I’m not an alcohol drinker, though I sometimes develop recipes with them, and I like the twist of flavor they add to sweet and savory dishes. For my third cookbook, The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Pies and Desserts (just you wait), there’s a recipe that uses rum. So I sort of just want to use it up.
Also, I meant to put up this post before the holidays. So it is sort of holiday-inspired… okay?
I wanted to make double chocolate cookies with a bit of a chew. Then I wanted to make a sepearate molasses cookie. Then I wanted to make a chocolate gingerbread cookie. Then I figured that, in addition to the other cookies (including gingerbread men and another chocolate cookie from my book testing) that I’ve already made, this might be overkill in the chocolate/molasses department if I do three more.
(Okay, it was actually because I don’t have the freezer space).
Just like the shortbread recipe that I remember, another stand-by favorite during the holidays was Peanut Butter Balls. Similar to Buckeyes, these are peanut butter and rice crisp cereal balls coated in chocolate. Super easy to make and so addicting.
The recipe has been in my mom’s recipe box forever, but it hails from the back of a Rice Krispie box. These days, they are a little healthier using gluten-free and vegan ingredients, but delicious just the same. You honestly can’t taste the difference, and there are a few other modifications on the way. Continue reading
My favorite shortbread recipe came off the box of cornstarch from when were a kid. It’s simple, traditional, and most of all, nostalgic.
I remember rolling and decorating these when we were a kid. I loved every second, and it was even better when we would sneak into the freezer and snag a cookie or two as the weeks to Christmas approached.
These are adapted from the box of Canada brand cornstarch, called “Grandma’s Shortbread”. Here is the original recipe. I do recommend if you are rolling it into shapes or want it to hold a particular shape that you refrigerate it for a bit, first.
I will upload a photo later, but wanted to make sure that I got the recipe here for you!
Makes a couple dozen
Free of: dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, nuts, seeds, peanuts, nightshades
3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
3/4 cup nondairy margarine (I used soy-free Earth Balance), softened
Put the sorghum flour, quinoa flour, cornstarch, xanthan gum, and icing sugar in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. Add the nondairy margarine and stir with a wooden spoon until soft and smooth.
Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes (or longer if you are rolling them out).
Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. The original recipe says not to line them but I always do out of habit.
Roll about 1-inch balls between your palms. Either press down with a fork or make a finger indent if you want to fill them with something (as I did).
The original recipe says to bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack. I find that mine don’t brown on the Silpat, and take about 20 minutes. Let cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Usually I fill the indents with jam, but when we were kids we used candied cherries or holiday M&Ms. This year, for something a little different, I found holiday Skittles at the store and couldn’t resist bringing back a bit of those memories (after all, they sort of look like M&Ms). Plus, Skittles are now vegan (sugar aside); they nixed the gelatin.
I made a little icing sugar icing, filled the holes, and pressed in a Skittle (S-side down). They look lovely! I sampled a Skittle on its own and, you know, it used to be one of my favorites and I haven’t had it in so long I didn’t really love it. But, they look good on the cookies so you have to sacrifice, right?
I haven’t had much time to update but have been making a slew of goodness.
Among them, a Cinnamon Swirl Sweet Potato Bread (to be in the cookbook).
almond-crusted berry truffle
soft pumpkin cookies
I promised myself that this Extravaganza needs to end. Today I opted the last day, however, mid-way through the day, a scratchy throat slowly came upon me, a light fever emerged, and frankly, I am terrified of getting ill for the holidays. Tomorrow I plan on making a fruitcake and a panforte, and in lieu of candied fruits I use dried fruits, so I packed my dehydrator full of apples, apricots and cranberries for tomorrow’s (final) CBE. In addition, tomorrow brings chocolate almond bark and peanut butter balls.
peppermint patties
After pumpkin cookies, fluffy, full of raisins and dotted with pepitas (which I was going to use a cinnamon glaze, but I loved them as-is), peppermint patties, and berry truffles, I was finished.
