Cherry Amaretto Pancakes for One (Vegan)

Do NOT let the vegan thing scare you off. These fluff up just as nicely as any egg-laden pancakes, I promise you that. And they are so simple to throw together - trust me, I know because I made about 5 different batches before I got the ratio right.

These are wonderfully sweet, but if you're trying to reduce your sweets intake, you can leave the sugar out and still get great results. That's because sugar or no sugar, the pairing of cherries with the amaretto syrup is unbeatable. The flavor in these is just heavenly. The recipe below will make enough for one really hungry or 1 1/2 moderately hungry people, so I recommend doubling the recipe if you're having a guest for breakfast. Or if you just don't want them to run out as quickly (which....let's face it. You won't.)

Cherry Amaretto Pancakes for One 

Makes about 6 small or 3 medium pancakes
*This recipe is easily doubled or tripled.

3 tbsp. + 1 tsp. sorghum flour (3/4 oz.)

2 tbsp. almond flour (1/2 oz.)

2 tbsp. tapioca starch (1/2 oz.)

1 tbsp. white sugar (1/2 oz.)

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. EnerG Egg Replacer + 1 tbsp. water

2 ½ tbsp. So Delicious Vanilla AlmondPlus Milk

1 ½ tsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread, melted

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. amaretto syrup (can substitute ½ tsp. almond extract)

1/3 cup cherries, chopped into small pieces

Maple syrup, amaretto syrup, and extra cherries for topping

Measure out the flours and mix them together with the salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat the egg replacer with the tablespoon of water until frothy, then add the almond milk, melted vegan butter substitute, vanilla, and amaretto syrup and mix together. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and stir to combine. Add in the chopped cherries.

Meanwhile, spray a skillet with non-stick cooking spray and preheat at medium heat. When the skillet is preheated, add about 1 ½ - 2 tbsp. worth of batter for each pancake (the batter will spread in the pan). Cook for about 2 – 3 minutes on each side until done all the way through.

Serve hot topped with maple syrup, amaretto syrup, and the extra cherries mixed together. 

Decadent Lemony Berry Coffeecake

Uh, yeah.  That cake tasted as good as it looks.  Better than it looks, if you can believe it.

I know this isn't technically a post for the Gluten-free Ratio Rally, but I feel this need to profess the power of the ratio again.  Because Oh. My. God.  This cake is seriously amazing.  Like, out-of-this-world good.  And it is possible because of a ratio.

My cousin was visiting me last week, and it was a total food bonanza.  It's sort of our thing.  We wander around grocery stores, and we talk about recipes.  And when we're in the same physical space, we cook and bake.  A lot.

After a trip to Boston's Haymarket, we came home with bags of fresh berries - probably about 2 pounds of them.  We had cherries, strawberries, and raspberries - and they were just begging to be part of something baked and delicious.

Done and done.  I consulted the ratio that Ruhlman has in his book for sponge cake (which is one part each of flour, eggs, fat, and sugar), and then we innovated a little with the flavors and flour blend.  I'm always one to reduce the fat and substitute something else, so I used applesauce to keep it moist.  And actually, there's more applesauce than fat in this cake - only 6 tablespoons of Earth Balance buttery spread in the WHOLE THING.  Think of how many extra pieces you can eat with all those fat calories you're saving (I know my cousin and I thought about that.  And then we definitely ate those extra pieces.).

And the result?  My gluten-eating, cake-loving cousin said it was the best cake she'd ever eaten.  The word "phenomenal" was dropped multiple times by both of us (in between mouthfuls).  I brought pieces around to my co-workers, who dubbed it "wonderful" and "delicious."

So you can make this one for mixed company, is what I'm saying - for gluten-eaters and gluten-haters alike.  Barring berry-haters, I suspect everyone will love it.

Decadent Lemony Berry Coffeecake

**Please note that all measurements given below in cups are approximate, as I used my kitchen scale to make this cake and used an online converter to figure out the volume measurements.

4 eggs
8 oz. white sugar (~1 cup)
3 oz. Earth Balance Buttery Spread (3/4 stick or 6 tbsp.)
5 oz. applesauce (unsweeted, natural) (~1/2 cup)
1.5 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp. lemon zest
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
3 oz. tapioca starch (~3/4 cup)
2 oz. sorghum (~1/2 cup)
3 oz. brown rice flour (~1/2 cup)
(OR 8 oz. of your favorite gf flour blend)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
3/4 lb. berries, chopped into small pieces (we used cherries, raspberries, and strawberries, but you could use any dark berries you think would go well in this)

For crumble topping:
4 - 6 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (or more to your own taste)
2 tsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Spray a glass 9" x 13" baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium or large mixing bowl, beat the eggs (preferably with an electric mixer) with the sugar until it's frothy.  Add the Earth Balance, applesauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and mix until it's well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum.  Add about 1/3 cup at a time to the wet ingredients, beating on medium speed until the batter is very smooth.

