Okay. So now I am going to wander about DV Community and have some fun before I head back to the kitchen to bake gingerbread house number 3, which we are decorating this weekend with my nephew, niece-in-law, grandniece and two grandnephews. I did get the 2 yr old grandnephew a kit house he can decorate any way he wants to.
Wow that is AMAZING!!! You're so talented! Best I can do is a candy train cake but I don't really bake as I avoid sugar (my maternal family unfortunately comprises of a number diabetics).
We're unconventional for Christmas as we have Peking duck (I was born in a tropical country in the far east) rather than turkey but we've been serving mulled wine 3 times a week since middle of November! LOL!
Thank you! I have served duckling with 3 different sauce choices for Thanksgiving before and goose for Christmas before, but never Peking duck. Lately we tend to go with Christmas ham. Hubby loves it so and then he gets his split pea soup I make from the ham as well. I hope this year that I can create some tasty raw,vegan goodies for me for Christmas dinner that I can eat while the rest of the family pigs out (pun intended, lol).
Loajoy this gingerbread house is just so beautiful and tempting - like in the Hansel and Gretel story - great work. But if I had one, I wouldn t eat it, just keep it to look at it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! You actually CAN save these and use them for several years. First you spray the entire house, a small piece at a time, with artist's fixative. As you spray each area, you can sprinkle it with prismatic glitter and it really adds a nice touch. Each year, you just refresh with a quick spray of fixative and a light sprinkling of glitter. I haven't had anyone report back that ants or other critters were a problem. I'm guessing the fixative spray takes care of that. The usual issue is that someone drops it
Loajoy, they are just wonderful! Love all the detail work you do. Had to laugh at the stone corner fence posts, they look just like the ones people out here use all the time, except yours' look much nicer. Will have to see if I can remember to snap a pic of one the next time we go out and it isn't pouring. You should be very proud of these, they really are works of art.
Your gingerbread houses make me want to build one this year. Our granddaughter will not be with us this year, though, so I'll have to put off the urge until next year.
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher
Debra GCID Granny Debs
My dragons love sharing the party wealth with new friends, but all the gems are spoken for. New friends are welcome, but no gems are left to shar
Hi. Sorry about the delay in posting these recipes. A couple of them, though they worked for me last year, didn't turn out right this time. I had to try a second batch of each and it slowed me down.
Problems have been resolved, recipes have been baked, tasted, and approved by a gluten eater, my husband, who is a picky perfectionist with the ability to critique my cooking with amazing objectivity and impartiality, never sparing of my feelings. Brutally honest.
I baked Peppermint Spirals and Lemon Squares, Roll-Out Sugar Cookies and Almond Crescents, all of them Christmas essentials since my earliest memories of my grandma's house. These are her recipes, tweaked for GF considerations.
I used the three flours listed in the recipe. You may substitute GF all-purpose flour.
GF Rolled Sugar Cookies Yields approx. 30 cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional, but good; try lemon, too) 2 tsp gluten-free vanilla extract 1 large egg 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 1/3 cup white rice flour 2/3 cup tapioca starch 2/3 cup potato starch or flour 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Directions: Preheat oven to 350°F; line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, beat the softened butter and sugar until fully incorporated. Reduce the speed to low and add the extracts and the egg. Mix just until blended. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the salt, baking powder, rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and xanthan gum. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix just until the dough comes together. Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and wrap tightly before refrigerating for at least 1 hour. This will help your butter to solidify and help your cookies to keep their shape while baking. When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with a quarter of the dough at a time, roll the dough to about 3/8-inch thick between two sheets of plastic wrap, dusting with a small amount of sweet rice flour if necessary. Cut to desired shapes and place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2-inches between cookies. You can re-roll the scraps until all the dough has been used. Bake in preheated oven for 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. The cookies should just barely be turning brown around the edges, and have just a light brown colour on the bottom of the cookie. Let cookies sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating with icing or storing in an air-tight container.
