Gluten Free Cupcakery, Smiling Moose Deli, and MSU options

We can add more locations to get gluten free foods to our Bozeman area list and I can't wait to give them a try.

Cupcake Mountain Cupcakery is Bozeman's first Cupcakery.  They offer gluten free cupcakes and have delicious looking cupcakes on their web page.  I don't know if they always have GF options on hand or not so you may want to call before stopping in.  You can find them at 218 Nth 7th Ave or call at 406-577-2787.

Smiling Moose Deli offers gluten free sandwiches served on a 7" Sweet Escape's GF hoagie roll.  It does cost an additional $1.50 for the GF option but we're used to that by now.  They have breakfast and lunch sandwiches plus the tomato basil and vegetable soups are GF along with the SMD Meat Chili.  If you want something lighter they have a create your own salad with chicken salad or tuna salad or the Ty Cobb and Italiano are also GF options.  The GF dressings are ranch, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, and low-fat orange rosemary.  Ask for their GF menu and you'll see at the bottom they state they practice extreme caution when preparing GF foods and to allow a few extra minutes.  They are located at 2631 West Main.

MSU also has some GF treats that are popping up.  The Sweet Shop has GF cookies that are prepackaged and not from the Fat Cat Bakery on campus.  Avogadro's has GF cookies and brownies for sale and the Union Market has a shelf near the cashiers that has prepackaged GF options like Veggie Bootie, Glutino pretzels, soups, and kind bars.  It's slowly getting better on campus.

And last I need to share some sad news to those who don't already know, Neptune's Brewery is no longer offering their GF beer at The Dock because well The Dock is no longer there.  It's now a gaming parlor.  Last time I tried you can still get their GF beer on tap at Neptune's Brewery in Livingston, call ahead to make sure they have it on hand.

Strawberry Rhubarb Popsicles or Sorbet

I have a rhubarb mission. To try some new recipes I've been eyeing for years but have sadly made it to the bottom of my "these look delicious" pile. Also I have a lot of rhubarb I want to use.

I wanted something that would be light, quick, and cool. Ice cream came to mind and then I found this easy sorbet recipe. The first time I whipped it together we made popsicles and the kids loved them. The seond time I doubled the batch to make popsicles and sorbet. I like that I didn't have to deal with a dairy alternative and it is a tart yet sweet treat.

Strawberry Rhubarb Popsicles

Adapted from The Perfect Scoop

2 C rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2/3 C water

3/4 C sugar

1 1/2 - 1 3/4 C strawberries, sliced

Place the rhubarb, water, and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. The rhubarb will be very tender and breaking apart. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Put the strawberries and rhubarb mixture in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Pour into popsicle moulds and freeze. If you don't have popsicle moulds you can pour it into small dixie cups and place in the freezer. After about 30 min, or when it can hold a popsicle stick upright, place a popsicle stick in the mixture and freezer until solid.

Sorbet Option

If you want to make a sorbet after blending the mixture place it in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly. Freeze it in your ice cream maker according to their instructions. You can enjoy it as soft serve immediately or freeze for a couple hours to enjoy the hardened version.

Rhubarb Vanilla Sauce & Fruit Spring Rolls

Rhubarb season is in full force at my house. My rhubarb plant is HUGE and I have a couple rhubarb dishes to share. This sauce worked great as a dip for fruit spring rolls. A nice tart and sweet touch, yum! It would also be delicious on pancakes and ice cream.

Rhubarb Vanilla Sauce

Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

2/3 C sugar

1/4 C water

1 vanilla bean (optional)

3 C sliced rhubarb

In a saucepan stir the sugar, water, and seeds from the vanilla bean. Bring it to a boil then add the rhubarb. Bring again to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft. You can stir/mash the mixture at this point to get the rhubarb into smaller pieces. Serve warm or cooled, I opted for cooled with the spring rolls.

If you want to thicken it up a bit add about 2 t of rice flour at the end and incorporate well.

Makes about 2 C of sauce.

These fruit spring rolls are easy to whip together and are a nice light lunch or appetizer. My family aren't big fans of the rice wrapper texture. I know! They're crazy!

You can find spring roll wrappers at Oak Street Natural Market and at Rosauer's in the Asian aisle of the regular grocery section. I'm sure you can find them in other places but those are the ones I know of for sure.