Pour the batter into the 9" x 13" pan.  Press the berries lightly into the top of the batter.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and Earth Balance.  Mix with your fingers until it's finely crumbly.  Sprinkle the cake generously with the cinnamon sugar crumble topping.

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for as long as you can stand it before eating a piece (we lasted 20 minutes).  Keep refrigerated once cooled.  It's fantastic if you warm it slightly in the microwave before eating.

Whole Grain Cherry Almond Zucchini Muffins (Low-fat!)

"There's something very summer about cherries," someone at work said to me this week.  I couldn't agree more, and what perfect timing he had, because there just so happened to be a sale on cherries this week.  Organic cherries, at that.  And conditioned by years of watching my mother stockpile groceries, I followed my instincts.  I came home with 5 pounds of dark red cherries, glistening with matte condensation.

Ambitious as I may be, I can't eat 5 pounds of cherries before they go bad.  I needed to find some way to use them, or at least to preserve them.  So I started pitting them (my fingers are still slightly purple), and one episode of Gilmore Girls later, I had a mountain of halved, pitted cherries sitting in front of me.  Begging to be used, and pleading with me to infuse something baked with their tart sweetness.

The flavor combination was easy, because cherries go beautifully with almonds.  Theirs is sort of a famous little affair.  So it was really just a matter of finding the medium I was in the mood for.  In the end, I settled on muffins.  Whole grain muffins, specifically, and ones that would use less fat.  Muffins I could eat a few more of without feeling guilty.  Which turned out to be a very wise choice in this case, as these muffins turned out to be heavenly - a little too heavenly for comfort, actually.

Mine turned out to be pretty moist, which is partly due to the substitution of applesauce for some of the oil, and partly due to the shredded zucchini and squash (I used half zucchini and half yellow squash simply because that's what I had in my kitchen, but you should feel free to use all of either, if you only have one or the other).  The fresh chopped cherries add a tart sweetness, the perfect complement to the almond flour and extract.

The bottom line is that they're fabulous, and would be wonderful to eat any time of day (I, um, may have turned them into my dinner tonight).  So next time you find yourself wondering how to use those cherries you just bought, try this recipe out.  And I dare you to stop at just one.

Whole Grain Cherry Almond Zucchini Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup combination of teff flour, brown rice flour, and sorghum flour
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup smooth applesauce
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup shredded/pureed zucchini and/or yellow squash
1 egg
1 tsp. flaxseed meal + 1 tbsp. warm water
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional)
3/4 cup chopped (pitted) cherries

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a muffin tray or spray with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and mix well.  In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, applesauce, shredded zucchini/squash, sugar, egg, flaxseed meal and water, and vanilla and almond extracts.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to mix.  Add the chopped cherries (with as little of the water as possible) and stir to mix.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin tins.  Bake at 350 F for 25 - 35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.  These end up being very moist even after baking for a long time, so definitely take them out after 35 minutes.

Quinoa Pilaf with Sweet Sausage, Dried Cherries, and Feta "Cheese"

This is a fantastically quick pilaf to throw together for when you're in a rush, or if you're so hungry you can't wait to for food that takes longer than 15 minutes to prepare.  Since recently discovering Sunergia Soy Feta Cheese (which is remarkably spot-on in flavor and texture, considering it's both dairy and gluten-free), I have been adding it to all kinds of things for an extra kick of flavor.  In this pilaf, it complements the tart cherries and sweet sausage perfectly, making for a quick and delicious meal.  I personally don't usually keep cooked quinoa on hand, but even if you don't either, the white kind only takes about 15 minutes to cook.  Once it's done, though, it's really just a matter of stirring the other ingredients in.  You'll be sitting down to eat before you know it. 


Quinoa Pilaf with Sweet Sausage, Dried Cherries, and Feta "Cheese"
Makes 2 small-ish servings

1 cup cooked quinoa (make as directed using chicken or vegetable broth)
2 Sweet Apple Maple Chicken Sausages (from Trader Joe's), sliced and sauteed until browned
1/3 cup dried cherries (can substitute cranberries)
2 - 3 tbsp. Sunergia Soy Feta Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together, breaking up the soy feta cheese well to distribute evenly throughout the pilaf.  Season with salt and pepper to your own liking.  This pilaf can be eaten either hot or cold.

Sweet and Tangy Cherry Apple Meatballs

These are a new twist on an old favorite.  I have been craving them for a while, but sadly, Trader Joe's has not stocked the cranberry chutney I used to use for ages.  I tried making it with their mango ginger chutney to mixed reviews; I liked it okay, but the rest of my family seemed to be less than enthused.  It was the ginger, I think, that was the misfit.  Don't get me wrong - I like ginger in general.  But it didn't belong in this concoction of sweet and tangy.  It knocked the other flavors out of its way.  It took over.

So it was time to do some tweaking.  This recipe is so simple that it wasn't hard to find substitutions;  I used homemade cherry jam to roughly parallel the tartness/sweetness of the cranberries, and while I was at it, added some apple butter I had in the fridge.  And then, I remembered the box of Kinnikinnick bread crumbs I had on my shelf.  (They sent me a box of them to review about a month ago, and with the end of the semester and being home for the holidays, I hadn't had a chance to use them yet.)  Since I was already in experimental mode, I tossed them in, too, replacing the oats from the original recipe.

