Product Review: Mom's Place Gluten Free; Caramel Swirl Buns (not sponsored content)

One of my all time favorite breakfast pastries would be caramel sticky buns.  I haven't had any since my diagnosis and going gluten free 6 years ago and, boy do I miss them!  Though I have enjoyed quite a few cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting from my friend, Tina's former Better For You Bakery.  A while back, my friend, Kallie (mile_high_celiac) introduced me to the website momsplaceglutenfree.com and I was almost giddy as I searched through their many gluten free mix options!  WOW!  Was there a lot!  Before the holidays, I kind of went crazy and ordered a large variety of mixes from Mom's Place Gluten Free.  The first one I tried was the Caramel Swirl Buns, as it seemed like the perfect holiday breakfast treat.

I have to admit, I didn't have all of the equipment suggested on the packaging, but I made my own adjustments and it worked beautifully.  I didn't have individual 4" springform bun pans, so instead, I used some gluten free potato starch from Bob's Red Mill sprinkled on parchment paper and rolled the dough to 1/8 inch thickness (see image collage below).  

I sprinkled the brown sugar, cinnamon mixture on top of it and slowly, using the parchment paper, rolled it into a log and then cut 1 inch thick rolls out of it.  They didn't get large, but I was able to get 14 medium sized buns out of the dough!  Enough for me and to share with my non-gluten free husband and mom, who both loved them.

I didn't have a candy thermometer, either, for the caramel sauce, but I let it come to a rolling boil and tested by dropping a small amount into a cup of cold water.  When it is the right temperature, the caramel will form into a firm ball in the water.  It's old school, but it works.

I would have loved to have added pecan pieces, but I discovered that I was all out and I didn't feel like making a trip to the store to get more.  We still enjoyed them without the pecans.

The instructions on the mix were easy to follow and this was a lot of fun to put together.  The buns were light and flaky and practically melted in my mouth.  For 6 years I had to do without one of my favorite breakfast treats.  Now, thanks to Mom's Place Gluten Free, I can enjoy them once again.

Mom's Place Gluten Free Caramel Swirl Buns are not only gluten free, but also non-GMO and preservative free.  If you go to their website soon, you'll be able to purchase this mix on clearance.  While you're there, check out all of the other amazing products they have available.

**This review is not sponsored by Mom's Place Gluten Free or Bob's Red Mill or any other entity.  Siouxland Celiac received no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this product review.  All opinions stated are my own for the purpose of sharing with the Celiac and Gluten Free community any gluten free products I've discovered and where to find them.**

Recipe: Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Autumn is much too quickly giving way to colder temperatures as winter moves into the Midwest.  The cooler temps bring certain flavors and aromas to mind such as hot cocoa, pumpkin spice (you KNOW you crave it!), cinnamon and many more that seem to go perfectly with this time of year.  One of the things I absolutely love is warm, sweet with a hint of tart, mouth-watering apple crisp.  I've played around with and developed this simple and tasty recipe.

This will be my last blog post until December.  Next week, with the Thanksgiving holiday, I will be taking time off to simply be with family, as I am sure most of you will be doing.  This past Thursday our Western Iowa Celiac & Gluten Free Living group celebrated early with a wonderful "Friendsgiving".  Everyone brought a gluten free dish to share and it was so much fun!

Members of Western Iowa Celiac & Gluten Free Living share in "Friendsgiving"

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
3 medium or 4 small apples, thinly sliced (I used 4 small - 2 Honeycrisp and 2 Granny Smith)
2/3 C packed brown sugar
1/3 C butter, softened
1 C gluten free granola (I used a nut blend granola)
1/2 C gluten free all purpose flour blend (measures cup for cup like regular flour)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a 9 x 11 inch lightly greased baking dish layer apple slices to cover the entire bottom of dish.  

In a medium bowl, combine  remaining ingredients using a pastry blender, spoon or your hands until mixture is crumbly.  

Sprinkle mixture evenly on top of apple slices.  Be sure to cover apples entirely.  

Bake on center rack between 30 and 35 minutes until apples are tender.  Serve warm with your favorite ice cream or whipped topping.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving from Siouxland Celiac!

Recipe: Grandma's Peach Cobbler

When I was a little girl my favorite dessert was my Grandma Orris's peach cobbler.  Truth be told, it remains my favorite dessert!  Flaky pie crust on top of sweet, tender peach slices - this is my ultimate comfort food.  Not only does it taste wonderful, but it transports me back to my childhood and happy memories with my grandma and then my mom, who also made this recipe a lot through the years.

