Fudgy Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Icing

Ohmygod-sogood. This was amazingly delicious, and super easy to throw together. Thick in the middle of finishing up my Master's thesis, I was having some hard core chocolate cravings last week. So I pulled out a Gefen boxed chocolate cake mix that was on sale after Passover ended and modified it to make it lower fat. Then, I modified the frosting and ended up making it higher fat. So it probably all comes out in the wash, and you won't remember modifying anything once you're having a piece.

After trying the frosting in the box (which was so so sugary I couldn't eat more than a tiny taste of it - and that is saying something, because my tolerance for sugar is usually well above average - I decided to scrap it and make my own frosting. And what could be better than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate? I couldn't think of anything, so that was that. It turned out to be fabulous. If you want these to be more like brownies, I suspect you could eliminate one of the eggs - but I haven't tried it myself. But even as it was, the cake had a lovely rich texture, and the icing was the perfect complement to its chocolatey-ness. Perfect for a night of studying and sure to satisfy chocolate cravings, stress-induced or otherwise.

Fudgy Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Icing

For cake:
1 package Gefen gluten-free chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/4 cup fig butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup almond milk

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9" round pan. Mix all ingredients together with an electric mixer for about 3 - 4 minutes, or until smooth. Pour into the pan and bake for 25 - 40 minutes (depending on your oven), just until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely (if you can stand to wait).

For icing:
1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
3 - 4 tbsp. natural cocoa powder (to your own taste)
1/2 - 1 cup powdered sugar (to your own taste)
2 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt

Mix all ingredients together very well, and adjust ingredients to your own taste until you get the consistency you want in your icing. Spread evenly over completely cooled cake. Then eat the rest with a spoon. (Seriously - you won't be sorry for at least 10 minutes.)

Store cake in the refrigerator and let warm to room temperature before serving.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Heavenly. Simply heavenly. I loved these so much that I had to give most of them away. If I hadn't, I would have eaten the entire batch by myself, easily--probably in a shamefully short amount of time.

Peanut butter and jelly is one of my favorite combinations ever. I love it so much that I ate peanut butter sandwiches every day for several years in my first two jobs as an adult. I still eat it all the time. It's one of the things I could probably live on for a good long time before I got sick of it.

So when I saw the Gluten-free Goddess' Peanut Butter Banana Cake, I knew I had to try it out for myself. I made a few modifications, and then decided at the last minute to make it into a portable PB&J sandwich by adding a dollop of my homemade Black Raspberry Mango jam before baking them. They turned out to be FABULOUS. One of my friends took one bite and said, "So this is basically a peanut butter sandwich shaped like a muffin. It's wonderful." And I had to agree as I scarfed mine down with her.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins (Adapted from Gluten-free Goddess' Peanut Butter Banana Cake)
Makes 9 muffins

2 large bananas
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 tsp. white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 - 5 tbsp. of your favorite jam (I used my homemade black raspberry mango)

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with 9 paper liners.

Cream together the bananas, peanut butter, agave nectar, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and mix well. Coconut flour can be particularly clumpy, so try to work out all the lumps.

Spoon into the muffin tins, filling each one about 2/3 full. Spoon about 1 or 1 1/2 tsp. of jam into the middle of each one. Bake them for about 17 - 20 minutes, or just until a sharp knife comes out clean, and the top is slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let sit in the hot pan for about 3 - 4 more minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

These only lasted long enough for me to verify they are still good 2 days later. But I suspect if you keep them in the refrigerator, that they will keep for about 4 days.

Classic Deviled Eggs for One (maybe Two)

You're looking at my Easter celebration! I'm pretty equal opportunity when it comes to religious holidays, so I'll probably be eating these later with some matzo toffee bark. (Hey, it all starts out with the same book, right?)

If you live alone like me, and have no children, you may find yourself still craving some Easter favorites, but in smaller volumes. So after a disastrous first attempt at making deviled eggs last night (I put the eggs on to boil and promptly became engrossed in a TV show in the next room. The next time I thought about them was when I heard them explode in my kitchen. Easter fail.), I tried again this morning. It went much more smoothly, mainly because of the lack of explosion involved.

Because it's just me, I only used two hard-boiled eggs, and it made just the right amount. But hey, if you're even less hungry, or if you're saving room for other Easter or Passover treats, go ahead and halve this recipe.

Classic Deviled Eggs for One


2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
1 tbsp. Ojai Lemonaise (or your favorite brand of mayo)
1/8 tsp. white vinegar (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/8 - 1/4 tsp. ground pepper
Dash of salt (to taste)
Dash of paprika + more for sprinkling

Remove the yolk from the halved eggs and place in a small bowl. Add the mayo, vinegar (optional), and spices and mix well. Place back onto the egg whites in equal amounts, then sprinkle with paprika.

Voila! Chill until ready to eat. 

Maple Oat Nut Scones

These are amazing. Simply amazing. I made them a while back after one of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rallies, and they were some of the first gluten-free scones I've ever had that really, truly, honestly tasted like scones. One of my friends who swore he hated scones LOVED these. Couldn't get enough of them. Enough said.

They are full of lovely maple flavor and taste like the ones you get at Starbucks (at least, from what I remember). Seriously - they will disappear in a matter of hours (minutes?) if they even make it off the cooling rack.

Find this fabulous recipe by Gretchen at Kumquat by clicking here.

Gluten-free Passover Round-up

Passover is one of my favorite holidays. It's not because I'm religious or anything (although I do have very fond memories of my family's seder dinners). No - it's because Passover is very kind to those of us who can't eat gluten. A lot of this holiday is naturally gluten-free! Here are some ways to make Passover season a delicious one (whether you're Jewish or not):

Apple Raisin Charoset

Flourless Mini Carrot Cakes

Gluten-free Matzoh Toffee Bark

Lemon Passover Cupcakes with Blackberry Jam

Passover Lemon Sponge Cake

St. Patty's Day Marshmallow Swirl Brownies for the Ratio Rally

Is there anything more irresistible than a rich, fudgy brownie? Is there?

I didn't think so. And I totally agree.

These are in the top five most dangerous things for me to bake as a single woman living alone. I have to get very strategic about timing, baking them just before I am about to see a large number of unsuspecting friends or co-workers I can pawn them off on. If I don't, I end up in a (lonely) repeat of the time in college when my roommate and I sat in front of a pan of brownies with forks, demolishing about 3/4 of them before we knew what was happening.

Still, they are one of my absolutely favorite desserts. Which is why I was so happy that the Gluten-free Ratio Rally decided to tackle brownies this month. 

Our host for the Ratio Rally this month is Mary Fran from Franny Cakes. And we've got quite a line-up of chocolate goodness, practically anything you can imagine. I am salivating just reading the list - salted caramel, chocolate orange, mint chocolate, blueberry citrus (!), PB&J....

For my variation, I decided to go with an old favorite of mine, marshmallow swirl. And since it was March, they clearly needed to be green. It's festive. And versatile! You can make these any color you want. 

These use very little flour, and so my ratio ended up being kind of bizarre. 4 parts fat : 4 parts egg : ~ 2.5 parts flour. No liquid - but yes, 8 parts chocolate. (If you're going to do this, do it right.)

So that's what I did. I made these for a potluck party, and people raved about them. The word "amazing" was tossed around quite a bit, and they disappeared pretty quickly. People who saw me the next week were still talking about these brownies. Multiple people have told me they are the best brownies they have ever had, period. They are that good. 

Go ahead. Whip up a batch. You know you want to. 

St. Patty's Day Marshmallow Swirl Brownies

Makes one 9"x13" pan of brownies

4 oz (1 stick) Earth Balance Buttery Spread

8 oz. Trader Joe's Belgian Dark Chocolate (72%)

10 oz. (1.5 cups) white sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1.5 oz (1/2 cup) almond flour

.6 oz (1/8 cup) sorghum flour

.5 oz (1/8 cup) tapioca starch

1 tsp. salt

3/4 - 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup Marshmallow Fluff

1/2 - 1 tsp. gluten-free green food dye (more as needed)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with foil or spray with cooking spray.

Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water; stir frequently until chocolate and butter are melted.  Alternatively, place them in the microwave for 2 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently to break up the clumps of chocolate.  Let cool for 10 minutes (til they are about at room temperature).

Stir the sugar into the melted chocolate until combined. Stir in the eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Whisk in the vanilla. 

In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, sorghum flour, tapioca starch, and salt.  Gently fold the mixture into the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and smooth top. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and pres lightly into the batter.

In a small bowl, mix the Marshmallow Fluff with the green food dye until you've got a nice, bright shade of green. Swirl into the top of the brownie batter.

Bake until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, anywhere from 35-45 minutes (I baked mine for 39 minutes or so). Start checking them after about 30 minutes to gauge how quickly they are baking so you don't overbake them.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.  Slice and serve once cooled.  Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze; reheat before serving.  

Check out all the other lovely creations - and just try to resist. I dare you.

Adina from Gluten Free Travelette made Chocolate Brownie Pie with Orange Zest
Angela from Angela's Kitchen made Gluten & Dairy Free Cream Egg Brownies

Brooke from B & the boy! made Triple Chocolate Brownies

Caitlin from {Gluten Free} Nom Nom Nom made Peppermint Brownie Bars
Caleigh from Gluten Free[k] made White chocolate and marshmallow brownies

Caneel from Mama Me Gluten Free made Triple chocolate brownies
Charissa Luke from Zest Bakery made Slutty gluten-free brownies
Claire from My Gluten Free Home PB&J Brownie Whoopee Pies

Erin from The Sensitive Epicure made Mexican Cocoa Brownies with an Almond & Pepitas Crust
gretchen from kumquat made salted caramel brownies
Heather from Discovering the Extraordinary made Nutmeg Blondies
Irvin from Eat the Love made Blueberry Citrus Marble Brownies

Jean from Gluten-Free Doctor Recipes made Blue Ribbon Brownies

Jenn Cuisine made Grain free brownies with no-bake ricotta cheesecake cream

Jonathan from The Canary Files made Vegan Marbled Banana Walnut Brownies
Karen from Cooking Gluten Free! made GFChewy Crackled Top Brownies with Raspberry Puree
Mary Fran from FrannyCakes made Gluten-Free Hazelnut (Nutella) Brownies

Morri from Meals with Morri made Oaxacan Brownies & Mesquite Cacao Blondies

Mrs. R from Honey From Flinty Rocks made Black Bean S'More Brownies
Pete and Kelli from No Gluten, No Problem made Caramel Mexican Chocolate Mesquite Brownies
Rachel from The Crispy Cook made Co-CoNut-Nut Blondies
Shauna from Gluten-Free Girl made Gluten-Free Brownies

Tara from A Baking Life made Mint Chocolate Flourless Brownies

TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies Gluten Free Berry Fudge Brownies 

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. 

Roasted Eggplant and Garlic Pesto

I know. It may seem kind of weird. But, really - roasted garlic? Roasted eggplant? You can't go wrong.

Simplicity is something I need in my life right now, at least with food. Everything else feels so crazy and rushed and looming and overwhelming between my job and finishing up with graduate school, that the idea of a simple meal that still tastes good (and is healthy, no less) is irresistible. And that's what this recipe is - simplicity at its best. Minimal work upfront, and then it turns into a magnificent meal while you do other stuff.

So give it a try! Eggplants are one of those oft-overlooked vegetables that may surprise you. So why not let it?

Roasted Eggplant Pesto
Makes enough for two servings of pasta

1 medium eggplant
20 ripe cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
To taste (roughly 1/2 tsp of each): dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley, dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Line a large roasting pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Peel the eggplant and cut into 4 pieces (lengthwise). Sprinkle liberally with salt (you'll wipe most of it off again in a few minutes) and let sit for about 15 minutes. This will cause the eggplants to "sweat" and will get rid of some of the moisture. After 15 minutes, use paper towels to wipe the beads of moisture and salt off of the eggplant. Cut it into large chunks and place back into the foil-lined roasting pan.

Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic into small pieces, and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Add them to the eggplant once you've done the step above.  In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and pour it over the entire mixture. Sprinkle the spices over the whole thing and stir it up to mix (but don't worry about mixing it too well).

Place in the oven and roast for about an hour, stirring every 10 - 15 minutes. Roast until the eggplant is very tender - it may take longer than an hour. Once it's done, put it all into a food processor and blend until it's as smooth as you'd like it. You can add a bit more olive oil or a little water if you want it to be thinner.

Serve over gluten-free pasta as a pesto, or as a tapenade on bread or crackers.

Puppy Chow for One

It's been a rough few months. And I have a rough few more ahead of me before school is over. Some day soon, I will have only my full-time job to keep me busy.

In the meantime, I need a steady supply of snacks. And if you're like me, you'll eat exactly as much of this as you make. So in an effort to at least curb my stress eating, I decided to make a single serving at a time. That way, at least 4 minutes of preparation stands between me and more of it. Because it is so good. So full of peanut butter and chocolate, one of the best combinations that exists on earth. So addictive.

So go ahead. Join me in an attempt to eat just a little of it. And enjoy every bite.

Puppy Chow for One

1/2 cup Honey Nut Chex
1 tbsp. natural peanut butter
1 tbsp. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 -3 tsp. powdered sugar

Melt the peanut butter and the chocolate chips together for 1 minute in the microwave. Stir the chocolate chips and peanut butter together, then add the chex. Stir to coat.

Put the powdered sugar in a small baggie. Pour the chocolate-coated chex into the bag and shake it to cover with the powdered sugar.

Store in the refrigerator...if you can wait that long to eat it.

Blackberry Sage Coffee Cake

You know what the perfect accompaniment to a super cold Boston day is?  A good friend, a hot cup of tea, and a piece of this coffee cake.  Particularly if you've spent the afternoon baking it together.

I love the smell and flavor of sage.  It's one of those herbs I never really ate before, for some reason.  It wasn't until I tried Republic of Tea's Blackberry Sage tea that I even knew what it tasted like.  And after that?  I was hooked.

I think sage is a lovely complement to blackberries, and so when my friend Kate showed up at my door with a bag of fresh blackberries, ready for an adventure in gluten-free baking, we decided we'd try our hand at inventing a blackberry coffee cake.  And all it took for her was one whiff of my jar of ground sage to convince her that it needed to be part of our recipe. 

So we pulled out my trusted copy of Ruhlman's Ratio and got to work using the ratio for sponge cake. 1:1:1:1 (fat : egg : flour : sugar).  "Should we substitute applesauce for part of the fat?" I asked Kate, holding a stick of butter.  "Yes," she said, nodding.  "Then we can eat more of it and not feel guilty."

Great minds think alike.

Trust me, you'll be glad you built in a guilt-free way to eat more of this cake.  It is heavenly!  The only thing I might change is to chop the blackberries or add more of them so they were more evenly dispersed throughout the cake.  But the flavor was still wonderful, the soft of sage spreading across my tongue - but not overpowering it - and the blackberries melting in my mouth.

Divine.  You won't be sorry, trust me. (Unless you hate sage. Then you might be sorry.)

Blackberry Sage Coffee Cake
Makes a 9x13 coffee cake

For cake:
4 oz. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
4 oz. smooth applesauce
8 oz. white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2.5 oz. sorghum flour
2.5 oz. brown rice flour
3 oz. tapioca starch
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
2 - 3 tsp. ground sage (depending on how strong you want the flavor to be)
1 cup blackberries, chopped into small pieces if desired

For topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup brown rice flour
2 tbsp. melted Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1.5 tsp. ground sage

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spray a cake pan with cooking spray.

Cream together the butter, applesauce, and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate, then the vanilla and lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.  Add bit by bit to the wet ingredients, mixing well.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and smooth with a spatula.  Press the blackberries into the dough, spacing evenly.  You can leave them whole, or cut them into smaller pieces for more even consistency.

Place in the oven.  Assemble the crumble topping.  After 20 minutes of baking, as quickly as you can, open the oven and sprinkle the crumble topping over the cake as evenly as possible. Continue to bake for anohter 15 - 30 minutes, or just until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Cool completely before serving.

Cream Cheese Stollen

You probably didn't think this was possible. Gluten- and dairy-free cream cheese stollen. But, friends. It is.


My mom has made this (well, a glutenful version) every Hannukah for as long as I can remember. And up until 4 years ago, I joined the rest of my family in stuffing myself to the point of immobility with it the night of our Hannukah party. There was certainly enough of it to be had - I remember one year, she made something like 16 of them. In one day. And that was the same morning that she made about a dozen loaves of challah bread. The woman is a machine.

This year, I was lucky enough to be home for our Hannukah party (I've missed it a few times over the last several years because I was either out of the country or at least out of St. Louis when Hannukah fell). The house smelled heavenly. It smelled heavenly because of a bunch of food I couldn't eat. It was torturous to watch everyone slather jam or butter onto thick slices of soft challah, and to watch everyone wander into the kitchen to cut themselves piece after piece of cream cheese stollen. I never, ever cheat and eat gluten. But I have to be honest -- my mom's challah and cream cheese stollen are two of the things that tempt me the most.

The funny thing is, my mom is gluten-free, too - although she isn't quite as sensitive as I am to it. Yet she still makes these treats for the Hannukah party the way she always has, with wheat flour. I asked her at the party if she had ever tried to make a gluten-free version of the cream cheese stollen. She said she hadn't. And I vowed in that moment that someday very soon, a gluten-free version would exist.

And now it does, and it rocks. I'm actually a little surprised myself at how well this turned out. Even the chef has doubts sometimes - I mean, it is dairy-free cream cheese and gluten-free dough that I couldn't knead like the original recipe calls for. How close could it really get to the original? But it turned out beautifully - the dough wasn't difficult to work with at all, and it all baked up into a wonderfully soft and flaky-on-top pastry. The smooth cream cheese filling is the complement to the slightly sweet and yeasty bread, and the end product is a delightful dessert that is sweet (but not too sweet) and melts in your mouth.

Granted, it's been many years since I tasted my mom's cream cheese stollen. But this is seriously delicious. I brought it to work, and my co-workers proclaimed it to be "out-of-this-world good." And I'd have to agree.

Cream Cheese Stollen
Makes 1 Stollen
*You can double this recipe very easily. 


For the dough:
1/4 cup margarine or butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. vanilla coconut milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 egg
1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup brown rice flour (plus another 1/4 - 1/2 cup for when you roll it out later)
1/2 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato or arrowroot starch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 tsp. xanthan gum


For the cream cheese filling:
12 oz. gluten-free and vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
dash salt


For the glaze:
1.5 tsp. boiling water
3/4 - 1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. lemon juice


Melt margarine or butter.  Add sugar, salt and coconut milk.  Continue heating until lukewarm. 


In a separate bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in warm water until foamy.  Stir in milk mixture, egg and half of the flour, beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining batter to make a stiff batter. Stir well, put into an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in warm place for about a half an hour or until roughly doubled in size. 


In the meantime, make the cream cheese filling by beating together all of the ingredients until it is very smooth. Set aside.


Punch down dough, then turn out onto a greased piece of parchment paper (make it easy on yourself and do this step on the surface you're actually going to bake the stollen on - it's hard to transfer to a new surface without breaking it once it's formed!). Sprinkle liberally with brown rice flour, and then use your hands to form the dough into a rectangular shape (about 9” by 13”).  Brush with beaten egg, spread on the cream cheese filling, and roll in from each side, meeting in the center. (Tip: take a thin cutting board and use it to roll each side in - it will help keep it from falling apart.). If you didn't do this on a grease baking sheet, transfer it now to one, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Then cut diagonal slits along the sides, brush with egg, and let rise for another half an hour.  


Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until browned. If you have the instant read thermometer, you can again test it for doneness, by poking it into a non cheesy section to see if the temperature is anywhere between 190 degrees and 210 degrees.