They were wonderful, with a tender yet sturdy texture, and strike a beautiful balanced between sweet and a kick of spice.  These make a great dinner, but are essentially a fancier version of the cocktail meatballs made with grape jelly, so you could also make smaller meatballs and serve them as party snacks.  But trust me - whatever size you make them, you'll probably want to eat every last one yourself. 

Sweet and Tangy Cherry Apple Meatballs
Serves 3 - 4

For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg
3/4 cup Kinnickinnick bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp. basil
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. minced onion OR Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 tbsp. maple syrup or maple butter (or you could substitute agave nectar)
2 tbsp. cherry jam
1 1/2 tbsp. apple butter (or substitute any other kind of jam)

For the sauce:
1 1/4 cup Trader Joe's Barbecue Sauce
1/2 cup cherry jam
2 tbsp. apple butter (or substitute any other kind of jam)

To serve:
1/2 cup brown rice (cook as directed on package)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Get a glass baking dish ready for baking.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the meatballs and mix well.  Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray and put over medium heat.  Form the mixture into meatballs, dropping them into the pan.  Saute on all sides just until browned (they won't be done in the middle yet) and place them in a single layer in the glass baking dish.  You'll probably have to do this in about 3 batches.

In a separate bowl, combine the barbecue sauce, jam, and apple butter and mix well.  When the meatballs are all browned and arranged in a single layer in the glass baking dish, pour the sauce evenly over them, turning them so that all sides are coated.  Cover with foil and bake for 25 - 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are completely cooked through.

Serve over brown rice.

Cherry or Chocolate Chip Oat Scones by Cybele Pascal

Think back.  When was the last time you had a scone?  A scone like you remember them - crumbly, subtly sweet, faintly biscuit-like and scattered with sugar crystals?

Well, if you can't remember, don't worry.  I found one for you.

If you haven't heard of her yet, check out Cybele Pascal.  I recently discovered her fantastic cookbook, The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, and then - much to my delight - found that she also has a blog with instructional videos for several of her vegan and gluten-free recipes.  (Check below for the link to the recipe for these scones.)

Every single one of her recipes will make your mouth water.  Just try to watch these videos without wanting to reach through your computer screen to take a bite of whatever she is making.

The only modifications I made to Cybele's recipe (which originally was for Cherry Oat Scones) were to substitute Silk vanilla soy milk for the rice milk, and then to divide the batter to make half cherry and half chocolate chip (at the request of my family).  You could go crazy and make them all cherry chocolate chip if you want.  Or you could substitute your favorite kind of dried fruit for the cherries.  I get the feeling you could use any other toppings you like in these scones, as long as you don't change the basic ratio and weigh the batter down too much.  They are deliciously soft on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside - and in the cherry version, the hint of cinnamon is wonderful.

The only thing that is for sure is that if you miss scones, these are for you.  The members of my family who are not gluten-free tend to be brutally honest about these things, and they were not complaining.  In fact, they had seconds.

You can watch Cybele Pascal make these delicious scones here.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Cherry chocolate chip biscotti. How could this NOT have turned out well? I am visiting a friend of mine who is in the Peace Corps in Morocco, and we stocked up on gluten-free flour during our brief stay in Rabat at the beginning of my trip so we could do a lot of baking together. This was the first thing we tried together, and it was so delicious that we had inhaled half of the batch within 10 minutes of their leaving the oven. They're good, is what I'm saying. I don't think you can go wrong with these - you could add your favorite dried fruit, or add nothing, or just chocolate, or chocolate and nuts, or anything else you want, and they'd still be delicious. I used a small loaf pan to bake them the first time because the batter was rather thin and I wanted them to keep their shape, but if you want to throw them onto a baking sheet instead, go for it. I will definitely be making these again soon!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Biscotti

1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup rice flour (OR 1 cup of your favorite gluten-free flour blend)
1/8 cup blanched (or raw) almonds, pulverized into a crunchy flour
¾ cup brown sugar
1/4 t. baking powder
pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 T. vegetable oil
2 t. vanilla extract (almond extract would also be delicious)
cinnamon to taste
100 grams dark chocolate, cut into large chunks (or chocolate chips)
1/4 cup (or more) of dried cherries (You could also add any other dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, etc. to these)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a small bread pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center.

Combine the eggs, vegetable oil and extract and put in well. Work dry mixture until a dough forms. Pour the dough onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for at least 15 minutes, depending on the temperature of your oven. (The oven we used was not very hot, so we had to bake them for at least 30 minutes.) A toothpick inserted into the biscotti loaf should be completely dry when removed. Let cool briefly and then cut into slices and return these to the cookie sheet. Continue cooking the strips for about 10 - 20 more minutes and remove from oven. Let cool completely and serve with hot tea or coffee. Store in an airtight container, preferably in the refrigerator.