Every time I go down the snack food aisle at the store, those cute little cream-filled cupcakes just call my name. I know, I know, not very healthy you say!

Well, now and then it’s fun to have something moist and chocolaty and creamy to fill my tummy with. Since I can’t have the ones in the little plastic wrappers, I came up with my own.

These are so good I packaged them up and gave them to my son to take to college (didn’t trust myself not to eat them all!) He came back with an empty container and a request for re-fills!

Guess I’ll have to go make some more. Terrible, huh.

Chocolate cream-filled cupcakes

Your children and the children-at-heart in your family will love these.

Cupcakes

• Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix
• Ingredients to make the cupcakes

Cream Filling

• 1 cup shortening (I like Spectrum Naturals)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-1/3 cups marshmallow cream (can use Ricemellow Crème brand)
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp hot water
• 1-½ tsp gluten free vanilla extract

Frosting

• 16 oz (1 pound box) powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp gluten free vanilla extract
• ½ cup butter flavored shortening (use Spectrum Naturals)
• 1/3 cup boiling water

Make the cupcakes as directed on the Bob’s Red Mill package. Let cool.

Make the cream filling by beating the shortening, sugar, and marshmallow cream together. Dissolve the salt in the hot water and then beat into the sugar mixture. Then beat in the vanilla.

Make the chocolate frosting by beating all the ingredients together with a hand mixer and set aside.

Using a round handled spoon, poke a hole into the center of each cupcake until it is about ¼ inch away from the bottom. Do this to each cupcake. Take the filling and place it in a gallon size zip type bag.

Cut a VERY SMALL edge off one corner so you can squeeze the filling out. Place the cut edge into the hole of the cupcake and squeeze out just enough filling until it peeks out of the top. Set the cupcake aside and do the same to the rest.

Take the frosting and frost the tops. You can use a knife to spread it on or dip the top of each cupcake into the frosting and gently pull out. I usually just use a knife, less messy that way.

You’re done! You can put the fancy swirl on top if you want to. I tried using the cream filling for the swirl, but it spread out too much and made a mess. So if you just have to have the swirl, make a small amount of your favorite vanilla frosting and use that.

Makes 18

Kathy Addis blogs and cooks at www.YourGlutenFreeKitchen.com

Stop by and get your first 2 weeks of “Free Dinner Menus” to help simplify your life and save you time in the kitchen…enjoy recipes “every one in the family will love”.

Come say hi on Facebook or tweet me a message at Twitter.com/kathyaddis.

See? I told you I had loads of good stuff to giveaway. I have more stuff to give away than I can possibly manage!

If you have not yet heard of Erin McKenna’s fabulous bakeries in New York and Los Angeles, Babycakes is a must-try if you’re ever in the area. If you’re not, you can always order her delectable treats online at her website OR you can buy her cookbooks. Babycakes specializes in gluten free and vegan desserts that are out of this world. I say that from first hand experience. Not only have I tried treats from the cookbooks, a coworker once brought me Babycakes donuts all the way from NYC just so we could see what all of the fuss was about. After a few days in travel, they still tasted amazing.

At the bakeries, Erin creates delectable goodies from spelt flour, as well as gluten free flours. As much as we love Erin and her bakery, we were disappointed to see Spelt Flour as an ingredient in her first book, Babycakes. Nothing wrong with spelt flour, mind you, but it’s hard to get super excited about a new gluten free cookbook that also uses spelt flour. I was profoundly excited when her new book, Babycakes Covers the Classics arrived and there was not a single recipe with spelt flour… but almost all of them use at least one of our gluten free flours!

We did some taste testing around here to be sure this book deserved our full support (ok, we just wanted cookies) and not only did the recipes pass the taste test with us, they passed the test with Bob and others who didn’t know the treats were gluten free.

