Pumpkin Cream Cheese Truffles

Ingredients

1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate
2 cups semisweet chocolate, or you can use any favorite melting chocolate
1/2 cup GF graham-style cookie crumbs
1/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Dash of ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
Garnish options: coconut flakes, sprinkles, sugar, crumbs, drizzle of chocolate

Directions:

Melt the 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler over medium-low heat or in the microwave for about 1 minute. Stir often to keep the chocolate from burning. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add graham crumbs, pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, salt and cream cheese and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Transfer to a shallow bowl, cover and chill until just solid enough to roll into balls, about 2 hours.

Line a large sheet tray with parchment paper. Melt remaining 2 cups chocolate and transfer to a small, deep bowl. Roll 1 heaping teaspoon of the pumpkin mixture into a ball in your hands, then drop into the chocolate. Working quickly, gently spoon chocolate over to coat. Using a small spoon or fork, lift the truffle out of the chocolate, shake off excess and transfer to prepared sheet tray. Dollop a bit of extra chocolate on any parts that remain exposed, then sprinkle a garnish over the top.

Chill truffles until chocolate is completely set, about 1 hour.

Makes about 45-50 small to medium truffles
 
I adapted this recipe from Whole Foods

Nutrition... I don't even want to know!

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake Muffins

These "muffins" are more like cupcakes but make a nice breakfast or dessert on the go, or with coffee on a Sunday morning.

Recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. GF flour (see a previous baked goods recipe)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 bag chocolate chips

Cinnamon Sugar:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter and sugar until light, then add the eggs. Mix well. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Mix well. Add the flour mixture and baking soda and powder, mix until just all moistened - do not over-mix.

Put one spoonful of batter each into greased muffin cups. Sprinkle top of each with some cinnamon sugar and some chocolate chips. Top with another spoonful of batter and then top with more cinnamon sugar and chocolate chips... pat the chips into the batter slightly.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Makes 12-15 muffins, depending on how big you want them!

Hershey's Kiss Peanut Blossoms

I admit, they are not *quite* as amazing as the regular recipe, but they are pretty damn close!

Recipe:

1 3/4 cup GF flour mix (see previous cookie recipes for recipe)

1 tsp baking soda

a few dashes salt

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I like Skippy's Natural kind)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag Hershey’s kisses

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Unwrap all the kisses, eat a few, and put the rest aside.

Cream the peanut butter, butter, and sugars. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

Add flour mix, salt and baking soda until mixed well. Chill the dough for about 30 minutes to an hour so they are easier to shape into balls.

Scoop big rounded teaspoons of dough and roll between hands to make them into balls, then roll each ball in granulated sugar and place on an ungreased baking sheet, about one inch apart.

Bake for 6 - 7 minutes. Take the cookies out and place one kiss in the center of each cookie, pressing the kiss down into the cookie gently so it "sticks" in there. Then bake 1 - 2 more minutes to "set" them.

Makes 35 - 50 cookies, depending on the size.

Melting Moments Cookies

These are so incredibly light and melt in your mouth. I think the GF version is even better than the non-GF!! Sorry I forgot to take a photo of these :(... you can see what they look like here - different recipe, but they look the same!

Melting Moments cookie recipe:

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/3 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 c. GF flour mixture (see recipe below)

1 c. butter, softened (yes, use REAL butter)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix all ingredients together and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls (about 1 heaping tsp worth), place on ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten just slightly. Bake 12-14 minutes. Let them cool before transferring off the cookie sheets.

I like to put a big "dot" of frosting on the tops!

Frosting:

My favorite isn't measured precisely... I take a cup or two of powdered sugar and add 1 T of water at a time and mix until it's the desired frosting consistency, then I add almond extract until it tastes good (about 1 tsp per cup of frosting).

Makes about 50-60 cookies.

All-purpose GF flour mix recipe:

(double or triple all measurements to make a bigger supply of this flour mix that substitutes well for most flour in baked goods)... I like Bob's Red Mill GF products. Xanthan gum is pricey but a bag lasts a long time. You can also get just the amount you want in the bulk container of herbs and spices at most specialty grocers... I bought a couple tsps worth at Whole Foods (in with their whole leave teas and herbs) for about 50 cents.

2 c. rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

Finally! A sugar cut-out cookie recipe that turns out like the non-GF version I remember making with my family when I was a kid. These are so good, no one will know they are gluten free - promise!

A few tips that you really need to follow to get the good results:

~ Chill the dough for about a half hour, then knead gently with your hands to form a ball before you try to roll them out.

~ Be generous flouring the surface you're going to roll them out on with rice flour - and flour the rolling pin before and in between batches... the dough will stick like to everything otherwise, and won't roll out well.

~ Also be generous with vanilla extract for yummy flavored cookies. I like french vanilla flavoring.

~ Use real butter only.

~ Different ovens may produce different results. Check them a couple minutes before they are supposed to be done. They should look only very slightly golden, and should not have any soft spots left. I let my oven preheat quite long to make sure the temp is perfect before I start baking, and if your oven tends to overcook things, bake at a slightly lower temperature than this recipe suggests (10 to 20 degrees less).

Recipe:

1 cup sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 egg yolks

2 tsp vanilla flavoring

2 1/4 cups GF flour blend (see below for recipe)

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat over to 350 degrees F.

Beat together sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla, mix until all blended together.

Add the salt and flour mixture. Mix until all blended into a dough. CHILL the dough in the refrigerator for 30 min.

Roll out the dough onto floured surface - flour the rolling pin and your hands, too - in one big handful-sized ball at a time - roll dough slightly thinner than a half centimeter thick. Cut in desired shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Usually 10 is perfect. When they are done let them cool before moving them onto plates to decorate, or they might crumble.

Frost (see frosting recipe below) and decorate if desired, or just eat them plain.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies, depending on size.

Frosting:

My favorite isn't measured precisely... I take a cup or two of powdered sugar and add 1 T of water at a time and mix until it's the desired frosting consistency, then I add almond extract until it tastes good (about 1 tsp per cup of frosting).

All-purpose GF flour mix recipe:

(double or triple all measurements to make a bigger supply of this flour mix that substitutes well for most flour in baked goods)... I like Bob's Red Mill GF products. Xanthan gum is pricey but a bag lasts a long time. You can also get just the amount you want in the bulk container of herbs and spices at most specialty grocers... I bought a couple tsps worth at Whole Foods (in with their whole leave teas and herbs) for about 50 cents.

2 c. rice flour

2/3 cup potato starch

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum