Fudge

I'm blaming all of this on pregnancy. I woke up yesterday wanting fudge so bad. I decided to make it today because we had lots of family coming to celebrate my little girl's birthday, so I knew I'd have help eating it. I've actually never made fudge before. Mostly because it's something I really love and I didn't want to risk screwing it up. I found a recipe on this blog that I figured I could handle and it turned out amazing. Happy Sugar Rush!

Fudge

4 cups of sugar (shocking, I know)
1 can evaporated milk
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Mix in a big pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Boil for 8 min. Remove from heat and add:

2 2/1 cups chocolate chips (I did half milk and half semi-sweet)
1 cup butter

Stir until mixture is melted and loses some of it's gloss. Add:

1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup more mini marshmallows

Stir until marshmallows are melted. Pour into butter cookie sheet and cool. This made very thin pieces for me, just thinner than I am used to. Next time I might use a 9x13 pan instead.

Buttercream Frosting

I've been searching for a homemade frosting recipe that tasted great but also had a good consistency to use in a decorating bag. Found!!! This stuff is fabulous and pretty versatile. I used it on a cake a few weeks ago and then again on sugar cookies today. Delicious. If you make it just like the recipe says it's quite firm and easy to decorate with, but it thins out easily so it's more spreadable, too.

(I used Wilton's Sky Blue food coloring and bought that edible Tangled graphic on Amazon. It's not perfect, but my 4 year old loved it.)

Wilton's Buttercream Frosting

1/2 c butter
1/2 c shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use almond extract...amazing)
4 c powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients with a mixer. To thin, add milk 1 tbsp at a time to desired consistency.

Pumpkin Chocolate Cake

October is my very favorite month. I love the whole thing. We celebrated it’s arrival this week with our first new fall recipe and boy, was it a good one! I love pumpkin but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea of a pumpkin chocolate cake. I’m a definite believer now. I originally found this recipe on Gluten Free Mommy, but I changed it a little to use the ingredients I prefer.  I used to always just use store-bought all-purpose gluten-free flours in baked goods, mostly because recipes with lists of several flours was so intimidating to me. It worked okay. This year I’ve made a much more solid effort to branch out and try new things. I strongly suggest doing that if you haven’t already. For one thing, the store-bought all-purpose mixes are so expensive. For another, using other flours sometimes gives you much better texture. For example, I have fallen absolutely in love with sorghum flour. I don’t know all the science behind gf flours, but I can tell you that my cakes, breads, etc are so much better with sorghum flour. I’m so glad I finally tried that. Gluten-free baking isn’t nearly as scary as I always thought. Okay, lecture over, on to baking:

Chocolate Pumpkin Cake

2/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup butter, softened (I used pureed black beans….worked great)
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. In your mixer, beat the butter (or beans) until fluffy. Add the sugars and mix well. Add the vanilla, then eggs, one at a time.  Add the pumpkin and milk. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Pour batter into two greased 9 in cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 min (mine was done in 30). Remove from oven and cool ten minutes. Invert pans onto cooling rack and wait until completely cool to frost.
Oh, the frosting. It’s fantastic. But if you don’t have everything on hand, I think this one would be great, too.


Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

4-5 cups powdered sugar (depending on desired consistency)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp orange juice
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
Place all ingredients in mixer and beat to combine, but don’t overbeat.

I only frosted half, then froze the other half and the left-over frosting so we can eat again next week. Can’t wait.

Waffle Cookies

The other night my sister-in-law was talking about waffle cookies and I’ve pretty much been thinking about them ever since.  I can’t even remember the last time I had waffle cookies, which is a shame, because they’re amazing and fun all at once.  I found a recipe on allrecipes.com  that I modified a bit to make them gluten free.  I don’t remember what the “regular” ones even tasted like anymore, but these are so good!  The frosting recipe is my favorite chocolate frosting ever, so it makes everything double-fantastic. Enjoy.

Gluten Free Waffle Cookies
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. butter, melted (I used pureed beans and it worked great)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. gf all purpose flour (I used 1 c. white rice flour and 1 c. tapioca flour)
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional (I have no idea why I didn’t add those)

Preheat waffle iron and mix all ingredients together.  Drop dough onto by heaping tablespoons onto the center of the waffle iron. I actually just plopped a huge scoop right in the middle and it turned out great. Close the lid and cook for about 90 seconds. Watch them close so they don’t burn!

My Favorite Chocolate Frosting
8 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 c. skim milk
4 c. sifter powdered sugar
Melt butter in medium sauce pan on low.  Whisk in the cocoa and milk.  Bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat. Using an electric mixer, beat in the powdered sugar until thick and smooth.  Pour warm frosting over cookies (or a cake, or whatever).

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

This is my new favorite treat.  I've made these twice now and they are just amazing!  I'm usually hesitant to try anything with filling because it sounds a little too complicated for me, but it really wasn't.  The complication has been finding the right amount of xanthan gum.  The first time I made these I forgot to use any and they actually turned out pretty decent but were very sunken-in. Once I added the filling you really couldn't tell, so you could try them that way.  The second time I used 1 1/2 tsp, which I think was way too much but I actually really liked the end result.  The batter was pretty "gummy" and the cupcakes baked up sort of deformed-looking, but the texture was incredible and once they were frosted they looked perfect.  It was almost like an angel-food cake or something.  It was fantastic.  I think the next time (because there WILL be a next time :)) I will try 1tsp or a little less of xanthan gum and see what that does.  Maybe by then I'll be decent at taking pictures of food and you can see them.  Anyway...these are amazing and super easy!  The original recipe came from the Cupcake Blog.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 c butter, room temperature (I used pureed white northern beans...takes away just about all the fat!)
2 c sugar
4 large eggs (room temperature)
2 3/4 c gluten free all-purpose (I used 2 c Blue Chip Featherlite, 1/2 c tapioca & 1/4 c sweet sorghum...that's what I had on hand)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 c milk
1/4 c fresh squeezed lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter on hight until soft (again, I used beans and skipped that step).  Add sugar and beat until fluffy.  Add eggs.  In a seperate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.  Slowly add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix well.  Slowly add milk combine well.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Scoop into cupcake papers  that have been sprayed with cooking spray (about 1/2 full).  Bake 20-23 min or until tooth pick comes out clean.  Cool completely on cooling rack.  Once cool, add filling and frost.  See below:


Raspberry Filling
Smuckers "Simply Fruit" Raspberry Spread
 
When the cupcakes have cooled, spoon about half a bottle of raspberry spread into a frosting bag with skinny tip.  Poke about half way into the center of each cupcake and squirt until top begins to rise (I think it ends up being about 1/2tsp per cupcake)
 
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick butter, room temperature
6oz cream cheese (I used fat-free)
1 1/2-2 c powdered sugar
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest

Beat butter and cream cheese until creamy.  Slowly add powdered sugar to desired consistency (I used slightly more than 2 cups).  Add lemon juice/zest.  Beat to combine.

Bake Sale Brownies (Aka: BEST BROWNIES EVER!)

Tonight my cute sister-in-law made the most fabulous gluten-free brownies.  She actually used the America's Test Kitchen Bake Sale Brownies recipe, but just switched the flour for gluten-free.  They were so amazing!  Definitely worth a try.

Bake Sale Brownies
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour

 Preheat oven to 350 and move an oven rack to the middle position.  Grease an 8in square pan (or line w/ foil).  Melt the butter and chocolate together in the microwave, stirring often, for about 1 to 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes.  Whisk the sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Stir in the melted chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in the flour until well mixed.  Pour batter into prepared pan and about 22-27 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Fudgy Brownies

Last night we were craving sugar.  Phil specifically wanted brownies.  I’m a big fan of mixes, but I didn’t have a gluten-free one so I decided to try making some from scratch.  It was a risky move when we were so desperate for something delicious, but it turned out rather amazing!  This is a recipe that I HIGHLY recommend trying out.  It sounds way more time consuming than it really is. 

Fudgy Brownies
1/4 c. almonds, ground fine in food processor (I used the incredible Magic Bullet)
1/4 c. gf oats, also ground fine
1/3 c. rice flour
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. walnut or pecan pieces (I left these out, but I bet that would be delicious!)

Preheat oven to 325 and generously grease 8x8 pan.  Combine ground almonds, oats, and rice flour, set aside.  Place the chocolate, butter, and salt in a sauce pan and melt on stove-top over low heat.  Stir constantly and remove from heat when the mixture is smooth.  Cool for 5 min.  Add the sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add flour mixture and stir until moistened.  Stir in nuts if you’re using them.  Scrape batter into pan and bake about 25 min or until a tooth pick comes out moist but clean. 
These are delicious warm (we ate them with vanilla ice cream) but were equally amazing when they were completely cooled the next morning (yes, morning. Don’t judge me).

Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the food.  I love pumpkin so I’m always up for trying a new recipe.  I got the pumpkin bar recipe from Betty Crocker and the frosting from here.  These turned out great and I think this frosting would taste good on just about anything you make with pumpkin.

Here is the cake mix I use:
Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix Yellow 15.0 oz Box,6 packs
 
Pumpkin Bars
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 eggs
1.   Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of cookie sheet shortening or cooking spray.
2.   In large bowl, beat all bar ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread in pan.
3.   Bake 18-20 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 2 hours.
4.   Spread frosting over bars. Store in refrigerator.
 
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 c. butter, softened
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I tried these today and I’m in love.  They’re amazing.  I modified this recipe from one on Gluten-Free Goddess.  Try it.  You won’t be sorry.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 3/4 c. all purpose gluten-free flour (I used Blue Chip Feather Lite, my new favorite in almost everything)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
*Whisk these in a bowl and set aside.  Then cream together:
3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
2 eggs
*Add dry ingredients to cream mixture,  mix well.  Then add:
3 c. gluten-free oats
1 c. milk chocolate chips
*Scoop tablespoon-sized balls onto well greased cookie sheet and bake 11-13 min.  This made about 3 1/2 dozen cookies so there’s plenty to freeze for later!

Browned Butter Frosting

Last week I recieved the most delightful package in the mail. It was from my mom, and it contained half a dozen banana cupcakes. Yum. She sent me the recipe along with a new recipe for frosting and because I love sweets so dang much, I tried it immediately. It was the most amazing twist on regular vanilla frosting. Looking for something new and delicious to eat? Try it! You can find the recipe for the cupcakes and the frosting right here.

HOLY DELICIOUS!!!!

Tonight our Namaste Blondies were gone, and I couldn't stand the idea of not having dessert. I got on the CrockPot 365 blog for some inspiration and found a Peach Pie recipe. It was amazing! It took me less than 5 minutes to throw together. I put it in the crockpot at about 5 and we ate it at about 9:30.

Here's my version of the recipe:

1-29oz can peaches, with juice
1 1/4 c. gf baking mix (I used Pamelas. Not baking gluten-free? Use Bisquick!)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2T melted butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Pour peaches in the bottom of your crockpot. In a separate bowl, combine all other ingredients. Mixture will be really crumbly. Pour over peaches and press down slightly with your hand. Cook on high for 4 hours. Top with vanilla ice cream.

This was so easy and we LOVED IT!