Corn Bread Biscotti

This was the first GF biscotti I made after finding out I had celiac disease. Actually it's the first biscotti I ever made. It's funny how finding out you have some kind of dietary restriction can bring out your inner chef. Before discovering my gluten-intolerance, I never even thought about making my own biscotti. I figured it was too laborious to make the process worth it, especially since most coffee houses had an ample supply of the stuff. However, now things are much different. Go to any coffee house you know and try to find one that supplies gluten free biscotti, and if you find one, please let me know about it! It must be human nature to always want most, the things you can't have. This is especially true for people with celiac disease.

The following recipe comes from Peggy Cullen's book: Got Milk? The Cookie Book.. I know, I use her book for almost every cookie recipe, but it's only because her recipes are that good! In her book, she calls this "Thanksgiving Biscotti." Biscotti is a lot easier to make than I though it would be. Once you get this recipe down, you'll have no problem experimenting with a variety of biscotti recipes. Biscotti is simply twice-baked cookies, nothing more. You can use pretty much any pre-packaged GF Flour mixture, but I typically use the flour combination below.


The Following gluten-free flour recipe was adapted from the book The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast And Healthy by Bette Hagman.

Gluten Free Flour Mix

• 3 cups white rice flour
  
• 1 cup potato flour
  
• ½ cup tapioca flour
  
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
  

Corn Bread Biscotti Ingredients

1/2 cup yellow stone-ground cornmeal (check the ingredients for gluten in any form)

1 1/2 cups gluten free flour

1 cup sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling

1 tsp baking powder

1 pinch of salt

1/2 stick cold unsalted butter cut into pieces

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cups dried cranberries

Directions
1) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Take some aluminum foil or parchment paper and line a heavy baking sheet, or coat the baking sheet with cooking spray. 
2) Whisk up the cornmeal, GF flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Add the butter and mash up until the mixture has a gritty texture. A potato masher works great for this recipe. Or is you have access to one, use a food processor and pulse the mixture.
3) Beat the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl.  Pour over the dry ingredients and mix to blend. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture from the sides of the bowl. Add the cranberries and mix until the dough begins to clump.
4) Turn the dough out onto a table. Gather it together and form into a disk.  Using a knife, divide the disk into two equal parts.  Lightly flour a surface and form each piece into a 12 inch log.  Transfer the logs to the baking sheet.  Sprinkle the top with sugar.
5) Bake for 30 minutes, or until the logs begin to turn golden.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on.
6) Use spatulas to transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a large knife, cut the logs crosswise and slightly diagonal, making 1/2 inch-thick pieces.  Transfer the pieces back to the baking sheet, arranging them cut-side up.  Bake for 12 more minutes, or until the undersides of the cookies show a little color (don't burn them!).  Take out of oven and leave on baking sheets to cool completely. 
The picture shows how I used some chocolate chips that were leftover from another cookie recipe.

*Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Molasses Spice Cookies

I’m so happy the semester is over. Graduate school is pretty challenging at times. Now I have a break and will do some traveling to be with friends and family. I also have time, finally, to catch up on some of the baked good recipes I’ve been experimenting with. This cookie is from my favorite cookie book, Got Milk? The Cookie Book. This is the perfect Holiday cookie, with lots of the season’s best spices: ginger, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.

I used Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Free Biscuit & Baking Mix for the cookies in the photo. They flattened out a lot. When I make them with my simple homemade GF flour (instructions below) they turn out much thicker, more cakey. Either way they come out delicious! I get a lot of requests for this recipe from friends and family. These are also easy to make.


The Following gluten-free flour recipe was adapted from the book The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Fast And Healthy by Bette Hagman.

