Gluten Free Cinnamon Vanilla Sugar, Chocolate Chunk Holiday Cookies

Happy Holidays!!

Here is a jolly, lovely, sweet and super tasty cookie recipe for celebrations and yes, gluten free, from your kitchen.

Great for any crowd, kids and adults, super gooey inside with amazing flavor of cookie dough and hint of chocolate.

Done in less then 30 minutes, these cookies are perfect for welcoming Santa, guests or just relaxing and munching on the sofa.

Perfect with glass of milk or nice cup of tea.

Enjoy!!

Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 egg
1 1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup tapioca starch
1/4 cup chocolate chunks, semi sweet
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon organic vanilla sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a stand up mixer bowl add cold butter, sugar, egg, vanilla sugar and cinnamon.

Mix just for a few spins, then add brown rice and tapioca flours. Do not over mix.

Texture should be like a dough. With hands roll the dough and form balls.

For holiday decorations stamp cookies with cookie cutters.

Add chocolate chunk in a center of every stamped cookie.

 

Pop cookies in the oven for 14 minutes.

Tip: For adding artisan look and crunch, pop cookies under the broiler for a 40-50 seconds.

Delicious, wonderful aroma and texture.

 

Let them cool and if you like you can sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

Happy Holidays!!

 

 

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Gluten Free Sugar Cookies with Mascarpone Strawberry Frosting, Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentines’s Day!!
Here is the super cool gluten free sugar cookie recipe, with amazing frosting. Cookies and frosting are delicious, allergy friendly without any artificial food coloring.

For the cookies:

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup sweet rice flour (mochi)
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1 stick of sweet cream butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tbs vanilla sugar extract
lemon zest

For the frosting:

1/4 cup mascarpone
1/4 cup fresh strawberries, mashed
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
Fondant decorations, optional but sweet

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt.
In a stand mixer, beat butter with sugar on high, until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg, add vanilla and lemon zest.

With the mixer on low, fold in flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Remove from mixing bowl, form into a large disc.

Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface to a little less than 1/2 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut to desired shapes.

Place into the cookie sheet, ready to bake!!

Bake cookies until just puffed and set for about 11 minutes, before they have begun to brown around the edges. This will ensure a soft cookie!

Cool completely before icing.

To make the frosting: Prepare strawberries.

Place confectioner’s sugar in a medium bowl. Add mascarpone and strawberries, whisk until smooth to achieve desired consistency.

Decorate and serve!!
Enjoy!!
Happy Valentine’s Day!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Banana Bread with Pecans and Rice Flour

Happy Halloween everybody!

Still on my track with gluten free baking. Just amazed how all baked goods taste so delicious.
This banana bread, or what is left from this bread is a fantastic recipe-:) Texture is light, inside fluffy, outside just how the bread should be, amazing flavor. Highly recommend this recipe.

Banana bread, gluten free

1/2 cup stick of sweet cream butter
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1 cup ground pecans
1 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon organic vanilla bean sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder, gluten free

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one 9×5 inch pan.
Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, then bananas. Add pecans, flour, soda and vanilla stirring just until combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour (or till toothpick comes out clean). Remove from pan and let cool and serve. Leftovers store in refrigerator or freeze.

Check out my new cupcake and cake creations, and have fun, super cool, happy and safe trick or treating-:)

Happy Halloween everybody!

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies, Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!
Summer is in a full swing. It’s time for grilling, BBQ, fresh ripe fruits, nice desserts, backyard party time-:)
I am guessing there are a lot of lemonade stands on many corners in many places.
Since there is a lot of food served and everybody munches something all the time, I’m trying to prepare and make desserts which are much lighter.
This time I made all time favorite Red Velvet but in the other shape, whoopie pies. So convenient to eat and enjoy, for small and big hands, just grab a napkin and dessert is served-:)
For 4th of July I made special fondant toppers which pieces form The Flag. I am trying to create new fondant toppers all the time and especially love to work on custom orders, big thanks to everybody who is following my store updates and upcoming decorations-:)

Ingredients:

Makes 6 Whoopie pies

For the pies:

1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 cup plain non fat yogurt
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
salt, optional

For the icing:

1 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
In a food processor, mix the sugar with the eggs, butter, yogurt, food coloring, vinegar. Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Blend until just incorporated.
Place the liners into a whoopie pie pan or use non stick spray and divide the batter evenly, pouring only halfway so the batter doesn’t overflow. Bake, rotating halfway through, for 10 to 19 minutes. Remove the pies and let cool.
In a bowl, beat the mascarpone, icing sugar, vanilla and lemon zest together until the mixture is smooth.
Spoon and spread cream on the whoopie pie only on one side and then form the pie adding just a cake part.
This recipe has less fat and sugar.
Take a bite and enjoy!
Happy 4th oh July!
Have a great and lovely Summer-:)

Mac and Cheese, Creamy and Smoky made from Scratch for Fathers Day

Well, have to use my excuse ticket because last few months I was really busy starting and working on my Fondant store
Petit Fondant Creations. Still, I had to find time to make a post for Father’s Day and my lovely blog.
My husband is a brilliant dedicated hard working dad and we are so proud of him.
When I asked him what would he like me to prepare for the lunch today, he surprised me,”How about something with cheese?”.

I wanted to make Mac and Cheese from scratch for a long time so this was the perfect opportunity.
Off course, had to spice things a little bit, so I included wonderful Salame Secchi in the recipe which is slow aged pork salame without gluten, no MSG and 0g Trans fat, it added fantastic kick to the dish.
For the choice of cheeses I decided on: Aged Cheddar sharp, Creamy Goat cheese and Parmesan cheese.
My kids love goat cheese and I think it’s a great addition to the Mac and Cheese, it adds creamy texture and perfect amount of flavor to the dish.
For the extra cool serving experience I decided to bake and serve Mac and Cheese in individual oven safe dishes.
There is something really cool about home made Mac and Cheese.
It is sooooo good, creamy, tasty dish and gets better in every bite.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound elbows macaroni
3 brown large eggs
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Goat cheese
1 cup Salame Secchi, cut into small pieces
sea salt, as desired

Preheat oven to 450F.
In a large pot of boiling water cook macaroni as directed on the package, around 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and evaporated milk. Add salt, all spice, cheeses and salame, mix well.
Add pasta and stir well to combine.Transfer macaroni mixture to individual oven proof ramekins. Gently spread the mixture to foam an even layer. Sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese on top.
Bake until sauce is bubbling and golden crust is formed.

Let it rest for few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Happy Father’s Day to all the hard working dad’s!

Happy Valentine’s Day, Rhubarb Strawberry Almond Brownies!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
This is my favorite chocolate dessert. Always quick and delicious with added tangy rhubarb-strawberry jam and almonds for some nutty flavor.
You can whip up this dessert any time of day or night, it’s super easy to make and will always satisfy your sweet cravings.

To make it extra special and sweet I made cute teddy bears from fondant and chocolate dipped strawberries. If you like bears and sweet decorations, please check out my shop. Thanks!
To make dessert even more cuter I cut out brownies using heart cutter:)

Ingredients:

6 oz semi sweet chocolate
1/2 stick sweet cream butter
2 eggs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup almonds, grind
2 tablespoon rhubarb strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 9 x 9 pan.
Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and set aside. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla at high speed. Blend in chocolate mixture and flour until just mixed. Stir in the nuts and jam. If you like you can add extra chocolate chips too. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake Brownies for 20 minutes. Cool, cut, serve and enjoy with glass of cold milk.
Brownies are perfect dessert for any day in a year but chocolate and strawberries makes it ultra special combination for this occasion.
Happy Valentine’s Day!

My old passion became my new online store, check out Petit Fondant Creations

I am so happy to share with all my foodie friends my newly opened online store Petit Fondant Creations on Etsy.
You already know how much I love cooking and spending time in kitchen creating wonderful dishes, baked goods and desserts. From now, I will spending even more time in professional kitchen, creating lovely fondant figurines, toppers for cupcakes, cookies & mini cakes for all occasions.

Please, take a moment and check out my new store.

Here is a sneak peak of my newly made fondant creations:

Mini cheese burgers and fries fondant toppers

Cute bumble bee with flowers fondant toppers

Ice cream cone fondant toppers

Sprouts fondant toppers

Go green, Sprouts fondant toppers

Don’t forget to visit Petit Fondant Creations Facebook page, and click on “like it” button!

Thank you for looking!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Creamy Chestnut Cake

Happy New 2012!
Wishing you all Healthy, Happy and Successful New Year!
Now let’s talk dessert, perfect for the Holidays.
When I was a kid growing up in Europe I remember people selling roasted chestnuts on the street wagons in winter time. They serve them hot and toasty in the paper trays. To keep this chestnut tradition on I usually like to make chestnut puree over winter months, which is a faster idea to enjoy lovely chestnuts but since it is a Holiday, New Years Eve and my birthday too, I decided to make a special cake.

