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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Southern Stawberry Pretzel Salad

Crust:

2 cups of crushed gluten-free pretzels (I use the Glutino brand that can be found at HEB, Central Market and Whole Foods)

1/4 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

2/3 cup sugar

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened

1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping (I use all-natural TRUwhip that can be found at HEB or Central Market)

1 (6 oz.) package of strawberry Jello

2 cups boiling water

3 cups sliced strawberries, chilled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, stir together crushed pretzels, sugar, and butter. Pat into a 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Set aside and cool completely.

In a medium bowl, beat together sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in the whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust, ensuring that the cream covers every bit of the pretzel crust. Refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, mix jello mix with boiling water in a heat-proof bowl. Allow to cool while the cream cheese filling chills. After the cream cheese filling is set, place strawberries on top of the cream cheese and pour jello over the mixture (make sure that no pretzel crust is showing and jello is cool to the touch). Cover and chill 4 hours or overnight.

Pound Cake with Mascarpone Cream

Pound cake is a simple dessert. It exudes buttery elegance that few sweet delicacies can surpass. Although it is wonderful plain, it is best served with some type of creamy fruit topping. For this recipe I used  a citrus mascarpone cream because I adore the fresh and light pop of flavor it adds to the cake. So go ahead and have your gluten-free cake and eat it too.

 

Pound Cake with Mascarpone Cream

Makes one 9 by 5-inch loaf

 

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, plus extra for greasing the pan (you can use a good quality butter like Kerrygold...it is pricey, but will make a world of difference)

3 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks (free range, large eggs)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups gluten-free cake flour (recipe follows*), plus extra for dusting pan

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups of sugar (you can use organic cane sugar or regular)

 

Cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces and place in bowl of stand mixture; let stand at room temperature for 20 - 30 minutes to soften slightly (butter should not exceed 60 degrees). Using a whisk, beat eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla in a bowl until well combined. Let egg mixture stand at room temperature until ready to use.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan; dust pan liberally with flour and shake out excess.

In a stand mixer fitted with a flat beater, beat butter and salt at medium-high speed until shiny and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping boottom and sides of bowl once with a rubber spatula. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, gradually pour in sugar (this should take 90 seconds-ish). Once all the sugar is added, increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white in color, 5 to 8 minutes, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once. With mixer running at medium speed, gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream; is should take 60 to 90 seconds. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl; beat mixture at medium-high until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and scrape sides and bottom.

In 3 additions, sift flour over butter and egg mixture. Fold in each addition gently and make sure the flour is well mixed in before adding the next addition. Make sure batter is homogenous.

Transfer batter to prepared load pan and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean, about 70 to 80 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes; invert cake onto wire rack, then turn right side up. Cook cake on rack for 2 hours. Slice desired amount and serve with cream (recipe below*), freeze what you don't eat and save for later.

*Gluten-Free Cake Flour

3 cups brown rice flour

1 cup sweet rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1 1/4 teaspoon guar gum

Mix well and store for later use

*Citrus Mascarpone Cream

Serves 4 - 6

8 ounces mascarpone cream

1/2 cup of whipped cream (horizon organic is a great brand)

1/4 cup of organic powdered sugar

1 lemon zested and juiced

1 lime zested and juiced

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat all of the above ingredients together in a bowl for about 1 minute. Top with lemon, lime, or orange segments. You can also substitute the citrus for fresh raspberries, strawberries, or any other desired fruit.

 

Espresso Brownies

Everyone loves a fresh baked brownie. They are sweet, chocolaty, and perfect with a large scoop of ice cream. One might think that a gluten-free brownie would taste like anything but a brownie. That is what I thought before I baked my Espresso Brownies “gluten-free style”.

The day before a family event, I decided to bake some regular brownies to feed my extended family. As the fragrance wafted through the kitchen, I immediately decided that I needed to make some without wheat flour for myself. It was then that the light bulb went off. I resolved to conduct an experiment to see if my gluten-free brownies would stand up to the flavor of a regular brownie.

The results of my experiment were shocking. No one could tell the difference between the brownies with wheat flour and the brownies with rice flour. Needless to say, both pans of brownies were eaten within 24 hours.

 

Espresso Brownies

Makes 16 servings

Brownies:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 tablespoons warm water

3 teaspoons instant espresso powder

1 cup organic cane sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup sweet rice flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (make sure they are gluten-free and don't have tons of additives and preservatives)

Espresso Glaze:

2 tablespoons of water

2 teaspoons of espresso powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup of organic powdered sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan (I used safflower oil and rice flour). In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup of butter. While the butter is melting, dissolve the espresso powder in the warm water. Remove from heat and let cool for about 2 or 3 minutes. Stir in sugar, eggs, espresso mixture and vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup of cocoa. Add flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir, but do not overmix. Add chocolate chips. Spread into prepared pan. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out with a few crumbs but not wet. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Dissolve 2 teaspoons espresso powder in with 2 tablespoons of water in a medium bowl. Whisk in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and whisk until smooth (You may need to add a little more powdered sugar to thicken the mixture).

Pour glaze over brownies and refrigerate until set. Serve and enjoy every morsel!

 

Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies. Gooey, rich, and perfect with a tall glass of milk. Most of us are familiar with the overpriced tubes of processed sugary cookie dough with a greasy peanut butter aftertaste. Not my Magical Peanut Butter Cookies! Instead of refined white sugar, these gooey babies contain sucanat. Found at most supermarkets and health food stores, sucanat is essentially pure dried sugar cane juice. I also use all-natural, organic peanut butter which contains a stronger peanutty taste than the partially hydrogenated alternative. Finally, these delicious delicacies are flourless and thus, gluten free. So pour yourself a tall glass of regular, soy, or rice milk and bake some magic!

 

Magical Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 1 dozen cookies

 

1 cup of organic, all-natural peanut butter

1 cup of sucanat

1 beaten egg

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the above ingredients well in a medium bowl. Lightly grease a baking sheet with coconut or safflower oil. Drop cookies by the tablespoon onto the cookie sheet, at least 2 inches apart. Once the cookies are on the cookie sheet, make a crisscross pattern on each cookie with the tines of a fork (you might have to lightly moisten the tines with water so the fork doesn't stick to the dough). Bake for 13-15 minutes and remove from the oven. Let cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!