GF Cookie Bars

I was dying for a little taste of chocolate yesterday and was elated to find a brand new bag of chocolate chips in my baking stuff. I've been enjoying the recipes on The Gluten Free Homemaker and thought I would give the pudding bars a try (I usually keep pudding on hand, an easy GF treat). I used vanilla pudding and also added a handful of coconut (I have a strange new appreciation for coconut). Mods: Subbed rice flour for sorghum, subbed corn starch for tapioca and potato starches.
My husband came home from work last night and dug right in. Then he came running and asked if they were "ok". (I will occasionally bake things to give to other people, using wheat flour). I figure this is a pretty great recipe if he gets nervous! I'll be making some more today so that we actually have some to take with us on our respective out of town journeys this weekend.

Slipping Away

It sure seems like fall is slipping away fast and furiously. I've been in a crafting lull, but it seems to be picking up with the change in the weather. Something about chilly weather actually makes me want to sit at the sewing machine. (I'm sure it also helps that I'm out of the first trimester... we're due in April). I've got a flannel jacket underway for Eliza. It'll be a fun sweater stand-in for Sundays mostly. We tried on the winter gear today and I settled on just buying boots and mittens. I managed to squeak by with only $3 on the boots (found some Kamiks at the thrift store). Yay! If anyone knows where I can find decent mittens on the cheap...
We had a wild weekend of pitching in and passing around kids. Thursday was my dad's birthday, so I grabbed three extra girls to help make Penuche fudge and butterscotch blondies (and a Jello cake to take home). They made all kinds of cards for Grandpa and Mom too. The treats turned out great and we've got some budding designers in the family I think.





Friday was boys' movie night and Saturday we got the day off. I made a turkey (for the second time in my life) on Sunday and had all the family over for lunch. Four loads of dishes later, I'm beginning to recover. Phew! Well, back to my giant latte and maybe some organizing.

GF Jello Cake

Well, I had a craving (yes, I mean that kind of craving) for Jello cake yesterday and decided to give it a go with a new gluten free yellow cake recipe. For the flour mix I used 1 1/2 cups rice flour and 3/4 cup corn starch. I think it turned out pretty good, but I might do more Jello next time (or actually include the strawberries. I'm lame and skimped out this time). I like really moist non-cake-like cake. You know, like the kind with lots of filling.
This was the first time I've made Jello cake and it seems like a great pairing for a gluten free cake. There's even a Betty Crocker mix available at most grocery stores now, so this could turn into a super easy fall-back recipe for us. Just need to keep some Cool Whip stocked in the freezer.
Oh, and yes, I did eat this at 10:00 this morning. I think I have a good enough excuse.

No Proof

Well, I accomplished what I would consider a great culinary feat a couple weeks ago. However, I was apparently too delinquent in getting the pictures off the camera and they made a disappearing act (not really, my husband dumped them, he needs a clean card most of the time... shopping trip today). Anyway, you have to believe me, I made tiramisu. Gluten free tiramisu. The real feat was the gluten free ladyfingers. I beat egg yolks and then egg whites and mixed up the goodies and piped the cookies onto parchment and all. Now I need to head out and get some more ingredients so that I can make it again and retain the proof this time.
The tiramisu recipe wasn't quite sweet enough for my taste. I would sweeten the whipped cream a bit and add a little extra sugar to the cheese mixture. For the ladyfingers I subbed rice flour for sorghum and cornstarch for tapioca.
Well, I'll leave you with a picture from our little "field trip" last Friday. Eliza had her first ride on a "train" (wooden carts pulled by a lawn tractor) and loved it. She cried when it was over. Too cute.