quick breads, breakfast foods, and muffins - Against the Grain: Extraordinary Gluten-Free Recipes Made from Real, All-Natural Ingredients (2015)

Against the Grain: Extraordinary Gluten-Free Recipes Made from Real, All-Natural Ingredients (2015)

quick breads, breakfast foods, and muffins

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

chocolate chip banana bread

BANANA BREAD IS A COMFORT FOOD. Today, more than ever, people are seeking familiar foods and flavors. Ask the experts who follow trends, and they will tell you that the principal flavors that evoke nostalgia are banana, coconut, and chocolate. This banana bread has all three, and they positively sing when made into banana bread. When I developed this recipe, I brought it to work and served it to our staff. I wasn’t prepared for having to swat away hands that were grabbing for seconds before everyone could get a taste. The cutting board was empty within seconds, and several people remarked that they didn’t even like banana bread, but wanted more.

I understand their sentiment. I don’t really view banana bread as comfort food, but it was when I strayed from the traditional banana bread recipe—bananas, sugar, flour, butter, and eggs—that I fell in love with it. This recipe doesn’t scream “bananas.” Rather, the strong flavors of coconut and banana work together to create an entirely different flavor profile. The chocolate chips only highlight that flavor. This is a healthy banana bread, naturally sweetened by the bananas and coconut with very little added sugar.

makes one 8-inch loaf

3 ripe medium bananas

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

¼ cup canola oil

3 large eggs

¼ cup full-fat coconut milk

½ cup (56g) coconut flour

½ cup (70g) tapioca starch

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life)

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease a 4½ × 8-inch loaf pan.

2. In a small bowl, mash the bananas and salt with a fork. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, and eggs. Beat with a hand mixer for 3 minutes. Add the mashed banana and coconut milk.

4. In a medium bowl, blend the coconut flour, tapioca starch, and spices and gradually add them to the egg mixture. Beat with a hand mixer for 2 more minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides. Allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes to let the coconut flour absorb the liquid.

5. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla to the batter, mixing them thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan. The batter will come to about 1 inch below the rim. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the top is firm and the crust is browned.

Orange Gingerbread

orange gingerbread

PEOPLE WHO KNOW ME LAUGH when I tell them I danced ballet for seven years, since grace has never been associated with my name. For my last year of classes at age 13, my sister and I were cast as soloists in the Pied Piper of Hamelin. One evening we stayed late practicing at our ballet teacher’s house, and since it was late, she invited us to eat dinner with her and her family. The entire meal was a huge hunk of warm gingerbread topped with cream of mushroom soup. It was probably the strangest dinner I had ever eaten. It sounded yucky, but being a polite (and ravenous) young girl, I smiled and ate it. Much to my surprise, it was delicious.

I never forgot that homemade gingerbread. But honestly, it tastes a lot better topped with Triple Sec-flavored whipped cream instead of mushroom soup. This gingerbread was inspired by Ina Garten’s Old-Fashioned Gingerbread recipe, but given a tropical twist with coconut flour and raisins soaked in orange juice. This makes for a moist, rich, intensely gingery gingerbread.

makes one 10-inch Bundt cake

½ cup orange juice

½ cup golden raisins

1 cup (112g) coconut flour

½ cup (70g) tapioca starch

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

¾ cup dark molasses

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup canola oil

2 teaspoons grated orange zest, plus 1 teaspoon for serving

3 large eggs

½ teaspoon salt

Triple Sec Whipped Cream (recipe follows)

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan.

2. In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice and golden raisins, bring to a boil, and turn off the heat. Set aside to let the raisins absorb the liquid.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut flour, tapioca starch, powdered sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and spices until fully blended.

4. In a large bowl, combine the molasses, sour cream, oil, the 2 teaspoons orange zest, eggs, and salt. With a hand mixer, beat the mixture until it is fully blended and foamy.

5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat until fully moistened. Pour off any excess liquid from the raisins before folding them into the batter. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes to let the coconut flour absorb the liquid. The batter will thicken considerably.

6. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan and tap the pan lightly on the counter to make sure that the batter is evenly distributed in the bottom of the pan.

7. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed. Allow the gingerbread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a cake plate. Allow it to cool fully for neat and clean slices before cutting. Serve with a generous dollop of Triple Sec Whipped Cream and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon orange zest.

triple sec whipped cream ✵ makes 1 cup

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream

2½ teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon Triple Sec liqueur

In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer, whip the cream until it is thickened and stiff peaks are about to form. Add the sugar and Triple Sec. Beat until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat, or it will lose some of its loft.

pumpkin bread with sweet and spicy pepitas

I FAVOR WORKING WITH SEEDS over nuts—although I love the taste nuts deliver, we run a nut-free facility, so I have naturally gravitated toward baking with seeds. I’ve been amazed by their properties and I often use pumpkin seeds instead of walnuts in baked goods. When I first developed this recipe, I left the nuts out, but I felt it needed a little more texture and crunch. About that time, we were playing around at work with roasting pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), and one of our workers, Harry, mentioned that his brother made authentic Jamaican jerk, a spicy concoction of scallions, habanero pepper, allspice, thyme, nutmeg, and sugar. Then it occurred to me that sweet and spicy pepitas would be the perfect complement to the pumpkin bread. Before I knew it, I had sweet and spicy pepitas, which Harry had prepared by soaking them in a Jamaican jerk and sugar solution before roasting them.

This is a perfect fall recipe to make from scratch with a small pie pumpkin, and you can either buy spicy pepitas or make your own. The addition of coconut flour adds a natural sweetener and makes a very moist, low-fat loaf with plenty of fiber and flavor.

makes one 8-inch loaf

½ cup (60g) light buckwheat flour

½ cup (70g) tapioca starch

½ cup (56g) coconut flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup honey

½ cup canola oil

2 large eggs

1 15-oz can canned unsweetened pumpkin puree (or home-roasted and pureed fresh pumpkin)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup spicy roasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), coarsely chopped

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Generously grease a 4½ × 8-inch loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, coconut flour, salt, and spices and set aside.

3. In another large bowl, combine the brown sugar, honey, oil, and eggs. Using a hand mixer, beat until frothy. Add the pumpkin puree and ¼ cup water and beat until well blended.

4. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat until all the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. As the coconut flour absorbs moisture, the batter will thicken. Add the baking soda and beat for another minute. Fold in the pepitas.

5. Spoon the batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Zucchini Carrot Bread

zucchini carrot bread

ZUCCHINIS, FOR SOME REASON, flourish in Vermont, while we struggle to have our tomatoes ripen before the first fall frost. Tender, freshly picked zucchini is definitely a summer treat. Thankfully I’m no longer intimidated by the summer’s bounty because I’ve discovered that zucchini makes fabulous bread and freezes well. What a joy to have a little piece of the Vermont summer in the dead of winter.

The inspiration for this bread came from a bumper crop of carrots in addition to zucchini. The addition of carrots allows you to bump up the nutritional and fiber profile of the bread with a whopping 420 grams of veggies—that makes one-quarter of the weight of each loaf purely fresh vegetables. And unlike many other zucchini breads that are often half sugar, the carrots add natural sweetness without being overly sweet. The honey and sour cream hold in the moisture, and the raisins and crystallized ginger add a great burst of sweetness in every bite. This recipe makes 2 loaves: one for eating and one for freezing or sharing with a neighbor.

makes two 8-inch loaves

1½ cups (210g) tapioca starch

1¾ cups (210g) light buckwheat flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup packed brown sugar

1½ teaspoons baking soda

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

⅓ cup canola oil

¼ cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2½ cups grated zucchini, drained and dried

1 cup finely grated carrots

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped crystallized ginger

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease two 4½ × 8-inch loaf pans and line with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, blend the tapioca starch, buckwheat flour, spices, brown sugar, and baking soda.

