Baking Buddies

The other day I went for wine with a lovely new foodie friend, Kimberly who has a lovely blog and a delicious home baking business called Brown Sugar.  We had originally intended to meet at one of my favorite north county wine spots, Gaffneys in Encinitas but upon arrival I was crushed to see that they had gone out of business!  Luckily Gaffneys will eventually be opening in a new yet to be determined location and Kimberly knew of another wine bar just down the road a bit, the slightly newish Wine Steals in Cardiff. We arrived just in time for their happy hour, which got us $3 glasses of vino (woohoo!). We also shared one of their scrumptious fruit and cheese boards while we chatted about our mutual love of baking, dinner parties, planning and preparing elaborate meals, and other delicious tidbits.  We chatted for hours about recipe development, the joys of starting a business, and made plans to meet up sometime in the next month for a joint Brown Sugar and Mari Made baking endeavor. One of Kimberly’s most popular baked goodies at Brown Sugar are her brownies, she also makes a strawberry cake that apparently is to die for. As soon as I heard her description of this sweet pink treat I knew I had to come up with a gluten free version.

 

Berry Sweet Cupcakes

Because its not quite strawberry season yet and fresh berries are still a little pricy I opted to use frozen strawberries. The frozen berries worked perfectly but I am sure this cake would be even sweeter with fresh berries. This recipe make 12 cupcakes but you can always double the batter if you want 24, and if you have any hungry family or friends around trust me you will want more than 12!

 

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup brown rice flour

½ cup potato starch

¼ cup tapioca flour

½ teaspoon xanath gum

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 3 oz package strawberry jello

½ cup canola oil

½ cup milk (soy or moo cow)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup strawberries, thawed if using frozen

 

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 then combine the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat until well combined. In another bowl sift together the flours, xanath gum, baking powder, salt and jello mix then set aside. 

In a third bowl combine the oil, milk, vanilla and strawberries and using a stand mixer or hand mixer blend on medium high until the berries have broken down.  

Slowly add the liquid berry mixture and the flour mixture to the bowl of egg and sugar and beat at medium speed until fully combined and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute.

 

Pour the rosy batter into a paper cup lined muffin tin and bake for 17 to 20 minutes or until cakes have browned along the edges slightly.

 

Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes before removing them from the tin. Let the cakes sit on a wire rack until completely cool and then top with your favorite frosting.  I used a cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients 

½ cup cream cheese (or tofuti brand if you want dairy free)

½ cup butter

3 cups powdered sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon milk (moo cow or soy) 

 

Preparation 

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add to this the sugar, vanilla and mil and mix until completely smooth.

 

Spread the frosting onto the cupcakes. Any extra frosting can be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Soooo yummy! Soft fluffy gluten free cake, sweet strawberries, and rich cream cheese frosting all wrapped up in a pretty pink package, what more could a cupcake lover want!?

January Daring Bakers Challenge

As much as I love gluten free baked goods, I must confess, when it comes to consumption of sweet treats I think I just might like ice cream a teensy bit more. Especially when that ice cream is in the form of a most delicious and decadent scoop of creamy gelato. At work the past week I have been pleased as a peach because my most recent photographic assignment has been completing the pictures for the gelato catalog (I know, such tough work!).  After 3 days of playing with an array of different flavors of frozen deliciousness I was more than ready to take some home with me and I had the perfect excuse to do so.

Hamilton’s Birthday!

I don’t know anyone that enjoys ice cream more than this man and so for his birthday I knew that there was nothing he would love more than a giant tub of gelato from Gelato Vera.

As luck would have it I also still had yet to do my January Daring Bakers challenge and it just so happened that there was a most scrumptious way for me to tie my baking assignment in with the birthday gelato. 

Tuile Dessert Cones

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Baking Soda and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Angelique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux. All changes made to the original recipes to make them gluten free are noted in italics. 

Tuiles are thin, delicate, crisp cookies that are molded into shapes while still warm. You can form the batter into a desired shape using frosting piping or a stencil. Popular shapes for tuiles are cigar shaped tubes, circles with the ends curled up, flowers, taco shell shapes, even butterflies. Since I was planning on serving my tuiles with gelato I decided to make my tuiles into cone shapes. To do this I made a stencil out of cardboard by cutting a large circle out of it using an exacto knife.  

