Friday five

Time for another Friday five.  So many blessings and so many things to be thankful for, it is hard to know where to begin.  So I guess I'll just jump in.

1.  Happy mail!  Last weekend, a friend on Instagram (@justbeeing_maryjane) offered some of her unused journals to followers -- she posted pictures of the journals with a number on each one.  If we saw one we liked, we were to message her ... the first one to reply would receive that particular journal.  I chose one and Mary Jane messaged me when it was on the way.  I expected a journal in a mailer ... wow, was it ever so much more than that. 

Back of journal I chose

Front of journal

The journal was packaged inside a sweet yellow-checked bag sealed with a pumpkin sticker.  And there was the most gorgeous autumn-themed card made by Mary Jane herself.  The details on this card are so lovely -- the tiny leaf punched out at the lower right corner, and the adorable wooden leaf tied near the top with a bit of baker's twine, and more.

To say that this happy mail made my day would be a huge understatement.  Thanks again so much, Mary Jane!

2.  Buttercup squash from a friend's garden, dropped on my porch this week.  She had five extra and asked if I could use some.  Not wanting to be selfish, I asked for two.  (I had one on hand which I'd purchased at the supermarket.)  My husband's take on this: "I would have asked for all five."  We love buttercup squash -- it's our absolute favorite.

Just a generic photo of squash, pumpkins and gourds from Pixabay

3.  Fall cooking.  It was so nice to make an oven meal this week.  Turkey loaf, baked potatoes, baked buttercup squash.  And on Sunday, for guests, I made Creamy White Chicken Chili in the slow cooker, served with gluten free buttermilk cornbread muffins.  Oh, and another night we had this Roasted Squash Medley with leftover meat loaf.  Love being able to serve these heartier foods after such a long hot summer in which one just didn't want to use the oven or serve hot meals.

White chicken chili

4.  Getting out for a walk every day this week.  This is a biggie!  Several days there was a cold wind blowing, and yesterday snow pellets were stinging our faces, but it was better than the heat and humidity of previous months.  So grateful for a congenial walking companion and a scenic walking route.

Part of our walking route

5.  The thoughtfulness of cousins.  Recently the curtains at our beloved family cottage had to be replaced.  With colorful folk-art motifs, these had been chosen by my grandmother in the 1950s and had a special place in the memories of many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  My cousin W. and his wife C. framed pieces of the aging and irreplaceable curtain fabric as keepsakes, and even made some pretty sachets from the smaller pieces.  Such a thoughtful gesture!

Framed curtain fabric

Sweet sachets.  I plan on sharing mine with my daughters.

Our beloved family summer place

There you have this week's Friday five.  I could have shared much more.  It's such a blessing to see God's goodness in our lives each and every day!

Gluten free cranberry orange muffins

Photo from Pixabay

 For quite some time I've had "bake GF muffins" on my list.  I like to keep a container of them in the freezer to heat for a quick breakfast with coffee some mornings.  I don't have to eat gluten free, but I just feel better when I do.  I went entirely gluten free for about 3 years and was simply amazed to find that after several months, the hip pain I'd been experiencing went completely away.  Now I find that I can eat some gluten, but I quickly know if I'm overdoing it, because my joints ache.  I use gluten free pasta (the Ronzoni is the best and most economical, in my book) and pretty much any baked goods I prepare at home will be gluten free.  For cookies, cakes, muffins, and biscuits, I like to use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour* because it means I can just use my old favorite recipes, substituting this cup-for-cup for regular flour.

That's what I did with these Cranberry Orange Muffins that are an old favorite I blogged about in 2007.  These muffins also have some cornmeal in them, which is a nice bonus.  I didn't have any oranges on hand, so I used a bit of pure orange extract in place of the orange rind.  I think I used about a half teaspoon, but a little more wouldn't have hurt.  I also used dried cranberries that were already julienned so that I wouldn't need to bother chopping them.  I had bought a package of these to use in cookies, but there were some left over, so this was the perfect use for those.