💚🎉 Read all the way down for a special Giveaway contest!🎉💚

Since my Celiac diagnosis and going gluten free I've learned to adjust many of my favorite recipes from gluteny to gluten free by substituting, often just one ingredient.  There are many great cup for cup gluten free flour blends out there that you can use.  I'm fortunate to have some of my friend, Tina's flour blend from her former brand, Better For You Bakery still in my freezer.  While this brand is no longer available, there are many other baking and all-purpose gluten free flour blends out there that work well.  Any of them could be used for this recipe.  It is a simple recipe with tasty results.

Gluten Free Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 cans or  jars of sliced peaches in natural juice (Grandma's recipe used the cans with syrup)

Cobbler:

2 C gluten free all purpose or baking flour blend (use a cup for cup brand)

1 tsp salt

2/3 C + 2 T shortening (solid coconut oil would work well for this, also)

1/4 C water

Sugar or Splenda

Mix gf flour blend and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Cut in shortening.  Add water, 1 T at a time, mixing with fork until flour is moistened.  Add sugar or Splenda to taste to sweeten slightly.  Take dough and pat into approx. 2 inch round patties and approx. 3/4 inch thick.  Place peaches along with the juice in a 9 x 13 baking dish, evenly distributed.  Top peaches with the cobbler patties.  Cobbler recipe can be doubled if more of the cobbler is desired.  Bake at 350° until cobbler is golden brown on top, approximately 35 - 40 minutes.  Check if cobbler is baked through by poking with a toothpick.  Toothpick should come out clean.  Cooking time depends on how thick the cobbler patties are.  Serve warm topped with your favorite ice cream, whipped topping or just as is.

Gluten Free Flour Blends:

Gluten Free Mama

Bob's Red Mill

King Arthur Gluten Free Flour Blend

Pamela's Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend

Namaste Foods Perfect Flour Blend

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you.  It is a great recipe for fall.  To kick it up a notch, you could add a pinch of cardamom in the cobbler dough or maybe a bit of nutmeg to the peaches to really give it an Autumn taste.

I'm teaming up with my friend, Kallie at S2Soaps for a special Fall giveaway!

🎉🎉To enter this giveaway:🎉🎉

1. Follow @siouxlandceliac AND @s2soaps on Instagram
2. Like the post about this blog and giveaway on Instagram
3. Tag a friend

**Only those in the continental USA are eligible to enter.  Unlimited entries.  Each tagged friend counts as a separate entry.  All entries must be submitted no later than midnight November 1st. Winner will be announced with my November 2nd blog post.** 

Product Review: Heartland Gourmet brand Funnel Cake Mix

My mom and the daughter of a friend who was visiting from college at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa

When I was growing up in Northwest Iowa, county fair time was one of my favorite times of the year.  My hometown of Spencer, Iowa is the home of the renowned Clay County Fair, also known as “The World’s Greatest County Fair”.  So many fun rides, interesting vendors, concerts and, of course, fair food!  Attending the fair each year, my favorite fair treats were Tom Thumb Donuts and funnel cakes!  Who could resist the sugary fragrance that called to you from across the fairgrounds and pulled you to their kiosks to purchase the warm, doughy bites of heaven?

Tom Thumb Donuts at the Fair

Just a few months before I finally got my diagnosis of Celiac Disease, my mom and I attended the fair, which always falls around her birthday.  We went to the concert that night, which included a hometown boy, Casey Muessigmann who appeared on Season 3 of tv’s The Voice.  Casey is also the son of a high school classmate of mine, which made the show that much more fun.  The headliner was Scotty McCreery, whom my mom and I had enjoyed watching and rooting for on tv’s American Idol.  When we arrived at the fairgrounds, our first stop was at the Tom Thumb Donut kiosk to purchase a couple of bags of the mini donuts to munch on while we walked around the fair.  We purchased two more bags before the show and then after the show we ran into a couple of high school classmates and friends of mine, who told us that the kiosk was actually still open.  So, we purchased two more bags before heading to our hotel room.  Neither of us have over-indulged like that before, but when I got my Celiac diagnosis a few months later and realized that was the last time I would ever be able to enjoy one of my favorite treats I didn’t feel so bad about that particular over-indulgence.  We stopped by the fair the next day before heading home and split a large funnel cake with whipped cream and strawberries.

For nearly 6 years I thought that I would never get to experience either of these special treats again.  Then I found a gluten free funnel cake mix made by Heartland Gourmet.  This is a local company based out of Lincoln, NE that offers a variety of mixes, including organic mixes and gluten free mixes.  And I LOVE to support and promote local companies that do gluten free right!  To start out, let me tell you that this is not a sponsored review.  These are products that I have purchased with my own money, so I didn’t receive any free product or any other compensation in exchange for my review, though I have done that in the past and probably will again in the future.  This, however, is not sponsored content. 