Peppermint Spirals
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional, but good; try lemon, too) 2 tsp peppermint extract (more, if you really like peppermint) 1 large egg 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 1/3 cup white rice flour 2/3 cup tapioca starch 2/3 cup potato starch or flour 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F; line baking sheets with parchment paper
Divide the dough in half, keep one half well-wrapped in cling film. To the half still in the bowl, add red food color until you reach the shade of red you desire. If you're using paste or gel coloring, remember that the shade will deepen as it sits unbaked. Wrap red half of dough and let both colors chill for at least 4 hours, overnight is even better. When you are ready to bake, take the dough from the fridge and let it warm until you can handle it without bits crumbling off. Roll out the uncolored dough on a sheet of silicone or a perfectly smooth sheet of cling film to a rectangle about 3/8 inch thick. Set this aside. Repeat with the red dough. Place the plain dough on your work surface. Very carefully, unfold the red dough from the silicone onto the plain dough. You can adjust edges of the red dough, move small pieces and finger-press them to cover holes. Trim the stacked layers to form a regular-edged rectangle. Starting with the short end nearest to you, lift the silicone under the lower layer, letting the layers of dough roll free of the silicone into a log, like cinnamon rolls. Wrap it in cling wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Return the roll to your work surface. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so, until it yields to the edge of a sharp knife without crumbling. Cut 1/4 inch slices, one at a time, moving each slice to your baking sheet before cutting the next.
Bake for 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness.
GF Lemon Squares
Ingredients
This recipe was first tried with a GF flour blend I found online. I first used it last Christmas, and now use it for any recipes calling for GF all-purpose blend. I have not used it for breads, just cookies and cakes.
NOTE: The all-purpose gluten-free flour mix that I use is from thebakingbeauties.com GF blog. It is as follows: 4 cups superfine brown rice flour 1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour)* 2/3 cup tapioca starch
* I know it specifies potato STARCH over potato FLOUR. There is a lot of confusion over this issue in GF baking, as with cornflour and cornstarch. I might explain it later, if anyone cares. The important thing right now is that I used potato flour, not starch, because flour is what I had in the pantry. I'm not sure what the difference would have been with starch, but I was happy with the results I got using flour.
I cut this recipe in half, for just the two of us. Bake it in an 8-9" square pan. The amounts below are for a full 9 x 13" batch. For the crust:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (see Note) 1/2 tsp xanthan gum pinch salt For the Filling:
7 large eggs, at room temperature 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 Tbsp grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons) 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I needed 6 lemons to get 1 cup) 1 cup GF all-purpose flour blend Confectioners’ Sugar for dusting Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, so the paper rises up the sides (I had it run up the 13″ sides, and left the 9″ sides bare). (This will make removing the squares much easier, as you can lift them out once they are cooled.) For the crust, in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour & salt, and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture while the mixer is on low. Mix just until it is combined. Dump the dough into your 9×13-inch pan, and using hands dusted with gluten-free flour, press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Leave the oven on. While the crust is baking, you can prepare the filling. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and gluten-free flour. Pour over your pre-baked crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature. To remove from pan, cut along 9″ edges, and use the parchment paper to lift the bars out to a cutting board. Using a sifter or wire sieve, dust the top of the bars with confectioners’ sugar. Cut into squares, and serve.
Almond Crescents
INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup butter 2/3 cup ground blanched almonds 1 2/3 cups GF flour blend, as above 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tsp xanthan gum 1 tsp almond extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup confectioners' sugar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F; line baking sheets with parchment paper
Mix together shortening, butter and almonds. Sift in flour, salt and xanthan gum. Add almond and vanilla extracts. Chill dough until firm. Roll dough with hands into 3 inch lengths, pencil thick. Form into crescents on baking sheet. Bake until just slightly brown -- about 16 minutes. Cool on the baking sheets. While still slightly warm, carefully dip in confectioner's sugar. These are extremely fragile cookies -- handle with care!
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher
Debra GCID Granny Debs
My dragons love sharing the party wealth with new friends, but all the gems are spoken for. New friends are welcome, but no gems are left to shar
Deb--thank you so much for these recipes! They sound wonderful with some of my favorite flavors, can't wait to try them! I'm not sure I understand about the potato flour/starch substitution. Are you saying it seems to be okay to use whichever one you happen to have in that recipe? If you don't mind clarifying this, I would appreciate it. This is so great to be able to maybe have some special treats this time of year, especially.
Deb--thank you so much for these recipes! They sound wonderful with some of my favorite flavors, can't wait to try them! I'm not sure I understand about the potato flour/starch substitution. Are you saying it seems to be okay to use whichever one you happen to have in that recipe? If you don't mind clarifying this, I would appreciate it. This is so great to be able to maybe have some special treats this time of year, especially.
You are most welcome, Jeanette.