These came out so well using the gluten free baking flour!  I have a container of the muffins in my freezer right now, and plan to bake more for our coffee time at church this Sunday.  Hope you will enjoy these muffins, either gluten free or regular, if you try them!

 * Don't try to use this flour for yeast breads or pizza.  It won't work and you will be sadly disappointed. 

From the November archives, part 2

Taken in Nevada, October 2010

As promised, I'm back with a second post from the November archives.  Two recipes and a more thoughtful post concerning time. 

Fiesta Sweet Potato Soup is a big favorite at our house.  Black beans, spicy sausage, tomatoes with chilies -- it's a great combination of flavors.  It's a very warming soup just perfect for winter evenings.

Best Gluten Free Pizza Crust  may not be everyone's idea of the very best, but we like it a lot.  A good gluten free pizza crust isn't easy to find.  We often make a veggie pizza with pesto sauce and it's great with this crust.  It's an adaptation of a gluten free focaccia bread recipe.

Lastly,  this post is a good reminder for me in this busy season.  I hope it encourages you, too.  A moment to catch my breath is an account of how God gave me just that, in a very unlikely place.  For tomorrow's Hodgepodge, one of the questions Joyce has posed concerns "me time."  This post sort of fits with my answer to that.

One more post from the November archives on Thursday.  Then, can you believe it, we're headed into December!  Yikes.

Two pies for Thanksgiving

... one new, one tried and true!

Yesterday at church we had a harvest dinner theme to our potluck.  One lady cooked a turkey and  others brought fantastic side dishes, salads, and pies.  For my pie contributions, I used one old favorite recipe and one that was brand new to me.

The old favorite was this

CRUMB TOP APPLE PIE

1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt

Unbaked 9” pie shell
6 apples, peeled, cored, sliced
Lemon juice

Crumb topping:
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Dash of salt
1/2 cup butter (may try using less; I think I've used as little as 1/3 cup before)

Begin by mixing together the brown sugar and spices in a small bowl. In the pie shell, alternate layers of apples with the spice mixture. Sprinkle each layer with lemon juice before adding another layer. When all apples and spices are in pie shell, make the topping by mixing the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and dash of salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until crumbs form. Top the pie with the crumb topping.

Bake the pie at 450º for 15 minutes; then reduce the heat to 350º and bake 30 minutes more. Serve warm if desired with cheddar cheese or ice cream on the side.  (For the potluck, I served it at room temperature and did not serve with either ice cream or cheese.  Every scrap of this pie was eaten!)

This excellent pie comes from Jane & Michael Stern’s wonderful cookbook, Square Meals. I have made this pie so many times that its page in my handwritten cookbook is freckled with apple juice and spices!

Now don't look at the several steps and decide this is too complicated.  It's actually very easy.  The hardest part is peeling, coring, and slicing the apples.  Once you get that solved (which I sometimes do by using one of those hand-cranked peeling/slicing/coring gadgets) it is literally as easy as pie.   My only quarrel with those gadgets is that they slice the apples a bit too thin, which can make for a mushy pie.

 🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂    🍁    🍂

The new recipe is Cape Cod Cranberry Pie, which I found in the Gooseberry Patch book Christmas Pantry.   This is made in a pie pan and slices fairly easily into wedges; still, I suppose it is not technically a pie for one makes no actual crust.  Still, it was delicious and I will definitely make this again for it was so easy.  I made this pie gluten-free simply by substituting the Bob's Red Mill 1-for-1 flour.    Here's the recipe:

CAPE COD CRANBERRY PIE

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 - 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour (regular, or gluten free)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Spray a 9-inch deep dish pie pan with non-stick baking spray.  Place cranberries in prepared pie pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup sugar and the walnuts; stir to combine.  In a bowl, mix remaining 1 cup sugar, melted butter, flour, eggs, and vanilla with a whisk (I used a hand mixer).  Pour this batter over the cranberry mixture in the pie plate.  Bake at 325º for 45 minutes or until brown.

Another time, I may cut down on the sugar in the batter part of the recipe.  I think 3/4 cup would be plenty.  The recipe also called for 1/4 cup of oil, but I didn't use it.  I felt that oil was unnecessary since there is quite a bit of butter in the recipe already.  It turned out very well and I will make this again, likely at Christmas time.