3. Add the eggs, sour cream, oil, honey, and vanilla. With a hand mixer, beat the mixture well until it is light and foamy. Add the grated zucchini and carrots, then the raisins and crystallized ginger. Blend well. Spoon the batter into the loaf pans.

4. Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tops of the loaves spring back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center of the top comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for 15 minutes before attempting to remove them from the pans. Transfer to a cooling rack. Let the loaves cool thoroughly before slicing.

Brioche

brioche

ONCE I STARTED making various types of gluten-free bread, others that I hadn’t thought of in years came to mind. Brioche was one of those that I viewed as a challenge. Gluten is a huge component of the bread, and developing the right amount of elasticity makes the difference between a delicate, buttery bread and a dense blob. Brioche is a very wet dough that produces something between a bread and a pastry, and it is all about the tender, buttery texture. Was it possible to create a gluten-free version? I love a challenge, and this one was a challenge.

Honestly, in none of the steps did my brioche seem anything like what wheat bakers described until I refrigerated the dough overnight, a step I followed after reading that chilling a rich dough is the secret to being able to manipulate it. It was still sticky, but with wet hands I could divide it into individual brioche pans … barely. Bravely, I soldiered on. But, oh my gosh, did it emerge from the oven with a heavenly scent and a tender, buttery crumb. Whereas wheat-based brioche recipes are all about technique, this one seems more about faith.

makes 8 individual brioches

1 cup (120g) light buckwheat flour

¾ cup (105g) tapioca starch

2 tablespoons milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

8 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into cubes

1. In a food processor, combine the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, milk, eggs, salt, sugar, yeast, and 2 tablespoons water. Process the dough until it is well blended.

2. A little at a time, add the cold butter. Process the mixture as little as possible until it is smooth and has the consistency of cake icing. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 1 hour. Punch it down using a dampened rubber spatula, cover it, and refrigerate it overnight.

3. Grease 8 individual 3-inch brioche molds with salted butter. (Buttered ramekins or flan pans may be used instead of brioche molds.) Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 8 equal balls and place each ball in a brioche mold.

4. Place the filled molds in a baking pan with 2-inch sides. Cover the pan with buttered plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour, or until the dough almost entirely fills the mold.

5. Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.

6. Bake the brioche for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.

jalapeño and cheese biscuits

WHAT WE KNOW OF AS BISCUITS TODAY have some very interesting origins as hardtack, an extremely dry, often quadruple-baked biscuit. I once accompanied kids on a field trip to a museum where the docent made authentic hardtack for the kids to try. The whole room was filled with kids squirming and giggling as they tried the chalky mass. Historically, hardtack was kept extremely dry to keep it from spoiling on long voyages at sea. Ironically, hardtack softens as it ages, while gluten-free biscuits often are already, or become, hardtack. But not these biscuits.

These biscuits have more in common with rolls than they do hardtack. They are leavened with a combination of yeast and chemical leavening agents (both baking soda and baking powder), which makes them both fluffy with an open crumb and biscuit-like at the same time. The sour cream tenderizes the biscuits, and its acidity cools the effect of the jalapeños. The cheese adds protein that strengthens the structure, while moisturizing the biscuits and giving them a satisfying mouthfeel. These biscuits are great served warm alongside a meal or used to sandwich thin slices of ham and cheese.

makes 16 biscuits

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

⅓ cup warm milk plus ¼ cup cold milk

1¼ cups (150g) light buckwheat flour

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch

1 tablespoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces

4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

½ cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

¼ cup canned diced green chilies or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh jalapeños

1. In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and ⅓ cup warm milk and allow it to proof for 15 minutes.

2. In a food processor, combine the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and baking soda and pulse the mixture until well blended. Add the butter and cream cheese and pulse just until the mixture is a coarse meal. Add the yeast mixture and pulse to combine.

3. Add the remaining ¼ cup cold milk, the vinegar, cheeses, and chilies or jalapeños. Pulse until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with salted butter.

5. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap dusted with tapioca starch. Pat the dough down with wet hands until it is about ¾ inch thick. Use a juice glass dusted with tapioca starch to cut out biscuits 2 inches in diameter. Reroll the scraps as necessary. Transfer the biscuits to the cake pans so that they will touch as they rise and expand.

6. Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer to a cooling rack or serve warm.

variation

Try adding 2 teaspoons of smoked chipotle powder instead of the green chilies, and substitute Gruyère cheese for the Cheddar cheese.

maple toasted oat biscuits

THE REST OF THE COUNTRY associates maple syrup with Vermont. We associate maple syrup with mud season, when Vermont’s unpaved roads turn into muddy quagmires, not unlike some gluten-free doughs. Almost sixty percent of Vermont’s roads remain unpaved, so negotiating mud season is a big deal around here. I sort of enjoy slogging along the road and experiencing firsthand the earth waking up. Maple buckets are affixed to trees along our road, and when the syrup flows, the constant dripping pings into buckets. Gnarled burls, now 15 to 20 feet in the air, mark where taps once hung and remind us that this activity has been going on for over a hundred years.

And of course, no spring is complete without stopping by a local sugarhouse while they are boiling syrup. You leave the sugarhouse with the sweet, smoky smell of the condensation in your clothes, and a jug of fresh maple syrup under your arm. In Vermont, maple syrup isn’t just for pancakes, it is for baking, glazing, marinating, and sweetening everything from coffee to cocktails. These biscuits are a perfect breakfast food or accompaniment to a big warm bowl of chili on a damp spring evening.

makes 16 biscuits

FOR THE MAPLE CRUMBLE TOPPING:

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca starch

2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

FOR THE BISCUITS:

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon maple syrup

⅓ cup warm milk plus ¼ cup cold milk

1½ cups (150g) toasted oat flour (see Note)

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces

4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1. Make the maple crumble topping: In a small bowl, combine the maple syrup, brown sugar, tapioca starch, and melted butter and work it until the mixture is well blended. Set aside.

2. Make the biscuits: In a small bowl, combine the yeast, maple syrup, and the ⅓ cup warm milk and allow it to proof for 15 minutes.

3. In a food processor, combine the toasted oat flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and pulse until combined. Add the butter and cream cheese and pulse just until the mixture is a coarse meal. Add the yeast mixture and pulse to combine.

4. Add the remaining ¼ cup cold milk and the vinegar, and pulse until the dough comes together. Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with salted butter.

6. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap dusted with tapioca starch. Pat the dough down with wet hands until it is about ¾ inch thick. Use a juice glass dusted with tapioca starch to cut out biscuits 2 inches in diameter. Reroll the scraps as necessary.

7. Transfer the biscuits to the cake pans so that they will touch as they rise and expand. Sprinkle/spread the tops of the biscuits with the maple crumble topping.

8. Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer to a cooling rack or serve warm.

NOTE: Toasted oat flour is even more flavorful than plain oat flour. Start with rolled oats, toast them for 12 minutes at 375°F on a baking sheet, and grind them into flour.

Bacon-Parmesan Scones

bacon-parmesan scones

HONESTLY, THE FIRST TIME I ever baked scones was as a gluten-free recipe. I had tried again and again to perfect a light and moist biscuit: They became a mouthful of crumbles, spread into flat cookies, or were better suited as croquet balls. The problem was how to support tender dough—not easy without gluten to shore it up. Then I discovered that the shape of a big flattened ball of dough cut into 6 or 8 wedges was ideally suited to gluten-free baking. Typically with wheat-based recipes, the disk would be rolled to a thickness of 1 inch or so, but to compensate for the lack of gluten, these scones are rolled out into a thickness of 1½ inches. The wedges, separated from each other by ½ inch, are close enough to support each other as they rise in the oven. So long before I got biscuits “right,” I was making savory scones.

