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Recipe: Gluten-Free Christmas Fudge

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Merry Christmas! Hopefully, Santa treated you and your family well. As I was getting ready for our holiday meal, I was going through some of my favorite recipes and wanted to share a couple here with you guys.

I always associate fudge with Christmas because it was a staple in my Grandmother’s house. She made several different varieties of fudge each year, but my favorite has to be her Remarkable Fudge. It truly is “remarkable”.

3127663945 5a41bf67f9Remarkable Fudge

  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter (1/2 pound)
  • 1 ½ cups evaporated milk

Cook above in a buttered, heavy 3 qt saucepan to soft-ball stage (236 degrees) stirring frequently.

Add:

  • 1 12 oz bag of milk chocolate morsels
  • 1 pt. Marshmallow crème (2 small containers, 7 oz each)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Beat until well blended. Pour into a 13 x 9.5-inch glass baking dish. Score while warm, and cut when firm. This recipe freezes well.

Next up? Almond Cranberry Bites. These aren’t your traditional Christmas cookies, but they are out-of-this-world!

007 thumbAlmond Cranberry Bites

**Original recipe from Eatingwell.com; modified to be gluten-free by me

  • 1/3 cup whole almonds (I used Trader Joe’s raw almonds)
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries
  • 2/3 cup gluten-free flour mix (I used gfJules flour mix)
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 tablespoons chocolate chips or finely chopped dark and/or white chocolate, for decoration (optional)

Makes about 20 cookies.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Grind raw almonds & sugar in a food processor until you have the desired texture; the finer the texture, the more intense the almond flavor & less crunch from the almond. Be careful not to turn the almonds into a paste. Transfer the mix to a large bowl & mix in flour & cranberries.

3. Add egg white, oil, vanilla & almond extracts. Mix until well incorporated.

4. Shape dough into small balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom is slightly brown; the tops will not brown.

5. Transfer to a wire rack & cool completely.

6. Optional- melt chocolate & drizzle over cookies with a fork. Let stand until the chocolate sets.

Merry Christmas!

Online Gluten-Free Baking Classes

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If you are new to the gluten-free diet or find gluten-free baking a challenge, you will certainly be interested in this “Secrets of Gluten-Free Baking” video series. The series is a set of seven HD videos that can be viewed when convenient for you and at your pace. The series is on sale for $29.99 (25% off) today, though I am not sure how long the sale price is good. More about the instructor:

Richard Coppedge Jr. is a certified master baker, author and baking professor. He has held positions with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Walt Disney World and the Narragansett Bay Baking Company, and he currently teaches Advanced Baking Principles at the Culinary Institute of America. Richard has won numerous international awards for his bread, including the coveted Sarrazin Trophy, the grand prize of the Société Culinaire Philanthropique’s New York Culinary Salon. He is also the author of gluten-free Baking with the Culinary Institute of America.

TitleCardThe seven video lessons include:

  • Gluten Basics
  • Custom Flour Blends
  • Pancakes
  • Cookies
  • Quick Bread
  • Dreaded Doughs: Pies
  • Yeast-Raised Bread

One of the best things about Craftsy and the classes offered is that you can do this all on your own time. The classes never expire and there is a 100% money-back guarantee. There is a list of supplies needed for the class that can be viewed before purchasing the class. I really wish this would have been around when I began the gluten-free diet in 2006.

(source)

FDA’s New Labeling Rule is in Effect

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The FDA’s new labeling rule is in effect as of August 5, 2014. What does this mean? It means that all manufacturers of FDA-regulated foods must adhere to the FDA’s definition of “gluten-free” if the product has a gluten-free claim on the package. The rule is voluntary, which means that manufacturers are not required to call out gluten on a label, but must adhere to the FDA rules if they claim the product is gluten-free.

What are those rules? Those rules state that food labeled “gluten-free” must contain less than 20ppm gluten, but manufacturers are not required to test said food.

There is no way to guarantee zero gluten, as there are currently no testing methods that test that low. In addition to the words “gluten-free”, the following labels must also adhere to the rules:

  • no gluten
  • free of gluten
  • without gluten

These labels do not have to adhere to the rule:

  • made with no gluten-containing ingredients
  • not made with gluten-containing ingredients

There is a lot more information regarding this ruling, FAQs and such on the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness website. One of the FAQs talks about wheat starch being allowed to be present in a food that is labeled “gluten-free” so long as the finished product registers less than 20ppm gluten. I personally avoid foods with any ingredients like this, so it is good to know that I still need to read ingredient lists to make sure I am not ingesting anything that contains wheat starch.

What are your thoughts on the new rule going into effect? Will this make your life easier? More complicated? Not affect you in any way? Please let us know!