If  you needed some fresh inspiration for Thanksgiving pies, I hope you have found some here today!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Photo from Faithfully Gluten Free

Lately I just haven't seemed to have a lot of interest in baking.  Maybe it has to do with all of the baking I did over the Christmas season!  But on Thursday I noticed a couple of overripe bananas on the counter and decided to find something simple to do with them.

I checked my folder of gluten-free recipes and, lo and behold, there was one for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  I'd made these before and knew they were good.  I had a friend coming by for tea on Friday morning, plus I knew my hubby would enjoy these as well.

Although I don't have celiac disease, I do seem to be somewhat sensitive to gluten.  I went gluten free for several years and all of my joint pain disappeared, so I don't think it's just a coincidence.  I've found over the last couple of years that I can eat small amounts of wheat without a problem, but over Christmas I ate much more wheat than I should have.  I just didn't feel right.  So with the new year, I am trying to be much more careful.  These muffins are gluten-free and are delicious.

One of the flours called for in this muffin is oat flour.  I like oat flour but was all out.  So I substituted millet flour.  It worked admirably.  I also used dark chocolate chips in these muffins.  Mm-mmm!

In fact, anything you find at Faithfully Gluten Free will be delicious.  Jeanine absolutely has the knack of developing gluten-free recipes that taste wonderful. If you know anyone who is gluten sensitive or does have celiac disease, be sure and share this site with them.  It's a lifesaver!

Sharing these muffins, which are perfect with a cup of tea, with Bernideen's Friends Sharing Tea.

A wonderful gluten-free site you need to bookmark!

Vintage magazine ad from my collection

Often in the past, I've tried to post every day in December either here or in my Christmas blog, and occasionally in both!  I must say that this year, I really don't know if that's going to happen.  I did 31 posts in July on my Christmas blog, and 31 posts in October here on this blog, but those were the result of careful planning and scheduling ahead of posts.  I had hoped to do that in regard to December posts, but here I am on December 1, winging it!

I had a comment on the previous post, the one about preparing for Christmas baking.  I'd mentioned that I had stocked up on the Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour. It is an amazing gluten-free flour blend (it includes the xanthan gum) that can be substituted cup for cup for regular all-purpose flour in baking recipes.  It works perfectly for cookies, which made me very happy.  I can live without cookies on a daily basis, but I do love baking my old favorite Christmas cookies!

A reader, Susan B, asked if this flour works for making loaves of bread.  I'm sorry to say that in my experience it does not.  The label says that it is great for cookies, cakes, brownies, pancakes, pies, muffins, and more.  I've tried it in cookies and biscuits and have been very pleased with it.  I did try it in my old focaccia bread recipe and it didn't work for that at all, so I can't recommend it to Susan for loaves of bread.

However, what I can recommend to Susan for any type of gluten free recipe is this blog: Faithfully Gluten Free.  Jeanine, the recipe developer and blogger behind this site, has in my opinion the very best gluten free recipes out there.  Jeanine has celiac disease, so you need not fear that her recipes contain even a speck of gluten.  And they are great!  I've made several of her Christmas cookie recipes, nearly all of her baked doughnut recipes (loved by my grandkids!), plus muffins, cinnamon rolls, coffee cakes, and what I believe to be the very best gluten free sandwich bread ever. 

  If you or someone you know tries to eat gluten-free, head on over to Jeanine's site and look around.  The recipes are very easily searched, and you're sure to find one or more you'd like to try.  Happy baking -- and Happy December!

Pesto Vegetable Pizza

Photo from Taste of Home

I've mentioned how Mr. T and I are trying to eat more vegetables, less meat, etc.  One of his big concerns about this has been that he would still like to enjoy pizza.  Then he remembered how when we ate at Subway regularly a few years back, I would often order a veggie pizza.

I turned to my 2005 Light & Tasty Annual Recipes book and sure enough, they had this wonderful recipe: Pesto Vegetable Pizza.  This is far better than the one I used to order at Subway!

I haven't yet made this exactly according to the recipe as far as the vegetables go -- I've just used what I had on hand, which has been no mushrooms, sometimes grape tomatoes (sliced),  baby spinach or kale, and red peppers rather than yellow.  So far I've used homemade pesto because I had some in the freezer.  But that's almost gone, so I bought a jar of Classico®.  Much less expensive than the fresh pesto in the deli.

I used a homemade gluten free crust made according to this recipe: Best Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Ever.  I made this crust in a jelly roll pan (approximately 10x15") and  baked it for about ten minutes at 400º before adding the toppings and baking it according to the recipe. 

But you could also use a Boboli® pre-baked crust as the pizza recipe calls for -- or, use this recipe: Homemade Italian bread shells like Boboli®.

This pizza is so delicious!  We highly recommend it.  Mr. T does not miss the pepperoni one bit! 

A delicious gluten free coffeecake!

Photo from Taste of Home

A few weeks ago, long-time friends of ours were in New England for a quick visit.  Although they had very little time to visit anyone other than family, they wanted to get together with us before returning to Florida, where they now live.  We decided to get together for breakfast, either at our home or at a restaurant.  As it worked out, due to time and energy constraints on their part, we ended up meeting at a restaurant closer to where they were staying, which was just fine.

But the day before, still unsure where we would be eating, I planned a brunch menu just in case.  I took some time to hunt for a good coffeecake recipe that would incorporate some fresh blackberries we had been given.  When I saw this coffeecake recipe I'd clipped from a Country magazine years ago, I decided to try it using blackberries instead of blueberries.  And I went ahead and made the coffee cake, thinking to have that much done ahead.  Here is the link:
New England Blueberry Coffee Cake.

The recipe went together very quickly.  I try to avoid wheat, so I made this using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.

Photo from Bob's Red Mill

This is a terrific flour from Bob's Red Mill which is formulated so you can just use it cup for cup in baking recipes that call for regular flour.  The xanthan gum is already included in the blend.  I have tried it in cookies, brownies, bars, muffins, and coffeecake and have been very pleased with the results.  I'm so glad that I didn't throw away all of my old, wonderful recipes, because this means I can still use them!

The coffeecake turned out absolutely delicious.  It was a little on the moist/damp side, but I think that had to do with using the blackberries.  Another time I would use blueberries as the recipe specifies.  Even though our friends ended up not coming for brunch, we greatly enjoyed our time with them at Cracker Barrel -- and we enjoyed this coffeecake at home for several days!

Gluten-free gingersnaps

cookie photo is from Pixabay

 It can be a real challenge to bake gluten-free Christmas cookies.  I try to avoid wheat -- and, though I have found I can eat it occasionally with no problem, I'm not likely to ever go back to just eating wheat whenever I want.  As I've mentioned before, going wheat-free not only helped some digestive issues I was having, but -- after a couple of months -- my hip pain went away completely and has never returned.  I was able to stop taking glucosamine which I'd been taking to help battle the joint pain.  This was pain that kept me from sleeping and would occasionally bring me to tears.  So, since I have a simple way to keep pain-free, I will continue consuming very little wheat.

All that to say, we love Christmas cookies in this house and bake most of them with regular flour.  I do like to make a few kinds that I can eat.  A couple of years ago, I found a gluten-free gingersnap recipe that we really like.  It is also relatively low in fat and contains no eggs.  Here is the recipe:

GLUTEN-FREE GINGERSNAPS
1/4 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
3 Tblsp. molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 tsp. ginger
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
2 Tblsp. water, if necessary
White or colored sugar for dipping -- we use red and green at Christmas

In a large bowl, beat butter, molasses, brown sugar and vanilla until well blended.
Sift together all of the remaining ingredients except for the water and the sugar for dipping.
Stir the sifted dry ingredients into the butter mixture, adding water if necessary to form a dough that can be shaped.  Cover and refrigerate for an hour or so.

