This next recipe is an early Christmas gift to my mom! 
Merry Christmas!! 

Whenever I think of orange rolls, I think of her and our Christmas mornings as kids. I know she LOVES them just as much as we did. It just wouldn't be the same without some this year! I've been determined to create a yummy gluten free version so we both don't feel like we're missing out. 

Hope you all enjoy them too! 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Created by jalene

Makes 12
Orange Roll Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar
• 1 cup warm plain rice or almond milk (about 110 degrees)
• 1/4 cup sweet white rice flour (or blend your own from Calrose Rice)
• 3/4 cupbrown rice flour
• 1/4 + 2 Tbsp potato starch
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 & 1/2 tspxanthan gum or guar gum
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp orange juice concentrate 
• 1 Tbsp orange zest

Orange Roll Directions:

1. Grease 12 muffin tins with coconut or olive oil and set aside. Whisk the yeast, sugar, and milk together in a 2 cup or bigger size bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rise. (It is ready when it has doubled.)
2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients: white rice flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch,  xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. 
3. In a large mixing bowl add the egg and beat for about 30 seconds. Next add the applesauce, honey, orange juice concentrate and zest. Pour in the yeast mixture and the flour mixture and mix until combined (scraping the sides if necessary) and then increase the speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes. 
4. Scoop the dough into your prepared pan. Oil a sheet of plastic wrap and cover the rolls. Let rise for 30 minutes. About 10 minutes before they are ready, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until tops are starting to turn brown. While baking, prepare the frosting. 

Orange Frosting: 
Blend together 1 tsp orange zest, 1 Tbsp orange juice, 1 & 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 & 1/2 oz of cream cheese (or vegan sub to make it dairy free), and 2 Tbsp of butter (or Earth Balance to make it dairy free). Makes about 2 Tbsp per orange roll. 

I have a NEW holiday favorite!!! Seriously, does anyone know why it is called "Pound Cake" though? 
After creating this recipe I can take a guess... because I LITERALLY wanted to pound this cake down! We actually ate so much that I had to made another batch to take pictures! Ha ha. 
It's that good.

My husband was surprised how moist it was and tasted like the gluten version. You could definitely serve this to people and they WOULD NOT know it's gluten free! 

I love that it's made with almond and coconut flour so it's not only gluten free but grain free as well! Almond flour is packed with great protein (among other benefits) and the coconut flour provides great fiber and is low carb. And don't even get me started on the cranberries!  After you read about the benefits you'll wonder why you don't eat them everyday! In fact, cranberries are super cheap this time of year (after Thanksgiving) so you can save $ by stocking up and freezing some now.

Well, I think you're going to LOVE it!  ;) So, without further ado...

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Grain Free, Paleo, Can be Corn Free)
Adapted by jalene from a recipe by askgeorgie.com

Makes about 8-10 (1-inch thick) slices
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp Almond Flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Coconut Flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum (or to make corn-free use guar gum)
• 2/3 cup sugar or evaporated cane juice sugar
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder (to be truly grain-free use 1 part cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda + 2 parts arrowroot)
  
• 3 eggs
  
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp water
  
• 1 & 1/4 cup cranberries (I used frozen) or you can do 3/4 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup diced apples

Directions: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large bread pan with parchment paper. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the almond, coconut flour, sugar, salt, baking powder (or sub) and xanthan gum (or sub). Whisk to combine. 
3. In a mixing bowl, add your eggs and beat for 30 sec. Add the almond extract and water. 
4. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet and mix until uniformly moist. (Batter will thicken as it sits.) Quickly fold in the cranberries. 
5. Scoop the batter into your prepared pan and smooth down the top. 
6. Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is starting to lightly brown and will slightly bounce back up with touched. 

Cut about 1 inch thick to serve. Store any leftovers (if there is any!) in an airtight container and consume within 3 days.

Can I just start out by saying this next recipe has taken me so long to make! I have tried SO MANY gluten free, dairy free biscuits. 

And then it happened. 

