The Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

My early impression of homemade cinnamon rolls was that they were dry, heavy, and always a bit overdone. Needless to say, I wasn't a fan of them early on. 

But, as time passed and I grew up, I decided to try making cinnamon rolls myself. I made a batch and I instantly fell in love with this sweet treat.

When I started eating gluten free, a good cinnamon roll recipe was a must. I was lucky to find this great recipe pretty early on, and I have made it at least a dozen times since. 

The Best Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2/3 Cup of warm Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Yeast
• 1 Egg (or 3 Tablespoons hot Water mixed with 1 Tablespoon Flaxseed Meal)
• 1/4 Cup Canola Oil
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Cup Potato Starch
• 1 Cup Corn Starch
• 2 1/2 Teaspoons Xantham Gum
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Filling:

Brown sugar
Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the butter and sugar. 
3. Heat your milk, not too hot but warm enough to activate yeast, and add in the yeast. Whisk together until dissolved. 
4. Add the milk/yeast mixture to the sugar and stir together. Add the egg (or flaxegg), oil and vanilla, and mix again. 
5. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix well to combine, removing all lumps (expect the dough to be pretty soft).
6. Sprinkle a big sheet of plastic wrap with sugar and plop dough out onto it. Add a second layer of plastic wrap and roll dough out between them, making roughly a 13" by 13" square.
7. Remove top layer of wrap and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over dough. Then, lifting up an edge of the plastic wrap to help you, roll the dough. Cut with a knife and place in a greased pan (I usually bake mine in a 9x13 and they all fit).
8. Bake for about 20 minutes (until tops are lightly browned), and frost when slightly cooled. Enjoy.

TIPS: Make sure that you measure the ingredients exactly right. There have been a few times when I was off, and these turned out a bit messy (but still tasty). Stir the dough long enough, too, and you should come out with the perfect cinnamon rolls.

Recipe found here and here.


-Bethany

Ten

Did I ever mention that I love fudge?

Oh, yeah. I think I did.

You can't blame me for saying it again, though, right? Fudge is just so... good. So good.

I love fudge so much that this year I decided to make ten different varieties of fudge, trying to outdo last year when I made nine.

From right to left: Top row: Salted Caramel, Cookie Dough, Butterscotch

Second row: Dark Chocolate, Dark chocolate with Peppermint, Snickerdoodle

Third row: Cotton Candy (made with the help of my nephew!) and M&M and Pretzel

Last row: Chocolate and Funfetti

I brought this pan of fudge out to my parents' for Christmas eve with my family, and the salted caramel fudge was the biggest hit, as it was last year, and all of the others went over good, as well. Everyone seems to love fudge, and it's just a great - and relatively easy - way to make a wide variety of yummy Christmas treats.

-Bethany

Baked Chickpea Meatballs

I made these chickpea meatballs a couple of weeks ago, and they turned out great. They were so good, in fact, that I have been craving them the past few days. 

Baked Chickpea "Meatballs"

• 2 Cups Chickpeas
• 1/3 Cup Gluten Free Breadcrumbs
• 1 Tablespoon Ground Flaxseed
• 3 Tablespoons Hot Water
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 8 cranks freshly ground black pepper (or really, however much you'd like)

1. Heat the water and add the ground flaxseed to it. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a blender, pulse chickpeas until small crumbs form (almost fine).
4. Mince the garlic.
5. Add the chickpeas, flax-egg, garlic and the remaining ingredients to a big bowl and mix until combined.
6. Shape into 2 Tablespoon size balls of dough and set on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until slightly browned. Serve with sauce on spaghetti, and enjoy!

Adapted from this recipe.

-Bethany