Gluten Free Gingerbread Men

I can't believe that I am sharing this with you right now. I have perfected the gluten free ginger bread man. After a lot of hard work and experimentation I have finally got it! It all started out from this recipe, and quickly morphed into something of my own.

Those of you who are gluten free know what I am talking about. Finding a gluten free cookie that is easy to roll out with a manageable not sticky not dry dough is nearly impossible! The gluten that's missing usually creates the ease of workability that other wheat doughs have. Without gluten as a binder, gluten free rolled out cookies become something more than a mere challenge, they're downright difficult!

I was not going to let that stop me. And now, I have a wonderful cookie recipe for you. I am so proud of it I can hardly stand it. The gingerbread men flew off of the shelves at the bakery. I'm so glad to be offering the customers a gluten free version of the favorite classic gingerbread men!!

Gluten Free Gingerbread Men

1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

57 grams organic palm oil shortening (time to get a food scale!)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup molasses

To make gluten free gingerbread men:

1. Combine flours, spices and leaveners in a small bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, cream sugar with shortening until light and fluffy. Add molasses and beat again.

3. Beat dry ingredients into wet ingredients until a dough begins to form.

4. Pull dough from the beaters, form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refridgerate for at least two hours, or until cold. You can also use the freezer for a shorter period of time.

5. After the dough has chilled, take it from the fridge and roll it out on some plastic wrap that has been sprinkled with GF flour. Cut out with the cookie cutter and gently lift the cookie onto a Silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. It is best to work the dough in smaller batches.

6. Bake in a 325 degree convection oven for about 10 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven when they have risen, slightly browned on the bottom and are firm to the touch.

7. Enjoy! Spread icing on the tops, this is purely optional.

You know what I just realized? These are vegan! Gluten free and vegan! That was completely unintentional! In fact, it should satisfy a good amount of people. I am quite proud of this recipe, especially since the dough is SO easy to work with. Please please enjoy and tell me what you think!


I'm off to go whip some of these up for the bakery (after my morning work at the bakery, of course)! They are so fun to make :) 


What's your favorite cookie??

Plans

Look at this mess!

One day this past week I set out to make a roasted vegetable dish featuring the left over egg whites I had in my fridge. Something similar to a fritatta, but not started on the stove. A few minutes into the preparation process as the dish was evolving I found out that my original plan was not going to happen, and the dish starting going in a WHOLE new direction.

This seems to happen to me quite often! Most of the times good dishes result, and I find that if I follow my intuition, or go with my "gut" everything usually turns out ok. It's the times when I ignore the voice that says "I know you want to add another cup, but it should really only be a tablespoon" the dish goes awry.  I love to experiment in the kitchen, so winging it is always a source of enjoyment for me.

Here's the dish I threw together! It was really fun to make. Thank you MOM for doing the dishes!!

Zucchini Red Pepper Spice Casserole

4 eggs

8 egg whites - unbeaten

2 medium vadalia onions - shredded in the food processor

2 large zucchini - halved, seeded and shredded in the food processor

2 red peppers - shredded in the food processor

1/2 cup herbed sour cream (mine was Wallaby organic sour cream (delicious) and a local homemade herb spice packet)

1 tsp salt

hint of: smoked paprika, garlic powder, nutmeg, cayenne

To make the casserole:

1. Prepare veggies in the food processor. Shredding onions first, place in a dish towel and wring out the liquid. Spread the shreds on the bottom of a sprayed glass baking dish.

2. Shred the zucchini, transfer to another dish towel and wring out the liquid. Place the shred of one zucchini on top of the onions, and the other place in a bowl.

3. Shred red peppers and add to the zucchini bowl.

4. Scoop out your sour cream on top of the red peppers and zucchini; add spices and mix together.

5. Pour egg whites over the onion and zucchini layer. Make four little places in each corner and crack eggs into each one- do not break the yolk. 

6. Spoon the creamy red pepper and zucchini mixture around the eggs.

Right before the oven!

Do you like to wing it in the kitchen? What dishes do you usually throw together without a plan, (or a changed plan?? :)

Basil Buddies!

Meet my basil plants!

The one on the left is named Burton, he's from Whole foods.

He's been with me for a few weeks now and is doing fairly well.

And this is Churchill (on the right), the new addition! He's from a nice lady from the craft fair in town. He's much bigger than Burton, but they still get along fine. They are having no problems sharing the sunny window sill so far.

Their basil leaves helped me to make my delicious grain free gluten free crackers. They are also having a splendid time doing photosynthesis in my kitchen.

I decided to buy some herb plants this summer, why not!? They are pretty and practical. I don't know about you, but I always get a little frustrated when a recipe has about 10 different herbs and spices. Yes, I understand how critical each one is in the balance of flavor, but it doesn't make it easy! Having a few herb plants around will enable me to knock off a few recipes on my list that I keep putting off because I never have fresh herbs. I hate buying fresh herbs too at the store because they come in packets that are either too big to use at once, or they are cut and not "fresh" looking at all. At Whole Foods a few weeks ago I also bough

I am planning on making some basic basil pesto with my plants leaves. I have never made any pesto before, and I want to make the most classic recipe before branching out. I've had pine nuts in my pantry patiently waiting for over a year now (has it been that long?!) This weekend my mom and I are planning a shopping trip (and shopping is conveniently located to our closest Whole Foods, which is over an hour away!) so I will be able to purchase some good parmesan cheese. Presto Pesto!

The weather today is not soo good. Where is the sun for my lovely planties!?