Last Minute Christmas Tips & Recipe

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Welcome to Christmas Eve! If you aren’t finished preparing for Christmas yet, you better get a move on.  The last thing you want to worry about on an already busy day is gluten, right?  Whether you are hosting or heading over to a close friend or family member’s house, these tips can help minimize stress.

  • Peanut Butter Fudge – This takes less than 15 minutes from start to finish and never fails to wow the crowd.
  • Buffalo Chicken Dip – Toss everything together in a saucepan as directed & then transfer to a crockpot to cook/keep warm.  Serve with celery & tortilla chips.
  • Old Fashioned Gingerbread – Not too complicated to make & it tastes like it was a lot of work!
  • Cocktail Wienies – Lit’l Smokies are gluten-free.  Toss in a crock pot with some Sweet Baby Rays or your favorite BBQ sauce.
  • Veggie tray with dill dip – Marzetti’s dip is gluten-free.
  • Chocolate Truffles – Ali of The Healthy Hostess shared these – 2 ingredients (both naturally gluten-free).  Simple!
  • Honeybaked Ham – Pick up a ham or turkey – they are gluten-free!
  • Salad – Grab a box of salad, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese & some gluten-free salad dressing.
  • Mixed nuts – dump into a festive, decorative dish.
  • Cheese tray – cut blocks of cheese into cubes and display them on a tray
  • Chips & salsa
  • Fruit salad – Buy pre-cut fruit if you are really pressed for time.

Last, but not least, one of my favorite potato dishes.  This dish can be made in advance, which can really be a time saver.

Catholic Potatoes

5 lbs potatoes

8 oz pkg. light cream cheese, softened

8 oz container light sour cream

1/4 cup butter, melted

8 oz. shredded 2% cheddar cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup skim milk

1.  Cook & mash potatoes. Stir remaining ingredients in and pour into a large glass baking dish (9 x 12).

2.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes or until hot.

3.  This dish can be prepared in advance & kept in the refrigerator.

4.  Enjoy!

These potatoes are great served along turkey or ham for that special holiday meal.  Perfect potluck dish.  The cheeses are even lower-fat versions & they taste just as decadent as the full-fat versions.

Enjoy friends & family & give yourself permission to accept what you can do and don’t focus on things you planned to do, but were unable to get to. ’Tis the season to celebrate, spend time with the ones you love, and have fun!

Gluten-Free Baking Tips for the Holidays

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Baking gluten-free can be a challenge, so don’t give up if your recipe doesn’t turn out well the first time around. I have had my share of gluten-free flops, trust me, but I don’t let that stop me from trying again. “Cupcake Wars” two-time winner, Kyra Bussanich, shares some of her tips to help make your holiday baking a success.

• If you’re following a recipe, don’t substitute the listed flour or starch with another type unless you’re familiar with its properties. There are many different types of gluten-free flours and starches, including millet, sorghum and sweet white rice flour, and potato and tapioca starches. Each has its own idiosyncrasies. For example, millet flour has a slightly nutty flavor and is well-suited for goods with a hearty texture. Sweet white rice flour holds moisture well and is good for recipes that have a slight gumminess to them. Potato starch is light and good for fluffy cakes.

• Use eggs and butter at room temperature. Eggs are often used as a binder, the protein that substitutes for the missing gluten. Eggs and butter are both easier to work with when used at room temperature, and room-temperature egg whites whip up fluffier. If you forget to pull the butter out of the refrigerator beforehand, heat it for 7 to 12 seconds in the microwave. Put cold eggs in warm (not hot) water for 30 to 60 seconds.

• Don’t overwork batter and dough with xanthan gum in it. Corn-based xanthan gum is often used as a stabilizer and thickener in gluten-free baked goods, sauces, dressings and soups. Once this ingredient is added, overworking the dough can give it a slimy, gummy texture, and cause it to lose flavor. (A good substitute for xanthan gum is ground psyllium seed husk.)

• Heat higher, cream longer for lighter cakes. One complaint people sometimes have about gluten-free baked goods is that they’re too dense. To prevent this, try setting the oven temperature 25 degrees warmer than you would for flour. This will cause the butter in the recipe to release its water as steam, which helps the cake rise quickly. Also, cream eggs and butter together longer – about 10 minutes – than you would for flour cakes.

About Kyra Bussanich: Kyra Bussanich is a three-time winner of The Food Network’s hit show, “Cupcake Wars.” She graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu and opened her award-winning bakery, Kyra’s Bake Shop, which features gourmet, gluten-free sweets. She has branched beyond desserts to other gluten-free goods in order to help those with celiac and other autoimmune diseases enjoy quality treats

Do you have any gluten-free baking tips you would like to add?  Have you had a gluten-free baking fail?  I had a pan of cookies all run together on more than one occasion.  They were a mess, but they still tasted great!