Food could sincerely be an entirely new love language. Aside from the other ways people express their affection, making food for that special someone, or someones, is truly one of the greatest pleasures in life. At least for me. It’s a love that was instilled in me and my sister at a very young age by our mother, who takes her southern roots to heart whenever anyone new walks in the door or someone expresses the tiniest hint of hunger. Food is where the home is and where the heart can share its deepest and most inexpressible fondness for others. This gluten free carrot cake is one of those simple,…
-
-
Gluten Free Vanilla Raspberry Pancakes
I’ve tried a million different gluten free pancake recipes. It seems like pancakes should be one of the simplest breakfast items to make gluten free, but you’d be surprised how sneakily dense or crumbly some turn out. Or that telltale taste of rice flour just is a bit too noticeable and you need a different combination of starches, powders, and flavorings. These are not the end all be all gluten free pancakes, because there are so many different variables to optimize for in pancakes: fluffiness, taste, chewiness, size, etc. But! These are some of my new favorite pancakes, and they have a twist that most other recipes do not: the…
-
Chewy Almond Cookies
Being gluten free can lead to strange cravings – I never knew I could miss the sensation of chewy so much! Or flaky! Or fluffy! And while most of these textures can be replicated, with some effort, in gluten free baked goods, it can just seem daunting to try. Why not just plop down on the couch with a a bucket of highly unsatisfying store bought GF cookies to temporarily numb your sweet tooth? Because you deserve better! And these cookies are better! Honestly though, these chewy almond cookies are divine. If you’re not an almond extract fan, take it out and you should still enjoy the light, delicate, but…
-
Gluten Free Tres Leches Cake
Heavenly would not be an overstatement for describing this gluten free tres leches cake. Thank you to centuries of globalization for the dissemination and ultimate perfection of this milk and cream soaked cake. Apparently, after a grand total of five minutes of digital research, I’ve discovered that soaked cakes were popular in Europe in Medieval times (more likely soaked in alcoholic liquids), and that recipes for such cakes were then seen in Mexico starting around the 19th century (though with such an easy cake to begin with, undoubtedly soaked cakes were made by people throughout the Americas after the mid-1400s and recipes were passed down orally). More interesting still, the…
-
Graham Cracker Toffee Bars
I have vivid memories of laying out trays full of graham crackers (glutinous ones at the time – this was pre-Celiac-diagnosis and pre-anything-other-than-cardboard-gluten-free-snacks) to make these heavenly graham cracker toffee bars. Toffee has always been that guilty pleasure treat for me – though the real stuff always sticks in my teeth or just about breaks them with that first glass-shattering crunch. That’s why these graham cracker toffee bars are the answer to my life-long desire and the most dangerous cookie-sheet full of goodness you could put in front of me. I definitely almost ate the entire bowl of butter+brown sugar while making them, every time. Now that I’m an adult…
-
Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread
Shortbread always used to puzzle me – as a kid it seemed far more exciting to go for something richly chocolate or raspberry or creamy, not a dry square of short bread (what a name!) with no added flavor. Who in their right mind would choose such a thing over a brownie? Very very recently, upon the discovery of incredibly good butter (once you taste it you can’t go back), I reneged on my avoidance campaign of the crumbly British dessert and jumped on the shortbread train. This was particularly helpful as well because shortbread is remarkably easy to make gluten free. Many recipes, Scottish shortbread specifically, even add in…
-
Gluten Free Matcha Swirl Pound Cake with Matcha Glaze
Swirls are the name of the game, especially so in this gluten free matcha swirl pound cake. If you’re a fan of the earthy-sweet verdant powder, then you’ll be a big fan of this easier-than-it-looks cake. If you’re not, then forego the green addition and keep it simple with a pound cake bundt cake, or toss in a powder you have more affinity for (say, blitzed up freeze dried raspberries or strawberries?). Up to you – this is a fool-proof pound cake recipe by our very own Kendra Farber, so use it as your buttery, sugar-heavy foundation for whatever flavor pairing gets you saying “thank goodness” at the end of…
-
Blue Ribbon Blueberry Cobbler
Does it ever bother you that blueberries aren’t actually blue? Sure, they appear so from the outside, but deep down they’re just a purple mess masquerading as royal blue perfection. Aren’t we all. There’s nothing a good-quality coat can’t hide. This cobbler, though, celebrates the internal mess – it’s actually quite lovely to Jackson Pollock your plate in the deep, runny purples and red-tinged violets of blueberry guts or gaze at the ethereal glow of a fuchsia stained glass pie plate. The neat little circles of topping that crown the entire mess just furthers our affinity for this self-reflection-in-cobbler: lighter, slightly crunchy clouds of biscuity dough that tuck everything in…
-
Gluten Free Macadamia and White Chocolate Blondies
All hail the golden-girl (or boy) of the dessert world: the Blondie. While you might be astonished, and rightly so, that anyone would want to make a chocolate-less brownie, don’t pass up these sugar-laden, butter-heavy squares until you’ve given them their proper taste-testing. Gluten free blondies are an old after-school favorite of mine – my grandma used to throw a batch of these into the oven mid-afternoon and drive to pick us up from high school with a few (still warm) bars tucked away in a paper towel between the front seats. Blondies will now forever take me back to those delicious rides home, munching on the melt-in-your-mouth, often-coconut-topped, blondies…
-
Vanilla Swiss Roll with Strawberry Balsamic Reduction
Sometimes, a swirl is all you need in a slice of cake – and hopefully a more elegant one than appeared in this one the first time I made it. But hey! Even when it’s a mess, it can taste fantastic (thank the Eton Mess for calling this out by name). Swiss rolls are definitely daunting baking endeavors (if you really want to feel the stress, watch the British Baking Show’s episode on Swiss rolls), but ultimately, they’re a fairly simple dessert, despite the nerve wracking presentation and actual rolling. The lightness of the sponge cake base is perfect for a gluten free dessert because it relies heavily on egg…
