Why are they called Animal Crackers? They’re clearly cookies. Anyone?

There are two types. The Barnum’s Animal Crackers type. Those are the good ones, if you ask me (even though you didn’t). Then there’s the type that comes in that huge bear. I’m pretty sure you should only buy that one in a place with exposed beams in the ceiling.

This gluten-free version is more like the Barnum’s kind, since that’s what I like better. I am categorically unable to detect any taste at all in the huge bear kind. And there’s also the matter of the bear. Which freaks me right out.

I use Vanilla Bean Paste for the vanilla flavor in these simple cookies. You can totally just sub in pure vanilla extract, but the vanilla bean paste is hugely flavorful, since it’s not an extract. It’s the vanilla beans! It’s kinda spendy, but a little goes a long way. It gives the cookies (and really anything you use it in) super depth of flavor.

This dough is super smooth, and not at all sticky. It rolls out really nice. You’ll want to roll it pretty thick, though, or the cookies will brown too fast. Then you really should freeze the rolled out dough until firm. Next, cut out shapes (apparently, I have a penchant for duckies).

Freeze the cut outs on the baking sheet. Ignore the floating bunny head. I’m trying to ignore it. But I keep peeking at it through my fingers. Okay, I’m mildly fascinated by the floating bunny head. Especially since there’s a full bunny right next to him.

Ooooh they’re all baked now.

Then I stacked them up, since it makes for a pretty picture. And I love to take pretty pictures.

Click through for this easy peasy recipe.

P.S. Wanna know about the Chocolate Animal Crackers?

P.P.S. If you’ve ever had any questions about gluten-free flours, both commercial blends like Better Batter (which you know I use) or component flours, you need to visit — and then bookmark — this page on Gluten-Free Canteen. I’m so glad Lisa did this. Now I can send everyone there whenever they ask me flour questions, since my knowledge is as limited on the subject as hers is vast.

This recipe is plucked from the Shoestring Recipe Archives. There are lots of recipes in there that could use a bit of sprucing up, this one mostly in the way of process photos to help you get it just right.

Since Fridays around here mean pizza for dinner, I thought I’d show you what we might have for dinner on a day like this.

It’s deep, baby.

If you’re gentle with the dough, you can roll it out between two sheets of unbleached parchment paper and fit it into a prepared pan like so.

The press it into the sides of the pan.

Then line the crust with slices of firm cheese (I used white cheddar and gruyère, since that’s what I had on hand), and whatever else you like (or nothing at all – I used cubed pancetta and chopped herbs).

Cover generously with tomato sauce and then a layer of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

This pizza crust recipe is adapted from the original Pizzeria Uno recipe for Deep Dish.

My version of Deep Dish Pizza Crust has cornmeal as an ingredient because it helps make the crust a little more sturdy and gives it the bite you want. The cornmeal does make the crust delicate and a bit unstable (kind of like me).  But it’s completely fine, nothing to worry about. Just do the best you can to get it into the pan, and then press it into shape.

Love,
Me

P.S. What do you think about my resurrecting some oldies but goodies like this from the archives? I’m trying to make the most of what we have, since there’s lots here. Don’t worry. I’ll always add some somethin’ to make it worth your while.

 

Ever hear of Japanese Water Roux (Tangzhong)?

As a card-carrying member of the Food Dorks Academy, I love learning what other cultures do to make bread. And then I hunker down and bury myself in figuring out how to make it work for team gluten-free.

I might not be the most fun at parties any more.

But if you make this supersoft bread that stays fresh forever, you might just see that I’m tons of fun in the kitchen. And by might, I mean will. And by fun I mean hands-off-my-bread-get-your-own.

I learned about this from someone else’s virtual kitchen. I adapted it from The 350 Degree Oven: Adventures in Mika’s Kitchen. She assembles her dough differently, and I’m sure more authentically. What do I know? I’ve never been to Japan. My method of assembling the loaf is a bit simpler, since I’m fairly certain that I’m a bit simpler than Mika. And by simple I mean … simple.

This is what it looks like. I don’t really know what else to say. I think I just teared up a little.

Come see the water roux.

To make the water roux, I placed 47 grams (about 1/3 cup) Better Batter and 1 cup water in a small saucepan and whisked to combine well. Then I cooked it over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, and after almost exactly 2 minutes (yes, I timed it – please refer to dork designation above), it thickened quite a lot. One you see the whisk leaving tracks in its wake, it’s done. Remove it from the heat pronto, pardner.

