Gluten-Free Chocolate Bar Cookies (an experiment)

Yesterday I mentioned that I was trying something different. I love Elana Amsterdam's recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, only I make it with coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil and maple syrup (the good stuff!) in lieu of agave because I hate agave. But everything else is the same, unless I sub out a handful of the almond flour for coconut flour. This makes more of a dense, soft cookie that doesn't spread when baked.

I'm the kind of person who usually wants something sweet after dinner, and chocolate should be involved somehow. When I don't have a healthier alternative, I eat junk. I decided to stop buying junk earlier this year, so I make this recipe all the time.

While eating these cookies, I get ideas. Such as, what would they be like as a crust? Could I make them bigger and really thin, then shape/roll them like brandy snaps? How would they do sandwiched together with chocolate ganache or some other kind of filling? And so on.

Instead of just making more chocolate chip cookies, yesterday I decided to see if I could bake the dough as one big rectangle and make bar cookies out of it. I left out the chocolate chips because I knew I wanted the topping to be chocolate. It worked out okay. I spread the dough as evenly as possible over the bottom of my 11" x 15" jelly roll pan that I lined with parchment paper. This was not easy or pleasant because the dough is super sticky, and it didn't get spread all that evenly, either. Then I baked it for quite a bit longer than the 7-10 minutes cookies need. I wanted a nicely browned, crispy crust. I forgot to pay attention to how long it took, though. I let it cool completely before doing anything else to it.

I made ganache with the chocolate chips and some coconut cream. You get this by chilling a can of coconut milk in the refrigerator overnight. The cream rises to the top, so you can just scoop it out. Underneath is coconut water--save that and use it in something else. I did this after I mixed the dough while it was chilling in the refrigerator. I was hoping it would be plenty cool to whip into a nice topping once the cookie base was cooled. Sadly, that didn't happen, but I got the idea to spread a thin layer of the ganache on the cookie, then top that with whipped ganache once it was cooled and set.

It was at this point I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures. So I apologize for not having more. The ganache whipped up nicely. I quit beating it just before I thought it was thick enough, and it was a great consistency for spreading. I got impatient, though and added it too soon. The chocolate layer underneath wasn't yet completely set in the center.

I chilled the whole thing before cutting it into squares using a pizza cutter. I know they're uneven and not very delicate. Cutting the cookies made the crust crumble quite a bit in places, so if I try something like this again, I think I'll bake the dough in the cavities of a mini muffin pan and make tartlets. Only, the crust isn't as crisp the next day, so I'm not sure how well they'd hold a shape. I just ate one of these bar cookies from yesterday, and the cookie base is definitely softer. It still tastes delicious, but I preferred a more crunchy crust.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix and Easy Cupcake Decorating

If you didn't already know, Betty Crocker does gluten-free cake, cookie, and brownie mixes now. Actually, these have been around for a while, but I'm honestly not a fan of Betty Crocker. Or cake mixes in general for that matter. But if I have to use a cake mix, I'm more than likely not going to eat it, so I usually go for Duncan Hines if it's on sale or Pillsbury, whichever is cheaper.

A few days ago I realized that February is half over and I hadn't posted anything since January, so I decided to try out the box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil's Food cake mix that had been sitting in my pantry for many weeks. I bought it on sale to use for something, I forget what, that I obviously never used it for. I was also in the mood for something chocolate. And easy. Cupcakes made from a mix are quick and easy.

This is a standard-size box of cake mix, yet it only makes a single cake layer or 12 cupcakes. So, not only is it twice the price of regular cake mix because it's gluten free, but it only yields half as much. That's really more like it being 4 times the price, when you think of it. Those of us on a gluten-free diet who want the occasional treat must pay dearly for it--either out of pocket for the gluten-free version or in misery if we indulge in the real thing.

Other than the smaller yield and the use of butter instead of oil, the method is the same as regular cake mix. Add 3 eggs, a cup of water, and a stick of softened butter.

Make sure the butter is really soft, or maybe even think about melting it. I say this because despite my stick of butter sitting out on the counter all morning, it still wasn't soft enough to properly blend into the mix. The super cool thing about cake mixes, though, is that they're really hard to mess up. So, these cupcakes came out fine except for little holes on the surface of some of the cupcakes. But icing covers stuff like that up anyway.