Fruit Spring Rolls

20 rice wrappers (spring roll wrappers)

2 bananas, chopped

10 or so strawberries, chopped

1.5 C blueberries

Mix the chopped fruit and blueberries in a bowl and set aside. Wet a papertowel (wring out any water, you just want it damp) and place on your counter top, this will work as your surface to place the rice wrappers on. If you are making these a couple hours ahead of when you'll serve them then wet another papertowel and place on a cookie sheet. If you will be serving them right away just have your serving plate nearby.

Fill a cookie sheet with sides with warm water and place 1 rice wrapper in the water. Let it sit for about 30 seconds, you want it to become soft and pliable. Be careful not to let it sit too long because it will dissolve and fall apart. Trial and error is needed here.

Once your wrapper is pliable place it on your damp paper towel and then put another wrapper in the warm water. Put about 1/4 C of the fruit mixture toward one end of the wrapper. Fold the end of the wrapper over the fruit then fold in the sides. Roll and squeeze the filling to the end of the wrapper. Place on the serving plate or damp papertowel on the cookie sheet and repeat until all of the filling is used up. If you aren't using them right away place another damp papertowel on top of the rolls and place in the refrigerator.

This is a great way to enjoy the lightness of summer.

Sorry for the spacing issues, Blogger is NOT cooperating!

Dairy Free Chocolate Covered Eggs - Cabdury Style

Hubby and I are huge Cadbury Egg fans. We would gain about 5 pounds every year around Easter just eating these things and then we cut High Fructose Corn Syrup out of our lives. I may have shed a tear when I realized that meant no more Cadbury Eggs. Hubby no longer being able to have dairy has sealed the casket on this past love affair.

One thing I've learned being GF is that I can make almost anything at home. Just because I can buy it packaged at the store doesn't mean I can't do it myself. Finding the time and energy to try things at home is what I battle the most but I finally gave Cadbury Eggs a try and I was happy to find out that they didn't take that much work.

I was really happy with this recipe and they didn't last long. I should have shared more with the kids but there's always next year.

Chocolate Covered (Cadbury) Eggs - Dairy Free

Adapated from Taste of Home

1/4 C DF butter substitute, Earth Balance works well

7 oz marshmallow creme
1 t vanilla extract

3 C powdered sugar

Yellow food coloring

2 C DF chocolate chips

2 T shortening

In a mixing bowl beat the butter substitute, marshmallow creme, and vanilla until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1 C at a time until well blended.

Take a quarter of the marshmallow mixture and add some yellow food coloring. Knead until it's an even color then roll into 24 small balls. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 min. Cover the remaining marshmallow mixture with plastic wrap and also chill for 30 min.

Divide the white mixture into 24 pieces then wrap around a yellow marshmallow ball. Press into an egg shape with your hands (or you can use an egg mould) then place on wax paper. Continue with the remaining 23 pieces of yellow and white marshmallow mixture. Cover the 24 eggs with plastic wrap and freeze for 15 min.

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening either over a double boiler or in the microwave. If you use the microwave stir every 30 seconds to keep it from nuking in spots. Dip the eggs into the chocolate and place on wax paper until set. Enjoy as they are or you can decorate them like they did at the Taste of Home link above.

Giant Cookie Pizza - Gluten and Dairy Free

The kids had some friends over for a pizza and movie night this past weekend and I finally tried my hand at a giant cookie. I mean really, what better dessert goes with pizza than a cookie pizza? I was a bit nervous about it baking properly and my conversion to gluten free but the sun must have been shining on me because it worked out, a bit too well if you ask my scale.

I think it was best after it had fully cooled so make it the day ahead and cut just before serving. If you do cut it while the marshmallows are still warm spray your pizza cutter with non-stick cooking spray, it makes life a lot easier.

Giant Cookie Pizza - GF/DF

Adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 C Earth Balance Margarine (butter works if you can have it)

1/2 C peanut butter

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1/2 t vanilla

1/2 t xanthan gum

1 1/2 C gluten free flour, I used Gluten Free Mama's Almond Blend

2 C mini-marshmallows

1 C chocolate chips, gluten and dairy free

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a mixing bowl combine the margarine, peanut butter, and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla mixing thoroughly then add the xanthan gum and flour mixing until combined.

