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Recipe: Gluten-Free Russian Teacakes

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

Russian Teacakes, aka Mexican Wedding Cakes or Snowballs, are some of the many cookies my mom used to make when I was a kid. How my mother had time to do all that she did is beyond me, but I thank her all of the time for it.

The original recipe for these cookies comes from the old Betty Crocker cookbook. When I say “old”, I mean the early ’70s. The book is probably close to my age. While my mom still has the book, it is in pieces, which means it was put to good use! I can’t tell you how many awesome recipes are in this book. Many of my childhood favorites are nestled inside this book. My mom was nice enough to make photocopies of my favorite recipes a few years back, so I can reference them any time I like.

I was able to modify this recipe fairy easily. These cookies are very delicate/fragile. I remember them being similar even when they weren’t gluten-free, so I don’t think that has much to do with it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/4 cups GF Flour Mix (I used Carol’s Sorghum Mix)
  • 1 1/2 tsps Xanthan Gum
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, egg & vanilla. Work in flour, salt & nuts until the dough holds together. Cover & chill for 30-60 minutes or so. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set, but not brown. Let cookies cool slightly – 5-10 minutes. While still warm, roll cookies in powdered sugar. Set on cooling rack to complete cooling. Roll again in sugar once they are cool.

Ready to go into the oven:

These are the perfect cookies to sit back and enjoy with a nice cup of hot cocoa or leave out for Santa Claus with a large glass of milk.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cornbread

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

Want a fun twist on cornbread this holiday season? This recipe is just for you!

Not only does cornbread make a simple substitute for rolls at your holiday table, but the pumpkin in this recipe will help tie in the fall theme.

Pumpkin Cornbread**

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup Jules gluten-free Flour
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 Tbs baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup cornmeal (I used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground GF Cornmeal)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 Tbs molasses

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees & grease a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch square pan.
  2. Mix all dry ingredients (except brown sugar) in a large bowl.
  3. In another bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Then mix in the pumpkin, brown sugar, oil & molasses.
  4. Make a well in the dry ingredient mix and then add the wet ingredients. Stir to mix, being careful to not over-mix.
  5. Pour into the pan and bake for 30 minutes or until the bread is nicely browned and a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
  6. Cool slightly & enjoy!

I found this freezes well – it tastes just as good when you defrost & eat slightly warmed in the microwave or toasted in the toaster oven.

**The original recipe comes from Laura at Real Mom Kitchen and was modified to be gluten-free by me.

Gluten-Free Stuffing or Dressing?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

So, what do you call it? Is it stuffing or dressing where you come from? I remember my grandmother (Dad’s mom) calling it dressing, but my parents always called it stuffing. Does the fact that it is stuffed in the bird not change the name for you? We call it stuffing and since I am a little freakish about the stuffing being cooked in the bird, we cook it in a baking dish outside of the turkey. I know that a lot of people would call that “dressing” based on the fact that the side dish is not actually “stuffed” inside of the turkey. Semantics.

The first year that I was gluten-free we tried a stuffing made from Ener-G gluten-free bread and I was not impressed. So much so that I almost abandoned the idea of stuffing from there on out. Then I remember cornbread. Why not make cornbread stuffing? Lots of people made stuffing from cornbread and I was sure that texture would be much better than what I had experienced with the Ener-G bread. So, cornbread it was.

As suspected, the stuffing turned out amazing! Even picky, non-gluten-free family members raved about it. Score! The first year I used Gluten-Free Pantry’s Yankee Cornbread Mix. Ever since I have made my own cornbread using the recipe from the back of the Quaker Corn Meal canister.

Cornbread

**From the back of the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Box

***Double this for the stuffing

  • 1 ¼ cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
  • ¾ cup cornmeal (Used Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground Cornmeal)
  • ¼ cup sugar (1/8 cup for stuffing cornbread)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt (I omitted this b/c there is salt in Pamela’s baking mix)
  • 1 cup buttermilk (the box says to use skim, I like buttermilk in my cornbread)
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
  • 2 egg whites or 1 egg beaten (I used the beaten egg.

Directions:

Heat oven to 400. Pam 8 or 9-inch baking pan. Combine dry ingredients. Stir in milk, oil, and egg, mixing just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and the toothpick comes out clean. (I did 20 minutes).

