Cupcake Love

Before I start drooling over cupcakes....

I was featured!

Thanks to Ann at Stylish Once Again for featuring my Citrasolv Dishtowel Tutorial!  

Now on to the yumminess of it all.

Since I went gluten free at the beginning of the year, I have been experimenting with all the different gluten free baking mixes and flours available at our local grocery stores.  Since I am a bit of a cupcake fanatic, I figured this would be the best place to start.  (Really this all just an excuse to constantly have cupcakes around)

The first mix I tried was a chocolate cake.  It wasn't great.  It was dry and crumbly and I was very disappointed.  Discouraged a bit and worried that I would never be able to enjoy a good dessert again.  But, I didn't give up.  Then I discovered a local supplier who makes several bread mixes, vanilla cake and the best all purpose gluten free flour.  So, I baked.  And baked.  And baked.  Here are a few of the creations I made...

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

So far this has been my favorite.  I just added a bit of cinnamon to a vanilla / white cake mix and and a bit of cinnamon in the frosting.  They were so good!  In fact, I may have to go make another batch as soon as I am done writing.

French Toast Cupcakes

These did not turn out the way I imagined.  I made these from scratch using a gluten free all purpose flower. They were pretty dense.  I added cinnamon to a white cake recipe, the put an egg wash on top of the cupcake before they finished baking.  I added maple syrup to the icing.  They kind of tasted like french toast, but they were so dense it took away from the yumminess.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I made these in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  I used a gluten free chocolate cake mix and added chocolate chips to the mix.  Then made frosting and added peppermint extract and green food coloring.  The icing was pretty good (it doesn't take a lot of the extract to get a minty flavor), but the cupcakes were dry and crumbly like the first chocolate cake I made.  Maybe the chocolate cake mixes just won't work as well.

Hope I didn't make your mouth water too much.  I am just so excited to know that I can still enjoy cupcakes even if I am gluten free!

GF DF Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread

When I decided to go gluten free at the beginning of the year, I was a little apprehensive.  Luckily, there are so many great resources available.  It has been a lot easier than I anticipated.  

I have a bit of a sweet tooth (meaning I don't think I can survive the day without some sugary treat / snack / dessert in my daily menu)  My biggest fear was missing out on all the yummy stuff, but not anymore.

I found this great gluten free all purpose flour at one of the local grocery stores in Kansas City and you can't tell a difference.  Now my new favorite thing to make is Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread.  Plus my 5 year old nephew couldn't get enough of it, so it is definitely kid approved!

Recipe

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli chips)

Directions:

Grease a loaf pan with shortening.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together bananas, peanut butter, oil, eggs, sugar and brown sugar.

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly.  Mix until just combined.

Add chocolate chips and mix in.

Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

 

Gluten Free Dairy Free Oreos

That's right!  Oreos! 

Usually when I tell people that I don't eat meat, dairy or wheat, I get a lot of funny looks.  And I will admit that when I first gave it all up, I thought I was restricted to a lot of fruits and vegetables and that was it.  I was determined to stick with it, but convinced I would never enjoy an ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie again.  Or that I would never be able to have another cupcake.  But, I couldn't have been more wrong.  There are so many great alternatives available to bake with.  And you can't tell a difference.

But, I digress...


Here is the recipe:


Gluten Free Dairy Free Oreos

Cookies:

1 1/4 cups all purpose gluten free flour

1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp room temperature unsalted dairy free margarine (I used Smart Balance Light)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Thoroughly mix flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder & salt.  While on low speed, add butter and then the egg.  Mix until the dough comes together.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Place rounded teaspoons of dough on the lined cookie sheets at least 2 inches apart.  

Flatten the dough with your hand or the back side of a spatula.  

Bake for 9 minutes.   

Filling:

1 Stick Crisco

3 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (I prefer the almond, but either way is good)

3-5 Tbsp milk

Place Crisco in mixer and run on low speed until smooth.  Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla/almond extract.  Add in milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Assembly:

Using an icing bag, place a small dollop of filling on flat side of one cookie in the center.  Place second cookie on top and press down slowly to evenly spread filling out to the edge.

Enjoy!