The batter easily filled my all 12 cavities in my cupcake pan, and I had batter left over. I didn't want to over fill the cupcakes, so I spooned the extra into my mini-muffin pan. I ended up with 12 cupcakes and 16 mini cupcakes. The little ones turned out to be the perfect size for taste testing, and most of them were gone before I managed to get any icing made.

The cupcakes overall came out really dark, and the centers mounded up while the edges didn't rise much. When I bake cupcakes from a regular box of cake mix the tops usually come out flatter. I will say that the texture is pretty good. It's spongy rather than crumbly, and these cupcakes are more dense and dry than the light, moist texture you get with regular cake mix. Still, for gluten-free baked goods, they have a nice texture, and it's not at all grainy.

Unfortunately, they don't taste that great. They're super sweet and not very chocolaty. These cupcakes really just smell more like chocolate cake than taste like it. If you notice from the picture showing the box side, the first ingredient in this cake mix is sugar. Gluten is bad, especially for those of us with intolerances, but sugar is evil. And these cupcakes have more sugar in them than anything else.

To compensate for the lack of chocolate flavor, and since I didn't want to add any more sweet in the way of a sugary frosting, I decided to make some ganache for icing. I went for a vegan version (I used almond milk), because my body doesn't like for me to consume a lot of dairy.

I dipped a few cupcakes in the warm ganache to give them a smooth, shiny top. I loved the look of them, but I quickly abandoned that method because it involved removing the paper baking cup, which leaves the sides and bottoms of the cupcakes exposed and likely to dry out. So, we ate those first.

Once the ganache had cooled, I beat it with a whisk to make it more fluffy and frosting-like so I could use it to ice the rest of the cupcakes. On some I piped the icing with a #1M tip. For the others I used tip #12 and then smoothed the ganache with a spatula. I uploaded videos to my YouTube page if you'd like to see how I did it.

 

Then I made some rolled fondant roses using various easy techniques, as well as simple blossom flowers and leaves using plunger cutters to decorate the cupcakes with. I also posted those videos to YouTube, so please let me know what you think.

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My Favorite 5 of 2011

Last year on New Year's Eve I posted my top 5 favorite recipes I made in 2010, and I'd like to do the same for 2011. I actually intended to share more recipes this year, and more regularly, so I apologize for the lapses in blog posts here and there. Often I make something new, really like it and want to post the recipe, but then I never quite get around to making the same thing again or don't have time to take all the pictures. Then there are times when I decide to make a recipe specifically for a blog post, and it's disappointing. Sometimes I go ahead and share the recipe anyway, especially if I think I did something wrong or I feel like I'm long overdue for a post. Maybe in 2012 I'll have enough to do a top 10, but this year I'm sticking with just 5.

I would like to point out that the gluten free chocolate chip cookies from Elana Amsterdam's Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook is a recipe I featured this year, and it's without a doubt a favorite and possibly the recipe I make most often, but I've been making it since 2010, so I didn't consider it for the top 5 of this year. Also, I didn't consider any recipes that aren't gluten-free. These are MY favorite recipes, after all; I have to be able to eat them. So, without any more rambling, here's the countdown of my 5 favorite recipes of 2011.

Number 5 is the gluten-free Strawberry Shortcake I made for the Driscoll's Strawberry Shortcake Day promotion. These are definitely best consumed the same day they're baked. They get stale very quickly. I did more than just top them with strawberries, though. I also enjoyed them with lemon curd and raspberries, and they're also pretty dang yummy smeared with Nutella.

5. Strawberry Shortcake

The gluten free Mud Pie was really an experiment, and I was pleased enough with the results to consider it number 4. I know it doesn't look all that appetizing, and I do want to make this recipe again, just to see if I can improve its appearance. The crust is yummy and works with any kind of filling, so it's a great recipe to know.

4. Mud Pie

The Carrot Date Muffins recipe I made in November is my 3rd favorite, only I like the way I made them better than the original recipe. They're delicious naked, but when topped with some cream cheese frosting you'll swear you're eating carrot cake.