 

Ingredients

¼ cup softened butter (not melted but soft)

½ cup confectioners sugar

1 sachet vanilla sugar (or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract, I used 1 teaspoon)

2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)

¼ cup gluten free oat flour (or almond flour), sifted

1 teaspoon cocoa powder or food coloring of choice, (optional)

Butter spray to grease baking sheet

 

I also made a second batch making the following changes:

Substitution: ¼ cup fine ground brown rice flour (sifted) in lieu of the oat flour

Addition: 1/8 teaspoon xanath gum

 

Preparation

First heat your oven to 350. Using a hand whisk or stand mixer fitted with the paddle cream the butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste on low speed.

Keep mixing while you gradually add the egg whites. Once the egg whites are combined with the butter gradually add the flour (and xanath gum if using the rice flour recipe) a little bit at a time and stir just until the batter is smooth. Be careful not to over mix.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up.  The batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out and let it sit for 30 minutes before you plan to use it. When you are ready to make the tuiles line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with butter spray and then chill the pan in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will make the batter easier to spread, especially if you are using a stencil.  Press the stencil onto the chilled baking sheet and using an offset spatula spread the batter over the stencil.

If you want to decorate the tuile you can mix a tablespoon or two of the batter with a few drops of warm water and the cocoa powder or food coloring. You can now decorate the cookies any way you like.  I added polka dots and stripes to mine using batter colored with cocoa powder in a piping bag.

Bake the tuiles for 5 – 10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies turn a golden brown. Immediately release the cookies from the baking sheet and then quickly shape/bend the cookies into the desired shape. I used a few sheets of paper rolled into a cone and secured with tape to form my cookies into cones.

The cookies have to be shaped quickly while still warm so you may want to only bake a few at a time or if need be pop them back into the oven to warm them again.

Once you have shaped the cookies set them on a wire rack until they are completely cooled.

Tuile cones are perfect for filling with all sorts of deliciousness, chocolate mouse, whipped cream with fresh berries or dulce de leche gelato drizzled with homemade caramel sauce (recipe coming soon!).

  

The delicate tuiles were melt in your mouth delicious and the perfect accompaniment for the rich and creamy gelato.

Making my own cones and caramel sauce from scratch was such a delicious endeavor and while the gelato was no doubt some of the most scrumptious I have ever tasted I couldn’t help but get to thinking how much fun it might be to learn how to make my own some sunshiny summery day soon. 

365 Delicious Days

When the clock struck midnight on January 1, I like many others clinked my glass of champagne and exchanged x’s and o’s with a handful of my nearest and dearest friends in celebration of the New Year. Like many of our gatherings the occasion was a delicious one, there were fruit, veggies, salami, gluten free crackers and cheese (one amazing cheese in particular was a blueberry stilton that I found at Barons Marketplace that tasted like a cheesy blueberry muffin!)

Kate chopped the veggies, Mark grilled veggie burgers and sausages, and I whipped up a pot of mulled wine and a pitcher of sangria.

Mitch was kind enough to bring all the provisions needed to mix up his now famous cosmopolitans

I am typically not too keen on cosmos but these tasted like candy!

Friends, food and fun, I could not have imagined a better way to end one fabulous year and kick start another.

There was also another joyous occasion to toast at midnight this year because January 1, 2009 was not only the birthday of a new year but also the 1^st birthday of my blog! One year ago today Mari Made was born, her first few posts were not specifically focused on food but of course food managed to make its way into each post and eventually took over as the sole focus of the content. Writing the blog has brought so many wonderful changes to my life. My passion for cooking, traveling, writing, and gluten free baking has turned from a part time hobby to a full time passion and blossoming career. It has also given me an opportunity to befriend and get to know so many creative, intelligent, and fabulous new foodie friends. I cannot put into words how much I have enjoyed where this year has taken me. From cooking up new recipes for the blog and sharing delicious gluten free discoveries to baking for my dear Mari Made customers and sharing baked treats at events, I have loved each and every sweet moment and am looking forward to all the delicious adventures yet to come in 2009.