Then let it cool. I put it in this here container, and refrigerated it. It makes enough for 2 loaves of bread (140g water roux per loaf), and I’m definitely going to be making more gluten-free bread with this stuff. It’s magic!

The dough is shaggy.* And tacky to the touch. But you’ll dust it with more flour and pat it out into a rectangle, then divide it into 6 pieces.

Then roll each piece out into a disk about 1/2 inch thick. After that, gently fold each disk over on itself from short side to short side.

* I once had an editor — not my esteemed book editor whom I adore — tell me that the word “shaggy” is not a proper term for describing bread dough. No one will understand what you mean! I don’t like that particular editor. Admittedly, you did not need to know that, but I think I needed to tell it to you. Apologies.

Loosely stack the folded pieces of dough in a loaf pan. Make sure you don’t pack the dough in there, or it won’t bake evenly and you may have raw bits here in there in the dough even after it’s baked. You want the air to be able to circulate everywhere.

I used the small pullman loaf pan from USA Pans without the top, but you can just as easily use USA Pans 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan or another loaf pan with high sides. I used the Pullman Loaf Pan because it has a narrow bottom and high sides, and I wanted the loaf to rise mostly up instead of out. That, and a number of you had asked about that loaf pan, since King Arthur Flour sells it as a loaf pan for gluten-free bread. It’s nice. But I usually stick with my regular 8.5 x 4.5 USA Pans loaf pan.

Spray the loaf with warm water, cover the pan with plastic wrap and place the pan in a warm, draft-free place to rise until it’s about 150% its original size.

I used my Brød & Taylor Folding Bread Proofer, because it gives consistently professional results, without any of the stress that can come with getting your gluten-free bread to rise just right—every time. They’re a sponsor of mine, but only because I hunted them down like a dog. I wanted them in my sidebar. I wanted you to see what a revolution in gluten-free baking their proofer is. I’m bossy!

Here’s exactly what to do. I told you I was bossy!

 

Love,
Me & this Japanese Bread (we’re a team now)

P.S. Feel like making more gluten-free bread? Come see my catalog of gluten-free breads. It’s a doozy.

 

Remember Hostess® Cupcakes?

Me too. Clearly, I love a good clone. But these aren’t those.

They’re better. And anyway Hostess® is in big trouble. Not sure how that shakes out, but it seemed worth mentioning.

Can I be honest with you? I’m not really one for burying a chocolate candy in a cupcake and calling it original. I love a pretty cupcake picture as much as the next food blogger, but I don’t really think that’s why you come here.

Is it why you come here? *oops*

I love it when you visit me, and I don’t want to disappoint. But I just can’t … phone it in. I make plenty of things that aren’t worth mentioning. So … I don’t mention them. These cupcakes are worth mentioning.

The rich chocolate top and the creamy marshmallow filling in these cupcakes are just the thing to set off the smoky-sweetness of the molasses, honey and maple syrup in the gingerbread cake.

You start with the batter for the Gingerbread Cake we made last Fall. But you put it in your USA Pan 12-cup muffin tin. And you don’t grease it if that’s what it is. If it’s not, grease or line it. Then fill the cups 2/3 of the way full.

Bake and cool completely.

Make the marshmallow filling. It should be thickly pourable.

Poke holes in the bottoms of the cupcakes, and then fill the holes.

Fill ‘em all.

Make the chocolate topping. See the properly tempered chocolate? You need to seed it if you want it to set at room temperature. I explain it all in the printable.

Then dip.

And twist the cupcake so the chocolate doesn’t drip down the side.

They’ll be shiny.

And then they’ll set. Perfect.

Love,
Me

P.S. See you tomorrow? We’ll make the softest gluten-free bread you’ve ever had.

 

Breakfast is pretty exciting around here these days.

First Froot Loops. Now…breakfast cookies. And not just any breakfast cookies. Whole grain banana pecan breakfast cookies. Naturally sweet, high in protein and with lots of bite.

Wanna know why? ‘Cause you asked for them. Make these ahead of time, and you’ve got breakfast to go.

Here’s how…

Toss the diced banana and pecans in some dry ingredients. Set them aside.

Mix up all the rest of the ingredients, and then fold in the nuts and diced bananas. There’s another banana in there, plenty of oats, plus just the right amount of Gluten Free Whole Grain Teff and Gluten Free ‘Sweet’ White Sorghum Flour.

Divide the dough into 24 balls, then press them into disks.

