I converted this Broccoli Cheddar Quiche recipe into gluten free from a
Martha Stewart recipe. For the
Southern Tea Party, I made individual mini quiches that are neater to serve and
easier to eat than slices from a whole pie.
Line a muffin pan with paper or foil cups.Spray cups with non-stick spray.
In a large skillet melt butter over medium-high heat.Add onion and broccoli florets, season
with salt and pepper. Sautee until the onions are lightly golden and the
broccoli is tender, about 10 minutes.
In a bowl add eggs, cream, ½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper and whisk to
combine.Add the onions and
broccoli and mix well.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and top each cup with some grated cheddar
cheese.
Bake until the center is just set, about 20-25 minutes.
Baked mini quiches cooling on a rack.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
You can make this ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, freeze the freshly made quiche and thaw or reheat when
ready to serve.
For the Southern Tea Party I served Banana Pudding, a delicious and
typical Southern dessert.To make
it gluten free I baked the Vanilla Wafer Cookies myself and used the previously
posted recipe for vanilla custard from my Banana Cream Pie recipe. The vanilla
cookie recipe is one I converted to GF from a Taste Of Home recipe.They are not identical to Nabisco Vanilla Wafers in texture, but have a
rich vanilla taste.
Typically
Banana Pudding is made in a large baking dish. The meringue is then spread over
the pudding before lightly browning the meringue in the oven. Sometimes, for
individual servings, it is made in heatproof dishes or glass canning jars so
the meringue can be baked.
To make a dainty and neat presentation for a Tea Party I made individual
servings in pretty glass cups.Since these cups were not heatproof, I baked the meringue separately
before placing it on top of the pudding.I also deconstructed the pudding and used the cookie on top for a
decorative touch instead of placing them in the bottom of the cup.With the extra chocolate from the
Buckeyes I made chocolate hearts in a chocolate candy mold and used these as
accents on the cookies.
The vanilla pudding absorbs the flavor of the bananas and it is just
delicious.
GLUTEN FREE
SOUTHERN BANANA PUDDING
Gluten Free Vanilla Wafers
GLUTEN FREE VANILLA WAFERS
Makes about 40 cookies
Ingredients
½ cup
Unsalted Butter – for Dairy Free use non-hydrogenated
margarine
1 cup
Sugar
1
Egg
1 Tbs.
Vanilla
2/3 cup
Sorghum Flour
1/3 cup
Tapioca Flour
1/3 cup
Chickpea Flour
½ tsp.
Xanthan or Guar Gum
1 tsp.
Baking Powder
¼ tsp.
Sea Salt (omit if using salted margarine or butter)
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Prepare baking sheets by lining them with silpat pads or parchment
paper.
Cream butter and sugar until light.Add egg and vanilla and mix until fluffy.
In a separate bowl add all the flours, salt, baking powder and xanthan
gum and mix with a whisk until well combined.
Add the flour mixture to the egg butter mixture and mix until all the
flour is incorporated.
Using a scoop that measures 1-inch across or with a teaspoon, place
dough 2” apart on the lined baking sheets.
Bake 12-15 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
Cool on a rack and store in a tin or airtight container.Best eaten within 3 days.
Raw dough can be frozen and baked at a later time.
MERINGUE
Ingredients
4
Egg Whites
8 Tbs.
Sugar
1 tsp.
Vanilla
¼ tsp.
Cream of Tartar
Directions
I referred to this great article on making the perfect meringue.These detailed instructions by Linda
Stradley of What’s Cooking America are
clear and tell you everything you need to make meringue correctly.
Whip egg whites on high speed of mixer until frothy then add the cream
of tarter.
Continue whipping until the eggs are opaque.With the mixer running, add the sugar a tablespoon at a
time.
4) 3 or 4 (or as many as you like) ripe Bananas – Cut into ¼-inch
slices
Pudding 'deconstructed' for a Tea Party.
Instructions for making Banana Pudding for a Tea Party - as pictured.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make meringue and place in a pastry bag with a plain 5/8” round tip
(Wilton #12).Pipe out pretty cone
shaped mounds of meringue onto a silpat or parchment paper lined baking
sheet.Make the bottom of each
mound the size of the top of the glass you will put the pudding in.Make enough for each cup and a few
extra mounds of meringue in case of damage while removing them from the baking
sheet.If you do not have a pastry
bag and tip, spoon out clouds of meringue and form them into a peak with a
spoon.Bake for 15 minutes or
until the meringue is lightly browned.Remove from the oven and let cool.
Line the bottom of each glass with banana slices.
