Top 10 Gluten Free Recipes of 2010

What a year it has been!

I wanted to sum up all the goodness we've had around here this year. I'm not the only one who chose a top ten set of recipes from the year. Karina decided to organize her favorites from this year as just that - her actual favorites. I decided to do mine by the stats - your favorites. Both ways are good. I just might be a stats nerd though. Iris of the Daily Dietribe chose her own favorites by month. Also cool. Last year's top 10 by me was also by stats. You can read about the top 10 from 2009 here.

There was definitely some more ethnic themes running through 2010. But then again, 2010 was a pretty ethnic year for me. I traveled to Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Sweden, and Germany for work. Some were easier than others for eating gluten free, and one of my Italian recipes even made the top 10! (I love arancini!)

Other events from this year include me going dairy free (and feeling a big difference!), my new job, and therefore extensive traveling (gluten free plane flights), and several friends and family who were also diagnosed with Celiac.

10. Ginger Bars
These tangy little bars are sweet with molasses and a great winter food. They are almost like really soft gingerbread brownies, and dusted with powdered sugar, would be perfect for any gray day.

9. Double Crusted Apple Pie
Awww yeah. I was talking with the boy around Thanksgiving time about how my cooking skills and gluten free baking has improved each year, and how Thanksgiving is kind of the time when the mark of another year is most clear. This year - the crowning dish was this apple pie. I feel like it shows how far I've come this year. And when I gifted two of them around Christmas, a gluten eater didn't even know that the pie was gluten free and said "it's the best apple pie I've ever tasted." Wow. It will surely be on the menu for years to come, and thanks to Gluten Free Girl and the Chef for their Vegan Pie Crust, which works every time.

8. Mint Chocolate Cupcakes
I have a friend in the cupcake biz. She was having a cupcake tasting party, and with three Celiacs attending the small shebang, I decided to make some for us to eat. I made these and set them away from the others, and they were carefully labeled as gluten free. When the taste tasters did their ratings, these were near the top. I love the tender crumb of these cupcakes as well, a real winner.

7. Orange Muffins with Fresh Cranberries 
These are from last winter, and they were so good when I baked them several times on cold days. I love the pop and tartness of the cranberries, then balanced with the sweet and tart of the oranges.

6. Arancini al Ragu, a Sicilian street food
These were a real win as well. My travel companions ate arancini when we were in Catania (Sicily), and I was so full from a seafood lunch that I had gelato for dinner that night. (I ate octopus that day - you would be full too!) I came home with a giant bag of Arborio rice in my suitcase, and wanted to replicate the arancini. We loved these, and hopefully all you Sicilians will too!

5. Nutella Brownie Bites
These are small and simple, and actually not very sweet. I watched an episode of Worst Cooks in America where they made a pannacotta with Nutella, and the judges didn't like it because it wasn't quite sweet enough. These are subtle and chocolately, but perfectly chewy. Nutella lovers, these are for you!

4. Basic Chocolate Cookies, or Chocolate Cookies two ways
Crinkle cookies, and marshmallow cookies both work well with this base. A former roommate of mine (hi E!) used to make chocolate crinkle cookies, and these were so delicious. These are based on her awesomeness!

3. Kadu Bouranee (Afghan Pumpkin) Recipe
C made us a beautiful dinner of afghan pumpkin, and we all loved this. I even skipped the sauce when I ate it (because of the dairy), and it was still perfectly flavorful and filling.

2. Chocolate Chip Cookies
Love these! Everyone needs a good chocolate chip cookie recipe, and I think these fit the bill at my house. I loved chopping the chocolate to be a little smaller, so you had lots of little chocolate bits, rather than larger chips in each bite. These are a classic, and perfect for care packages.

1. Shredded Mexican Chicken
Often, we have a batch of this hanging out in the fridge, perfect for nachos or quick tacos. My (gluten eating) friend Sherry made this recipe, and she said they both really enjoyed it. It's always a compliment when Sherry thinks my food is tasty.


What a wonderful year. I'm looking forward to getting a CSA share again in 2011, and having so much wonderful produce on hand. (Now if I could just keep control over the compost pile, and the ever-threatening fruit flies in my kitchen.) Have a wonderful New Year, everyone!

Feel free to link up your 2010 favorite recipes in the comments!

Peanut Brittle

Y'all settled back in to life yet? Ha.

This morning dawned so sunny outside, you'd think it was April. And I love it! I'm so glad for the warm feeling of the sun on my face and the chill on my legs. It's actually a really nice combination. It's quite the opposite of all those East Coasters and travelers who've been spending their days in airports.

I made a double batch of this before Christmas to give out to friends and neighbors. I think the boy had his fair share too. I loved putting this together because it's so easy. I don't have any comment on the fact that peanut brittle, sans peanuts, is 100% sugar. Sorry about your children, neighbor, they'll calm down in a few days.

Last Year: Delicious Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Two Years Ago: Pumped Up Annie's Mac and Cheese

Peanut Brittle
adapted from this recipe
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1 cup raw Spanish peanuts

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon baking soda

Lay out several sheets of foil to spoon the hot peanut brittle onto.


In a large skillet mix the sugar, syrup, and water together. Cook at a medium-high heat, stirring regularly. Heat until the mixture has a hard ball consistency. Heat to 250 to 265 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball. If you don't own a candy thermometer, occasionally hold spoon above mixture, allowing it to drip off spoon. When mixture is at hard ball stage, it will 'hair' off the spoon when falling, looking like a clear spider web.

Once mixture is at hard ball consistency, add raw peanuts. (They will pop a little.) When mixture starts to turn a light clear-brown, as if it's starting to burn, remove from stove. Add soda and stir. Mixture will foam up.

Spoon out bite-size pieces onto unbuttered foil, stirring constantly between each couple of pieces. Mixture can also be poured onto unbuttered foil as one big piece and broken into smaller pieces once cooled.

Gluten Free Apple-Coconut Family Cake Recipe

I know you're waiting for something festive. Well, I've been festively scrambling the last few weeks, without getting any real traction. The boy's birthday, his finals week, yearend projects at work, the list goes on. Instead, I find this cake is fresh and necessary whenever you have apples on hand.

I've been using a lot of apples in my baking lately, probably because Costco is carrying some really good, extra large Granny Smiths. The dull lime green color and the tart insides are perfect for so many fall and winter recipes. Like the apple pie for Thanksgiving. Cinnamon apple muffins on a chilly morning. Apple crisp after dinner.

I adapted the recipe for this apple-coconut cake, made with little flakes of unsweetened coconut whisked into the flour, from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan. She's also the source for the peach upsidedowner we had this summer with fresh peaches. I appreciate that her recipe are accurate enogh that they can be adapted to be gluten free and still turn out delicious every time. She even bakes with cups (instead of ounces or grams)!

We ate this cake, for breakfast and snacks, quickly enough that it was hard to get pictures of it. The apples in the sunburst pattern on top became positively chewy and sweet, while the apples inside remained a little tart and melded into the tender cake. This would be perfect for a brunch with friends, for a gift to your neighbor, or any other time you have some big and beautiful apples you want to bake into something.

Last Year: The only gluten free brownie you'll ever need

Two Years Ago: Orange Almond Bars

Apple-Coconut Family Cake
adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan
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1/2 cup millet flour
1/2 cup potato starch

2 tablespoons buckwheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

pinch of salt

2 extra large Granny Smith apples (or 3 smaller apples), peeled and cored

2 large eggs

1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

6 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon apple cider

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt.

Cut one of the extra large apples into a small dice (or 2, if smaller apples are used), and set aside. Cut the other apple from blossom to stem into slices about 1/4 inch thick and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup sugar together for a minute. Whisk in the sour cream, oil, apple cider, and vanilla and whisk for about a minute, until smooth. Still using the whisk, or switching to a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture, followed by the coconut and the diced apple.

Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a few times to even the batter. Arrange the sliced apple in an attractive pattern  over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the apples and cake are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the springform pan to a rack, and cool the cake for 20 minutes or so.

The glaze.
Warm together 1/3 cup of jelly (I used apricot) with a few teaspoons of water and stir.
Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the sides of the pan. Using a pastry brush, give the top of the cake a gloss of glaze.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Double-Crusted Apple Pie! Recipe

Shauna is right - baking by weight will change your whole world. It's kind of a commitment, having a scale and actually using it. But really, it's a commitment that will be totally worthwhile. You're not committing to something mediocre - it really will deliver.

My scale is a version the boy bought for finding postage and shipping weights, and it's a USB scale. It plugs into his computer with a USB plug, and then there's an easy program on the desktop. It tares well, is very accurate, and measures in ounces or grams.

When I read the recipe for Gluten Free Girl and the Chef's Vegan Pie Crust, I was convinced I had to make it. And the giant bowl of organic Granny Smith apples on the counter would fill it nicely. I was pleased that it was a vegan pie crust, because most every pie crust worth it's weight contains butter, and butter and I are not friends these days. So, vegan it is.

Last Year: Happy birthday to the boy! (Yep, tomorrow)

Two Years Ago: Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies

Double-Crusted Apple Pie

adapted from Gluten Free Girl's Vegan Pie Crust recipe and Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook Apple Pie recipe (2003)

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Pie Crust.

One recipe Gluten Free Girl's Vegan Pie Crust, modified to use:

4 ounces Crisco shortening and

2 ounces coconut oil, melted and cooled

Prepare the pie crust dough as directed, replacing the total fats in the recipe with the above fats. Separate the total dough into about 2/3 and 1/3, and roll out the larger portion of dough on a plastic wrap covered cutting board. Set aside the smaller portion of dough. Put it in the fridge for 1 hour, and then remove one layer of plastic wrap (top or bottom) to expose one side of the rolled out pie crust. Place the pie pan to the exposed side, and flip the crust into the pie pan, as gently as possible. Once the crust is in the pie pan, patch any broken areas, and fold the outer edge of crust over on itself to form a higher crust around the edge of the pie. Prick the pie crust with a fork, and set aside.

Apple Pie Filling.

4 extra large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup millet flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash ground cloves
A few splashes of apple cider (optional)

1 can of regular coconut milk, not shaken (so that the cream and water are separated)

In a large bowl, combine peeled and sliced apples with the sugars, flour and spices. Stir to coat the apples with the mixture, and then pour the seasoned apples into the prepared pie crust. After opening the can of coconut milk, scoop out pats of coconut cream and distribute them across the top of the pie (probably 5-7 tablespoon sized pats on top of the filling). Set aside.

Top Crust.
Remove the smaller portion of crust dough from the fridge, and roll it out on a bottom and top layer of plastic wrap. There will be less dough in this batch than in the first, and that's just fine. Remove the top layer of plastic wrap. Take your favorite cookie cutter or a knife and press or cut out shapes from the rolled out dough. Carefully lift each shape and arrange them on top of the filling and coconut cream, covering as much of the pie as you wish. There will be open spaces in the top of the pattern, but it makes the pie that much more beautiful!

Once the pattern for the top crust is in place, brush the top crust pieces with coconut milk, and then sprinkle with cinnamon.

Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes, or until all the crust is golden and set, and the filling is bubbling up around the crust.

Have you tried baking in ounces or grams? If you haven't, this pie crust might change your life.

C's Mega Turkey Sandwich

The other day I was bumming around at C's house watching Food Network when she offered to make me a gluten free sandwich. How could I say no to that?

We are both self-confessed fans of "truckloads of cranberry sauce," and she had found some tubs of prepared cranberry sauce at Costco. The Costco cranberry sauce is gluten free and very sweet, sweeter than my homemade cranberry sauce. Either style will make a great sandwich, but just be sure whatever you put on there, it's not the kind of cranberry jelly that slides out of can with the can marks on the side. You need the fresh citrus burst combined with the sweetness and extra bits of cranberry to get the full punch on your sandwich.

I loved every bite of mine, and even ate the second half of C's. What a treat!

Last Year: Tuna Biscuit Casserole

Two Years Ago: Fusion Hummus

C's Mega Turkey Sandwich

roasted turkey breast (hers was from Honey Baked Ham, and gluten free)
French's Honey Dijon mustard
fresh spinach leaves
red onion, sliced
cranberry sauce
smoked provolone cheese
Udi's bread

Set out the two bread slices for your sandwich. Spread the bottom with French's honey mustard, and stack on the turkey, spinach, and red onion, and dress with lots of cranberry sauce. The cheese is optional, but if you go with cheese, put it on next. Top with the other slice of bread, and cut in half. Devour.