The day of preparation.

Crumble the cornbread onto cookie sheets in a single layer & place in oven at 250 – 300 degrees and check frequently until it gets dried out, but not burnt. While you are doing this, you can prepare the sausage (I used Tennesee Pride Mild).

Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add chopped celery & onion & cook until translucent. Add seasonings – salt, pepper & poultry seasoning to taste. My Mom is the pro at this. You can always add more, so taste as you go.

Mix bread, sausage, and butter/celery/onion mixture together in a large bowl.

You will need to add broth to moisten the stuffing before placing it in the oven. How much depends on your preference. The more, the more moister. Cover & bake at 350 – 375 for 30-40 minutes. Take the cover off for the last 10 minutes or so to crisp up the top if you like.

So, whether you call it stuffing or dressing, make sure to make enough for leftovers. There is nothing like leftovers from Thanksgiving for breakfast before heading out for a long day of shopping on Black Friday.

Recipe: Battered Gluten-Free Chicken Fingers

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

Chicken fingers are often one of the things I hear people talk about missing when they start the gluten-free diet. If your child has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, it is likely that he or she is mourning the loss of his or her favorite foods. I know that Jon was really bummed at first; he was 10 when he was diagnosed. My son really missed his Pop Tarts, chicken nuggets and pasta.

We have tried many recipes for Chicken Nuggets and while the recipes we have tried are good, nothing has come close to what Aaron, my husband, made this evening. I had been taking a much needed nap and was told when I woke up that he was making chicken fingers for dinner. My first thought was “Great, I am off the hook for making dinner!” 😉 Then he told me to look in the freezer. I couldn’t figure out why. I opened the freezer and there sat a baking sheet full of battered chicken fingers (uncooked). I am not going to lie, I was a little skeptical about his method, but who am I to question? I was just happy that I only had to worry about what I was going to eat later on. He started cooking a short time later. I began to smell a wonderful aroma drifting over to the comfy couch spot where I was sitting and couldn’t help but to get up to follow it into the kitchen. At first glance I was impressed! The color of the chicken fingers was a golden brown. They reminded me of the chicken fingers that Chili’s serves and are far from being gluten-free. I bit into one and was floored! These were spot on!! They were just as good, if not better, than the Chili’s fingers. I immediately began to inquire how he had made them so that I could share the recipe here with you all.

Ingredients:

  • Better Batter Pancake Mix, 2-3 cups
  • 1-2 lbs of chicken
  • garlic, 1-2 tsps
  • paprika,1 tsp
  • oregano (just a sprinkle or two)
  • salt, 1/2 – 1 tsp
  • pepper, 1/2 tsp
  • 1 egg
  • water

***amount of dry ingredients will depend on how much chicken is used. The amounts listed in parentheses are strictly guidelines.

Directions:

  1. Soak chicken tenders in water.
  2. Mix together dry ingredients.
  3. Dredge chicken through dry mixture and set aside.
  4. After all chicken has been dredged through the dry mixture, add the egg and enough water to make the mixture the consistency of pancake batter.
  5. Coat all chicken pieces and then place on baking sheet that has been lined with wax paper.
  6. Freeze for 1 hour or so. This helps the batter adhere to the chicken.
  7. Heat enough oil in a pan so that the chicken can be completely submerged.
  8. Fry until golden brown.
  9. Drain on a paper towel. Season with salt & pepper if desired.
  10. Enjoy.

The kids loved these, as did I! I apologize for not having more specific ingredient amounts, but Aaron cooks by feel and 99% of the time he is spot on. He is now considering using this same approach for battered fish for the kids! I told him he should use gluten-free beer instead of water for beer-battered fish!

Recipe: Gluten-Free Almond Cranberry Bites

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 4 Comments

With the holidays quickly approaching, I thought it was time to share these amazing cookies with you all. While the recipe calls for cherries, I didn’t have any when I made these last year, so I substituted dried cranberries. I liked that so much that I have never tried the cherries, however, dried cherries with chocolate drizzle on top would be awesome!

Almond 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 Jules gluten-free Flour)
    • 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- I opted not to add this, but will next time.)

Makes about 20 cookies – I will make sure to double this next time.

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 paste. Transfer mix to 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 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 chocolate sets.

I can’t wait to make more of these! They certainly don’t last very long!