I suppose I should give a bit of an explanation about me. I am quite tempted at this point to just say that you can find it in the first section of the book entitled "Why a Gluten Free Recipe Book?" But, I realize that some people will stumble upon this blog without ever hearing about the book. So, this is the short version:
A few years ago, my daughter was diagnosed with Celiac's disease and I was soon embarking into a new world of gluten free cooking. Complicating matters was that my two other children didn't want to go gluten free, and my husband, who has a genetic cholesterol condition, really needed to have the benefits that a whole grain diet had to offer. So, what was a good mother and wife to do? Well, after much research and trial and error, I came up with a way to cook gluten free to satisfy the whole family! I created my own gluten free flour recipe and successfully converted my gluten recipes to gluten free. My goal with writing the book was to help make the transition easier for others who are going gluten free. To not only offer recipes, but also information about gluten free products and how to use them, so that others could convert their own recipes to gluten free as well.
So, that is it in a nutshell! It was a busy summer and fall of 2013 as I worked on getting the book finished. But, as the book was finally published in December (just in time for the Holidays!) I could sit back a bit and enjoy the time with family. My oldest son, who is a sophomore in college this year came home with one request and that was to make a "real" gingerbread house this year. Well, this was the result:
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| Christmas 2013 gingerbread house |
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| All lit up! |
It was a lot of work, but I think it came out well for our first try! My first task was to make the gingerbread gluten free. I think the recipe was just right and we enjoyed some other cookies that I made with the dough.
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| "Snowflake cookies" |
So, I think my first my first recipe post will be the gingerbread recipe. Okay, I know, you are saying, "But, the Holidays are over!" Yes, but gingerbread CAN and SHOULD be enjoyed at other times of the year as well. These "Snowflake cookies" certainly fit into wintertime as we enter into this New Year of 2014. I started making these a number of years ago (before going gluten free) after seeing Ginger Snowflakes in a Sunset magazine (Dec. 2001) issue. I used Royal icing (leftover from the house building) to make the designs. Here is the recipe for the gingerbread:
Lisa's Gluten Free Gingerbread
7 1/2 - 8 cups all purpose gluten free flour (I used the "cake flour" recipe from my book which contains xanthan gum)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp binder mix (also from my recipe book) which is: 1/4 tsp xanthan gum + 1/4 tsp guar gum
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar (depending on your taste)
2 large eggs
1 cup molasses
3 Tbsp water
Whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar together till fluffy. Beat in eggs, molasses and water until well combined. Mix in flour one or two cups at a time until you reach a consistency that dough can be handled. "Knead" briefly and then wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Let sit 10 - 15 min. before rolling dough out. Roll till about 1/4 inch thick and cut cookie shapes as desired. Bake in 375°F oven for about 15 min. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack completely before using icing or dusting with powdered sugar.
Be creative and have fun! Happy New Year everybody!
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