In celebration of the day I decided to bake a sweet birthday breakfast treat using a fruit that has been the star of many Mari made recipes this year.

Bloggy Birthday Banana Bread

Makes one loaf

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice flour

¼ cup potato starch

¼ cup tapioca flour

1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon xanath gum

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 whole egg and 1 egg white

1 cup mashed banana

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup oil

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium sized bowl sift together the flours. Add to this the baking powder, baking soda, xanath gum, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt then stir until combined.

In a large bowl slightly beat the eggs and then add to this the oil, sugar, and mashed banana.

Mashed banana is an ingredient I often make use of so naturally I have become quite experienced with several different banana mashing methods. Forks and mashers work fabulously as do food processers but there is one method in particular that I have become quite fond of and so I thought I might, on this festive birthday occasion share my favorite banana mashing method.

Using a riper banana makes the mashing process much easier and limits the likelihood that the banana will spring a leak before its adequately mashed. If you manage to mash the banana fully without rupturing it use a knife to cut off the top and then squeeze the banana goo into your measuring cup.

Stir the wet ingredients until fully combined and then add to them the flour mixture and walnuts then stir just until moistened. Pour this into a greased loaf pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.

Serve warm with a little bit of earth balance or butter.

Delicious!!

Mari Christmas

Each and every year, without fail, the last two weeks of December fly by like a whirlwind of festivity. Days and nights packed to the brim with family, friends, wrapping paper, dinner parties, tree trimming, and sweet treats. This year was no exception, there were gatherings with family and a darling new baby cousin to be cuddled, visits with dear friends from near and far where delicious food, beverages, and hugs were shared.  There were holiday lights to look at, festive tunes to listen to, and old movies to be watched (some like Rudolph, Christmas Story, and Christmas Vacation for the 100^th time). There was baking to be done, and not just for family and friends this year but for all of my lovely Mari Made customers, and there were holiday meals to be planned. The first meal was a Christmas Eve dinner with Mom and family, which was to be completely gluten free!

Green Bean Casserole

Made by Aunt Leah

Recipe coming soon!

 

Roasted Root Veggies

Serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

5 skinny yams

5 beets

4 or 5 parsnips

½ cup honey

¼ cup olive oil

5 sprigs of thyme

salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 425 and then peel and slice all the root veggies to ½ inch thickness. Toss the veggies in a large bowl with the oil, honey, thyme, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pour the veggies onto one large rimmed baking sheet or two medium ones, whatever it takes to have the veggies in a single layer. Cover with foil and roast for 45 minutes, or until the veggies are fork tender (halfway thru cook time give the veggies a stir to make sure they are not sticking). Remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the veggies crisp up just slightly on top.

 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 gloves of garlic, minced

½ cup pecans, chopped

A pinch of nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl toss together the Brussels sprouts, olive oil, maple syrup, garlic, pecans, nutmeg, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Pour the sprouts onto a large baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.

 

Sweet Root Beer Carrots

Serves 8

Ingredients

½ cup water

12 oz bottle of gluten free root beer

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon clove

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 pounds baby carrots

4 sprigs of fresh thyme

Preparation

In a large saucepan bring the water, root beer, sugar, spices, and salt to a boil. Add the carrots to the pot and let simmer covered for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to simmer carrots, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes or until fork tender. Place the carrots and some of the sweet liquid into a serving dish and sprinkle with thyme.

 

Nutty Stuffed Chicken

Serves 8

 

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, cut in two and flattened

1 bag fresh prewashed spinach

1 cup feta cheese

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped

1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2  or 3 eggs

Preparation

Preheat your oven to 375.  In a large dish or wide bowl combine the chopped nuts, salt and pepper and set aside.  Crack the eggs into another wide dish, mix and set aside as well (start with 2 eggs, if you find you are running out of egg during the assembly process you can add the third). Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer pound the chicken breasts between 2 sheets of wax paper until flat, about ¼ inch thick. Once the chicken breasts are all flattened you are ready to assemble the stuffed chicken. Start by laying out one of the chicken pieces and placing about a tablespoon full of feta and 5 or 6 spinach leaves scrunched up in the middle. Wrap the chicken around the stuffing tucking the ends under and then using a pastry brush paint the chicken with the egg wash. Once coated with egg dip the chicken in the nuts and press the chopped nuts into the chicken until coated.   Place the chicken onto a rimmed baking pan and repeat process until all the chicken is stuffed.  Bake chicken for 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked through.

