I'm A Celiac's Magic Five Layer Bars!

Pam Jordan of I'm a Celiac is a super busy working, running, gluten free blogging and speaking mom of three who's niche is delicious, fast family meals. She's written yet another ebook just in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas, called Easy Gluten Free Holiday Recipes.

You'll find great tips for not getting "glutened" while eating out. The recipes are quick and easy and everything sounds delicious.

Appetizers, main dishes, sides and desserts are all laid out for you and there's a list of resources in the back. Easy Peasy.

The recipe that jumped out at me was the Five Layer Magic Bars. I used to love the similar bars my grandmother used to make. For some reason I've never tried to make them gluten free. Pam's genius idea is using gluten free gingersnaps instead of graham crackers. 

Even with the quick crushing and chopping of nuts these came together in about ten minutes. They are decadent and awesome.

The photo shows them after cooling about an hour, still warm and a little gooey and oh so yummy. After another hour they were cool enough to hold together into beautiful, perfect squares.

A batch will definitely make it to the Thanksgiving dessert table this year. 

Pam is kind enough to share her recipe from Easy Gluten Free Holiday Recipes here!

Pam's Five Layer Magic Bars

2 cups of GF ginger snaps

1/2 cup of butter, melted

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 1/3 cup flaked coconut

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 casserole dish. Place the GF ginger snaps in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour the crushed ginger snaps into a bowl and combine with the melted butter. Firmly press into the casserole dish for the first layer. The second layer is condensed milk over the ginger snap layer. Theird comes the nuts, fourth the chocolate chips and the fifth layer is the coconut flakes. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool and serve.

Check out Pam's site and book and follow her on Facebook, too.

Don't forget to enter to win two great products from gfJules HERE.

Praline Blondies - Gluten Free & Grain Free

Last night Marc, Marie and sweet Aiden came for dinner and I wanted to make something a little different for dessert. My Praline Buttercream sounded really good, but I didn't have a lot of time to bake and ice a cake or cupcakes. Instead I made the ingredients for Praline Buttercream the basis of a pan of quick and easy blondies.

Creaming together the butter, coconut sugar and vanilla powder I simply added a cup of Moon Rabbit Foods Cassava Flour, eggs and a dash of salt, then some chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips for good measure were stirred in. Super simple to whip up, quick to bake and so delicious.

The combination of coconut sugar and butter gives these blondies that amazing praline flavor so easily. Cassava flour provides a mild flavor and wonderful texture. No gluten free gums are necessary at all. The bars cut beautifully even when warm. Gluten free doesn't have to be hard and you don't need a bunch of different flours.

Praline Blondies
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and have a 9x13 pan ready (no greasing necessary)

Cream together

1 cup            Butter (I use Kerrygold)
1 3/4 cup      Coconut Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Powder

When well mixed, add:

1 cup           Cassava Flour (I use Moon Rabbit Foods)
3 large          Eggs
1/2 cup         Raw Pecans, chopped
1 cup            Mini Chocolate Chips
pinch            Sea Salt

Spread into 9x13 pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool and enjoy!

Gluten Free Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

My awesome friend Laura recently gave me a head's up that Trader Joe's is carrying now carrying bags of Cashew Meal. She knows I use TJ's almond meal in so many of my breads, muffins and cakes as it's a high protein, gluten free and grain free flour. Baking treats with more protein seems to help us to metabolize them better without nasty sugar highs and lows. However, a lot of my Feingold friends cannot use almonds as they are a higher salicylate food.

(Speaking of Feingold friends, Candy has an interview with Cindy Harrell who, among other things puts the Feingold Food List together. Check it out for a great, quick overview of the program which we joined in 2005. We found Joe's migraines were triggered by food dyes and by following Feingold we've relieved a host of other issues.)

Other nuts can be used very successfully in baking. You can grind your own nuts and I've done that making the delicious Leah's Pecan Paleo Bread and my own Pecan Pie Muffins! Purchasing specialty nut flours online is easy but they're pricey and waiting for delivery isn't always convenient. Trader Joe's charges $4.99 a pound now - that's less than half what my online source charges.

