King Arthur Gluten Free Flour

Browned-Butter Dark-Chocolate Lava-Flow Brownies – Gluten Free and Lower Sugar

~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 4 Comments

A craving for chocolate and for a good dark chocolate brownie in particular doesn’t come over me often. I can be happy with a little bite of a dark chocolate bar most of the time, but sometimes I get a brownie craving and nothing will sate this but to whip up a batch. The results you see above. This might be an easy recipe to make for someone you love this coming February 14th or just for yourself. I used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour, lots of dark cocoa, dark chocolate chips, espresso powder and only 1 cup of sugar….oh yes and browned butter!

The browned butter adds a layer of unexpected flavor and texture. The doubling of dark cocoa and chocolate chunks make one “lava flow looking” brownie.

I used gluten-free flour just to see how it would work with my recipe and I think the results were delicious, especially if you enjoy a less cake-like brownie. These brownies keep for days in the refrigerator as well.

Happy Valentine’s Day all Year Long.

Browned-Butter Dark-Chocolate Lava-Flow Brownies

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup raw or regular sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon espresso powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup King Arthur Gluten Free Flour
  • 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with rack in lower part of the oven. Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan and line with two crisscrossed sheets of parchment paper long enough to come up the sides of the pan. Grease paper.
  2. To brown the butter, melt the stick of butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook butter, while whisking, until it is a pale golden color with darker brown particulates, for 8-10 minutes. Stir the sugar into the browned butter.
  3. Stir in the cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and espresso powder until well blended. Let mixture cool for a few minutes.
  4. Beat in eggs one at a time with a wooden spoon. The mixture will be thick and shiny.
  5. Stir in the vanilla extract and flour until you do not see any streaks of flour, continuing to beat vigorously for about 50-60 strokes.
  6. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
  7. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Cool brownies in the pan on a cooling rack.
  8. Remove cooled, uncut brownies from the pan by lifting up the edges of the parchment paper and placing on a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares or smaller into 25 squares.

These brownies keep very well chilled for up to 10 days in the refrigerator. They also make a great gift for your no-gluten friends.

http://www.teresablackburnfoodstyling.com    http://www.foodonfifth.com

 

Tennessee Blueberry Shortcake Biscuits (Gluten Free)

~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 16 Comments

TN Blueberries

Mid July

Summer Saturday mornings…Farmer’s Market early…a few…just a few cartons of local blueberries sitting on the plank counter just waiting for me…I am sure of this.

Blueberry Biscuits

Sunday summer mornings…lazy time to make biscuits…just a little bit sweet with blueberries..softened butter, hot coffee with milk…the best of the summer in a bite.

Here is what you  need: 1 cup fresh blueberries rinsed & drained; 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur Gluten Free Flour) ;  2 tsp baking powder;  1/4 tsp baking soda;  1 tsp salt;  1/2 cup raw sugar;  1/3 cup frozen butter (the measurement is right on the stick);   1 egg;  3/4 cup buttermilk

Biscuit Ingredients

Let me talk a bit about gluten-free flours…as the name says they are without the gluten that gives dough or pastry its elasticity, therefore pie crusts such as I made recently for my Rainier Cherry Galette or for these biscuits, have a “shortbread” quality.  The finished crust or biscuits will be more tender and crumbly than when made with regular flour. Just keep this in mind when working with a product such as this one…handle a bit more gently and the results will be amazing.

Here is how you do it:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar & salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Very quickly grate the stick of frozen butter into a bowl. It is already “pea size”!

cold buttergrated cold butter

3. Using your fingers toss flour mixture & grated butter together. Make a “well” in the center of the flour.

flour with butter

4. Crack egg into buttermilk & gently whisk together. Pour into the flour well. Mix wet & dry ingredients together until a “slaggy” dough forms.

Yogurt/Milk Mix

5. Sprinkle blueberries over dough. Carefully blend berries into the dough.

Blueberries in wet dough

6. Dump mixture out onto a floured work surface. Use your hands to form dough into a ball & then pat out into  a circle about 3/4 inch thick.

Dough with berries

7. Cut biscuits with a 2 to 3 inch round cutter & place on a lightly buttered iron skillet or baking sheet. This recipe will make around 16-20 biscuits.

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8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until biscuits are golden brown.

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Blueberries & Shortcake in a Biscuit!

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Hmmmmm…a few left over for the next concoction? Bon Apetit.

“A Galette of Rainier Cherries (gluten free)”

~ Teresa Blackburn ~ 24 Comments

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Galette

Fresh Rainier Cherries have arrived. Their beauty seduced me completely. I had to have them…eating some out of the bag right after paying for them…baking the rest into this tender-crusted galette …not too sweet, just right.

Galettes are easy to make. Simply a freeform crust filled, either sweet or savory, French in origin…a beautiful rustic, yet elegant look, not a rigid as a crimped pie crust, not as planned looking…they never look the exact same way twice…that is why I love them.

In my pantry there was a box of King Arthur Gluten Free Flour that I had not tried…some of it went into my pastry recipe. The outcome was beyond my expectations. A delicate pastry, somewhat shortbread-like, that baked up golden brown and flakey.

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For pastry crust: 2 cups King Arthur Gluten Free Flour (or any other flour), 1 1/2 sticks of cold butter cut into small chunks, a pinch of salt & ice water.

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Put flour  & pinch of salt in a food processor bowl. Pulse to blend. Add in cold butter chunks & pulse a few more times. Do not pulse too much. The butter should still be in small pieces. Drizzle in ice water, about 5 tablespoons, pulsing as you add. Remove pastry from bowl of processor &  form into two balls. Flatten each & wrap in plastic. Chill for at least one hour before using. This galette will only need one pastry ball. Save the other for another dessert either chilled or frozen.

When ready to make the galette, remove pastry from the refrigerator, let sit for about 10 minutes.

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While pastry is sitting for 10 minutes, whisk together 2 eggs, 1 cup low-fat or no-fat Greek yogurt, a generous pinch of ground cinnamon & 1/2 cup turbinado or raw sugar for filling. Set aside.

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Place pastry on a sheet of floured parchment paper & roll  into a rough circle about 12″ in diameter. It is just fine if edges are not even. Pour half of the egg-yogurt filling in the center of the pastry circle. Top with 1 1/2 to 2 cups pitted Rainier Cherries.

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Lift edges of parchment paper to fold pastry up and over the fruit overlapping the edges.

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Lift entire sheet of parchment paper with the uncooked galette & place on a baking sheet. Pour any remaining batter over cherries. Sprinkle with additional sugar. (I left the stems on a few of the pitted cherries just because I thought they looked pretty like that.)

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Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the custardy filling is set.

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Serve cut into wedges with a generous dusting of powdered sugar.

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There is a French children’s song about galette:

“J’aime la galette, savez-vous comment ? Quand elle est bien faite, avec du beurre dedans.” (“I like galette, do you know how? When it is made well, with butter inside.”)
I agree!