Sugar Cookies

What's Halloween without sugar cookies?  Really, it would be the pits if I couldn't make myself sick from eating why too many of these scrumptious morsels...so, I made them and they are pretty dang good.  So good, in fact, that I made myself sick from eating too many of them. :)  The recipe is from gfutah.org, they really have an excellent selection of recipes. The dough is perfect to work with, just like sugar cookie dough should be...it's soft, doesn't crumble, easy to roll out and cut out shapes--and the shapes are easily moved to the cookie sheet for baking! It's perfect!  The cookies themselves are nice and soft, just the way I like them....so, enjoy!

Sugar Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dairy-free sour cream(I used the Tofutti brand)

Directions

1. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well. 
2. Mix together dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture with sour cream; mix until smooth. Cover bowl and chill bowl at least 1 hour.  
3. On rice floured surface, roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes.  
4. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 F for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not over bake. 
5. Remove cookies to wire rack to cool. Frost with GFCF butter cream frosting; color frosting if desired.    

Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies

Work Halloween Party

We are now in the party season, with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years approaching you are bound to be out and about surround by food.  Yesterday was exactly that for me.  We had a little Halloween party at work, and it was a blast.  It was a potluck menu with a sign up sheet for meat, sides, dessert, etc.  I signed up to bring some pulled pork so I would know that it was safe to consume and also a dessert, because I knew if I didn't bring a dessert, chances were I would get to eat one.  For the pulled pork I used the McCormick Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning pack to make the pulled pork, amazingly good, and amazingly easy--and it's gluten-free/dairy-free! I brought my own hamburger bun, so I could enjoy it as a sandwich.  And amazingly almost all of the side dishes were gluten-free/dairy-free, so I got to enjoy those as well (potato salad, green salad, and chips).  Of course, dessert was the main culprit of gluten and dairy, so I was so happy I brought my own--and they were a huge hit!  Remember the eyeball candy I made for my kids?  Yeah, they are a hit with grown-ups, too. Below is a picture of them:

This is proof that you can have a wonderful meal away from home, at a potluck event and be totally fine.  Just make sure that you cover your bases and bring alternatives (i.e. buns, rolls, desserts) for things you know you won't be able to consume. 

White Chili

It's raining...fall is definitely here, so I need some soup or chili or something.  I found this white chili recipe and figured today would be a perfect day to try it out.  It was wonderful, it's not quite as thick as a chili, so its more like a green chili chicken soup, but still, absolutely fantastic.  The recipe is also below, just in case the link ever stops working, or you are like me and just don't feel like clicking on the link. ;)

White Chili

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
2 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used just under 1/4 teaspoon myself)
3 15-ounce cans great northern beans, rinsed
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used chicken stock for a deeper flavor)
4 cups diced cooked skinless turkey, or chicken
2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in chiles, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Stir in beans and broth; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Add turkey (or chicken) and vinegar; cook for 5 minutes more. Yields 6 servings.  The soup freezes well, also.

Homemade Halloween Candy

Why can't gluten-free/casein-free candy be awesome?  Why does everyone have to point out that we can't have any good sweets anymore?  We actually can, there's plenty of sweets out there, I know I consume way too much.  Not only that, you can make some pretty fantastic treats for your little ones (or just for yourself ;) ) as well.  Since Halloween is coming up, I thought it would be a perfect time to adapt my chocolates to our new diet, and give them a fun twist, so my boys will not miss out on any of the 'fun' candy.

Eyeballs (Peanut Butter Balls)
2 cups smooth peanut butter
1 cup dairy-free margarine, softened
5 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
In a bowl, combine peanut butter and butter and stir until evenly blended. Add the powdered sugar and stir until the mixture has the consistency of sticky play dough.

Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls and set them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Put the baking sheet in the fridge or freezer until the peanut butter balls are chilled and solid (1hr for fridge, 5-10 minutes in freezer). You can store these in the fridge or freezer until you are ready for them.



To make eyeballs, cover them in white homemade marshmallow fondant (recipe below) or dip them in dairy-free white chocolate.  Add an iris (I used blue fondant) and a pupil (I used black fondant, you could use dairy-free choc. chips as well). Make the eyes bloodshot by painting the vessels on with red food coloring and a toothpick. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: >80, depending on how big you make the candies.

Ghosts ('Oreo' or K-too Truffles)
2  8 oz packages Kinnikinnick K-too chocolate sandwich cookies 
8 oz Tofutti cream cheese substitute

(Sorry this is blurry, my camera wasn't cooperating and I gave up)

Directions:
Crush 1 package K-too's in a food processor or with a rolling pin. Mix in the softened cream cheese until well blended. Place in fridge for 30 minutes to chill. When chilled roll into bolls and put back in fridge until firm.

To make ghosts, roll out a ~1" marshmallow fondant ball to 1/8" thickness, cover and pinch 4 corners to make the ghost.  Either use black fondant or black decorator's gel to make eyes and mouth. Store in refrigerator.

Yield: >60, depending on how big you make them.

Note:  With both of these fillings, you can dip them in dairy-free chocolate and have chocolates.  Each recipe needs about two 12 oz packages of chocolate chips. I actually add 2-3 tablespoons of shortening to the chocolate to make it a better dipping chocolate.

Marshmallow Fondant
I actually got this recipe here, but I'm also putting the recipe below, so if ever the link doesn't work anymore, I still have the recipe. :) This is enough fondant for one cake or for a bunch of candies. :) 

16 ounces white mini marshmallows
2 -5 tablespoons water
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/2 cup shortening (you will be digging into it so place in a very easily accessed bowl)

Directions: 

1. Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave or double boiler: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted.
2. It usually takes about 2 ½ minutes total. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix.
3. Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY - palms, backs and in between fingers, then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle.
4. Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands.
5. Keep kneading, this stuff is sticky at this stage! Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more.
6. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant is sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about ½ tablespoon at a time then knead it in). It usually takes me about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.
7. Its best if you can let it sit, double wrapped, overnight (but you can use it right away if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar). If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water.
8. Prepare the fondant for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic- type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible.
9. MM Fondant will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks.

Kinnikinnick English Muffins -- Review

Yes, more kinnikinnick to review, but it really is a good brand for the most part, so it's definitely worth trying their products.  My mother-in-law bought these english muffins for us and most of them will be used to make mini pizzas for the boys at day care, but I did want to test them out as well, so I did.

I was a bit worried after trying their bread, but was pleasantly surprised.  It's definitely not a english muffin by any means, more like a chewy hamburger bun, it it's still statisfying.  I think that it may be the same recipe as the bread, or at least similar, but having it in a muffin/bun form definitely gives it a different texture, it doesn't crumble like the bread did--but I really think that's because it's not sliced bread.

I first tried it toasted with freshly made plum jam on top and it was so yummy!  I then used another muffin for 2 mini pizzas for Dominic and I (so yes, they had Daiya cheese on top).  I think that was the best gluten-free pizza I've had, and it was so stinking easy.  I thawed the muffins, split it, and toasted it.  Then topped it with pizza sauce and the cheese and put it under the broiler for a couple minutes.  This will be my new go to lunch for the boys when we need something quick.

Overall Rating 8 out of 10  They are not english muffins in taste and texture, but they still are tasty and work really, really well for min pizzas, so I will be buying these again.