There are many varieties of scones, but most recipes rely on chemical leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda as well as butter and cream. Much like making a pie crust, the trick is to not overmix the dough. It should be loose enough so that it remains tender as it bakes, but sufficiently moistened so it doesn’t crumble when you look at it. Scones are also baked at a higher temperature than most gluten-free baked goods so the dough sets quickly, forms a crust, and seals in a moist interior crumb. These savory scones are perfect for breakfast or as a side to a salad, soup, or stew. The bacon and Parmesan are paired to create a strong, salty flavor that blends well with the doughy interior.

makes 6 to 8 scones

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch

1¼ cups (150g) light buckwheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

8 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into pieces

5 slices cooked crisp bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

¾ cup shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese

1 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 tablespoon honey, warmed (optional)

1. In a food processor, combine the tapioca starch, buckwheat flour, baking powder, and baking soda and pulse until they are well blended. Add the butter and pulse a few times to just cut it into the flour.

2. Add the bacon and Parmesan and pulse several times to distribute it in the dough. Add the sour cream and egg, pulsing it just until there are large, semi-wet crumbs.

3. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it with tapioca starch.

4. Gather the dough with your hands and dump it out into a pile on the baking sheet. Lightly work and pat the dough into a 1½-inch-thick disk, flattening the top and smoothing the edges. Lightly dust the dough with tapioca starch, if necessary, to handle the dough without it sticking.

5. With a large knife, cut the disk into 6 or 8 wedges and gently transfer them to a 12-inch cast iron skillet. (If you so desire, brush the tops lightly with the warmed honey to create a darker crust.)

6. Bake the scones for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. For crusty scones, cool them in the skillet. For a tender crust, transfer the scones to a cooling rack and cover them with a clean kitchen towel to let the heat and moisture soften the crust. Allow the scones to cool enough for the dough to set, but serve warm.

Tater Doughnuts with Silky Chocolate Glaze

tater doughnuts with silky chocolate glaze

WE FIRST INTRODUCED OUR PRODUCTS directly to consumers through gluten-free expos, celiac support groups, and celiac food fairs. In the early years, it seemed as though either Tom or I was on the road at least once a week, lugging huge coolers packed with frozen bread and pizzas through airports. It was a Johnny Appleseed approach—we put all of our marketing dollars into meeting consumers face-to-face. One of the first requests we got for marketing materials was for bumper stickers. We had several types made, and for one of them we picked up the quote (from Oscar Wilde) that had been on the production floor since the beginning: When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers. Some people scratch their heads when they read it. Others, once they have found our products, get it because they now realize they will always have tasty bread and pizza to tempt them.

These doughnuts are definitely a When the gods wish to punish us recipe. I thought about calling them “scary” doughnuts because they are frighteningly easy to make, and even easier to eat one … or three. The doughnuts were inspired by Spudnuts® doughnuts, which were sold at a chain founded in the 1940s by two brothers. At its peak, there were 350 doughnut shops that made doughnuts based on dehydrated potatoes and milk solids (their recipe included some wheat as well). Any baked good based on a nonwheat source always gets my attention. It had never occurred to me to make a potato doughnut, and I was astonished at how well potato starch works in this recipe. Note: It is hard to believe that puffy, tender doughnuts can easily be made from a single grain-free starch, but one taste of these melt-in-your-mouth doughnuts will have you making them way too often.

makes 8 doughnuts

FOR THE DOUGHNUTS:

1 cup milk

8 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup (192g) potato starch

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

3 cups solid shortening, for frying

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE:

1½ cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons rainbow nonpareil sprinkles (optional)

1. Make the doughnuts: In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the potato starch, granulated sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla and pour the mixture into the saucepan. Keep stirring the dough until it pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove it from the heat.

3. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and beat it with a hand mixer until cool to the touch. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. It will be clumpy and bumpy and look like solidified scrambled eggs, which is what it should look like.

4. In a deep fryer, heat the shortening to 375°F.

5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Wet your hands and roll each piece into a ball just about the size of a billiard ball. Flatten the ball down in the palm of your hand like a burger until it is 2½ to 3 inches wide—not too thin. Poke the center with your forefinger, then use your wet thumb to hollow out the center. At this point, it will look like a big, thick pineapple ring.

6. Drop the doughnuts, one or two at a time into the fryer. The doughnuts will first sink, then float, at which time, flip them over with tongs. Turn the doughnuts every 2 minutes or so for about 10 minutes total cooking time. Use tongs to remove them from the fryer and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain.

7. Make the glaze: In a bowl, combine all the glaze ingredients and whisk together until smooth. (Warming it slightly in a microwave for 15 seconds will make it even easier to apply.)

8. When the doughnuts are mostly cool, dip the doughnut tops in the glaze and allow them to partially dry before adding the sprinkles (if using).

Glazed Yeast Doughnuts

glazed yeast doughnuts

I GREW UP IN THE SOUTH where doughnuts rule, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in particular. Founded in North Carolina in the late thirties, Krispy Kreme developed a truly unique product and actually trademarked “original glazed” as a part of their logo. They by no means make the only good glazed doughnut: You haven’t yet tasted these, which also happen to be naturally gluten-free. The concept behind these doughnuts came from my lukewarm feeling about gluten-free cake doughnuts. They’ve always been tasty enough, but in a cupcake- or muffin-like way. I wanted something more melt-in-your-mouth and squishy—a doughnut so good that you had a hard time eating only one. The search for ingredients and process led me to yeasted doughnuts. I know I have a winner when my family asks me over and over again to make just one more batch.

makes 8 doughnuts

FOR THE DOUGHNUTS:

2 cups (280g) tapioca starch, plus ¾ cup (105g) for kneading

¾ cup (90g) light buckwheat flour

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons salted butter

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 large egg

3 cups solid shortening, for frying

FOR THE GLAZE:

2 tablespoons salted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Make the doughnuts: In a food processor, combine the 2 cups tapioca starch, the buckwheat flour, powdered sugar, and salt and pulse until blended.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil, stirring constantly. Immediately pour the hot mixture into the flours and process until it is moist with a sand-like texture. Allow the dough to cool for 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the yeast, granulated sugar, and ⅓ cup warm water and allow it to proof for 15 minutes.

4. Add the yeast mixture to the cooled dough. Blend until the dough is combined, then add the egg. Pulse the dough until it is smooth and creamy. It will have a thick, batter-like texture.

5. Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. It will rise and double in bulk.

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead it in the bowl with a rubber spatula until the dough is smooth. It will be on the runny side. By hand, knead in up to about ¾ cup of tapioca starch, a little at a time—just until you can handle the dough and cut out doughnut shapes.

7. In a deep fryer, heat the shortening until it reaches 375°F.

8. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap dusted with tapioca starch. Pat it into a ½-inch thickness. Dust a doughnut cutter by dipping it in tapioca starch (or use a glass and your thumb to create a hole). Cut out 2½-inch doughnuts. (You can fry the doughnut holes if you like!)

9. One or two at a time, fry the doughnuts until they are lightly browned, turning each doughnut with tongs after it floats. Transfer the doughnuts to paper towels to drain.

10. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and ¼ cup hot water together until the butter melts and the glaze is smooth.

