I’m really not one for cakes (cheesecake is the one exception, but that’s totally different). But I have to admit, every once in a blue moon there is nothing better than a huge cup of coffee and a slice of coffee cake. I absolutely loved this recipe. I actually only made it because I had all the ingredients on hand, but it was so simple and quick to get together. Perfect for a quick breakfast sweet or an easy last-minute tea/coffee date.

I have to say that this coffee cake is definitely at its best straight from the oven. Despite wrapping  the cake up nice and tight, the next day it was close to rock solid the next day. That’s just the way gluten-free flours tend to be. A quick 10, 15 seconds in the microwave and the problem was solved.

I really wanted to make some autumnally appropriate baked goods, but it’s still a million degrees here and the last few weeks the internet has been overloaded by pumpkin. Pumpkin is not my thing. It looks gross and even though I can’t remember what it tastes like (I’ve only had it twice), I’m pretty sure it tastes gross too. Apple seemed to be a seasonal flavor that was more my speed.

I had two problems with these when they were done. They were extremely dense. Super dense baked goods can just be the outcome of gluten free baking. It happens. I’ve also never made donuts before, let alone baked, gluten free donuts, so I’m not quite sure why these were so dense, but they were. The donuts were also insanely sweet. I know donuts are meant to be sweet, but I think the combination of sugar and applesauce (even though it was unsweetened) was just too much. If I made these again, I would probably scale down the sugar even more to maybe just 2 tablespoons. Because they were so sweet, I decided not to make a glaze for them and warm from the oven, they did not need one either.

There’s a man with a van who hangs out around the closest big intersection to my house. He sells things out of the back of his van. Primarily berries and cherries, but sometimes there are avocados and mangoes or pumpkins and pineapples; it kind of just depends on the season. I live about 40 minutes away from one of California’s biggest strawberry growing regions, so we pretty much get them year round. They are just starting to come into their main season at the moment. The berry man has become my go to source for strawberries and other various items, because 1. he’s cheap, 2. he has a hand painted sign that says ‘Picked Fresh Today’ and 3. they are always delicious, which makes me believe the sign and love the price even more. I drove by the berry man the other day and got the genius idea of buying a full flat of strawberries, which turned out to be able SIX pounds, which is sort of a lot. I felt pretty proud of myself getting 6 pounds of strawberries for just over $2 a pound, especially considering how expensive they are in the grocery store, but as soon as I got home, I realized I had to figure out what to do with six pounds of strawberries…

My first strawberry endeavor was this delicious muffin recipe. It’s perfect for a sweet breakfast treat and also makes a pretty satisfying dessert. Quite frankly, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with Nutella. The fresh strawberries only make the Nutella even more enjoyable. My favorite part of these muffins is the little Nutella line that runs through the center. It basically ensures you get a bit of Nutella in every bite!

Strawberry Nutella Muffins (adapted rom Prevention RD)

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Better Batter)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1/3 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together canola oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir, you don’t want to over mix. The batter will be very thick; fold in the strawberries.
4. Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Next, add a small spoonful of Nutella to each muffin cup. Cover the Nutella filling with the remaining batter.
5. Bake muffins for 22-26 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack. Yield: 12 muffins.

(Un)Fortunately, my dogs decided that 5.30 am was an appropriate time to wake up yesterday morning. I’m the type of person, that once I’m awake, I am w i d e  awake. So, instead of pretending to try to sleep, I decided to bake. I made bread! I don’t know why, but this felt like a major accomplishment. Maybe because it was my first baking adventure of the new year or maybe because there was kneading and yeast and rising; I had never done any of that before. Part of the sense of accomplishment came from how good this bread was.

The end result was good. Like, real, full of gluten, good. I can eat gluten, Mama CC cannot, and even though I don’t eat gluten often, I am still the official compare-er(?) of ‘real’ bread and gluten-free bread. I couldn’t tell the difference. This bread had a really crunchy crust, which I feel like a lot of gluten-free breads lack. The crust reminded me of the type of loaf you get in bakeries. I definitely cut the bread too soon, it was still very hot, but I was too excited to wait. The bread it self was slightly denser than ‘real’ bread, but much, much lighter than most store-bought gluten-free bread that we’ve tried. Mama CC says it’s the closest thing she has had to real bread since she found out she had Celiac, which I would call a huge endorsement. All around, this recipes was a winner!

I was a little wary of the molasses/sugar that was added to the bread. I was concerned that the bread would turn out really sweet and more dessert like than bread like. I used molasses and you couldn’t even taste it.

I know I just went on and on about how great this gluten free bread is, but if gluten isn’t an issue for you, whole wheat flour would be perfect for this recipe. The end result would be nice and earthy with a nutty walnut touch.

