Here’s a list of the products we now have in Brentwood:

Brown Rice Flour Superfine

Blueberry Muffins

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix

Pie Crust Mix

Falafel Mix

Lemon Cake

Almond Meal

Pancake and Baking Mix

Xanthan Gum

Vanilla Powder

 If you’d like to see another one of our products in the Brentwood store, please order it through customer service.   Also, if they run out of your favorite product, ask for more. 

As always, we like to remind our customers that the best way to get products in your area is to go into the store and ask your grocery buyer to order our products.  Then keep on asking them until you see us on their shelves!

Written by Meg Haworth for Authentic Foods – Dedicated to manufacturing gluten free flours and baking mixes.  “Where it’s not just gluten free, it’s better!”        

They didn’t need much convincing.  They knew the level of fantastic quality that the products here at Authentic Foods have achieved.  Our reputation has certainly preceded us.  The only thing we needed to do there was the necessary paper work and footwork that it takes to get into their stores.

So, we are proud to announce that we are going into a new Henry’s Farmers Market store that will be opening in Elk Grove, California (in the Sacramento area) on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 8:00am.  In fact, for their grand opening celebration, they are giving out a grocery bag of pre selected products to the first 200 people that come through their doors.  So get there early, get some free groceries and get your Authentic Foods products.

Here is a list of what Henry’s Farmers Market in Elk Grove will be carrying:

Brown Rice Flour Superfine

White Rice Flour Superfine

Sweet Rice Flour

Sorghum Flour

Tapioca Flour

Gluten Free Classical Blend

Multi-Blend Gluten Free Flour

Almond Meal

Blueberry Muffin Mix

Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix

Lemon Cake Mix

Pancake & Baking Mix

Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake Mix

Falafel Mix

Vanilla Bean Cake Mix

Xanthan Gum

Guar Gum

Vanilla Powder

Keep checking this blog to see which Henry’s Farmers Markets we are getting into next.  We are very excited here at Authentic Foods to be a part of these fantastic health food stores.

Written by Meg Haworth for Authentic Foods – Dedicated to manufacturing gluten free flours and baking mixes. Where it’s not just gluten free, it’s better!            

One day, a woman from a local bakery told him of a flour company that had what she believed to be the best gluten free flours she had ever tried.  So, the baker called Authentic Foods and shared his pie crust  story with Steven  Rice, the owner. 

Steven Rice, who has a biochemistry background,  confidently told him he could solve the issue using his flours.  On the first try, it was a huge success!  The pie crust was flaky and so delicious even he could hardly believe that it was gluten free.

Afterwards,  Steven Rice decided to use his various blends to determine which one works best in terms of flakiness, taste and all those other features we look for in an outstanding pastry – gluten free or not.

Of course we can’t and won’t reveal the recipe – that’s proprietary information that belongs to the baker.  However, we do want to share the ride we went on here as we tested and worked with the various possibilities that Steve had in mind.

In the next blog, look for our first installment of “Test Kitchen Capers” in which we share stories from our test kitchen here at Authentic Foods.  We’ll tell you what happened when we tested our various flour blends with this fantastically flaky pie crust recipe.   

For now, go ahead and post your comments and thoughts here.  We’d love to know if you have compared our flours to gluten free flours from other companies.  What results did you get?

Written by Meg Haworth for Authentic Foods – Dedicated to manufacturing gluten free flours and baking mixes. Where it’s not just gluten free, it’s better!            

We immediately hit it off, laughing and discussing our philosophies for making delicious gluten free foods.  We quickly found that we had some differences but that these were good. Steven’s number one goal is to create high quality gluten free flours and mixes that taste better than what we gluten free folks were used to – while also providing nutrition in the process. 

My goal is to help the many severely food allergic and celiacs as they recover right after diagnosis and have to eliminate ten different ingredients.  I’ve been there and know how hard it is to find things the body will accept that still taste good.  We often have to eliminate many foods at the outset and narrow our diets down to a few ingredients we can digest.  That can mean that cake and cookies will have to wait a while – or at least be seriously altered.  I know it had to for me and for hundreds of people I have worked with. 

Over the next year, Steve and I would talk from time to time and run into each other at conferences.  In May, at the Celiac Disease Foundation Conference, we saw each other again.  When I asked him how business was, he said it was great and he needed help.  I was in a position to do that so he brought me on board as the Vice President of Marketing.