Allow the stollen to cool slightly on a cooling rack, and then spoon on the glaze.  After glaze has set and stollen is completely cool, you can wrap tightly in saran wrap. If you store in the fridge, be sure to warm it up for 10 - 15 seconds in the microwave before serving.


To make glaze: Add boiling water and lemon juice slowly to confectioner’s sugar and mix thoroughly.  If you don’t use this mixture pretty quickly, it will thicken too much, so use within 5 minutes of making it.

Lower-Fat Chocolate Chip Vanilla Blondies

I am a die-hard brownie fan. You can ask my cousin Erin how safe a pan of brownies is if I'm within a 50-foot radius of it. (The answer is: not safe. Not safe at all.)

But there is something about vanilla that I adore as well, and the allure of these blondies is pretty much on par with that of a pan full of straight chocolate. These are essentially like chocolate chip cookie bars, just bursting a bit more at the seams with vanilla flavor.  I substituted applesauce for some of the fat (although these are not even close to being fat-free) and the results were pretty excellent - still a moist crumb, but it held together very nicely and didn't fall apart.  These are a great treat for "mixed company" (that is, gluten-eating and gluten-free folks alike) -- if they even make it out of your kitchen.

Lower-Fat Chocolate Chip Vanilla Blondies (Adapted from the Allergen-free Baker's Handbook)
Makes one 9x13 pan

4 tbsp. Spectrum Shortening
4 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
4 tbsp. applesauce
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup (or more!) semi-sweet chocolate chips

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

Cream the shortening, butter, and applesauce together with an electric mixer.  Add in the sugar and continue to cream until well mixed. Add the egg and vanilla and mix in.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.  Add 1/3 at a time to the wet ingredients using the electric mixer.

Stir in the chocolate chips and then spread evenly into the pan. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or just until a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean. If anything, you want to underbake these instead of leaving them in for too long, so definitely keep an eye on them after 35 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool.  Cut into pieces and either serve immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days on the counter.  If you are storing them for longer, keep refrigerated or frozen until ready to serve.

Chai Latte Cashew Cookies for the Ratio Rally

Cookies are woven into our culture. Images of chocolate chip cookies, warm from the oven at grandma's house. The classic Tollhouse recipe. The cookie jar. The cookie monster. Girl Scouts sell them. Web browsers have them. They're everywhere, when you think about it.

And with good reason.  Friends, it's because cookies rock.  And that's why I'm so excited that this month's Ratio Rally recipe is for cookies! This is what you've been waiting for. For years, you've been tethered to your classic Tollhouse recipe. But now - now you can create delicious, chewy, buttery cookies (and as many or as few as you want) using a simple ratio.

I thought long and hard about what kind of cookie I wanted to create. There are such endless possibilities. Should I go classic chocolate chip? German hazelnut jam thumbprint? Peanut butter with chocolate? Pumpkin? Sugar? My mind was spinning (and my stomach was growling).

Then I noticed a forgotten little package of cardamom in my spice cabinet that I had never gotten around to using before. And I knew what I was going to make.

Chai Lattes. In cookie form.

There are a few different possible ratios for cookies. I originally tried the 1-2-3 ratio, but those ended up being cakier than I preferred. So I went for a ratio closer to the 1-1-1 ratio (1 part each of butter, sugar, and flour) and they came out much more like traditional cookies. Buttery, soft, and with a nice texture. And delicious. These really did taste like little chai lattes - I brought them into work and they got great reviews! And cookies are a piece of cake (ha) to throw together, so they'll be making your house smell wonderful before you know it.

Many thanks to Caroline of The G Spot Revolution for hosting this month's Ratio Rally for cookies!  See below my recipe for a list of all the other fantastic cookie ideas the other Ratio Rally members came up with.

And get ready for a chai latte - just not the kind you're used to.


Chai Latte Cashew Cookies
Makes 24 - 36 cookies

1.5 oz butter

1 oz brown sugar

1 oz white sugar
1/2 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract

.75 oz brown rice flour

.75 oz sorghum flour

.5 oz potato starch

1/8 tsp. xanthan gum

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 - 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped cashews

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and vanilla and beat together. In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix together. Add to the butter-sugar mixture and mix until combined. Add the chopped cashews.

Drop by teaspoonful onto the lined cookie sheet (no greasing necessary). Bake for 7-9 minutes, or just until the edges are slightly browned. Remove from oven and leave on hot cookie sheet for another 2 -4 minutes or until firm enough to move to a cooling rack. When completely cooled, remove to an airtight container.

Take a look at the fabulous recipes the other Ratio Rally folks came up with!

Amanda | Gluten Free Maui | Simple Shortbread
Amie Valpone | The Healthy Apple | Grapefruit Sugar Cookies
Brooke | B & the boy! | Candy Cane Shortbread
Caleigh | Gluten Free[k] | Mulled Spice Cookies
Caneel | Mama Me Gluten Free | Cardamom Date Cookies
charissa | zest bakery | Coconut Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Caroline | The G-Spot | Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies
Erin | The Sensitive Epicure | Spritz Cookies with Jam
gretchen | kumquat | Classic Sugar Cookies
Irvin | Eat the Love | Apple Brown Butter Bay Leaf Spice Cookies
Jean | Gluten Free Doctor Recipes | Reindeer Cookies
Jenn | Jenn Cuisine | Basler Brunsli
Jonathan| The Canary Files | Vegan Salted Oatmeal Cherry Cookies
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free! | Mexican Wedding Cakes
Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen | Molasses Rum Raisin Cookies
Mary Fran | frannycakes | Pinwheel Cookies
Meaghan | The Wicked Good Vegan | Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Meredith | Gluten Free Betty | Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
Morri | Meals With Morri| Stevia Sweetened & Grain-Free Thumbprint Cookies with Apricot Preserves
Pete & Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem| Belgian Speculaas Cookies
Rachel | The Crispy Cook | Melomakarona
Silvana Nardone | Silvana's Kitchen | Old-School Italian Jam-Filled Hazelnut Cookies
T.R. | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies | Cinnamon Lemon Cookies
Tara | A Baking Life | Walnut Shortbread

Featured in Shape Magazine!

Remember these?  My delicious Banana Rum Cupcakes with Rum Glaze that resulted from the "cake" round of the Gluten-free Ratio Rally?

Well, I do. I have made them a few more times since posting about them for the Gluten-free Ratio Rally. They've turned out wonderfully every time - and not only are they based on a Ruhlman ratio, but they are also (relatively) guilt-free. So you can make - and EAT - as many as you like.

The people at Shape Magazine seem to agree with me, and they've included this recipe in their recent piece, "The Best Healthy Cupcakes We've Ever Seen."  Check out the other cupcakes that made rank - they all look pretty amazing, and there are a few other gluten-free recipes included as well that I can't wait to try out. Thanks so much to Shape.com for the feature!!

And just in case you were thinking of not making a batch of these immediately after reading this post, I'll leave you with this:

Yeah. You might want to start preheating the oven.

Aunt Maggie's Pumpkin Spice Pie for the Gluten-free Ratio Rally

There's nothing more quintessential to me about fall than pumpkin pie.  And luckily for me, I have a family who loves it just as much as I do.  Which is why I decided to feature my Aunt Maggie's amazing recipe for pumpkin pie for this month's Gluten-free Ratio Rally.  Her pie is legendary and is one of the things our family looks forward to most each fall, and it will make your house smell like the season. 

Many thanks to Lisa from Gluten-free Canteen for hosting this month's Ratio Rally!  

The filling for this comes together so easily, so that part will be a piece of....pie?  You can literally just dump it all in a bowl and mix it up with an electric mixer in less than 5 minutes.  Done.  And even though making a pie crust from scratch may seem daunting (I know it did for me!), it's really much simpler than you might expect.  And it will be so delicious, you'll be glad you took the extra 20 minutes to do it - I promise.  This crust turned out wonderfully firm and flakey (like a good crust should be), and the filling set beautifully thanks to a milk substitute of So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk.  We always have this pie (erm, several of these pies) at Thanksgiving, but you can use any excuse to make it anytime.  For example: It's Friday.  Bam - good enough reason to make a pumpkin pie.

