less dense cornbread

I made chili tonight. When I asked my man if he wanted cornbread with it, he declined, saying my cornbread was "too dense."

Gasp. Oh, no. That word is the bane of every gluten free baker. Over the years, I've gotten used to the way gluten free tastes and this type of feedback is very valuable.

Thankfully, I fixed it. Thanks to the delightful and scientific combination of baking soda and vinegar, this recipe is lighter (and sweeter, because he prefers a sweeter cornbread). He, myself, and a friend all enjoyed these muffins without complaint.

Mini cornbread muffins

1/2 c. gf flour mix

1/2 c. corn meal

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

3 T. sugar (if you like sweet cornbread)

1 egg

2 T. oil

1/2 c. almond milk

1 t. apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl (Or, a 2 c. liquid measuring cup with a spout). Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Pour the batter into 12 greased mini muffin wells. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Pumpkin donuts

Y'all, I do not regret buying a donut pan. I always thought they were no different from, say, muffins, but things really do bake up differently in a donut pan.

I've tried a few different recipes for pumpkin donuts and this is my favorite, adapted from here. 

Pumpkin Donuts

1.5 c. GF flour mix
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/3 c. loosely packed brown sugar
1 t. pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 t. cinnamon

1 egg
1/2 c. pumpkin
2 T. oil
1/4 c. almond milk
1 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in another bowl. Then mix it all together.
Spoon the batter into a sandwich baggie and cut off the corner. Pipe the batter generously into a greased donut pan. It should fill 6 wells. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

These are good on their own, but the maple cinnamon glaze (adapted from here) really makes these fantastic.

Maple Cinnamon glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 T maple syrup
2 T. almond milk
dash of salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl wide enough to dip the donuts.  Microwave for 15 seconds to help the flavors meld (I hate that "stale" powdered sugar taste). Dip the donuts and let the glaze set.

*Pumpkin pie spice:
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground cloves

rugelach

One day I was in Whole Foods.
Hungry.
You all know where this is headed. 

I picked up a treat in the frozen section, and I chose these delightful little cookie things... Katz cinnamon rugelach. They were barely thawed while I sampled one during my drive home. Oh, they're good! The box was swiftly polished off, and now, several months later, those crisp little cinnamony swirly cookies have been on my mind. 

I could have driven to the store and bought some, but to be honest they were a little too sweet for me. Plus I didn't want to put on pants. So I made some.

Rugelach

Crust:

1/2 stick of dairy free butter, room temperature

1/4 container of dairy free cream cheese (I like Kite Hill), room temperature

1/2 c. flour blend

Filling:
2 T. brown sugar

1 T. ground cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

Use a hand mixer to combine the ingredients for the crust. Let it chill for 30 minutes in the fridge.
Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Tape a piece of wax paper to the counter top. Dust it with gf flour and roll out the chilled dough into a rectangle. Spray a fine layer of cooking spray onto the dough and top with the filling. Roll the dough into a tight roll and cut into small slices. 
Place each slice onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the bottoms start to brown.