Gluten Free Gingerbread Men/Women/Gender Non-Conforming and Jewish Star Cookies with Vegan Option

Gluten-Free with Vegan Option 

Gingerbread Men/Women/Gender Non-Conforming/

Jewish Stars

Adapted from King Arthur Flour by My Little Blue Heron

Happy Holidays! 

We have a new tax bill! If you're anyone less than ultra wealthy or a corporation, one more reason to bake, to meditate, to vote (register, if you're not registered), and to be vocal when you can. 

What's TAX spelled backward? 

Here's another "if you didn't tell me, I'd never know they were GF" confection from MLBH's kitchen.  Gingerbread cookies arriving in time for Christmas. Vegan options, too.

Use any gluten-free flour blend you like. I use different ones. Sometimes I blend my own. Sometimes I use King Arthur Flour's blend or Cup4Cup's blends. Here’s a link to a post (and a recipe for GF chocolate chip cookies!), where at the bottom of the post, you’ll find resources for some GF flour blends. If chick pea flour is your jam, use Bob’s Red Mill’s GF flour blend. It's not in my larder. Lots of people like it. Trader Joe's GF blend, I believe also has chick pea flour in the mix. Chick pea flour is a high protein flour. If you're blending your own, and chick pea flour is required (and you want to sub for it), choose another high protein flour in its place, like Teff flour. If you have sensitivity to stuff, you have to read labels. Bring a magnifying glass.

This is important: If your blend has Xanthan gum in it, don’t add more.

These are great undressed, or you can decorate them with royal icing (recipe below*) or candied fruit. (Have the kids or grandchildren join in the fun!)

Pour yourself a cup of tea, some egg nog, a glass of wine, champagne, gin, whisky or a tall glass of clean and delicious water. We're all playing in the same band, walking each other home. 

May you live in peace, with love, in good health and be well accomplished in all you do, living with ease, in and out of the kitchen.

xojane

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

347 g. (2 ¼ c.) gluten-free multi-purpose flour blend.

96 g. (1 c.) almond flour (finely ground, blanched is recommended)

½ tsp. xanthan gum (omit if included in your GF flour blend)

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. Kosher salt

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground cloves (freshly ground rock!)

85 g. (6 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature (butter replacement for vegan)

106 g. (1/2 c., packed tightly) dark brown sugar (moist and fresh)

1 egg, size large, at room temperature (or egg substitute for vegan)

170 g. (1/2 c.) molasses (preferably organic)

¼ heaping tsp. powdered vanilla (Authentic Foods) or 1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

            (Powdered vanilla is gluten free, and I prefer to use it in GF baking. No alcohol

             seems to keep the GF gods happy.)

Procedure:

In a large bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together, until light and fluffy, the butter and brown sugar.

Add the molasses, egg and vanilla, and mix until the wet ingredients come together. (At first, they’ll look separated.)

Add the dry to the wet ingredients, and blend until incorporated.

Wrap in two to three portions, flattened into disks, in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for several hours, or best, overnight.

The bake:

Preheat oven to 350º F. and line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Racks in oven should be in upper and lower third.

Roll dough (you may need a little flour at first for easy rolling) to about ¼” thick and cut out to desired shapes. You can use a cookie cutter, or cut them free-form.

Place on parchment lined cookie sheets and return to the fridge for 10-15 minutes to firm up the dough.

Bake for about 12-17 minutes, depending on how thick you’ve rolled, how hot your oven is, and where your shelves are in the oven. Rotate baking sheets front to back, top to bottom racks, mid-bake.

Remove from oven and cool on racks. (Cool before decorating.)

Yield: will vary, depending on your cutters, but figure a couple of dozen “people” cookies and double more if you're shooting for stars.

 _________________________________________
"Simple Cookie Glaze"

*Here’s King Arthur Flour’s recipe for “simple cookie glaze”. It calls for milk. If you’re dairy-free, substitute with almond milk, rice milk or cashew milk or coconut milk. Make sure it has fat in it. This will help keep the glaze together.

This glaze dries hard and shiny, and is perfect for coating the top of your cookies in preparation for decorating with food-safe pens or makers. This glaze is a little on the thick side, and it isn't perfectly smooth when you apply it, but should settle into a smooth surface within half a minute or so. Glaze one cookie and set it aside for a minute. Has the glaze settled into a smooth surface? If so, it's the right consistency. Remember, it's easier to add more liquid than to stir in more sugar, so start with a glaze that's thicker than you think it should be, then add milk little by little to adjust the consistency.

2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1 to 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon milk

Food coloring (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Stir until smooth; a fork works fine.

