OK, so for me to make that assertion, this frosting is gonna be good.

I’ve been making frosting for a long time, and I never stop looking for the perfect recipe.  You may have noticed that just two weeks ago, I posted another icing idea on this site, and I would be lying if I told you that I’m not, as of late, obsessed with frosting.  The frosting in Allergy-Free Desserts is based on a 7 minute frosting– it’s light and marshmallow-y, and it tastes just like a cross between meringue and buttercream (without all of the eggs and butter, of course).  It is one of my very, very favorites.  However, sometimes I want to make something that is equally as yummy, but heavy and rich like the buttercream recipe from the side of the Domino sugar box, the one that my mom made when I was little, the one that a lot of my friends still use when they are making frosting for the non-allergic set.  So, today I did just that.  I got to thinking about just eating frosting by the spoonful (for many reasons I’ve really been indulging lately), and this recipe struck me.  It’s too hot to bake, so I’m opting just for the frosting.  I just have to recommend that you do not do what I just did– do not use a shallow bowl for this and definitely do NOT wear a white shirt while making it.  I literally ended up covered and smothered in chocolate!  Here are the beaters that my girls attacked when the frosting was all done.  They gave it two thumbs up…..

Best Chocolate Icing EVER

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons Enjoy Life Foods dairy and soy-free chocolate chips

1 cup organic palm fruit oil shortening

1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso crystals

5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2/3 cup So Delicious vanilla coconut milk kefir

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, careful not to scorch them.  Stir until they are smooth and set them aside to cool.  In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the shortening and unsweetened cocoa powder.  Beat in the slightly cooled, melted chocolate chips and the espresso crystals.  Slowly stir in the confectioner’s sugar and the coconut milk kefir, starting and ending with the confectioner’s sugar.  Beat until the frosting is smooth.

Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes

Oh the field day that I could have with such cliches as:  millet, it’s not for the birds!  But I won’t.

Once reserved strictly for bird feed, millet is my new best friend.  Now, I’ve been eating millet and using it in savories for awhile (get ready for my bread recipe in The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook, out in January), but it has only been recently that I have started using it in cookie baking.  Millet is high in magnesium, fiber and phosphorus, not to mention the fact that it is naturally gluten-free, so when I heard about it about 10 years ago, I didn’t hesitate to try it. However, since Allergy-Free Desserts came out, the number one most frequent question that I get is: “What can I substitute for X?”  Most times, X is one of the flours that I used in that book.  At first I was stumped, but I quickly learned that millet is the best, most flavor-neutral substitute for both garbanzo flour and Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour.  It has nearly the same weight, so it works as an easy substitute, and it does not have the distinctive flavor of flours like quinoa or buckwheat.  Best of all, you will be amazed by what it does for a batch of cookies.  Here’s why it’s so great:  when you use millet flour in cookies, they spread, they have a lovely crumb and maintain a chewy texture without being sandy or dry.

So, on this hot summer day, why not crank up the air conditioning and fire up the oven?  You really have to give these orange-y cookies a try.  They are chewy, delicious and sunny just like the outdoors.  Grab the millet and get going– you’re  in for a treat.

Orange Millet Cookies

2 1/4 cup millet flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup organic palm fruit oil shortening

3/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon orange extract

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed meal

6 tablespoons water

zest of one orange, plus more for garnish if desired

Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1 tablespoon orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, whisk together the millet flour, the baking soda, baking powder, salt and xanthan gum until they are thoroughly mixed.  Set them aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the shortening, sugars and orange extract until they are light and fluffy.  While the sugars and shortening are creaming, mix together the ground flaxseed meal and water and let them sit for 1-2 minutes.  Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the flaxseed meal mixture and beat again until it is light and fluffy.  Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix on low until the flours are thoroughly incorporated.  Fold in the orange zest and then scoop the dough with either a  1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop or by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared sheets.  Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are just golden brown.  Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheets for 15 minutes.  Remove them to cooling racks to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the glaze.  Mix together the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until they are smooth and of spreading consistency.  I the glaze is too thick, add additional orange juice 1/4 teaspoon at a time or until it is the desired consistency.  Spread the glaze over the completely cooled cookies and sprinkle with a little orange zest, if using.  Serve immediately or store leftovers in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3-5 days.  The completely cooled, unglazed cookies may also be stored, frozen, in airtight container for up to 3 months.

