Food Friday - Gluten Free Goodies!

It is both a blessing and a curse that I have no dietary restrictions or food allergies.  The blessing is that I can eat anything that I like; the curse is that I do! Lol!  I am grateful for the freedom to not have to read every food label super carefully to avoid a potential life threatening reaction.   These brownies are perfect for those who must follow a gluten free diet, but beware if you have nut allergies.  The typical wheat flour is replaced, in my case, with almond flour.

My daughter did some baking for an event that we were having at school.  A specific request was made for some kind of gluten-free treat.  She made these brownies.  They are the best brownies that I have ever put in my mouth!  Assuming that you like chewy fudgy brownies over the more cake-like texture.  When Tracey and decided to do a post containing gluten free goodies, there was no question that these would be my contribution.  The original recipe is from Brave Tart blog, a blog that was started by two friends who shared common interests in food, writing and photography.  Hmm...sounds kind of familiar. :-)

Whether you have to or you just can eat gluten free brownies, I promise that these will not disappoint!!  Brave Tart calls them Brown Butter Hazelnut Brownies.  Because the one adaptation to the recipe that we have made is to use almond flour rather than hazelnut, I am simply calling them Gluten free brownies.  With that one exception, the recipe appears exactly as published by Brave Tart.

INGREDIENTS

16 oz. unsalted butter
12 oz. dark chocolate chopped (70% minimum)
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, seeds reserved, or 2 TBS vanilla extract
7 oz. (2 1/4 cups) almond flour
4.5 oz. cocoa powder (not Hershey's - her words, not mine!)
6 eggs
21 (ounces of sugar  (approximately 2 1/2 cups)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 TBS instant espresso powder
optional: additional chocolate for drizzling or dipping
(These brownies are so rich that this is not necessary for taste, but it does make them pretty for display.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 9x13 baking pan with a sheet of aluminum foil down the center and hanging over the ends.  This will make removing the brownies super easy.  Alternately, lightly grease 15 4" round tart pans.

Melt the butter, along with the vanilla bean, in a medium saucepan over low heat until liquefied.  (If you are using vanilla extract, DO NOT add it now.)  Increase the heat to medium low.  The mixture will bubble, possible spit, and make a lot of noise.  Keep an eye on it and keep simmering.  You'll notice brown bits forming on the bottom.  You don't want these bits to turn black.  Don't bother with stirring or skimming, just watch and listen and possibly turn down the heat if it looks too toasty.  After a while the butter will go ninja silent, which means that you are done.

Remove the butter from the heat and add the chocolate.  Whisk, scraping along the bottom to mix up the browned bits, until smooth.  The mixture will be quite thin.  Set off of the heat to cool.

Put the nuts and the cocoa in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Don't bother sifting.  The nibby bits of (hazel)nuts are really nice in the finished brownies.  Set aside.

With a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combines eggs sugar, reserved vanilla seeds or vanilla extract, salt, and espresso powder,  Whip on medium speed for about five minutes.

Turn the mixer speed to low and pour in the butter/chocolate mixture all at once.  Immediately add in the dry ingredients and keep mixing until just incorporated.

Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake 30 minutes for the large pan or 15 minutes for the tart pans.  Bake until the brownies are slightly firm to the touch.  They may not seem totally done when you pull them out, but this particular brownie is so very dense that it will retain its heat and keep cooking for some time.  Err on the side of gooey.

Cool the brownies thoroughly before cutting.  If you are looking for extremely neat squares, refrigerate for an hour before cutting.  If you used the tart pans, use a toothpick to loosen the brownie and then turn the pan over to release the brownie.

You can drizzle or cover the brownies in tempered chocolate.

I don't usually double up my Pixels, Plates, and LOLs photos and my Capture Your 365 photos of the day, but today was an exception.  Since Tracey and I met through Capture Your 365 and today marks its fifth birthday, it seems only appropriate to "double dip" here.  If you have not read about our beginnings, here is the link to our very first post.

from Tracey G

I too am fortunate that as of now, I don't have to restrict my diet, but in the effort to try to do some good and be helpful for those that do, I don't mind testing out some mixes out there for gluten-free eating. I recently bought a couple gluten-free cake mixes, one by Betty Crocker and the other by King Arthur. I was going to test them side by side, but I decided that would be a LOT of cupcakes around, and I didn't want to waste anything. The Betty Crocker mix made only 12 cupcakes and the King Arthur Yellow Cake Mix makes 24 - that would have been way too many cupcakes to get eaten in a timely fashion around here!