Spread the dough on a greased pizza pan into a 12 inch circle and bake for 12 minutes. Top with the marshmallows and chocolate chips then bake another 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cut after completely cooled and be sure to share.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Sugar Cookie Cutouts

To celebrate Valentine's Day I opted for some sugar cookie cutouts and since my life is so exciting I spent Saturday night decorating them. As Hubby said what else would I be doing. He had a good point.

I topped these with a thin layer of my creamy white frosting and decorated them with what I had on hand. Since they're going to day care with the kids I figured I better make them look good. I thought they would be really sweet but they're not, it was a perfect crisp cookie that doesn't over do it on the taste buds.

Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

1/3 C DF margarine (butter works if you can have it)

1/3 C shortening

3/4 C granulated sugar

1 t baking powder

Dash of salt

1 egg

1 t vanilla

2 C GF flour, I used Gluten Free Mama's Almond Blend

1 t xanthan gum

Preheat your oven to 375 F.

Beat the margarine and shortening until combined then add the sugar, baking powder and salt. Once this is combined beat in the egg and vanilla then add the flour and xanthan gum. This dough was really dry and I had to knead it a bit with my hands to get it to come together. If the dough isn't easy to handle you can chill it for a few hours, I didn't have any problems working with it right away.

Take half of the dough and roll it out to about an 1/8" thick on a lightly floured surface. Use your desired cookie cutter and cut out shapes then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes or just until the edges set and the bottoms are lightly browned. I got about 46 cookies out of this.

Gingersnaps

We had some get togethers this past weekend where I was responsible for the dessert and I opted for gingersnaps. I actually made gingersnap sandwich cookies but I don't have a picture of the final product. I wasn't sure if I was happy with it or not but after they sat in the refrigerator overnight I decided I was happy with them.

These are easy and taste delicious, as Nicole (a fellow Gluten Freer) stated they taste like real cookies, score! I flattened the cookies with a fork making a cross-wise pattern. This will result in a flat cookie perfect for making cookie sandwiches. If you like your cookies to be chewier and thick (like I usually do) don't flatten them with a fork before baking.

Gingersnaps - Gluten free/Dairy free

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New CookBook

2 1/4 C GF flour - I used Gluten Free Mama's

1 t xanthan gum

1 C packed brown sugar

3/4 C shortening

1/4 C molasses

2 eggs

4 pieces sugared ginger, chopped

1 t baking soda

1 t ground ginger

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground cloves

1/4 C granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a mixing bowl combine 1/2 of the flour, xanthan gum, brown sugar, shortening, molasses, egg, sugared ginger, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until combined. Add the remaining flour and stir until thoroughly combined.

Shape the dough into 1 inch balls then roll in the granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are set.

You can stop here and enjoy the cookies as they are or you can make a vanilla filling to make gingersnap cookie sandwiches.

Vanilla filling

1/2 C shortening or Earth Balance (you can use butter here if dairy isn't an issue)

1 3/4 C powdered sugar

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out of it

1 T rice milk, or your favorite milk or milk substitute

Whip the shortening or butter in a mixer until smooth. Add half of the powdered sugar and the vanilla bean seeds mixing well. Add the milk again mixing well. Add the remaining powdered sugar mixing until thoroughly combined and if needed you can add more milk to get your desired consistency.

Spread filling onto the bottom of one cookie then sandwich it with another cookie of the same size. Store in the refrigerator until they are ready to be served, I prefer them at room temp so I'd set them out for 30 minutes or more before eating.

Gluten Free & Dairy Free Kringla

My husband's family has Norweigan roots and kringla is a treat I never had until my mother in law introduced me to it. It's also a treat that Hubby loves and last year I had every intention to make it for him but never found the time. Well I finally found the time. I took my MIL's recipe and tweaked it to make it gluten and dairy free. The results were fantastic! My kids had their first tast of kringla and it was hard to get them to stop

For anyone that doesn't know what kringla is, it's a Norweigan sweet bread that is baked into a little pretzel cookie. It has a nice sweetness to it and is fantastic when served warm with butter.