I've read a lot about the different flour replacements, but I haven't read enough, obviously. Everything I've read makes big distinctions between starches and flours of the same vegetable source, but I've just never got around to looking for WHY that is.
With cornstarch and cornflour, the difference is in language usage, with cornstarch being the form used in the US. In the UK, the word "cornflour" means the same thing as our "cornstarch".
Related to potato, however, you will see potato starch, potato flour and potato starch flour. Recipes often use one or the other most emphatically, and I have tried them all as directed and got the expected result. That batch of cookies was the first time I have used flour where starch was explicitly called for. The result was as I expected, no different from using the recommended starch.
To answer you, I had to go looking for information about starch vs flour. Here it is, from about.com:
Potato starch flour, also known as "potato starch," is a key ingredient in Scandinavian baking. Since wheat flour was for a long time a luxury item in Scandinavia, difficult to grow and normally thus imported from warmer climes, Scandinavians depended much more heavily upon the hardier potato starches and flours they could produce locally.
Unlike potato flour (which because of its strong potato flavor and heavier weight should never be substituted for potato starch in baked goods), potato starch flour / potato starch has a neutral taste, and is an excellent choice for thickening sauces, gravies, stews, and soups. It also produces superior flour-free sponge cakes, for it absorbs and retains moisture to a far greater degree than wheat flour and produces cakes with a lighter texture.
Potato starch flour / potato starch is gluten-free (unlike some brands of potato flour, which may contain wheat). A corn-free kosher ingredient, it is also typically used by Jewish cooks in place of flour and cornstarch during Passover.
Most American grocery stores and specialty Scandinavian markets carry the Swan brand of potato starch, marketed as "Potato Starch Flour." Ener-G markets it as "Potato Starch Flour" as well. You can also find it labeled as "Potato Starch" from distributors including Bob's Red Mill, Manischewitz, Barry Farm, and Authentic Foods.
Thanks for asking. I have always wondered, but been too lazy to look it up. <embarrassed> Now, we both know! ;-)
"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher
Debra GCID Granny Debs
My dragons love sharing the party wealth with new friends, but all the gems are spoken for. New friends are welcome, but no gems are left to shar
Hubby found a Gluten-Free Peanut Butter cookie recipe in the paper this morning. That is one of my favorites, so he had my attention. He has always said he intends to spend more time in the kitchen once he retires, so he had a practice run and gave the recipe a try. They are fantastic! No special flours, all stuff you probably already have in the kitchen.
GLUTEN-FREE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES 1c Sugar 1c Peanut Butter 1 Egg 1t Vanilla 1/2c Crushed Peanuts 1. Preheat oven to 325°F 2. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, peanut butter, egg and vanilla until well blended. 3. Form cookies using a small scoop, place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each cookie and make a criss-cross pattern with form tines. Sprinkle with peanuts. 4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 24
200 g Teff grass flour (used a lot in glutenfree baking) 200 g fine glutenfree flour mix 1,5 ts (teaspoon) dried yeast 1 ts salt 3 tbs sunflower oil (or similar) 50 ml flax seeds 1 carrot chopped 600 ml cold water
Mix the dry stuff
Blend the seeds, carrot and 300 ml ofthe water until smooth. I used a blender.
Add this seed carrot fudge to the dry stuff together with the oil and the remaining water. Mix until smooth. I did it manually.
Leave it covered to rise for 2 hours. I put it in my stove at about 30-40 degrees (celsius).
Then I added some oil and made 9 pieces with a spatula.
Leave them to rise for another half hour. Then bake them for 20-25 mins, 240 degrees (celsius).
Waiting for them to finish as we speak. Late breakfast soon. Hungry kids!
Last Edit: Mar 16, 2013 3:42:26 GMT -6 by khaleesi
Post by LilMissNea on Mar 18, 2013 19:18:03 GMT -6
Some great recipes! Want to try the gluten free cookies!
Made a new dish tonight and thought it was great!
Homemade chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce
10 tortillas 2 cups cooked chicken shredded (I boiled breast from Costco with some seasoning until I could shred it) 2 cups montery jack cheese 3 tbs butter 3 tbs flour 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup sour cream 1 4oz can of diced green chilies
Pre heat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 pan Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese, roll up in tortillas, place in pan In sauce pan melt butter, add flour, whisk cook 1 min. Add broth, whisk until smooth. Heat over med heat until thick and bubbly Stir in sour cream and chilies, don't boil, the sour cream will curdle Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese Bake 22 min broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.
