Crazy Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting - allergy free

Here is the cake before frosting and after.

My friend from work, Bonnie, eats gluten-free and passed this recipe on to me to test out.  I had seen it before, but never with someone having tried it with a gluten-free flour blend.  Since I have had the most luck when I mix flour blends, I used two blends together.  I also followed the advice of the gluten-free reader who said to increase the baking soda.  I looked at the frostings that were recommended on the site and remembered a peanut butter one I had put on a peanut butter cake and decided to convert that one instead.  Side note, if you make the peanut butter cake, you need to bake for 30 minutes, not 15 as stated in the recipe.  Also, I forgot to add a bit of xanthan gum, next time I make it I plan to put some in.

Crazy Cake

3/4 cup cups gluten free all purpose blend (bob's red mill - garbanzo bean flour main ingredient)
3/4 cup gluten free multi-purpose flour blend (king arthur or betty crocker - rice flour main ingredient)
1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar

In a mixing bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  Add water, oil, vanilla, and vinegar.  Quickly mix together and pour into lightly greased 8x8" baking dish.  Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.  It is important to work quickly so that you don't lose any of the leavening action.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 stick butter (earth balance buttery stick - milk free)
2 T milk (almond milk - milk free)
1/4 cup peanut butter (wowbutter - peanut free)
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 T vanilla

Place butter, milk, and peanut butter in a bowl and microwave until melted.  Stir in vanilla and then add powdered sugar.  Spread over warm cake.

Covers & Covers

One time my friend Emily and I were trying to decide what to make for supper and we came across this recipe.  It is delicious.

Covers & Covers

2 tube crescent rolls
1 LB hamburger
2 T onion - chopped
1/4 cup salsa
6 slice velveeta cheese

Brown hamburger with onion, drain. Stir in salsa and heat through. Roll out 1 tube crescent rolls, pressing to seal cuts. Top with meat mixture and then cheese slices. Unroll second tube and place on top. Pinch together edges to form a pocket. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.

Spaghetti Pie

I keep forgetting to take pictures until after we have already dug into the food.  Oh well, it was still delicious.  I got this recipe from my sister in law, Sue.

Spaghetti Pie

8 oz spaghetti noodles
2 T butter
1/3 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs - beaten
1 cup cottage cheese
1 LB hamburger
1/4 cup onion - chopped (optional)
1/4 cup green pepper - chopped (optional)
1 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded

Cook spaghetti, drain. Stir in butter, parmesan cheese, eggs, and cottage cheese. Use spaghetti mixture as "crust" in a 10" pie pan. Brown hamburger, onions, and green pepper, drain fat. Stir in spaghetti sauce and heat through. Pour over spaghetti. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Doubled recipe:

1 LB spaghetti noodles
1/2 stick butter
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
4 eggs - beaten
1 pint cottage cheese
1 LB hamburger
1/4 cup onion - chopped (optional)
1/4 cup green pepper - chopped (optional)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded

Strawberry Freezer Jelly

I grew up on this stuff, and can't possibly switch to store bought.  Sorry, it is just not the same.  This is goodness in a jar.  I am almost out of the 3 or 4 batches that I made last summer, so I made 2 batches this afternoon to restock my freezer.  Each batch makes 3 of these 2 cup ball plastic jars.

Strawberry Freezer Jelly

2 cups liquid strawberries (from a little more than 1 qt berries)
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1 envelope fruit pectin (Ball or Sure-Gel, not low sugar)

Clean strawberries and place in a food processor or blender and process until mostly liquid.  In a large bowl, measure 4 cups of sugar, then add the strawberry liquid (make sure to measure it or it will not set!) and stir well.  Let sit for 10 minutes.  In a small saucepan, mix together water and fruit pectin.  Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Stir pectin mixture into strawberries and mix for 3 minutes.  Pour into prepared jars and leave at room temperature for 24 hours.  Then place in freezer and take them out as you need them.

Allergen Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from Learning to Bake Allergen Free by Collette Martin - if you have or have a child with food allergies, I highly recommend buying this book.

It can be used to make sugar cookies too (omit chocolate chips and top with raw sugar).

She designed the recipe with buckwheat flour instead of oat flour, but Henry did not like them and wouldn't eat them (I also did not think they tasted very good, but Grandpa took them home, they reminded him of some that his mother used to make).  I remade them with oat flour - I made the oat flour myself!  I didn't know that you could do that, but I just took some oats and ground them in a food processor, voila, oat flour.  And now they taste like actual cookies!!!  I can't tell you how excited I am about this.

Allergen Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup oat flour
3/4 cup gluten free all purpose blend (bob's red mill - garbanzo bean flour main ingredient)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar

1 stick earth balance natural shortening - cold

2 T unsweetened applesauce - cold

2 tsp water (as needed)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (enjoy life - milk free)

Whisk together flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Cut shortening into tablespoon-sized pieces and cut in with a pastry cutter.  Keep cutting until the shortening is about pea-sized.  Stir in applesauce.  Add enough water until the dough comes together, about 2 tsp.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Use a small cookie scoop and place on cookie sheets - do not flatten, bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes.  Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

The other day Jer was eating a bunch of Henry's allergy free chocolate chip cookies and I wanted to know why, and he said that they are his favorite thing and I haven't made just chocolate chip cookies in a long time.  So I decided to make some, since regular ones taste better and are less expensive than Henry's. 

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 T whole milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips

Melt the butter, set aside to cool slightly.  Mix butter and sugars, add egg and yolk and mix well.  Mix in vanilla and milk.  Mix in bread flour, salt, and baking soda.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Use a large cookie scoop (about 2 T) and place 6 per pan.  Bake at 350° for 14 minutes.  Rotate pans half way through.  Set on racks to cool.  Makes 2.5 dozen large cookies or 5 dozen small (bake 11 minutes).

Bombshell Brownies

Wow are these delicious.  I have made two pans of these in the last week and this is all that is left to take a picture of.  Sorry.  Go make your own. :)  I made these again with m&m's instead of chocolate chips.  YUM.  If you are going gluten/wheat free - just make your own oat flour and replace the wheat flour - you can hardly tell the difference!

Bombshell Brownies

2 stick butter
3 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour (oat flour (recipe below) - wheat free)
1 tsp salt
1 cup cocoa
1/2 bag chocolate chips or m&m's

Melt butter, stir in sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla.  Add flour, salt, and cocoa.  Mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Spoon into greased 9x13" baking dish.  Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Oat Flour

Place oatmeal in a food processor and process until it is the consistency of flour.  Measure equivalent cup for cup with regular flour.