You may be sick of hearing about donuts by now.  I kind of am.  In New York, donuts are what all the hipsters are eating, and so I am kind of tired of being expected to eat something because it’s “cool”.  To me donuts are just plain yummy, and so I appreciate donuts for, well, just being donuts.  What can I say? I’m a Midwestern gal who went to high school in the South– donuts from Krispy Kreme were just what we ate.

I wanted to think of something kind of new to do with these allergy-free donuts, but there are only so many options when your goal is to create tasty, non-fussy, safe food.  With the number of flours that we have to use to create gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free fare, I just don’t think it’s fair to add too many more nouveau twists to my recipes.  So, looking around in the fridge and the pantry, I decided that I would make a maple glaze to pour over these donuts.  I am a huge fan of using what’s on hand and not running to the store every time I want to bake something.  It’s cheaper this way.

The reason that I wanted to glaze these tasty treats is that glaze can be an amazingly handy tool in baking.  Wedding cake designers brush their cakes with simple syrup before decorating them.  Though not technically a glaze, simple syrup is quite similar.  No one can create those confections the day of a wedding, especially when you have to pay a staff and therefore have to make many cakes a week to make payroll.  Therefore, a little simple syrup before frosting and wrapping the cake in fondant ensures that the cake layers stay moist for the big event.  Or, in my case this summer, when I had to grill a cake during a hurricane (thanks to a power outage) and realized after it was baked that I had forgotten to add sugar, I used simple syrup to sweeten it up.  It actually worked, much to my amazement!  So, I was thinking that a glaze would not only sweeten these simple donuts but keep them fresh for a couple of days.  Again, my gamble paid off.

These maple-glazed treats are the perfect thing to dip into a steaming cup o’ joe on these freezing cold February mornings.  They are also great to bring to school for a birthday treat.  Right now, donuts are all the rage for birthday parties at my daughters’ schools.  So, whether they are trendy or just an old-fashioned favorite, enjoy these allergy-free donuts any old time!

Maple Glazed Donuts

Makes 18 donuts

2 1/3 cup superfine rice flour

¾ cup potato starch

1/3 cup sorghum flour

1 tablespoon + 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup organic palm fruit oil shortening

2 cups sugar

¾ cups applesauce

2  teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup So Delicious vanilla coconut milk kefir

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Glaze

3 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1)    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease 18 donut molds.

2)    In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the superfine rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum.  Set them aside.

3)    In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the shortening and sugar until they are light and fluffy.  Beat in the applesauce and vanilla extract.  Scrape down the sides.  Then, mix together the cider vinegar and the kefir and add the dry ingredients, alternating with the kefir mixture in 3 additions.  Spoon the batter into the prepared donut molds, filling them nearly to the top.

4)    Bake the donuts in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove the donuts to a cooling rack set over a sheet of parchment paper or a baking sheet (for easier clean-up) to cool in the molds for 10 minutes before turning out.

5)    While the cupcakes are cooling in the molds, make the glaze.  Stir together the confectioner’s sugar, maple syrup and vanilla extract until the glaze is pouring consistency.  If necessary, add additional syrup 1 tablespoon at a time until it is the desired consistency.  Glaze dries out quite quickly so use it immediately.

6)    Turn the still warm donuts out onto the cooling rack and glaze immediately.  I poured the glaze over each donut and then used a knife to be sure that each donut was completely covered, but you can just pour the glaze to make it easier.  Sprinkle with sprinkles if using.  Serve warm.

7)    Leftovers may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature (or refrigerated) for up to three days.

Yes, that is a gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free Funfetti cupcake.

About three years ago, I got an email request from one Jessie Oleson (aka Cake Spy) to do an interview with me.  She had found me on Daily Candy, and after checking out her cute, cute, cute website, I jumped at the chance to talk to her.  Since then, I friended her on Facebook, and as a result, I’ve become quite familiar with her love of butter, Peeps and Funfetti cake.  I also found out that she has a new book, which is just as cute as her website.  Mostly, though, I read her posts and chuckle because they are so funny and witty, drool over whatever she’s put up on Serious Eats that week and then go about my day.  It never occurred to me that one of her wheaty, eggy and dairy-ful ideas would become one of my greatest gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free inspirations.  And then, over Memorial Day weekend, my kids wanted to bake, and I just didn’t feel like making something from scratch, so I let them make a Funfetti cake from a box (we were in someone else’s kitchen).  I even went so far as to let them ice it blue in the center, red on the sides and white on top.  When the cake was finished, I found myself hankering for some rainbow cake and feeling cheated that I had to stand by and watch while my children got to wolf down the layers of artificial flavoring and food coloring.  I had to have Funfetti; the CakeSpy is definitely on to something, I thought.

So, I stewed about the cake for awhile and, when I still hadn’t forgotten about it over a month later, I decided that I needed to create a recipe for the cake that I used to make my mother bake for me and top with cherry flavored frosting (gross, I know, but it was pink and therefore a favorite).  The outcome was delicious, and I highly recommend giving it a try.  The perfect, safe treat for a school birthday, your children will marvel in the different colors inside while you rest easy that it will not cause an allergic reaction.