I have used many of the Heartland Gourmet mixes, including their cornbread, red velvet and

carrot cake mixes.  None of them have disappointed, so I assumed that my experience with the funnel cake mix would be the same.  The mix couldn’t be any easier to prepare.  All you need to add to it is 2 cups of water.  Heat 2 cups of canola oil in a deep pan, I used a pasta pot that I had to prevent splattering and it worked just fine.  Now, I have never made funnel cake before, so mine didn’t turn out pretty.  The only funnel I had on hand was too small to be useful and the pastry bag I had was an inexpensive one that didn’t work out very well, either, so I did a makeshift “funnel” and put the batter in a plastic sandwich bag and cut a hole in one corner to squeeze it out into the oil.  I didn’t do a very good job with shaping it, but in my defense, again, this was my first time.  The entire process, though messy because I didn’t have the right tools, was easy and fun.  My mom was there helping me with it because she loves funnel cake and, though she doesn’t have Celiac Disease and isn’t gluten free, she enjoys trying my gluten free cooking and baking.  And, I wanted to have the opinion of someone who doesn’t have to be gluten free, as well as my own.  

The texture and flavor of the funnel cake was just how I remembered regular funnel cake tasting like.  It was light and just the right amount of doughy in the center.  I think you could even use this batter to make mini donuts and they would not disappoint, either!  My non-gluten free mom and hubby both liked it.  My mom said she thought it tasted even better than funnel cake at the fair!  My husband, Dave, had never had funnel cake before.  Really!  I know - shocking, right?!  He tried it and asked if there was more, which is a very good sign!

Heartland Gourmet is a family operated business in Lincoln, Nebraska.  As stated before, they offer many mix options, including organic mixes and gluten free mixes.  According to their website, they’ve also just teamed up with Gluten Free Mama and have added her line of gluten free products to their company.  I’ve used many Gluten Free Mama products in the past few years, as well and can speak to the high quality of those products. 

If you are in the Sioux City, Iowa area, the Hy Vee on Gordon Drive sells Heartland Gourmet gluten free mixes in their Health Market section.  The mix prices are comparable to other gluten free mixes also sold there and the quality of these mixes is worth every penny.  I dare anyone, gluten free or not, to be able to taste the difference between the Heartland Gourmet gluten free products and their non-gluten free counterparts.  If you can’t find their mixes in a grocery store near you, you can order directly from their website here.

Until next week, happy baking!

Fall Harvest Time

#tealpumpkinproject

Hi everyone!  Boy, have I got a lot to share with you today.  The first thing I want to talk about is FARE's (Food Allergy Research & Education) Teal Pumpkin Project.  With Halloween fast approaching, this is an important topic to talk about.  Let me give you a little history about it first.

The Teal Pumpkin Project was started in 2014 by FARE to help raise awareness of food allergies and encourage people to provide safe items to hand out to Trick or Treaters at Halloween.  There are many other non-food items that you can pass out so that children with food allergies may safely participate in this yearly holiday tradition.  I was surprised this week to learn that this important campaign has only been around for 3 years.  It will be easy for me to remember, though, since my Celiac diagnosis occurred in 2014.  To learn much more about the #tealpumpkinproject and how to participate and let parents and kids know that you are participating click here.  This is such a wonderful idea as more and more children are being diagnosed with some sort of food allergy, Celiac Disease and more that are affected directly by the food they eat.  FARE is doing some amazing research and working hard to raise awareness.  As someone living with Celiac Disease, I know firsthand how isolating it can be to not be able to participate in an event, holiday or tradition simply because of the dangers of certain foods to me.  And I'm an adult!  Think about how much more isolating that is to a child.

I also have something to share with you that I am beyond excited about!!!  A friend of mine named Kallie Smirnov is starting a YouTube channel that is dedicated to spreading Celiac Disease Awareness, sharing fun and easy gluten free recipes as well as other important tips about how to navigate this gluten free life when you have Celiac Disease or Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity or Intolerance.  She is working on raising funds to finance this project and help get the word out through a gofundme campaign.  For more information about what Kallie is working on click here.  She is hoping to have her first video available in time for Halloween.  As a matter of fact, she actually began filming today for her first shows!  Check out her gofundme campaign and subscribe now to her Life Minus Gluten YouTube channel so you don't miss a single posting!  I've gotten to know Kallie over the past year and am so inspired by her positive, upbeat attitude and I love her sense of humor and the way she deals with everything life throws at her.  I'm very proud to support and promote what she is working on because I believe this is something that will be helpful to so many people.  

