Skinny Gluten Free Blueberry Corn Muffins

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

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

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

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

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

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 22 minutes       Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 cup (140 g) all-purpose gluten free flour (I used my Better Than Cup4Cup flour)

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

1 cup (132 g) coarsely-ground gluten free yellow cornmeal (I have used everything from Bob’s Red Mill brand to Nuts.com brand, and all work fine)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup (about 200 g) fresh or frozen blueberries (frozen will bleed into the batter, which only affects color, not taste)

4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar

1/2 cup (114 g) nonfat Greek-style plain yogurt (you can strain regular nonfat plain yogurt to make it Greek-style)

1 egg + 1 egg white (total 90 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

1/3 cup (5 1/3 fluid ounces) lowfat buttermilk, at room temperature

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) freshly-squeezed lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)

Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (I used Sugar in the Raw)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line a standard 12-cup muffin tin, and set it aside.

• In a medium-size bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to combine well. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients to a small bowl, add the blueberries and toss to coat the blueberries in the dry ingredients. Set both bowls aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy (with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment). Add the sugar, yogurt, egg and egg white, and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat until just combined.  Add the buttermilk, lemon zest and lemon juice, and mix to combine. Add the blueberries and reserved dry ingredients in 3 parts, gently folding the blueberries into the batter after each addition until they are evenly distributed throughout. The batter will be thick.

• Divide the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin wells, and smooth the tops with wet fingers. Sprinkle the top of each cup of batter lightly with coarse sugar. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center (and not in a blueberry) comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached (about 22 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

• Nutrition Facts via Sparkpeople’s online nutrition calculator, per muffin:

  | Calories 155.3 | Total Fat 4.4 g | Cholesterol 24.9 g | Sodium 137.5 mg | Potassium 79.6 mg | Total Carbohydrate 29.6 g | Dietary Fiber 1.4 g | Sugars 10.6 g | Protein 3.5 g |

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Thick & Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

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

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

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

Prep time: 5 minutes       Cook time: 15 minutes       Yield: 14 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (168 g) blanched almond flour*

1/2 cup (60 g) tapioca starch/flour**

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup (120 g) coconut palm sugar

4 ounces dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand, but many readers suggest Rice Dream brand)

1/4 cup (56 g) virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled

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

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

*I recommend using Honeyville brand or Nuts.com brand for a finely ground, blanched almond flour (not almond meal).

**I only recommend buying tapioca starch/flour from Nuts.com or Authentic Foods. Bob’s Red Mill tapioca starch is of inconsistent quality. Do not buy tapioca starch/flour from the Asian food store as it is frequently contaminated.

Directions

• Make and chill the dough. In a large bowl, place the almond flour, tapioca starch/flour, baking soda, salt, and coconut palm sugar, and whisk to combine well. Remove about 1 tablespoon of dry ingredients and place in a separate small bowl. Add the chocolate chips to the small bowl, and toss to coat the chips in the dry ingredients. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the coconut oil, eggs and vanilla, mixing to combine after each addition. Add the chocolate chips mixed with the dry ingredients, and mix until the chips are evenly distributed throughout. The cookie dough will be very soft, and almost liquid at this point. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 2 days, until firm.

• Shape the cookies. When you are nearly ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 325°F. Line rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap and using an ice cream scoop or two spoons, divide the dough into 14 portions, each about 40 grams. Roll each piece of dough into a round between your palms, and place about 2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets.

• Bake the cookies. Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown all over, and mostly set toward the center. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Soft Paleo Flour Tortillas

The gluten free flour tortillas from GFOAS Bakes Bread have long been not just a favorite of mine to eat, but a relief, to be honest. I just adore soft tacos, enchiladas, and just wraps. Way back before my husband and I were married, much less had children, we lived in Manhattan and there was this tiny little counter-style restaurant that sold just the very best wraps. My favorite was a vegetarian wrap, packed with every sort of julienned vegetable and the best hummus I ever tasted—before or since. If I thought I couldn’t ever have that again, just because I eat gluten free in solidarity with my sweet gluten free son, I could of course live a happy life. We’re not talking life or death, clearly. But it would nag at me. It’s that nagging feeling, that I wish I could enjoy something again, or share it with  my son, that motivates me to develop gluten free recipes of all kinds. If I feel that way, maybe you do, too. So the next step in my love of wraps and enchiladas and burritos and everything in between is, of course, these soft Paleo flour tortillas. I’d tried and failed spectacularly in the past, but finally … eureka!

They’re soft and they bend … and they even freeze and defrost beautifully. Imagine that!

I don’t ever expect to roll them quite as thin as I can their rice flour-based counterpart, but it doesn’t matter one bit. They still bend. The dough is, indeed, a bit more delicate. Just follow my instructions carefully, use the proper ingredients (you must use the proper type of blanched almond flour and tapioca starch!), and don’t overthink the whole business. I promise they will turn out.

See for yourself, friends. Just because we’re gluten free, and now just because you’re Paleo, doesn’t mean you can’t have it all!

Prep time: 15 minutes       Cook time: 10 minutes       Yield: 8 6-inch tortillas

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups (140 g) blanched almond flour*

1 1/2 cups (180 g) tapioca starch/flour**, plus more for sprinkling

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons (24 g) nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening, melted and cooled

2 egg whites (60 g), at room temperature

3/8 to 1/2 cup (3 to 4 fluid ounces) warm water

*I recommend using Honeyville brand or Nuts.com brand for a finely ground, blanched almond flour (not almond meal).

**I only recommend buying tapioca starch/flour from Nuts.com or Authentic Foods. Bob’s Red Mill tapioca starch is of inconsistent quality. Do not buy tapioca starch/flour from the Asian food store as it is frequently contaminated.

Directions

• Make the dough. In a large bowl, place the almond flour, tapioca starch/flour, salt and baking soda, and whisk to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the melted shortening, egg whites and 3 fluid ounces warm water, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough should come together and be thick but relatively soft. Add more water by the teaspoonful, if necessary to bring the dough together. Press the dough into a disk, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and up to 1 day.

• Divide the dough. When the dough is ready to handle, heat a cast iron skillet or tortilla pan over medium-low heat until hot. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, about 80 grams each, and roll each into a ball. Remove one piece of dough to shape at a time, and cover the others with plastic wrap or a tea towel to prevent them from drying out.

• Shape and cook the tortillas. Onto a flat surface sprinkled lightly with tapioca starch/flour, place one ball of dough. Sprinkle the top of the dough generously with more tapioca starch/flour and roll the dough out with a rolling pin, moving it frequently, into an approximate round about 7 or 8 inches in diameter. Using a 6-inch cake cutter or the lid of a pot about the same size, cut out a proper 6-inch round. Remove the scraps and set them aside. Carefully slide a metal spatula under the round of dough on all edges to free it from the surface. If any portion of the dough tears, simply press it back together with your fingers. Again using the metal spatula, carefully lift the round of dough to the hot skillet, and place the dough on the skillet. Allow the tortilla to cook until bubbles form on the underside (about 1 minute). Using a wide, flat spatula, flip the tortilla over and continue to cook on the other side until set (less than a minute). Remove the tortilla from the skillet and wrap in a tea towel to keep warm.

  Return to the raw dough, gather the scraps from the first ball and combine them with the second ball of dough. Repeat the process. Eventually (perhaps after the third ball), you will be able to make extra tortillas using scraps. You should have 8 tortillas total (sometimes I even get 9).

• Serving/Storing. Keep the tortillas covered until ready to use. You can refresh them before serving by placing them in a hot skillet for about 10 seconds on each side. Cooled tortillas can also be stacked and wrapped tightly in freezer-safe wrap, then frozen for at least a month. Defrost on the counter or in the refrigerator overnight, and refresh in a hot skillet before serving.

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Announcement: A Better Blog! Coming soon…

It’s blog announcement time!

In the next week or so, the Gluten Free on a Shoestring blog is getting a bit of a makeover. On any given day, about half the readers of this blog are new and half are returning. Today’s post is just for “returning” readers like you! This better blog won’t be totally unfamiliar, though. Think of it as an evolution of the site—to serve you better!

[*For a higher resolution version of the above image, which will allow you to take a closer look, click on this A Better Blog image link.]

All the features you know (and hopefully love!) will remain, but there are some important changes coming down the line. Here are a few highlights:

• The newly evolved site is built using “Responsive Web Design.” That just means that it will resize, reorganize and adapt itself fluidly to fit beautifully on any size screen—from desktops and laptops to tablets and mobile devices. Right now, if you are reading this on a desktop, try clicking on this responsive site and resizing your browser window from bigger to smaller, in any size and shape you like. The site will not just get smaller and larger. It will reorganize itself automatically. Genius! That’s the biggest and most important change, as nearly 65% of you view the blog on tablets and mobile devices. 65%!
• More Photo-Driven: We eat with our eyes. No doubt about it. The newly evolved site will be more focused on photos as you navigate through it. There will be an editorial view, which is what you see on the main page on the desktop screen above. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be able to toggle on a “linear” view, which will allow you to read the blog with every word of every post in chronological order, no clicking required. You can always just bookmark the linear page, if that’s what you prefer!
• Faster Load Times: The site is going to load rocket-speed fast, because all of the photo images are going to be hosted elsewhere. On a food blog, that’s a lot of images!
• Post Archives: You’ll be able to navigate post archives by month, not just by category. So if you want to see what we made last January, or in January 3 years ago, for example, you can do that easily in just a couple clicks.
• Recipe Requests: There will be a form right in the sidebar for making recipe requests! You’ll be able to quickly and easily ask me to create a blog recipe for a favorite food of yours. Be sure to check the Recipe Index first (or use the search function), though, because it might already be in there! I think of it like a really important companion to our Must Make Gluten Free Pinterest Board. I love reader recipe requests!

[*For a higher resolution version of the above image, which will allow you to take a closer look, click on this Better Recipe Index image link.]

• Better Recipe Index: Speaking of the recipe index, it’s going to be new and improved! The photos will be much larger, and the categories and subcategories greatly improved.

So look for the newly evolved site to go live sometime in the next week or so. There are always always always hiccups when a “new” site goes live. If I could avoid the issues, I most certainly would. Instead, I ask that we navigate them together, and you alert me to whatever doesn’t seem to be working. My longtime amazing web designers will be standing by to fix things on the double!

Any questions? Shoot me a comment and I will do my very best to answer!! 

With love and gratitude,
Nicole

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Gluten Free Chicken Fried Chicken

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

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

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

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

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

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

Prep time: 15 minutes       Cook time: 20 minutes       Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

For the chicken
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 5 thinly-cut breasts)

1/4 cup (36 g) superfine gluten free sweet rice flour or rice flour (or basic gum-free blend)

2 eggs (160 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten

2 tablespoons milk (any kind), at room temperature

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 to 4 cups gluten free crackers (I used the recipe for Gluten Free Keebler Town House-Style crackers from Gluten Free Classic Snacks; the Parmesan snack crackers from the blog would work great, too)

Oil for frying (I used a combination of canola oil and nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening)

For the cream gravy
1 1/2 tablespoons (21 g) pan oil (or rendered bacon fat or other flavorful fat)

2 1/2 tablespoons (21 g) basic gluten free gum-free flour blend (14 g superfine white rice flour + 5 g potato starch + 2 g tapioca starch/flour) or superfine gluten free sweet rice flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon mustard powder, plus more to taste

1 cup (8 fluid ounces) milk (any kind), plus more by the tablespoonful

Directions

• Prep the chicken. Place the chicken breasts in a large, zip-top bag, add the sweet rice flour and close the top securely. Shake the bag to coat all sides of every chicken breast in the flour. Set the bag aside. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the baking sheet aside.

• Coat the chicken. In a medium-size shallow bowl or pan, place the eggs, milk, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt and pepper, and beat to combine well. Into a separate, medium-size bowl or pan, crush the crackers with your hands so that there are only a few slightly larger pieces. Set up a dipping station by placing the chicken breasts, then the egg mixture, and finally the crushed crackers, all right next to one another. Place a large piece of bleached parchment paper on top of a cutting board or other flat surface next to the crushed crackers. Open the plastic zip-top bag and, using a fork, remove one piece of flour-coated chicken and dip it in the egg mixture on both sides. Remove the chicken from the egg mixture with the fork, and allow any excess to drip off before placing it in on top of the crushed crackers. Using a separate fork, press the chicken down firmly into the crackers so that the crumbs adhere to the chicken on all sides. Remove the chicken from the crackers with the fork, and place on the parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining pieces of chicken. Allow the chicken to sit for at least 10 minutes so the coating begins to form a thicker paste on the breasts.

• Fry the chicken. Place about 1/2-inch of oil in a large, heavy-bottom skillet over medium heat until the oil shimmers. The oil is ready when a large cracker crumb placed in it bubbles up gently and browns slowly and evenly. If the cracker burns, the oil is too hot. If it doesn’t bubble, it’s too cold. Once the oil has reached the proper temperature (about 350°F, but it is difficult to determine the temperature of oil that is that shallow), place as many pieces of chicken as can fit in the skillet without crowding at all (in a 12-inch skillet, I fit 3 pieces). Fry for 4 minutes completely undisturbed before carefully flipping the breasts over. Fry for another 4 minutes or until evenly golden brown all over. Remove the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate, and repeat with the remaining chicken. Transfer the pieces of chicken to the prepared baking sheet, at least 1-inch apart from one another.

• Finish the chicken in the oven. Place the chicken in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the chicken is opaque throughout.

• Make the cream gravy. While the chicken is finishing in the oven, place the oil or bacon fat in a medium-size, heavy-bottom saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour, salt, pepper and mustard powder, and whisk to combine. The mixture will clump. Continue to whisk until well-combined. Add the milk in a slow trickle, whisking constantly and working out any lumps that form. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens (about 6 minutes). Remove from the heat and add more seasoning to taste. Add more milk by the tablespoon if necessary to thin the gravy to your preferred consistency. Serve the chicken with the cream gravy immediately.

• Adapted from allrecipes.com.

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Easy Gluten Free Oatmeal Muffins

I love a good make-ahead gluten free breakfast. I just … do. Make my weekday mornings easier and I’ll love you forever. Today we’ve got another addition to the line-up, and it’s so simple, healthy and hearty that I predict it will quickly become a family favorite.

I can’t even count how many times I’ve already made these easy gluten free oatmeal muffins. I mean, it’s not like I can’t count that high or anything since that would call my most basic math skills into serious doubt. It’s just that I’ve made them enough times in the last few weeks that I’ve basically lost count—especially since my 3 kids eat them as quickly as I can turn them out. That, and they’re so easy to make that I don’t sweat them, you know? I just throw together a batch (to make the batter takes 5 minutes (really)), wrap ‘em up and forget about them until it’s time for a super busy school day breakfast. I don’t even have to give the kids fruit or anything to go along with these muffins. The fruit is already in there. They can just serve themselves a healthy breakfast. Amen and hallelujah.

Just look at how few ingredients there are! A note about bananas: Bananas, like scallions, Bartlett pears and avocados, are ingredients that you have to catch at just the right moment or have them lost to you forever. And since I loathe throwing out food (who doesn’t?!), here’s how I always have the bananas I need for baking without worry: I buy a bunch, and the moment they reach peak ripeness (for me, that’s yellow with a few freckles), I peel them, chop them into 1-inch chunks and freeze them in a single layer on a lined baking sheet. Then, I pile them into a zip-top bag and return them to the freezer. For a recipe that calls for mashed bananas, like this one, I either let the proper amount of bananas thaw at room temperature or I microwave them for about one minute at 60% power. Then, mash away! This even works when you need diced bananas. And those frozen banana chunks are clearly perfect for smoothies, when the weather is warm.

These easy breakfast muffins are very adaptable, too. Swap out the virgin coconut oil for an equal amount, by weight, of butter (tried it; loved it) or vegetable shortening (tried it; loved it). I haven’t tried straight-up liquid oil, though, and I really don’t recommend even trying olive oil as it’s just too identifiable. You must use bananas, as they give the muffins sweetness and structure, but the dried fruit and/or coconut flakes can be substituted out for any sort of mix-in you like (chocolate chips? go for it!). Even the couple tablespoons of sugar can be left out. Imagine that! I’ve tried them both with and without the sugar (clearly), and I do prefer them with it but you’re the boss, friend.

Prep time: 5 minutes       Cook time: 15 minutes       Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups (225 g) certified gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup (40 g) unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons (20 g) coconut palm sugar (optional!)

1/2 cup (80 g) small dried fruit (I have used raisins, dried cranberries and diced dried apricots)

4 tablespoons (56 g) virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled

2 ripe bananas (200 g), mashed

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

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin and set it aside.

• In a large bowl, place the oats, coconut flakes, salt, cinnamon, optional sugar and dried fruit, and mix to combine well. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the coconut oil, mashed bananas and eggs, mixing to combine after each addition. The batter should be thick, but soft. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared wells of the muffin tin, and smooth the tops with a wet spoon or spatula.

• Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the muffins feel firm when pressed gently in the center (about 15 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. A toothpick can be useful in removing the muffins from the wells. Serve immediately or wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for longer storage. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

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Chocolate Chip Paleo Scones

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

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

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

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

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

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 20 minutes       Yield: 6 generous scones

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (168 g) blanched almond flour*

1 cup (120 g) tapioca starch/flour**, plus more for sprinkling

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 3/4 teaspoons Paleo baking powder (1/2 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon cream of tartar + 1/4 teaspoon starch (arrowroot or tapioca work well))

1/4 cup (40 g) coconut palm sugar

2 ounces miniature dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)

5 tablespoons (60 g) nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening (I use Spectrum Naturals brand)

1/3 cup (2 2/3 fluid ounces) unsweetened almond or coconut milk

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water)

*I recommend using Honeyville brand or Nuts.com brand for a finely ground, blanched almond flour (not almond meal).

**I only recommend buying tapioca starch/flour from Nuts.com or Authentic Foods. Bob’s Red Mill tapioca starch is of inconsistent quality. Do not buy tapioca starch/flour from the Asian food store as it is frequently contaminated.

Directions

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

• In a large bowl, place the almond flour, tapioca starch/flour, salt, baking powder and palm sugar, and whisk to combine well. Add the chocolate chips, and stir to combine. Add the vegetable shortening, toss it in the dry ingredients to coat. With your fingers, as best you can, break up the shortening into chunks about the size of large peas. Create a well in the center of the mixture, add the milk and mix to combine. The dough should come together and be thick but soft.

• Turn out the dough onto a flat surface sprinkled lightly with tapioca starch/flour and press into a disk about 1-inch thick. Using a tapioca starch/flour-floured 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out rounds of dough and place them, about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gather the scraps and cut out more rounds, sprinkling with flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Toss the rounds of dough in more tapioca starch/flour to create a light coating of flour on all sides of each.  This will help the scones keep their shape during baking. Place in the freezer for about 10 minutes or until the shortening is firm. Brush the top and sides of each round sparingly with the egg wash.

• Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the scones are lightly golden brown all over, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before serving.

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Gluten Free Taco Soup

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

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

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

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

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

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (56 g) extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced

5 tablespoons (45 g) basic gum-free gluten free flour blend (30 grams superfine white rice flour + 10 grams potato starch + 5 grams tapioca starch/flour)

1 28-ounce can tomato puree (or whole, peeled tomatoes, pureed with their juices until smooth)

3 ounces (1/2 small can) tomato paste

1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes, with their juices

2 ounces (1/2 can) diced (mild) green chiles

1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) chicken stock

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground chili powder

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, pressed between your fingers and palm to release oils

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts*

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

10 ounces frozen whole kernel corn

1 15-ounce can refried beans**

1/2 cup sour cream, for serving

4 ounces shredded cheese (a combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses is nice), for serving

Crushed gluten free tortilla chips,*** for serving

*In place of chicken, you can serve the soup with 1 pound of lean ground beef, browned in a clean, heavy-bottom skillet until no pink remains.

**If you don’t have refried beans, you can use another 15-ounce can of canned black beans, drained (not rinsed) and pureed.

***I made my own tortilla chips by slicing packaged gluten free corn tortillas into 3-inch x 1 1/2-inch strips, tossing them generously with extra-virgin olive oil and kosher salt, spreading into an even layer on a lined baking sheet and baking them at 375°F for about 10 minute or until lightly golden brown all over. They crisp as they cool.

Directions

• In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent (about 6 minutes). Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and stir to combine. Add the flour blend, and stir frequently until the oil is thickened and the mixture starts to become fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low, and add the tomato puree, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, green chiles, stock, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper, stir to combine well. Raise the heat to medium, and bring the mixture to a simmer.

• Place the chicken breasts in the soup and press them down to submerge them completely in the liquid. Cover the saucepan with the lid, and cook until the chicken is opaque throughout (about 8 minutes, depending upon the thickness of the chicken breasts). Uncover the saucepan, transfer the cooked chicken to a plate or cutting board and shred the chicken with two forks while it’s still warm. If you are serving with ground beef instead of chicken, skip this step and proceed immediately to Step 3.

• Add the black beans, corn and refried beans to the soup, and stir to combine, making sure the refried beans are incorporated fully. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with shredded chicken (or ground beef), sour cream, shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

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D.I.Y. Friday: Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Happy 2015! Let’s ring in this first post of the New Year with a return to our D.I.Y. Friday blog series, okay? Okay!! In case you’re new, this is our Friday blog series in which we D.I.Y. a basic (sometimes naturally gluten free) recipe (like these for homemade hot chocolate mix and white hot chocolate mix) or other ingredient that you otherwise might be inclined to buy. It’ll save you money (cha-ching!) and it’ll almost always be more delicious than its store-bought, packaged counterpart. Hey, maybe it’s your New Year’s Resolution to eat fewer packaged foods?! (Not for nothing but my next cookbook, Gluten Free Classic Snacks, will have a copycat recipe for every brand-name packaged snack under the sun, so get ready for that very soon!)

These are not complicated mixes, of course, but and they’re very easy to put together. More than anything, they’re about the right proportions of ingredients. These … are the right proportions.

If you’re comparing the homemade hot chocolate mix and white hot chocolate mix to, say, Swiss Miss (which in the U.S. is gluten free), you’re in for a treat. The ingredient are, of course, simpler and more wholesome, and the flavor? Well, you just can’t beat it.

So curl up with a good book and pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate. Let’s ring in 2015 … nice and easy.

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 3 minutes       Yield: About 2 cups mix per recipe

Ingredients

Hot Chocolate Mix
3/4 cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)

1/2 cup (48 g) nonfat dry milk, ground into a finer powder (can try substituting blanched almond flour)

2 teaspoons (18 g) gluten free sweet rice flour (or cornstarch, or my basic gum-free gluten free flour blend)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely grated (optional)

Miniature gluten free marshmallows, for serving (optional) (Campfire and Kraft brands in the U.S. are gluten free)

White Hot Chocolate Mix
4 ounces white chocolate, finely grated

1/3 cup (32 g) nonfat dry milk, ground into a finer powder (can try substituting blanched almond flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons (13 g) gluten free sweet rice flour (or cornstarch, or my basic gum-free gluten free flour blend)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar

Miniature gluten free marshmallows, for serving (optional) (Campfire and Kraft brands in the U.S. are gluten free)

For Making Hot Chocolate or White Hot Chocolate
3 tablespoons (36 grams for hot chocolate; 27 grams for white hot chocolate) dry mix

1 cup (8 fluid ounces) milk of choice

Directions

• To make either Mix, combine all of the ingredients for that mix, except for the miniature marshmallows, in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Transfer each separately to a 16-ounce container with a lid, and cover until ready to use. Store sealed at cool room temperature (a dark pantry works well) for at least 2 weeks until ready to use. For longer storage, store in the freezer.

• To make Hot Chocolate from either mix,* place the 3 tablespoons hot chocolate mix or white hot chocolate mix and 1 cup milk in a small, heavy-bottom saucepan and whisk to combine. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the mixture just begins to thicken. Pour into a mug, sprinkle with the optional miniature marshmallows and enjoy immediately.

• *Alternative Method for Making Hot Chocolate: Place the 3 tablespoons dry hot chocolate mix of either kind in a mug. Bring the milk alone to a boil over medium heat to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then pour the hot milk over the 3 tablespoons dry mix in the mug, and mix to combine well. sprinkle with the optional miniature marshmallows and enjoy immediately. This method will yield a thinner result, but it’s a bit quicker and easier.

• Hot chocolate mixes inspired by Gale Gand’s White Chocolate Hot Cocoa Recipe.

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