Crescent Rolls! / Cinnamon Rolls!

Recently, a crescent roll recipe was posted on the Delphi Celiac group, coming originally from the Better Batter Flour website. It has been such a hit, that I just knew I must try it. Many people on the forum have been tweaking it, and I'm using their good ideas. So, thanks, guys.

Crescent Rolls

1/2 stick butter (note - that is 1/4 cup), room temperature
3/4 cup small curd cottage cheese

1 cup gf flour mix (I used the rice/potato starch/ tapioca blend)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 TBS sugar

In the bowl of your mixer, combine the butter and cottage cheese. Add dry ingredients. Mix until a ball of dough forms.

Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours (I left mine overnight, as I wanted it ready in the morning).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll the dough into a 14 inch circle. Cut into 8 triangles (really easy with a pizza cutter).

Roll each triangle from wide end to tip, turning ends to form a crescent shape. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake 20 to 30 minutes.

Fiber Variation: Use 3/4 cup gf flour mix and 1/4 cup Montina (In this picture of the Montina rolls, I accidentally used a whole stick of butter - oops. They didn't rise like the others, lol.)
This is a very versatile recipe. I have used it for pigs in a blanket (with little smokies), a snuggly dog (lol, using a hot dog), and cinnamon rolls (I like both the regular version and the Montina as cinnamon rolls.). For cinnamon rolls, roll the dough into a rectangle. Mix 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and raisins (1/4 to 1/2 cup), and sprinkle onto dough. Roll the dough into a log, cut 2- to 3-inch pieces, and place them in a pan (with parchment on the bottom). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Glaze, if desired, with a mixture of 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 TBS milk, and a few drops of vanilla. (These cinnamon rolls are not huge and fluffy, but they are really good, and easy to make.)This recipe is also being used as pot pie crust by some members of the forum.
Find a new way to use it, or just make some great rolls. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownies

I thought I had already posted this, but alas, I haven't. I didn't realize there had been such a huge gap in my last two posts.
I thought I was having serious problems with Blogger, but it turns out that something is interfering with running scripts on my computer (I think it's XP). So, I write over here and save, and then I go into Andy's office and edit and add my pictures in there (his computer is slower than mine, so I don't like to type on it - I type faster than it can think).

So I have been wanting to make cheesecake brownies for a very long time using the saucepan method, but I just could never seem to remember to do it. Well, I remembered (finally!)! Andy had to work the Sunday before Christmas (he's a firefighter), so we made the brownies after church and took them up to the station later in the afternoon. They were still warm when we got there, so they really weren't set. But they were quickly devoured.

Cheesecake Brownies

One recipe saucepan brownies, prepared as directed, and poured into 9x13 pan.

*Cream together:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/3 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Drop cheesecake mixture by tablespoonfuls onto brownie batter, then swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until sides pull away from pan and top of brownie parts start to crack.

*The cheesecake portion of this comes from Roben Ryberg's The Gluten-Free Kitchen.

Waffles for Christmas

I got a swanky new Krups waffle maker for Christmas, and used it to feed my hungry family on Christmas Eve (including my parents, my brothers and families). They quickly finished off the first triple batch of waffles(!), and left me with only a few from the second triple batch (and there were only 8 adults and 3 kids). These came from Roben Ryberg's upcoming cookbook, which is now on pre-order at Amazon (apparently available March 10th). These waffles are great. But they are even better in this waffle maker. Roben made some for me in her Krups waffle maker back in June, and I knew I had to have this waffle maker. Since mine decided to fall apart in September (and I did not help it), I had a good reason for getting it! It makes the waffles a little crispier on the outside, and more tender on the inside.
So this morning, I decided to make waffles again, but this time make them a little higher in fiber. Finally, I begin my experiments with Montina. I have been wanting to for quite some time, but it's just one of those things that I don't remember to do when I start baking.
I started slow, because I don't want to screw up the recipe or waste my Montina. Out of the 190 grams of flour in the recipe, I used Montina for 15 of them. It's not a lot, but it is a start. The waffles tasted almost the same, but just had a tiny bit of the grain feel to them (but not at all like grainy rice flour). Next time (maybe tomorrow, lol) I'll try 30 grams. (I haven't quite gotten the "feel" for my new waffle maker's temperament. That's why it's really dark on one side.)

Cookie, Cookie, Cookie Starts with "C"

It's Christmastime, and that means it's Cookie Time. Of course there will be loads of brownies, and there is already Daddy's Peanut Brittle, and a few Orange Dreamsicle Cookies left in the freezer. But we need some special Christmas cookies. This post will have some tips for baking cookies. The actual recipes came from The Gluten-Free Kitchen by Roben Ryberg. I should have some recipes for other cookies in the next week or so.
Rolled Sugar Cookies:
1. Work with cold dough (if you are going to roll them out). Keep the dough in the fridge, and only take out small portions at a time.
2. Keep your rolling pin in the freezer when you are not using it. This helps prevent sticking, by keeping the dough cold.
3. Generously flour all your surfaces (with cornstarch or the flour mixture you are using, or even with powdered sugar - I've heard it works).
4. Roll the dough on parchment paper. This way, you can peel the parchment paper off the cut-outs, instead of peeling the cut-outs off the counter. But don't be a cheapo - use a new sheet each time. Otherwise, it gets a build-up of wet flour on it.
5. Pay attention to your humidity. This time, I forgot this very important tip. It was very humid in my house the other day when I made these cookies (like 75%). Water condensed on my dough - it was not a pretty sight.
6. Use an easy shape for a cookie cutter. The reindeer's legs are going to fall off (unless you are the wonder baker). I, personally, do not have enough patience for the silly reindeer. Braden wanted one, so I made him one (and only one).
7. If you do not have the "skills" to lift paper-thin dough and keep it in it's shape (I certainly don't - never have), then roll it out thicker. Say it with me - thick cookies are okay.
8. If, after making all the cookies, you are too tired to make your own icing, then don't. Pillsbury will clearly label gluten ingredients. I haven't yet seen one of their icings with gluten in it (and I think most are dairy free, too, including the cream cheese one).
9. Don't use cold icing - it causes the cookies to break. Warm icing spreads real easily.
10. This one, I almost forgot, but it is important. After you have rolled out your dough, when you use the cookie cutters, peel away the excess dough as you go. Put the scraps in a bowl to go into the freezer (chills quicker). Remember, it is not one for the bowl, one for me. It is, in fact, one for the bowl, two for me. Sugar cookie dough is a gift - do not take it lightly. :)

Not specific to sugar cookies:
1. Get your favorite assistant to help you.
2. You can roll the dough into a log (in waxed paper) and put it in the freezer (in a freezer ziploc). Then you have cookie dough ready for you whenever you need/want it. Many cookie doughs can be sliced frozen, thus eliminating the job of rolling or balling, or whatever. Sugar cookies are still yummy in circles, too. Plus, if you are like me, this is about the only way to get small cookies.

I know you are all itching for your cookies, so get going! Enjoy this last picture of snickerdoodles.

Andy's Easy, Yummy Chili

Yes, I know it's in a Diego Dixie bowl, but sometimes I just don't want to wash the dishes.

Andy made this chili yesterday, and it was really good. What did he put in it? you ask. Not a whole lot, actually.

Andy's Easy, Yummy Chili

1 pound ground beef, cooked
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can Ready for Chili Tomatoes (it has spices and stuff in it - we used Wal-Mart's Great Value brand)
And a little brown sugar

Simmer for about 20 minutes.

If you want to sneak in a little more nutrition, you could add some pureed spinach (no one will even notice) and/or some ground flax seeds. Enjoy!