It worked for me, anyway.  And it disappeared just as quickly as it came together.

Aunt Maggie's Pumpkin Spice Pie 

For the pie crust:
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour (plus about 1/2 cup more for dusting when rolling out)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. butter
1 large egg
1 tbsp. vanilla extract

To brush on top:  1 egg white, beaten

Preheat your oven to 350 F.  Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray.

Combine the flours, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt.  Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it's small and crumbly.  Beat the egg and vanilla together, then add to the crust.  Mix with a fork, and then with your hands to form it into a cohesive ball.  Add extra brown rice flour as needed so that it's not sticky.  Cut in half and roll into two equal size balls, and wrap into saran wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes.  If you're making two pies, remove both balls of dough from the freezer; if you're just making one pie, remove one of them and leave the other in the freezer until you're ready to use it another time.  Place the dough (one ball at a time) on a surface dusted with brown rice flour.  Place the sprayed saran wrap (spray side down) on top of the dough and press down.  Using a rolling pin, roll to a thin consistency, about 1/8 inch, adding more brown rice flour as needed to avoid sticking.  As best as you can, place the sheet of dough into the pie dish.  Don't worry too much if it falls apart; just scoop up the pieces and press them down into the bottom and about 2/3 of the way up the pie dish.  Brush the pie crust with the beaten egg white and place in the oven to pre-bake for 7 minutes, then remove from the oven to add the pie filling.

While the dough is chilling, prepare the pumpkin filling.  You'll need:
3 tbsp. Earth Balance Buttery Spread
1 cup white sugar
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 can pumpkin
3 eggs
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 cups So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk

Melt the Earth Balance and beat together with the sugars and pumpkin.  Add the eggs one at a time and blend in, then add the cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg (more of each to your own taste, if desired).  Add the So Delicious Coconut Milk 1/2 cup at a time.  The filling will seem rather fluid; that's ok!

Pour the pumpkin pie filling into the pre-baked pie crust.  Return to the oven and bake for about 1 hour, or just until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  After about 30 - 40 minutes, check to make sure the top isn't starting to get burned; if it is, use a piece of tin foil to create a little tent over the pie to protect the top but still allow the filling to set.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  Serve plain or with gluten-free whipped cream topping.


Check out the rest of this month's Ratio Rally's delicious pie ideas:

TR from No One Likes Crumbley Cookies Chocolate Mousse Pie
Jean Layton from Gluten-Free Doctor Cheese Crusted Apple Pie
Charissa from Zest Bakery Apple Galette with Pisco Soaked Golden Raisins
Kate from katealicecookbook Kale & Zucchini Tart
Jenn from Jenn Cuisine Sweet Potato and Duck Pot Pie
Caleigh from Gluten Free[k] Leek and Potato Pie
Rachel from The Crispy Cook Maple Walnut Pie
gretchen from kumquat deep dish chocolate bourbon pecan pie
Claire from Gluten Freedom Autumn Pumpkin Spice Pie
Morri from Meals With Morri  Spinach – Prosciutto Ricotta Quiche & Muffin Tin Pie Variations
Silvana Nardone from Silvana’s Kitchen Chicken Potpie
Caneel from Mama Me Gluten Free Green Tomato Pie
Meredith from Gluten Free Betty Blueberry Pie
Shauna from Gluten-free Girl and the Chef Fresh Pumpkin Pie
Meaghan from The Wicked Good Vegan Vegan Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie with Pumpkin Seed and Ginger Topping
Erin from The Sensitive Epicure Chess Pie
Mary Fran from frannycakes Pumpkin Mousse Pie and Apple Maple Cream Cheese Pie
Brooke from B & the boy! Pot Pie
Lisa from Gluten Free Canteen Frangipane Apple Tart 
~Mrs. R from Honey From Flinty Rocks Mock Apple Pie
Irvin from Eat the Love Double Butterscotch Apple Pie