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nut and Egg-Free Funfetti Cupcakes

3 cups millet flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 package cook and serve vanilla pudding (Jell-o makes a dairy, soy, nut and gluten-free version)

1/3 cup canola oil

2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup So Delicious vanilla coconut milk kefir

1/4 cup gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free rainbow sprinkles, like those pictured above

1 recipe Crazy Easy Buttercream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners.  Set them aside.  In a large bowl, whisk together the millet flour, baking powder, baking soda and xanthan gum.  Set it aside until ready to use.  Cream together the canola oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Beat in the applesauce, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the vanilla extract and beat again.  Slowly, add in the dry ingredients and the kefir in three alternating additions until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated.  Scrape down the sides and then beat the batter for 2 minutes.  Turn off the mixer and fold in the sprinkles.  Pour the batter into the prepared cupcake tins and bake them in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool in the tins for 15 minutes and then turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.  Frost with the Crazy Easy Buttercream and serve immediately or store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to three days.  Completely cooled, unfrosted cupcakes may be stored in airtight containers, frozen, for up to three months.

Serves 24

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.

Sometimes I get a crazy bee in my bonnet.

A few months back, I got on a waffle kick.  It’s true.  On a lark, I bought a waffle iron and went to town.  I made waffles like I used to eat in Paris, the kind that are big and fluffy and then dipped in chocolate.  The only obvious difference is that these were gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free.  However, chocolate covered waffles are French and Bastille Day is in ten days.  Today is the 4th of July, the day that I was supposed to be born, the reason that my parents nicknamed me Betsy in 1976 and the reason that we’ll be having a beach picnic and fireworks tonight.  So, I thought that I’d make them with a festive twist, one that takes very little effort– I’d make red, white and blue waffles with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries this morning for breakfast.  This one in the photo only has a strawberry on top, but I also had fresh raspberries from Oysterponds Farm and some blueberries from the Latham’s farm stand on hand to round out the all-American effect.

Happy 4th of July everyone!  Enjoy this day of parades and carnivals and time with your families and fireworks.  I hope that I made it  a little sweeter with these gluten, dairy, soy, nut and egg-free waffles.

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Nut and Egg-Free Waffles

1 1/3 c superfine rice flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup sorghum flour

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup canola oil

1 3/4 cup rice milk

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

raspberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries (or fruit of your choice) for serving

confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions.  I used  a Cuisinart waffle iron on the #5 setting.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In another small, separate bowl, whisk together the applesauce,  vanilla extract, canola oil, rice milk and cider vinegar.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the well-whisked dry ingredients and mix them well until all of the dry bits have disappeared, but there are still some lumps in the batter.  Pour 2/3 cup batter onto the preheated waffle iron, spread to about 1/2 inch from the edge, close the top and cook until the timer sounds.  Carefully remove the waffle from the iron onto a plate.  Top with the berries and lightly dust with a little confectioners’ sugar.

Store leftover, fully cooled, plain waffles with squares of waxed paper between them, frozen in airtight containers for up to three months.  Remove from the freezer and toast when ready to reheat.  These also taste great with warm maple syrup or dipped in chocolate.

Serves 4

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.

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.

So the doctor mentioned that flaxseeds are good for your heart, but what exactly do you do with them?  If you have my book, Allergy-Free Desserts, then you know that I love to bake with them.  But what do you do with the leftovers?  First, store them in an airtight container in the freezer to prolong their shelf life.  Then, here’s a list of ways that you can sneak these nutrient-dense seeds into your diet for  additional fiber and heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids.

1. Ground flaxseed meal is an excellent egg-replacer in baking, especially in cookies.  Mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxmeal with 3 tablespoons water to replace one egg in a cookie recipe.

2.  Use ground flaxmeal as a gluten-free coating on things like fish sticks or chicken tenders.

3.  Sprinkle ground flaxmeal or whole flax seeds on fruit and regular or dairy-free yogurt for added crunch and texture.

4.  Make granola from scratch with whole flaxseeds.  I’ll give you a recipe for that in my new book, The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook

5.  Drizzle flax seed oil on allergy-friendly toasted bread and then sprinkle with a pinch of salt instead of using butter or margarine.

6.  Mix 2 tablespoons of ground flaxmeal with 8 ounces of juice or water as a natural and gentle laxative.  Make sure to follow the dosage with lots of additional water.

7. Make a chocolate milkshake with So Delicious chocolate ice cream, 2 tablespoons ground flaxmeal and a little bit of So Delicious coconut milk.  Blend until the shake is smooth.

8. Make a healthy smoothie with flaxmeal, a banana, calcium fortified orange juice and frozen strawberries (or allergy-appropriate frozen fruit of your choice).

9. Toast whole flax seeds and sprinkle them over a green salad with pomegranate seeds, diced chicken breast and a citrus vinaigrette

10.  Sprinkle it over your favorite, allergy-appropriate hot cereal and top with blueberries, unsweetened rice milk and New Zealand honey.

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