Gluten free flour blends are, really, the most important resource on this entire gluten free blog. A slightly more complex blend of flours (like my Better Than Cup4Cup Blend), including xanthan gum, is essential to success in most of my gluten free recipes. But lately I find myself using a more basic, 3-ingredient flour blend without the benefit of xanthan gum in some recipes, and it’s strangely liberating. Woohoo! I still believe that xanthan gum is a critical component of most gluten free baking, but this basic gluten free flour blend is an important resource, too, in a certain type of more delicate recipe. Scroll all the way down for the infographic that makes short work of remembering how to make this simple flour blend (it has also taken up permanent residence on my gluten free resources pages), but first, let’s review all the wonderful recipes this blend has made possible so far. Who knows where we’ll go from here!

[If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know the drill with the clickable collage, but just in case—hover over each photo for the recipe title, then click the picture to open a new window with that post and the entire recipe]

Here’s the 10¢ tour of these recipes made with my xanthan gum-free basic gluten free flour blend (remember – the links are all above):

Gluten Free Crêpes: The ultimate in delicate, crêpe batter without xanthan gum swirls around that frying pan with ease.

Gluten Free Fluffy Chocolate Chip Pancakes: These gluten free pancakes are made extra fluffy by the yogurt in the batter, but without xanthan gum the batter is still easily pourable.

Gluten Free Chocolate Pudding: Most chocolate pudding is made with cornstarch, but cornstarch will cause pudding to leak liquid when it’s chilled. This pudding, made with my basic xanthan gum-free gluten free flour blend, is smooth as silk—hot or cold.

Gluten Free Cornmeal Pancakes: I have made these pancakes both with a more traditional gluten free flour blend and with my basic xanthan gum-free blend, and the xanthan gum-free variety has a much nicer bite.

Classic Gluten Free Pancakes: Ah, the classic gluten free pancake. You can make it with a more traditional gluten free flour blend, one that contains xanthan gum, but you have to begin with a super hot skillet and work quick quick quick, as the batter will thicken as it stands. This xanthan gum-free pancake batter pours with ease and makes for a tender pancake that tastes just like you remember.

Gluten Free Microwave Chocolate Cake for 1: Disappointed by every other gluten free microwave cake I had ever made, I finally got it! No xanthan gum in the flour (along with a few other secrets I spill in that post and recipe) makes for the perfect moist, tender cake for 1—even once it’s cool. Quick chocolate fix!

Finally, as promised, here’s that handy infographic with the basic blend itself (which also lives on the Resources page with all the other All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blends). And Pin It so you don’t lose track of it!:

Love,
Me

P.S. Don’t forget your copy of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy! Your support means the world to me. For real.

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It’s easy to forget how elegant something as simple as rice pudding can be. There’s no flour and no cornstarch, and not even any egg yolks. You’ll need nothing but the arborio rice plus some milk to make this thick and creamy gluten free pudding. Sometimes, when I’m feeling like feeling virtuous, I make it with brown arborio rice (Lundberg family farms makes it). It will tolerate any sort of milk at all, as long as it’s not nonfat, and you can dial back or dial up the sugar, too.

Single servings of gluten free pudding (like we did with this no-cornstarch gluten free chocolate pudding), especially in these little 4 ounce Weck jars, are perfect for stashing in the back of the refrigerator for an after-school, or a late night, snack on the double.

 I like to steep some whole cinnamon and whole nutmeg in the milk, too, just to dress it up. And all you need to remember about cooking the rice is not to overcook it. Simmer it in water just until it has absorbed most of the liquid before pouring in the simmering milk.

If you’d like an even quicker and easier version of rice pudding (one that’s dairy-free, too) that requires almost no tending, kindly turn to page 179 of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy. That one even has a thin and lightly sweet crust on top that just … sends me.

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*This original mix has “modified manioc starch” as one of its lesser ingredients, which it claims is necessary for binding the wet and dry ingredients. Since both the dough and the bread are extremely chewy and stretchy without any modified manioc starch, I can’t for the life of me imagine how that is necessary. So I didn’t knock myself out trying to find some of my very own modified manioc.

Remember, when you buy the boxed mix, you still have to add allllll of these other ingredients (eggs, oil, cheese, water or milk – I used milk instead of water and dry milk, like in this mix, so you don’t have to go hunting for dry milk). And a note about cost-savings: This nameless company sells its 7.5 ounce original cheese bread mix for about $2.50 (on average, being kind). The gluten free tapioca starch/flour necessary for this recipe costs about $1.12 (on average). So you don’t have to take off your shoes (like I did), that’s less than half as expensive.