Siouxland Celiac Support Group

Next, I just HAVE to share with you about our most recent Siouxland Celiac Support Group meeting that took place this past week (Oct. 19th) at the Hamilton Blvd Hy-Vee Foodstore.  Hy-Vee Dietitian, Corrinna Lenort welcomed back Tina Meseck from Better For You Bakery who did a cupcake and sugar cookie demonstration for us as well as gave us tips (and her recipe which I shared in a recent blog post here) for making the perfect buttercream frosting!  

 Tina Meseck & Corrinna Lenort

 Tina preparing her special buttercream frosting

Tina brought un-decorated gluten free sugar cookies and chocolate cupcakes for us to decorate.  Everyone had a lot of fun with this - especially eating the finished products!!  Corrinna spoke to us about the Teal Pumpkin Project and about how we can participate.  For anyone in the Sioux City, Iowa area who is interested in attending the monthly Siouxland Celiac Support Group meetings, please contact Corrinna at 1610Dietitian1@hy-vee.com and she will be happy to give you more information about the group.  The next meeting will be Thursday, November 9, 2017 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm.  Location to be announced.  We will be celebrating "Friendsgiving" with a gluten free potluck.  Whether newly diagnosed, living with Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance or sensitivity or a family member of someone who is gluten free due to health reasons, this group is perfect for you!  We hope to see you there!!  Here are a few photos from this last meeting to show you how much fun and how interactive this group is.

Happy Harvest and Halloween!

Un-decorated GF sugar cookie & GF chocolate cupcake by BFYB

Corrinna decorating her cookie

More decorating fun <3

My finished cookie and cupcake - and, yes, they were AWESOME!

My mom's finished cookie & cupcake

**The Siouxland Celiac Support Group is separate from and not affiliated with this Siouxland Celiac blog.  It is sponsored and facilitated by the Sioux City Hamilton Blvd Hy-Vee Dietitian.

Gluten Free Baking - GF Mixes by Better For You Bakery

Before I begin this post about the new products available from Better For You Bakery in Jefferson, Iowa, I wanted to take a moment to address something that is heavy on many of our hearts and minds: Hurricane Harvey Relief. When natural disasters hit it isn't only healthy people who are affected. There are always people with special dietary needs affected as well. Here is some great information from Gluten Free Watchdog on how you can donate gluten free non-perishables to Celiacs and people with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity who've been impacted by Hurricane Harvey. #hurricaneharveyrelief #glutenfreewatchdog  To find out how you can help, click here.

Recently Better For You Bakery released some new products available online here as well as in selected grocery stores in Jefferson, Carroll and Sioux City, Iowa and at Gud n Free in Sioux City.  Not all of these new products are available in Sioux City, however.  Gud n Free restaurant, for example, does not carry the Nut Granola because they are a nut free establishment.  However, all of these products (as well as previous mixes by BFYB) can be found at the Better For You Bakery Website.

(Labor Day Special from Better For You Bakery: This offer will end after Labor Day so shop now by following the link below. Delicious starts with our Gluten Free bakery mixes! Get yours now in this SHIP ONLY special limited time offer here: 

https://betterforyoubakery.net/product/better-baking-box/

BFYB Gluten Free mixes and Granola are made in our dedicated Gluten Free Peanut Free facility from NON GMO sourced ingredients and include dominant whole grains. Have other food allergies? Did you know our bakery mixes can ALL be made to avoid any of the other 7 other major food allergens? Granola does include tree nuts. Shop now and share the news with others.)

Tina, founder, owner and entrepreneur of Better For You Bakery sent me each of her new products to test out and review.  Unfortunately, I've had some technical issues in the past few weeks with my laptop and then my cell phone (on which I had many of the photos for this blog post) completely died and I had to send it in to get a replacement phone - after first being instructed to do a full factory reset to make sure it really was a faulty phone.  Due to the factory reset, I lost all of the pictures that I hadn't already sent to my laptop.  UGH!  Frustration!  And, yes, it was the phone that was faulty.  So, this blog post is long overdue.   

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I had a baking day.  Basically, it was a cookie day!  I used BFYB Sugar Cookie mix (and Tina provided me with the recipe for her amazing frosting, which I will share here).  Tina had also provided me with her recipe for a Pecan Coffee Cake, but I haven't had time to make that, yet.  When I do, I will share it (and her recipe) here on the blog.