Top with a scoop of cooled
pudding/custard (with this presentation, the pudding can be made a day ahead
and chilled).
Place a mound of baked meringue on top of the pudding.
Place a cookie in each cup.
I had some chocolate left over from making Buckeyes so I made chocolate
hearts with them in a candy mold.I placed the chocolate hearts in front of each cookie in the cup.You can buy some chocolate hearts or
just leave the cookies plain.
Instructions for making the Traditional Southern
Banana Pudding in a baking dish or
heatproof glass bowl.
Pour a thin layer of hot/warm puddingonto the bottom of the 1 ½-quart baking dish or heatproof bowl.It looks pretty in a clear glass dish
or bowl.Line the bottom and sides
of the dish with a layer of vanilla wafers. If you use a clear glass dish,
place the cookies with the tops facing the side of the bowl so it looks
prettier; otherwise it really doesn’t matter which way they face.Then top with a layer of the sliced
bananas.Pour 1/3 of the hot
pudding over the bottom. Make a
layer of cookies, then bananas on top of the pudding.Pour another 1/3 of the hot pudding over the cookie and
banana layer.Make another layer
of cookies and bananas.Pour the
rest of the pudding on top.Allow
to sit for at least 15–20 minutes to allow the pudding to soak into the
cookies.If you don’t feel like
making the layers you can just mix up the bananas and cookies ( into the
pudding and pour into the baking dish.
Make the meringue.Spread
the meringue over the top of the pudding.Spread the meringue all the way to the sides of the dish so that the
pudding is sealed in.Use a spoon
to make pretty swirls on top of the meringue (optional).
Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until the meringue is
lightly browned.
I love chocolate and mint. I cut this cookie recipe out of a magazine
years ago, but this holiday season was the first time I actually made
them.The pinwheel swirl looks
pretty and the chocolate mint spread gives the cookies an extra zing of mint.
It is easy to convert most cookie recipes into gluten free ones by
replacing the flour with GF flour and adding some xanthan gum. The secret is in
the type of flour you use.I find
the combination of sorghum, tapioca and chickpea flours makes a texture in
cookies, cakes and biscuits that is just like the wheat flour version.The majority of the flour should be
sorghum, then tapioca and then a lesser amount of chickpea flour. Also, do not
add more then ½ tsp. of xanthan gum to the recipe (unless you double it) or the
baked cookies get too hard and tough.
These cookies have a dough that is on the soft side, so I found it
necessary to put the dough in the fridge between the steps of rolling, putting
the layers together, rolling up the double layers and then finally, again,
before cutting.
Rather than trying to dip each cookie into the chocolate, I found it
easier to just turn the cookies over and spoon the melted mint chocolate on
each cookie and then let them set,
I experimented with my tried and true chocolate cake recipe and made
chocolate cupcakes filled with a mint cream and frosted with mint chocolate
glaze.These were a big hit at
Christmas.The vegan version is equally as delicious as the egg/dairy one.In fact, many people preferred the vegan cupcakes.
GLUTEN FREE
CHOCOLATE MINT PINWHEEL COOKIES
Makes about 40
cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
1/2 cup
Chocolate Chips – For Vegan/Dairy-Free use dairy free
chips
1/2 tsp.
Mint Extract
¾ cup
Butter – Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine
such as Earth Balance Buttery spread.
1/3 cup
Sugar
1
Egg – for Vegan use ¼ cup water
1 tsp.
Vanilla Extract
1 ½ cups
Sorghum Flour
½ cup
Tapioca Flour
¼ cup
Chickpea Flour
½ tsp.
Xantan or Guar Gum
½ tsp.
Sea Salt (if using salted margarine or butter omit salt)
Chocolate Spread
1 cup
Chocolate Chips – use dairy-free for Vegan/Dairy-Free
1 tsp.
Mint Extract
Directions
When ready to bake pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Melt ½ cup of chocolate chips over hot water and stir in mint extract
until smooth.Set aside.
In a bowl cream butter (or margarine) and sugar together.
Add egg (or water) and vanilla and blend in well.
In a separate bowl add flours, xanthan or guar gum and salt and mix
well.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter (margarine) mixture and
stir until well blended.
Divide the dough in half.Add the melted chocolate to half of the dough and blend in well.
Dough rolled out between two pieces of plastic wrap.
Gather vanilla dough into a ball and flatten ball between two pieces of
plastic wrap.Roll dough out into
a 13” X 9” rectangle.Place the
dough, still between two pieces of plastic wrap, on a baking sheet and
refrigerate until firm.Repeat
with the chocolate dough.I used a
ruler to trim the rectangle to the correct size.
Using a ruler to measure and shape the dough into a rectangle.