This time around I made the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix, since Betty Crocker mixes are all over the place, I figured it was a good one to try since it's likely very attainable. It wasn't too bad, just a little different. It had a very dense texture, and to me, kind of light on flavor. But that wouldn't be enough for me not to buy it again, I wouldn't hesitate to get it. Both Jeremy and Harry liked them, so I take that as a good thing. I do find the addition of frosting helps them out in the flavor department for me personally, but again, Jeremy and Harry thought less (frosting) would be better. Go figure

This mix mixed up a bit different. It was like a butter cake recipe, where you add 1/2 c butter instead of vegetable oil. The mix also directs you to add 2 tsp of vanilla extract, that was a first for me - I've never added any to any other cake mix before. Other than those things, the rest went along as usual for a cake mix.

Per my taste, I made homemade chocolate buttercream for the frosting. I like the combination of yellow cake and chocolate frosting, because yellow cake isn't my favorite, so that combo helps me out, lol. I'll include the frosting recipe since it's my all-time favorite. I've tried for years to find a chocolate buttercream recipe that I loved, and I finally did about a year or so ago. All the frostings I ever found weren't chocolaty enough or were too chocolaty and usually too sweet. I never liked chocolate cake with chocolate frosting until I found this one.  

So I guess my bottom line is, Betty's mix is a good choice. I would make it again if needed. I am anxious now to try the King Arthur brand, but as I said, I have a feeling Betty's would be easier for me to locate on my local grocery store shelves, so I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yield: about 4 cups

1/2 c butter

1/2 c vegetable shortening

4.5 c powdered sugar

1 1/4 c cocoa powder

1-2 tsp vanilla

1/2-3/4 c milk

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and shortening (you can also use all butter if you like); add vanilla and mix well. Gradually add and beat in powdered sugar & cocoa powder. Add enough milk to make frosting to desired spreading consistency. 

Food Friday - Pack A Picnic

from Kris B.

Sometimes life just seems completely backwards.  Over the summer, I have the time and energy to cook, especially to try all those recipes that I have been collecting throughout the school year.  The problem is that I don't have much of an appetitie when it is miserably hot outside.  The only things that really sound good to me during the hot Texas summers are fruits and vegetables.  Some days I have to force myself to eat "real food."  Even then, I often end up eating some kind of salad.

This week's offering from me is more of a suggestion than a recipe.  This Italian Pasta Salad is simple and can be easily adapted to suit your particular taste.

It requires pasta..

Any kind and shape of pasta will do.  I often use rotini because all of the other ingredients tend to attach themselves to its "threads" and the salad stays nicely mixed.  This, however, is personal preference.  The trip-color pastas make for a pretty mixture.  Cook the pasta according to its package directions.

Then toss in something Italian.

The dressing (your favorite bottled Italian dressing will do just fine) and cheese are integral ingredients, but if pepperoni is not your thing,  you can certainly omit it.  I don't care much for pepperoni except in this salad.  If you want to use a different meat, ham or Canadian bacon work well.

Then add some diced salad veggies.

I always use celery and a mixture of red and green bell pepppers.  Again, whatever veggies you like, toss them in there.  Think of this salad kind of like a cold pizza.  The pasta is like the crust, the pepperoni and veggies are the toppings, the Italian salad dressing is the sauce and the cheese tops it all off.  So throw in whatever ingredients you would normally put on a pizza.  And just in case you are wondering, no, I do not put celery on my pizza, but it adds a nice crunch to this salad.

Place all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Pour the bottled dressing over them and gently toss.

And that's it...other than to enjoy!

I ususally use a 16 oz. box of pasta, one package of pepperoni cut into bite-sized pieces, a couple stalks of celery, one each medium red and green bell peppers, one cup of dressing, and one cup of grated mozarella cheese.  That said, this is not rocket science.  I am not a big salad dressing fan; I don't want my veggies searching for a life vest because they are drowning in dressing.  So, you may want to use a little more dressijg than I do.  If you are a mushroom and olive fan, toss them in.  I'm not so I don't.

This is meant to be a simple, no fuss, but tasty meal to take and share on a picnic or enjoy at home when it is too hot to cook anything.  

Experiment.  Make it your own.  And most importantly...

Enjoy!

by Tracey G.

I have to laugh, Kris is sweltering in the heat and I'm dealing with chilly weather and wondering where my sweatshirts are, lol. Yesterday it never got any warmer than 60° F here - not exactly what I'm looking for in the downside of June!!! Watch, we're going to be slammed one day with 90° F and it will stay there, lol. For days on end....

Originally I called these "Cinnamon Brownies", but that seemed like a deceiving title/name because there's not that much cinnamon in them for you to be able to say "Oh there's cinnamon in here!", but it's enough to where you think "hmmm, what is that little bit extra?", so I guess Hint of Cinnamon Brownies sound better and are more accurate, lol.

My mom and I used to be avid Food Network watchers (I still love it, but find that it also creates weight gain, lol!!), and Sara Moulton was/is one of my favorite "celebrity" chefs. Her stuff was always simple and made sense and tasted good. :-) This recipe is adapted from hers that I'd seen on one of her shows. It's also the very first from-scratch brownie recipe I'd ever tried. I'd always just stuck with a mix, and then I saw her make these and she made it look so very easy, I knew I could do it too, lol. And I must say this was at least, um, 12-15 years ago, lol, and I've been making them ever since. :-)

I ended up with more photos than usual this time around, but it seemed like more steps involved, but they are easy so when you're making them, it really doesn't seem like you're doing a lot. But I also didn't get any ingredient shots, lol. So here they are listed out, exact amounts in the recipe at the end of the post:

24 oz chocolate

butter

eggs

granulate sugar

brown sugar

vanilla

flour

baking soda

cinnamon

First, you need to melt your chocolate. I use just semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use any 24 oz. of your favorite chocolate if you have a preference. You combine the butter and the chocolate in a saucepan and start melting over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. I stir pretty frequently as I don't want the bottom chocolate to scorch until the butter melts in.

Once you get the chocolate and butter melted smooth, you remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Here's where I've goofed up a couple times in the name of getting things done quickly - if you don't let it cool completely, it has the potential to scramble your eggs when you add it to your egg-sugar-vanilla mixture, lol. I've done it before, but it was my own fault for not being patient to let it cool properly!

If you've let it cool properly, you should have a mixture that looks like this once you get the melted chocolate and egg-sugar-vanilla mixture combined. 

Next, you add your flour-cinnamon-baking soda mixture to the chocolate mixture, and you should have a pretty thick batter.

Now, you don't have to do this - you can just grease your 9x13" pan and leave it at that - but I like to go one step further. I like to grease it, then line it with parchment paper with sides extending (I use scissors to snip the corners of the paper so it tucks in well) so that when the baked off brownies are cooled, I can lift them out of the pan and cut them without dealing with them being in the pan, lol. ;-)

Next, you get the batter spread evenly into your prepared pan, and bake 30-40 minutes in a 350° F oven or until a toothpick comes out clean. Here's another place I've had some variations - yesterday I think I clocked my bake time at 50-55 min. Once I reached the 35 minute mark and my toothpick was pretty coated in batter, I added about 10 more min, then after that I added minutes in 5 minute increments - until the toothpick inserted in or near center came out ALMOST clean. I've way overcooked them before waiting for that toothpick to come out totally clean, lol. I've learned my lesson! ;-) So, I say start checking after the initial called-for bake time, and go from there.

Here they are right out of the oven, and what mine ended up looking like - they were baked just right! Then, once they cooled completely I pulled them out of the pan, lifting them with the over-the-edge parchment paper and then cut them as desired. I used my 2 different brownie cutters, one with a wavy edge and the other like a metal cookie cutter that does the rounded-corner-rectangle shapes. :-)

Hint of Cinnamon Brownies

Preheat oven to 350° F

24 oz chocolate or chocolate chips

1 c + 2 tbsp butter

6 eggs

3/4 c granulated sugar

1 c + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

butter, shortening or cooking spray to grease pan, parchment paper if desired

1) In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the chocolate with the butter, stirring occasionally. Set aside and cool completely.

2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and cinnamon, set aside.

3) In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, both sugars and vanilla. Stir in the melted chocolate-butter mixture. Stir the flour mixture into the chocolate-egg mixture until well combined.

4) Grease pan as desired. Pour the batter into the pan, and bake 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool to room temperature before cutting.