Erin’s book is available for sale today at Babycakesnyc.com and Amazon.com, and will be available for sale on our website in the next month or so. In the meantime, Erin sent us 3 copies to give away to our readers. We’re pairing this awesome book with a package of our Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which you will find featured in many of the recipes in the book. In case you missed it, all the recipes in here are gluten free and casein free and vegan!

How to Enter:

We’ve had so many giveaways going that I’ve got to keep it simple or I’ll never have time to pick the winners. Tell us in the comments here (on the blog or on Facebook) about a classic dessert that you’ve always wanted to try as gluten free, but haven’t been brave enough to try. That’s it. I’ll pick 3 winners at random from all of those who enter by 04/19 at midnight.

Howdy from Texas! Spring is in full bloom here and so should the health of our children. This April is national Autism Awareness month which gives us the perfect opportunity to educate the public about autism and issues within the autism community.

One of the ways we can support Autistic children is to focus on feeding them nourishing foods that are Gluten and Casein free. Evidence shows that this diet is often helpful in lessening the symptoms and behaviors of Autism, even associated speech problems. Unfortunately, gluten and dairy are in almost everything we eat, and trying to keep a child away from ice cream, sandwiches, and other snack foods is no walk in the park. We don’t want them to miss out on childhood favorites. And you know what, we don’t have to! All it takes is a little time and creativity in the kitchen. source

Mac n’ Chickpea Cheese

• Gluten Free Pasta (macaroni or rotini)
• Daiya shredded cheese (1/2 cup)
• 1 10 ounce can chickpeas
• 1 jar pimentos
• curry powder
• 1 tbsp Bob Red Mill Arrowroot Starch
• garlic- 1 to 2 tsp.
• sea salt and black pepper- to taste
• olive oil or other oil of choice (2 tbsp.)
• almond milk (unsweetened) – 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Directions:

First, drain the chickpeas and dry them off. Coat them in 1 tbsp. oil and curry powder. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside. Then, cook pasta according to the directions. Drain the pasta and add the milk, cheese, oil, flour, and seasoning. Stir on low until cheese starts to melt. Once it starts to melt, add in your chickpeas and pimentos until all the cheese is melted and coated onto the pasta and chickpeas.

Then……EAT and ENJOY in GOOD company. Goes best with family and friends!

Cheers to Good Health!

Lindsay Cotter

www.cottercrunch.com

With kids underfoot, finding recipes that are easy and delicious can seem like a daunting task. Throw in making it gluten and dairy free: mission impossible. Especially for breakfast. Right?

Enter the muffin. Oh a glorious warm muffin filled with fresh berries. It’s like having dessert first thing in the morning. The great thing is you don’t have to feel guilty for serving these mini bites of heaven to your kids. They’ll love them and you’ll love how easy and good for them they are.

Hungry for more? Visit me at Lifestyles of the Rich & Christen and search for other gluten-free recipes!

Blackberry Cornmeal Muffins

• 1/2 cup Vegan Butter, softened
• 1 cup Agave Nectar
• 2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed
• 6 Tbsp warm Water
• 1/4 cup Orange or Berry Juice
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 1 cup Bob’s Gluten-free All purpose Baking Flour
• 2/3 cup Cornmeal
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 cup Blackberries (or berry of choice)
• Cinnamon for dusting

Pre-heat oven to 375. Beat the butter with the agave in a large bowl until light and fluffy. In a small bowl mix flax meal and warm water and allow to sit for a minute. Beat flax mix, juice and vanilla with butter mix. In a separate bowl mix the flour, corn meal and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just blended. Fold in berries. Lightly grease muffin cups or use liners. Fill about two-thirds full. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Recently I found out I was gluten intolerant.  In changing my lifestyle to incorporate my new way of eating, I found that my Dad’s brownies were going to be too hard to give up.  Instead of throwing in the towel, I decided to make them with my Bob’s Red Mill flour mixture.

