Gluten free carrot cake

 https://meaningfuleats.com/gluten-free-carrot-cake/#wprm-recipe-container-15298

Very good, ate almost all of it myself!

Cheddar and Nettle biscuits

 https://seasoned.com/blog/2021/07/cheddar-nettle-scones

These are pretty good, but I would definitely add more salt to the dough. I used King Arthur GF 1:1 Flour in place of the regular flour.

Birthday cakes

For Roland's 6th birthday party,  he wanted a two-tier cake covered in sprinkles.

It wasn't beautiful,  but I did it! To appeal to the widest variety,  I did half yellow cake and half chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. 

I used the chocolate cake I have made many times.  I found a yellow cake recipe on the same blog - web address- and I tried making Swiss buttercream-https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream/#tasty-recipes-80765

Since I couldn't find the right size cake pan,  I just cut down the upper layer.  I had a hard time making them even! 

I made quite a mess putting on the sprinkles, but it looked great and tasted better. 

For Roland's 8th birthday he wanted vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, so I will make this:https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/new-favorite-white-layer-cake/

AIP Cinnamon rolls

 https://healmedelicious.com/cinnamon-rolls/

These were pretty good for gluten-free, lower-sugar, lower-fat cinnamon rolls. As one commenter wrote, the whole thing is like the inside of a Cinnabon roll.

I followed the recipe except for using honey as the sweetener in the filling, I needed to chill the filling so the coconut oil solidified in order to keep it from oozing out when rolling. They needed to bake for about 33 minutes. If you follow the recipe or use maple syrup instead of honey, then they would be vegan.

Carrot cookies

 I've been on a pretty strict low fat, low acid, low sugar diet for about a week and a half to combat years of "silent reflux." It's going mostly good so far but I've been craving something sweet or more dessert-like.

This recipe is in a book/cookbook for the diet I'm following.

1c GF oatmeal 

1c GF AP flour 

1tsp cinnamon 

1tsp baking powder 

1/2tsp baking soda 

1/2tsp salt

1/2c honey 

1/2c coconut oil 

1c shredded carrots 

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately before combining. Don't over mix together.

Drop tsp size dollops of dough on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375degF.

Makes about 36-45

These turned out great, not very sweet 

Gingerbread Cake

 I made this cake because I wanted to 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026424-holiday-gingerbread-cake-with-molasses-whipped-cream?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

Used mostly Bob's Red Mill 1:1 GF flour in place of the AP flour.

It needs the whipped cream because the cake itself is not too sweet. I didn't make the cream from the recipe but had it with ice cream.

It was a little bitter, probably because it burned a little. But not sure if I'd make it again.

Macarons

 https://thebeachhousekitchen.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-macarons/#wprm-recipe-container-21486

Made these on New Year's day because Leela loves them. I had a hard time following the instructions and had a couple missteps in the egg white whipping. I missed adding the plain sugar. I added it after I whipped the egg white. Then I forgot to add the vanilla at the soft peak stage and had to keep whipping after I added it.

I probably under mixed the batter after adding the almond flour mixture because the shells were slightly hollow. Also, I baked both trays at the same time and some we bigger than others and they cooked slower than the "normal"-sized ones.

Generally, this tutorial is what I followed the first time and I think it is very informative.

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/french-macarons/

Blonde brownies

 https://www.kyleecooks.com/easy-blondie-recipe/

These turned out great. Used the King Arthur 1:1 flour 

Pecan Pie Bars

 https://natashaskitchen.com/pecan-pie-bars/

I followed this recipe, replacing the regular flour for Gluten free flour.

I'm not completely happy with the crust, so I'll have to try again, but they are still pretty good.

Gluten free lefse

 https://www.chelseajoyeats.com/gluten-free-lefse/

Made this last year and I really think it was almost the same as the wheat flour ones.

We made them first so not to contaminate the rolling mats. 

Peanut butter cookies

 https://flavorwalk.com/gluten-free-peanut-butter-cookies/#recipe

Almond flour crackers

 I found Simple Mills crackers and they are a great replacement for my former favorite, Wheat Thins, except for the price. Those crackers are quite expensive!

For my first try, I sort of followed a couple recipes as well as using the ingredients in the Simple Mills box.

https://www.eatingbirdfood.com/3-ingredient-homemade-almond-crackers/#wprm-recipe-container-34051

And 

https://www.floraandvino.com/grain-free-almond-flour-crackers/

1 cup almond flour 

About 1/2 cup ground flax (I think this is too much , both recipes called for 2 tablespoons)

About 1/2 cup of ground sunflower seeds (this may have been too much too, this is not in any of the recipes)

2 tablespoons cassava starch/flour 

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1/2 tsp onion powder (both were too much, one recipe only called for 1/8tsp)

2 tablespoons sunflower oil 

4 tablespoons water 

The simple Mills crackers also have tapioca starch in the ingredients, but I didn't have any on hand 

Baked them for 20 minutes at 350.

Flavor is ok, needs more salt, should try to sprinkle on top before baking.

They are also a little crumbly and grainy. A little less flax and sunflower might help.

The texture was off too, they didn't have any snap to them. Not sure but probably it is related to the previous observation.

Also, I need to roll out just a little thinner. They're pretty good, but can be better.

