Snow Ice Cream

Wisconsin winter is in full swing right now, meaning we have plenty of snow, and this sweet treat, although not warm and cozy, is super tasty and easy to make. It has been a long time since I've had real ice cream, but this definitely hits the spot.

Ingredients
5-6 cups clean snow
1 c. almond milk
1/2 c. Splenda or sugar alternative (or sugar)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

In a medium-large mixing bowl (we used a popcorn bowl), mix together almond milk, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.

Add snow. Stir and fold together.

If it seems like there is a lot of milk in the bottom, add a little more snow, and then put in the freezer for an hour or two.

ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Whenever I make these cookies, they rarely last a few days. Additionally, they are incredibly easy to make, and only have 3 ingredients. The following recipe is for a single batch (12-18 cookies), but the pictures are of a double batch (24-30 cookies). Also please note my guesstimates of the cookie yields may be a little off as Jeremy, my husband, tends to eat the dough as I'm making them.

Ingredients
1 c. creamy peanut butter*
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. egg substitute (1 egg)
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Mix all ingredients in a mixer until well combined.

Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough into 1" to 1 1/2" balls. Press down with a fork to make cross pattern. I added mini chocolate chips to the top of some of mine, after the fork press, and then pushed them in with the second press.

ENJOY!

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*NOTE: You could also use chunky peanut butter, but we have not tried it yet.

Chocolate Molasses Cookies

This fantastic cookie recipe is minorly adapted from King Arthur Flour. Just writing this makes me want to pick them off my screen and eat them. That being said though, both Jeremy and I are huge fans of molasses and feel that these are basically the holidays in cookie form.

Ingredients
1 3/4 c. flour blend
1/3 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. egg substitute (1 egg)
1/3 c. molasses
granulated sugar

Directions

Thoroughly combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and xanthan gum.

With an electric mixer, mix shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Be sure to scrape the edges of the bowl with a spatula regularly.

Add dry mixture and continue mixing until well combined. Refrigerate dough for at least an hour, or up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Make tablespoon sized balls, and roll in granulated sugar. Press down lightly to flatten some on cookie sheet (they will not spread too much).

Bake for 8 to 11 minutes, until just set, and slightly cracked on top. Let cool on cookie sheet before removing.

Move to cooling rack.

ENJOY!

Holiday Cranberry Pineapple Salad

Click to view larger

My grandma makes this every time we visit for the holidays. The recipe comes from the November 1965 edition of Better Homes and Garden, and my grandma's copy has definitely see better days. Normally this is served with a dairy topping (as seen in the recipe), which I just omit.

Ingredients
1 13 1/2 oz. can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice
2 boxes of sugar-free lemon Jell-O
1 cup 7-up*
1 can jellied cranberry sauce

Directions

Drain juice from pineapple into a 1 cup measuring cup, add water make a full cup (1). Pour into a saucepan and heat on the stove until boiling.

Dissolve both Jell-O packets into liquid. Place on ice in a tin or cake pan to cool, add 7-up. Chill to partially set. (2)

While Jell-O is cooling, mix together pineapple and cranberry sauce (3). Fold in cooled Jell-O to mixture. (I did this in a shallow tupperware container so that it could easily be covered and refrigerated.)

Refrigerate until set (4).

ENJOY!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Birthdays, weddings, parties... cake/cupcakes are essential. I have tried countless recipes, but this one definitely "takes the cake". This is the recipe we used for our wedding cupcakes. It is slightly adapted from the King Arthur Flour recipe to make it safe.

Cupcakes at our wedding

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
1 cup (3 oz.) cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. xanthan gum
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup egg beaters substitute (4 eggs)
1 1/3 cups water
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place cupcake papers in pan.

In a medium mixing bowl (not the bowl of your stand mixer), whisk together the sugar, brown rice flour blend, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum.

Put the oil, eggs, water, and vanilla into your mixer bowl, and beat well.

Blend the dry ingredients in to the liquid mixture 1 cup at a time; beating for 1 minute and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each addition.

Once all of the dry ingredients have been added, beat at medium-high speed for 2 minutes, to make a smooth batter.
(This step is very important, as it adds air to the batter making the texture a little lighter).

Scoop the batter into the cupcake papers to about 2/3 full.

Bake the cupcakes for about 15-20 minutes. The cakes' internal temperature should be 210°F.

Remove the cakes from the oven, and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn them out of the pans to cool completely on a rack.

Optional: Freeze the cupcakes in airtight containers before eating. We’re not sure what this does, but when we do freeze them before eating, they seem to defrost to a perfect moist “gluten-textured” cake.

Frost*, and ENJOY!

Frosted with a 1M tip

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*NOTE: We highly recommend The Baker’s Kitchen pre-made frosting. It is light, creamy, melt in your mouth delicious. It also holds up well in heat, can be frozen on top of cupcakes, and is probably some of the best frosting we’ve ever had. (We used it at our outdoor July wedding).

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is by far one of my favorite cookie recipes. However, I have to give all the credit to King Arthur Flour, which is where I got the recipe from. There are only a couple of changes that I have made in order to make "Kyle-Friendly". Definitely a keeper! (Yields about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons gf vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup egg beaters (or 2 large eggs)
2 1/3 cups King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour Blend
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions
This recipe works best if made with an electric mixer, but it can be done by hand. The main difference is that they seem a little fluffier (before and after baking) when made with a mixer.

Beat the shortening, sugars, vanilla and salt till fluffy.

Beat in the eggs 1/4 cup at a time, being sure to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl part way through, to make sure everything is well mixed.

Whisk together the flour or flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add the dry ingredients into the shortening mixture, and mix on low until well blended. Then increase the speed (if using an electric mixer) and let mix for about a minute or two until the dough looks fluffy. Scrape down the bowl.

Remove the mixer attachment and mix in the chocolate chips by hand (they won't get as beaten up this way.

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour, or for up to 2 days. If your mixing bowl does not have a top use saran wrap, or I like to transfer mine to a large mixing bowl that has a lid. (Refrigeration is a must!)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Lightly grease a couple of baking sheets with non-stick spray, or line with parchment paper. (I have forgotten to do this a number of times, it is usually only an issue if you don't use shortening.)

Scoop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving space between the cookies so they can spread. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, to set, before transferring to racks to cool completely.

ENJOY!

Pie (Pillsbury Crust)

When I made these we were also in the process of making applesauce, dehydrated apples, and pizza with the Pillsbury Crust. I made two types of pie, and then a plain crust, in hopes of making a pudding pie. However, the pudding we made didn't set right and stayed very soupy.

Ingredients
1 container Pillsbury Gluten Free Pie Crust
1 - 1 1/2 c sliced apples
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 Tbps sugar
1 Tbps gluten free all purpose flour (I used King Arthur Blend)
1 Tbps Nature Balance dairy free butter
1 20oz can no sugar added cherry pie filling

Directions
Preheat oven to 425° F.

Put the sliced apples in a medium bowl, add cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and flour and mix well. Feel free to add more or less cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar to taste. Once mixed, set aside.

Spray inside of pie dish with non-stick butter spray.

Open dough and slice in half. Place half back into the container, and cut the other half into quarters, if making individual pies. Warm each quarter individually as it is needed.

Roll out the warmed dough between two pieces of plastic wrap, as suggested on the container, to about 1/4" thick. (I used rolling pin rings that ensure that the dough only gets so thin.) Then peel the top piece of plastic wrap off, and carefully lay the crust into the pie dish with the second piece of plastic facing up. Without taking the plastic off gently press the crust into the pie tin/dish. Once the crust is fully pressed into the dish slowly pull off the plastic wrap. Gently pull off excess dough around edges of dish.

Fill unbaked pie crust with apples, cherries, or other fruit of your choice. The apples should be about twice as much as what looks to be needed, as they will shrink a lot during baking

Following the steps from above roll out slightly smaller pieces of dough to cover the top of each pie. Once placed, crimp edges together (I used a fork). Cut vent holes into the top of each pie.

Cover edges of pie with tin foil. To do this make strips of foil about 1 1/2" wide. For little pies each will need approximately two strips. Fold foil together where they meet so that it does not fall apart, the fold the foil lengthwise at a right angle so that it makes an L shape. Carefully, wrap the foil around the crust of the pie.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove tin foil, and bake another 10 minutes. Let cool.

ENJOY!