1/2 C Whole Pitted Dates, soaked in 4 tblspns hot water 15 minutes in small pot (I used 7 pitted medjool dates) 1/4 Tsp. Sea Salt 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda 1 C Blanched Almond Flour 1/4 C Cocoa Powder 2 Large Eggs 1/2 C Smooth Almond Butter 3 Tbsp Honey 2 Tsp. Pure Vanilla 1 Tbsp. Melted Coconut Oil (or preferred oil) 1/4 C Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (I prefer the Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line and grease an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 in pan with foil and set aside.
3. Add the almond flour, soda, salt, and cocoa powder in bowl and mix until all the dry ingredients are well blended.
4. Add eggs, almond butter, honey, and coconut oil to the softened dates . Mix until well blended, scraping down the bowl as necessary. (Use hand mixer) can add another tblsp of hot water if needed - dough will be thick.
5. Add the chocolate chips.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Batter will be very thick, use a wet spatchula or hands to spread in pan. Can sprinkle a few choc chips on top!
1/2 C Whole Pitted Dates, soaked in 4 tblspns hot water 15 minutes in small pot (I used 7 pitted medjool dates) 1/4 Tsp. Sea Salt 1/2 Tsp. Baking Soda 1 C Blanched Almond Flour 1/4 C Cocoa Powder 2 Large Eggs 1/2 C Smooth Almond Butter 3 Tbsp Honey 2 Tsp. Pure Vanilla 1 Tbsp. Melted Coconut Oil (or preferred oil) 1/4 C Dairy Free Chocolate Chips (I prefer the Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips)
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Line and grease an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 in pan with foil and set aside.
3. Add the almond flour, soda, salt, and cocoa powder in bowl and mix until all the dry ingredients are well blended.
4. Add eggs, almond butter, honey, and coconut oil to the softened dates . Mix until well blended, scraping down the bowl as necessary. (Use hand mixer) can add another tblsp of hot water if needed - dough will be thick.
5. Add the chocolate chips.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Batter will be very thick, use a wet spatchula or hands to spread in pan. Can sprinkle a few choc chips on top!
Thank you Raven! Try top it with Rocky Road and it will reach even higher awesomeness. I finnaly managed to make an awesome cake gluten, egg and milk free because of Rocky Road! Yay!!!
Post by evilxbunnehxmaiden on Mar 21, 2013 13:43:48 GMT -6
Here's a recipe from The Poor College Student Kitchen! Its super fast and cheap to make (both pluses for me!)
BBQ Quesadillas
Ingredients: shredded cheese of your choice (I like a mix of Mexican 4 cheese blend & jepper jack) 2 tortillas BBQ sauce of your choice butter
1. Butter one side of a tortilla, put it in your pan (butter side down) 2. Pour desired amount of BBQ sauce on the tortilla in the pan. Spread it around so its even 3. Load on your cheese 4. Butter one side of your other tortilla and put it on top of your pile of deliciousness (butter side up this time) 5. Cook on medium-high heat until the tortillas are a crispy brown
If you have any leftover chicken, you can throw that in too, but its pretty amazing even without the meat.
We don't measure much in the Poor College Student Kitchen. Its time consuming. Haha. If it looks right and tastes right, then it is!!
Here's a recipe from The Poor College Student Kitchen! Its super fast and cheap to make (both pluses for me!)
BBQ Quesadillas
Ingredients: shredded cheese of your choice (I like a mix of Mexican 4 cheese blend & jepper jack) 2 tortillas BBQ sauce of your choice butter
1. Butter one side of a tortilla, put it in your pan (butter side down) 2. Pour desired amount of BBQ sauce on the tortilla in the pan. Spread it around so its even 3. Load on your cheese 4. Butter one side of your other tortilla and put it on top of your pile of deliciousness (butter side up this time) 5. Cook on medium-high heat until the tortillas are a crispy brown
If you have any leftover chicken, you can throw that in too, but its pretty amazing even without the meat.
We don't measure much in the Poor College Student Kitchen. Its time consuming. Haha. If it looks right and tastes right, then it is!!
'... overwhelming goodwill, and witty humour, profound grace and compassion blended with the spice of relentless taunts.'
Note: This is an independent forum and is not affiliated with Deca Games, the developer of DragonVale.
It was created by and is managed by DragonVale fanatics.
All who observe the following brief guidelines are welcome to this great community: no personal attacks & no spam.