Crust is a similar to cheesecake crust with added almonds to the Graham crackers. What I love about this cake is that there is no baking involved so it is very quick and delicious dessert to be made. You only need trusty food processor and you are all ready.

Creamy Chestnut Cake

For the crust:

1 cup low fat Graham crackers, ground
1/2 cup almonds, ground
1 spoon honey
1 orange, fresh juice
1 spoon brown sugar

For the chestnut filling:

2 cups chestnuts, peeled, cooked and grounded
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 spoons non fat milk
1 teaspoon organic vanilla sugar

Chocolate layer:

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter
For the top and finish, freshly whipped heavy whipping cream and extra drizzle of chocolate. It makes it even more special:)

To make a crust, using processor, grind first crackers then almonds. Set them aside in the mixing bowl.
In the small sauce pan over medium heat, bring to boil, sugar, honey and juice from one orange.
Add to ground ingredients and make a paste looking mix.
Prepare the serving plate and using spoon shape the mix to a circle.
Base is done.

Now again using processor, grind chestnuts, adding sugar and milk. Pulse few times and you will notice that they will start become like a paste. When done, add another layer to the cake.
For the chocolate lovers I love to add chocolate layer.
Using double broiler add chocolate, butter and melt till chocolate is smooth not too watery. Combine nicely and add another layer to the cake.
Using mixer finish whipping cream and add another layer.
Set the cake in the refrigerator few hours or over night before serving. This cake can be made in advance which makes it even more helpful.

Serve and enjoy.
Thank you so much for reading my blog and leaving wonderful comments. I hope you like all the recipes and ideas. It will be even more interesting in the next year!
Happy New Year!

Strawberry Cupcake Christmas Tree, Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!
I was thinking what kind of dessert should I prepare for blog post today. I wanted to make something special and sparkly but still dessert that everyone would enjoy.
How about Christmas tree made of mini fluffy light strawberry cupcakes topped with cream and homemade strawberry jam? Dessert perfectly dressed up for Christmas and Holiday season.

Strawberry Cupcakes

1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup non fat half and half
1 tea spoon fresh strawberry jam
8 oz whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 24 mini muffin cups with foil liners.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in the vanilla extract and jam.
In a separate bowl whisk together the lemon zest, flour and baking soda.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and milk, ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter and bake for about 14 – 20 minutes or just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with fresh made whipped cream, decorate with extra scoop of jam here and there. Make it sweet and ultra yummy:)

This is wonderful, light cupcake recipe and winning combination. Strawberries and cream are old time favorite that can be served all year round.
Enjoy!
Merry Christmas!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Log Roll Cake Recipe

Thanksgiving is here….
Thank you is the powerful word. It means a lot and being thankful is even stronger. Thanksgiving is wonderful Holiday.
This year for dessert I decided to make log cake. While browsing through Wilton selection, I found and bought these beautiful decorating leaves which make great addition to this cake. This is a Fall or Winter dessert. Filling is rich, creamy with amazing nutty flavor and cake is moist, light and spongy.
Variations of filling and frosting are unlimited. Let your imagination and taste buds go wild:)

Cake:

4 eggs (room temperature)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tea spoon vanilla sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cake flour

Filling/Topping:

2 cups milk
2 eggs, well beaten
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 pinch salt
1 cup pecans, ground
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a jelly-roll pan and line it with parchment paper.Set the pan aside.
Beat the eggs for 5 minutes, until they turn thick and foamy. Add the sugar, vanilla and salt to the eggs and continue beating for 2 minutes. Fold the flour, a few tablespoons at a time, into the whipped egg mixture. Once the flour is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. Do not overmix or the cake will bake up into a tough texture.
Gently spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 10 minutes, until the cake is just set. Invert the baked cake onto a clean, dry kitchen towel and peel off the parchment paper. Wait for few minutes and then gently roll the cake, still in the towel. Allow it to cool completely.

The filling:

Using double boiler, scald milk, being careful not to burn. Mix together sugar, flour and salt. Add eggs to flour mixture and beat well. Add slowly to milk, stirring constantly with whisk until thick. Remove from heat. Divide mix in two bowls. for the filling add vanilla, pecans and butter.
For the glade add chocolate, vanilla and butter. Stir and cool.
Layer the cake with nut cream, roll and spread chocolate cream on top. If you like you can make marks with fork to add wood like texture, decorate and serve fresh with whipped cream on the side.

Happy Thanksgiving!