Lanchester.net ...musings of an old nerd

In plenty of time for Christmas, let's modify the King Arthur glutenfree cookie mix slightly and toss in some delectable add-ins for a holiday treat everyone in your family will love (even the gluten-loving ones!).

Before you begin, here are a few tips:

• Cookie baking for me turns out best when using AirBake (or similar) cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
• You need a wire rack (or two) for cooling the cookies.
• A 1" Pampered Chef cookie scoop is a necessity of life. :)
• When cooking with liquor, use the real thing (not a "cooking" variety). I'm not a big drinker, so I don't know what a good brand of liquor is. I just try to buy a moderately-priced brand that's on sale.

The cookie mix calls for you to add these ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soft butter - just soften it, don't melt it completely
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons water - here's where we get wild! Substitute brandy for the water.
• 1 to 3 cups of add-ins. We'll add 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, plus 1 cup Craisins you have first tossed in boiling water for a minute, rinsed, drained, then pressed between paper towels. (Why the elaborate ruse? It removes the extra sugar coating.)

Follow the good King's instructions for everything else. Mmmmm!

I've always found Sylvan Border Farm general-purpose flour to be the best gluten-free flour, but I thought I'd branch out and try something new: Orgran All-Purpose Gluten-Free Wheat-Free Flour.

The flatbread I made with the Orgran flour was great. I still don't know if Sylvan Border Farm or Orgran is better. Orgran has lots of stars on Amazon. We'll see if I can reach a conclusion in the next few months.

Mmmm. Yes, I had pancakes this morning, and, yes, I follow a strict 100% gluten-free diet. (Gluten is a migraine trigger for me.)
 
Q: What's the secret to gluten-free pancakes?
 
A: Don't mess around with trying to find the perfect mix of various gluten-free flours. Just rush out (to the grocery store or to the internet), and buy Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Pancake Mix.
 
Even the finicky husband wolfs down these pancakes. 

The best general purpose gluten-free flour I've found is Sylvan Border Farm General-Purpose Flour. (You can order it from this link, or I've found it at Amazon in a "case" containing three small bags.)

Use it in place of regular flour for things such as:

• Cookies
• Thickening gravies
• Coating meats (e.g., fried chicken)

Each bag contains gluten-free baking tips and recipes.

NOTE: Don't use the general-purpose flour for bread. Sylvan Border Farm has a special flour for bread.

I've read a few articles and heard a podcast indicating everyone should stop eating gluten (wheat flour, barley flour, etc.), because our bodies weren't made to process it. I don't eat it because it's apparently a migraine trigger. I find I miss it a lot less than I thought I would, although avoiding it is a pain.

Every now and then you have a hankering for something, like biscuits and gravy, and those items just don't make an appearance on a standard gluten-free menu. But these gluten-free biscuits are good and easy to make. They look good, too.

And to top them off, just make Bill's Sausage Gravy, and modify the recipe thusly:

• Use your favorite gluten-free flour in place of regular flour (Sylvan Border Farm all-purpose GF flour, Bob's Red Mill all-purpose GF...).
• Use 16 oz of Jimmy Dean's regular sausage or Bob Evan's regular sausage (instead of the 12 oz maple sausage the recipe calls for).
• Toss in five dashes of Worcestershire sauce at the end for that extra special "something."
• As a shortcut, you may also modify the recipe to leave the sausage in the pan, and add the flour to the sausage, browning the flour in with the sausage before adding the milk. (Sounds bizarre, but it works fabulously!)

Yummy.