In my recipe directions, I recommend your chilling the dough before baking it, but really it isn’t entirely necessary. Chilling the dough simply makes it stiffer, which allows you to make a slightly more round roll. But a truly spherical pão de queijo would require a different, somewhat more complicated method entirely. So I chill the dough, but I consider that an optional step.

Since pão de queijo (or Brazilian cheese bread) essentially has only one dry ingredient (other than salt), and that dry ingredient is a starch (tapioca flour/starch), it won’t brown much unless you seriously overbake it. And if you seriously overbake the rolls, they will be dry as a bone. They should have a thin crust on the outside, and be quite chewy and stretchy on the inside. These are not intended to be light and fluffy rolls. They’re kinda fun and quick and easy to throw together, though, and when you make it yourself without the mix, it costs about half as much. Win-win? I’m here for you, in all my cheap and shoestringy glory. You my homies. You can officially stop paying double the price for a box of tapioca starch now. Please?

The post Quick Pão de queijo: Original Cheese Bread Copycat Recipe appeared first on Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.

This cake for 1 is the only microwave cake I have ever had that doesn’t become hard as a rock or bouncy as a ball as it cools. When I started working on this recipe, I figured I’d give you instructions for how to make it in the microwave, and when I made it again just for myself I’d stick to the oven. I’d just never met a microwave cake I could really get on with. Until…

now. This cake need only be made in the microwave. Even when it’s not too hot to turn on the oven (I see you around the corner, summertime). There are, of course, a few secrets to success in this microwave cake for 1.

First secret to success: what’s not in there. No xanthan gum. For real. Just a basic, xanthan gum-free gluten free flour blend. And no eggs. Hey, you can even make this vegan by using vegan chips, nondairy milk and vegetable shortening in place of butter.

Second secret to success: adding a few chocolate wafers or chips to the middle of the batter. They melt pretty gently in the microwave, and help keep the cake moist as it cooks.

Third and final secret to success: Adjusting the power of your microwave to approximate 1000 watts by microwaving at a reduced power level if necessary. For example, my microwave is a basic, countertop LG model. I had absolutely no idea what its wattage was. So I looked it up! It’s 1200 watts. I either microwave the cake for up to 1 minute 20 seconds at 80% power, or closer to 1 minute at 90% power. Don’t be afraid to stop the microwave, check with a toothpick, and restart it. And err on the side of undercooking, rather than overcooking. Trust me!

Without further ado, I give you the best gluten free chocolate microwave cake for 1 anyone has ever had, anywhere (too much?):

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Maybe you have a batch of my make-your-own gluten-free vanilla cake mix from page 193 of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy in your pantry? Use that in place of the dry ingredients in the recipe below (flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar). It’ll work just fine! You could even make this dairy-free if you use the dairy-free vanilla cake mix on page 195, and replace the butter with an equal amount of melted and cooled vegetable shortening. So many options!

Want even more options? Make this a simple gluten free strawberry cake, and 86 the strawberry-roasting. Just eliminate that step in the directions, and bake the cake for about an hour instead of 40 minutes, as the fresh, unroasted strawberries will hold more juice than the roasted ones do.

Before you make that decision, though, just look at what happens when you roast the strawberries first. They release much of their juice and it caramelizes in the oven, turning even the wimpiest strawberries into sticky, bright red delights, with the deep flavor to match.

Then just nest them, cut side down, on top of the smooth, gluten free vanilla cake batter, and bake away.

The cake will really be so moist that it keeps for days, just sitting there on the counter, loosely covered (if you have a cloche that fits over a cake plate, that’s perfect, but some plastic wrap will do just fine). The tricks for success are: (1) cover the cake in the oven if it starts to brown too quickly, (2) bake it in a light-colored metal pan or it will bake too quickly on the outside, and (3) bake only until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, not clean-as-a-whistle, as the top layer should have a bit of a custard-like texture. 

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Add some cubed salami and a few olives, it’s an Italian gluten free pasta salad. Just like that. Amazing! Serve it over some lettuce, maybe, and double up on the dressing, why don’t you?

The vinaigrette is a simple mustard vinaigrette, but its real depth of flavor comes from the slowly roasted shallots.