Becky's Kringla - Gluten & Dairy Free

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 1/2 C dairy free sour cream (I used Tofutti)

4 C gluten free flour (I used Gluten Free Mama Coconut Blend)

1 1/2 t xanthan gum

2 t soda

1/4 t salt

In a mixer combine sugar, egg, and sour cream. In a separate bowl mix the flour, xanthan gum, soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. It will be very sticky but all is well. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Divide the dough in half and roll out on a lightly floured surface. Too much flour makes it hard to roll out so don't go too crazy. Roll into a "log" and cut into 1 inch pieces. Take each piece and roll into 7-8 inch pencil-like strips. Form each strip into a pretzel shape, or any other shape you desire, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, 12 minutes was perfect for me.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Mini Pumpkin Pies

My boy requested a Halloween Party a couple months ago and one of the elements to his request was to have pumpkin pie. I'm not even sure if he's ever had pumpkin pie before but when I saw Bakerella's pumpkin pie bites I knew this was the perfect option.

For the crust I used Gluten Free Mama's pie crust mix and it worked wonders. I was able to make 42 mini pies with the crust. Your favorite pie crust will work here.

Mini Pumpkin Pies - GF/DF

Adapted from Bakerella

Double GF/DF pie crust

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (I used Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream)

1/2 C granulated sugar

1 C canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling

3 eggs

1 t vanilla

1 t pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin shaped cookie cutter

1/2 C GF/DF chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Roll out the pie crust between two pieces of wax paper that have been lightly sprayed with oil. Roll to 1/4" thickness, I preferred a thicker crust to work with but play around and see what works best for you. Using a pumpkin cookie cutter (mine is about 3 inches in diameter) cut out pumpkins in the crust and then press into mini muffin tins. It's OK if things tear since you'll press the crust into the tin. Make sure the pumpkin stem won't overlap with any other stems and fill up the tin. Brush the crusts with egg white then fill with pumpkin pie filling. If you don't have a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter use a round cutter and then form stems for the pumpkins on your own.

For the pumpkin pie filling mix the cream cheese, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until thoroughly combined. Fill the mini pies with filling then bake for 17 minutes or until the crusts just start to brown a little.

Repeat with the remaining crust and filling.

To decorate the pies melt the chocolate at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. Put a resealable bag in small glass, corner down, and pour the chocolate into the bag. Snip a small bit off the corner then pipe faces onto the mini pies. Store in the refrigerator.

I had a decent amount of melted chocolate left and since I didn't want to waste it I threw some Glutino pretzels down and drizzled them with chocolate. Now Hubby can enjoy some DF chocolate covered pretzels.

4th of July Treats

We celebrated the 4th of July BBQing with friends and one dish I brought was the dessert. I wanted to do something in a patriotic theme but was frustrated with all of the whipped topping based desserts. I'm not quite sure how to pull that off DF so I just avoided it. When I came upon the idea (it's all over the internet) of cutting rice krispies treats into stars and decorating them I knew I had a winner. Who doesn't love rice krispies treats?

Patriotic Krispies

1/4 C Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (or butter if you can have it)

1 bag mini marshmallows

4 C Koala Krisp cereal (or your favorite GF rice krisp cereal)

Red, White, & Blue gel and sprinkles

Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray (make sure it's GF and DF). Melt the "butter" over medium low heat in a saucepan then add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted and blended with the butter. Stir an additional 2 minutes then remove from heat. Add the Koala Krisp and stir until it's evenly mixed with the marshmallow. I like my krispies to be very marshmallowy but if you prefer more cereal then add an additional cup. Spread evenly into the pan, it helps to spray a metal spoon with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to everything.

Allow the krispies to set then use a cookie cutter to cut out star shapes. Sprinkle with colored sugar and decorate with gel.

This would be a great dessert for Valentine's Day, Halloween, St. Patty's Day, etc.

Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding

My family loves them some Jello pudding cups, it's a good incentive some nights to get the kids to finish their dinner. I felt bad when the kids were enjoying their pudding and Hubby couldn't have any. I'm such a sucker. This motivated me to search for a dairy free pudding recipe and the hardest part was waiting for it to cool. I couldn't wait to sample it when I got home yesterday and it was divine! So thick and creamy, much better than those Jello cups. There's nothing like homemade.

