Big Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits

It's taken me forever to come up with a fluffy gluten-free biscuit recipe. Sure, I made a few tasty ones in the past, but they didn't quite puff up the way I wanted 'em to. Thanks to the Barefoot Contessa (I learned this on her show :P), I discovered what I was doing wrong: melting the butter instead of adding it to the dough as cold chopped chunks. Cold chopped chunks doesn't exactly sound appetizing, huh? But I promise these are quite tasty. In fact, I was surprised to discover that you don't actually need a whole stick of butter to make a tasty and fluffy buttery (flavored) biscuit. You can even get away with using only 2 tablespoons of butter and a bit of canola oil. I've tweaked this recipe quite a bit, making a buttery version and a leaner version that calls for canola oil; both versions are included in the recipe card below.

These biscuits are big, just how big?
My hand isn't huge, but I do have some mighty long fingers, thanks to my mom. These biscuits are hefty, so hefty, I can usually get away with eating just half of one. These biscuits are great to have around for breakfast; forget fast food sausage and egg biscuits... you can make 'em yourself now! (Don't worry, I'll post a sausage recipe soon :).

So how exactly should the butter look when it's thrown in the dough? Just take a look at them chunks!:

How do you assemble the biscuits? Well, xanthan gum tends to make things sticky, so I have a little trick I like to use when working with gluten-free dough. Contrary to what I've read, I actually like to wet my hands/fingertips with a little water so that the dough doesn't stick to 'em when I'm shaping the dough; you could also use melted... butter or a little oil! I shape the biscuits into disks, like this (make sure they're adequately spaced apart, because they expand a lot).:
So other than making biscuits (well, I actually made these nearly 3 months ago, believe it or not!), I've been pretty busy! Hope you all are enjoying the summer!

I won't stay away too long, I've got a recipe for gluten-free crackers that I've gotta share, after all :)!

Moist and Tender Gluten Free Strawberry Scones

I love berries! Last year we went berry picking in Austin and had so much fun. I've yet to go strawberry picking, but my grandparents had a strawberry plant in their front yard (and my parents had some on our porch, growing up). I couldn't wait to pick each one straight from the vine. I wouldn't even wash them -- that's what t-shirts were for; I'd stuff them right into my mouth. They were very tasty and tart, much smaller than the strawberries you'd find in a grocery store.

Sunshine and berries go hand in hand. Even though it's pretty rainy here, we're still experiencing warm weather -- that always puts me in the berry-eating mood. I'm a tea-drinker, I drink decaffeinated tea twice a day and I love having toast or something sweet and carby with each cup (even when it's hot, I just crank up the AC ;). So these strawberry scones are definitely the kind of treat I'd reach for to snack on with a cup of tea; they'd also be tasty with coffee or hot chocolate.

Oops! Almost forgot to include the pic of how the scones should be placed on the baking sheet :)

Unlike traditional scones, these gluten free strawberry scones aren't as heavy or dry or crumbly -- which is kind of funny considering gluten free baked goods tend to be all of those things. Instead, they're tender, moist and full of berry flavor. Eat 'em up (I ate about 3 within a 12 hour period :P)!

This is my first submission to this month's fruit-themed dessert gluten-free blog event, aka Go Ahead, Honey it's Gluten Free (hosted by Emilia at A Gluten-Free Day). The blogger behind this is Naomi from Straight into Bed Cakefree and Dried, check out her blog!

Gluten-Free Hawaiian Bread Biscuits (quick and yeast-free!)

Say goodbye to dry gluten-free bread and crumbly biscuits. This gluten-free Hawaiian Bread is moist and tender! So moist that I didn't even have to cut the biscuits with a knife before diving in! Check out the picture in the recipe card, that is one biscuit, not two!

The baking soda and baking powder worked wonders on these biscuits, they rose beautifully and I didn't even have to use yeast! I just wasn't in the mood to wait around for a couple of hours before having my carb craving satisfied, so I chose to make these with lovely leaveners, the magic ingredients that work wonders in minutes instead of hours :D.

These are fresh outta the oven, enjoy!

Creamy Cannellini Spinach Soup and Biscuits

Soup and biscuits: what we've been eating a ton of in order to survive our first crazy-cold Northeastern winter. Well, I like stews too :). I found a recipe in Donna Klein's book, The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen, but didn't have all of the ingredients. I changed up the recipe, even added in chicken, so it's definitely not vegetarian anymore. It is beany, full of protein, and only has a tiny bit of dairy, just enough to make it creamy (I used potato flour to make it a little thicker).

If you're gonna have soup, you're gonna need a biscuit, that's the way it should always be...


More biscuits, Sophie?! Yes, I know, I am addicted to carbs... but good ones, especially those awaiting a strawberry jam-smothering. This is why I've been trying to perfect gluten-free biscuits without using a ton o' butter. Applesauce works wonders in gluten-free products, it makes them extra moist. I didn't have this much luck with applesauce when I used it for 'regular' baking (other than muffins), but gf products tend to be a little dry so that's why it works here! YESSSS it does!

You can't tell these are gluten-free. Promise!

Applesauce Biscuits
Makes 6

1/4 cup millet flour
2/3 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup corn meal
3 tbsp brown rice flour
3 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp apple sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup and 1 1/2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Just mix it all up, dry ingredients first, and use a big ol' ice cream scoop to measure out about 6 biscuits, then place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

How long to bake? Oh nooo... I forgot to note this! I'd say bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. (Please check on them at 10 minutes, just to make sure :P...)

Gluten-Free Honey and Flax Yeast Rolls!

There comes a time in every young foodies life when, suddenly, the thought of working with yeast sends a tingle of excitement from the pointy end of their elbow right down to their dough-covered fingertips... When, upon waking in the wee hours of the morning, the first thing they think of is inhaling the hypnotizing aroma of this amazing fungi's magical work: beautifully risen and golden freshly baked GLUTEN-FREE yeast rolls!

Oh oh oooooh! The smell of freshly baked GLUTEN-FREE yeast rolls makes me do crazy things... like practically fall off of my chair dancing while listening to a frilly classic tune by the material girl, like blog at unexpected times, like talk about this alllll day because, my dear foodies, this is a very special day, indeed...


Dare I say it? Have I truly mastered the art of inventing gluten free YEAST roll recipes from scratch, no mixes or outside sources involved?!!!! (Well, maybe I did read this and also fell completely in love with ground flax seed thanks to a Baking Beauties' fantastic bread recipe.)

This life-changing event calls for a celebration! Time to get out your favorite preserves and the tastiest sweet cream butter! Time to make warm, honey-sweetened, mouthwatering and completely gluten free yeast rolls (that, surprisingly, remind me of whole wheat rolls!).

Really, I'm so happy I could roll around in rice flour! Baking gluten-free is NOT easy when it comes to breads, and I've failed many many times. But I finally looked my insecurities in the face early this morning. I said, "Yeast, you're just a microorganism, a little fungi I must learn to love and not fear... and gluten, we can do chewy and delicious without you!". Then it finally happened!