Fun favorites

If you're looking for some donuts that taste as good as the real thing, try KinnickKinnick maple glazed donuts. They're amazing. They're in the freezer section.

If you're craving Oreos, try Kini-Toos. They come in chocolate or vanilla. The chocolate ones are definitely better, but they're both very edible. They're dairy free, egg free, etc. in addition to gluten free.

I posted before about Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix. I've discovered a better way to make it. Try adding 1/2 cup applesauce, and 2 egg whites to the dry mix in place of the 3 eggs that the back of the box calls for. Add the other ingredients as listed (I think it's 1/2 cup butter & 1 cup water). According to my not gluten free husband, this melts in your mouth. I tried this because I'm allergic to egg yolks, but really it's just better this way. I tried using EnerG egg replacer in place of the eggs and it was super dry - stick with applesauce! :)
Here's another way to use the Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate cake mix - use 1 package cake mix & mix with 2 eggs and 1 can of cherry pie filling. Bake in a 9x13 pan at 350 until a toothpick in the middle comes out clean (approx 25-30 min). I tried this with 1/2 cup applesauce instead of the eggs and the middle was very gooey (the edges were amazing) so you might have to increase the cooking time to make sure the middle is done. My toothpick came out clean, but it was still gooey so I'll have to experiment more with this.

The BEST Waffles/Pancakes from scratch

This is the best pancake/waffle from scratch recipe I have tried. I started out with a recipe from online and altered it for my additional food allergies and tastes. I hope you like it too.

1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1 T and 1 1/2 t corn starch
2 T and 2 t potato starch
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 t xanthan gum
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 T canola oil
1 cup milk or milk substitute (I made these with soy milk)

Mix the dry ingredients. Then add the wet. Mix again.
I also added 1/2 cup frozen blueberries when I made pancakes. I left out the oil for the pancakes and it still worked great.

The waffles were amazing - golden and crisp on the outside, soft inside. The perfect texture in my opinion!

I want to experiment with making a large quantity of dry mix for these so it's easy to add the wet in just a few minutes. When I figure it out, I'll post the quantities

The BEST gluten-free flour tortillas (from scratch)

Here's a recipe I posted on my family blog a few years ago and I'm resurrecting it.

Gluten-free flour tortillas
1 c rice flour
1/3 c corn starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
1/3 c sorghum flour
2 t xanthan gum
1 t baking powder
1/2 t sugar
1 1/4 t salt (probably too much if you're adding salty toppings but really yummy plain)
2 T vegetable or other shortening (I used butter-flavored Crisco b/c it's what I had)
3/4 to 1 c warm water
Combine all of the dry ingredients, then cut in the shortening using a pastry blender.Add the warm water, starting with 3/4 c and mix well.Continue to add water until a soft, cohesive dough is formed. I stopped before it got sticky so it was still a little crumbly but stuck together when I pressed it.This is my secret to rolling out gluten free dough. I have a very large glass cutting board that I dust with corn starch. I sprinkle a little corn starch on top of the dough and then roll with a rolling pin also dusted with corn starch.Cook one at a time on a hot lightly greased or sprayed skillet until the surface bubbles & it has brown flecks.Turn only once, and cook until the second side is slightly browned. This doesn't take very long.For the pan size I had, this made four tortillas, about twice as thick as a wrap tortilla when cooked - more like a thick soft taco tortilla (like a gordita maybe?). They do thicken a bit when they cook b/c of the baking powder. For me, it was hard to get them any thinner and still get them in the pan w/o breaking.The recipe says that these will freeze in a plastic bag for up to three months. I'm not sure they'll last past tonight...

I haven't posted in a while because I found out in December that I have additional food allergies and then I found out shortly thereafter that I'm pregnant with my 5th child. So I really haven't been doing much cooking and baking, but I'm hoping to get back into it now that food actually tastes good again (well, some of it).

the BEST apple cinnamon muffins

1 cup rice flour (brown or white)
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar (or less if you don't want them as sweet)
2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t xanthan gum
1/4 t salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup milk
1 apple, peeled & diced

Combine eggs, milk, and butter, then add dry & mix. Mix in apple. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Makes 12 regular-sized muffins.

The BEST peanut butter cookies

I forgot I had this recipe, but I love this one, and it turns out great every time. Very available ingredients too!

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
3/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch

Cream butter, pb, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Then add rice flour, cornstarch, baking powder and soda.
If I'm in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, I add chocolate chips. You can use creamy or crunchy pb depending on your preference.
Bake 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes. I take them out while they're still soft (in my oven that's 9 minutes) and let them cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet. They're perfect!

the BEST bread I have made from scratch - my own recipe

Having failed miserably at several gf experiments lately, I've been considering just buying mixes for a while. It's just so frustrating when you find a recipe you like, make it again, and it doesn't come out the same or even edible. Ugh! And the wasted ingredients sometimes make me want to cry! My baby is also mobile now so I find myself getting distracted while I'm baking and losing my concentration while I'm trying to rescue her from whatever....also not good for results.

Today makes up for all the recent frustration. While the baby was sleeping, I decided to try my own recipe for rice bread. I combined a couple of recipes that I like pretty well and made my own. It wasn't perfect, but it's pretty close! The taste is better than either of the original recipes I was pulling from. The texture was very good, there was just a bit too much chew at the end, so I'm going to work on this a little more, but this bread is not only edible, it is really good!

Andrea's Rice Bread (I doubled this today)

1 3/4 c white rice flour (I grind my own super fine)

3/4 c tapioca starch

1/4 c corn starch

2 T sugar

2 1/2 t xanthan gum

2 t yeast

1 c warm water

1 1/4 t salt

2 t apple cider vinegar

2 T vegetable oil

3 eggs

Combine the yeast & warm water in a bowl with a sprinkle of sugar to proof it. In your mixing bowl (I use a Kitchen Aid to mix the bread), combine the vinegar, oil, & eggs. Then add all the dry ingredients. I added the yeast mixture last to make sure it was foaming. Mix until well blended.

Let rise for 1 hour. Mine doubled. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Cover with foil after 30 minutes to prevent it from getting too brown.

This makes 1 large loaf.

I think that next time, I'll use 1/2 c tapioca & 1/2 c corn starch and see if that makes it less chewy. Also, I wonder if I mixed it a little too long?

This bread is soft, not gritty, not bitter (sometimes I taste a bitter aftertaste with certain flours), slightly sweet in a white bread way, and not gummy! I'm so excited to have yummy bread to eat!

The BEST white bread

The Blue Chip Baker Gluten-Free French Bread/Pizza Crust Mix.

If you liked white bread prior to being gluten free, this is a great one to try! It has a very smooth soft texture like white bread, not quite as airy, but not gummy either.

The only difference is that, to me, this bread didn't have any flavor, which works ok if you're putting tasty topping on it or making a sandwich. What is the flavor of white bread? I'm just wondering if would taste better with a little salt or sugar or something added.

Either way, this is very edible. It's the least crumbly of any gf bread that I've tried without being gummy or too heavy.

My mom found this mix at Macey's. I couldn't find a picture of the package online, but it comes in a dark ziploc-type bag. One bag makes two medium-sized loaves.