Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Gluten-Free Girl by Blue Heron Kitchen

I've been fooling around with this really great gluten-free oatmeal cookie recipe for a while. The original recipe uses coconut flour and dried cherries (and it's fantastic!). But, for St. Patrick’s Day, gimme oats and currants. These are light, crisp, buttery and the dried fruit plays a starring role. 

Ingredients are by weight. Please use your kitchen scale. If you don’t have one yet, take a look at this one (in the U.S.) It's about $11.

If your almond flour isn’t finely ground and you have a Vitamix or a similar kitchen power tool, throw your almond meal into the dry mix container and pulse until finely ground. (Similarly, you can ‘mill’ your own oat flour from oats in a Vitamix!)

Truc: Mis-en-place! Be prepared! – Measure out all your ingredients and have them ready to add, one at a time. This will make you feel like Julia Child – or if don't know what the hell I’m talking about, think your favorite hottie from the TV Food Network or any cooking show you like on television.

These are so good that people who eat wheat will like them. 

In Irish, you’ll shout, “Tá mo Celia sásta!” (“My celia are happy!”) 

In any language, you won’t find a morsel of gluten in these fianáin iontach (fantastic cookies.)

peace, love and Bon folláin!

jane

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

            Blue Heron Kitchen

Ingredients:

160 grams almond flour

20 grams oat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

180 grams (13 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature

200 grams brown sugar (light or dark, your choice)

150 grams granulated white sugar

1 egg, size large, room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (Baldwin’s is a wonderful choice.)

250 grams gluten-free oats (use "old-fashioned" and not "quick" oats)

250 grams dried currants (or raisins) (gluten-free)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F. and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside.

Weigh sugars and set aside.

Weigh oats and set aside.

Weigh currants (or ‘other’ dried fruit) and set aside.

Crack egg into small cup and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, by itself, until light and fluffy.

Add the sugars and continue to mix until thoroughly combined.

Add egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Dump in flour mixture and mix on low speed until it is incorporated, scraping down the bowl, as needed.

Add oats and dried fruit and mix until incorporated.

Using a cookie scoop or two teaspoons, space the cookies about 1 ½” apart on the cookie sheet, leaving them mounded.

Bake for about 8 minutes. Open the oven, and with the back of a fork, gently flatten or “deflate” each cookie.   

Turn the sheet front-to-back and continue to bake for approximately 5-8 minutes, depending on how large your cookies, how accurate your oven; and how you like them ‘done’.

Remove and cool until firm enough to remove from sheets. Transfer to racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight tin.

Yield: approx. 5 1/2 doz. - 2 1/2" cookies








Truc: If you don't want to bake them all at once, freeze the scooped raw cookies on a sheet, lined with waxed paper. Once frozen, wrap well. When you want to bake them off, don't defrost, bake directly from the freezer, adding additional baking time.

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

Adapted from Greyston Bakery Cookbook by Blue Heron Kitchen

            For those who celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and are looking for a great new Irish Soda Bread recipe, I’m excited to share this one with you. Get some great butter. Kerrygold would be a perfect choice for this, but any fresh butter will do.

With any soda bread recipe, technique is critical to its success. I’ve ruined soda breads by doing too much with the batter. This bread is a low maintenance relationship. Barely mix, touch or knead it, and it will fill your house with perfume and be a light and airy as a yeasted dough. But beware, this bread is meant to be eaten the day it’s made. The following day, it’s great heated or even better as toast. Of course, you can freeze the loaf, but it’s so fast and easy to make, this is one you’ll want to put together, un deux trois!

Everyone has their own tradition: raisins, currants, sweet, not sweet, caraway, not caraway, glazed, not glazed. (If you like it sweet, prepare a glaze with some sifted powdered sugar, a little warm water, some vanilla extract, if you like, and a squeeze of lemon juice. It's not traditional, but many people enjoy it this way. A glaze will help to preserve the loaf ... some.)

I like currants and I like caraway, so in my home, this is my ultimate Irish Soda Bread. Omit the caraway seeds or exchange the currants for raisins. Follow your leprechaun.

Make sure your egg, butter and buttermilk are at room temperature. Cold will shock the rise. This loaf wants minimal handling and a brief encounter before you slash your traditional “X” and pop it into the oven.

Ingredients:

3 c. sifted (or lightly scooped) all-purpose, unbleached flour

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. aluminum-free baking powder (try Rumford’s)

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 oz. (1/2 stick) lightly salted (or unsalted) butter, cut into ¼” cubes, softened

¾ c. currants (raisins, if you prefer, but currants are better)

1 Tbsp. caraway seeds

1 egg, size large, room temperature

1 c. buttermilk, room temperature, measured into a 2 c. or larger liquid measure cup

2 Tbsp. honey

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350º F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Oven rack to center.

Whisk together all dry ingredients.

With your fingers, work butter into the dry ingredients until it is evenly distributed and resembles coarse cornmeal. (It’s okay if there are some larger lumps. Less mixing is better.)

With a wooden spoon, stir in currants and caraway seeds.

Into the measuring cup with your buttermilk, crack the egg and add the honey. Mix wet ingredients together, using a fork or a small whisk.

Add wet to dry and mix until JUST moistened. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Turn onto a lightly floured board and form into a smooth, round ball. Remember, the less you mess, the lighter and more tender this loaf will be.

Shape into a fairly high, round ball and place on prepared baking sheet (you can butter the sheet if you don’t have parchment paper).

Using a sharp knife, slash a traditional “x”, vertically and horizontally, about 4 inches long and ½ inch deep.

Bake at 350º for about 45-55 minutes. Loaf is done when it is well-browned on both top and bottom. Don’t over bake,

Cool for about 20 minutes. Slice and serve with butter. (Kerrygold!)

This is best eaten the day it is made, but you’ll enjoy it warmed or toasted the day(s) after.

Irish soda bread is, for most, once a year, so double your recipe ... and your fun!

Erin go bragh, top 'o the morning, the rest of the day; and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to all.

peace and love,

jane

Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Almonds

Brussels Sprouts with Apples and Almonds

Adapted from American Masala by Suvir Saran

Brussels sprouts and apples, both, are abundant at the market now. This is an easy and festive recipe that comes from my friend, Suvir’s cookbook, American Masala. 

These Brussels sprouts will be a hit at your Thanksgiving dinner! Not only that, you’ll make this whenever Brussels sprouts are in season.  My friend, Regina told me she’ll never cook b.s.'s any other way.

peace, love and may you be at ease in and out of the kitchen,
xojane

Ingredients:

3 lbs. Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and outer leaves removed

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

3 Granny Smith or other tart apples, cored and thinly sliced

1 cup sliced almonds

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. ground black peppercorns

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2 small red onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup raisins or currants [Use organic raisins, it makes a difference – they taste like raisins]

½ tsp. red pepper flakes [reduce or omit if you can't take the heat]

½ cup (4 oz.) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Procedure:

Set one oven rack to the center position and one to the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 350º.

With a paring knife, cut an “x” in the bottom of each Brussels sprout and place all in a large bowl. 

Add the vinegar, apples, almonds, salt, ground peppercorns, oil, onions, raisins, and pepper flakes. 

Toss together and transfer to a gratin or baking dish.  Dot the top with half the butter.

Bake on lower rack for 30 minutes.  Sprinkle the remaining butter over the top and bake for another 30 minutes. 

Turn on the broiler.  Place the baking dish on the upper-middle rack and broil for 2 minutes, or until the top of the casserole is browned.  Watch this carefully, because unattended, you'll risk losing the casserole to the flame.

Serves 8