Et voilà. Protein-packed, nutrient-dense, super tasty breakfast to go.

Love,
Me

P.S. Looking for more inexpensive gluten-free breakfast ideas? Try Pumpkin Granola Breakfast Cookies. Or how about homemade Maple Almond Granola? Pumpkin Carrot Cupcakes are totally breakfast, too, if you call them muffins.

If anything is clear from this experiment, it’s that I need a hobby.

For the 4-1-1 about this recipe, visit my friend Lisa’s blog, Gluten-Free Canteen.

Lisa & I did it together. Our recipes are a bit different, since we’re a bit different. Mine has more sugar, I think, and some different amounts of leavening and a few other varieties in proportions.

I’d blame it all on her, but imagine my surprise when I learned halfway through that Lisa doesn’t even like cereal. I think my enthusiasm for the stuff got the best of us both. And I used Better Batter, and Lisa blended her own. Be sure to check out her recipe.

I used my recipe for Cinnamon Toast Crunch as a jumping off point. Clearly, I have a cereal problem.

Toucan Sam is still around, livin’ la vida loca. But he’s not gluten-free. Like he cares about gluten-free. He’s a blue toucan. I would not necessarily recommend clicking on his link, anyway. That site takes forever to load. Ever since the microwave, I’ve got no patience. 30 seconds to load is an eternity.

Freeze-dried fruit is the star in this one. Lisa has links to reliably gluten-free freeze-dried fruit and other ingredients.

Blend it ’till it looks like this.

Add it together with a bunch of stuff. I really can’t answer substitution questions, I’m afraid. I made 6 different formulations of the recipe before I came up with this one, and I’m sticking with it. Feel free to experiment, though!

Here’s what the dough looks like when it’s strawberry.

This is banana. It’s more moist.

So I added a couple tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar to help dry it out a bit.

The I used a large plain pastry tip to cut out rounds.

Then pressed them through to release them.

A #2 pastry tip was the right size for the hole in the center. I also used a toothpick sometimes, since these guys are pretty small.

The flavor possibilities are endless. I made blueberry, banana and strawberry. My favorite was the blueberry. The moisture balance in the dough was perfect, and the taste was subtle and sweet.

Love,
Me

P.S. Not a fan of fruity cereal? Try my gluten-free Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Who could resist these guys?

True blogger confession…

I’m not one for most brownies. The excess! It’s, frankly, excessive.

But these are the ones. The ones I can’t resist. The thick but smooth chocolate shell gives way to the creamy mint center, and then, finally, a fudgy brownie. One bite is all you need. Give me a bite! Don’t be stingy. It doesn’t become you.

Make the brownie base, and spread it out as neat as you can. It’s not easy. But you’re tenacious. I like to make sure I press it into the sides, so I get, like, a little brownie dam round the edges when it bakes.

Like this. Cool it, though. All the way, baby.

Temper the white chocolate. Seed it like this. Do it! The printable goes into it.

Add the sweetened condensed milk (make your own, if you need it dairy-free), and the food coloring. If you’re certain that artificial food coloring is the root of all evil, leave it out for the love of Mike.

The fudge should be thickly pourable. Too thin? Add some confectioner’s sugar by the tablespoon.

Pour it in to the cooled brownie shell, and spread it into an even layer. Chill it until it’s set. At least an hour. Oh, the humanity!

Temper the semi-sweet chocolate top. Use good chocolate, because I said so! Properly tempered chocolate looks like this when it’s wet. It coats the back of the spoon like this. With the reflection of my kitchen windows in it. I have windows in my kitchen. Now you know. No use trying to hide it any longer.

Pour it in. And let it set.

Slice and serve.

Here’s the 4-1-1:

Love,
Me

P.S. Keep the recipe requests coming! Put a dollar in my tip jar if you’re feeling grateful. Except I don’t have a tip jar. So I’m not sure what to tell you about that. Did I just bring down the mood?

P.P.S. What are you going to do if you don’t like mint?! Horrors! What’s your pleasure, then? Use that.

We’re in training. Did you know that?

These are tender and flaky Gluten-Free Cornmeal Biscuits. but they’re also trainers.

Are you nervous about Puff Pastry? It can be kind of intimidating.

There’s a recipe for “Quick” (so to speak) Puff Pastry in my next cookbook. And it requires “turns.” Puff Pastry comes by its name, and telltale layers, honestly. It’s layers upon layers of butter wrapped in flour.