The glaze should be thick, but soft enough to "settle" when you spread it. If the glaze is too thick, dribble in another teaspoon of milk, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.

Add food color, if you like; gel paste food colors are preferable, as they yield vibrant color, and don't alter the liquid/sugar ratio as regular food colors might.

Tips from our bakers:

Be sure you measure accurately here. Too little milk, and the glaze won't spread nicely. Too much milk, and it will be thin, spotty and develop splotches overnight.

Once the glaze has hardened, you can color on it with food-safe markers, or you can pipe another color over the top with Royal Icing. You can sprinkle sugar on top of the wet royal icing for glam. 

Roasted and Ground Mushrooms

My mushroom knife from Dehillerin 

Roasted and Ground Mushrooms

Adapted from Martha Rose Shulman by My Little Blue Heron

I can’t think of one bad thing to say about mushrooms. If you're vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or none of these, this recipe is a keeper that wears many hats caps.

This is easy to make and may be used as a substitute for chopped meat. Purée it and use as a base for dressings or dips. Make it Mediterranean .. with eggplant/tomatoes/olives, yeah! Layer it in casseroles. Mix into your mashed potatoes or latkes. Twice bake it into your baked potatoes with regular or dairy-free parmesan-style cheese. Add to tomato or ‘other’ sauces (mushroom bolognese!), to soup, or use it in omelets or frittatas.

Carnivores can love this recipe.

It's simple to prepare and so versatile.

Treat mushrooms tenderly and please keep them dry. Truc: When you get home from the market, remove them from cartons/plastic trays and store them in paper bags (like lunch bags.) 

Mushroom brush - a great way to clean mushrooms without water.

I'd rather clean a mushroom than any other room.

be happy, healthy, peaceful and live with ease in and out of the kitchen,
xojane

Roasted and Ground Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds mushrooms, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 400º F. and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, or coat with olive oil.

In a large bowl, toss mushrooms with oil, salt and pepper. 

Spread in an even layer on the two prepared baking sheets and bake in the middle and lower racks of the oven for 20 minutes. If your mushrooms are thinly sliced, stir them after about 10 minutes and rotate pans. If thick, leave them alone and after 20 minutes, rotate the pans top to bottom, front to back and bake another 10-20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and dry. 

Baking time depends on how your oven is calibrated, the thickness and moisture content of your mushrooms!

Truc: baking and cooking times are approximate. Consider the variables: your oven, the water content in your mushrooms, how you you've sliced them, how your pans conduct heat, your pan liners or coatings/fats, where your racks are (in your oven, smarty pants); and even your elevation (and it goes without saying, the color of your mood ring.) 

When the mushrooms look more or less like this:

remove from heat and allow to cool. They should be dried out, but not at all 'crisp.'

When completely cooled, grind in a Vitamix or pulse in a food processor fitted with steel blade until broken down into small pieces resembling ground meat.

Taste and adjust seasoning.
Store in fridge and use in any of suggested applications or in any of your own wonderful recipes.

Yield: approx. 2-2 ½ cups

Ten Best Gluten Free Cookbooks and Happy Chanukah!

My Little Blue Heron’s Ten Best Cookbooks for 2017

Whether you're looking for additions to your library, or for a holiday or host gift, here are a few of my favorites. For my bookshelf, I look for used books in good or better condition on Amazon. I find that books sold by any "Goodwill" are in better condition than listed.

Some books don’t reference “gluten free”, not in title, main or sub, or in description. One of my most treasured cookbooks, Flavor Flours, only refers to “a new way to bake with teff, buckwheat, sorghum, other whole & ancient grains, nuts & non-wheat flours.” Result? We’re all invited to this party. Gluten free is the outcome rather than the object of these recipes. Nice.

Here’s are 10 cookbooks that I think are really great. Most are completly gluten free, but those that aren’t have enough gluten free recipes to have made the cut.

Be happy, healthy, peaceful and live with ease both in and out of the kitchen,

xojane

Flavor Flours by Alice Medrich

Gluten-Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

                                                                        by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe François

Alternative Baker by Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Flying Apron’s Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book by Jennifer Katzinger

Flourless. by Nicole Spiridakis

Good to the Grain, Baking with Whole Grain Flours by Kim Boyce with Amy Scattergood

            (not entirely gluten free, but plenty of gluten free options)

My New Roots, Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season by Sarah Britton

            (not entirely gluten free, but plenty of gluten free options)

La Tartine Gourmande Recipes for an Inspired Life by Béatrice Peltre

Les cakes de Laurent Sans gluten & sans lait by Laurent Dran

            In French

Small Plates & Sweet Treats My family’s journey to gluten-free cooking  

                                                                        by Aran Goyoaga

It's the first day of Chanukah, festival of light .. or as I interpret it, of survival. In the U.S., many of us feel that we're living in the Twilight Zone, a surreal existence. 