What a great fit.  With sixteen years living a gluten free life, a cookbook and guide for going gluten and dairy free, private chef jobs for celebrities in Los Angeles, teaching cooking classes at Whole Foods Market and owning a gluten free bed and breakfast behind me – yes.  This is a great thing for all concerned. 

So this blog is changing.  It is becoming a place where recipes, stories, product information and test kitchen capers come from us to you.  It is a place where you get to share who you are – our precious customers – without whom we would not exist.  You get to come along this ride with us.  We will be asking you to submit your stories, recipes, challenges, requests and kitchen triumphs with us.  We will also be running contests with free products from us to you as prizes.

So, keep checking our website for new blogs.  Get on Facebook and Twitter with us and join the daily fun as it happens.  We would love to have you be a part of our online community.  We love our customers and recognize what you have to go through each day.  Staying gluten free is not an easy task but, we aim to help make it that way.  Let’s band together and keep on learning, growing and eating well.

Written by Meg Haworth – V.P. Marketing for Authentic Foods – dedicated to producing top quality gluten free flours and baking mixes that are not just gluten free, they’re better!           

It is hard to come up with the perfect recipe. Cooks Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen claims to do this with their recipes; although, I have tried some of their recipes and have not been impressed with them all. The last recipe I tried was their “Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie” recipe. It was good. The chocolate chip cookies had the sugar and butter flavor that you would look for in a chocolate chip cookie. But all in all, they were just another version of your typical chocolate chip cookie, nothing stupendous. I was fine with just one cookie. I think the best sign of a good cookie is when the combination of the taste and texture is so desirable that one is nowhere near enough. The cookie should create a craving for more cookies because they’re just THAT good.

This past weekend, I really wanted chocolate, but something really worthwhile eating. So I decided to create “the Best” Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe that just happened to be gluten free.

Last week, I was browsing the LA Times website and came across a recipe for a double chocolate cookie imitation from the restaurant, Milk, in Los Angeles. I figured the recipe had to be good since their ice cream and milkshakes are pretty decent.

I’ve put together other gluten free chocolate cookie recipes before, but none came even close to this one in taste or texture. What makes the cookies so different is the combination of the three types of chocolate added to the cookie: unsweetened chocolate, cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate. It creates a soft, chewy decadent double chocolate chip cookie like no other. If you eat the cookies 5 minutes or so out of the oven, it is like eating a chocolate soufflé. If you wait to eat the cookies a few hours later, the cookie is soft in the inside but has just a bit of a crunch from the combination of the mini chocolate chips and the soft crust around the cookie. If you like chocolate, you will not just like these, you will love ‘em!

These are the type of cookies to start a bakery with.

Gluten Free Triple Chocolate Cookies

Makes 24 Cookies
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 10 – 20 minutes

Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pound semisweet mini or regular size chocolate chips**

**If you don’t have this flour on hand, here’s the recipe to make it on your own. You can use this flour as a substitute for wheat flour in any recipe as long as it doesn’t contain yeast. Just substitute 3/4 cups of the Multi-Blend Flour for 1 cup of wheat flour and double the baking powder/soda. You will never know there is no wheat in there.
*This may seem like a lot, but it’s totally worth adding them all!

Directions:
In a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the unsweetened chocolate and unsalted butter together. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, cocoa powder, Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder, baking powder and salt together. In a larger bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together. Then whisk in the melted chocolate, followed by the flour mixture. Finally, pour in all of the chocolate chips and mix until the chocolate chips are evenly distributed throughout the cookie dough.

Cover the cookie dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place parchment paper over enough cookie sheets to hold 24 cookies spaced about 2 inches apart. Divide the cookie dough into 24 cookies using a spoon or ice cream scoop and place them on the parchment paper about 2 inches apart. Flatten them just slightly before baking.

Place the cookies in the center of the oven (1 tray at a time). Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Wait about 5 minutes and then place cookies on a wire rack to cool.

This post is an Authentic Foods Customer Spotlight.  It was written by Michie the GF Chef.  Michie is an Authentic Foods customer and gluten free baker.  She grew up in Eugene, OR.  She, her mom and her brother have all been gluten free since 1995.   Michie has loved to cook since she was little and has ambitions to one day open a gluten free coffee shop.