Cashews are a wonderful choice because their mild taste won't overpower other ingredients and TJ's cashew meal has a really fine texture and bakes to a nice consistency. Coconut sugar gives a nice brown sugar flavor and has many nutritional benefits. I've made these with coconut oil and with butter and both were very well received. The butter made for a slightly softer bar than the coconut oil version. I've used flax meal rather than eggs and if you use coconut oil you'll have yummy gluten free, casein free, grain free and vegan bars. The best part is they come together in about five minutes.

Gluten Free Cashew Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 13 x 9 pan.

1 lb.   Cashew Meal
1 cup Coconut Sugar
6 T.   Golden Flax Meal
1 cup Water
3 T.    Coconut Oil or Butter, softened
1 T.    Gluten Free Vanilla
1 t.     Baking Soda
dash   Salt
1 cup  Mini Chocolate Chips - I use Enjoy Life

Mix together everything but the chocolate chips. The batter will seem very wet until the water is absorbed by the flax meal. When well combined mix in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into pan and bake for approximately 30 - 40 minutes or until set in the middle and as golden brown as you like. Enjoy!

Friday Finds - Pamela's Whenever Bars

Pamela's Whenever Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut Bars have called my name many times in many different stores for a while but on a visit to Harmony Farms a couple of weeks ago I finally grabbed a box. I had really tried not to give in because I knew I'd have another Pamela's addiction. Pamela's pancake and bread mixes are always in my pantry. Everyone - gluten free or not loves them. As predicted, these are absolutely amazing. The Oat Chocolate Chip Coconut flavor is perfect. Moist, chewy oats and the perfect balance of chocolate and coconut - two of my favorite flavors.

This morning Joe had to get his wisdom teeth out and we had to leave really early. My Joe is a breakfast guy so leaving without eating wasn't easy for him and I didn't want to eat in front of him. I stuck some into my bag for Chris and I to eat after Joe went back to surgery.

Lots of coffee and one and a half bars later I'm still going strong. While the bars aren't big they are really satisfying. They're a great size to keep in your bag or backpack for those times you get stuck out longer than you expect and can't find something healthy and gluten free. I'll be picking up another box (or two) today.

And please don't forget about The Raleigh Gluten and Allergen Free Wellness Event next month. So many favorites will be there.

GF Raw Macaroons & Tea With Pattie

Pattie was coming by for a quick cup of tea in the garden this morning and I wanted to make something quick but special. It also needed to be light and healthy. I remembered some amazing raw macaroons my friend Laura had made a while back and decided to try to recreate them. Since my guys are gone on a road trip I purposefully made a small batch so that I wouldn't have too many left over to gorge on. These may not be exactly like Laura's but we really enjoyed them. The almond extract is a stage 2 Feingold ingredient but you can skip it and they will be delicious. Not only are these treats gluten free but they are also casein free and vegan. Perfect for so many of our friends' diets these day.

If you have everything on hand you can be eating them in minutes. Store them in the fridge and they will melt in your mouth.

I've just shared them over at Gluten Free Cat's Raw Thursdays! Gluten Free Cat is one of my favorite gluten free blogs and one of my Link Loves.

Raw Macaroons

Make 8 but can easily be doubled or tripled.

1 1/2 Cups Shredded Coconut

3 Organic Medjool Dates (if not very moist, soak in water for a few minutes)

3 Tablespoons Coconut Cream Concentrate, Coconut Butter or Coconut Manna depending on brand

1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil

1 Teaspoon GF Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon GF Almond Extract

In a food processor combine all ingredients, except the shredded coconut and mix until the dates are completely pureed. Add coconut and process just long enough to mix. You want a bit of texture.

Scoop into one tablespoon balls either rolling by hand or using the tablespoon to shape.

Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Date Granola Cookie Bars

I made these bars yesterday for Joe to take to a youth event at a friend's house. Since there are now a few kids in the group who are also gluten free and others who are healthy eaters, I wanted to make something safe for the gf'ers and enjoyable for everyone else. The cookies turned out soft and chewy and seemed to be a hit.