I PERFECTED it! It had a great crust, it's shape-able yet moist, it holds together well, has a good flavor, and can also be used as sandwich rolls! My husband loves them so much he requested them for Father's day AND his birthday. 

So, excited to share this recipe with you, I headed to the computer to type it out...and crazy luck but somewhere in between the kitchen and the computer room, I LOST my recipe! Can you believe it?! I keep my experimental recipes on little post-it notes (which is a BAD idea and I'll soon change that after this experience). 

But ugh, after all that work. 

So then I tried for an entire week to remember and recreate it. (And Audrey has let me know if they were good ones or not... Here's some pictures from some of my first biscuits...ha ha) 

Poor girl. Anyways, after all that drama, I FOUND the post-it note! So with out further ado (because there has already been enough of that...) here is my gluten free, dairy free baking powder biscuits! 
    

Baking Powder Biscuits
(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan)

Created by jalene

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar 
• 1/2 cup milk alternative
• 3/4 cup white rice flour (I grind my own from Calrose Rice but you can buy Sweet Rice Flour also)
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1 & 1/2 Tbsp organic cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2  tsp sea salt 
  
• 3 TB organic unsweetened applesauce
• 3 TB organic non-hydrogenated shortening

Directions: 

1. Combine the milk sub and cider vinegar in a bowl and set aside. (This should sit for at least 10 minutes before adding it to the recipe). 
2. Preheat oven to 500 F. That's right. That's not a typo. Trust me. It creates a beautiful crust on the outside. 
3. In a mixing bowl or food processor combine the white rice flour, potato starch, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt. 
4. Add the applesauce and shortening and mix until crumbly. 
5. Slowly pour in the milk and scrape the sides if necessary. BE SURE NOT TO OVER-MIX. 
6. With your hands, gently shape the dough into your desired size. (I made mine about 3 inches across and 1 & 1/4 inch tall. Be sure not to squish down the dough too much as you shape it. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for around 10 minutes or until light golden brown. 

After teaching one of our Gluten Free classes, a cute couple came up to me and asked if I had a Yorkshire Pudding recipe. Unfortunately, I had never even heard of it! It sounded like a yummy dessert but apparently it's a bread named after the town (Yorkshire) in England. It came about as an inventive way to use up the drippings from meat. There are MANY different variations- some using drippings, others just using butter. 

So here's my version of Yorkshire Pudding. Regardless if it's identical to the gluten infested version or not, it tastes super yummy and makes a fast & tasty roll that goes great with soup!  Enjoy!

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Created by jalene

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup milk (or use plain almond milk for Dairy Free)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup butter (or use meat drippings or Earth Balance to make it Dairy Free)
• 12-count muffin tin

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Get all your ingredients out and set aside. 
2. Place 1 tsp of butter into each muffin tin and place it into your preheated oven. Watch carefully while preparing the dough: 
3. In a Blendtec blender blender your eggs. Add all of the dry ingredients (brown rice flour, potato starch, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum). Pulse to combine, scraping sides as necessary. While the blender is running on the lowest setting, pour in the milk. Remove muffin tin from the oven after all the butter is melted and starting to bubble. 
4. Immediately pour batter by distributing it evenly into each muffin tin and return to the pan to the oven. Bake for at least 15 minutes or until puffy and golden brown on top. 

You know me, I'm always trying to find an easy way to do gluten free without mixing all these different flours. I think I stumbled upon a good combination for this next bread. 3/4 parts Brown Rice Flour and 1/4 part Quinoa Flour. Interesting combination but it totally works! The Quinoa adds a great fluffy and moist texture as well as nutrient power! The brown rice and coconut oil also bring great benefits to the bread. 

Overall, it might be one of the healthier gluten free pumpkin breads you'll try without messing with the traditional taste of one. I think you're going to love it! My family sure does. In fact, the other night I asked my husband if he wanted me to make some more milk so he could have some cereal. He replied yes and said, "Could you make more bread?" Then my sweet 2 year old pipped in and said, "An punkin bread!" What a cutie. She figured if we were making requests she'd like to put her 2 bits in! 