 Michie’s mom, Karen, found Authentic Foods Multi-Blend flour when they were still looking for a premixed flour that was versatile.  That was over 5 years ago and they haven’t looked back.

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 14 years ago which led to the diagnosis for my mom and brother as well. We vowed that we would not let CD keep us away from the foods we love and for the most part it hasn’t. With patience and a lot of trial and error I truly feel that we never truly missed out on anything.

This year I decided to make gingerbread cookies for the first time since going gluten free. While I have experimented with all sorts of other cookies and cakes, I have not had gingerbread cookies since before I was 14. I was really nervous about making them. Most of the recipes I use are ones that I have been using since before going gluten free so I know the recipe and what I need to change to make it work. For the gingerbread cookies I had to find a new recipe and figure out how to roll out the dough since I really wanted the gingerbread person shape. The one thing I felt confident about is that so far I have found that with the Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour and some soy sour cream, I can make any cookie or cake.

I looked at recipes for gingerbread cookies both online and in the many cookbooks on my shelves. I looked at regular recipes, gluten free recipes, vegan recipes. The recipe I chose was the simplest of them all. I figured if anything went wrong with it, there would be that much less for me to try adjusting. It turned out to be such a wonderful recipe that even though I made a mistake each time I made the recipe (maybe I shouldn’t have the TV on while cooking), the cookies still came out perfectly. The following recipe is not exactly what I found in the book; I have made several changes both to make it work as a gluten free recipe and to make it my own.

GF Chef’s Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:
2 ½ Cups Pre-Sifted Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
4 Teaspoons Ginger
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
½ Teaspoon Cloves
½ Teaspoon Nutmeg
½ Cup Butter
½ Cup Molasses
2 Heaping Tablespoons (1/8 of a cup) Dark Brown Sugar
6 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
2 Heaping Teaspoons Soy Sour Cream
¼ Cup Hot Water
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda

Directions:
Sift together flour and spices (yes, the flour gets sifted twice- once before measuring and once after measuring) into a bowl and set aside. Melt the butter in a medium to large sauce pan over low heat. When butter is melted, remove pan from heat and add molasses, brown sugar and granulated sugar stirring until completely blended. Add baking soda to the hot water. Add soy sour cream to butter mix. Alternately add flour mix and baking soda water to butter mix beginning and ending with flour mix stirring and as you add the ingredients. When the dough is thoroughly mixed, put it in a plastic bag or saran wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. At the same time, place your marble slab* in the freezer.

When you are ready to roll out the dough, preheat the oven to 350° F before taking the marble slab out of the freezer and wrapping wax paper around it once. You can lightly dust the wax paper with flour, but that will make the excess cookie dough harder when you reroll it. Take the dough out of the refrigerator, pull off a small chunk and place the rest of the dough back in the refrigerator. Roll the dough to between ¼ and 1/8 of an inch thick. Start by cutting out all of the shapes without picking up any of the dough. Once the shapes have all been cut peel away the excess dough, roll it into a ball and stick it back in the refrigerator right away. Then slowly peel the shapes off of the wax paper and place them in a greased pan. When you go to take more cookie dough out of the refrigerator, do not take the dough that you just placed in there- give that time to chill and keep adding the excess dough to it as you go along. The warmer the dough is, the harder it is to work with. When you have filled the pan with shapes, place it in the preheated oven for 13-18 minutes.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least one hour before decorating.

*I bought 2 slabs of marble at our local hardware store for about $12 each. They work great as pizza stones or for rolling out dough. It was my mom who discovered that having a cold working surface makes it a lot easier to roll out pie crusts. Having the cold surface definitely makes a difference with the cookies because it keeps them cold longer.

This post was written by Karen Robertson.  Karen Robertson began her journey into the gluten-free world when her children were first diagnosed with celiac disease in 1997.   In addition to working with celebrity chefs to write and publish this book she has taught gluten-free cooking classes at PCC Natural Food Markets in Seattle and at national patient conferences for the Gluten Intolerance Group, Children’s Hospital Celiac Conference in Columbus, Ohio, and the Canadian Celiac Association. She has appeared for book signings at conferences for Stanford University, the Celiac Disease Foundation, and the Gluten Intolerance Group. Karen was an Associate Food Editor at Living Without magazine, and a camp cook and board member for the Gluten Intolerance Group. She won the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Gold Award for excellence in publishing (determined by top buyers at Barnes & Noble, editors, large and small publishers, booksellers, etc.)

