Here is a gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe that is advertised as being better than standard chocolate chip cookies.   Give it a try and let me know if you agree in the comments below!

Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 6 oz. GF chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl: cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl mix together flours, salt, xanthan gum (opt.), baking powder, and baking soda.
5. Slowly add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture.
6. Last, mix in chocolate chips.
7. Place golf-ball sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an UNGREASED cookie sheet.
8. Bake 7-9 minutes or JUST UNTIL edges are light brown.
   (The cookies WILL NOT look completely cooked when you pull them out of the oven! That’s what you want! That’s part of the secret to these awesome cookies! DO NOT overbake them!)
9. Let cookies cool on a wire baking rack or the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes. This will allow cookies to retain their shape for eating!

[Recipe Courtesy of Ginger Lemon Girl]

Pizza is another one of those foods where there are a number of gluten free options available, but very few are very tasty.   Whether you buy your gluten free pizzas pre-made or purchases crusts and add your own sauce, have you ever considered making a completely homemade pizza crust and sauce?

This is far and away the best gluten free pizza I have run across to date.   Give it a try and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Best Gluten Free Pizza Recipe

Pizza Crust Ingredients:

• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt   

Pizza Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pizza Crust Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.
2. In small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in milk.
3. In medium mixer bowl, beat flours, xanthan gum, salt, and seasoning on low speed.
4. Add yeast-mixture, 1 teaspoon of the oil, and vinegar and beat until blended, about 30 seconds.
5. Dough will be soft.
6. Put dough on lightly greased 12-inch nonstick pizza pan and liberally sprinkle with white rice flour.
7. Press dough to edges of pan, con-tinuing to sprinkle with flour to prevent stick-ing to your hands. Make edges thicker to hold toppings.
8. Bake crust 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Spread crust with sauce and your choice of toppings.
11. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until top is nicely browned.
12. Remove from oven, brush outer crust with remaining oil, and serve immediately

Pizza Sauce Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in small saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, while Pizza Crust is being assembled. (Makes about 1 cup)

[Recipe Courtesy of Savory Palate]

How does a gluten free cheesecake sound?  Here is a good recipe for baked banana and chocolate cheesecake that I believe you will enjoy.

Base Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 100g gluten-free bread crumbs (from my particularly crumbly GF bread atempt. Biscuits can also be used)
• 1 tbsp cocoa (optional)
• 2 tbsp golden syrup

Cheesecake Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• 250g quark or ricotta cheese
• 100ml double cream
• 4 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 organic egg, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cocoa
• For extra chocolate fix, chocolate hazelnut spread (Nutella) to serve

Cheesecake Directions:

1. Preheat the oven gas mark 6.
2. Place the bananas on a baking tray and roast for 15mins until the skins are black. Peel & mash with the back of a fork. Set aside to cool. Reduce the oven to gas mark 4.
3. To make the base, mix all the ingredients together and press into the bottom of a pre-greased cake tin. Bake in the oven for 10mins, remove & cool
4. Place the quark & cream in a mixing bowl. Beat in 3 tbsp of icing sugar and the cornflour.
5. Then add the egg & vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
6. In a separate bowl, dollop 2 generous tbsp of the cheesecake batter. Add the cocoa & 1 tbsp icing sugar, blend until well combined.
7. With the remaining cheesecake batter, add the mashed banana. Mix until well combined.
8. Pour the banana mix on top of the biscuit base, then dollop the chocolate mix on to this. Using a chopstick, swirl these two together to form a marbled pattern.
9. Bake for 30-40mins, until just set in the center and firm around the edges. Turn the oven off but leave the cheesecake to cool there for 1 ½-2 hrs, before transferring to the fridge to chill completely.

[Recipe Courtesy of Tea Factory]

Remember that labeling law the FDA approved specifically to help people with Celiac Disease?  I noticed Atlanticville has written a quick reminder about the change and thought I would pass it along. Here is a portion of their post:

Currently, U.S. food-labeling laws require that the eight most allergenic foods (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans) be listed by their commonly recognized name on ingredient labels of packaged foods sold in the United States. The labeling requirement, which took effect in 2006 under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, helped consumers identify ingredients they needed to avoid as a result of various allergies and intolerances; however, for individualswith celiac disease, the labeling requirement was only partly helpful.

A definition of “gluten-free” has been developed for voluntary use on product labels, effective in August. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs and highly refined oils are not included, but any other processed food may put “glutenfree” on its label if it contains less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. There will also be new retail labeling guidelines in the fall regarding the country of origin of beef, lamb, pork, fish, shellfish, fruits, vegetables and peanuts. The information must state whether a product comes from the United States only, foreign sources only or is of mixed origin. Restaurants, cafeterias, food stands, and a few other small entities are exempt from this regulation.

Foods not governed by these guidelines may result in misleading labels that do not accurately reflect where individual ingredients are grown and processed. For example, a candy bar that is labeled “Product of France” may actually contain peanuts from Argentina.

Possibly my favorite treat is scotch-a-roos, so I have to say I was incredibly excited when I came across a recipe for gluten free scotch-a-roos.  It is actually just a normal recipe for a gluten free crispy rice.

Gluten Free Scotch-a-Roos Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups corn syrup
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups peanut butter
• 1 to 1 1/2 boxes crispy rice (Nature’s Path Crispy Rice)
• Chocolate chips
• Butterscotch chips

Scotch-a-Roos Directions:

1. In a pot combine corn syrup and water.
2. Heat on stove top until the mixture boils and becomes clear.
3. Take the mixture of the heat and add the 2 cups of peanut butter.
4. Stir it constantly until the peanut butter melts.
5. Add the crispy rice.
6. What I do is grease my pan and pour in the crispy rice ahead of time.
7. Then when the liquid part is ready to go I pour it over the rice and mix it in the pan it is going to be sit in.

Frosting Directions:

1. Equal parts chocolate chips and butterscotch chips.
2. Melt them together and frost scotch-a-roos.

[Recipe Courtesy of Celiac Teens]