11. While the doughnuts are still warm, dip the doughnut tops in the glaze and set aside to dry.

beignets

NO TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS is complete without a trip to Café du Monde in the French Quarter. When I went to school in New Orleans, trips to Café du Monde in the middle of the night were an exam-week ritual. Where else could you go at 3 a.m. for chicory coffee and a plate of puffy fried doughnuts smothered in powdered sugar to tank up for your exam the next morning?

There is a lot of debate about what constitutes an authentic beignet. Beignets are essentially square pieces of fried dough. Some believe true beignets use yeast as the leavening agent. Others (like me) say beignets aren’t “real” beignets unless they rise from the steam created by the dough. Traditional choux pastry contains butter, water, wheat flour, and eggs, making for a high-moisture dough that creates steam and puffs the pastry. This beignet recipe is a variation on choux pastry, and it is leavened beautifully by steam. The additional tapioca starch required to roll out the dough is added after the dough has been refrigerated overnight. I’m not sure we’ll be seeing gluten-free beignets in New Orleans any time soon, but in the meantime, these beignets have the look, taste, texture, and smell of the real thing.

makes 9 beignets

2⅓ cups (330g) tapioca starch, plus ½ cup (70g) for kneading

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

½ cup canola oil

2 large eggs

3 cups vegetable oil or shortening

½ cup powdered sugar, plus ½ to 1 cup for dusting

1. In a food processor, combine the 2⅓ cups tapioca starch and the salt and pulse until blended.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and canola oil to a boil, stirring constantly. Immediately pour the hot mixture into the flours and process until it is moist with a sand-like texture. Allow the dough to cool for 20 minutes.

3. Add the eggs to the cooled dough and blend until the dough is smooth and creamy. It will have a liquid, batter-like texture.

4. Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight. It will rise and thicken into the consistency of pudding.

5. In a deep fryer or deep saucepan, heat the oil until it reaches 375°F. Using a rubber spatula, punch down the dough in the bowl and work in ½ cup powdered sugar and the remaining ½ cup tapioca starch. It should be quite tender, but easy enough to pat out and cut into squares.

6. Dust a piece of plastic wrap with tapioca starch and turn one-third of the dough onto the wrap on a counter. Lightly pat the dough into a ⅓- to ½-inch-thick sheet. Using a dough scraper or a knife, cut the dough into 2½-inch squares. Repeat the process for the remaining dough.

7. Transfer one square at a time into the fryer using a flexible metal spatula, frying up to 3 at a time. They will initially drop to the bottom, but after about 30 seconds will float to the surface. After 30 more seconds lightly flip the beignets over. They will begin to balloon up like a pillow, so be careful not to puncture the sides. Continue turning the beignets every 30 seconds until they are lightly browned—about 4 minutes in total. Make sure the temperature of the oil comes back up before frying the next batch.

8. Use tongs to remove the cooked beignets, and transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels. Allow them to cool for about a minute, then coat them with powdered sugar by shaking them in a paper bag containing powdered sugar. Beignets are best served fresh and warm.

NOTE: Traditional New Orleans Creole beignets are always served three to a plate. If you want the authentic experience, make sure you serve them in threes—serving any fewer is like serving a hot dog without a bun.

fluffy buckwheat pancakes

I LEARNED TO MAKE THE FLUFFIEST PANCAKES from my brother Martin. It wasn’t that he had a secret recipe, he just knew where to look for the best one, in the Joy of Cooking. The secret to his fluffy pancakes was right there: Beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, and fold them lightly into the blended batter. Even though our household is exclusively gluten-free, to this day I often refer to the Joy of Cooking, and my book always falls open to that same recipe.

Gluten-free pancakes are one baked good that has distinct advantages over its wheat-based counterpart. The formation of gluten in wheat can quickly turn a wheat-based pancake into a rubbery Frisbee if the batter is overmixed, so most recipes call for just moistening the ingredients and ignoring any lumps in order to keep the pancakes as tender as possible. Structure is not an issue with a puddle of gluten-free batter, so no additional binders are necessary. My advice is to make the batter a little thicker than normal to start with and then thin it slightly with water to get your ideal consistency. These pancakes are the perfect starting point for adding fresh blueberries, bananas, chocolate chips, or any other fruits and spices to dress them up.

makes 10 to 12 medium pancakes

3 large eggs

¼ cup sour cream

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup (120g) light buckwheat flour

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups milk

1. Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a medium bowl (it is important to make sure you do not get any egg yolk in the whites, or it will reduce their volume when whipped). Place the yolks in a large bowl.

2. Use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form firm peaks. Set the bowl aside.

3. Add the sour cream and oil to the egg yolks and beat with the hand mixer until well blended. Add the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and beat the mixture until it is fully blended and no lumps remain.

4. Gradually add the milk. You may want to hold back ¼ cup so that you can adjust the consistency. Beat the mixture until the milk is fully incorporated into the batter.

5. Gently fold in the egg whites until they are fully blended, taking care to retain as much of their loft as possible. You may find that the egg whites have separated a little at the bottom, but that’s okay—just add the liquid whites to the batter.

6. Heat an oiled griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Try one test pancake to check the ideal temperature and the pancake consistency. If you have held back some milk, you can adjust the batter to your preference. If the batter is too thin, add light buckwheat flour in tablespoon increments. If the batter is too thick (and you have added all the milk), add water in tablespoon increments.

7. Ladle ¼ cup batter onto the hot surface, one pancake at a time. Turn the pancake when bubbles begin to form on the top, about 6 minutes. Flip the pancakes only once and cook them just until the underside is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. The cook time for the second side of the pancakes will be about half the time it took to cook the first side.

8. If you are making many pancakes, keep them warm and separated with a clean folded kitchen towel. Once cooled, the pancakes may be separated with wax paper and frozen in a resealable freezer bag.

Flourless Blueberry Banana Crepes

flourless blueberry banana crepes

WE HAVE A TREMENDOUSLY BOUNTIFUL vegetable garden every summer, but we seem to be fruit-challenged. Not only are our apple trees pretty paltry bearers, but our blueberry bushes rarely bear more than a handful of berries. Lucky for us, we have a friend awash in blueberries and a local organic pick-your-own blueberry orchard. I associate the Fourth of July with blueberries, and we just can’t seem to get enough of them. We eat them plain, we eat them in desserts and salads, and we eat them in pancakes, crepes, and baked goods.

The following crepe recipe is based on a popular, two-ingredient flourless pancake recipe that contains just banana and eggs. This crepe adaptation uses less egg to make it more crepe-like and less omelet-like (the original recipe calls for 2 large eggs). Sour cream is used in place of the second egg and pairs well with the blueberries and bananas. A hint of cinnamon and vanilla accentuates the natural banana and blueberry flavors. Fried in a thin film of coconut oil, this is a very moist crepe that can be served either hot as a breakfast crepe or cold and rolled around a thin layer of cream cheese.

makes about 8 thin crepes

1 large ripe banana

1 large egg

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup fresh blueberries

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1. In a medium bowl, mash the banana with a fork. Whisk in the egg and sour cream. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. Place the blueberries in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Heat a griddle or cast-iron skillet over low heat. Melt the coconut oil on the hot surface and spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. Sprinkle with some blueberries. Try to keep the crepes under 4 to 5 inches in diameter, otherwise they will be unwieldy when flipping them.

3. Check the bottom of the crepe after about a minute. If it is close to being flipped, it should not stick. Flip the crepe over when it feels solid enough to handle. Cook the crepe until both sides are browned and some of the moisture has dissipated. The underside has a tendency to brown very quickly, and it takes patience waiting to turn the crepes. Serve the crepes warm.

NOTE: Try serving this crepe folded with whipped cream and topped with caramel sauce. Make your own single-serving caramel sauce by melting 1 tablespoon salted butter, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract in the microwave. Stir until entirely smooth. It will thicken some as it cools.

