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Recipe: Gluten-Free Apple Squares

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Do you have that one favorite food item from your childhood that you miss? There is one that my mom used to make for my sister and I that we absolutely loved. Apple Squares. They weren’t something that we had often, so it was really a treat when we did have them. The squares are made with a cookie base that is baked until lightly browned and then topped with seasoned apples and placed back in the oven. Then a glaze is drizzled over the top, finishing off the squares. Just a little bit of heaven in each bite.

Once my son and I had to go gluten-free, there were many old favorites we were upset about not having anymore, but this was one of the ones I was the most upset about. Well, being the wonderful mother that she is, my mom created a gluten-free version of the Apple Squares. It was really just a matter of using gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour.

Gluten-Free Apple Squares Recipe

Cookie Layer:

  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) softened butter
  • ¼ cup shortening
  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 and ½ cups gluten-free flour (use 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum) or flour mix
  • 1 egg

Cream together butter, shortening, egg, and sugar. Blend in flour. Pat on bottom of ungreased 10 X 15 inch jelly roll pan. (Cookie sheet with sides.) Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned.

Apple Layer:

  • 2 or 3 peeled apples, chopped to measure 2 cups (Use a sweet apple like Delicious)
  • ¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter (margarine)
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. grated lemon peel (Could substitute 1 tsp lemon juice if no lemon peel on hand.)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 and ¾ cup gluten-free flour or flour mix
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ tsp. salt

Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat. Blend in brown sugar, apples, lemon peel, beaten egg, and vanilla.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into apple mixture. Spread evenly over the cookie layer. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.

Cinnamon Glaze:

  • 1 and ½ cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • 2 to 3 tbsp. milk

Combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in the milk as needed for glaze consistency. Blend until smooth. Glaze top of apple layer while still slightly warm.

After glaze sets, cut into bars. Makes about 4 dozen bars.

These bars are perfect alone or topped with some vanilla ice cream.

Review: Gluten-Free Scone Mixes

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 1 Comment

Shortly after my celiac diagnosis, I was invited to a birthday party that was also a tea party. The food served was all full of gluten except for some fresh strawberries. The friend hosting the party was famous for her gluten scones and I was determined that I would enjoy my own gluten-free scones so that I did not feel left out. It was the first party I’d been to since going gluten-free and it was a lot of work to bring all my own food. However, going and not being able to eat at the several-hour-long party was just not an option.

The only scone mix I found in my area was the one from Gluten-Free Pantry and I was delighted to find it was super easy to work with. The product is called Muffin & Scone mix, by the way. The scones were simply phenomenal tasting. My husband declared the scones the best he’d ever had, but he was never really a fan of gluten scones. In any case, the cranberry scones I made with the mix were at least as good – if not better – than the gluten version I was used to enjoying at my friend’s tea parties. The gluten-free Pantry scone mix can be modified to incorporate whatever flavors you want the scones to include. For cranberry orange scones you add orange juice and cranberries and for cinnamon raisin scones you add cinnamon and raisins and so forth. The options are really limitless, which is what I love about the mix, which made 12 triangle-shaped scones.

Recently, on a shopping trip at Ingles, I found the Simply Organics Chai Spice Scone mix. To my surprise, the words gluten-free were right on the front of the box. Chai sounded like an interesting flavor for scones so I threw a box in the cart and hoped for the best. This is the first gluten-free baking mix from Simply Organics that I’ve tried to date. The mix was as easy to work with as the scone mix from Gluten-free Pantry. You have to cut the butter in and add a few ingredients. It takes maybe five minutes to get the mix ready to drop medium-sized scoops of dough on the baking sheet. I used an ice cream scoop and it worked perfectly, though next time I’d flatten the scoops out a bit on top.

The Simply Organics scones baked up nicely and were a latte color when finished. The aromatic scent of Chai filled the kitchen as the scones baked. Because we really didn’t know what to spread on scones with such a unique flavor, we used our favorite lemon curd from Trader Joe’s. It’s gluten-free (not all lemon curds are) and fairly inexpensive. The curd complimented the Chai scones really well. The outer crust of the scones was a little gritty tasting to me but the inside part of the scone was quite nice. The scones were not burnt – or even crunchy – so the reason for the odd texture on the outside was a bit of a mystery. My husband thought the scones were really good and ended up eating the entire batch over the next two days. The mix made nine scones, but the package states it makes eight.