Guess what also makes for puffy biscuits?  Leaveners like baking powder and baking soda, but also, you guessed it…

Turns.

If you want your pastry to flake, you gotta do the turns. There’s no substitute for ‘em. See how the pastry almost shatters and peels away?

Turns.

And you have to have big chunks of butter.

Toss them in the flour.

And then flatten the chunks with your floured fingers.

All of them.

Then press the dough into a disk and freeze it until firm.

When you first roll out the dough, it will be a bit crumbly. Can you see the big chunks of butter? They’re everywhere.

Then fold the dough in thirds. It will crack as you fold it. No worries. Keep reading.

Turn it 90 degrees, and roll it out again.

Then fold it again. See how it has smoothed out? Much more pliable. Becoming quite lovely.

Fold the other side.

Turn it 90 degrees, and roll it out again. Do the whole thing one more time, if you have it in you. Have it in you! We’re training. You’ll get better and better at this. Practice makes perfect. It will click. *click* Like that.

Cut it into 2 inch squares, and pop the baking sheet in the freezer. Then bake. No need to brush it with milk or anything else. The yogurt in the dough makes for a very tender crumb, and the butter makes it brown beautifully.

Here are the details. Please read everything through at least once before beginning!

 

Love,
Me

P.S. One last recipe for the week tomorrow. Let’s make it count! It’ll be something that I don’t have a ton of on the blog, and I honestly don’t know why. Okay, I have some idea why. What do you think it is?

P.P.S. Which recipes would you like to see more of around here? Bread? Cookies? Cakes? Breakfast? I’m taking requests.

Enough Valentine’s Day already!

Unless you don’t think so. Maybe you want more kitsch. If you do, then me too. I hate being the odd man out.

For now, at least, until I hear from you otherwise, these granola muffins are my bridge back from the abyss. Please and thank you.

For me to use up this much of my favorite granola in one recipe, it has to be good.

You can use whatever granola you like. I used … what I like. I could have used you. I like you.

I’m glad you’re here. Too needy?

The batter is thick. It has granola in it. But there’s, like, a pretty sweeeeet crumble-type granola topping, too.

Look! There it is. I definitely didn’t eat any of the topping raw. Since that might be some sorta dicey behavior on my part. And I’m trying to behave.

Hello, USA Pans muffin tin that I never ever grease. You handsome devil.

These are super customizable. Use whatever sort of granola you like, or even use another topping entirely. Just keep the insides the same, or they won’t bake up nice. Think of them as “One Size Fits Many.”*

*Have you ever seen that on an article of clothing? One size fits many. What if it doesn’t fit you? Talk about insulting.

Don’t listen to me. I’m a little loopy. How are you?

Let’s talk muffins.

May I call you Muffin?

BTW, they really do come out of the pan like that. No greasing. I’d like to coat everything in whatever USA Pans are coated in. I think we’d have world peace in the bag.

Love,
Me

P.S. I’m fixing to turn in my manuscript. I think I might be sick. I’m very fragile right now. Be gentle?

 

Are you crafty, Valentine? I’m not really. But even I can do this.

Cut a heart-shaped hole in a piece of paper, and sprinkle confectioner’s sugar through the heart. Sugar. Right through the heart. If that doesn’t say “Valentine’s Day,” I don’t know what does.

‘Course, it doesn’t hurt that it’s on top of an individual chocolate cheesecake.

This is going to be dinner for my husband. Don’t judge. Mama’s got a book to write.

The crust is ground K-Toos Chocolate Sandwich Creme cookies. Easy as could be.

The K-Too pictures were taken with my iPhone ’cause my real camera’s battery was being charged. Someone please remind me why I have a DSLR camera?

Next, just press the crust down into Weck 900s. Could they be any more useful? I think Weck is my Valentine. Sorry, Brian.

Pour in the easy chocolate cheesecake filling. Spring for the good chocolate. It’s Valentine’s Day, for crying out loud. Bake in a water bath (so your jars don’t ‘xplode).

Et voilà.

It seems that I feed my husband sugar for dinner.

Your turn, now. What do you do for Valentine’s Day?

Love,
Me

P.S. If you just can’t lay off the red velvet, don’t let me stand in your way. Here are the Red Velvet Cupcakes. And yesterday’s Red Velvet Whoopie Pies.

P.P.S. There’s also DF White Chocolate Fudge for your main squeeze, packaged up pretty.

P.P.P.S. Is Valentine’s Day over yet? Being so Valentiney doesn’t really come natural to me.