking: applesauce and pureed pumpkin just have too much moisture to make anything other than a cake (or a cookie that looks like a cookie but tastes like a cake). Try to balance the moisture by tweaking the other ingredients in the recipe and you just end up changing the taste and texture for the worse. But apple butter and pumpkin butter are thick enough to add taste, texture and flavor—without making cake where you meant to make cookies. Or even crunchy pumpkin biscotti.

In the coming weeks, we’ll be baking with apple butter so why not make some this weekend? In the meantime, it’s delicious on toast, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you could make any of my pumpkin butter recipes into apple butter recipes by swapping out the pumpkin pie spice for an equal amount of apple pie spice, and switching the pumpkin butter for apple butter. Happy D.I.Y. Friday!

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 1 hour       Yield: About 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

8 apples, washed and peeled (I used a mix of Granny Smith and Fuji)

4 tablespoons (84 g) pure maple syrup, plus more to taste

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons apple pie spice*

*To make your own apple pie spice, combine 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom + 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice.

Directions

• Grate the flesh of each of the peeled apples on a medium grate into a large, heavy-bottom saucepan. Add the maple syrup, salt and apple pie spice, and mix to combine. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes. The mixture will begin to liquify, and then will begin to cook down and darken in color. Continue to cook for up to another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is evenly golden brown and the liquid has reduced, leaving behind a thick paste.

• For perfectly smooth apple butter, transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add more maple syrup by the teaspoonful to taste, up to another 2 tablespoons. If you add too much syrup, you will thin the apple butter. Transfer to a heat-safe container and allow to cool completely before storing in the refrigerator or using in a recipe (or on toast!).

Gluten Free Apple Pie Cookies

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but the weather really has turned here in New York. Suddenly, it’s super comfortable to wear my favorite jeans all day and I even get to break out a jacket in the evenings. We have our annual trip to the apple orchard with friends in the books for the last weekend in September, and I can’t wait until my worst food problem is deciding which apple recipes to make, like, right away before the apples go bad (one bad one really does spoil the whole bunch). Okay who am I kidding my worst food problem is always what to make for dinner because I just.don’t.want.to.make.it (do they really have to eat dinner every single day??). But you know what I mean. In preparation for this apple bounty coming my way, I decided to make gluten free apple pie cookies. But they couldn’t be sugar cookies shaped like apple pies or mini actual apple pies. I wanted an easy drop cookie that still had all the taste of apple pie, without any of the fuss. Mission accomplished!

Like baking with pumpkin, baking with apples means loads of extra moisture. Extra moisture in cookies usually means something shaped like a cookie that actually tastes like a piece of cake. That’s what happens when you try to replace oil or butter with applesauce in a recipe. No thank you. If anything is going to taste like cake, it should be, well, cake. So instead of adding applesauce, I used a peeled and grated apple. And I’m happy to report that, after 4 separate tries and many dozens of cookie-shaped mini cakes, we have real thick-and-chewy apple cookies.

The cookies themselves aren’t loaded with tons and tons of sugar, and the whole batch only has 4 ounces of white chocolate chips, so the glaze really adds a nice touch of extra sweetness. But of course you could leave it off if you’re just not into that sort of thing. These also freeze incredibly well, and really do have all the aroma and flavor of apple pie. If there’s a person who doesn’t love fall, I’ve never met him!

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 12 minutes       Yield: 14 cookies

Ingredients

Cookies
1 1/2 cups (210 g) all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter)

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

1/4 cup (36 g) cornstarch

4 ounces white chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice*

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

1 medium-size apple, peeled and grated (80 g) (I used Granny Smith, but any firm apple will do)

10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 egg (60 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

*To make your own apple pie spice, combine 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom + 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice.

Glaze
3/4 cup (86 g) confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon milk (any kind), plus more by the 1/4 teaspoonful if necessary

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set aside.

• In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum and cornstarch, and whisk to combine well. Transfer 1 teaspoon of the dry ingredients to a small bowl, add the chocolate chips and toss to combine. Set aside. To the large bowl of dry ingredients, add the baking soda, salt, apple pie spice and sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the grated apple, and mix to combine, working to separate the apple pieces from one another. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, vanilla and egg, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough will be thick and sticky. Add the chips and reserved dry ingredients and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout.