The gluten-free Pantry mix was my favorite of the two scone mixes, due to the versatility of the mix and the perfect texture both inside and out. People who like the flavor of Chai – and scones – will likely enjoy the Simply Organics scone mix. Gluten scones are traditionally somewhat dry and heavy. Both the gluten-free scone mixes I tried made better scones than most gluten versions I’ve had. This is mostly due to the fact that they are a little lighter than gluten scones. Light baked goods are usually better than heavier ones to me so that’s why I was so impressed with the gluten-free scone mixes I tried.

It’s unclear to me why Simply Organic does not list which products are gluten-free on their website. Only the Pancake and Waffle mix is noted as being gluten-free in the details link for the product. I know that at Ingles stores here, they have the Simply Organic Carrot Cake, Banana Bread, and Scone Mix, which are all three gluten-free.  Here is the press release (from last June) that I just found about the gluten-free product line. The mixes are all kosher and vegetarian as well. If you’d like to try the mixes and don’t find them in a store near you, you can order directly from the company online.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Breading for Chicken Fingers

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I am always getting consistent requests for 3 different foods from my son. The boy certainly knows what he likes. He loves tacos, pizza & chicken fingers. We eat a lot of tacos & pizza here, but chicken fingers require a little more work from scratch. Over the past 4 years, I have tried out a number of breading mixtures & methods. I will outline them below.

One of the first ways that I attempted to make chicken fingers was by using Ener-G Bread Crumbs, cornmeal & seasonings. I dipped the chicken strips in the egg and then the breading mixture & then fried or baked in the oven. While this method & these ingredients work okay, it isn’t our favorite way to eat chicken fingers. I have found that the Ener-G Bread Crumbs work better in meatballs or meatloaf than in breading. Ener-G Bread Crumbs can be found in many grocery stores as well as health food stores & on Ener-G’s website.

Another method I have tried is using a recipe that actually came from the Bisquick box, which we all know is not gluten-free. You can view the recipe here. As I mention in the recipe, I use Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix in place of the Bisquick. This is a very good recipe, however, it is lacking some of the crunches that are found in the two methods that are coming up. Pamela’s can be found in most grocery stores, as well as on Amazon.com.

When General Mills converted their Rice Chex recipe to be gluten-free, it made a lot of people happy. Not only did it open a new door for breakfast, but homemade chex mix and breading! This recipe turned out fantastic & they disappeared so fast that I didn’t even get a picture of the finished product! This method is one of the top requested methods for chicken fingers in our house. Rice Chex can be found in grocery stores and on Amazon.com in bulk.

Lastly, I just recently tried the brand new, Kinnikinnick Panko Style Bread Crumbs. I followed the directions on the back of the box for breading chicken and while the chicken & breading had an amazing crisp, like that of a gluten-filled breading, there was not a lot of flavors. I did add additional seasonings to the Panko Style Bread Crumbs, but I guess it was not enough. I am usually very conservative when it comes to salt in recipes, and use other spices for flavor, but these bread crumbs definitely need salt. I went to read some reviews on the crumbs to see if it was just me, and while I didn’t find any reviews on the Panko Bread Crumbs, I did find some on the Crispy Chicken Coating Mix. The consensus there was also that there was no flavor. So, it looks like if you are looking for the crunch & texture of a great breading, this is your best choice, however, remember to season liberally. Kinnikinnick Panko Style Bread Crumbs can be purchased on Kinnikinnick’s website.

Here is a picture of the meal I created using the Kinnikinnick Panko Style Bread Crumbs:

Do you have a favorite bread crumb or breading mixture recipe? Have you tried the new Kinnikinnick Panko Style Bread Crumbs?

Recipe: Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 1 Comment

Before our house was gluten-free, we never made Chicken Parmesan because we could order it when dining out. Truly authentic Chicken Parmesan would surely take a lot of time to prepare – homemade sauce, the finest Italian cheese and all that. However, we’re neither Italian or quite that persnickety about cooking.

For the last four years the only times I’ve had Chicken Parmesan was when I’ve made it at home. I’ve found that a very tasty version of this dish can be made fairly easily and quickly without a lot of muss and fuss. Each time I’ve made this classic dish, my husband raves about it. Though I agree that it’s delicious, there isn’t much work involved in making it so.

