Lose the Gluten; Not the Taste.

Hey hey Thursday! Here we are at last - a day away from the delightful weekend. Woot woot. Today let's discuss making delicious gluten-free desserts. There's no need to lose flavor and delight when you've got a food allergy. Here are a few ways to make desserts pop without your guests even knowing the difference!

Peanut Butter Cookies
Carol Kicinski Simply...Gluten-Free Desserts

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar plus more for rolling the cookies in
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten with a fork
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
2. In a large bowl mix the peanut butter with the 1 cup of sugar, using a wooden spoon. Stir until well blended. Add the egg, baking powder, and vanilla and stir well. Pour some additional sugar in a small bowl. Scoop out 1 tablespoon of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll the dough ball in some of the remaining sugar and place on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart.
3. Using a dinner fork, first stick the tines of the fork in sugar and then gently press the tines down on each dough ball to flatten. Turn the fork 90 degrees and gently press again to make the traditional crosshatch markings of a peanut butter cookie.
4. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Then, with a spatula, gently transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Chocolate Caramel Truffles

Gourmet December 1994

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 9 ounces fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Coating

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted, and/or 1/2 to 1 cup pecans, ground fine

Directions

1. In a dry heavy saucepan (about 3 1/2 quarts) cook sugar over moderate heat, stirring with a fork until melted, and swirl pan until sugar is a golden caramel. Remove pan from heat and add cream carefully (mixture will bubble up). Return pan to heat and simmer, stirring, until caramel is dissolved.
2. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, salt, and vanilla. Let mixture stand 5 minutes and stir until chocolate is melted. Transfer mixture to a bowl and cool, uncovered. Chill mixture, covered, 2 hours, or until firm.

Coat truffles:

1. Scoop out truffle mixture with a spoon and form into 1-inch balls. Roll truffles in 1/2 cup cocoa powder or coat with 1 cup pecans, pressing nuts slightly to adhere. (Alternatively, roll half of truffles in 1/4 cup cocoa powder and coat remaining truffles with 1/2 cup pecans.) Chill truffles on a tray lined with wax paper until firm, about 1 hour. Truffles keep in an airtight container, chilled, 2 weeks.

Dunked Dolce de Leche Doughnuts

Silvana Nardone

Ingredients

Doughnuts

• 1 1/2 cups Silvana’s Kitchen Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup dulce de leche
• 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Dulce de Leche Glaze

• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup dulce de leche
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup or brown rice syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions

1. MAKE THE DOUGHNUTS Preheat the oven to 350º and spray two nonstick 6-cavity doughnut pans with cooking oil. In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the butter, brown sugar, dulce de leche, milk and vanilla until smooth; add to the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
3. Spoon the batter into 10 cavities of the prepared doughnut pans until about three-quarters full. Bake for about 16 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a doughnut comes out clean; let cool slightly.
4. MEANWHILE, MAKE THE GLAZE In a medium saucepan, melt the brown sugar with the butter and salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil and stir in the dulce de leche, milk, corn syrup and vanilla. Boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the confectioners’ sugar and stir until combined.
5. Dunk each doughnut into the glaze, turning to coat completely. Transfer the glazed doughnuts to a wire rack set over a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and let set before serving.

Happy baking!