 

Pecan Pie

Makes one delicious 9 inch pie

 

Crust Ingredients

¾ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup Potato Starch

1/8 cup Tapioca Starch

¾ teaspoon xanath gum

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled

1 egg

1-2 tablespoons cold orange juice

Filling Ingredients

2 eggs

2 ½ cups pecans, coarsely chopped

½ cup sweetened flake coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

¾ cup brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup gluten free semi sweet chocolate chips

Preparation

First off preheat your oven to 375.

In a food processor or mixer combine flour, xanath gum, salt, and sugar and mix until combined.  Add the butter and pulse or mix until crumbly. Add the eggs and then drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the chilled orange juice and pulse or mix until the dough comes together. Add a second tablespoon of orange juice if needed. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, form into a disc shape, and pop in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes.

Once chilled, roll dough out between two sheets of wax or parchment paper until wide enough to cover a 9 inch pie pan. Transfer to the pan, crimp edges, prick all over with a fork, and then pop in the oven to pre bake for 5 minutes.

While the crust is baking you can prepare the filling.

In a large bowl beat the eggs and then add to them the vanilla, chopped nuts, and coconut flakes, stir till combined, and then set aside. In a medium saucepan combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and salt over medium heat and mix until the butter is melted. Add the sugar mix to the egg, coconut nut mixture and stir just until combined.

Once the pie crust is prebaked sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the bottom of the crust. Pour the pie filling atop that and then pop back in the oven to bake until done, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool before serving.

The dinner was delicious! Even the non GF diners were pleased.  

My personal favorites were the flavorful root veggies and the sweet chocolaty pie of course!

After a few more hours of catching up with family, exchanging gifts, watching holiday films, and having marshmallow gun fights it was off to bed for sugar plum dreams and a peaceful nights sleep.

The next day after a breakfast of banana oatmeal and taking a family photo in the yard with Mom and the brand new Red Ryder BB Gun Santa brought her 

 

Chris and I headed up to Irvine for Christmas day dinner with Dad. Dad had gotten a ham and made a green bean casserole. While I chopped veggies for a salad and whipped up a batch of mashed sweet and russet potatoes.

I did not write down the specific measurements but here is an approximation of the recipe.

Yummy Mashed Sweetie Potatoes

You can use all sweet potatoes if you like or substitute yams for the russets, we just happened to have these particular potatoes on hand so this is what we used and the combination turned out scrumptious!

Ingredients

3 sweet potatoes

3 russet potatoes

¼ cup vanilla soy milk

1 or 2 pats of butter

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain water from the pan and mash with a masher or squish through a potato ricer. Add the soymilk, butter, and cinnamon and mash until smooth. Add more milk or butter if you like and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

We enjoyed our dinner with a delicious cab that I had given Dad for Christmas last year. 

 

The remainder of the evening was spent catching up and chatting about a snowy Christmas adventure to Lake Arrowhead that the three of us would be departing for in less than 24 hours.  

December 26^th we awoke to a sunshiny Southern California day, packed up our things and headed east, past Riverside, up a tall mountain and windy road until the palm trees turned to pine and the green grass to rolling hills of white. 

When we arrived at the cabin and I first stepped out of the car I was welcomed with a rush of brisk 34 degree air and a super slippery walkway of white frozen snow that blanketed the ground.

Once we got settled into the cute cabin Chris and Dad shoveled part of the 3+ feet of snow from our deck so we could have a bit of a view while I immediately went to figure out how to turn on the heater in the cabin.

After exploring the house and warming up a bit we bundled up and headed out into the snow to check out the town where we found...

Ducks

Soda machines

Shopping carts

And a Coach store!

After wandering in the cold for a while we decided to head over to the Lake Arrowhead Resort to thaw out a little and take a peek at some of the old pictures of Hollywood stars and starlets from the past that had visited the lake while shooting films like Heidi, Your Never Too Young, and Parent Trap .We also sat a while at the bar and enjoyed some warm beverages. Chris had an Irish coffee, Dad had a scotch, and I had a Keokie coffee.

