Samoa Pi ...

Every year around this time I see those Girl Scouts selling cookies and die a little inside. HONESTLY! So this year, prompted by the "Day of Pi", I decided to do what any glutard on a mission would do and bake a Girl Scout Samoa Pi. It's easy, simple and crazy good... Just remember to leave yourself enough time to let cool- 4- 24 hours (yes, you read that right)

Crust:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(mix the above well)
add:
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose GF flour
-  1/4 teaspoon salt

Cook at 350 for 10 minutes in a 9 inch pie dish. It will looked uncooked when you take it out- that's ok, it's going back in!

Filling:
layer in order:
- 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup salted caramel sauce

Cook for 25 minutes

Top with 1 cup melted semi sweet chocolate chips drizzled :)
Let sit for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours, so that pie can fully set.

Peter's Market, Gluten Free Baked Goods!

Peter's Market in Weston CT is serving up Gluten Free baked goods... and we have to hand it to them- they are pretty delicious! We snagged a bite, before we captured this picture just to make sure! So next time you are visiting your local grocery, check to see what they are serving up! Peter's is well known for their outstanding Gluten Free selection and their ease of Gluten Free area's makes sending a loved one a little bit easier too! 

Cheerios... GLUTEN FREE!!!!

It looks like as of July, Cheerios will becoming a Gluten Free household item. Following in the steps of Chex, they will be remastering their ingredients and launching this cereal item. I for one am SUPER excited about this!!! I can not wait to get my hands on some honey nut! That being said, part of the reason that I love Chex Cereal so much is that all their specialty ones have the flavor profile of cereals we "used to know" and love so much. Do you think that it will take away some of the hype of Chex?!?! Either way, Is it July yet?!?!

Find out the Scoop on Celiac.com!

Keste... a night out, NYC

Keste has just expanded on their gluten free options! Any night in NYC is better with Keste! Their pizza is cooked in a separate brick oven and is simply THE BEST PIZZA! Miss the doughy crust, the flavor of a real pizza pie?!? This is where to find Italian perfection. If you are sharing, this pizza is not to disappoint your other half, but tell them to order their own- you deserve it! 

Check out the "newly updated" gluten free menu here: 

http://www.kestepizzeria.com/menu

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

While some of you layout your outfit for the following day, I lay out my ingredients! 

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups GLUTEN FREE (we use trader joes ) OATS

6 ounces chocolate chips

1/2 cup golden or regular raisins

1/2 cup walnuts (optional) 

Preheat your oven to 350*. In your Kitchen Aid mixer, or large bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter and sugars, beating until they are creamy. Add in your egg, baking soda, vanilla and cinnamon. Whip for 3 minutes. Fold in your raisins, oats, chocolate chips and walnuts. On a lightly greased sheet pan drop with a heaping teaspoon about 2 inches apart- they expand! Bake for about 12 minutes. Because of the gooyness, be careful when lifting from the sheet pan. If they start to fall apart just push back together to cool

It's been two years...

While I thought this was "old news" - gluten free blogging- I am constantly being asked about my blog. Why am I not still writing posts? Can they still have the link so they can get old posts.. So I thought to myself, the whole reason I did this was to help people. So, even if it is for just one person, I am back!!!!

Look for new recipes, new restaurants that are doing the most FANTASTIC things! New caterers, new fun parties and most of all NEW GLUTEN FREE items found locally at a store near you...

SO, I welcome my self back and say hello to people who might be new to this blog! I promise you stellar updates and fantastic new finds!

XO Lauren

It's Time to Make Whoopie!

Posted by Elizabeth Barbone, 12 comments

February 1, 2011 at 5:00 PM

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Tags: chocolate, desserts, Fluff, gluten-free, Gluten-free Tuesday, marshmallows, whoopie pies

[Photographs: Elizabeth Barbone]

As someone who grew up near New England (whoopie pie territory) I always felt that packaged chocolate snack cakes, like Suzy Q's, were a poor imitation of the whoopie pie. When I want chocolate cakes sandwiched together with sweet, creamy icing, nothing but a whoopie pie will do.