Preheat oven to 325º.  Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment paper.  Form dough into 1-inch balls (recipe says 16; we got about 24).  Dip each ball in white or colored sugar and arrange them sugar-side up on the parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Flatten them slightly if you like with the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar, but Mr. T forgot that step and they came out just fine.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or just until the undersides of the cookies start to brown.  Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store cooled cookies in an airtight container.

This is adapted from Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus, by Carol Fenster.

For more wonderful gluten-free baking recipes, check out The Baking Beauties.  Jeanine has loads of great ideas, including an entire e-book of Christmas cookies.  Her gluten-free whipped shortbread is fabulous!

Another quick thought for baking gluten-free is that Bob's Red Mill has come out with a 1-to-1 baking flour that may be used cup for cup instead of regular flour.  The xanthan gum is included in the blend.  In other words, you may take your old favorite Christmas cookie recipes and just substitute Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 for the all-purpose flour.  Sounds too good to be true!  But we did buy some and I am going to try it!

Gluten-free Irish Soda Bread

 (or muffins, as the case may be).
I promised to share the link to the recipe I used for this, so here it is: Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread.

 *The above photo is of regular Irish soda bread,  just a photo from Taste of Home.*

As I mentioned yesterday, I opted to make this gluten-free soda bread into muffins.  I was in a hurry.  I don't know why I can't learn and retain just how long certain kitchen tasks are going to take me.  I have been cooking for well over 50 years, having started young.  So I reasoned that since I didn't have time to cut margarine into the dry ingredients, I would just use oil and make these into muffins, shortening both the prep time and the baking time.  I baked the muffins for 20 minutes at 375º, but do test them to be sure.  That was just about right for mine, give or take a minute.

I don't care for caraway and didn't have any orange peel,  so I used a scant half-teaspoon of orange extract.  If I had an orange on hand, I would have used the peel.

The muffins were delicious!  In fact, they were so good that I might bake another batch today.  Not very sweet, so they are good with hearty dishes like the Irish coddle I made last night.  Good with coffee too, and I imagine they would be top-notch with tea!

Not gluten free?  You are blessed.  Sometimes I look at all of my old, beloved bread recipes and nearly cry,  thinking how good they were.  (Although thankfully, there are some wonderful recipe sites out there to make up for it.)  But anyway, if you just want a regular, and very good, Irish Soda Bread, this is the one in the picture.

Linking today with Gooseberry Patch's St. Patrick’s Day recipe round-up.

A yummy gluten-free dessert

Photo by The Baking Beauties

 This past weekend I was looking for a gluten-free dessert that would feed quite a few people and would be quick and easy to make.  I decided to try this gluten free cookie pizza from The Baking Beauties .  Basically, it's a giant chocolate chip oatmeal cookie baked in a pizza pan, then topped with a cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with goodies like toasted coconut and almonds before drizzling with melted chocolate.  Mr. T baked the cookie part on Saturday night and then I added the frosting and toppings the next morning.  We didn't have any M&Ms so I left them off, and the dessert was still absolutely delicious.

This was the hit of the church potluck dessert table.  Not even crumbs were left.  We will definitely be making this cookie pizza again!

Gluten free pumpkin scones

Photo by The Baking Beauties

Can you stand one more pumpkin recipe?  I don't promise it will be the last!  I have been looking for a good gluten free pumpkin scone recipe,  and this one -- Gluten Free Pumpkin Scones from The Baking Beauties (now called Faithfully Gluten Free) --  is a real keeper.  I tried it out this morning and the scones are absolutely delicious.  Not overly sweet, but just right.

I actually doubled the recipe to suit the amount of pumpkin I had left over from another recipe.  It came out perfectly.  I did not double the glaze recipe, and there was just enough glaze for the 16 scones.  These will be a wonderful fall treat with coffee or tea!

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

Photo from Betty Crocker.com

This past weekend I tried a new recipe: Pumpkin Swirl Brownies</>.  I had been wanting to try this for some time but needed to make it gluten-free.  Of course the obvious and most simple way would be to use a gluten free brownie mix, since the recipe calls for a mix.  I have tried the Bob's Red Mill gluten-free brownie mix in the past and it is good, but I didn't have one on hand.