Try #2

1 c almond flour 

1/4 c sunflower seeds, ground 

2T brown flaxseed, ground 

2T tapioca starch 

1T cassava flour 

1t Himalayan salt 

4T water

~1.5T sunflower oil 

Scored in approximately 2” square, should have also added the hole in the middle of each cracker, definitely worth the effort to prevent the crackers from puffing up in the middle.

Ground salt on top 

320deg f , started at 15 min, added 3 minutes , the thinner part was done, but the thicker part  still needed a little more time 

Still a little too much onion and garlic powder, probably reduce the salt inside to 1/2t.

 color is better, but it still doesn't have that "snap" I'm going for in a cracker. The dough is a little oily, but after it's finally done baking and cooling, it's not too bad.

Peach cobbler and crisp

 I made these two recipes.  the kids wanted the crisp and the cobbler for me.

Crisp- https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1024392-peach-crisp?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

This needed a little more sugar, probably in the peaches. It was sour for me, so I sprinkled a little more white sugar on top.

Cobbler -https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025843-easy-buttermilk-peach-cobbler?smid=ck-recipe-android-share

The flavor of this was good, but I tried to make it gluten free and failed pretty bad. I used Bob's Red Mill AP flour, almond flour, and a little zucchini flour. I added some Xyanthum gum to try to get it to stick together, maybe it needed an egg or two, as well. However, it crisped on the top, but underneath was a gooey mess. A tasty gooey mess, but a mess nonetheless.

I might try this again but with all AP or 1:1 GF flour.

Peanut butter frosting

 I used this recipe for frosting L's chocolate birthday cake 

https://sugarspunrun.com/peanut-butter-frosting/#recipe

Very simple and turned out great 

Non meatloaf

 I made a version of a meatloaf while L was away at camp because she really doesn't like it.

I made another version last night. I think I turned out pretty good 

2 medium carrots, chopped 

1 small onion chopped 

1-2 ribs of celery chopped 

1-2 cloves garlic chopped 

2 Tbsp olive oil 

2 Tbsp tomato paste 

2 Cups cooked kidney beans 

1 cup cooked small white beans

1-1.5 Cups cooked quinoa 

Sage about 4 large leaves

Thyme about 8 sprigs, leaves stripped 

Oregano about 1-2 Tbsp finely chopped 

Salt about 1/2 tsp or to taste 

pepper 

About 1/4 cup flaxseed ground or flaxseed meal 

Saute the onion, garlic carrots and celery in the oil. When soft transfer to a food processor to chop into a paste. Add beans to food processor.

Transfer to a bowl to mix in the quinoa, herbs, salt pepper, and flaxseed meal. Let sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the loaf pan (spray with oil) and preheat the oven to 425. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until browning on the top.

It was still a little mushy, but mostly kept it's shape.

Scandinavian seeds crackers

I miss all the good gluten free crackers from Norway. I think I found the wasa crackers, but have not been able to find the seed crackers. 

So I used this recipe:

https://www.alphafoodie.com/the-best-seed-cracker-recipe/

But I wanted more flaxseed, so I doubled it. I also used about a 1/4 c ground flaxseed as the binder instead of psyllium.

One sheet pan was not enough, because it was a little too thick. 

This turned out ok in flavor, but not what I was going for and it was not the right consistency - it just crumbled. Will try again...

Update!!

I made this recipe :

https://true-north-kitchen.com/gluten-free-seed-crackers-norwegian-crispbread/

I modified to have less sesame and more flaxseed, and that seemed to be a lot more like the Norwegian crackers from this summer. I didn't have chia, so added flax meal.

Next will try this too:

Scandinavian Multi-Seed Crispbread Recipe with A Fragrant Twist - food to glow (kelliesfoodtoglow.com)

GF strawberry rhubarb crisp

 I made this on Leela's request. I used a 9x13 pan and added more strawberry and rhubarb. I probably should have added more topping, but overall, Leela and I enjoyed it.

https://www.faithfullyglutenfree.com/rhubarb-crisp/

GF Rabarbrakake

 I made this rhubarb cake using Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour. I really liked it because it wasn't too sweet 

https://northwildkitchen.com/simple-norwegian-rhubarb-cake-rabarbrakake/#/

GF Sour Cream Coffee Cake

 With all the baked goods recently, I wanted to make something that I could eat. There was also some sour cream that needed to be used. I was very happy how it turned out. I will plan to make it to bring to work for our weekly donut day.

https://www.healthygffamily.com/recipe/gluten-free-sour-cream-coffee-cake/

R's Birthday cake 2024

R drew me a picture of a cake he wanted for his birthday. It was quite an elaborate three-layer cake with three different flavors inside.

Lemon on the bottom, chocolate in the middle and red velvet on the top. 

Because I didn't want to do everything at once and at the last minute, I made one layer at a time and froze each one to make assembly much easier 

I used half this recipe for a 9" cake pan for the bottom lemon layer 

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/lemon-cake/#tasty-recipes-66829

I used half this recipe for a 9" cake pan for the top red velvet layer 

 https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/red-velvet-layer-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/#tasty-recipes-66373

I also used the frosting recipe for the outside of the cake. 

I had some whipped chocolate ganache that also went between the chocolate layer and the red velvet layer.