But goodness prevailed last night, and a pedophile and sexual abuser was ousted from political power, despite that his wife argued that "some of our best friends are Jewish." 

There is hope and love and light in this world. Let it shine from every pore!

Gluten Free Pain D'Épices (Spice Cake)

Gluten Free Pain D’Épices

(Gluten Free Spice Cake)

Adapted by My Little Blue Heron from Les cakes de Laurent sans gluten & sans lait by Laurent Dran

Pain D’Épices is one of my favorites cakes, and since I eliminated gluten from my diet, it’s another It’s traditionally made with rye flour. Now you can enjoy the flavors and texture of this earthy and satisfying cake without gluten. Pain D’Épices is traditionally eaten at New Year’s.

Laurent Dran is a French blogger whose book, referenced above, is available only in French. 

The French home cook doesn’t prepare super-sized cakes. This loaf is smaller than what you’re probably used to baking. The loaf pan you’ll need is 16 x 9 cm (6.3 x 3.5 in inches .. or 6 x 4 should work). You can double the recipe and make one large loaf and a small loaf or some cupcakes. Or go buy some German dark loaf pans that are about this size. Jobber stores like Home Goods often sell great loaf pans from Germany and France. Dark pans bake gluten free stuff much better. I don’t know why, but they do.

I prepped this by hand, but you can do it with an electric mixer. You’ll need the whip attachment.

And you must have a kitchen scale that weighs in grams. If you don’t, they’re so easy to get on Amazon. Here’s a link.

Recipes generally use Xanthan Gum for binding. Dran’s recipes call for Guar Gum (also a binder, but is usually used in products like salad dressings and cold stuff.) Maybe  Xanthan Gum is hard to find in France. I’ve read that they’re interchangeable.  

Oven temperature is 356º F. If you don’t have a digital oven, that’s fine. Set it to 350º F. and the bake may take a little longer.

A truc that Dran recommends it to slit the cake down the middle. He says that a small, quick slit will help to develop a “big bump”, like a madeleine. The batter was a little too thin to do this when I put the cake in to bake, so I made my “petite incision” about 15 minutes into the bake.

MLBH Trucs: Use organic expeller pressed refined coconut oil (Spectrum brand is excellent). Your baked good will taste authentic and won’t taste at all like coconut. Always use SUPERFINE brown rice flour. You won’t get that gritty texture in your baked goods. Vitacost.com is a great source for this (and much more). You can buy the “Tesla” brand of superfine rice flours, which is made by “Authentic Foods”, or try Vitacost’s own brand.

The first go-round, I followed Dran’s spice profile. Julia Child’s recipe calls for equal amounts of cinnamon, cloves and mace. Try earthy honey, like buckwheat (it’ll greet the buckwheat flour with joy!), or try a flowery honey.

During these short days that are cold and fill your apartment or home with warm and fragrant spices.

peace, love and ease,

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jane

Gluten Free Pain D’Épices

Preparation:

Using spray release or a neutral oil, coat the baking pans well.

Preheat the oven to 356º F. (see note above.)  

Ingredients:

50 g. superfine brown rice flour (Authentic Foods brand or Vitacost brand (find it at vitacost.com)

25 g. potato starch

35 g. buckwheat flour

4 g. baking powder (aluminum free is best)

1 gram Guar gum

60 g. brown sugar 

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground cardamom (freshly ground is ideal) ...see directly below for another spice combination that I like*
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt 

1 egg, size large (about 50 grams)

110 g. water, room temperature (approx.. ½ c.)

85 g. honey (I used a miscellaneous and buckwheat honey and preferred the buckwheat honey)

55 g. coconut oil (refined is preferred because it won't taste coconuttish) .. and I suggest bringing it to liquid state. You can do this in the microwave at half power (5) for about 15 seconds.

*(for a different spice profile try: 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. ground cloves, 1/2 tsp. ground mace - closer to Child's cake.)

Procedure:

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients and set aside.

In another bowl (or if using an electric stand mixer, in that bowl), measure out ingredients, and whisk together for a minute.

Add dry ingredients to wet until combined.

Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on your pan and your oven. (If you’re making cupcakes, baking time may be less than 30 minutes.)

Remove from oven and cool 10-15 minutes on baking rack before releasing from pans to then cool completely.

Wrapped well, this will keep for a couple of days at room temperature. You can refrigerate it and bring it to room temperature before serving. You can toast it and serve it with butter or jam or both.

The loaf will freeze well for several months.

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