Butterflies for the Community

This Sunday (June 3rd), I'll be donating 24 packs of gluten free cookies with one chocolate chip cookie and one of these butterflies to Compost for Brooklyn.  It's a local community project about ecological restoration and reducing and recycling waste with their compost program.

They're having a block party this Sunday:

If you're in the area you can stop by, buy some delicious baked goods, enjoy live music, and even get a free tree!  Also, I'll be doing a decorating demonstration! I'll show how to make these butterflies, how to make monarch style butterflies, and basic techniques in pulling. 

If you can't make it out, Justin will be taping the demo and I'll post it as my first video tutorial! This is a technique that requires immediate action once you've flooded the cookie so it's difficult to take step by step photos. 

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Lemon Thyme Glazed Madeleines

Madeleines are one of my favorite treats.  I have to admit, the first one I ever had was when I was working at Starbucks.  And I thought they were great until I went to Paris and rediscovered them there.  Since then, I've only had them a few times in the states because I never really see them in bakeries.  I've always wanted to bake them and I finally got myself a madeleine pan so I could do so.  I've wanted to make something a little different from just the classic ones...Earl Grey, Lavender, something along those lines.  I recently had dinner at ABC Kitchen in NYC, and for dessert we got their doughnuts of the day, one of which was a Lemon Thyme Glazed one.  I knew instantly that was the flavor profile I wanted for my first madeleine attempt!  They came out great.  Spongey, light, delicate, yet moist.  The cake itself is very light with a bit of the lemon flavor, and the glaze just puts it over the edge into heavenly territory.  It'll be nearly impossible to eat just one of these sweets!

Lemon Thyme Glazed Madeleines

Recipe adapted from Annie Eats
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 2 dozen standard Madeleines.  Most likely double that of the minis
Print Recipe - For Madeleines and Glaze

Ingredients for batter

- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup sorghum flour
- 1/3 cup white rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum*
- 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
- zest of 1 lemon (approx. a packed Tbsp)
- 9 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature

Ingredients for glaze

- 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

- zest of 1 lemon (approx. a packed Tbsp)

- approximately 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme chopped finely

Extra melted butter and white rice flour to grease and flour the madeleine pan

*I accidently used too much xanthan gum in my batter.  I used about 3/4 tsp and it was definitely too much.  So I'd say at most use 1/2 tsp.  You can even try a 1/4 tsp and see how the batter feels.  Mine was way too sticky (but didn't really affect the outcome).

Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups

So last month I got tested for celiac (negative! But I still want to be mostly gluten free because I just personally feel better when I don't eat gluten).  The hardest part is cutting out things that I had started eating daily during the two months before testing.  One of those things is granola bars.  They're just so easy and convenient to carry around except most of them have some form of gluten, soy, or dairy in them.  I just started using Pinterest and I saw a pin of Personal Sized Bake Oatmeal from Sugar-Free Mom and was inspired to use these to replace granola bars!  I made them in cupcake pans not muffin tins and got 3 1/2 dozen little oatmeal cups out of it!  That's part of my lunch for 42 days.  Not only is it going to cut granola bars and help cut soy, dairy, and gluten back out of my diet, but it'll probably save me a lot of money too!  I made fourteen different varieties too to try new flavors and so I don't get tired of them.  I use Chia Seeds in them which have lots of Omega 3 fatty acids, protein, antioxidants and much more.  I topped them chopped nuts and fruits to add to add more protein and for more energy.  So if you try these get creative with your toppings and see how many different varieties you can make!

Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups

Recipe adapted from Sugar Free Mom
Makes 3 1/2 dozen individual baked oatmeal cups in cupcake pans, or about 1 1/2 dozen in muffin pans
Print Recipe

Ingredients

- 2 large eggs

- 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
- 5 cups rolled oats (gluten free)
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 1 banana, mashed
- 2 1/2 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla, gluten free
- 3 tsp baking powder, gluten free
- 1 tsp salt
- toppings of choice: dried cranberries, chopped almonds, peanut butter, chocolate chips etc.

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

So I know it's been a while.  I've had a crazy month.  I moved from the suburbs to Brooklyn, had to deal with all the fun of moving into a fourth floor walk up, had to change jobs, so why not get back in the grove of things with a gluten free recipe so easy anyone can bake these?  Coconut macaroons are a great little indulgence.  Sweet with a hint a salt to balance them out, and if you dip them in dark chocolate the bitter notes are a perfect complement for the sweetness of the coconut.  This recipe takes about five minutes to complete and couldn't be easier.  The result will be delectable macaroons, crispy outsides with a smooth, soft, center.

Chocolate Dipped Coconut Macaroons

Recipe adapted from Ina Garten
Makes about 2 dozen macaroons
Print Recipe

Ingredients

- 1 14 oz bag of sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
- 2 egg whites room temperature, whipped
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt

Decorating Tutorial: Tutus and Flowers

For my little cousin Samantha's 3rd birthday, I wanted to make Tutu cookies for her because she loves ballet.  When I cut and baked all the tutus I needed I still had a lot of extra dough, so I cut the rest into flowers.  Now, I was limited for time, so these are not gluten free, but I'm sure you could find plenty of recipes for gluten free dough on the web.  I haven't perfected it yet with my own flour, but at work we just substitute Bob's All Purpose Gluten Free Flour in our regular recipe and it works great!

But back to the point, this is Jesicakes first decorating tutorial!!  I'll show you how to make these flowers and those tutus.  And the great thing about decorating, is once you learn principles like layering, you can apply them to make any cookie you want.