Let me know what YOUR family thinks! Enjoy. 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene from a Better Homes and Garden Recipe

Ingredients: 

• 1 & 1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp ground ginger or cloves
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (I used canned)
• 1/2 cup milk (or almond milk to make it dairy free) 
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• (optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or 1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips)

Directions: 

1. Grease or line with parchment paper a 9x5x3 loaf pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In a large mixing bowl combine the brown rice flour with the quinoa flour. Scoop out 1 cup of that flour mixture and place into your mixer bowl. Add the brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger or cloves and mix well. 
3. Add the pumpkin, milk, eggs, and coconut oil. Beat on low speed until blended and then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the flour. Beat until blended then fold in any optional ingredients such as the walnuts, raisins, or chocolate chips. 
4. Spoon batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove loaf from pan. Cool on a wire rack. (You can eat it hot too...)

Believe it or not, Monkey Bread was one of the first desserts I learned how to make when I was younger. I was in junior high home ec class and let me tell ya, any child's interest peaks when there's sugar involved! The version she taught us is far from this one however. She used prepackaged biscuits and gluten-infested ingredients. Her recipe worked great for an early learner but I have since adapted it so we can still enjoy it today! 

The greatest compliment I think I've had is my own father-in-law who wont even touch desserts, ate 2 of these the other night.  ;) (It helped that I made them gluten free and dairy free for him.)

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)
Created by jalene

Makes about 24 individual muffin desserts
Dough Ingredients: 

• 2 Tbsp yeast
• 1 & 1/4 cup warm water (about 110 F)
• 1/4 cup sugar (I use evaporated cane juice sugar)
• 6 Tbsp olive oil or grapeseed oil
• 2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp potato starch (not flour)
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
• 1 & 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 eggs 

Cinnamon Sugar Combo: 

• 1/2 cup sugar (evaporated cane juice sugar)
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Gooey Sauce:

• 1/4 cup butter (use earth balance to make df)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp 100% pure maple syrup
• pinch salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• ​1 Tbsp coconut milk (or cow's, almond, or rice milk)

Oh was that mean of me or what to make you wait almost a week for this recipe?! These babies are so AMAZING. I have been trying to not make them every day but as soon as I make a batch they seem to disappear. Not only do they taste amazing but they're super cute too! I've seen some gluten free cinnamon rolls that don't even look appetizing! The bonus on these ones...they're pull-aparts! You don't even have to mess with rolling them out! (Which lets be frank, gluten free dough does not have the same consistency to be rolled out. It's just too sticky.)

(Before we begin I must say: though you don't have to have one for this recipe, a 1 inch cookie scoop comes super in handy.) 

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)

Created by jalene

Makes 12 cinnamon rolls
Roll Ingredients: 

• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 cups warm rice milk (about 100 F)
• 3/4 cup sweet white rice flour (You can also grind your own from calrose rice)
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour
• 6 Tbsp potato starch (not flour)
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1 & 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp butter or organic unsweetened applesauce or Earth Balance butter sub
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

Roll Directions: 

1. Grease 12 muffin tins and set aside. 
2. In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Cover with a towel and let sit 6-8 minutes. I usually wait until it has doubled in size. 
3. In a mixing bowl or food processor combine rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. 
4. Add the yeast mixture, egg, butter, honey and apple cider vinegar and blend while scraping sides. Mix for 3 minutes on medium speed.

3.    Using a 1 inch cookie scooper, scoop a mound into your cinnamon and sugar. Coat the dough and place into muffin tin. Repeat two more times so you should have a total of three cinnamon & sugar coated mounds in 1 tin. Repeat until the entire dough is used. 
4.    Pour 1/2 tsp of the melted butter over the top of each muffin section. (This gives an excellent taste and helps prevent sticking.) 
5.    Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with olive oil and place on top of the rolls. Let rise about 15 minutes. Preheat your oven to 375 F.  
6.    Bake for about 15 minutes or until light brown. Meanwhile make your frosting.  (These are really good without frosting too though!)

Frosting Ingredients: 

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Frosting Directions: 

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix until well combined.  If a thicker frosting is desired, add more powdered sugar. 