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 can coconut milk, I used the full fat but you can use the light

3 T agave nectar

1 dash salt (4 squeezes from my grinder)

1 small heaping teaspoon cornstarch

3 T cocoa powder

1/2 C DF/GF chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or Tropical Source)

1 t vanilla

Shake the can of coconut milk to mix the milk and cream portions then pour 1 1/4 C in a saucepan. Add the agave and salt then cook over medium heat until it simmers. While this is heating mix the remaining coconut milk, corn starch, and cocoa powder.

Once the milk mixture simmers turn the heat to medium-low and slowly add the cocoa powder mixture while whisking the whole time. Continue whisking until it thickens a bit, I went for 5 min though the original recipe called for about 1 minute. If you go with 1 minute it may not turn out quite as thick if that's what you'd prefer.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk an additional minute to let it cool a bit. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour into serving bowls then chill in the refrigerator.


If you are looking for coconut milk don't wander around like an idiot, like I did, wondering where the heck it's kept. It will be in the Asian section at any grocery store.

My girl couldn't get enough of this and I'm pretty sure she liked it better than the Jello pudding because she finished the whole thing, usually there are a few bites left.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free S'mores Brownies

I found this evil recipe yesterday and had to make it immediately. It is as delicious as it sounds and won't dissapoint any chocolate lover. I adapted it to make it gluten free and dairy free and you'd never know it was either one. Enjoy but don't blame any weight gain on me.

S'mores Brownies

Adapted from Picky Palate

1 box GF brownie mix (you could also make it from scratch if you prefer, I just used what I had on hand)

GF graham crackers (I used 2.5 rows of the S'moreables)

4 Tropical Source GF/DF chocolate bars (Hershey's work if you can have dairy)

20 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 F and line an 8x8 baking pan with tin foil sprayed with cooking spray. Prepare the brownie mix according to the package and pour half the brownie batter into the pan. Put a layer of graham crackers on the batter then a layer of the chocolate bars and marshmallows. Pour the remaining batter over the marshmallows and spread evenly as much as possible. It will not entirely cover all of the marshmallows and that's OK. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from the center. You have to let it cool completely, it's torture I know! Once it's cooled remove from the pan and cut into squares.

Peanut Butter Pie

A turkey dinner just isn't complete without pie and this one is rich and delicious but also easy to make. I opted for it because it meant I didn't need to make a standard pie crust, I was feeling a bit lazy.

First the pie crust, I used Pamela's chocolate mini cookies for the crust, first off I love snacking on these as they are a bit too much but they make a great pie crust. You can use any GF chocolate cooke here but this recipe is from the back of the bag.

Cookie Pie Crust

1 bag (7 oz) GF cookies crumbled

3 T butter

Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl then add the cookie crumbs. Mix together then pat into a pie pan. Bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 350 F oven. Allow it to cool before adding the pie filling.

Peanut Butter Pie

Adapted from Pillsbury Best of the Bake Off

Filling

1 C butter

1 C brown sugar

1 C peanut butter

12 oz frozen whipped topping*

In a medium saucepan combine the butter and brown sugar. Cook until the mixture is smooth stirring frequently. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl beat the peanut butter and brown sugar mixture on low until well blended. Beat 1 minute on medium-high then add the whipped topping and beat an additional minute on low or until it's smooth and well mixed. I take a spatula and stir a few times to make sure it's evenly mixed.

Pour into the chocolate cookie crust and refrigerate.

*Since we avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup I usually make my own whipped topping since all of the common brands contain HFCS. However I have found TruWhip in the frozen section at Rosauer's Huckleberry's Market and it is free of HFCS. It works perfectly when I'm not in the mood to make whipped topping from scratch.




Chocolate Topping

1/2 C choclate chips
1 T butter
2-3 t milk
1 1/2 t agave

In a small saucepan melt the chocolate chips, butter, milk, and agave over low heat stirring constantly until smooth. Add additional milk if needed to get a desired spreading consistency.

Spoon over the peanut butter pie filling and gently spread over the top of the pie. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

I suggest cutting it into small pieces because this pie is rich!