Gluten-Free Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:

  • Boneless chicken breasts (one per person)
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Italian red sauce (we use Newman’s Own Tomato & Basil sauce with a little Italian Blend spice)
  • Gluten-free flour blend (we use Jules flour now but Gluten-Free Pantry works fine too)
  • Eggs (optional, not needed with Jules flour)

Instructions:

  • Coat chicken breasts with flour (use egg wash if your flour does not coat well without it – with Jules flour, the egg step can be skipped if desired).
  • Put a little olive oil in saute pan over medium heat and saute coated chicken until brown on each side. Remove from heat.
  • Spray baking dish with cooking spray and place chicken breasts in the dish. Top with Italian style red sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake in 375 degree pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

We serve the chicken over gluten-free pasta mixed with a little red sauce. By adding some green veggies and a nice green salad, you have a hearty tasty meal that’s deliciously gluten-free. Last week when I made this, I used Tagliatelle pasta from Schar but any gluten-free pasta will work. Schar pasta is made in Italy and is an exceptional gluten-free pasta. It’s available in some stores and from the Gluten-Free Trading Company.

Most gluten-free flours will work well as a coating for chicken, crab cakes, onions and other savory things. When baking gluten-free foods the type of flour is very important but for coating foods, the choice of flour is not that important. You want to avoid flours with strong flours that might take away from your dish but simple flours like rice, tapioca, and cornstarch all work fine for coating purposes. Using flours with a lot of xanthan gum for fried foods might result in a gummy texture. If you use a flour blend with xanthan gum in it, don’t add any extra when cooking in hot oil.

To save money, buy less expensive flours for coating needs and save the high end mixes for gluten-free baking. Gluten-free baked goods are much less forgiving than foods that have just a little flour in them – a sauce or quiche for instance. It’s hard to get away with penny pinching on flour for pie crusts, breads and treats. Thought there might not be many, there are a few ways to save money when cooking gluten-free without sacrificing great taste. This delicious Chicken Parmesan proves that point.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Bagels

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

There are many things that I have found reasonable replacements for since going gluten-free, but the toughest one has been bagels. There are many good gluten-free bagels on the market, but none I have found are the really great New York style bagel that I have been craving. My idea of gluten-free heaven is a bagel like the ones I remember from my pre-gluten-free days. Like the ones you get from Panera Bread…the harder outside “skin” and soft, chewy inside. I think the closest bagel I have found to a gluten-filled New York Style bagel is Joan’s Gluten-free Great Bakes. Tiffany wrote about them here.

One day as I was making my Pamela’s Gluten-free Bread Mix, I noticed a bagel recipe on the side of the package. I decided to give it a try, as it seemed simple enough. I made a few modifications, added brushed egg white to the tops of the bagels after boiling and before baking and I sprinkled sea salt on a few after the egg whites. I was hoping for a hot soft pretzel effect. I can’t even begin to tell you how fantastic these turned out. My bagel was like a big, round hot soft pretzel bagel. I had tears in my eyes. BAGELS!!!!! This is what has been missing since I went gluten-free. The taste, the texture. Wow! I can’t believe that I only ate one. I let the rest cool and then I froze them so that all of their yumminess would be preserved. Now, the dough is a little sticky, so I had to oil my hands to shape the dough, but a few minutes of messy hands is worth it for the end result.

They don’t look like the prettiest bagels you have ever seen, but I assure you, looks are not what matters here. Here they are before baking:

After baking:

Now, made into a sandwich:

Bagels*Recipe courtesy of Pamela’s Wheat-Free Bread Mix Bag

  • 1 bag Pamela’s Bread Mix
  • 1 yeast packet (enclosed)
  • 1 1/3 cups warm water
  • 1/4 cup oil

Yield: Approximately 7 bagels

  1. Combine dry mix, yeast packet, oil & water. (no eggs are used).
  2. Mix on medium for 3 minutes.
  3. Use 1/2 cup dough for each bagel. Oil hands and place on a greased baking sheet in the form of a bagel (don’t worry about the hole now, we will get to that later).
  4. Let dough rise for 1 hour, then poke hole in the center of each bagel. (I took a wooden spoon and sprayed the handle with Pam and then used that to poke my holes).
  5. In boiling water, boil bagels for 25 seconds.
  6. Remove with slotted spoon and place on greased baking sheet. Brush with egg whites and top with sea salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc if you choose.
  7. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 20 -25 minutes. (I baked for 23 minutes).

ENJOY!!!! Truly, gluten-free heaven.