After finishing our toasty drinks we headed back to the cabin and got started on dinner for the night. Chris made pollo asado and I made black beans and corn with hot sauce.

 

Dinner was delicious and helped warm us up on the chilly winter night. With each passing hour the temperature continued to drop so we gathered some wood for a fire and decided to make some hot beverages to warm our hands and bellies with. The only thing better on a cold winter night than hot tea or cocoa is hot mulled wine so Chris mixed up a pot of it with a bottle of cab, cup of sugar, 2 cups of water, and whole spices (cinnamon sticks, nutmeg, and orange rind). 

We sipped our wine, took in the heat of the fire, and admired the glistening snow outside till our eyelids were too heavy to stay awake any longer.

The next morning we awoke to find it was another brisk day out.

 

Most of the snow had frozen completely over night so the guys went out to shovel us a sledding trail in the front driveway while I prepared breakfast.

 

French Toast with Blueberry Sauce

Vegan and Gluten Free

 

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups vanilla soy milk

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 loaf of gluten free bread, cut into thick slices (about 1 inch thick)

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation

Mash up the bananas in a deep rimed dish large enough to hold all the pieces of bread. Add to this the vanilla, soy milk, and cinnamon and mix until combined.

Place the slices of bread into the mixture and let soak for 2 or 3 minutes, flip and let soak for another 2 or 3 minutes.

 

Heat a lightly greased pan over medium heat until hot and then cook the soaked toasts on each side until golden brown on each side. Be careful not to burn the toasts or let them stick too much to the pan.

While the toasts are cooking put the blueberries in a pan with the water and sugar and cook over medium heat until all the berries pop and meld together to form a lumpy sauce.

Top the toasts with the blueberry sauce and enjoy!

The remainder of our day and trip consisted of sledding.

   

And playing old games like Clue while finishing off the mulled wine.  It was an adventurous, delicious, and relaxing weekend that fulfilled my white Christmas craving and left me feeling very appreciative of the sunny southern California winter weather we had waiting for us back home. 

Tis the Season

The air is finally cool and crisp enough that wearing a scarf and mittens does not seem out of place (even in San Diego), little lights on strings line the houses around the neighborhood, the stores are all bustling and playing festive tunes, and houses are more often than not filled with the lovely scent of pine and home baked goodies. There are so many things that I love about this time of year, from gatherings with loved ones and friends to the hours spent in the kitchen cooking up delicious holiday goodies, I must admit I am completely smitten with the month of December.  Whether you are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, or none of the above the holidays are a most delicious time of year for everyone. 

So, just incase you are having a hard time getting into the spirit of things and need a little help finding your holiday cheer here are a few of my favorite festive things.

Eggnog Sans Egg

Now I like to consider myself a pretty adventurous eater, old smelly cheese, delish! Banana curry, yes please! Sea urchin, bring it on! But there is one thing that still after 29 years makes my stomach churn,

eggs.

It’s not for a lack of trying, once a year I make an effort to try eggs in a new way to see if I have had a change of heart. Scrambled with cheese, tomato and basil, egg white omelets with cinnamon and vanilla, quiche with spinach and feta all sound like they would be so scrumptious but alas that eggy flavor still shines through.  So of course drinking a beverage that has egg as its namesake is not normally on my list of delicious holiday activities. Leave it to my favorite soymilk producer to come up with a most delicious alternative for all of the vegans and egg loathers such as myself out there.

All the delicious flavor of eggnog without the egg yolks or moo juice! It has been years since I have had real eggnog but as I recall it was rather thick, silk nog however has a consistency more like regular silk which in my opinion is much more palatable. The only thing better than a glass of silk nog, is a glass of silk nog with dark rum and nutmeg enjoyed in front of the Christmas tree.

 

Advent Calendars

As if counting down the days till Christmas was not exciting enough on its own. Add to that anticipation the joy of starting every day of the month with a delicious bit of chocolate, a month can’t get much better than that! Since I was a little girl almost every December I have enjoyed an advent calendar, some made lovingly by hand and others bought in the store. This year I was overjoyed to find my advent calendar at Trader Joes.