(PS-My powdered sugar was made from scratch from organic evaporated cane sugar that was light brown in color to begin with. Hence the slight tint of the frosting on these babies.) 

So I've been playing around with my dinner roll recipe and I've been able to do quite a bit with it! This next recipe turns out amazing. The hamburger buns are MOIST, not-distracting, have a GREAT TASTE and easy to make. The whole process can be done in under an hour which is such an improvement from some other hamburger bun recipes I've seen. You can also make it dairy free if you prefer. I like my hamburger buns a little dried out so you can make these the day before you have hamburgers too to save time. 

Great news too, these can also be FROZEN! Simply freeze them after cooling completely in an airtight ziplock bag. To thaw you can throw them in the oven at 350 for about 5-7 minutes or thaw them on the counter or in the microwave. 

(Gluten Free, Can be Dairy Free)

Created by jalene but inspired by  a recipe from Carol Kicinski 

Makes 11-12 hamburger buns
Ingredients: 

• 2 Tbsp yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 cups warm milk or to be DF use plain rice or almond milk (about 105 F)
• 1 & 1/2 cups sweet white rice flour (or you can grind your own from calrose rice)
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup potato starch (not flour)
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 3 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 & 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs 
• 1/4 cup butter or Earth Balance Butter Sub (dairy free option)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

2.   In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Cover with a towel and let sit 6-8 minutes or until the yeast has doubled in size. (2 cups should become 4 cups).

3.   In a mixing bowl or food processor combine rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt, and baking powder. 

4.   Add the yeast mixture, 2 eggs, butter sub, honey and apple cider vinegar and blend while scraping sides. Mix for 3 minutes longer on medium speed.

5.   Scoop 1/2 cup dough out onto a cookie sheet forming a circular mound. 

6.   Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with olive oil and place on top of the rolls. Let rise 30-35 minutes. The last 10 minutes, preheat your oven to 375 F.  Discard plastic wrap. 

7.   Bake for around 15-20 minutes or until tops are light golden brown.  Slice in half and serve with your favorite burger!

To store: Cool completely then keep in an airtight container. Can also frozen for later use. 

Some gluten free baking has to be done very PRECISE in order to turn out correctly. This recipe is no exception. If your buns flattened or turned out incorrectly check these helpful tips to trouble-shoot where it went wrong: 

• Double check all the ingredients- be sure you leave nothing out. Be sure you used the correct ingredient. For example, potato STARCH is not not the same as potato flour. Potato flour is heavy and dense and will dramatically change the results of your product. 
• Be sure to measure your flour correctly. To correctly measure flour, use a spoon to lightly scoop flour out of its container into a measuring cup. Continue until the cup is overflowing. Then use the back side of a knife to level off the flour even with the top edge of the measuring cup. (Too much flour, and your product will be tough and dry. Too little flour, and your product will collapse when it comes out of the oven, and have wet spots and dense layers.)
• Check your yeast.  In step #2 above you mix your milk, yeast and sugar. This should double in size. If it does not, your yeast is not active and won't produce good results when baking these buns. Also, if your risen yeast mixture collapses when it is touched, chances are your rolls will do the same thing fresh out of the oven. 
• Be sure to let the buns rise before baking.  These buns need 30 minutes to increase in size. This allows air pockets to form from the yeast and baking powder. If you don't allow them to rise, they will turn out dense and dry. 
• Be sure your oven is preheated BEFORE placing your buns in the oven.  One time I made these  and plop them in the oven before it had a chance to fully heat. The buns flattened! So this is one step I closely follow.

If you caught my post last week I posted a fantastic freezable gluten free and dairy free pizza crust. It makes an excellent basic pizza crust that holds together well and tastes really close to a real gluten-infested crust! 

But then I started thinking, "Man, wouldn't it be nice to have a gluten free crust you could cook on a pizza stone? Now that would be awesome." I had a gluten-infested recipe that I was trying to copy but the trouble with gluten free dough is that it's SO STICKY and doesn't work like a regular dough. After a bright idea I finally did it! You are going to be amazed at this crust! It raises well before cooking and develops a excellent crunch on the edges while cooking. This seriously might be your new favorite crust.  

I think it's actually easier than the freezable version because you can simply roll it out. (I took a lot of pictures so you could see just how easy it is.) IF YOU DON'T HAVE A PIZZA STONE, don't fret it. Just use a pizza pan that can withstand cooking at 500 degrees F. 
 
(P.S. I LOVE this pizza sauce on it. Give it a try!)

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free) 

Created by jalene but inspired from a recipe by the baking beauties

Yields two 14-inch pizza crusts
Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup non-GMO cornstarch
• 3/4 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
• 1 & 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 2 & 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp instant yeast
• 1 & 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 & 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar
• 2 & 1/2 Tbsp oil (not olive oil, see note)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 cup warm milk or rice milk (about 110 degrees F)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

5.   With a rolling pin, roll out the crust to your desired thickness. It will raise almost 1/3 of the amount. (I rolled mine to about 1/3 of an inch thick.) 

6.   Remove the top layer of parchment paper and save (for prep of the 2nd crust). 

7.   Place your pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.  Let dough rise for at least 35 minutes. 

Does't that crust look amazing for being gluten free?! 

While the first crust is rising start on your 2nd crust following the same method as above. 

At this point I place my crust onto my pizza slider thingy (not sure what the technical name is for it...) but you don't have to have one of these. Just improvise. 

8.    Top with your favorite toppings and slide into the oven onto your pizza stone. Now I know what you're thinking...parchment paper can only go to 425 degrees... 
So this part is really important: After 4 minutes of cooking, pull out the parchment paper from under your cooking pizza. (If you are using foil, you DON'T have to remove it. It can simply bake the entire time on it.)


Bake for a total of 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.  Enjoy! 

I DON'T recommend using olive oil for this recipe because the smoking point is 350 degrees. Smoking points are important to know because oils will break down and can become very harmful to your body. For the technical version read this quote: 

"decomposition results in the creation of hydroperoxids and then increasing levels of aldehydes. (Aldehydes are toxic compounds and recognized “markers of oxidative stress in cells” and are known contributors to “degenerative illnesses.” What does this mean for anyone who eats rancid oil? They just invited in a Trojan Horse of free radicals galore that are now beginning their violent pillaging of the person’s innards."

Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/oil-fat-overheat-smoking-point/#ixzz21CIl6dZ6

Vegan mozzerella cheese works amazing on this crust/method too. Audrey's cheese only piece is pictured to the right.  I have also found the higher cooking temperature is BETTER for Vegan cheese because it was not melting like normal mozzarella does at a lower cooking temperature. 

One of the biggest complaints that I hear from people about being gluten free is about the BREAD. "It's like eating sawdust!" "It's SO dry, it just crumbles when you eat it." 

WELL NOT THIS ONE! 

You will be so pleasantly surprised when you try these next rolls. I took 24 of them to a family reunion for sandwiches and before you know it they were gone! I love this recipe so much I'm experimenting with it to create other variations (soon to come)! Until then, enjoy these basic dinner rolls. They're moist, hold together well, taste really similar to a regular dinner roll, and they are great for sandwiches. 
  

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
Adapted by jalene from a recipe by Carol Kicinski 

Makes 20 rolls (using 1/4 cup per roll)
For 30 rolls use a recipe and a half
Ingredients: 

• 2 Tbsp yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 cups warm rice milk (about 100 F)
• 1 cup sweet white rice flour (I grind my own from calrose rice) (see note below)
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• ¾ cup potato starch (not flour)
• ½ cup tapioca starch
• 3 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 & ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs 
• ¼ cup organic unsweetened applesauce or GF DF Earth Balance 
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar

7.   Remove plastic wrap. 
8.   Bake for around 15 minutes or until tops are light golden brown. 

Cool slightly and remove from pan.  These taste AMAZING hot out of the oven but they are also good at room temperature too. Store in an airtight container.  You can even freeze them and then heat them back up when you need them. 

I now use 2 cups brown rice flour instead of both white rice flour and brown rice flour. It's a little bit healthier and it still works out great.