Gluten Free Nanaimo Bars

Some holiday traditions should really be done all year round. The Nanaimo bar is always around the house at the holidays. Normally made with graham cracker crumbs, I had to make a change this year and there's no difference whatsoever. Other than no tummy ache!!


From Wiki: "The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin popular across North America. A type of chocolate no-bake square, it is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate made from melted chocolate squares.[1] Many varieties are possible by using different types of crumb, flavours of icing (e.g. mint, peanut butter), and types of chocolate. Two popular variations on the traditional Nanaimo bar involve mint flavoured icing or mocha flavoured icing."


I used Josef's graham crackers:


They worked fantastic but are slightly difficult to find. Kinnikinnick Graham Crumbs are becoming more widely available though.
Since my Sugar Cookies turned out so well last time, I think I might bake a few a little bit more and then crush them. I'm sure I will find a place for the rest of the cookies that are made. The first batch didn't last long at all!




Nanaimo Bars


Base

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
4 Tbsp cocoa
2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans


Custard

1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla custard powder or pudding powder
2 cups sifted icing sugar
Add peppermint extract to taste and green food colouring to tint to your preference

Topping

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate
1 tsp butter


For base:
Mix 1/2 cup butter, white sugar, egg and cocoa in top of double boiler and set over boiling water. Stir until mixture resembles a custard. Combine crumbs and nuts and mix into cocoa mixture. Spread and press tightly into a 9x9 pan. Chill while preparing custard.

For custard:
Cream 1/4 butter, milk, custard powder and icing sugar, peppermint and food colouring together and spread over mixture in pan. Chill while preparing topping.

Topping:
Melt chocolate over hot water and add butter and blend well. Spread over custard filling. Let set and chill.*
If you like, when the chocolate has set slightly you can score the chocolate so that it won't break when it's firmly set.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

Chocolate Temptation Chocolate Cake

This is the greatest chocolate cake that I've ever had, hands down. This includes my pre-Gluten Free days. I was never one to make my own cake from scratch since the boxed mixes always turned out so well and were so moist. Rather than using boxed GF cake mixes that fall apart, taste flat and only make 1 layer, why not try a real cake?

This comes from Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman and truly is a great recipe.

I've made it before but posting this time with my own alterations making it easier than ever!

 

 

My very first attempt at this cake last year. I've made it many times since then.

Chocolate Temptation Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 Cup Butter
• 2 cups Sugar

• 2 cups all-purpose Gluten-Free Flour*
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
• ¼ teaspoon Salt
• 4  Heaping Tablespoons  Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

 

• ½ cup Buttermilk ( use 1 /2 cup milk plus 2 tsp of cider vinegar if you do not have buttermilk)
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 cup Hot Water

For the Icing:

• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
• 3/4 cup Butter
• 4 Heaping Tablespoons Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound  Powdered Sugar (approx 1/2 bag of a 1 kg bag)

*also use an additional  small amount  of butter and 2 Tablespoons of flour for flouring cake pan

Note: I have used a general all purpose GF flour mixture from Bulk Barn as well as my standard baking mix of 2 parts rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch and 1/3 part tapioca starch.

Preparation Instructions

Prepare 9 x 13 pan by greasing with butter and sprinkle in 2 Tablespoons of gluten free flour. Shake flour around pan until lightly covered and discard remaining flour.
Heat oven to 350F.

 

In mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy and add sugar. Mix until well combined.
Add flour, xanthan gum, salt, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well.
Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and mix until combined.
Carefully add 1 cup hot water and gently stir until water is incorporated.
Pour into prepared cake pan.

 

Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes until tester comes out clean.

 

While cake is baking, make the icing.

 

 Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together. Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Before baking

 

Poured warm icing over warm cake

 

For my birthday, I made small squares of cake and then poured the icing over top.

Stays nice and moist for over 1 week if it lasts that long. Keep a fork nearby and sneak some everytime you go in the kitchen and it'll be gone sooner.  I know from experience

 

 

I plan on making this into a layer cake, into small cakes, cupcakes etc and just change up the icing. It's just a great recipe.

Adopt a GF Blogger - Ellen from I Am Gluten Free

For this month's Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger hosted by Seamaiden at the Book of Yum, I chose a blogger whose blog I have visited from the early days of going gluten free. I often visited the post about wontons however I have never made them. I visited the posts about bagels and breadsticks and wraps, oh my.
Then I saw this recipe for cookies.

Chocolate Chip Macadamia Cookies.

I'm not a huge chocolate chip cookie fan. I can take them or leave them.

What I can't resist, is White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies. When people used to go to Subway for lunch and they would bring back a pile of cookies, I chose that one. When we would bake cookies at a bakery I used to work at, those were the ones I would sneak or buy a package to take home.

So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them. Unfortunately, I don't have macadamias in my pantry nor do I live on the macadamia-carrying-grocery-store side of town. What I did have was almonds: whole, sliced or slivered. I chose sliced.

This is my new cookie recipe. I'm sure I can make anything with this. Cranberry orange, dried cherry/pistachio, butterscotch pecan, double chocolate etc.
I haven't made a lot of gluten free cookies. I have made my  Rolled Sugar Cookies and some oatmeal butterscotch pecan cookies, peanut butter chocolate and I think that's it.
It just seemed like a lot of people weren't having any luck with GF cookies - they would spread or not hold their shape etc. So I didn't really work on them.

However, cookies are back!

White Chocolate Almond Cookies

Hello........



I love white chocolate.

 I can't wait to try more of Ellen's recipes. They are so organized. Mexican, Indian, Pasta, Vegetarian, she's got it all. She's also got a fantastic blog roll on the side which leads you to some absolutely fantastic blogs plus a bunch of links to celiac info. I Am Gluten Free is a fantastic resource for someone just starting out like I was a couple years ago. I hope you take a look.

Peanut Butter Squares

I wanted chocolate. I wanted peanut butter. I bought some Erewhon Gluten Free Organic Brown Rice Crisp Cereal today.

Which means, one of my old stand-bys from back in the gluten-filled day from my handwritten cookbook of all my favourites. Rather than Rice Krispies, this rice crisp cereal works out wonderful in a simple change to Gluten Free.

Peanut Butter Squares
 Line a 8x8 square pan with parchment paper

• 6 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 2 cups rice crisp cereal
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

In medium saucepan, melt butter, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Stir until smooth.
Pour in the cereal and nuts and stir until coated.  
Pour into prepared pan. 
Melt chocolate chips and 1/3 cup peanut butter together in small saucepan or melt in microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval until melted. 
Pour over cereal, spreading evenly. 
Chill until firm and cut into whatever size pieces you wish. 

This is the  "I can't wait for it to properly set before I have one" look.

This is always a Christmas party classic square which is when we usually have this. I think I might make it more often now.  

Ahhh, much better!

This post is linked to Gluten-Free Wednesdays

xo

Kathleen

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Adopt A GF Blogger - Jeanine of the Baking Beauties

This post is linked to GlutenFreeEasily's August Adopt a GF Blogger

 When I lived out west, our office always celebrated birthdays every month. There was a large cake for the 5 or 6 people that were having a birthday. After I went gluten-free, I knew that I wouldn't be able to take part. There was another girl in the office who was also gluten-free and it was her birthday that month. No one should go without cake on their birthday! So I thought that I would make some brownies and we could have brownie sundaes.

I used a brownie mix and well, it was interesting. Extremely fudgy and seemingly undercooked, yet super crunchy and definitely overbaked. Very strange.

I saw a post by Jeanine of http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/  last year for  her Turtle Brownies. Let me just say, I went out right away and bought caramels. Life intervened and I didn't end up making them.  Can I show you them? 

Jeanine's Turtle Brownies

Around rolled March and I saw some Mint Brownies which interested me. I made a nanaimo type version  and used Jeanine's recipe for brownies.That's why I decided to adopt Jeanine for the Gluten Free Easily's August Adopt-A-Gluten-Free Blogger Event

My Nanaimo Style Brownies

Last night I returned home from work and it's a coworkers birthday today. At this job, we usually have what the birthday girl wants. She wanted pizza. There are delivery places that do gluten free but if you are looking for a 24-slice pizza, there is only 1 place for that and they don't do GF. So I came home and grabbed a GF Patisserie pizza crust that I um....... well... it's a whole 'nother blog post but essentially I had a backpack full of their baked goods on my 4 hour flight home from a western vacation.

Anyways, I made a pizza and decided to make some brownies while the oven was on. So of course I went back to Jeanine's recipe. I didn't make the Turtle Brownies but again I did use the main brownie recipe with a couple changes mainly butter instead of margarine and my flour mix.

Ingredients:

Brownies

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3 large eggs

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulated white sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp Gluten Free Flour Mix (*see note)

1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

1/4 tsp salt( I added about 1 cup of white chocolate chips)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper (makes for easy removal later).

Brownies:

Melt the chopped chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and set aside while you make the brownie batter. ( I melted slowly in the microwave stirring intermittently.)

Meanwhile, in the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugars until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract and then the melted chocolate mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and, on low speed, beat in the flour, xanthan gum & salt and the chocolate chips. ( I don't have a mixer so I stirred it on up until it was blended together. )

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or just until the brownies are barely firm to the touch. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Store, covered, in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days, or in the freezer for longer storage.

Note: My flour mix is 2 parts brown rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch and 1/3 part tapioca starch.

I made a quick icing using butter, icing sugar, a little milk and some almond extract and piped it onto the cooled brownies.


I took the brownies into work and they were so fudgey, it was incredible.  In my world, I would assume that anything you suggest I eat is wheat-filled. In everyone else's world, well, everything is wheat filled and they don't assume anything different. So although people know I eat gluten-free, they also don't immediately think I'm giving them something that is GF. These are a brownie that everyone can enjoy and not even think they are GF.

See that classic shiny crispy top and the white chocolate?

 Jeanine's blog is one that I visit quite frequently because she's the same sort of baker/cook that I seem to be. Family favourites made gluten free.

If I wrote about all her recipes that I've tried, we'd be here for a while.

 Her Recipes

We made her Chinese Chicken Balls for our Chinese food Christmas dinner. These are a must try!! Gluten Free Chicken Balls


Do yourself a favour and check her out!

Gluten Free Chocolate Mint Brownies

St Patrick's Day. Day of the Sugar Cookie with Green Icing. Or not.

I wasn't sure I would have time to make them and then I spotted Chocolate
Mint Brownies on the homepage of  www.allrecipes.com

Hmmmm. Could I? 

I've been meaning to make Gluten Free Turtle Brownies from The Baking Beauties for a while now.
Even bought the caramels but not the pecans.

Her brownies, my mint nanaimo custard/icing filling and chocolate topping.

Nanaimo???
What's that?

Happy St Patrick's Day!!