Cute pictures spotted with little cardboard cutout windows filled with candy, just as I remembered them only with one extra special difference.

Yet another reason to love Trader Joes!

 

Holiday Parties

Whether with work colleges, family, neighbors, or friends the holidays are a perfect excuse to share food, wine, and stories with all those lovely people in your life that you don’t see nearly enough of.  I love all types of holiday parties, from formal dinner parties with all the fixins to silly theme parties, any excuse to dress up and spend time with the people I care about sounds like a perfectly peachy way to spend an evening to me!

Christmas Lights

Its funny how something as simple as little twinkly lights on a string can bring such joy. As soon as lights appear on the first house on our block my heart skips a beat and I immediately want to run home light a fire and start watching holiday movies or listen to Christmas music and make a hot cup of peppermint cocoa.

Pictures with Santa

For years every holiday season parents have dressed their kids in their Sunday best and headed off to town centers and malls across the country to wait in lines tended to by cute little elves just so their little bundle of joy can have a few minutes on the lap that jolly old man dressed in red and white.  The annual picture with Santa has become a tradition for many families throughout the years.  I myself had a few when I was a little tyke and then many years later as an adult I realized that a cute holiday photo with Santa need not be reserved for the 10 and under crowd.

Cookies

As lover of all things delicious for me nothing says Christmas quite like baking cookies.  Rolled into balls and dipped in powdered sugar, coated with chocolate and bits of peppermint, or cut into festive shapes and sprinkled with colorful sprinkles. Christmas time would not be complete without making a batch or two or three and sharing them with all the cookie lovers in your life.  For all of you gluten free cookie lovers out there here is a scrumptious sugar cookie recipe from me to you!

Sugar Cookies

Makes between 20 and 30 cookies depending on how big or small you make them

 

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup brown rice flour

½ cup potato starch

½ cup tapioca flour

¼ cup sweet rice flour

1 teaspoon xanath gum

1½  teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Optional Additional Ingredients

Sprinkles and red hots for decorating

A few drops of food coloring (for colored cookies)

1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring (for a slight lemon flavor)

A sprinkle of cinnamon (for a bit of spice)

 

Preparation

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add to that the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.

In a medium sized bowl sift together the flours using a sifter, fine meshed sieve, or whisk. Add to that the xanath gum, baking powder and salt and mix to combine.

With the mixer on low speed slowly add the dry ingredients one cup at a time until a smooth dough is formed.

Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Once the dough is adequately chilled and you are ready to bake cookies pre heat your oven to 375 and lightly grease a cookie sheet or cover with a silpat. After the dough has sat a room temperature for a few minutes place it between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it out to about ½ to ¾ inch thickness. 

Use a cookie cutter to make desired shapes, decorate, and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes or until light golden brown in color.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack until completely cool before serving. If you can’t resist eating one while they are still hot handle with care because they will be a little fragile until they are cool.

Happy Holidays!! 

xoxo Rachel Marie 

Daringly Delicious Days

Since saying my goodbyes to the 9 to 5 life I have been given a most wonderful gift, the gift of time. Gone are the days of rising at the painfully chilly hour of 6am only to rush off and spend the bulk of my day sitting on my bum in front of one computer or another plugging away at tedious busy office work. My rushed eaten in the car on the way to work breakfasts have been replaced with slow cooked oatmeal, fresh baked muffins, and hot tea with milk mornings. Lunches and dinners are well thought out, perusing farmers markets and flipping through magazines for inspiration then taking my time in the kitchen, preparing ingredients, jotting down notes, taking in the scrumptious smells and vibrant colors of everything cooking, and snapping delicious pictures along the way. Though I am still busy with odd jobs and orders for baked goodies here and there when I need them to be my afternoons and evenings are free leaving me plenty of time for meeting with friends both old and new, exploring new restaurants and shops, experimenting in the kitchen, and at the end of the day writing delicious bits and pieces about it all. My life has flip flopped in a most pleasant way. I am quite accustomed to being busy as a bee but this is a brand new kind of busy for me. My days and weeks are still jam packed full but they are now spent doing things that I love love love, and that makes me one very happy Rachel Marie.