Gluten Free Mascarpone Brownies

I had high hopes for these brownies and unfortunately they were not met. All the reviews online are glowing and I expected the most chocolatey brownies in the world, what I got was a disappointment. They’re cakeier than I like but the taste just isn’t really good. They weren’t sweet enough for me so I put frosting on them to, as Hubby said, make them more palatable. The frosting, my no-cook fudge frosting, saved these from hitting the trash. What are the chances of both of us not even liking these enough to still happily eat them? The nice thing is that they are moist and hold together really well even straight out of the oven. Maybe it was the chocolate I used, 60% cocoa and dark, who knows?

Gluten Free Mascarpone Brownies
Adapted from RecipeZaar

1 C butter
3 oz best-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 C granulated sugar
½ C cocoa powder
½ C mascarpone cheese, I got mine at Lee & Dad’s
3 eggs, room temp
2 t vanilla
½ C GF flour
¼ t salt

Preheat over the 325 F and butter an 8x8 pan. Melt the butter in a small saucepan bringing it to just below a boil. Pour over the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl and let stand for 30 seconds. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Add the sugar and cocoa powder slowly and with a wooden spoon beat in the mascarpone, eggs, and vanilla mixing until smooth. Fold in the flour and salt then pour batter into the pan making sure it is spread evenly. Bake for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

I’m not even sure why I’m posting this because I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Scotcheroos Gluten Free

We were at a family function awhile ago and everyone eating the Scotcheroos that I couldn’t have about killed me. It also got Hubby wanting some even though we was able to enjoy them since he’s doing the gluten challenge right now. I decided to give them a gluten free whirl and that’s when I realized some butterscotch chips have barley in them, blast! I went to 5 grocery stores before I found some GF butterscotch chips in this area and I thank Smith’s for carrying them. Hershey’s are GF but Nestle Tollhouse are not, seems that everyone carries Nestle but not Hershey’s. They were worth the hunt and as delicious as their gluten filled relatives.

Scotcheroos
From Celiac.com

1 C sugar
1 C light corn syrup (you can use rice syrup or agave)
1 C peanut butter
5-6 C GF crispy rice cereal (Koala Krisp works great)
1 C GF semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 C GF butterscotch chips

Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter. Add the cereal and stir to coat with the mixture. Press into a greased 9x13 baking dish.

Combine the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir and microwave for another minute. Stir until combined then spread evenly over the cereal mixture in the pan. Cool and cut into bars.

I ran out of rice syrup when I made these so I then tried to fill the rest of my cup with Agave nectar but I ran out of that also. Thankfully I had honey and even with my trifecta of syrups it turned out delicious.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Hubby’s birthday was a couple weekends ago so of course I had to make another cake. I saw this delicious masterpiece at Smitten Kitchen and had to give it a try. It is sinful. Just as a warning if you aren’t into that kind of stuff. This is by far the moistest GF cake I’ve ever had, we’re still snacking on it 5 days later and it hasn’t dried out at all. I think this may be my new go-to cake. I didn’t add the chocolate-peanut butter glaze because I ran out of time but I imagine it just makes it even more sinful.

Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 C GF flour mix (I used Gluten Free Mama’s Coconut Blend)
1 t xanthan gum
1 ½ C sugar
¾ C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 C olive oil
1 C sour cream
1 ½ C water
2 T white vinegar
1 t vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease three 8 inch round cake pans or 1 large cake pan.

Sift the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the oil and sour cream to the flour mixture then gradually beat in the water. Mix in the vinegar and vanilla until combined. Add in the eggs and mix well scraping down the sides of the bowl. Spread an equal amount of batter into each cake pan.

Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow them to cool in the pans before removing.

Peanut Butter Frosting

10 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 stick butter at room temp
5 C powdered sugar
1/3 C peanut butter

Beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time scraping down the sides and mixing well after each addition. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy then add the peanut butter and mix until blended.

Put the layer cake together using frosting to “glue” the layers together. Frost the sides and top of the cake and enjoy!

Take Smitten Kitchen’s advice and serve it in thin slices with a glass of milk.