Holiday traditions are an important part of our lives. As children we look forward to each special activity and baked good. Since traditions are such an important part of our childhood we continue many of them for our own children or do we do it for ourselves? I know I do!

We celebrate Christmas. We depend upon the wonderful pine smell of the tree, decorating cookies with our kids, and the smell of something delicious in the oven, all of which gives us that special feeling of home, belonging, and love. The food we prepare each year around a special holiday is expected and if somehow forgotten… greatly missed by at least someone in the family. Some traditions are long standing while others happen unexpectedly one year and become a part of all future holidays.

One holiday tradition I have (or maybe it is just an old habit) is dragging my feet between Thanksgiving and Christmas delaying the inevitable workload. This has the added benefit of giving me a break. While I watch other families get their tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, I am so glad no one in my family is pressuring me to start the Christmas routine too soon. My tradition is to wait until at least the second week of December before I begin decorating.

Each year we cut down our tree with another family we have known for over 20 years. We found a fantastic farm one year by accident and each year since we have tried to remember where it is –but that farm remains elusive. We always find someplace new—some years we get to play in the snow, one year the kids got to see animals mating “Papa what is that pot belly pig doing????” and another year we went with a huge group of families that brought along adult beverages and it took us 2 hours to find just the perfect tree.

Thankfully our long time friends now have a college student and we must wait until mid-December for her to return from college before we can schedule our tree farm weekend…I say thankfully because it plays right into my plan of giving some space between the holidays.

Part of the fun of this tradition revolves around food. We make a tailgate brunch including hot cocoa, coffee, hot apple cider, fruit, crackers, salami, turkey and cheeses (we really don’t put much effort into it). Years ago I decided to bake a gluten-free sour cream coffee cake for this outing. I figured that since I had perfected the recipe they’d never notice the difference. As it turns out they all loved it and their kids request it each year.

One year we had to drive through several miles of deep snow to reach a tree farm. It continued to snow the whole time we were there. The snow was heavy and wet. Our friend Dan the Man was prepared; he brought along a 10 x 10 “pop up” shelter and proceeded to set it up to cover the back end of his truck tail gate. The owners of the farm were a bit worried that we were moving in for too long of a stay, they were hoping we would just buy the trees and move on. They had nothing to worry about since we are not a rowdy bunch (at least not that year).

Our family recipe for this sour cream coffee cake is part of another holiday tradition. My husband’s family always makes one for Christmas Day breakfast. I bet you are feeling sorry for us now (two coffee cakes within a 10-day period) but with enough people around we actually need more!

For Christmas morning we make some homemade cappuccinos, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and serve it all up with this coffee cake. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

My husband discovered a secret ingredient for dense cakes. If he is adapting a regular recipe to GF he doubles the amount of baking powder and has success every time. And of course you must use the Multi-Blend Gluten-Free Flour Mix for the best results.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Reprinted with permission from Cooking Gluten-Free! A Food Lover’s Collection of Chef and Family Recipes Without Gluten or Wheat by Karen Robertson now on CD-ROM at http://www.cookingglutenfree.com/
 

Makes one 10-inch cake 

Ingredients:
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1½ cups chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
½ cup organic shortening
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 cups Multi Blend Gluten-Free flour mix
½ teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1¼ cups gluten-free sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line with parchment cut to cover the bottom and sides. Butter inner surface of parchment. Using a pastry blender or a fork, combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat shortening and sugar until pale in color and light in texture. Add vanilla, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift flour, guar gum, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Add sifted mix to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, blending after each addition. Spread half the batter in prepared tube pan. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the batter, then cover nut mixture with remaining batter. Sprinkle remaining nut mixture on top.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert cake and place on a cooling rack. Let cake cool completely before slicing.

Notes:

If using a standard gluten-free flour blend, add ½ teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum to the dry ingredients.

You may substitute regular shortening for organic shortening, although the latter is strongly recommended as it is healthier.

One of my favorite candies is Junior Mints. I’ve always been addicted to chocolate, especially in combination with peppermint.

Since the holidays are just around the corner and peppermint is one of the big holiday flavors, I thought I’d put together a chocolate peppermint recipe that is different from recipes containing candy canes or peppermint bark. What I came up with was chocolate peppermint thumbprint cookies. They’re basically cookies, rich in chocolate flavor, with a dollop of a smooth, peppermint icing in the middle. The combination of the rich chocolate and the peppermint icing remind me of the holiday season, getting together with family and relaxing by the fireplace each time that I take a bite.

Here’s the recipe:

Chocolate Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies

(Printable Page)

Makes: 40 – 50 cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Bake Time: 13 – 17 minutes

Ingredients:

Cookies
1 ½ cups Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour (if you don’t have this flour on hand, you can make your own with this recipe)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder or 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¾ teaspoons salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted in microwave for 1 minute
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Peppermint Icing
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ – ½ teaspoon peppermint extract (use ¼ teaspoon if you do not want the peppermint flavor to be too strong)
1 ½ tablespoons water

Directions:

Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, cocoa powder, Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder, and salt until fully combined. In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream the unsalted butter and granulated sugar together. Then mix in the flour mixture, the melted semisweet chocolate chips, and the eggs. Mix until a dough forms.

Make 1 inch balls out of the dough and place them on the cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Then use your thumb to make a thumbprint in the center of each ball. Bake the cookies in the oven for 13 to 17 minutes or until the cookies are crisp on the outside. Let the cookies cool on a rack for at least 15 to 20 minutes. Then place a dollop of peppermint icing on the thumbprint of each cookie.

Peppermint Icing
Mix all ingredients together until smooth. Use a Ziploc bag with the corner cut off or a pastry bag to pipe out the icing onto the center of each thumbprint cookie.

1) Traditional Pie Crust Recipe

(slightly flaky and very tasty)

This pie crust tastes so good; it really is not just gluten free, it’s better!  With this pie crust recipe, you will not miss out on the great taste or consistency of a pie containing gluten.   In addition, the pie crust dough rolls out very easily and is simple to flip over onto the pie pan without any breakage.  If you’ve ever baked gluten free pies before, you definitely know that flipping the dough over without any breakage is one of the hardest parts about making a gluten free pie crust.  So if this is what you’re looking for in a pie crust, then definitely go with this recipe.

Traditional Pie Crust Recipe

Traditional Pie Crust before being baked.

Makes: one 9 – 11 inch pie crust + enough dough for a topping
Prep time: 10 minutes
Wait time: 30 minutes

 Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar (add extra sugar if you want an even sweeter crust)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold
6 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed
¼ cup cold water
1 egg, beaten lightly

Directions:
Combine Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, salt and granulated sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer.  While the mixer is mixing the flour, add the butter cubes and vegetable shortening (you can also use a pastry cutter instead of an electric mixer).  Once the mixture has a course crumb consistency, add the egg and water.  A dough should form after this; if not, add extra cold water until a dough forms.  

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.   Then place enough plastic wrap or wax paper on a hard surface for the pie dough to be rolled out onto.  Coat your rolling pin in the Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour so the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.  Then roll out the dough into a 9 – 11 inch circle, depending on the size of your pie pan.  Quickly flip the dough onto the pie pan.  If you are planning on prebaking the pie crust, use a fork to poke about 4 to 5 rows of holes on the bottom of your pie crust so it does not break apart.

 2) Low-Fat Pie Crust Recipe

(less fat and calories, but still a great taste)

The Low-Fat Pie Crust is basically the traditional pie crust using olive oil instead of butter and shortening.  It tastes just like the traditional pie crust, but is lighter and less flaky.  If you are looking to cut out some fat and calories without missing out on the great taste of a Thanksgiving or holiday pie, then this is the recipe for you.

Low Fat Pie Crust after being baked.

Makes: 9 – 11 inch pie crust + enough dough for a topping
Prep time: 10 minutes
Wait time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:1 cup plus 1 tablespoon Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil or light olive oil
1 egg, beaten lightly
¼ cup cold water

Directions:
Combine Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, salt and granulated sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer.  While the mixer is mixing the flour, add the oil (you can also use a pastry cutter instead of an electric mixer).  Once the mixture has a course crumb consistency, add the egg  and water.  A dough should form after this; if not, add extra cold water until a dough forms. 