• Divide the dough into 14 equal parts, each about 1 1/2 tablespoonful. With wet hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet 2-inches apart from one another. With wet fingers, flatten and spread each ball into a disk about 1/2-inch thick. Place in the refrigerator to chill until firm (about 10 minutes). Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown on the edges (about 12 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.

• When the cookies are nearly cool, make the glaze. In a small bowl, place the confectioners’ sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Mix well, until a thick paste forms. Add more milk by the 1/4-teaspoon, mixing to combine well, until the glaze falls off the spoon slowly, in a thick but pourable glaze. Add milk very slowly, as it is much easier to thin, than to thicken, the glaze. If you do thin the glaze too much, add more confectioners’ sugar a teaspoon at a time to thicken it. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookies and allow to set at room temperature.

Gluten Free Beer Battered Chicken Fingers

Have you ever had beer-battered chicken? It’s light and fluffy and really doesn’t taste like beer. I’ve made it with a couple different kinds of gluten free beer (Dogfish is the gluten free beer I like best; Bard’s is also good, and seems to be widely available), but I love love love Angry Orchard hard apple cider and have made it with that, too (so okay then it’s really hard cider-battered chicken), and it’s delicious. Nonalcoholic sparkling apple cider is also a great alternative. I find deep frying so much more enjoyable in my teeny tiny little Cuisinart deep fryer (no affiliate link, no sponsorship, just an honest rec), especially since I throw both the frying basket and the top in the dishwasher (remove the charcoal filter first!). My house doesn’t smell deep-fried, and the mess is totally contained. C’mon. Think of the Gluten Free Biscuit Donuts you could make!

I like to make beer battered chicken in a tempura-style batter, since it makes a very light and fluffy crust, which is especially nice on chicken strips since they don’t have their own skin. Marinate it first in buttermilk or plain yogurt, and then dredge it in cornstarch (can’t have corn? try arrowroot starch and let us know how it goes!) and allow the strips to sit for a bit and form a thick paste. That really helps the beer batter stick to the chicken (like, a lot) and makes for a thicker crust. Looking for a more traditional KFC-style gluten free fried chicken? I’ve got that, too. But right now I’m loving these tender all white-meat gluten free beer battered chicken fingers.

As soon as you bite into one of these strips, hot out of the fryer, you won’t believe how they melt in your mouth. They really don’t neeeeeeed it, but a sweet and sour dipping sauce is a nice lily-gilding measure you probably won’t regret. Make these for a crowd, and they can even be kept at room temperature for a few hours and still taste amazing. In fact, if there’s any left, try them cold the next day. That’s when you do want to break out the dipping sauce. Leftover perfection!

Prep time: 20 minutes       Cook time: 20 minutes       Yield: About 16 chicken fingers

Ingredients

For the chicken
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into “fingers” (about 16 pieces total)

2 cups (16 fluid ounces) buttermilk (you can use plain yogurt in place of buttermilk as long as it’s not Greek-style)

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (81 g) cornstarch, plus more for dredging

1 cup + 2 tablespoons (180 g) superfine white rice flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon (12 g) sugar

1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika (optional)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups (10 fluid ounces) gluten free beer or gluten free hard apple cider (can use sparkling apple cider for a nonalcoholic alternative)

Oil, for frying

For the sweet and sour dipping sauce
1/2 cup apricot preserves or jam

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or other mild white vinegar)

2 tablespoons tomato ketchup

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

• Marinate the chicken. In a large, zip-top bag or large bowl, place the chicken strips and buttermilk, and stir to coat the chicken fully. Squeeze out all of the air if using a zip-top bag before sealing the bag. If using a bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place the chicken in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 and up to 16 hours.

• Dredge the chicken. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside. In a medium-size bowl, place enough extra cornstarch for dredging the chicken strips. Remove the chicken from the marinade one piece at a time, dredge in the cornstarch to coat completely on both sides, then place the chicken on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Set aside for about 10 minutes to allow the cornstarch to adhere to the chicken and form a thick paste.

• Make the beer batter. In a large bowl, place the 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cornstarch, the white rice flour, salt, sugar and (optional) paprika and whisk to combine well. In a separate small bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk with 1/4 cup of the beer until well-combined. The mixture will bubble. Create a well in the center of the large bowl with the cornstarch and white rice mixture, and pour in the beer and egg yolk mixture and the remaining 1 cup beer in a slow and steady stream, whisking to combine constantly. The batter should be about the consistency of heavy cream.

• Fry the chicken. Line a baking sheet or flat surface with paper towels, place a wire rack on top and set aside. Place about 3-inches of frying oil in a medium-size, heavy-bottom pot or fryer. Clip a deep-fry/candy thermometer to the side of the pot or fryer, and place the oil over medium-high heat. Bring the oil temperature to 370°F. Dip each chicken strip in the beer batter and allow any excess batter to drip off the chicken. Place the chicken strips, a few at a time, in the hot oil, taking care not to crowd the oil. Fry until the chicken strips are golden brown all over (about 2 to 3 minutes per side). As soon as each batch is removed from the fryer, place on a wire rack placed over paper towels to drain and cool completely.

• Make the dipping sauce. In a small, heat-safe bowl, place the apricot preserves/jam and microwave for 10 second to thin. Whisk the preserves/jam to loosen it. Add the remaining sweet and sour sauce ingredients, and whisk to combine well.

• Inspired by Southernfood.about.com’s recipe, selected by you from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest Board.

Gluten Free Lion House Dinner Rolls

One of the most amazing things about the Gluten Free Bread Flour blend in GFOAS Bakes Bread is that, not only does it make gluten free yeast bread that looks, tastes and smells like gluten-containing yeast bread, but the dough itself is something you can handle, knead and shape. Now, you need to handle it with a very light touch, and the dough performs its best when it’s cold from the refrigerator, but, really, it’s so close you won’t believe your eyes (or your hands, or your tastebuds!). It also means that, although gluten free baking is different so I need to make adjustments, I can use conventional bread recipes like Mel’s recipe for Lion House dinner rolls as a jumping-off point to make gluten free Lion House dinner rolls.

These tender and buttery rolls come together so easily, since even shaping them doesn’t require any special technique. Just roll out the dough, slice it into two rectangles, then 12 rectangles, roll each up and let them rise. That’s it. And even though I’m a big big fan of the long first rise in the refrigerator, I’ve also shaped and baked these rolls on the same day the dough is made (see the **note in the first step in the recipe) and it works beautifully.

As if all that weren’t enough, these rolls also freeze beautifully, and the recipe can be doubled (or tripled, if you’re really feeling prep-py). My niece and nephew, gluten-eaters from way back, had these rolls last weekend at dinner with my kids, and they were fighting over the last one. And they were fresh—from the freezer. ;)

Prep time: 15 minutes       Cook time: 14 minutes       Yield: 12 rolls

Ingredients

3 cups (420 g) Gluten Free Bread Flour*, plus more for sprinkling

2 teaspoons (6 g) instant yeast

1/3 cup (32 g) nonfat dry milk, ground into a finer powder in a blender or food processor

3 tablespoons (38 g) sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons (8 g) kosher salt

1 cup (8 ounces) warm water (about 95°F)

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

1 egg (60 g, out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) unsalted butter, melted

*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 (for Expandex resources, click here).
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 the bowl of your stand mixer, place the flour, instant yeast, nonfat dry milk and sugar, and use a handheld whisk to combine well. Add the salt and whisk again to combine well. Add the water and 3 tablespoons melted and cooled butter, and the egg, and mix on low speed with the dough hook until combined. Raise the mixer speed to medium and knead for about 5 minutes. This is a lovely, smooth, enriched dough. It climbs up the dough hook during kneading but remains intact and smooth. Spray a silicone spatula lightly with cooking oil spray, and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl or proofing bucket large enough for the dough to rise to double its size, spray the top of the dough with cooking oil spray, and cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap (or the oiled top to your proofing bucket). Place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days.**

  **Note: If you prefer, you may make and use this 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.

• Preparing the dough for shaping. On baking day, line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper, and set it aside. Turn out the chilled dough onto a lightly floured surface and, using the scrape and fold kneading method and a very light touch, sprinkle the dough with more flour and knead it lightly, sprinkling with flour when necessary to prevent it from sticking, scraping the dough off the floured surface with a floured bench scraper, then folding it over on itself. Repeat scraping and folding until the dough has become smoother. Do not overwork the dough or you will incorporate too much flour and it will not rise properly.

• Shaping the rolls + the final rise. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into an 11-inch square. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of the dough generously with the melted butter. Using a pizza wheel or very sharp knife, divide the square in half, creating 2 equal rectangles, each 11-inches x 5 1/2-inches. Slice each of the 2 rectangles into 6 smaller rectangles, each about 1 3/4-inches x 5 1/2-inches (see step by step photos). Starting at the short end of each of the 12 small rectangles, roll the dough up into a snail shape and place, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet, about 2-inches apart from one another. Dust the rolls lightly with more flour to give the dough a “cloak” to rise into. Cover the baking sheet with oiled plastic wrap (be sure to leave the dough room to rise under the plastic), and place in warm, draft-free location to rise only until about double its original size (about 40 minutes to an hour). If you overproof the rolls, they will lose their smoothness on top, so be sure not to overproof.

• Bake. As the dough is in its final rise, preheat your oven to 375°F. Once the dough has finished rising, uncover it, and place in the center of the preheated oven. Bake for about 14 minutes, or until the dough is very puffy, just beginning to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (a toothpick test is more useful here than an internal temperature). Remove from the oven and immediately cover the entire baking sheet with a clean tea towel, tucking the ends of the towel under the baking sheet to create a loose seal. Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes under the towel. This will keep the crust soft and squish. Uncover, and serve, or cool the rolls completely and place in a well-sealed freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature and refresh the rolls in the toaster oven before serving.

• Adapted from the Lion House Dinner Rolls recipe on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (thanks Mel!) as selected by you from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest Board.

Gluten Free Butterscotch Pudding

When I was a kid, I was super close to one of my grandmothers. It was just her, and she used to stay with us quite often on the weekends. She definitely helped out around the house a lot, and I’m sure she cooked lots of meals for us. But for my brother and me she was most famous for making two things: real brewed iced tea with tons of sugar (not the powdered stuff!), and pudding. Her sweet tooth was (and still is) legendary. She used to say that she was born with a sugar deficiency and had to spend the rest of her life making up for it. Who was I to argue? On Monday mornings as I marched off to school, I was nothing short of heartbroken at her leaving. But if we were really really lucky, she would have made pudding and poured it into juice glasses then left it to set up on the counter, waiting for us after school. So even though there are already plenty of pudding recipes on the blog, there’s always room for one more. This time, smooth, rich gluten free butterscotch pudding. And it’ll be waiting for my kids when they get home today from school.

My grandmother most definitely made her pudding from a box (and I couldn’t possibly have cared less—much less even knew back then that you could make it without the box, but for sure it was the cooked stuff, not instant pudding which doesn’t even taste like pudding to me), and it was plenty good enough for us. But when I make pudding these days, I always make it from scratch because, even though we’re fine with corn in my house, I don’t care for the way pudding “leaks” as it sets up and cools when it’s made with cornstarch as a thickener.

The butterscotch sauce can be made days and days ahead of time. The pudding itself can even be made days ahead of time. I don’t like to let it set up in the refrigerator, though, since I like the smoothness of both the butterscotch and the pudding at room temperature. It tastes more like custard to me that way. But it’s up to you—and you can always store the puddings in the refrigerator and then allow them to soften to room temperature before serving. Either way, pudding is near and dear to my heart. I kind of suspect that my no-nonsense grandmother would think I was crazy to go through all this fuss, but she most certainly would have grabbed a spoon and joined in on the eating.

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 20 minutes       Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Butterscotch Sauce
4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, chopped

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

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

Pudding
5 1/2 tablespoons (48 g) xanthan gum-free gluten free flour blend (32 grams superfine white rice flour + 10 grams potato starch + 6 grams tapioca starch/flour)

6 tablespoons (72 g) sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cups (24 fl. oz.) milk (any kind), at room temperature

4 egg yolks (120 g total), at room temperature

2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, chopped

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Butterscotch sauce

Directions

• First, make the butterscotch sauce.* In a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, and stir until combined. Stir in the granulated sugar, and cook over medium-low heat until smooth, stirring frequently. The mixture will clump, and eventually melt after about 3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and, whisking constantly, add the cream. The mixture will bubble quite a lot, and the sugar may seize. It will melt again, though. Continue whisking until the bubbling subsides. Return the saucepan to medium heat and, whisking occasionally, bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, whisking occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture is slightly reduced and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat, and add the vanilla and salt. Set aside to cool.

  *The butterscotch sauce can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and stored, covered, in the refrigerator. As it will harden when chilled, before using in the pudding and to serve, the sauce must be warmed in a saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave, just until melted and smooth, but not hot.