Patching the extra dough from one part to even out another corner.
Chocolate dough made into a rectangle.
When chilled, take dough out and place the rectangle on the
counter.Peel off the top piece of
plastic wrap from each rectangle.
Invert one rectangle and gently place the exposed sides of the dough
rectangles together on top of each other.
If the dough is soft again re-chill it before the next step.
Chocolate dough on top of vanilla dough. Rolling it up lengthwise.
Using the plastic to roll up the sticky dough makes it easier.
Roll the dough up lengthwise, jelly roll style.
If the dough is soft again re-chill it before the next step.
Rolled into a log and being sliced into cookies.
Cut dough into ¼ inch thick slices and place 2-inches apart on a silpat
or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Raw cookies on silpat mat.
Bake 7-8 minutes.
Baked cookies cooling on a rack.
While cookies are cooling, melt remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips and 1
tsp. mint extract over hot water.Stir until smooth.
Place ½ tsp. of chocolate on the back of each cookie.Allow chocolate to set by placing the
cookies, chocolate side up, on a rack.
When the chocolate is set and firm, transfer cookies to a tin or
airtight container until ready to serve.I separate the layers of cookies with wax paper to prevent the cookies
from sticking or breaking.
Dough roll can be frozen for later use. When ready to bake, allow the dough roll to thaw in the
refrigerator until it can be easily sliced into cookies.
Left cupcake filled using a gadget,
right cupcake filled using a pastry bag and tip.
GLUTEN FREE
CHOCOLATE MINT CUPCAKES
Makes about 18-20
Ingredients
Cake
1 cup
Sorghum Flour
½ cup
Tapioca Flour
¼ cup
Chickpea or Chickpea/Fava Flour
¾ tsp.
Xanthan or Guar Gum
½ cup
Cocoa Powder
1 cup
Sugar
½ tsp.
Sea Salt
2 tsp.
Baking Soda
5 Tbs.
Oil or Melted Butter
1 Tbs.
Vinegar (I use raw apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp.
Vanilla Extract
1
Egg (for Vegans: in a separate cup put 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp
oil, 1 Tbs. cornstarch or tapioca flour, 1/8 tsp baking powder and 1/16 tsp.
xanthan or guar gum. Mix together with a fork or a small whisk until
frothy, then add to the batter where an egg is indicated.)
1 cup
Water or Milk (for Vegans or Dairy Free use water or soy milk
or other non-dairy milk)
1 Tbs.
Instant Coffee Granules
Mint Filling
1 cup
Non-hydrogenated Shortening (I
used Spectrum Butter Flavor Shortening which is vegan and organic.)
½ cup
Confectioners Sugar
1 tsp.
Mint Extract
Mint Frosting
¼ cup
Water
¼ cup
Sugar
1 cup
Chocolate Chips for
Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-dairy chips
1 tsp.
Mint Extract
Directions
Cupcakes
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place paper liners in muffin tins.
In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand
mixer add flours, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, xanthan or guar gum and
coffee.Mix well.
Add all the vinegar, water or milk, oil or
melted butter and egg or vegan egg replacer and mix well.
Using a scoop that measures 2-inches in
diameter scoop out batter into paper liners in the muffin tins.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a
toothpick comes out clean or the cake springs back when lightly pressed with a
finger.
Take the cupcakes out of the muffin tins
and cool completely on a rack.
Mint Filling
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and
mix with and electric mixer until smooth.
Mint filling in a pastry bag and long tip.
Corer gadget for cupcakes.
Place filling in a pastry bag with a long
tip.
Squeeze the filling into each cupcake.
Using a pastry bag to fill cupcakes.
Coring cupcake with gadget.
If you do not have a pastry bag, use a
knife or cupcake corer gadget to cut a hole in each cupcake and then spoon the
filling into the hole.You can
also fill a plastic quart sized bag with the filling and then snip one corner
on the bottom of the bag and squeeze the filling into each cupcake hole that
was cut out with a knife or corer gadget.
Frosting
In a small saucepan mix water and sugar
and bring to a boil.Stir until
sugar is dissolved.Turn off heat
and remove pan.
Immediately add the chocolate chips and
mint and stir until smooth.
Dipping cupcakes into mint chocolate frosting.
Dip each filled cupcake into the frosting
and set on a rack until the frosting is set (or eat immediately, if you can’t
wait to try it).
Chocolate frosted cupcakes drying on a rack.
Store cupcakes in an airtight container
for up to three days.You can also
freeze the freshly made cupcakes for later use.Thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. I topped the cupcakes with crushed candy canes (optional).