Gluten Free Nutella Brownie Bites Recipe

Nutella brownies. These are tender, and the flavor is very subtle, with a bit of hazelnut and a note of milk chocolate. They're super easy - only 5 ingredients - with a touch of healthy grains in them too. Because of the Nutella subtlety, they're not like the fudgey brownies.

This is also literally a 15 minute recipe. You mix up the nutella with the egg and flours, and pop them in the oven. Perfect for an evening snack, a gift for a friend, or a dessert for a holiday party you are running late for. I made a few batches to send to people in the mail, and found that they disappeared before I could tape them into a box!

Simple recipe in a simple post! I hope you enjoy them too!

Last Year: Gluten Free Snickerdoodles
Two Years Ago: Banana Bread with Almonds

Gluten Free Nutella Brownie Bites
adapted from this recipe
[Printer Friendly]

1/2 cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
1 large egg
3 tablespoons millet flour
2 tablespoon tapioca starch
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir together the Nutella and egg until the mixture is creamy and combined. Add the flours and xanthan gum and continue stirring until combined. Spoon into pan, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the top is flaky and set.

Gluten Free Groceries in Stockholm

So, yeah, Sweden.
I went to Stockholm in November for some business. Thankfully, the colleague hosting me for meetings was able to accomodate the catered lunches to be gluten free for me. She provided these delicious little baguettes that you heat in the oven or microwave, with little carrot shreds inside. I wish I would have asked what they were, or even if they were sold in the frozen section or on the shelves. Totally delicious.

On that same note, the food we received at our meetings was very simple, in the sense that the foods weren't covered with sauces or breadcrumbs or all that. Not like Germany. (I'll talk about Germany's grocery food in another post). I was able to eat a delicious taco salad, as well as a traditional Swedish lunch of roast beef, potato salad, pickled vegetables, and fruit. The banquet dinner with flaky salmon and side dishes was also easily gluten free.

Let me tell you about it, though. We stayed at a hotel in the suburbs, but right next to a metro station. On each corner are Pressbyrån, or convenience stores. They sell metro tickets and snacks. Right across the street was a little corner grocery, where they sold a whole bunch of gluten free foods! Heaven!

Knäckebröd, or Swedish crisp bread.
The half-moon shaped package housed giant crispy crackers, similar to Wasa found on American shelves (only gluten free!). They were literally about 8 inches in radius, and were light and delicious. I ate about half the package before I shipped off to Germany, and had to leave the rest behind because I simply couldn't fit it in my luggage. It was good with cheese on it, or just plain. Especially good washed down with Fanta.

Crostini.
These were so crispy, fresh (like they hadn't been sitting on the shelf long), and a perfect meal accompaniment. I was able to fit these in my suitcase when heading to Germany, and they went well with a dinner salad I brought home from the market in Germany. They tasted like they had a bit of olive oil drizzled on them, and I'd love to buy them regularly if I lived in Sweden.

Chokladkakor.
These chocolate cookies were decent. They were a little dry, but hit the chocolate spot when they needed to. I probably wouldn't buy these as often as the crostini or the Kex, but they were worth eating. I finished them all before leaving Sweden.

Kex gluten free.
This is a candy bar that combines gluten free crisp wafers with a chocolate coating. Similar to an American Little Debbie Nutty Bar, or maybe a Kit Kat. Oh, except they were gluten free. And the gluten free Kex were sold in the corner store, on a different aisle than regular Kex. I could see this being a regular afternoon snack - totally delicious.

The gluten free climate in Sweden is wonderful, probably akin to my success in Italy. I really enjoyed eating there, and really appreciated all the corner market food that I could get my hands on. I found the grocery prices on gluten free foods to be more comparable to the regular foods, unlike in America. (Still, Sweden is an expensive destination.) I didn't get a lot of restaurant experience there, so I'll have to save that for my next trip to Sweden.