This recipe makes traditional chocolate whoopie pies. The cakes are large, dense, and not too sweet. The filling—made from marshmallow Fluff, sugar, and butter—brings just the right amount of sweetness to the cake.

Since whoopie pies occasionally suffer from dryness, I use dark brown sugar in the recipe. It keeps the cakes moist while still retaining a dense, cakey texture.

As for the size, you'll notice that the recipe calls for about ¼ cup of batter for each cake. WARNING: this makes large whoopie pies. Feel free to reduce the amount of batter for smaller ones. For really tiny ones, use just a tablespoon of batter per cake and reduce the baking time. Keep your eye on the first batch to get the timing right.

About the author: Elizabeth Barbone of GlutenFreeBaking.com joins us every Tuesday with a new gluten-free recipe. Elizabeth is an alumna of the Culinary Institute of America and Mount Mary College. With her solid professional baking background, Elizabeth is known for creating gluten-free recipes that taste just like their wheat counterparts. She is the author of Easy Gluten-Free Baking.

INGREDIENTS

serves 8 whoopie pies, active time 20 minutes, total time one hour

• For the Cookies
• Dry Ingredients
• 4 ounces (1 cup) white rice flour
• 2 3/4 ounces(1/2 cup) sweet rice flour
• 1 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder (regular cocoa powder works as well but the finished cakes won't be as dark.)
• 2 1/4 ounces (1/2 cup) tapioca starch
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• Wet Ingredients
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 7 ounces (1 cup) dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• For the Filling
• 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 (7 1/2 ounce) jar marshmallow crème (I used Marshmallow Fluff)
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Procedure: 

For the cookies Center oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In small mixing bowl, whisk together white rice flour, sweet rice flour, cocoa powder, tapioca starch, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment. In bowl of stand mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until butter-sugar paste lightens slightly, about one minute. (Use medium high-speed on a stand mixer. If using a handheld mixer, use high speed.) Turn off mixer. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl. Add egg and vanilla extract. Turn mixer back on. Cream until egg is thoroughly incorporated, about one minute. Scrape down bottom and sides of bowl. Mix for 15 seconds. Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Add half the buttermilk. Mix until batter is smooth. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Add remaining buttermilk. Add remaining dry ingredients. Mix batter until smooth and thick, about 30 seconds.Scoop six mounds of batter, about 1/4 cup each, onto prepared baking sheet. Space cookies several inches apart as they spread during baking.Remove pan from oven. Allow cookies to cool on pan for one minute. Using a metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.While cookies cool, make filling. (method below) Sandwich cooled cookies together with icing.For the filling In medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. (Use high speed on a handheld mixer or medium-high speed on a stand mixer.) Add marshmallow crème and vanilla. Mix until fluffy.

Take hold of your seats... Mickey embraces Gluten Free

We can stop eating that Chicken on a Stick like cave man at Disney... and finally get some solid treats! BABYCAKES NYC is locating in downtown Disney! For real! So next time your family tries to plan a reunion with all the little critters... remember your vote for Disney can be selfish too! chaos and cupcakes- what a deal!

One Pierogie, Two Pierogies, Three Pierogies... FLOOR

Can we say died and went to heaven, or bed from a food coma! Contes (which I have mentioned before in my blog) has created delish gluten free pierogies. Stuffed with a heaping of potato and onions, they are great snack or meal! Cooked stove top in a pot of water for 9 minutes, its a quick treat... just don't forget about them because I did that once and a few popped open- don't worry though, I still devoured them...
Make sure you click on the Conte's link I have provided because they are limitless on the meals one could create, and have a ton of microwaveable meals too. A nod to the gluten full people- they sell "your people food" too!
Up next: Conte's Stuffed Shells... they are in my freezer and I will let you know after tasting, but from the looks of things- me like!