Gluten Free Walnut Bread (from Tesco Real Food)

• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 eggs
• 320ml (11fl oz) milk
• 450g (1lb) gluten-free or whole wheat flour (I used Better Batter)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons molasses or unrefined dark muscovado sugar
• 50 grams (2 ounces) walnuts, chopped
• 2 teaspoons quick yeast/1 instant yeast packet if you are in the US

1. Beat the vinegar, oil, molasses if you are using it, and eggs into the milk in a jug. Put the flour, salt, sugar if you are using it, and nuts into a bowl, and stir in the yeast. Make a well in the center, and pour in the liquid from the jug. With a dinner knife, combine all the ingredients until you have a sticky dough. Turn out onto a surface you have dusted with gluten-free flour, sprinkle some on the top and knead the dough for about five minutes until it is smooth.
2. Lightly grease a baking tin, and formt the dough into a rough sausage shape, placing in the tin. Cover with oiled cling film, and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Meanwhile heat the oven to 425F/220C/Gas mark 7. Bake the loaf for 40-45 minutes. Turn out and cool thoroughly on a rack before slicing.

Now that silly birthday things are out of the way, it’s time to get down to some very serious business.

IT’S THANKSGIVING!

Well almost, but it’s my favorite holiday of the year, so I take it very seriously. I am also more than a little peeved about the unnecessary encroachment of halloween and Christmas on T-giving’s turf. Back up off my favorite holiday, yo!

I have a habit of not being in America for great American holidays, but in no way does that put a damper on the celebration. I’m actually pretty excited to be in the States for this Thanksgiving, because the last few years, I’ve kind of been all over the place… This one year I was on a boat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, then I was in Budapest, the next year I was in Italy, then the year after I was in London and cooking for 25 with 1 oven and a raging case of meningitis, and then I was back in Budapest again and I nearly burnt down a really important historic building owned by the US Government. True story.

My preliminary planning for Thanksgiving may or may not have begun in February of this year… Stop it right now! Don’t you dare judge me. It’s called enthusiasm!

Like every family, we have our own traditions and favorite dishes, but I always like to try out a couple new dishes every year as well. Regardless of where in the world I’ve been or who I’ve been cooking for, I have a couple steadfast rules and traditions on which I will not budge.

• There will be cornbread stuffing
• There will be no canned cranberry sauce (unless Lauren is there and only then)
• There will be no canned cream of something soup anywhere near my green beans
• All vegetables shall be fresh, no canned, no frozen, just fresh
• Turkey is not that big a deal
• If you want pumpkin pie, you can make it yourself, pecan is where it’s at

Read this recipe and then run to the kitchen to make them! Even if gluten isn’t an issue for you or if you are attempting to figure out gluten-free snack everyone can enjoy, these are going to be the perfect addition to any upcoming holiday gatherings you have coming up. I used freshly grated sharp white cheddar. I think sharp or extra sharp cheddar is going to be essential in making this (Seriously, why do people even bother with mild cheddar? Life’s unsolved mysteries…).

I plan on making these again as one of my Thanksgiving appetizers. I’m thinking of taking these to the next level though. Parmesan-Rosemary, Chipotle-Cheddar, Gorgonzola! The possibilities are endless. It’s going to be exciting.

The crackers will keep for a few days in a sealed plastic bag, but I don’t imagine them being around that long.

Cheddar Cheese Crackers (from Elana Amsterdam’s The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook via Cookistry)

• 1 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 baking soda
• 1/2 cup freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 large egg

We had 3 days of sub-70 degree temperatures here in Southern California, which means it’s kinda, sorta officially autumn.  Time to bust out the scarves, jackets and boots and other autumnal things that are still completely inappropriate in this climate. I decided to go all out and just dive into the deep end of fall. I feel like the deep end of fall is most accurately embodied by pumpkin in it’s various forms. I dabbled around in the shallow end of pumpkin, with some gnocchi and lattes, a couple weeks ago, but brace yourself.

If you like pumpkin pie or even vaguely think that pumpkin scented candles are sort nice, you definitely need to go ahead and make this. The bourbon and chocolate chips are totally optional, but I think they are totally necessary. Just do it. This is a perfect dessert for any halloween or fall cocktail parties you have coming up. It would also be great for a casual Thanksgiving get together. So just go ahead and make it now. Everyone will love you.

Pumpkin Pie Bars (from Joy the Baker)

• 1-1/3 cups flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill GF All-purpose mix)
• 3/4 cup  granulated sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup  (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter
• 1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked (used Bob’s Red Mill GF Oats)
• 1/2 cup  chopped walnuts
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 3   eggs
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)
• a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips for sprinkling on top (optional)

When I was living overseas, there was no such thing as pumpkin pie spice. Pumpkin just isn’t put in pie form in other parts of the world. But I was quite happy to learn that it was super easy to make your own pumpkin pie spice. I’ve never used the ready mixed version, I’ve always made my own and word on the street is that it’s pretty good.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice