Mina's Tea Buns

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 cup sultana raisins (optional)

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk or (1/4 cup Carnation Milk plus 1/4 cup water)

splash of vanilla

Preparation

Soak raisins in enough hot tap water to cover and set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tarter and salt. With pastry blender, 2 knives or fingertips, cut in butter until in coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. Drain and mix in raisins.

In glass measure, beat egg with fork; add milk, stirring to blend. Remove 2 tablespoons and set aside.

Pour remaining mixture, all at once, into centre of flour mixture. Stir with fork just until dough comes together to form wet dough. Using hands, shape into ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface; pat out into scant 3/4-inch (2 cm) thickness.

Using floured 2-inch round cutter, cut out buns. Repeat with scraps once. Place on parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Brush with reserved milk mixture. Bake in 375°F oven until risen, golden and firm to the touch, about 18 to 20 minutes. 

Special Instructions:

Lazy Daisy Coconut Cake

This recipe was featured on http://www.seriouseats.com. It was one bowl recipe that I thought would make an amazing gluten free cake, and I was right. They also feature a column "Gluten Free Tuesday" where a new gluten free recipe is published each week. 

 makes one 9-inch square pan, active time 15 minutes, total time 1 hour

Ingredients

For Cake:

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft

1 3/4 cup (12 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

3/4 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup potato starch

3 tablespoons tapioca starch

2/3 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For Topping:

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, very soft

3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons milk

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1 cup walnuts (or pecans), chopped

Procedures

Combine oats, boiling water, and milk; let sit 20 minutes. Adjust oven rack to upper and lower middle position and preheat to 350°F. Grease 9- by 9-inch pan. 



Add salt, butter, sugar, and vanilla to oat mixture and stir to combine. Stir in eggs and coconut. Add brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking soda, and cinnamon to bowl, then stir until completely combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake on middle rack until just set, about 30 minutes. 



While cake is baking, mix topping in same unwashed bowl: toss butter, brown sugar, milk, coconut, and nuts to form moist crumbs.




As soon as cake is baked, remove from oven and spread topping over the top. Return pan to oven and increase heat to broil. Briefly heat until topping melts and coconut is lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool.



Gluten Free Waffles

Ingredients 

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch ( NOT Potato Flour)

1/4 cup tapioca flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2  teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well. Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, egg, sugar and vanilla and mix well. Let the batter sit for 30 minutes.

Heat a waffle iron. Follow the directions on your waffle iron to cook the waffles. Serve immediately with butter and pure maple syrup or hold in a 200 degree oven, directly on the rack (don't stack them or they'll get soggy). These also reheat very well in the toaster.

Cauliflower Pizza

Ingredients

1 small to medium sized head of cauliflower - should yield 2 to 3 cups once processed

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 egg

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ onion powder

½ teaspoon basil

½ teaspoon oregano

1 cup pizza, tomato or marinara sauce

Toppings

1-2 cups mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the cauliflower and cut into chunks, Place the cauliflower into a food processor and pulse it until it resembles the texture of rice. If you don't have a food processor, you can use a cheese grater.

Microwave the processed cauliflower uncovered in a microwave safe bowl for approximately 4-5 minutes on high. Remove it from the microwave and allow it to cool for at least 4-5 minutes (trust me don't rush this step!). After the cauliflower is slightly cooled, place it in a kitchen towel and squeeze all the liquid out of it. Squeeze as much liquid as possible. 


Combine the cooked cauliflower, cheeses, egg, and seasonings. Stir until a dough texture forms. Spread the cauliflower mixture out onto lightly greased pizza pan in the shape of a pizza crust. 


Bake the crust for approximately 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven), or until the crust is golden and crispy. After the crust is golden remove it from the oven and add your toppings.


Place the pizza back in the oven, bake for about another 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Drop Cookies

Last night I tried to convert my Low Fat, Low-Cholesterol Oatmeal Raisin Drop Cookies to gluten free. I replaced the flour with oat flour. FAIL! The cookies ran together into one giant cookie. Today I started over and successfully converted the recipe with the following ingredients.

On a different note, I thought the giant cookie disaster would make a great topping for a gluten free apple crisp.

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown rice flour

2 tablespoons potato starch

1 tablespoon tapioca starch

½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c. Quaker Oats
1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

3/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg

1 tbsp. molasses
2 tbsp. water
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. raisins

Preparation

 
In a medium-size bowl, combine brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in oats.
 
In a medium-sized bowl, cream butter, shortening and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg, molasses, water, vanilla and beat until incorporated.

Add dry ingredients and stir with wooden spoon vigorously until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in raisins.
 
Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
 
Bake in a preheated 350 F. degree oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until

done. Remove cookies at once to wire rack to cool.

Yield: 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.