3. Carrot Date Muffins

In 2nd place is the Nutty Crust Peach Pie. Here's an example of a recipe that didn't come out very well, due to the burnt crust edges, and me subbing some pecans for almonds didn't work out quite as well as I'd hoped. Peaches and pecans go together fine, but this crust got soggy on me, and it that's not been an issue when I use all almonds. Still, it was delicious.

2. Nutty Crust Peach Pie

There's a reason I went ahead and posted that cornbread recipe yesterday, even though I didn't have step-by-step photos, or really any decent pictures of the cornbread muffins. I had to get that recipe up because it's my top number 1 favorite of 2011. Here again, I like the way I made it better, but I'm not all that fond of sweet cornbread, especially when I want to make stuffing with it.

1. Cornbread

I want to know about other great recipes people made this year, gluten-free or not. Do you have a list of favorites? Please comment and let me know.

Happy New Year everybody!

Hazelnut Truffle Squares

Another great recipe find on my epicurious app, that's also free from any gluten-containing ingredients, is the decadent sounding Chocolate Almond Truffle Squares. But there were a few obstacles in my way when it came to making it. Namely, I didn't have any Amaretto. So I decided to use Frangelico instead. Since I wasn't using almond liqueur, I figured it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for me to use hazelnuts in lieu of the almonds. My body doesn't really tolerate a lot of dairy products these days, so I substituted coconut milk for the heavy cream. But hey, at least I stuck with one original ingredient: the chocolate.

Hazlenut Truffle Squares:
16 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used 60%)
1/2 cup coconut milk (the thick, creamy part)
3 Tablespoons Frangelico
1/3 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts (next time I'm going with the skinless)

The first thing you need to do is refrigerate a can of coconut milk overnight or longer. This causes it to separate, and the thick cream will rise to the top. Then, you just have to scoop it out.

In a saucepan, heat the coconut milk just to the boiling point, and then whisk in the chocolate, stirring until it's all melted. Add in the Frangelico, whisk until smooth, and allow to cool.

Line the bottom of an 8-inch baking pan with wax paper. Melt the remaining chocolate and spread half in a thin layer over the wax paper.

Place the baking dish in the freezer for 5 minutes to set the bottom chocolate layer

Spread the truffle mixture evenly, then pour the rest of the melted chocolate on top, spreading lightly. 

Sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts. I opted to toast mine first.

Let the whole thing chill for at least three hours. I turned mine out onto a chopping board, removed the wax paper, and cut into small squares.

Overall, I'm really happy with how these came out. They're very rich and have a delicious flavor, but I have to say that they're just a tad bit too boozy for my liking. I should have anticipated this and used less Frangelico. I'll know for next time, but at least I'm not tempted to gorge myself on them. Oh, and a wee tip: make sure the truffles are good and cold. Some of mine didn't want to cut cleanly.

Chocolate Yum Yums

I tend to do a lot of baking this time of year. In an effort to keep temptations down and as many of the holiday sweets accessible to me as possible, I started looking around for naturally gluten-free recipes. I have apps for that.

A recipe called "Yum Yum Nut Sweets" got my attention, and I honestly decided to make it based solely on the name. Lucky for me, there's a chocolate variation, and the recipe doesn't call for any gluten containing ingredients. I made the recipe as printed except for using pasteurized egg whites instead of taking the time to separate eggs. I think must have used the wrong amount or something, because these came out really crunchy, and I only baked them an hour. They still tasted good, but after a few days they were just too hard to eat.

For chocolate yum yums:
nonstick cooking spray
1 cup whole roasted unsalted almonds
1 cup whole walnuts
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg whites (looks like I used 1/4 cup pasteurized egg whites)
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (I used 60%), melted

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place the nuts in a food processor and chop until they look like coarse sand. Move them to mixing bowl.

Stir in the sugar and egg whites.

Add in the melted chocolate, and press mixture into prepared pan.

The recipe says to bake 1 hour for soft cookies, and 1 1/2 hours for crisp cookies. I only baked mine for an hour because I was going for something brownie-like.

Instead, it was more nutty granola bar, only the hard, crunchy kind, not the soft and chewy ones. Like I said, these were still yummy, but I think they're supposed to be less crunchy than mine. I just need to make sure I get the egg white amount right next time.