Makes 36 cookies

I talk about the fact that there are bake sales at school almost every other week all the time.  What I don’t mention as often is that in the summertime, we have at least one potluck a week, and I hate to serve repeats.  The way that I avoid this is by putting a new twist on old favorites.  Just about any cupcake tastes great with chocolate frosting, but the trouble is that frosting takes longer to make than a glaze.  Glazes are usually just some confectioner’s sugar thinned with lemon juice, espresso, orange juice, vanilla and rice milk or really any other liquid that might pair well with the particular cake you are baking.  However, I offer up this little trick:  Bake vanilla or chocolate cupcakes (I have both in my book, Allergy-Free Desserts) and spoon melted gluten, dairy and soy-free chocolate chips on top.  A small spoonful is enough, and you don’t even need to smooth it out.  Throw some sprinkles on top and call it a day.  People will marvel at your cupcake’s tastiness and beauty, and you will have only devoted 5 minutes of your summer day to icing.

As you know by now, I have a new book coming out in January called The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook.  And, as you probably already know, I’m super-excited about it. This enthusiasm stems not only from the fact that I can’t wait for you to have some new recipes and that I happen to love comfort foods, but also from the fact that, sometimes, I even surprise myself.  When I start testing recipes, I never know what is going to happen.  I usually have a pretty good idea that the recipe will work, but sometimes, what I think will work doesn’t.  Fortunately for me, this one did.  As I started writing this book, I wanted to create mostly all-American recipes, and I wanted to do them differently than in my last book.  I learned a lot getting to this point in my baking, and I learned that texture can really be effected by the type of fat one uses in a recipe.  So, for example, in my new pie crust recipe, I switched to lard (don’t worry if lard doesn’t work for your dietary restrictions, you can use palm fruit oil shortening) to make my pie crust even flakier and a couple of cookie recipes have the mouth-feel that I remembered from my childhood.  I had no idea going into it if it would work with xanthan and alternative flours.  I think you’ll agree that from the photo, it came out just fine.  I can’t wait for you to get the new book so you can try out all of my new tricks and get a taste of this flaky, cherry-filled pie.

With summer upon us, it means that it’s time to make pies.  Now, I know that pies are all the rage right now, but I’ve been making Summer and Fall pies for years.  Blueberry pies are a personal favorite, and now that Oysterponds Farm, the farm stand down the street from us is growing blueberries, I have been baking up a storm.   In order to bake single crust pies, you obviously need a good recipe, which you can get in either Allergy-Free Desserts or my upcoming book The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook. Then you need a good set of pie weights to keep the single crust from bubbling up as it bakes .  You can either buy the kind pictured above or simply use some dried beans.  Either works well to keep the bottom of the pie flat and the sides of the crust from sliding down the sides of the pie plate as it bakes.  I love the ceramic weights in the photo because I don’t always have a bag of dried beans in the cupboard, but I always have these around.  Simply make the crust according to the recipe, roll it out and cut it to fit your pie plate.  Then, line the inside of the pie with parchment and place the pie weights on top.  Bake the crust according to the recipe instructions and then fill it with your favorite filling.  It’s that easy.

I put up this photo just to get the 800 pound gorilla out of the way right off the bat.  Although it is probably stuck in your head already, try not to think about the Chia Pet theme song of our youth.  The 80′s aren’t the only thing that are back, Chia seeds are back in a big way, too, and as it turns out, they are actually good for you!  Chia seeds are high in calcium, essential fatty acids, fiber and protein so for those of us who must avoid dairy and are sick of eating salmon and broccoli, here is an alternate source for bone-strengthening calcium.  What I like about Chia seeds is that they are useful in baking for they can both replace eggs and fat in your recipes, but not at the same time.  In order to replace one egg in a recipe, take white chia seeds and grind about a handful of them in a clean coffee grinder or spice mill.  Then mix 1 tablespoon of the ground meal and mix it with 3 tablespoons of water.  Let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes.  Add the mixture in to the recipe when it calls for the addition of eggs.

Now if eggs aren’t the problem, but you are just trying to cut back on a few calories to slide into your bikini or swim trunks, you can also use this power food as a fat replacer for up to 1/3 of the fat in cakes and quick breads.  Mix 1/2 cup+2 tablespoons water with 1 tablespoon of Chia seeds.  Let it sit for about 10-15 minutes or until a gel forms.  Then, if your cake calls for 1 cup of butter, shortening or oil, use 1/3 cup of the gel and 2/3 cup of the recommended shortening in the recipes.  Voila! You’ll have a lower fat, nutrient-dense version of your favorite treat.  Just don’t eat too much of it, even reduced fat treats have calories.  Store the remaining gel in an airtight container for up to a week.

Happy Memorial Day!  I hope that you have spent the weekend with friends, barbecuing, going to parades and toasting lots of marshmallows.  Today is the unofficial start of summer, and until recently, my summers have felt empty without S’mores.  I love S’mores, and so do my girls, so much so, in fact, that I sometimes roast marshmallows with them over the flame of our gas range.  Unfortunately, I can’t eat the graham crackers, so I just have to eat those gooey, just-golden- brown marshmallows.  When I started putting together my new book, The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook, I decided that I had to come up with a way to do a S’more.  Given that cookies are my first love, I thought I’d combine the two, and I just cannot wait for you to taste these.  The cookies taste just like a graham cracker, but they are soft and chewy  like a cookie should be.  The marshmallows are toasted to the perfect golden, and the chocolate underneath is deliciously dairy and soy-free as well as dark and very intense.  I hate to keep showing you these photos without an accompanying recipe, but I’m just so excited that I want you to see what’s coming.

Memorial Day is just around the corner and that means that the unofficial start of summer is upon us.  Whether you make your own ice cream (I’ll have a recipe for you in my next cookbook) or you buy an allergy-free favorite at the store, you will need a good ice cream scoop.  Now, I know that this sounds silly.  All scoops are created alike, right?  Wrong.  A few years ago, I believed that they were and scoffed when my mother bought me an Anti-Freeze ice cream scoop .  I used it and thought it was great, but then, because I hadn’t read the directions, I promptly threw it into the dishwasher and ruined it.  Oops.  Fast forward to now.  Since I started trying alternative milk ice creams, like So Delicious coconut milk ice cream, I realized that some of those ice creams can be really hard when they first come out of the freezer.  That’s where this ice cream scoop comes in.  I just bought another one, and with it I find it so much easier to immediately satisfy an ice cream craving.  The scoop melts the ice cream just enough that it is scoopable straight from the freezer.  So, as you plan your summer festivities, add in lots of ice cream sundaes and a great ice cream scoop to make them happen.  Your kids and your tastebuds will thank you (though your waistline may not).

I feel like there is a bake sale at school every other week, and thanks to these bake sales, I have learned that there is one dessert that kids never tire of: Rice Krispy Treats.  I feel fortunate that kids love such a quick and easy thing to make, and because I am often short on time, I love to make these as my contribution to the frequent school bake sales.   This week, I started thinking about how I could make this American dessert classic not only a little more exciting, but also safe for most of the kids participating in the sale.  I put on my thinking cap and here’s what I came up with:

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nut and Egg-Free Crispy Chocolate Surprise Bars

1 tablespoon organic palm fruit oil shortening

1 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows

1/3 cup Sunbutter

6 cups gluten-free crisped rice cereal

6 ounces gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free chocolate chips

Rub the inside of an 8×8-inch square pan with a little bit of canola oil and set it aside.  In a large saucepan, melt the organic palm fruit oil shortening, marshmallows and Sunbutter over low heat, stirring them occasionally until they are smooth.  While the marshmallows are melting, heat the chocolate chips in a microwave-proof bowl until they are 2/3 of the way melted, careful not to scorch them.  Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir it until it is smooth.  When the marshmallows are melted, fold the cereal into them.  Rub your hands with a tiny bit of oil and press half of the cereal mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.  Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the first layer of the cereal mixture and spread it evenly to the edges.  Spoon the rest of the cereal mixture on top of the chocolate layer and press it down until the chocolate is completely covered.  Let the squares cool for several hours before cutting them with a very sharp knife.  The squares may be stored, tightly wrapped, in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to three days.