Royal Icing

Recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients

- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 5 Tbsp meringue powder or 2 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup of room temperature water
- 1-2 tsp lemon juice

In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment.

Add the water and lemon juice and using the paddle mix the water in enough so it is mostly saturated.

Turn on the mixer on low until it is fully saturated.  Then turn the mixer to medium high and beat for about 8 minutes.  The icing should hold it's peaks when you turn off the mixer and raise the paddle.

I find it easier to thin icing than to thicken it, so I'd make the base batch thick.

Transfer to a sealed plastic container to keep the icing in while mixing the colors.  The icing will dry out and harden if you leave it exposed.
 

Icings Colors and Decorating

-Pink Gel Food Dye

-Yellow Gel Food Dye

-3 #2 round tips

-1 #13 star tip

-4 couplers and 4 coupler rings

-4 pastry bags

-Loose Icings: Light Pink, Dark Pink-Thick Icings: Dark Pink, White, Yellow
-Opal or White sanding sugar and a paper plate (optional)

Lemon Poppy and Apricot Almond Hamentashen

Hamentashen have always been a pastry that I wanted to love but mostly found them lacking in something that made them special.  They sound like the perfect package: slightly cakey, slightly crispy, filled with jam...but always tasting kind of bland (ESPECIALLY those bites without jam!).  Coincidentally the week at work we decide to try making hamentashen ourselves, my friend Jessica sent me a gluten free hamentashen recipe so I took it as a sign of having to try to make them for myself.  At work we made strawberry walnut (which I couldn't have because of the walnuts), chocolate, and lemon poppy. 

Already these were improvements from the plain sticky apricot filling that the hamentashen  I'm used to have.  So I decided to also go with Lemon Poppy and also went with a Apricot/Peach Almond filling.  I also added some orange zest to the dough, egg washed them, and gave them a dusting of cinnamon and sugar to add some more flavor and complexity to them.  The dough was a little tough to handle but once I got it down these were a breeze. 

And let's throw modesty out the window for a moment: These will make you completely forgot the awful, chalky, dry, sticky cookies super markets have the nerve to call hamentashen!  The dough is the perfect middle between cakey and crisp.  The flavor of the dough has a bit of brightness from the orange zest but not too much orange flavor so as to outshine the filling.  The cinnamon sugar dusting gives them a warmth and spice.  And the fillings are delectable.  The Lemon Poppy is the perfect balance of sweet and tart and the Apricot/Peach Almond has it's own bit of tartness from the apricot, sweetness from the peach and crunch from the almonds.  They're the perfect twist on the traditional plain poppy and plain apricot fillings.  Hamentashen are traditionally a Jewish pastry eaten during Purim (which is Wednesday night), but once you try these you'll be wanting to make hamentashen year round!

Lemon Poppy and Apricot/Peach Almond Hamentashen

Recipe via Beth Warren Nutrition from Special Diets for Special Kids by Lisa Lewis
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 32 4'' hamentashen

Ingredients for Dough

- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil (can substitute vegetable oil)
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp gluten free vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
- 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
- 3/4 cups white rice flour
- 3/4 cups tapioca flour
- 4 tsp gluten free baking powder
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 tsp of orange zest (about one orange's worth)
- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp sugar
- extra white rice flour for dusting

Ingredients for Filling*

- 1 cup of lemon curd (I used Dickinson's 10oz jar of Lemon Curd...of course you can make your own but I wasn't feeling that ambitious!)

- 2 tsp poppy seeds

- 1 cup of Apricot/Peach Preserves (I used Smuckers naturals...when picking a preserves I make sure the only ingredients are the fruit, sugar, pectin, and citric acid...no starches or additives).

- 2/3 cups of finely chopped almonds

*this was not enough filling...I needed about another cup or so and happened to have other preserves in my fridge.  Overall I'd say you need 3 cups of the preserves of your choice total.

Honey, Lavender, and Lemon Cupcakes

Winter is often a time when meals are heavier and heartier, and the flavors tend to be heavy as well.  This weekend, I wanted to make something light, floral, and a little more complex than traditional cupcake flavor combinations.  I worked at a chocolate shop in Philadelphia for two years, and the entire time I worked there, my favourite truffle was the Honey Lavender one.  A few months ago I was in a spice market in Murray Hill, and I saw a packet of lavender and knew I needed to created a dessert with it.  So this weekend, during a light snow, but very grey morning we had Saturday I decided to brighten up the day with Honey, Lavender, & Lemon Cupcakes with a Cream Cheese Icing (which is also sweetened with honey and flavored with lavender and lemon).  The bases of these cupcakes are light and fluffy due to the use of just egg whites.  This texture along with the brightness from the lemon, the light sweetness from honey, and the floral notes of the lavender makes the cake delicate yet flavorful.  The icing adds a little bit of extra punch of those flavors while still remaining overall a light and bright cupcakes.  These cupcakes will brighten up your cold winter day, and come spring and summer I'm sure they'd be the perfect cupcake for a light dessert on a hot summer day.

Honey, Lavender, and Lemon Cupcakes

Recipe adapted from a combination of Hooray For Weekends and Blissfully Delicious
Made Gluten Free by Jesicakes
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cupcakes

Ingredients

- 3/4 cup sorghum flour
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 cup white rice flour
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 Tbsp gluten free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (one stick)
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp dried lavender flowers
- 3 Tbsp clove honey
- Zest from 1 1/2 lemons (about 2 Tbsp)*

*Zest both lemon completely and set aside zest from half of one for the frosting