I mix this up in large batches and have it handy for when I’m ready to bake.  It is super simple and requires that you sift together 6 cups brown rice flour, 2 cups potato starch, 1 cup tapioca starch and 3 tsp xanthan gum.  Once done store in air tight container until you are ready to use!

Wallace Family Bronwies

Serves: 25
Oven Temperature: 350 degrees
Cooking Time: 45+ minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour (see above)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Blend oil, sugar, vanilla & eggs.

3) In separate bowl combine g-free flour, cocoa, baking powder & salt.

4) Gently add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until well blended.

5) Spread into greased baking dish & bake for 45+ minutes.

For more recipes from Steph, visit her blog Reflections of a Southern Belle

The fine folks at Bob’s Red Mill are highlighting gluten-free, casein-free kid-friendly recipes throughout the month of April in support of Autism Awareness Month. Whether your kiddo has autism, an autoimmune disorder, depression, or allergies, a gluten-free, casein-free diet can be a great tool to help your child reach his or her fullest potential. But kids just want to be kids, right? They want food that tastes good and looks “normal” – like the food that their friends eat. Thankfully, through the support of companies like Bob’s Red Mill, it is getting easier and easier for parents to create recipes that are tasty enough to fool the most discerning of kid palates. In my house, cookies are the go-to treat. And, these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are a hit, even with the kiddos and friends that don’t need a special diet.

Vegan, Gluten-Free White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

• 1/2 cup (112 g.) Earth Balance Soy-Free Spread
• 3/4 cup palm sugar
• 1 T. ground flax seed + 3 T. hot water
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract (gluten free)
• 1/2 t. almond extract (gluten free)
• 2 ounces sweet white rice flour
• 2 ounces arrowroot starch
• 2 ounces sorghum flour
• 1/4 t. guar gum
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 cup dry-roasted macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped vegan white chocolate (See note.)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the Earth Balance and the palm sugar until well blended. Add the flax egg and extracts. Beat until light and fluffy.
3. In a small bowl, mix the rice flour, arrowroot starch, sorghum flour, guar gum, salt and baking soda.
4. Add flours to wet ingredients. Beat well.
5. Fold in the nuts and white chocolate
6. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment-lined cookie sheets.
7. Bake for 12 minutes, until light golden. Cool on parchment before moving.

Note: Vegan white chocolate is available online from several manufacturers. I use a locally produced brand that is not available online. Try this one from Organic Nectars.

For more gluten-free, casein-free recipes, please visit me at my blog, The Mommy Bowl.

I know there is still snow on the ground in many areas, but summer is just around the corner.  Really, it is!  Dreaming of summer has got me thinking about two summer foods my kiddos just love.  Watermelon Ice and Corn Dogs, done gluten and dairy free, of course.

Where I live the State Fair is a BIG deal, and going to the State Fair means food fried on a stick.  I know, I know, not the healthiest thing you could dream of, but do my kids perk up when I pull out our own gluten and dairy free corn dogs while surrounded by the sights of the fair.  Making them myself also gives me the chance to use high quality gluten free hot dogs, much less sugar than their gluten filled counterparts, and use whole grain gluten free corn meal.

As I only seem to make this recipe once a year around Fair time, I make a big batch for future lunch box meals and snacks.  I make mini corm dogs by cutting the hot dogs in half.  I do this because they fit in my deep fryer this way and because the kids think they are cute.  You can easily make these into corn dog bites by cutting the hot dogs into 4 pieces before dipping on the batter.  Use a fork or toothpick to transfer the corn dog bite to the hot oil for cooking, removing the toothpick when placed in the oil.

Gluten & Dairy Free Corn Dogs

Makes 16 mini corn dogs

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Medium Grind Cornmeal
• ½ cup Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF Baking Flour (or 2 T garbanzo/fava flour, 1 T sorghum, 2 T corn starch, 3 T tapioca flour)
• 2 tablespoons sugar, cane juice crystals, or other sweetener
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill xanthan gum
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened milk substitute of choice

In a mixing bowl whisk all dry ingredients well.  Add milk substitute and egg, blending until corn batter is smooth.  Set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Add 3 to 4 inches of oil in a deep pan or deep fryer and heat until between 350 and 375 degrees.  Be sure there is at least 2” of space above the oil and the edge of the pan in case of boil over.