One delightful thing in particular that I have been able to do recently with my time is join a lovely group of talented bakers and writers called, “The Daring Bakers” and just in time for a most delicious November Daring Bakers challenge, Caramel Cake with Caramel Frosting. For this challenge we used a scrumptious recipe for caramel cake from Shuna Fish Lydon of Eggbeater and Alice Medrich’s recipe for Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels from her book, Pure Dessert. Assisting our darling challenge host this month are the lovely Alex aka Brownie of the Blondie and Brownie duo, Jenny of Foray into Food, and Natalie of Gluten-a-Go-Go.

So without further adieu here is my gluten free Mari Made take on this delicious challenge and my first Daring Baker blog post.

Caramel Cupcakes with Carmel Frosting



Recipe from Shuna Fish Lydon
Changes to recipe ingredients and/or cooking methods noted in italics.
Makes 16 cupcakes

Ingredients for Caramel Syrup

2 cups sugar
½ cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)

Preparing Carmel Syrup

In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand.



Brush down any stray sugar crystals with a wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until caramel turns a dark amber and starts smoking slightly.



When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back. {Or you can be extra cautious and wear gloves and protective eyewear}.



Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it}.

Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin {or you can just keep those stylish rubber gloves on while whisking}.



Ingredients for Carmel Cupcakes

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1¼ Cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup
2 eggs, at room temperature 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 cup super fine brown rice flour 

½ cup potato starch 

½ cup tapioca flour 

1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum 

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 cup vanilla soy milk, at room temperature

Preparing the Carmel Cake

First off preheat your oven to 350F then decide what you want to bake. If you want to make a cake Shuna says to butter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan. I decided to make cupcakes so I could easily share my first delicious baking challenge with both my family and friends at the theater. I found when cups were filled 2/3 full that this recipe made for 18 perfectly portioned cupcakes.

After you have prepped your pans in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt and cream until light and fluffy.

Slowly pour room the temperature caramel syrup into the mixing bowl.



Scrape down the sides of the bowl and increase speed. Add the eggs and vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again and beat mixture until light and uniform.

Sift flour and baking powder into a separate bowl.

Turn the mixer to the lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}



Take off the mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan or spoon into cupcake cups.

If making a cake place the cake pan on a cookie sheet and pop in the oven, bake for 30 minutes then rotate the pan and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. If making cupcakes bake for 13-15 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Cool cake(s) completely before icing.

Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.

Ingredients for Caramelized Butter Frosting

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrup
Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cook butter until brown. Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.

Once butter has cooled pour it into the mixer bowl.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until the mixture looks smooth and all of the confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.
To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light.


The cupcakes were absolutely divine! The cake was fluffy, perfectly sweet, and had the most wonderful texture. They also maintained their deliciousness even after sitting on my counter in an airtight container for three days. After I made the caramel candies (recipe bellow) while some of the caramel was still warm I cut off a chunk and stretched it into strings to decorate some of the cakes with pretty spiral patterns. You would probably only want to do this with the softer caramel, as the harder ones might be too much of a texture contrast to the soft fluffy cake.




As if caramel cake with caramel frosting was not enough deliciousness for one day there was still another sweet treat left to make.

Golden Vanilla Bean Caramels




From Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich
Changes to recipe ingredients and/or cooking methods noted in italics.
Makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels

Ingredients

1 cup caramel syrup
2 cups sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, purchased or ground in a coffee or spice grinders, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened

Equipment

A 9-inch square baking pan
Candy thermometer
Parchment or wax paper for wrapping caramels

Making the Caramels

Line the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. Combine the caramel syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F.




Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot.



When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 245°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels.



Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm.

Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane.



These caramels are divine! I definitely prefer the soft ones to the hard but really both are delish. I wanted to make my first batch a pure vanilla caramel but am already looking forward to experimenting more with the recipe for the holidays. My taste buds are already tingling at the thought of dark chocolate and sea salt caramels or maybe soft scotch mellow caramels. So many delicious possibilities!

So my first daring bakers challenge was such fun, a great learning experience, and I’d say a most delicious success. I can’t wait to see what delicious challenge December has in store, stay tuned!