So I went to my favorite gluten free baking site, The Baking Beauties , and Jeanine had several brownie recipes to choose from.  I picked this one: Gluten-free Brownies</> and it worked out great.  Very easy.  I substituted almond flour for the ground almonds, reasoning that it is essentially the same thing.  This recipe was truly every bit as easy as using a mix, and much tastier.


The brownies went over well at the church potluck on Sunday.  I had cut them smaller than specified to get more servings, and so we did have some left to bring home.  A yummy fall treat!

Gluten-free Buttermilk Corn Muffins

Photo by The Baking Beauties

A month or so after I stopped eating wheat, someone gave me a used gluten-free cookbook.  Most of the recipes were pretty good, and for a long time it was my go-to source for gluten free recipes.  One of them was a cornbread recipe which I baked often.

After finding The Baking Beauties , I entered a whole new world of gluten-free baking.  As I've said before, Jeanine just seems to have a gift for developing recipes that are gluten free but don't taste like it.  One day I wanted to make cornbread but just didn't want to take the time, so I took a moment to do a search and see if Jeanine had a corn muffin recipe.  She did, and this is it: Buttermilk Corn Muffins
.
I tried the recipe and found that these muffins are simply delicious; I have served them to company who never knew they were gluten free. I do change a couple of things which makes them a wee bit healthier and does not affect the taste. Instead of 1/2 cup butter, I use 1/3 cup canola oil. And I use only 1/3 cup sugar rather than 2/3. I keep these in a plastic bag or container in the freezer. When I need a quick muffin to accompany soup, I just heat one in the microwave for 25 seconds and it tastes fresh baked!

And I should add that I have also poured this batter into a pan and made it into cornbread when I am in a hurry.  It has to bake for longer than the muffins, but is quicker to make with no muffin tins to fill.

The absolute BEST gluten free sandwich bread!

Photo from The Baking Beauties

I'm not a frequent sandwich eater, preferring leftovers or a baked potato for lunch, but one thing I have missed since going wheat free nearly 2 years ago has been the occasional sandwich.  Especially for picnics.  I've tried several gluten free sandwich bread recipes and have been quite disappointed in how crumbly and hard the bread turned out.  I've also tried several [expensive!] gluten free breads from bakeries or the supermarket, and have again been disappointed.  The best one of those I tried was a millet bread, but now that I've found this recipe: gluten free sandwich bread from The Baking Beauties , I will have no need to purchase gluten free bread again.

I baked this bread before our little getaway up north.  We picnicked en route both on the way up and on the return trip, and it was so nice to have a wheat free bread that tasted so good.  It's a nice soft bread with a whole grain type of flavor to it.  If you are looking for a good gluten free bread recipe, your search is over.  Head on over to The Baking Beauties and check out this wonderful sandwich bread.  You'll be glad you did!

Gluten free baked pumpkin doughnuts!

Photo by The Baking Beauties

If you are a regular reader here at my kitchen table, you know of my favorite gluten-free recipe site, The Baking Beauties .  Jeanine is a genius at creating gluten free recipes that taste good.

She has outdone herself with these baked pumpkin doughnuts!  They are seriously delicious.  Mr. T and I think they would be wonderful even without the chocolate chips, but with the mini chips they are fantastic.  And really, one would never guess they are gluten free.  I plan to take this recipe along the next time we go to Nevada, as our grandson must avoid wheat and gluten.  And he loves to help me bake!

Here's the link to the recipe if you would like to try these too: Gluten Free Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts.  Hope you enjoy these if you try them.  We think they are the perfect taste of fall!

(Edited to add: Jeanine's site is now called Faithfully Gluten Free.  It's still a treasure trove of wonderful gluten-free recipes, so if you need to -- or prefer to -- eat wheat-free, you will want to visit and explore this site!)

Gluten-free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Photo by The Baking Beauties

I try to keep gluten-free muffins on hand in the freezer.  As I mentioned in the post about raisin bran muffins, up until I found The Baking Beauties , I was having a difficult time finding good gluten free muffin recipes.  I found one fruit muffin recipe that tasted good and just kept making that over and over, using different fruits.  However, since finding Jeanine's site, I have great choices to try for muffin recipes.  She has recipes for several varieties of baked doughnuts, too -- yum!

This gluten free banana chocolate chip muffin recipe is delicious and a great use for leftover bananas.  I used milk chocolate chips (rather than semi-sweet) because I just really like the taste of milk chocolate and bananas together.  Hope your family enjoys these muffins if you try them!

Gluten-free Raisin Bran Muffins

Photo by The Baking Beauties

 In my wheat-eating days, one thing I loved was raisin bran muffins -- especially the ones from the supermarket bakery!  I would often get one to enjoy with coffee as a reward after all of the groceries were put away.

Sadly, they seemed off-limits now.  In fact, I had only found one gluten free muffin recipe that I liked.  And even it was sort of squishy and soft -- not really my sort of muffin, but I baked them anyway because I missed muffins so much.  It was far better than nothing.

Then I found The Baking Beauties.  Jeanine's recipes have not let me down yet.  I was delighted to find her recipe for gluten free raisin bran muffins  When I first tried them, I had no rice bran or flax, so tried them as some suggested using quick oats for the bran or flax component.  Excellent!  They tasted just like oatmeal muffins I'd made years ago and loved.

Next time, I used ground flax for the entire amount of flax/bran called for.  Delicious!  They are very close to my old favorite raisin bran muffins.  Maybe your family would enjoy them too!

The very BEST gluten-free coffee cake

A cookbook from my collection

Nearly two years ago, I stopped eating wheat.  No, I don't have celiac disease, nor has a doctor ever told me I'm gluten intolerant.  I stopped eating wheat as an experiment, just to see if it helped me to feel better.  It did, within just a couple of weeks.  The inflamed feeling I'd had in my stomach for a long time went away.  And then, within a couple of months, the pain in my hips and shoulders had also gone away.  That was enough for me to leave wheat out of my diet on a pretty much permanent basis.  I just feel better without it.

At first, I didn't bother with learning how to bake gluten free.  I just didn't eat anything with wheat or barley in it.  I didn't want to buy a bunch of expensive ingredients and go to the trouble of learning a new way to bake if this experiment didn't work out.  By now, though, I've learned to make gluten-free all-purpose flour and I am doing a lot more baking than I did.  I like to keep my GF baked goods in the freezer and just pull out a muffin, a cupcake, or a cookie as needed.

Back at Easter time, I found this amazing blog: The Baking Beauties  while searching for a gluten-free cinnamon roll recipe.  I found this recipe: Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls  and it is absolutely fantastic.

So, when I was craving coffee cake a couple of months ago, I revisited Jeanine at The Baking Beauties .  Her site did not let me down!  I just wanted a simple, plain coffee cake with a yummy, crunchy streusel topping.  And this is the recipe I found:  gluten free cinnamon bun cake</>.  It is, quite simply, the perfect gluten free coffee cake.  Exactly what I was looking for.  The cake is nicely textured and the topping is absolutely wonderful.  I cut it in squares and freeze it, then microwave a square for 30 seconds when I want coffee cake.  My hubby loves this cake too and comments that one would never know it is gluten free.  He's right!

I should note that I have never added the icing drizzle on top.  I think the coffee cake is just perfect without it.

I have also made a variation of this cake by sprinkling fresh blueberries on the top before adding the topping.  I'm sure it would be good with raspberries or apples as well, maybe even peaches.  A keeper recipe for sure!

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

My dad's blueberry bushes are producing some yummy fruit right now and so I just had to make some muffins.  Thankfully the weather was cool enough for baking.  I made a batch of regular blueberry muffins for everyone else and then a batch of gluten free ones for myself.  I keep them in a covered plastic box in the freezer and heat them up one by one as needed.

This is the recipe I used: Gluten Free Fruit Muffins.  It is the tried and true recipe from King Arthur that I love.  I skip the streusel topping as it is just not necessary.  So for these I added 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries and then, on a whim, I added about 3/4 cup of flaked coconut.  The muffins turned out perfectly!  Perhaps your family would enjoy them, too.