My oatmeal date cookie recipe is fast and easy and very flexible. Omitting the sugar altogether and letting the dates and chocolate chips sweeten the batter worked well. Adding an extra egg, the extra almond butter and pecans upped the protein. 

Since yesterday was a busy morning I didn't have time or inclination to scoop dozens of cookies out and bake several sheets.  Instead I covered a large baking sheet with parchment, dumped the cookie dough on to it and used clean, wet hands to smooth the dough into one large rectangle about a half inch thick. They baked up beautifully and I was able to cut nearly sixty small bars with a pizza cutter in no time.

Breanna, this recipe is for you! 

For some reason Blogger has "bolded" the rest of this post. I guess I won't have to wear my reading glasses when I refer back to it! ;-)

Chocolate Chip Date Granola Cookie Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover one large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the following a large mixing bowl:

12 Organic Medjool Dates, chopped

1 1/2 cups Natural Almond Butter

4 large Eggs

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

I used my Kitchen Aid and let it mix on medium a couple of minutes until the dates were breaking down and the batter looked creamy but with a few flecks of dates.

Then add:

4 cups GF Rolled Oats

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1 cup raw Pecan pieces

1 cup mini chocolate chips - I used Enjoy Life 


Mix everything together until well mixed. Your dough will be stiff and heavy.

Dump out the dough onto your baking sheet and, using clean, wet hands smooth the dough out into one large rectangle about one half inch thick.

Bake approximately 15 minutes and let cool a few minutes before cutting.  I used a pizza wheel to make cutting fast and easy. My bars were approximately one inch by two inches and I was able to get nearly 60.  

Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

They made a yummy breakfast today, too!

Enjoy!

December Sanity Challenge?

The mere fact that I am updating the December Sanity Challenge on the seventh day of January should really tell you all you need to know about my success on said challenge. ;-)

Overall, I did manage to keep most of my goals while finishing up our homeschooling for the year, preparing for Christmas and keeping the usual errands, cooking and chores going. Blogging was postponed. That was okay. I was staying on track, making homemade gifts for loved ones, wrapping presents and feeling overall serene.

Yet since staying healthy was my main goal I guess I wasn't ultimately successful. I spent the last five days of December in bed with the flu despite daily exercise, adequate sleep and keeping our diet healthy and low in sugar.  I'd like to think it could have been worse if I hadn't been healthy to start. Yet the fact it's still holding on to my chest twelve days later is making that hard for me to believe. But it is better now and I'm so thankful for that.

My Bible reading was wonderful, my actual Bible study time wasn't so much a success, though. There's catch up to do there and I've got two new devotionals to fit in as well. I'm looking forward to digging into each of them.

The best part of the December Sanity Challenge was the opportunity to meet some new bloggers and be challenged by their goals and posts. It was nice to sit with a cup of tea and read through the facebook and blog posts as I had time.

For a round up of all the posts, go to Cheryl's site Gluten Free Goodness and check them out. Each and every site is unique and worth looking through. One thing you'll notice if you read through the post is that I was fortunate enough to win a copy of Carrie's Cookbook! How fun is that? I'm excited to read through it and hope to find some yummy slow cooker recipes for busy school days.

There's still a lot to catch up on and a fun lunch at the Irregardless with Laura is next on the blog schedule.

For now, here's a quick non-recipe for a healthy, naturally gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free treat. This is one I've been asked about a lot recently and the first Lara Bar type treat I ever made. It's been several years since I started making these and they're such a great go to treat.  Once you have your nut to fruit ratio down you can vary them to your heart's content.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bites

Makes 13 cookie dough bites.

1 Cup Peanuts, Roasted and Salted
1/2 Cup Organic Dates, Pitted and packed firmly (I used seven large dates)
1/4 Cup Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips

In a food processor combine peanuts and dates, pulsing until well mixed but not so long the peanuts start to turn to peanut butter.

I like a little texture - you can see what it should look like in the picture at right.  Dump the mixture onto a plate and pour chocolate chips on top.

Using clean hands knead the mixture together, squeezing and mixing until you have a soft mass of dough. Using a tablespoon for a mold, pack the mixture into the tablespoon and tap it out onto the plate.

Three ingredients, less than ten minutes. Can't go wrong with a quick and wholesome treat like these.

Enjoy.

Sarah's Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

My Feingold friend Sarah posted this recipe yesterday.

I made them within minutes of reading her post.  They are delicious.  I fully realize I should not admit to this but they were not only my breakfast and lunch yesterday and one "tiny" square was my dessert last night.  They were just as wonderful for today's breakfast. =D You will not be disappointed if you make them.

I used a little less coconut oil and honey than called for but added enough warm water to make up for the volume. I also skipped the sugar and they were still sweet and delicious. They will be chewier if you follow her recipe exactly.

Check out her blog - Mom's Kitchen Desk - she's got a lot of Feingold friendly, kid friendly recipes.

Enjoy.

Chewy Chocolate Cherry Bars

I blame Gabby for these.  She pinned a recipe on Pinterest a few days ago that got my attention. Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal cookies. The original recipe looks great and I would think you could just substitute the all purpose flour with any gluten free flour mix and, of course, use gluten free oats.  But I wanted a chewy texture like these Jumbo Date Cookies.  Peanut butter sounded a little overwhelming with the other flavors, but I wanted the protein/fat of nuts for nutrition and texture. Cashew butter was the most obvious choice to me but since I didn't have any in the pantry I just processed a cup of cashews in the oil called for in the recipe and it literally took seconds.  I happened to have roasted and lightly salted cashew pieces in the pantry but I think any cashews would work. Baking them as bars rather than cookies was a time saver.


 Chewy Chocolate Cherry Bars
1 cup Cashews (I used roasted and lightly salted cashew pieces)
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil (or any mild oil you like to use)
4 cups Quick-Cooking Oats - I used Bob's Red Mill
1 cup Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Dried Cherries, coarsely chopped
1 cup dark chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350.


Process the cashews and oil until creamy and put in mixing bowl with everything but the cherries and chocolate chips.  Mix thoroughly and add the cherries and chocolate chips. 


Spread into pan and bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown.  Cool and cut into squares

Enjoy!

2 Recipes from 2 Favorite Sites

I have literally (literally Gabby) dozens of recipes bookmarked on so many sites waiting to be tried.  So today I decided to try a couple of them rather than clean my house.

Since I'm going out of town for a couple of days next week I want to pack up a few things I can take along easily to eat safely.  I'll be flying so no coolers for this trip.

Elana's Wheat Thin type cracker looked like a great place to start. They really do taste very much like Wheat Thins. Dare I say better?  They will be a great high protein snack for the plane and the hotel.  The recipe is easy and quick. I tripled the recipe so I could use an entire one pound bag of almond meal.  (Her recipe calls for almond pulp which is what is leftover from making almond milk.)  I added a tablespoon of water per cup of almond meal to add a little moisture.  I also subbed honey for agave.  My oven doesn't go as low as Elana's and I didn't want to monopolize it for a day so I chose to go ahead and bake them faster in a 350 degree oven.  I turned them over half way through for even baking.  They took about fifteen minutes.  The only thing I'd do differently next time is roll them a bit thinner.

Deanna's Almost Elvis cookies have been on my list for a while.  Bananas, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chips!  So delicious!  Deanna bakes similarly to me and I never have to decrease the sugar or increase the protein.  I made some biscuit sized and they'll make great breakfasts on the road.  My version was not vegan - I subbed an egg for the chia and water Deanna uses, organic cane sugar for for the palm sugar and gf oats for the buckwheat groats.  Nothing that changed the flavor or texture significantly.  I'm glad I tucked a few in the freezer because they're nearly gone.  What would I do differently next time?  Triple this recipe, too.

Marc came home for lunch and we heated up some cashew curry and rice together.  We have a new way to enjoy it - not traditional but very good.  Red pepper flakes sprinkled on top gives it even more heat and is wonderful.

Now I really do need to clean.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Date Jumbo Cookies

It's been one of those weeks.  Allergies are getting me.  Sleep has been elusive.  My Meatless Monday post was waylaid by computer and camera issues.  The only thing that seemed blog worthy today is this recipe for Oatmeal Jumbo Cookies because sometimes you just need cookies. Now that I'm enjoying a hot cup of tulsi tea and a couple of cookies the day is looking brighter. =D

Gabby has made Oatmeal Jumbo cookies from a Better Homes and Gardens recipe each Christmas the last few years. They have become our second favorite new Christmas tradition. The first favorite? Having them all come over on Christmas day and sharing the tamales we've made together earlier that week!

The recipe is flour free and calls for quick cooking rolled oats.  Bob's Red Mill has just the thing and they're certified gluten free.  Not having to deal with mixing flours is always a good thing when baking gluten free. The combination of chewy oatmeal and peanut butter is so perfect. In fact, these cookies were the inspiration for this muffin. The original recipe calls for candy-coated milk chocolate pieces but with a dye allergy in the house they're out. Gabby has always substituted chocolate chips for us. They're heaven.

It's a recipe I've played with a few times and it's very adaptable and forgiving. Last weekend  at a friend's house we had some delicious cookies that were very nearly the same but they had dates rather than chocolate.  Since I'm planning a picnic for our beach day this weekend I thought that substitution would be ideal since chocolate chips can be messy in the sun. I'll put a dozen in the freezer when they're cool and they'll defrost in the cooler on the drive.

Because we're careful about sugar I cut it in half and used Turbinado raw cane sugar which, to me anyway, is somewhere between brown and white sugar in taste. The original recipe calls for a combination of each. I thought I had pecans in the freezer but didn't. The only thing really affected by lowering the sugar and not using the pecans was the total amount of cookies - this adaptation made 39 one inch cookies. Of course, a one inch cookie isn't very jumbo at all.  If you want truly jumbo cookies you'll get just over a dozen three inch cookies.

And by the way, do you wear aprons in the kitchen? I find they save on time and laundry because when I'm not wearing one is when I usually get splashed or spattered on! Having to run upstairs and change before company comes over is a pain and getting coconut oil out of clothing can be tough but if you're wearing an apron it's no big deal. I especially love this pretty little number - it's so bright and summery. It's from my mom's store and you can find it here.

Oatmeal Date Jumbos
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Line two baking sheets with parchment

4 cups Quick-Cooking Oats - I used Bob's Red Mill
1 cup All Natural Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Grapeseed oil
1 cup Turbinado Raw Cane Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped Dates

Mix everything together well and shape into 1 inch balls.

Bake for 15 minutes and let cool just a few before removing to plate.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe needs to be pressed into the hands of every newly gluten free person.  It’s an easy go to recipe when you need a plate of cookies to share. Your non-gluten free friends will love them as much as you will. It's a fast treat you can make for yourself when you're feeling deprived of your old favorites in the early weeks. They're a little on the crispy/crumbly side and perfect with with a cup of tea or So Delicious Coconut Milk. Three simple ingredients that are in most kitchens gluten free or not - peanut butter, sugar and an egg - that’s it.

If you have a peanut butter allergy, just substitute sunflower butter, almond butter or even cashew butter.  All work well and have slightly different nutty flavors.  I make sure any of the butters I use have only nuts or seeds and salt in the ingredients.

I use sugar most of the time but Xylitol works very well for those who cannot tolerate any sugar.  The original recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar but I find that a bit sweet for my taste. Lowering the sugar any further affects texture too much.  

Three Ingredient Cookies

Preheat oven to 350

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Makes 1 dozen

1 cup peanut butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

Mix together and shape into 12 balls – depending on the peanut butter you use you may have to squish the crumbly dough into balls.  Use a fork to cross hatch the tops for a traditional peanut butter cookie look.  I hold the sides of each cookie as I press the fork to keep them from crumbling and hold their shape.  It won’t be a problem when they are baked.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool a few minutes before removing from your cookie sheet.

Cocoa Variation:

I doubled the recipe this morning and added 2 Tablespoons cocoa and 1 teaspoon vanilla to half of the dough.