• Make the pudding. In a medium-size heat-safe bowl, place the flour blend, sugar and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz.) of the milk, and then the egg yolks, whisking to combine after each addition. The mixture should be smooth. Set it aside. In a medium-size heavy-bottom saucepan, place the remaining 2 1/2 cups (20 fl. oz.) milk and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the milk reaches a simmer, remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly trickle the hot milk into the bowl with the egg mixture, whisking constantly to combine. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and return to the heat. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat until the whisk leaves a visible trail in the pudding as you whisk it (2 to 3 minutes). Remove the pan from the heat, add the chopped butter and the vanilla, and about half of the butterscotch sauce, and stir until the pudding is smooth. Pour into a large bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent it from forming a skin. Set aside to cool briefly.

• Assemble the individual servings. Pour about half of the remaining butterscotch sauce into a layer on the bottom of each of 6 small containers, each about 6 ounces in capacity. Divide the pudding evenly among the containers, and cover with the remaining butterscotch sauce, evenly divided among them. Allow to cool to room temperature, uncovered. The pudding can be served at room temperature or covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before serving. If chilled, the butterscotch sauce will harden a bit.

Gluten Free Pizza Pot Pies

I’ve given myself the informal deadline of proving to you by the end of the calendar year that the gluten free pizza dough from GFOAS Bakes Bread is the sort of thing that you simply must keep in your refrigerator every.single.week. In service of that goal, I give you these gluten free pizza pot pies. They don’t taste like more traditional pot pies, but they’re made up of all sorts of savory goodness packed into 2-cup ramekins (sauce! cheese! sweet peppers! sausage!)—all covered in my most favorite gluten free pizza dough. I can attest to the fact that one ramekin + a green salad = dinner even for a whole bunch of freakishly hungry growing children who never ever eat off of a children’s menu and sometimes even find an adult-sized portion to be, well, lacking.

The fillings can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator (separately or all mixed together), then topped with pizza dough (and more cheese!) and baked to perfection. The whole thing comes together rather quickly. And if you’re faced with a family that sometimes has to eat in shifts (hey, it happens), you can assemble all the individual dishes, and bake them as you need them.

One more thing: my children were thrilled when I gave them the nod to eat the brown crusty pizza around the edge with their hands. It’s the little things…

Prep time: 25 minutes       Cook time: 25 minutes       Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

4 cups tomato sauce (prepared or homemade)

3/4 pound gluten free sweet Italian pork sausage, casings removed

1 to 2 tablespoons (14 to 28 g) extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 small sweet bell pepper (red or yellow), seeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

14 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese (12 ounces shredded, 2 ounces sliced thinly)

1 recipe Thick Crust Gluten Free Pizza Dough from GFOAS Bakes Bread (reprinted here on the blog), prepared through the first rise*

Egg wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, beaten)

*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

• Preheat your oven to 400°F. Divide the tomato sauce equally among 6 individual oven-safe ramekins, each about 16 ounces in capacity. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, place the ramekins on top and set aside.

• Place a medium, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-high heat and add the sausage. Using a wooden spoon, break up the pieces until they’re bite sized. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cook through (about 8 minutes). Remove the cooked sausage from the pan to a small heat-safe bowl and set it aside. You may now either drain all of the rendered fat from the sausage and add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pan, or drain some of it and use 1 tablespoon olive oil. I usually do the former. Add the onion and diced pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and the pepper is softened (about 8 minutes). Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for another 3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant. Divide the vegetable mixture and the cooked sausage among the ramekins, and mix to combine. Divide the shredded mozzarella cheese among the ramekins, and set them aside.

• Divide the prepared, chilled pizza dough into 6 equal pieces. Place each on a lightly floured surface and, using a rolling pin and the method seen in this (oddly quiet) video, roll the dough into a round of dough at least 1/4-inch thick. Transfer each piece of dough to its own ramekin, placing it on top, with the edges overlapping the top of the baking dish. Lightly press the dough down on the top of the shredded cheese. Using a pastry brush, cover the pizza dough generously with the egg wash and top with a couple slices of sliced mozzarella cheese. Place the ramekins, still on the baking sheet, in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the pizza dough is golden brown all over and the cheese on top has begun to brown (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool briefly before serving.

• Adapted from Pillsbury, as selected from my Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest Board.