Cut hot dogs in half.  Push corn dog stick (I use 3” bamboo appetizer forks) into each cut end.  With a clean cloth dab any excess moisture from the hot dogs.  Holding onto the corn dog stick, dip hot dog into batter.  You may need to use a knife to help the batter adhere in some areas.  Be sure all the hot dog is covered in batter.  Add only one or two corn dogs to the hot oil at a time so as not to drop the cooking temperature down too much.  Using tongs, flip the corn dogs as they cook so all sides cook evenly.  After the corn dog is a deep golden brown color (about 3 minutes) remove the corn dog from the oil and drain on a cooling rack over paper towels.  Cook remaining corn dogs.

Serve with your favorite gluten free corn dog toppings, veggie sticks and fresh fruit.

Watermelon Ice is what we served at my son’s first birthday.  He may be a big 15 year-old now, but he still asks for this when watermelon season is in full swing.

Watermelon Ice

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts

2 quarts seeded, cubed ripe watermelon

Freeze watermelon cubes in a single layer on waxed paper or parchment.  When Cubes are frozen, put into a freezer bag or freezer safe container, removing as much air as possible.  Seal and put back in the freezer.

When ready to serve, blend watermelon cubes in a food processor or heavy-duty blender until pureed.  Scoop into glasses and serve!

You can a splash of lime juice or some mint syrup for a little something different.

For other gluten and dairy free family friendly food and ideas, stop by my blog angelaskitchen.com

Normally I use all of Bob’s Red Mill products for baking at home. I also don’t normally buy any mixes. While planning meals for an upcoming caminping trip last summer, I had to employ all of my meal planningsuper skills! Both of our kids had invited a friend to go camping with our family. My daughter’s best friend is gluten intolerant. I’ve definitely gotten the hang of this for snacking around our house after school but a long weekend of wheat-free food? Challenging. Luckily, my daughter’s friend is used to bringing food that she feels comfortable eating. My daughter wanted to have a treat for her friend and we immediately thought of brownies.

We picked out Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Brownie Mix from our local grocery store, packed the ingredients needed for the brownies, and hoped for nice weather on Mt. Hood.

After the girls fished.

Gathered fire wood.

Stoked the fire.

They had worked up quite an appetite. After dinner, they set about making the brownies.

The girls stirred the mix in a Dutch oven.

We set the brownies on the grate to bake, in the same Dutch oven. Now, there aren’t directions for baking brownies over an open camp fire (although perhaps there should be!) and we had no idea how hot the fire was but the girls did a good job estimating the completed baking time. With spoons in hand, all of the campers enjoyed the brownies.

We decided to pack the mix for all of our future camping trips.

Find more from Sara at Go Gingham: Stylishly Frugal Living

Let me rephrase that… Introducing Two New Granolas and Two Reformulated Granolas! Yes, we’ve been working in our product development lab again which means we’ve got some new things to share with you.

We have always loved our granola, but over the years we have become disappointed with its lack of crunchy clusters and slightly embarrassed by its ingredients (read: maltodextrin). We wanted a clean ingredient list that we could bring home to our grandmothers and, gosh darn it, we wanted crunchy clusters to mix in our yogurt! We’ve spent the last few years tweaking and perfecting our granola until we came up with four granolas that we would feel confident entering in the state fair.

What did we do to make these granolas outshine their previous selves? First, we cleaned up the ingredient list a bit to use things like honey and molasses instead of maltodextrin. Second, we changed the equipment to allow for larger clumps of granola and prevent the clumps from jostling too much and crumbling apart. Finally, we decided to add two brand-new flavors to make these granolas even more irresistible—Cinnamon Raisin and Honey Oat (my personal fav). The two flavors we reformulated to be even more delicious are our Natural and our Apple Blueberry Granola.