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.   Then place enough plastic wrap or wax paper on a hard surface for the pie dough to be rolled out onto.  Coat your rolling pin in the Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour so the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.  Then roll out the dough into a 9 – 11 inch circle, depending on the size of your pie pan.  Quickly flip the dough onto the pie pan.  If you are planning on prebaking the pie crust, use a fork to poke about 4 to 5 rows of holes on the bottom of your pie crust so it does not break apart.

3) Gourmet Almond Meal Pie Crust

 (with extra protein and fiber, to keep you full for longer)

This pie crust is definitely one of my favorites.  It is a tried and true recipe that soo many people love.  For every holiday, I always use this pie crust because it tastes amazing, it’s so easy to make and is such a crowd pleaser.

 Although this pie crust is not traditional, it will make your old recipes SOO much better.  There is cinnamon and evaporated cane juice in the crust which makes the crust by taste like a cookie.  This pie crust will just complement whatever filling you put in your pie really well.  I would caution you though: this is not the pie crust to use if you are making a savory pie.  But, it is my favorite pie crust recipe for sweet/dessert pies.

Gourmet Almond Meal Pie Crust Recipe
Makes: 9 – 11 inch pie crust
Prep time: 10 minutes 1 package Authentic Foods Pie Crust Mix

Ingredients:
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons cream or non-dairy substitute
4 oz sweet butter or solid shortening cut into small cubes

Gourmet Almond Meal Pie Crust before being baked.

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream; then set aside.  Using an electric mixer, cream the butter or shortening for about 1 minute.  Then mix in the pie crust mix until evenly distributed. Add the egg mixture and beat at low speed until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.  Add an extra tablespoon of cream if necessary.  Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball. 

Place enough plastic wrap or wax paper on a hard surface for the pie dough to be rolled out onto.  Coat your rolling pin in a gluten free flour so the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin.  Then roll out the dough into a 9 – 11 inch circle, depending on the size of your pie pan.  Quickly flip the dough onto the pie pan.  If you are planning on prebaking the pie crust, use a fork to poke about 4 to 5 rows of holes on the bottom of your pie crust so it does not break apart.

Quick Tip:

How to roll out your pie crust dough and flip your pie crust onto your pan successfully without breakage

Step 1:

Place wax paper or plastic wrap onto a flat surface.

Step 2:

Coat a rolling pin in a gluten free flour so the dough does not stick to the rolling pin.  (You may have to coat your pin in flour a few times)

Step 3:

Place your dough on the plastic wrap or wax paper.  Starting from the center of the dough, use your rolling pin to roll to the edges of the dough with light, even strokes until you have the desired shape for the pie crust. 

 Step 4:

You can do this step a couple ways: you can either place the pie pan over the pie crust dough and flip the dough and pie pan over together or you can quickly flip the pie crust onto the pie pan.  When you do this, make sure to pick up the pie crust with the wax paper or plastic wrap.  This will be your guide for keeping the dough together.  After you have flipped the pie crust dough over, it should look like this:

But what do you do if you are going to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving?

1)      You can offer to make some Thanksgiving sides to bring to the Thanksgiving dinner.

2)      You can tell the host ahead of time that you are on a gluten free diet and offer her some gluten free recipes.

To ease your troubles on this day, here are 9 great recipes for Thanksgiving sides, breads and desserts that are all gluten free.  These are all tried and true recipes that everyone will enjoy, not just those who do not eat gluten.  I hope they will help you enjoy your Thanksgiving even more than ever before!

1) Corn Bread

Servings: 9 – 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 20 – 25 minutes

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 ¼ cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 ½ cup yellow corn meal
¾ cup Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease an 8 x 8 inch pan; then set the pan aside.

In a medium size bowl, beat the eggs, milk and oil together.  In a large bowl, combine the yellow corn meal, the Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together.  Mix together until even throughout.

Then add the egg mixture to the cornmeal mixture.  Before mixing together, add the honey. (To make the honey spill into the batter easily, spray the tablespoon with cooking spray before measuring the honey.  Do this before you put any honey in the tablespoon each time.  The honey will pour out very easily.)  Then use a spatula to combine the ingredients until smooth.

Pour the cornbread batter into the 8 x 8 inch pan.  Place in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the center.  Unlike other types of breads or cakes, the corn bread will not need to be golden brown before removing it from the oven.