Serves 16

Alright, so here’s the what’s what with Peeps.  I am not getting lazy on you.  I wracked my brain thinking of the best gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free Easter treat that I know, and apart from Hot Crossed Buns (which I am not that crazy about), nothing really came to mind.  This is an egg and chocolate holiday, people, and all of those chocolates seem to be inevitably filled with nuts, dairy or soy.  Now, of course, you could make my little sunflower butter cups from a few weeks ago, but if you have already eaten the batch and can’t bear to make more, then I’ve got the next best thing: Peeps.  I can remember being four, the year that our Basset Hound managed to, despite his three inch legs, climb up and eat both my brother and my Easter Baskets, and how disappointed I was that the dog got the Peeps too.  I waited all year for those, and back then you really did have to wait.  There were no ghost Peeps at Halloween.  Who cared about the chocolate bunny with the weird, candied eyes, or the hollow, chocolate egg filled with fake grass and colorful jellybeans?!  The dog could have those; they made me sick to my stomach.  I had a singular and undying love of Peeps.  Fortunately for me, so did my mother, and she magically produced more from the kitchen cabinet, saving the day for everyone.  Strangely, this did not make me question the Easter Bunny’s existence, but that is a story for another day.

So, as I planned this blog entry, I figured I would do some research into my beloved Peeps.  Let me first say that I love the First Born Company and here’s why:  they could not have been more forthcoming about the Peeps’ allergen information.  First I went to the website and looked at the FAQ page.  The fact that “Do your candies contain any of the top 8 allergens” was even on their list of FAQs made me feel good about this candy company.  I feel like other manufacturers aren’t as willing to talk about food allergies, that they don’t take them seriously enough to post more than a microscopic allergen warning on their candy wrappers.  Then, because I suspected that these marshmallow dreams were gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free but wanted to be sure, I called Just Born and spoke with Allison in their Consumer Relations department.  She told me that Peeps are NOT made with any gluten, dairy, soy, nuts or eggs, but that they have recently rolled out a chocolate-dipped Peep which does contain dairy.  She went on to say that you may see some packaging that does NOT offer a “may contain” warning because those packages reflect Peeps made before the chocolate-dipped-Peeps roll out.  However, the more recently produced Peeps will have this warning on the packaging.  Allison went on to say that they have a very stringent protocol for cleaning the equipment in between runs, and that the likelihood of cross-contamination is small.  But, since the regular and the chocolate-covered Peeps are produced on the same line, there is a possibility, albeit miniscule, that cross-contamination could occur.  I really appreciated this thoughtful and very thorough response.  Peeps themselves remain gluten, soy, egg and nut-free, it’s just the production that could cause a problem.  At the end of the phone call, Allison tipped me off to the fact that there are still a lot of pre-chocolate Peeps out there, and that I need only look for the old packaging.  Hooray!  I grabbed my purse.

So, I went to the store and sought out the oldest package of Peeps that I could find, one without the dairy warning, and wolfed down 4 in one sitting.  Fortunately, the kids were at school, so they did not witness this gluttony, but I will tell you that they were good down to the last granule of neon yellow sugar.  Will you out “old” Peeps this year?  What do you think about their new production line situation?  I’m a purist and wish that they had left well enough alone, but since there were so many old packages (and I assume that they have a shelf-life commensurate with a Twinkie’s), I felt fine giving them a try again this year.   They are hard to find, but they are definitely still out there.

Since the word started to spread that new Peeps may be dairy cross-contaminated,  I heard an internet rumor that if enough people call First Born, they will consider ditching the chocolate-covered Peeps.  Here’s the number:  1-888-645-3453 or write to them at

Just Born, Inc.
1300 Stefko Boulevard
Bethlehem PA 18017