Saturday, January 4, 2014

Gluten-free Donuts

Being gluten-free means that my daughter misses the goodness that we have come to know as donuts.  While it may seem easy to just switch out the regular flour for a gluten-free flour, you never quite know the right type of mixture to get things to taste like they aren't gluten-free.  It takes trial and error.  I was luck that on my first try with donuts, I got it right.  However, don't eat them right out of the donut machine.  We discovered that if you wait until the day after you have made them, then they reach perfection.  They are good out of the machine, but not as good as the second day!


Gluten-Free Donuts (for this recipe, you will need one of the electric mini donut bakers)

1 cup Domato gluten-free baking flour
1/2 cup almond meal/flour
2 tsp. xantham gum (or guar gum)
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
Powdered sugar for dusting donuts

Preheat your donut machine.

Combine milk, sour cream, oil, vanilla, and egg together.  Whisk until smooth. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together.  With an electric mixer on low-medium, add liquids into the dry ingredients slowly.  Blend until batter is smooth. 

Fill each donut mold with 2 - 3 Tbsp. of the donut batter.  Bake for about 5 minutes.  Remove from donut machine and dust with powdered sugar.

We tried them right out of the machine and put the leftovers in a plastic storage container.  The next morning when we decided to have one...Wow!  They were better than on the first day.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls - recipe perfected

My daughter has once again been craving foods that she cannot get.  At Thanksgiving, she wanted cinnamon rolls but I didn't have enough time to make them.  So, I was determined that before she went back for the spring semester at college, that I would be able to make some for her.  Since her boyfriend was visiting, I thought that it was the perfect day to make them.  But, of course, we weren't completely satisfied with the last batch.  I have modified the recipe a little more, changed some brands, and got the thumbs up from my daughter.  She has said I don't have to change it anymore. Even her boyfriend approved, and he doesn't have to eat gluten-free. 



GLUTEN-FREE CINNAMON ROLLS

 2 pkg. Red Star quick rising active dry yeast
1 cup warm skim milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter-flavored crisco shortening
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup gluten-free almond meal/flour
3 cups Domato gluten free baking flour (This is the best baking flour I have found.)
 3 tsp. vanilla
 4 tsp. xantan gum

Filling:
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
4 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
You can either mix the dough in a bread machine or in a mixer with a dough attachment.

 Mix together milk and yeast.   Add the following in order:  almond flour, baking flour, sugar, eggs, butter, xanthan gum, salt, vanilla.  You will need to scrape the sides in order for it to mix properly. 

Let rise for at least 45 minutes.  Shape the dough into a rectangle.  Place the dough on a surface covered with plastic wrap.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap.  Roll our the dough to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  It will need to be as close to a  rectangle as possible. 

Make the filling by mixing filling ingredients together.  Remove the top layer of plastic wrap and spread the filling evenly on the top of the dough.  At one long edge of the dough, leave about 1/2 to 1 inch without any filling so that you can seal the dough together.  Working from the opposite long end, roll the dough as tightly as you can.  The plastic wrap on the bottom will help you in rolling and keeping it tight.  (Make sure you pull the plastic wrap out of the roll a little at a time as you work so that it will not be inside the cinnamon rolls.  When you have completed rolling the dough, keep the plastic wrap around the dough to help as you cut it.  Cut into 2 inch slices.  Spray a glass or pyrex baking pan with gluten-free cooking spray.  Place slices in glass/pyrex baking pan no more than 1 inch apart.  Bake at 400 degrees for 13 - 18 minutes or until golden brown.   (It is essential to use a glass/pyrex baking pan as they turn out better.)

I don't make icing, but I do use cream cheese frosting as my icing.  Just make sure you get a gluten free one.  I put my icing on while the cinnamon rolls are hot.  By doing this, it melts down the side.