2) Southern Style Biscuits

Servings: 10 – 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 10 – 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 +1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg white
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
1/8 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a flat cookie sheet. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Using an electric mixer, slowly add the butter. Mix about 3-4 minutes, until the mixture has a course crumb consistency.

Combine the egg white and the cream of tartar. Beat until the cream of tartar is well incorporated and the mixture is full of bubbles. Then mix in the milk, whipping cream, oil, and water. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Beat until fully combined, about 1 minute. Make balls from the dough using a spoon, ice cream scooper, or your hands, and place on the greased cookie sheet. Pat them flat a little bit to make the shape of a biscuit. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the color of each biscuit is a golden brown.

3) Corn Bread Stuffing

Servings: 12 – 14
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 35 – 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1 corn bread recipe
4 tablespoons vegetable oil or light olive oil
¾ cup chopped onions
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
¼ cup white wine
1 pound sausage, cooked and chopped
2 eggs
½ cup chicken broth

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour olive oil into a pan and heat on high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the onions, celery and garlic; sauté for about 2 minutes.  Then add the white wine.  Continue sautéing until the onions and celery are soft.  Remove the vegetables from the pan and set them aside.

Make crumbles out of the corn bread and pour them into a large bowl.  Then pour in the sausage and the onions and celery mixture.  Using your hands or two big spoons mix all the ingredients together until fully combined.

In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs and the chicken broth together.  Then pour this mixture into the cornbread mixture.  Mix together using your hands or two large spoons until all the ingredients begin to stick together.  Then pour the stuffing into a casserole dish.  Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes.  Cool for 5 to 10 minutes and then serve!

4) Sweet Potato Mash with Marshmallow Topping

Servings: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 70 – 80 minutes

Ingredients:
4 Medium size sweet potatoes (about 4 cups mashed)
½ cup butter or margarine
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ – 1 bag mini marshmallows (you can use large marshmallows, but mini marshmallows work better)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Discard the ends of the sweet potatoes.  Wrap the rest of the sweet potatoes in aluminum foil.  Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the oven.  Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft to the touch.  Then change the temperature down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Peel the sweet potatoes and place them in a medium size casserole dish.  Use a fork or spoon to mash the sweet potatoes.  Then mix in the butter, salt, orange juice and cinnamon.  Top with enough marshmallows to cover the sweet potatoes.

Bake the sweet potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes.  Cool for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

5) Potato Patties

Servings: 12
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
¼ cup Authentic Foods Potato Flour
½ cup Authentic Foods Tapioca Flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 large eggs
¼ cup vegetable oil (preferably light olive oil)
¼ cup chopped onions (Optional)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (Optional)
4 oz shredded Monterey jack cheese (Optional)

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl: Authentic Foods Potato Flour, Authentic Foods Tapioca Flour, baking powder, Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum, salt, and garlic powder (also add onions, parsley and cheese if preferred). In another bowl, mix all liquid ingredients: eggs, oil and milk. Then add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and blend.

Grease a griddle or skillet with oil to keep the pancakes from sticking. Then preheat the griddle or skillet to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a large tablespoon, drop batter to make 2-inch diameter pancakes. Cook first side until edges look dry. With a spatula, turn and cook until second side is golden brown.

Serve with apple sauce or sour cream.

6) Cranberry Nut Bread

Adapted from a recipe by Gluten Free Cookbook Author, Annalise Roberts

Servings: 16
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 55 – 60 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup shortening
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
½ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten slightly
½ cup shelled walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh grated orange rind

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and very lightly flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (use white rice flour).

Sift Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum, and salt into large mixing bowl of electric mixer. Turn mixer to medium–low and blend in shortening until mixture resembles fine cornmeal. Pour in orange juice and egg and combine just until moistened.  Fold in walnuts, cranberries, and orange rind.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55–60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove bread from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan after 10 minutes and cool completely on rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill before cutting. (Can be stored in refrigerator for 1 week or frozen up to 5 weeks).

7) Pumpkin Bread

Servings: 16
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 40 – 50 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup vegetable oil or light olive oil
½ cup milk or reduced fat milk
3 large eggs
1 16 oz can pumpkin
2 cups Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend
½ teaspoon Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Grease a 9 x 5 inch bread pan.

In a large bowl whip together granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil and milk.  Then mix in the eggs and pumpkin until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the Authentic Foods GF Classical Blend, the Authentic Foods Xanthan Gum, the pumpkin pie spice, the baking soda, the salt and the baking powder.  Make sure this mixture is well blended.

Slowly add the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredient mixture.  Mix until blended well.  Pour the mixture into the bread pan.  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

8) Pumpkin Pie

(This pumpkin pie contains dairy and eggs.  If you are looking for a recipe without dairy or eggs, click here for a great Pumpkin Pie Recipe by Gluten Free Cookbook Author, Karen Robertson)

Servings: 10 – 12
Prep Time: 20 – 30 minutes
Bake Time: 35 – 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
1 package Authentic Foods Pie Crust Mix
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons cream or non-dairy substitute
4 oz sweet butter or solid shortening cut into small cubes

Pumpkin Pie Filling
2 cups canned pure pumpkin (1 16 oz can)
1 14 oz can of condensed milk
2 eggs
1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger and ¼ teaspoon allspice)
2 tablespoons honey
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder

Directions:

Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream; then set aside.  Using an electric mixer, cream the butter or shortening for about 1 minute.  Then mix in the pie crust mix until evenly distributed. Add the egg mixture and beat at low speed until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.  Add an extra tablespoon of cream if necessary.  Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball.

Place the dough on a silpat baking sheet (if you don’t have a silpat baking sheet, place the dough on wax paper taped onto a hard, flat surface).  Then flatten the dough using your hands.  With a rolling pin, roll from the center of the dough to the edge of the dough with light, even strokes, forming a circle about 14 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick.

Place a 9 to 11 inch pie or tart pan in the center of the dough and flip it with the pie crust dough over (if you have a removable bottom on your pie or tart pan, place the removable bottom on the pie dough, flip it with the tart crust over and place in the full tart pan).  Then fit the dough to the pie or tart pan and trim the edges.  Bake the pie crust in the oven for 6 minutes.  Then take it out to cool while you make the filling.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

In a large mixing bowl, combine canned pure pumpkin, condensed milk, eggs, pumpkin pie spice (or the specific combination of spices described in the ingredients list), honey, salt and the Authentic Foods Vanilla Powder until well blended.  Pour the mixture into the center of the pie crust.  Bake in the oven for approximately 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool, and garnish with whip cream.

9) Mom’s Thanksgiving Apple Crumb Pie

My mom has made this apple crumb pie recipe since I can remember.  It is soo good!  Everyone always takes seconds.  It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Mmm…

Servings: 10 – 12
Prep Time:  30 – 45 minutes
Bake Time: 55 – 65 minutes

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
1 package Authentic Foods Pie Crust Mix
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons cream or non-dairy substitute
4 oz sweet butter or solid shortening cut into small cubes

Apple Crumb Filling
8 granny smith (green) apples, pared, cored and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter (1/2 stick)

Directions:

Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream; then set aside.  Using an electric mixer, cream the butter or shortening for about 1 minute.  Then mix in the pie crust mix until evenly distributed. Add the egg mixture and beat at low speed until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.  Add an extra tablespoon of cream if necessary.  Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a ball.

Place the dough on a silpat baking sheet (if you don’t have a silpat baking sheet, place the dough on wax paper taped onto a hard, flat surface).  Then flatten the dough using your hands.  With a rolling pin, roll from the center of the dough to the edge of the dough with light, even strokes, forming a circle about 14 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick.

Place a 9 to 11 inch pie or tart pan in the center of the dough and flip it with the pie crust dough over (if you have a removable bottom on your pie or tart pan, place the removable bottom on the pie dough, flip it with the tart crust over and place in the full tart pan).  Then fit the dough to the pie or tart pan and trim the edges.  Bake the pie crust in the oven for 6 minutes.  Then take it out to cool while you make the filling.

Apple Crumb Filling

Combine the 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour and ¾ teaspoon of cinnamon together in a small bowl.  Then combine this mixture with all the apples until the apples are evenly coated.  Set the apples aside.

Using an electric mixer beat the ½ cup of Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour, ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup butter together until the mixture has a crumb consistency.

Pour or neatly place the apples on top of the pie crust.  Then sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples.  Bake in the oven for 55 to 65 minutes until the crumbs on top are just slightly golden brown.

Happy Eating,

Cassie Rice