Gluten Free Flour Mix

• 3 cups white rice flour
  
• 1 cup potato flour
  
• ½ cup tapioca flour
  
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
  

Molasses Spice Cookies Ingredient

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter cut into pieces
  
• 1/4 cup dark unsulphured molasses
  
• 1 cup plus 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  
• 1 egg lightly beaten
  
• 2 cups gluten free flour
  
• 2 tsp baking soda
  
• 2 tsp ginger
  
• 2 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  
• 1/4 tsp cloves
  
• 1/4 tsp salt

1) Melt your butter over low heat in a medium size saucepan. Remove butter from the heat and stir in the molasses and vanilla. Put to the side to cool.

2) In a medium bowl whisk together the flour with 1 cup of the sugar, the baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

3) Once the butter mixture is cooled, add the beaten egg and mix well. Take a rubber spatula and fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until the mixture is firm enough to form balls (around 15 minutes).

4) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

5) Put the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar in a small bowl. Using a 1-inch ice cream scooper, or using a spoon, scoop out mixture and then roll into 1-inch balls. Throw the balls into the sugar and coat completely. Place the dough balls on ungreased baking sheets about 2 inches apart.

6) Bake the cookies for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the center no longer appears uncooked. 12- minutes will produce soft and chewy cookies, whereas 15-minutes will produce crispy cookies. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for around 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool. They'll last in an airtight container for a couple of days, or freeze them and they'll last a few weeks.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

I got the idea for this dish out of a cookbook my good friend Cheryl Vermilya gave to me a while back. The book’s title is “Low Fat Mexican Recipes" and is full of great food! Cheryl and her husband David are great friends of mine who founded and operate a youth center in Camillus, NY called the Town Shop. If you have some time, click on the youth center’s website link right here: Town Shop Youth Center and check the place out. I spent the majority of my teenage years involved there, and loved every minute!

Now back to cooking! You can make stuffed peppers a variety of ways, but you should always look for wide based bell peppers, so that they stand up easier in the baking dish. I suggest using meat in this recipe, but as usual you can substitute meat with seasoned tofu, beans and corn, or whatever you like really. This dish can be made ahead of time as a planned meal with friends, and kept in the fridge for a day or two before the final baking.

Mexican stuffed peppers ingredients

• 4-8 good sized, wide-bottomed bell peppers (make it colorful if you can!)
  
• 1 pound ground beef, or turkey, or beens and corn, or tofu, etc.
  
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
  
• 1 medium diced onion
  
• 1 cup rice
  
• 3 tblsp diced hot chiles
  
• 16 oz. jar enchilada/Mexican sauce (make sure to check those ingredients for evil gluten!)
  
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (chipotle cheddar is choice!)
  

First you want to get a pot of water boiling, and one that’s big enough to fit all of your bell peppers in. Cut the top of the peppers off and scoop out all the seeds. I often get the strays out by filling the pepper up with water and shaking and pouring them out. Submerge all the peppers (minus the tops) in the boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Take them out and place open side down on a paper towel to cool.

Keep the water boiling and throw in the cup of uncooked rice. Set the timer for 13 minutes, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

About the same time as you put the peppers in the boiling water, put a skillet on med/high heat and cook up the meat (or meat substitute). Make sure to chop it up real good while it’s cooking. When using meat, you can just use the juices to cook the chopped onions and hot peppers that you’ll be adding once the meat is nearly all browned. If you make this meatless, you’ll need to add a bit of butter or oil. Cook the meat/onion/hot pepper combo till the onions become semi-translucent. Add the Mexican/enchilada sauce, lower the heat to simmer until the rice is done.

Once the 13 minute timer goes off, drain the rice and throw back into the empty pot. Add the them all together in the pot and stir up. Then add your drained, diced tomatoes and any other vegetable or legume you want. Finally add a couple cups of shredded cheese to the mix and stir it all up.

Take the cooled bell peppers and fill them up with the rice/meat mixture and place them open side up in a baking dish. Make sure that they are steady and won’t easily topple over. Top them all off with a little bit more cheese and throw them in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes and you are done. You’ll probably have extra “filling” that can be used in omelets, thrown in corn tortillas for tasty soft tacos, or simply reheated and eaten as is. Enjoy!