You can saute the shallots in a skillet instead of roasting them in the oven, but you are much more likely to burn them that way before they get soft and sweet enough. And good news! The shallots can easily be roasted ahead of time.

Unlike gluten free baking, gluten free cooking means you can play with the ingredients. Don’t like bell peppers? Leave them out! Prefer cilantro to parsley? Sub it right in. You get the idea. Oh, and one tip: You can make any homemade vinaigrette dressing you like with a simple ratio of 3 to 1, oil to acid (like vinegar or lemon juice). Never buy dressing again!

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Mom has a day, and its name is Mother’s Day. A special day calls for a special menu, particularly a Gluten Free Mother’s Day Menu. Mom is sweet – and she’s savory. Maybe your family kicks you out of the kitchen on Mother’s Day, and you love it. If so, please forward this post to your gifter and I’ll be honored to speak directly to the source.* If you’re the Dad, or the daughter or son, then let’s get to work. The first menu is for sweets, since life is too short to wait to plan your sweets. But they’re beautiful gluten free brunch sweets, so we’re not talking about gluten free cookies and brownies. The second menu is for savories, since savory feeds our souls and accompanies our coffee.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know the drill with the clickable collage, but just in case—hover over each photo for the recipe title, then click the picture to open a new window with that post and the entire recipe:

Here’s the 10¢ tour of your Gluten-Free Mother’s Day Sweets Menu (remember – the links are all above):

Gluten Free Miniature Apple Tarts: Mini tarts make brunch special, since they take a little extra work. This time of year, try making them with bartlett pears.

Gluten Free Yeast-Raised Donuts: These are the real deal – yeasted and deep-fried. Don’t worry. You won’t be giving Mom a heart-attack. Properly deep-fried foods don’t absorb oil. The hot oil seals the outside of the donut and then gently cooks the inside with the heat of the oil.

Gluten Free Yeast Free Cinnamon Buns: This recipe is a special preview recipe from Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy. This is how I make something super-impressive like cinnamon buns super quick and easy, ready in less than 40 minutes, start to finish. Make these for Mom if you haven’t planned ahead. Or make them the night before, refrigerate the shaped buns and then bake them right before brunch. Boom!

Gluten Free Morning Glory Muffins: These gluten free muffins are a bit sweet, but still have lots of nutrition Moms need. Delicious health food.

Gluten Free Pancakes: No xanthan gum and just a basic 3 gluten free flour blend in these easy, light and fluffy pancakes. Perfect.

Gluten Free Waffles: Ready in minutes just like pancakes, these waffles have secret weapons that make them crispy. Click through the picture to learn all about it. Plus, they’re a great make-ahead option since you can freeze them and just defrost them in the toaster from frozen.

Here’s the 10¢ tour of your Gluten-Free Mother’s Day Savories Menu (links are all above):

How To Roll Out Gluten Free Pie Crust: Recipe that is sweet or savory (your choice), and there’s a How To Video if you’re a scared-y cat. I thoroughly embarrass myself in the name of your pies and quiche. Talk about taking one for the team.

Gluten Free Crêpes: The batter for these perfectly light, perfectly pliable crêpes works best when you make it ahead of time. Plus, they even freeze well. Fill them with some prosciutto and Parmesan, maybe a few roasted asparagus spears. Mom will love you, Fancypants.

Gluten Free Spinach Balls: Instead of quiche, serve these 1970s-inspired hors d’oeuvres. Remind Mom of that fabulous decade when you were young and a tasty little thing yourself.

Gluten Free Savory French Toast: This could be the star of the brunch show.

Gluten Free Huevos Rancheros: Short on time? Make these huevos rancheros with store-bought gluten free corn tortillas.

Gluten Free Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread: Simply the best gluten free cornbread you have ever had. No matter what else you’ve ever had. I’m that confident (about the cornbread, not in general).

*Note: If I’m lucky, nobody is making any of these delicious gluten free brunch type foods for me on Mother’s Day, since what I dream of for Mother’s Day is an empty kitchen in which to work. Dreams are good. Whatever your plans, from my family to yours, I wish you each a very Happy Mother’s Day.

Love,
Me

P.S. Don’t forget your copy of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy! Your support means the world to me. For real.

The post Your Gluten Free Mother’s Day Brunch Menu appeared first on Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.