Don’t you like my wrecktastic writing? Hubby loves the “I want sprinkles” cake on Cake Wrecks so I had to indulge him.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

I was busy baking to prepare for our company last week and for our trip to Yellowstone. One item on my baking list was graham crackers and it just so happened that The Cinnamon Quill posted a delicious looking graham cracker recipe so I could try something new. The first graham crackers I made were Carol Fenster’s and they were OK but not spectacular so I wanted to try another recipe. I made a couple changes to the recipe but if you want the original go here. These graham crackers are delicious. The gluten eaters that visited us liked them a lot and my kids won’t stop eating them. Plus they make delicious S’mores.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Adapted from The Cinnamon Quill

1 C Gluten Free Mama Almond Flour
¼ C Brown Rice Flour
¾ C Teff Flour
¼ C Sorghum Flour
½ C Brown Sugar
1 t Baking Powder
¾ t Xanthan Gum
½ t Baking Soda
½ t Salt
7 T Cold Butter, cut into pieces
4 T Cold Water
3 T Honey
1 ½ T Molasses
1 t Vanilla Extract
1 ½ t Cinnamon
1 t ginger
Extra flour for rolling

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl then add the butter and blend with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Stir in the water, honey, molasses, vanilla, and spices. The dough will come together in a ball and should be pliable. Adjust the water as needed to keep it from being too dry or too sticky.

Spray a cookie sheet with oil and roll out half of the dough to 1/8” thickness. To get the traditional look of a graham cracker cut the rectangular shapes in the dough using a pizza cutter then pierce the rectangles with a fork. You can also roll the dough on the counter top using the flour as needed and cut shapes out of the dough then place them on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. The cookies will become crispy while they cool. I had to cut the rectangular shapes again with the pizza cutter after they cooled, it didn’t work too well when I tried to break them off.

You can substitute the different flours with your favorite flour or whatever you have on hand. The original recipe called for 1 C brown rice flour but I only had ¼ C on hand so I added the teff flour.

Chocolate Chex & Honey Nut Chex

I, I, love, love, honey, honey, chex, chex, better, better, than, than, the, the, rest, rest, rice, rice, corn, corn, we, we, want more…! Well it’s something like that but I’ve been singing the song all weekend because I found these at Lee & Dad’s IGA.

They are delicious and hubby and I have been enjoying handfuls from the boxes all weekend. In honor of being able to eat these I had to make a dessert and since it was delicious here’s the recipe. It was a great pick me up after a nice hike on Sunday.


Chocolate Chex Treats

¼ C butter
16 oz marshmallows (miniature are easier)
5 C Chocolate Chex cereal

Butter a spatula and 9x13 inch pan, you will need this at the end. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted and blended with the butter. Stir and cook for an additional two minutes then remove from heat. Add the cereal and stir until coated by the marshmallow mixture. Taking your buttered spatula press the mixture into the buttered pan and holler for your husband when you’re covered in marshmallow that you need a metal spoon, well that’s at least what happened to me. Once it’s cooled cut into squares and enjoy!

They taste a lot better than this picture makes them look, trust me!

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix Review

I know two posts in one day isn’t my norm but I have so many things to post about, I’ve been a baking machine. Plus I have really exciting news on a restaurant in Bozeman BUT I first need to figure out how to get pictures from my phone onto my computer. Hubby is on the case so I’m sure it won’t take long to figure out.

My sons 3rd birthday was on the 1st and I had to send him to day care with cupcakes so he could have a little party. This was my chance to try out Betty Crocker’s chocolate cake and I liked this one also, two out of three is a pretty good record in my book. It’s easy, it tastes great, and there’s no grittiness at all. I think the mix doesn’t make as big of a cake as a gluten mix would so be sure to check the box if you have a minimum size cake to make. Here are some delicious pictures of the cupcakes. I used my butter cream frosting and was able to use my Pampered Chef Decorator again, I love that thing!

I filled the cupcakes with some frosting because you can't do much better than a filled cupcake.

This pictures makes my mouth drool everytime I see it.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix Review

I was antsy to make these brownies to see if they were better than the cookies but my hubby wouldn’t let me make them the night before my birthday. Turns out it was because he was planning to make them on my birthday for a treat. I think he had to bake them longer than the box called for but I’m not totally sure since I was sitting on the deck reading a book, it was a great birthday. These brownies are really good, they’re chewy and delicious. I still prefer my homemade brownies but these will be great to keep on hand for times I need something fast.

Doesn't this just make you want to bite into that chewy chocolate? Mmmm...