Better For You Bakery Sugar Cookie Mix

Anyone who has enjoyed BFYB's decorated sugar cookies either directly from the bakery or through Gud n Free restaurant is going to love this mix!  The cookies were so easy to make and they are just as flaky and delicious as if Tina had baked them herself.  I shared with both my mom and husband as well as the ladies I work with, none of whom have to be gluten free.  They were all amazed by the taste and texture and I had several surprised comments of, "These are gluten free?!"  and "Does everything gluten free taste this good?"  The answer to that last question, unfortunately, is no.  These mixes are truly an exception.  Between the reasonable price of the cookie mix and the added ingredients, these are so worth it!  I bought two more packages of this mix from Gud n Free in the last couple of weeks so that I can make more soon!!!

I didn't have any cookie cutters, so I simply used a canning
ring as my cookie cutter

These were medium sized diameter, but I made them a bit thicker than the instructions on the package

I thought I was completely prepared ingredient-wise, but I was missing one thing - food coloring for the frosting.  So, my cookies may not have turned out very pretty, but boy did they taste great - and they didn't last long!!

Of all of the new products out now from BFYB the one I am the most excited about is the new All Purpose GF Flour Blend!  Used cup for cup in substitution for regular flour, there are so many possibilities for this product.  Tina shared with me her recipe for Pecan Coffee Cake, which I haven't had a chance to make, yet, but when I do, I will share it on here.  I promise!  What I chose to make was plain and simple chocolate chip cookies, a staple of pretty much every American childhood.  I used the Nestle Tollhouse Cookie recipe from the Nestle website, though I made it with the BFYB gluten free AP Flour blend and I chose to use organic coconut sugar in place of refined white sugar.  The coconut sugar gave the cookies a bit darker color and a slightly different taste than what I think of with chocolate chip cookies, but it was really tasty and the texture was perfect!

Since Mom was helping me bake, I thought it only fair to invite her to stay for supper.  Of course, I used the new pizza crust mix from BFYB.  Unfortunately, I don't have any of the before/after baking pictures of the pizza crust without toppings because they were among the pictures that I lost with the reset of my phone.  Very disappointing.  But the pizza was not!  I'm sure, like me, you've searched high and low for a gluten free pizza crust that doesn't taste like cardboard.  Not an easy task.  Look no further than the pizza crust mix from Better For You Bakery.  This is much the same mix as the French Bread mix, however the pizza crust mix contains the seasoning as well.  I got one large round pizza pan crust out of the mix plus enough for a smaller pizza crust out of one mix.  I like my pizza crust a bit thicker.  The taste and texture of this pizza crust was so savory and amazing!  My mouth is watering for it now just thinking about it!

I made this pizza for 3 very different people with 3 very different likes, so it was topped in thirds.

Good to the last crumb!

 The last of the new products is the Nut Blend Granola.  I haven't used it to make anything yet, though I do plan to make some apple crisp using it in the topping - again, recipe will appear on the blog when I do make the apple crisp.  This tasty treat goes well with so many things.  Currently I've been using it to mix in with my Greek yogurt for a hearty and delightful snack at work.  YUM!

This nut blend gluten free granola has so much flavor and crispy almonds, walnuts & pecans, along with sunflower kernels.

Now, as I promised, Better For You Bakery's sugar cookie frosting recipe (this is for the full batch as Tina makes it for her customer orders.  You can either adjust the recipe in half or use what you need and freeze the rest for later use.

Ingredients: 

1 bag of powder sugar (2lb)

2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)

1 cup shortening (Tina's suggestion - Holsum brand, though Crisco works fine). 

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

2-4 tbsp of water this is depending on how thick or thin you need frosting. 

Cream softened butter with shortening on medium speed.  Add half the powder sugar then start on low then medium to mix in then add other half bag and vanilla and 2 tbsp water mix on low then when it's mixed in turn on high and mix for about 5 minutes add the extra water in this case you'll need it.  **Helpful Hints: The two biggest mistakes people make with frosting is not creaming shortening and butter till creamy and not mixing powder sugar long enough till it's fluffy frosting and if you don't it will be gritty.  Also lots of people use cheap and salted butter but good butter and no salt makes better frosting.**  You shouldn't need more water for cookies, however, you may need more for cake frosting if you are spreading it.  If you want chocolate frosting you add 1/4 cup cocoa and another tbsp or so water.  Mocha is tsp espresso plus cocoa.  

If you are looking for high quality, great tasting gluten free mixes, check out Better For You Bakery's website https://betterforyoubakery.net/ for more information on all of her products and recipes that you can use these mixes for at home.  

Until next time - have a safe Labor Day!

Siouxland Celiac 💚