Thursday, March 24, 2011

Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin Bread (or wheat version)

An easy bread machine sweet bread. Full of a burst of cinnamon flavor; a moist and tender bread that is wonderful for breakfast or brunch.

1 cup water, warmed to 125-130˚
4 T. butter, room temperature
2 t. cider vinegar
2 large eggs, room temperature
½  cup granulated sugar
1 t. GF vanilla extract
2½ cups gluten free flour blend + ½ t. extra xanthan gum (or use regular wheat flour and no xanthan gum if not doing gluten free)
¼ cup milk powder
1 T. active dry yeast
1¼ t. salt
1 T. ground cinnamon
¾ cup raisins
½ cup nuts, chopped

Whisk liquid ingredients and sugar together in a medium-sized bowl.
 In separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients, ending with cinnamon.

Pour the liquid ingredients into your bread pan, followed by the dry ingredients. Set your bread machine to the Quick Bread or 2 hour cycle. Allow bread machine to mix the batter thoroughly for 3-5 minutes, by you assisting this process with a rubber spatula if necessary. Add the raisins and the nuts.

Now, before the oven begins heating up, pull the paddle out of the bread pan and smooth over the top of the dough. This will avoid the paddle sticking in this sweeter-than-usual loaf at the end of the baking time and will help maintain the integrity of the loaf.

 Makes: One loaf.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Lambs & Hyacinths?

The promise of Spring is in the air.

And with God's faultless timing, the hyacinths pop their heads out of the earth in February, precisely in time for the birth of the Spring lambs.
So...stay tuned for the appearance of our little boy and girl "hair" lambs, Ricky and Lucy. Coming soon...right around Mother's Day when they will be fully weaned from their momma.





Monday, March 14, 2011

1966 Farm Girl

This is a photo of yours truly that was taken with a momma goat and her baby in 1966 on my (childhood) 160 acre farm in NW Ohio. 

Today, my husband and I live on a mere three acres in Northern Az! 


~D

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

St. Patrick's Rich Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

Deep, rich cake and creamy (green) mint butter cream frosting topped with Belgium chocolate shavings.

1 cup GF flour blend*
½ cup unsweetened baking cocoa
¾ t. baking soda
¼ t. baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
½ cup buttermilk
½ t. GF vanilla

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 cups GF powdered sugar
8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (one half of a stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 t. GF peppermint extract
2 drops of green food coloring
Garnish: chocolate shavings

Preheat over to 350˚F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Thoroughly combine dry ingredients for cupcakes. In a larger bowl, cream butter and sugar, then beat in eggs, buttermilk and vanilla, using an electric mixer. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix until well combined. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake 15-20 minutes until test toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Blend together frosting ingredients. Allow to chill to firm up. Pour into a pastry piping tool with star tip. Frost as shown in photo and sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

Makes: Twelve cupcakes.


*Replace gluten free flour with regular flour if desired.

For more recipes, check out my cookbook: "Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking. It is available at:  

http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org