Light, airy, delicate but not fragile, gluten free crêpes are simple, light, French-style pancakes that we have made before around here, a long, long time ago. We made them with xanthan gum, because I did not yet know as much as I do now about gluten free flour blends. A little embarrassing (kind of like the photo in that post)? Perhaps…. Real life, circa 2+ years ago? Indeed. But I learned. Sometimes, xanthan gum needs to be left on the shelf. It’s okay. Like for perfecto gluten free pancakes, leave the xanthan gum out. Now we know, because we learned. It happens.

I made lemon simple syrup, and it was so easy that I haven’t published a recipe for it anywhere. I can do a post on general principles of cooking sugar, but I figure maybe you just want your gluten free cherry licorice and then maybe you’re done cooking sugar. If I’m wrong, tell me in the comments, okay?

You can even make these crêpes up to a couple hours ahead of time, cover them, and then serve them at room temperature. They’ll still be soft and pliable and delicious. Feel like freezing them? You can do that, too. But of course they’re at their absolute best when they’re fresh.

The consistency of the batter should be like half and half: thicker than whole milk, thinner than heavy cream. Swirl the batter around. You get good at it—fast. The first pancake is always for the cook. Enjoy it in all its ugliness.

Make them tonight. I bet you have all the ingredients right now. And don’t forget to tell me in the comments if you’re into recipes for things like lemon simple syrup and other sugar-cooking basics! Love you lots.

The post Gluten Free Crêpes (Xanthan Gum Free) appeared first on Gluten-Free on a Shoestring.

Plus, look out because we’re going to add in some chopped chocolate right at the end instead of adding butter. The better the chocolate you use, the better the pudding. But I think there’s room for almost all chocolate. I say almost because the cheapest chocolate, the stuff that tastes like moth balls and peanut butter, there’s no room for that. Luckily, I haven’t had that kind of chocolate in at least 20 years.

Cornstarch is a really effective thickener for puddings and for sauces. I would like to personally thank cornstarch for my Gluten Free Baked Sesame Chicken sauce. But when cornstarch cools, it has a bit of a harder time holding onto its liquid, so it can leak. If you have ever refrigerated a sauce or pudding thickened with cornstarch, you probably know just what I mean. In something like sesame chicken sauce (or the sauce in this Gluten Free Lemon Chicken from way, way back, a version of which is on page 167 of my First Cookbook), which is served warm, it works great. No complaints at all.

But if you stick with a xanthan-gum free gluten free flour blend for something you serve cool (and thicken with egg yolks, too, like a custard), your gluten free pudding will be incredibly stable whether you serve it warm, cool or anything in between.

I used Ghirardelli 70% cacao, and I’m glad I did. That’s what I consider the “good stuff,” since it’s more expensive and better, but when I’m recipe testing? That would be when I stick with something like Baker’s chocolate. I’m a cheapskate that way.

See how smooth? That’s when it’s already chilled. 

Ready in minutes with just a few basic pantry ingredients, a great recipe for gluten free chocolate pudding needs to be in your repertoire. Here’s that recipe, friend:

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With its comfy chairs and its thick special mugs for sale, Starbucks is like the coffee mother ship. It doesn’t matter one whit that, if I were one to cast aspersions, I might have a few choice words to say about their burnt coffee. I still end up there from time to time, even if I meant to be somewhere else. It’s really better for everyone involved (especially my children, who know this all too well) if I have coffee every.single.day. And even though I was never even drawn to those treats in the treat case at Starbucks before gluten free was a way of life for my son and me, I now find myself staring into that glass enclosed case, longingly.

That – and a very special reader (you know who you are) told me a very compelling sob story about this particular pound cake treat (complete with photos from a recon mission).

This pound cake doesn’t start out in a cold oven, like the Gluten Free Iced Lemon Pound Cake (also a Starbucks copycat recipe) we made not so very long ago. It simply bakes low and slow (325°F, for about an hour). It cracks a bit on top, but the crackled cinnamon-sugar-cocoa top is what we seek.

This pound cake is smooth and rich in chocolate, with just the right cinnamon to highlight and enhance the chocolate taste. It’s an all-butter gluten free pound cake, not a cream cheese and butter pound cake, so the chocolate and cinnamon really shine.

Looking for more Starbucks gluten free copycat recipes?:

Gluten Free Starbucks-Style Iced Lemon Pound Cake.

Gluten Free Starbucks-Style Vanilla Almond Biscotti.

And if you’re still looking for more, turn to page 186 of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring the cookbook for my classic Gluten Free Pound Cake recipe.

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