These new granolas are available on our website (on sale for the month of April) and will start appearing on store shelves in the coming months. I wish I could say they were gluten-free, but I can’t. Rest assured, gluten free folks, we have something special in the works for you and hope to introduce it this fall.

We want to share our love for these new products by offering you a chance to be among the first to try them. I’m giving away four packages of granola- one of each flavor- to 10 lucky winners! AND I’m going to make it easy on you to enter.

How to Enter:

Four packages of granola is A LOT of granola, so all you need to do to enter is leave a comment here  on the blog or on our facebook page and tell me ONE person that you would share this prize pack with and why. I’m not going to tell you how you should share it, but it seems to me that everyone knows someone who would love a package of granola. I’ll select 10 entries by random selection from all of those who enter by 04/15/11 at midnight. I’ll announce winners on 04/18.

I invite you all to come join me in my gluten free kitchen…

And open my “gluten free” baking drawer and take a peek inside…

In it you will find bag upon bag of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flours, gluten-free grains, and gluten-free mixes.

28 bags to be exact.

I LOVE Bob’s Red Mill products and have been using them almost daily for the past three years since I started eating gluten free.

So, naturally, when Bob’s Red Mill asked bloggers for kid friendly gluten free and casein free recipes for their website, I jumped at the chance.

I thought it would be fun to use one of the bags that had remained unopened in my drawer for quite some time…

Masa Harina.

Masa harina means “dough flour” in Spanish and it is traditionally used to make corn tortillas. Now, corn tortillas are a staple in our house.  And one of my family’s favorite dinners is “Do-It-Yourself” Tacos.  This time, however, I had another idea in mind for this delicious golden corn flour…

Sopes!

Sopes are a traditional Mexican dish originating from Culiacan Mexico.   Like tacos or tostadas, they make a fun do-it-yourself dinner for kids and adults alike, but unlike a taco or a tostada, which are thin and flat, sopes are THICK masa patties with “pinched” edges to hold their fillings.

They are really delicious!  Here’s the recipe…

Do-It-Yourself Sopes {Gluten-free and Casein-free}

• 1 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill Masa Harina
• 1 cup water
• Canola oil {for frying Sopes}
• Breast meat from 1 rotisserie chicken {Store bought without added fillers or homemade}
• 1 (~15.4 oz) can refried beans {I used Amy’s Organic Refried Beans}
• 1 cup chopped lettuce
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 avocadoes, chopped
• 1 (~2.25 oz) can chopped black olives
• 1/2 – 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup fresh salsa fresca {Store bought or homemade}
• Hot sauce, if desired

To make the sopes:  Combine masa harina and water in a mixing bowl and mix for 3-5 minutes.  {My daughter had fun helping me mix the dough!}

Divide dough in to 8 equal portions and roll in to balls.  They should be about the size of a cue ball.

Place balls of dough between sheets of parchment paper or waxed paper and press in to approximately 4-inch diameter flat discs.  {I used the bottom of a drinking glass.}

Heat a large frying pan on high heat {a cast iron pan works well}.  Place sopes in pan {without oil} and cook on each side for about 1 minute.  Remove from pan and let cool slightly.

Using your fingers, take some of the dough from the center of the sopes out to the sides and pinch the edges to form a little wall.   Heat about 1 inch of canola oil in pan to 350 degrees and fry sopes on each side until golden brown.

Remove to paper towel to absorb oil.  Set out all the other ingredients in individual bowls and let everybody assemble their own sopes.

Have fun Sope making!

EA Stewart, MBA, RD-The Spicy RD
www.eastewart.com/blog
spicyrdeastewart@sbcglobal.net
858.353.7700