Buckwheat Waffles

buckwheat waffles

WE DON’T GET THAT MANY VISITORS here in Vermont. Perhaps it is the fact that the closest airport is two hours away or that the warm season lasts only a few months. But when we first moved to Vermont and the kids were little, my mother came to visit. After spending a day or so, she said she’d like to buy us a waffle maker. I readily agreed and we made waffles the following morning with lots of pure Vermont butter and maple syrup. It turned out that my picky-eater kids really liked waffles so we made special breakfasts for them from time to time. The next time I visited my mother in South Carolina, she said she needed a waffle maker, so off we went to buy one. By now, I had figured out that my mom was gaga about my waffles. So were the kids, so it must have been genetic.

This past year, at age ninety-one, my mother was diagnosed with borderline diabetes. When I went to visit, there was the waffle maker staring at me. I agreed to make her waffles, but this time I needed a low-glycemic flour. I had just discovered light buckwheat, so I whipped up a batch—and it produces very flavorful and satisfying waffles, light and crispy yet filling. These waffles are one of the few gluten-free baked goods that work using a single flour. As far as diabetes goes, some research suggests that a diet rich in buckwheat may lower blood glucose levels. For my mom’s waffles, I substituted 2 teaspoons of Truvia® for the 1 tablespoon sugar, which you can also do if you are on a sugar-restricted diet.

makes 16 waffles

3 large eggs

⅓ cup canola oil

2 cups (240g) light buckwheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1½ cups milk

1. Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a medium bowl (it is important to make sure you do not get any egg yolk in the whites, or it will reduce their volume when whipped). Place the yolks in a large bowl.

2. Use a hand mixer to beat the egg whites until they are stiff and form firm peaks. Set the bowl aside.

3. Add the oil to the egg yolks and beat with the hand mixer until well blended. Add the buckwheat flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, and beat the mixture until it is fully blended and no lumps remain.

4. Gradually beat in the milk until fully incorporated into the batter. Gently fold in the egg whites until they are fully blended, taking care to retain as much of their loft as possible. You may find that the egg whites have separated a little at the bottom. This is okay—just add the liquid whites to the batter.

5. Preheat and grease your waffle maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

6. Ladle about ½ cup of the batter into the center of the waffle maker. Follow the waffle maker directions and cook the waffles until steam no longer comes out of the waffle maker.

7. Serve warm. To freeze any remaining waffles, cool them completely and separate each waffle with a sheet of wax paper. Store in a sealable freezer bag. The waffles reheat easily in a regular toaster.

strawberry toaster pastries

CONVENIENCE RULES IN THE BREAKFAST-FOOD CATEGORY, and there is nothing like a breakfast food that can be toasted, handheld, and eaten on the go. Over the years there have been some pretty odd and failed attempts at on-the-go toaster items, including eggs, French fries, and bacon. Toaster pastries, though, have been an enormous hit with a cult following. Kellogg’s alone sells over 2 billion Pop-Tarts a year in nearly 30 flavors.

You can’t make a shelf-stable gluten-free toaster pastry at home, but you can make a healthier toaster pastry that is just as tasty and satisfies that convenience food craving. This recipe produces toaster pastries that look very much like the commercial ones, as long as you poke the vent holes in the same pattern. The sides hold together without leaking strawberry preserves all over your toaster, and the baked dough has just the right amount of tenderness and flexibility. Let’s face it, toaster pastries are more about the concept than the actual food, but these would be superb just as a filled pastry—untoasted, they are just as good. They may be the perfect gluten-free car snack for long travels with kids. And how can you argue with 8 ingredients rather than 46 and no artificial food coloring?

makes 8 pastries

1 cup (120g) light buckwheat flour

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch, plus more for rolling out the dough

4 tablespoons salted butter

½ cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg white

2 tablespoons unflavored, unsweetened apple butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup pure strawberry preserves (my favorite is Sidehill Farm strawberry jam)

1. In a medium bowl, combine the buckwheat flour and ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the tapioca starch and stir to combine.

2. In a food processor, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add the egg white, apple butter, and vanilla and pulse to combine. Add the flour mixture and blend until the dough comes together in a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. In a small bowl, combine the strawberry preserves and the remaining 2 tablespoons tapioca starch and combine with a fork until it creates a well-blended paste. You may have to add a tiny extra amount of tapioca starch, depending on the thickness of your preserves. The consistency of the paste should be such that it does not puddle when spooned on the pastry crust.

4. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll into logs. Lightly dust some plastic wrap with additional tapioca starch and roll each log in it. Using a rolling pin, roll out each log into a rectangle 3½ to 4 inches wide and 9 to 10 inches long. Trim the rectangle with a bench scraper or a knife, squaring the sides and the ends.

6. On the upper half of the rectangle, spread 1 to 2 teaspoons of the strawberry filling, leaving a ½-inch border around the top and sides. Using the plastic wrap to support the dough, fold the bottom half up over the filling. Using your forefinger, gently press the dough together around the edges to seal the pastry, including the bottom fold. Blunt the corners so that the points of the corners don’t bake unevenly.

7. Using the tines of a fork, dock the top of the pastry in 4 to 6 places so that steam can escape during baking. Using a flexible metal spatula to support the pastry, transfer it to the baking sheet.

8. Bake the pastries for 20 minutes, or just until they begin to brown. Allow the toaster pastries to cool completely on the baking sheet for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container or freeze until you toast them.

Cherry Turnovers

cherry turnovers

I GREW UP BEFORE BIG BOX SUPERMARKETS were the norm, and before grocery stores were open 24 hours. Sunday was our shopping day: After church we would drive 30 minutes to Bohn’s store, where my parents did the shopping and the kids stayed out of trouble. Desserts in my family were always for special occasions, yet we were all allowed to pick out one packaged dessert at the store on Sunday morning. At first I gravitated toward visually enticing things like Hostess Sno Balls, but even then I recognized that some things looked a lot better than they tasted. My favorite treat ended up being a prepackaged cherry turnover.

Like the city kid who doesn’t know where milk really comes from, I had no idea that fresh cherries were related to the pie kind or to maraschino cherries, for that matter. Actually, it is sort of amazing how heat, sugar, and tapioca can transform a fresh fruit into something that seems entirely different. To this day, I like cherry pie filling, but if I can, I try to make the cherry filling from fresh cherries. If they are not available, canned red tart cherries packed in water work as well if you sweeten and thicken them on your own.

makes 9 turnovers

FOR THE DOUGH:

Sweetcrust Pastry

1 teaspoon almond extract

FOR THE CHERRY FILLING:

3 cups pitted cherries

⅓ cup granulated sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons tapioca starch, depending on juiciness of cherries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

FOR THE GLAZE:

2 tablespoons milk

½ cup powdered sugar

1. Make the dough: Prepare the pastry crust, adding the almond extract to the dough when you add the milk, and refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Make the filling: Coarsely chop the cherries, just enough to release the juices. In a medium saucepan, combine the cherries and granulated sugar. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Once the cherries come to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 more minutes.

3. In a small bowl, stir several tablespoons of the cherry juice into 1 tablespoon of the tapioca starch, then add it back to the saucepan. (Add more tapioca if the cherries are exceptionally juicy.) Continue stirring until the cherries thicken. Remove the cherries from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Allow the cherries to cool before filling the turnovers.

4. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Divide the dough into thirds, and work with one-third at a time, leaving the remainder in the refrigerator. On a piece of plastic wrap dusted with tapioca starch, roll out the dough into a rectangle approximately 12 × 4 inches. Using a dough scraper or decorative pie cutter, cut the rectangle crosswise into thirds: You will have three 4 × 4-inch squares. Spoon 1 to 1½ tablespoons of cherry filling into the center of each square. Fold the dough over into a triangle and press the edges together lightly with your fingers until they are sealed. Cut three small slits in the top to vent steam as the cherry filling cooks.

6. Place the turnovers on the baking sheet and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Transfer the turnovers to a wire rack and let cool.

7. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the milk and powdered sugar until it is perfectly smooth.

8. Drizzle the glaze over the turnovers when they are mostly cool.

coconut butter

IF YOU ARE CRAZY ABOUT COCONUT like me, you will love this recipe. It is a wonderfully nutritious natural sweetener and binder in both gluten-free baked goods and nonbaked goods. Although you can buy coconut butter commercially, you can make your own far more economically.

Coconut butter is dried unsweetened coconut ground into a spread. There is no end to the ways you can use coconut butter in recipes. It can be cooked into bars, added to sauces for flavor and thickness, or combined with raw ingredients into nutrition-dense bars and confections. I love filling a tart shell with nothing more than a half dozen or so fresh strawberries pureed with ½ cup coconut butter. Or another favorite is to stuff sweet red peppers with a savory spread of coconut butter, fresh cilantro, and mint. Although coconut butter is shelf-stable, if you have added any fresh ingredients, make sure to store it in the refrigerator.

makes 1 pint

6 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1. In a food processor, process the coconut until the coconut is liquefied, about 10 minutes. (Make sure to give your food processor a rest if it begins to get warm.) The coconut will go through many stages: from coconut dust to clumps to a thick, cookie dough-like texture, to a spreadable liquid. Stop the processor periodically and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

2. Pour and scrape the finished coconut butter into a covered pint jar. It can be stored at room temperature.

Monster Microwave Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookie

monster microwave oatmeal raisin breakfast cookie

IT WAS PRETTY TOUGH for me to go back to work when my son Alex was born, but we were extremely lucky to find a young nanny from Nebraska named Julie. Julie’s creativity was contagious, and over the years she worked for us, our kids had the most enriched days. One day I stumbled home to find Alex and Julie in the kitchen, Alex sitting up on the counter next to her, screeching in delight. There was flour everywhere. Alex was covered head to toe, as was the counter … and Julie. Taken aback, I calmly asked: “Whatcha doing?”

“Making Monster Cookies!” Julie answered.

Well, we had monster cookies for dinner that night, and they seemed like the size of dinner plates. They are probably a lot larger in my memory, but that was before every convenience store had huge cookies propped up next to the cash register.

These are breakfast monster cookies, but consider them really a bowl of oatmeal spiced with butter and sugar in an on-the-go form. They are sweet enough to pass for real monster cookies, but so healthy that you won’t feel like you’re eating dessert for breakfast. The coolest thing about them is that you make them in individual servings, and they only take 1½ minutes to “bake” in the microwave—less time than it takes to prepare oatmeal.

makes one 5-inch breakfast cookie

1 tablespoon salted butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon unflavored, unsweetened apple butter

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon oat flour

1 tablespoon tapioca starch

2 tablespoons rolled oats

2 tablespoons chopped raisins

1. In a small bowl, use a fork to cream the butter, brown sugar, and apple butter. Add the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Mix in the oat flour and tapioca starch, then the oats, and finally the raisins.

2. Cut out a 7 × 7-inch square of parchment paper and place it on a microwave-safe dinner plate. Dampen your hands and form the dough into a ball—it will be a tad smaller than a tennis ball. Place it in the center of the parchment paper and flatten it until it is approximately 4 inches in diameter and ½ inch thick with smooth edges.

3. Microwave the cookie on high for 1 minute. You will see it puff all over. Check it. Microwave for another 30 seconds. If your microwave doesn’t have a turntable, turn the plate 90 degrees before microwaving it a second time.

4. Transfer the cookie on the parchment paper—very carefully, as the hot cookie will be fragile and very crumbly—to a cooling rack and let it cool thoroughly before eating. (Go ahead and eat it warm if soft and crumbly doesn’t bother you.)

Granola Breakfast Bars

granola breakfast bars

AIRPORTS HAVE TO BE the greatest gluten-free wastelands of all. Sure, there are some exceptions, but standard gluten-free fare is bruised bananas, nuts, yogurt, and a tired salad, if you are lucky. Add to that the need to have corn-free and soy-free food, and searching for food reminds me of the frantic squirrel outside my window, digging, finding nothing, and moving on. I developed this breakfast bar just for circumstances like these, and no one in our family travels without a half dozen of these bars. They are small enough to pack in your carry-on; robust enough to stuff in a bike pannier crammed full of outerwear, cameras, cell phones, and drinks; and even edible after an afternoon in a car in the California desert sun.

Inspired by Ina Garten’s popular Homemade Granola Bars, these granola bars are sweet and spicy. Honey and molasses keep them moist and chewy, unlike most dry and crunchy commercial versions. For a vegan version, you can easily substitute 3 tablespoons of coconut oil for the butter and maple syrup for the honey (although the maple syrup makes them less chewy since it doesn’t share the same binding properties as honey).

makes 16 granola bars

2 cups rolled oats

½ cup hulled pumpkin seeds, chopped

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ cup (50g) oat flour

½ cup crystallized ginger

½ cup fruit-sweetened dried cranberries

½ cup pitted dates

4 tablespoons salted butter

½ cup honey

2 tablespoons molasses

⅓ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Mix the oats, pumpkin seeds, and coconut and spread on a baking sheet. Bake the mixture for about 12 minutes, until lightly browned, stirring it halfway through. Allow the mixture to cool, then pour into a large bowl. Leave the oven on but reduce the temperature to 300°F.

2. Butter a 9 × 13-inch glass baking dish and line it with parchment paper, allowing the parchment paper to overhang the longer sides of the dish.

3. Measure the oat flour into a food processor. One at a time, add the ginger, cranberries, and dates and pulse each fruit until it is chopped. Add this mixture to the toasted mixture and blend.

4. In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, honey, molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Still stirring, let the mixture boil for 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and pour it over the toasted oatmeal and fruit mixture. Stir until all of the ingredients are well moistened.

5. Spoon the mixture into the baking dish. Using a dampened rubber spatula or wet fingers, press the mixture evenly into the pan, paying particular attention to pack the edges tightly.

6. Bake the granola bars for 25 minutes, or until they are just beginning to brown. Transfer the baking dish to a cooling rack and let cool for 1 hour.

7. Gently lift the solid bar by the parchment paper “handles” and place it on a cutting board to cool for at least 2 more hours. The bar sets and solidifies during the cooling process. Cutting it ahead of time may result in broken and fragile bars.

8. Once the bar is fully cooled, cut it into 16 pieces using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap; store in an airtight container for several months.

NOTE: With minor modifications, these granola bars may be made both dairy- and grain-free. Coconut butter, which enhances the flavor of the shredded coconut, can be substituted for the butter. Quinoa flakes may be substituted for the rolled oats, and light buckwheat flour works well in lieu of the oat flour.

pineapple-cranberry protein bars

THE SUMMER OF 1976, my husband, Tom, and I finally grew up. Tom flew out to meet me where I was doing research at the University of Montana, and we decided it was now or never: hitchhiking across America. Two scruffy graduate students, heavy with backpacks stuffed with camping gear, we stuck out our thumbs. Now I wonder What were we thinking?—but we were young, idealistic, and still had reason to trust others. We were giddy with excitement when we stuck out our thumbs and a vehicle screeched to a stop. Our adventure grew stranger as the days wore on. A hearse driven by a very eerie couple of carnival workers picked us up around midnight in Washington State. Did we have any drugs, and did we want to join them at a party? No and no, just take us to the next rest stop.

More than anything, though, we remember being hungry, tired of vending-machine food, and exhausted from staying up all night to keep drivers awake. That, it turned out, was often the motivation for giving us a lift. This was nearly fifteen years before the pioneering CLIF Bar was invented, and what we could have really used was a backpack full of these yummy, nutritious, and filling protein bars.

makes 16 bars

¼ cup (42g) chia seeds

1 can (15 ounces) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup coconut butter, store-bought or homemade

½ cup sunflower seed butter (such as SunButter Organic)

¼ cup honey

¾ cup dried figs, with stems removed

½ cup pitted dates

1 cup (80g) whey powder

¼ cup orange juice

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1½ cups (180g) oat flour (or substitute 144g rolled oats for a chewier bar)

½ cup fruit-sweetened dried cranberries

½ cup chopped dried pineapple

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking dish.

2. In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds and ½ cup water and allow the slurry to absorb and thicken for 15 minutes.

3. In a food processor, process the beans, coconut butter, sunflower butter, chia slurry, honey, figs, and dates until smooth. Add the whey powder, orange juice, and lemon juice and process until well blended. Scoop the dough into a large bowl and work in the oat flour by hand until it is thoroughly blended. Work in the cranberries, dried pineapple, and lemon zest.

4. Spoon the dough into the baking dish. With wet hands, smooth the dough in the pan, pushing the dough into the corners.

5. Bake the dough for 30 minutes, or until set. Allow the bars to cool fully before cutting.

raisin-apple butter muffins

WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO GROW APPLES in Vermont for over five years, and yet our apple trees have yielded less than a dozen apples. It is kind of embarrassing in a state that ranks among the top twenty producers of apples. But to be fair, they have to endure a lot. The first year, deer trimmed one of the trees just after budding, and another year, an ice storm wreaked havoc on the adolescent limbs. Last year, green caterpillars showed up for brunch and destroyed over half of one tree in the space of a day.

We love apples, and apples in the fall are a big deal around here. There are heirloom apple tastings, thousands of home-baked apple pies are sold to leaf-peepers, and fresh cider is pressed along the side of the road. There is nothing like eating a crisp, just-picked apple, but I also love them baked into cakes, breads, and muffins. This recipe is the ultimate apple muffin, with fresh apple cider, applesauce, and unsweetened apple butter. It is a tangy, not-too-sweet muffin, with a pleasing texture from all the pectin, which comes from the peels and cores. When the apple crop is long gone or the apples have passed their peak, this is a recipe that recalls pleasant memories of a fall with an abundance of apples.

makes 18 muffins

1 cup (100g) toasted oat flour

1 cup (120g) light buckwheat flour

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

3 large eggs

½ cup canola oil

½ cup unflavored, unsweetened apple butter

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup apple cider

¾ cup raisins

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Grease 18 cups of 2 standard muffin tins or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until thoroughly blended.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs, oil, apple butter, applesauce, and apple cider.

4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture, using as few strokes as possible but moistening all the flour. Fold in the raisins.

5. Ladle the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 28 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed. Transfer to a cooling rack.

berry good muffins

ON THE EAST BANK OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER, just opposite Brattleboro, Vermont, is Mt. Wantastiquet. It is a moderate hike to the summit along a carriage trail built in 1891 that provides outstanding views of the Connecticut River Valley. My son Alex and I love hiking the trail, but our favorite part is beating everyone to the first wild blueberries growing on the summit. Our most recent berry-picking adventure was a scene right out of Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal, except that our blueberry-picking solitude was interrupted not by a bear, but by a Jack Russell terrier and a guy talking on his cell phone. Welcome to the “connected” world.

If we are really lucky, the first wild blueberries of the season coincide with the wild raspberries. I developed this recipe to showcase the wild berries—though you can also make them with fresh or frozen berries. I have found tiny blueberries to be ideal for foods like muffins and pancakes because they are less juicy. This recipe also uses coconut milk, which lends both a richness and a natural sweetness, and pairs extremely well with the tartness of the berries. The resulting muffins are nicely domed with a deep golden color from the interaction of the light buckwheat flour with the baking powder.

makes 18 muffins

1¼ cups (150g) light buckwheat flour

¾ cup (105g) tapioca starch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup powdered sugar

3 large eggs

½ cup canola oil

⅔ cup full-fat coconut milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup raspberries

¾ cup blueberries

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Grease 18 cups of 2 standard muffin tins or line with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, salt, and baking powder until thoroughly blended.

3. In another large bowl, whisk together both sugars, the eggs, oil, coconut milk, and vanilla.

4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture, using as few strokes as possible but moistening all the flour. Fold in the berries.

5. Ladle the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned and spring back when pressed. Transfer to a cooling rack.

lemon poppy seed muffins

EVERY MORNING when I worked on Wall Street, I would stop in the same coffee shop, where there was a line snaking out the door. Like all the rest of the hole-in-the-wall coffee shops on every block, it had trays of big cakey muffins the size of softballs. People would buy these for breakfast; some would plop them on their cubicle desk and pick at them until lunch. Were they really eating breakfast food or were they eating cake?

Frosted or not? More sugar, less sugar? Creamed or just mixed? Dense or light-crumbed? These are distinctions between cakes and muffins that the culinary set has debated for years. To me, muffins are denser and are the easiest gluten-free baked good to make. A light, moist cake that rises higher than a Frisbee is a feat of engineering. A cupcake is just light moist cake scrunched in a muffin pan. I declare these to be muffins, not cupcakes masquerading as muffins. They have the perfect muffin texture, a crumb with springiness that kind of tears as you bite into it. They also are not overly sweet, with much of the sweetness coming from the coconut milk and coconut flour.

makes 9 muffins

½ cup sugar

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup full-fat coconut milk

3 large eggs

½ cup (56g) coconut flour

½ cup (70g) tapioca starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF. Line 9 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, coconut milk, and eggs. Beat the mixture with a hand mixer for approximately 4 minutes. (You want to incorporate as much air as possible.)

3. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut flour and tapioca starch and gradually add them to the egg mixture. Beat the batter for several more minutes, making sure to scrape down the sides. Add the baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and lemon extract, mixing them thoroughly into the batter.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed. Transfer to a cooling rack.

honey-oat muffins

BIKE RIDING WHEN TRAVELING allows you to see and experience many things you might not otherwise. The most breathtaking bike trip I’ve ever done was on Prince Edward Island, with its reddish-orange cliffs overlooking the deep blue water. Although the reality of farming that land is monumental, the shimmery fields of oats made it seem totally magical. Honestly, I had never experienced oat fields up close, and it was hard to make the connection between the undulating fields marching to the sea and a bowl of oatmeal.

Like many, I love the taste (and health benefits) of oatmeal, but not the texture. When gluten-free oats became widely available, I developed many recipes to capitalize on their taste, and frankly, the gluey texture turned out to work wonders. One of the many things I discovered about oats was that they blended beautifully with light buckwheat flour, from both a taste and textural point of view. These honey-oat muffins have no refined sugar, and they contain plenty of fiber. They are great as a breakfast item or a snack, but pair equally well with soup, stew, or salad.

makes 12 muffins

1 cup (100g) toasted oat flour

½ cup (60g) light buckwheat flour

½ cup (70g) tapioca starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1½ teaspoons salt

1 cup rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling (optional)

1 cup full-fat coconut milk

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

3 large eggs

½ cup canola oil

¼ cup honey

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Grease 12 cups of a standard muffin tin or line with paper liners.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until thoroughly blended.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, coconut milk, applesauce, eggs, oil, and honey. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to allow the oats to absorb moisture.

4. Fold the flour mixture into the wet mixture, using as few strokes as possible but moistening all the flour. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Sprinkle a few rolled oats on the top of each muffin, if desired.

5. Bake the muffins for 28 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Banana, Nut Butter, and Jelly Muffins

banana, nut butter, and jelly muffins

BANANAS MAY BE THE PERFECT FOOD for nutrition and convenience, but I can’t think of any other food that induces such a sense of guilt as it ripens. After doing the math for how many bananas I think we will eat before they get too ripe, I select for the optimal level of ripeness. Most of the time, I get it right, but sometimes a bunch of brown-spotted, fragrant bananas is sitting in the bowl on the kitchen counter staring at me. The guilt sets in, and I begin thinking about what I could make with the overripe bananas.

One of my favorite things to make with overripe bananas is Banana, Nut Butter, and Jelly Muffins. I can make up a batch, freeze them, and have individual-size, nutritious snacks to put in the week’s lunches. These muffins are a good lower-carb, low-glycemic treat. Although the recipe calls for sunflower seed butter, the muffins are equally good with peanut or other nut butters. This recipe also employs a technique borrowed from cake baking, that of creaming the butter and sugar, which makes for a tender muffin that also rises to form a nice crown.

makes 12 muffins

1 cup sunflower seed butter (such as SunButter Organic; see Note)

¼ cup sugar

3 large eggs

⅔ cup mashed ripe bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup (60g) light buckwheat flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jelly

1 tablespoon tapioca starch

1. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 12 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl, combine the sunflower butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer, cream on high until the butter is light and the sugar well incorporated. Beat in the eggs, mashed banana, and vanilla until the batter is thick and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the buckwheat flour and baking powder and beat for 2 minutes more.

3. In a small bowl, combine the jelly and tapioca starch and hand-blend until there are no lumps and the jelly is slightly thickened and smooth.

4. Spoon half of the batter into the bottoms of the muffin cups. Drop a ½-teaspoon dollop of the jelly mixture on top of the batter. Finish filling the muffin cups to about three-quarters full. (Alternative: Using all the batter, fill the muffin cups three-quarters full, then drop the dollop of jelly on top. It makes a bit of a mess when it bakes, but it looks really cool when the dome of the muffin is covered with thinned jelly.)

5. Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, or until the tops spring back when pressed. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, or until you can handle them, then transfer to a cooling rack. Carefully remove the paper liners as soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle; they will be a bit sticky from the jelly. Allow the muffins to cool fully (and let the warm preserves thicken) before serving.

NOTE: The temperature of the sunflower seed butter is crucial in this process. If you take the butter directly from the refrigerator, it is too hard to mix without spewing butter and sugar all over your kitchen. If it is too soft and the fat melts, bubbles will either not form or collapse. The solution for butter temperature? Leave the butter at room temperature for about 10 minutes, so it’s barely soft enough to incorporate the sugar. If it feels a little too melted, put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool down, then beat a little more and proceed.

vegan carrot muffins

DURING THE SUMMER, we grow all of our own vegetables. A row of carrots is always among them. Late last summer, our little 12-foot row yielded over 30 pounds of carrots (as an aside, don’t listen when people tell you to thin the rows; we didn’t, and our carrots were massive). We go through lots of carrot recipes—roasted, steamed with rosemary, mixed in with summer squash, and even a carrot lasagna. Chester, our golden retriever, eats his share of them, and my son Alex takes the really gnarly ones to his horseback riding lessons.

One of my favorite things to do with carrots is make carrot cakes and carrot muffins. The natural sweetness of carrots, combined with the delicate, moist crumb that cooked carrot creates, makes carrots excellent for gluten-free adaptations. This is a vegan recipe that uses a chia slurry in place of eggs—the slurry adds moisture and springiness to the muffins, and binds the ingredients together. High in protein and fiber, chia seeds also give the muffins a nutritional boost. The recipe contains far less fat than most carrot cakes, with the fat coming from the canola oil. The twist in this recipe is the use of crystallized ginger and orange juice, which results in the bursts of ginger against a carrot-orange backdrop.

makes 24 muffins

1 tablespoon chia seeds

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup powdered sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup canola oil

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1⅓ cups finely shredded carrots

1 cup (140g) tapioca starch

1 cup (120g) light buckwheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup orange juice

½ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the chia seeds and 6 tablespoons warm water. Allow the slurry to absorb water for at least 30 minutes. (This will make more slurry than the recipe calls for. The remainder may be kept in the refrigerator for 2 weeks and used in other baking projects, in cooked cereals, or in smoothies.)

2. Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 24 cups of 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners.

3. In a large bowl, combine both sugars, the spices, salt, and oil. Using a hand mixer, beat it on high until the oil and sugars are well blended, about 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup of the chia slurry and beat well for 2 minutes. Add the applesauce and carrots to the mixture, beating well to incorporate air into the batter.

4. Add the tapioca starch, buckwheat flour, and baking soda and beat the batter until well blended. The batter will be thick. Slowly pour the orange juice into the batter and beat on high for 2 minutes. Fold in the crystallized ginger.

5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling them to just below the top. The muffins will rise and dome, but they will not overflow the tins.

6. Bake the muffins for 25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Allow the muffins to cool fully in the pan for them to set.

variation

cranberry orange muffins

Substitute chopped fruit-sweetened dried cranberries for the crystallized ginger, and add in 2 tablespoons grated orange zest.

Sunrise Warming Muffins

sunrise warming muffins

I HAVE BEEN A RUNNER more of my life than not. Before switching to a gluten-free diet, I found myself less and less able to run more than two or three times a week. Every time I ran, it would take my knees and elbow joints several days to recover. I figured it was just the natural process of aging, but after three months on a gluten-free diet, the joint pain disappeared. I was both stunned and a convert. It is not to say that a gluten-free diet has made me totally free from all aches and pains. If I overdo it, I pay for it, and the combination of lots of rain and low barometric pressure can leave me feeling like a rusty hinge. It was during one of these rainy periods that I thought: What if I made a muffin with naturally anti-inflammatory foods?

Zyflamend, a natural anti-inflammatory herbal supplement, was my inspiration for combining fresh rosemary, turmeric, ginger, and green tea in a breakfast treat to warm my bones one chilly November morning. I added lemon zest and fruit-sweetened cranberries for contrast, and the result was a beautifully sunny, yellow muffin that is at once buttery, spicy, tart, and warm—a muffin that stimulates all your senses. And yes, the turmeric in the muffins definitely leaves you with a warming glow that has you reaching for more.

makes 12 muffins

1 cup (120g) light buckwheat flour

¾ cup (105g) tapioca starch

½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling (optional)

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

6 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into tablespoons

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

⅓ cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Grated zest of 1 lemon (1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon)

¼ cup brewed green tea, cooled

1 cup sour cream

½ cup chopped fruit-sweetened dried cranberries

1. In a food processor, combine the buckwheat flour, tapioca starch, sugar, turmeric, baking powder, baking soda, and butter. Pulse until the butter is incorporated and the flour is a sandy texture.

2. Add the rosemary, crystallized ginger, and lemon zest. Pulse the dough to just mix in the ingredients.

3. Add the green tea and sour cream and mix well. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and fold in the chopped cranberries. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400ºF. Line 12 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners.

5. Spoon the dough into the muffin cups, filling them about two-thirds full. If you want a crackly crust, sprinkle the tops with the 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the center springs back when pressed. Transfer to a cooling rack.