Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Gluten Free Mini Tarts

 I served gluten free mini tarts on Saturday to Austin's friends
at our pre-prom dinner.  I ordered a large quantity of the tart shells a couple
of months ago from Amazon.  They were shipped frozen and I stored them in the freezer. 
This was the first occasion I had to use them. 
I made cheesecake tarts garnished with a raspberry and
lemon tarts garnished with a blueberry. 
Everyone ate them and enjoyed them. Nobody noticed they were gluten free.
This was an exciting accomplishment for me.
I have added another GF item to my list of afternoon tea menu items.
As you can tell, it doesn't take much to make this gluten free tea lady happy! 

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Gluten Free Soup and Crackers

The above Gluten Free Organic Creamy Tomato Soup from Trader Joe's
 is delicious, and would be an easy store-bought short cut
to serve for afternoon tea.
Wouldn't it be pretty served in a teacup with a little garnish? 
  
I recently discovered Lance gluten free snack crackers at Meijer, 
and have been very pleased with all varieties.  

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Fruit Jellies

 Trader Joe's Fruit Jellies are gluten free and delicious,
and an easy addition to an afternoon tea dessert plate. 

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Tea Time Magazine Includes Gluten Free Recipes

I am so pleased Tea Time includes Gluten Free 
recipes in their beautiful magazine.  
The gluten free recipes are marked in the recipe index 
on the back page of each issue. 
I have every issue, but discovered the best way 
to find all their gluten free recipes is to look on their website
Tea Time's photography (example above) always inspires me when
afternoon tea menu-planning. 

Monday, January 23, 2017

Family Favorite Gluten Free Cupcakes



Photo: From Betty Crocker™

Gluten Free Banana Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting
From: Betty Crocker™     Servings: 17
Cupcakes
1 box (15 oz.) Betty Crocker™ Gluten Free yellow cake mix
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium)
1/3 cup butter, melted (not margarine or vegetable oil spreads)
1/3 cup water
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place paper
baking cups in each of 17 regular-size muffin cups. 
In large bowl, stir cupcake ingredients just until dry ingredients
are moistened.  Spoon batter evenly into muffin cups.
Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Remove from pan to cooling rack.  Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
Frosting
1/3 cup butter (not margarine or vegetable oil spreads)
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
In a 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/3 cup butter over medium heat just until light brown,
 stirring occasionally. (Watch carefully because butter can burn quickly.)
Remove from heat. Cool slightly, about 5 minutes. 
In medium bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and enough milk
until smooth and spreadable.  Spread frosting over cooled cupcakes. 

Note from Linda:  Our gluten free and non-gluten free family members love these cupcakes! 

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Gluten Free Cranberry Scones

Recipe from Your Gluten Free Kitchen
Cranberry Scones with Orange Drizzle
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup gluten free flour blend(xanthan gum added)
1 Tbsp. sugar
½ Tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. butter, cut into squares
1 egg
1/3 cup and 1 Tbsp. whipping cream
½ tsp. gluten free vanilla extract
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ tsp. orange zest
Orange Drizzle, recipe follows
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk the gluten free flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle the butter on top. Use a pastry blender or two knives and cut the butter into the flour. Cut in until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Mix together the egg, 1/3 cup whipping cream and vanilla extract together. Stir in the cranberries and orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir together just till combined. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (my counter works best). Gently F\form into an 8″ circle and cut into wedges (using a bench scraper makes it easy). Pull the wedges apart just a little bit.
You can also use a non-stick scone pan instead of free forming your scones. Brush the tops with the 1 Tbsp. whipping cream (use a silicone pastry brush). Bake for 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Spread with Orange Drizzle
Makes 8 regular size scones or 16 bite size scones.
Orange Drizzle
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. orange juice
Mix the powdered sugar and juice together until smooth. If needed, add more juice or sugar to get the consistency you want.
Drizzle or spread on the tops of the scones.

Note: I usually serve my scones with Devonshire cream and jam, without a "frosting" , but I love cranberry and orange sweet breads and this orange drizzle sounds very good!