Both with my baking for the day, and physically. Tomorrow, I pray, can be filled with baking and last-minute gift buying, to be completely finished.
berry truffles (cocoa-crusted, coconut-crusted, almond-crusted)
ruldolph cookies
Christmas Baking Extravaganza Part IV went underway on Sunday afternoon, when I plugged away in my kitchen to prepare three new things. Alas, I ended up with two, as I had a relatively tight schedule, but the next day, finished off the third. This entailed some tasty Ruldolph cookies, complete with an almond butter base, chocolate chip eyes, pretzel antlers, and a Hot Tamale nose (the only red safe candy I could find!). Sweetened with agave, these slightly chewy, slightly fluffy cookies are definitely my favourite thus far – the base I will save and work with more and more. These were a trial – perhaps adjusted later for my book – as they cracked a little and weren’t up to par. The taste, though, is excellent. The look – eh, not so much.
I also made some cranberry cookies, dotted with tart, fresh cranberries, half-dipped in melted chocolate, and rolled, then, in toasted, chopped almonds. The last one – to be continued the next day, was a Eggnog (eggnot?) Glazed Nutmeg Cookie.
These are “to be photoed”, as I was baking primarily in the evening, and will get them up once the Christmas trays start being assembled.
Monday was also the day I finally handed in all of my forms to finish my masters degree (yay!) so I celebrated on Tuesday with a yummy tofu quiche and a greek salad.
tofu quiche with millet crust
I have made tofu quiche with both silken and regular tofu and find that both are tasty, but really enjoy the hearty non-silken version. If you use silken, add a couple tablespoons of a preferred flour or starch to help bind it together.
Tofu Quiche with Millet Crust
for crust:
3/4 cup millet grits
2 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt, fresh ground pepper to taste
for the filling:
350g package of extra-firm lite tofu, squeezed of moisture
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
10 button or cremini mushrooms, sliced
For the crust:
Lightly oil a 9″ pie plate. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add millet grits. Turn down heat, and let simmer until water is absorbed, about 12 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from heat and let stand about 10 minutes, covered. Uncover and stir in nutritional yeast, salt, fresh ground pepper. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
For the filing. In a blender or in a deep bowl with an immersion blender, puree tofu with non-dairy milk. Stir in nutritional yeast, garlic powder, turmeric, salt, and mustard. Set aside.
Go back to the millet and sample for seasoning. Adjust accordingly, and dump it into the pie plate. Using a spatula/spoon/back of fork/your fingers, smooth into the pie plate on the bottom and up the side, into a crust, pressing firmly. Set in fridge.
In a non-stick skillet, heat a little oil and saute onion for about 3 minutes. Add the remainder of the vegetables, sauteing until cooked through and softened, about 5-7 more minutes, depending how thinly you sliced them. Remove from heat and add into tofu mixture, stirring evenly.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Remove millet crust from fridge and dump tofu mixture into the crust. Carefully spread it evenly into the crust.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool about 10 minutes or longer – this is great at room temperature and excellent the following day.
Makes one 9″ quiche, about four large servings.
lemon glazed stars
Christmas Baking Extravaganza III came and went, and unfortunately, I did not have a chance to post about it. Included in the bunch were Lemon Glazed Stars,
Sugar Cookie Cut Outs, Mint No-Reos. I didn’t photograph all of them because I finished into the evening and the lighting was poor, but frankly, they tasted wonderful. Wonderful like Christmas!
This is a conversation that is frequenting far too often with my family:
“Laurie, aren’t you finished baking yet?” They inquire.
“No,” I smile. “Almost!”
“What else is there still to go?” A look of confusion crosses their face.
“Well, there is peanut butter balls… fudge…” I begin thoughtfully. “Dad requests fruitcake…” I’m not finished, but stop because of their look. But then I say, “I mean, if you don’t want to eat them…”
That is when they smile, brush off their concerns, and continue along on their merry way. And I sing Christmas carols in their wake.
As the baked goods fill my house with joy, my mind wanders over the Christmas dinners to prepare. As three different dinners approach, I consume my extra time (or lack thereof… Really, I am thinking about this during work/yoga and training/driving/et cetera) planning menus, revising said menus, then re-planning each menu.
The graciousness of my family has allowed for gluten-free, vegan meals with the exception of a main meat at each gathering, so I can eat free of worry and, you know, be one of the bunch.
tofu stuffed in fresh buns
Recently, I make some buns that will make their way into my second book, and enjoyed a hearty lunch with marinated, pan-fried tofu, baby spinach, tomatoes, sauteed zucchini and some vibrant, yellow mustard. The best condiment known to man.
In the latter half of the past year, I have begun to work at a school with elementary-aged school children. As I am there over snack and lunch times, celiac disease has been brought up various times. The younger kids – okay, the older, too – think it’s a riot. The game “can you eat this? Can you eat this? What about this?” Is absolutely hilarious to them. Mind you, had they been asking these same questions nearly four years ago at diagnosis, my laughter would have more than likely not joined theirs. Holding up various Rice Krispie Squares, hallowe’en left-overs, and (ghastly) Dunkaroos, they giggle with glee at the new teacher who “can’t eat anything.” The hilarity continues when Miss S can, in fact, eat various candies, yes, kiddies, free of gluten, casein, AND vegan friendly.
And then, there was Jell-o. “Can you eat this?” He asked, innocently. I racked my brain, debating whether to pollute his mind with the origins of gelatin. “I choose not to,” I responded.
“Why?” Oh-so-innocently.
“It’s from animals,” I began. He looked at me as though I was a crazy ol’ loon and scooted along on his merry way. Alas, the whole horse hooves explanation didn’t make it’s way into his grade one mind.
Yet.
Unless, perhaps, you were a young’n filled with animosity and Santa dutifully filled your stocking with coal, causing, then, a chain of events with increasing outputting anger, you probably love Christmas.
I sure do. And I was good as gold. Still am in the eyes of Ol’ Saint Nick, I reckon.
A couple of weeks ago, I began my baking extravaganza – the one that stops when Christmas is here. With the sound system tuned to Christmas carols, I work my way through various flours, sweet-smelling unrefined sugars, fragrant flavours, with a smile permanently plastered upon my face.
I love Christmas. (Really, I do – even wrote a whole article about it here)
curried bean patties
Anyway, between CBEI and CBEII (Christmas Baking Extravaganza I and II, of course), I assembled some quick curry bean patties. They tasted great out of the oven – basically mushy beans with curry spices baked together – but not so much later. I just wanted some quick comforting curry flavoured beans with a nice agave-mustard dressing on greens, because of all of the intermittent taste testing.
chewy molasses cookies
CBEI featured Walnut Squares, Hawaiian Squares, and Nanaimo Bars (all from my first book, Mission in the Kitchen, and some re-formatted for my second book), and Chewy Molasses Cookies (from my second book). Unfortunately for the latter, they didn’t make it to the CBEI Freezer, but instead, just in our bellies that night – they were darn delicious and frankly, two Polish men, a lady with a huge sweet tooth, and a baker sampling her goods couldn’t leave this batch alone.
hawaiian squares
Truth be told, my favourite thing about holiday baking is baking for others. I love the satisfaction of baking gluten-free, vegan delights that “taste normal” or “taste like the real thing” (two pieces of terminology that drive me mad, but if those will be the compliments offered, then those will be what I accept with grace). Often, these words “vegan” and “gluten-free” aren’t mentioned, for those who might forg0 either term and replace it with various “yummies”.
But all in all, I just love to bake. But even more so, I love Christmas. Have I mentioned it? I do.
candy cake cookies
CBEII took place yesterday, then. I woke up, enjoyed my morning Breakfast Television over a coffee and a small breakfast, then off to yoga. I can’t lie – yoga was tough, for the reason of the following meditation. While the rest of my classmates journeyed through a guided meditation, visiting beauty and peace, I made myself a mental grocery list to get some much needed baking supplies, then chanted them silently so I wouldn’t forget.
That is some sort of meditation, isn’t it? Perhaps manta recitation can be grocery-list-making? Perhaps not.
Alas, I didn’t forget any pertinent supplies and came home with a mission in mind for CBEII. I went downstairs to the freezer and gasped (perhaps using a few choice words). I was chocolate-chip-less.
To some people, this can be solved with a quick trip to the store. For a gluten-free vegan, this is a 45 minute drive away. My stock of six bags from my last purchase had dwindled to zero. My four chocolate-based CBEII treats? Postponed to CBEIII.
maple-pecan pie mini cupcakes
The results, then, were Candy Cane Cookies (from Mission in the Kitchen), Maple-Pecan Pie Mini Cupcakes (from my new book), and a fudge that is still being tested. Not nearly as much as I anticipated, but a solid turn-out nonetheless.
I love Christmas!
