Fabulous Cook Book

[CMCM]

If you don't know about this cookbook, you SHOULD. The author is a chef and when she was diagnosed with celiac disease, she dedicated herself to creating gluten free versions of the foods she loved. She created a flour mix that is out of this world good...although it requires a special superfine brown rice flour which is somewhat hard to find. But almost all the recipes use this basic mix of 3 things she created, so I just do up a big container of it and then measure out what I need. I haven't tried everything in the book, but so far the recipes I've tried were absolutely incredible and every bit as good as a wheat version. My mom (celiac for 40+ years) cried when I made vanilla cupcakes....she said she hadn't had anything like that in 40 years! The neat thing is the texture of the baked goods....soft, spongy, not weird crumbly etc. like most gluten free goodies. And she has various techniques that mask the rice flavor, so these things just taste perfect. My favorite is the coconut cupcakes, but the vanilla cupcakes, the lemon cupcakes, the sugar cookies and the choco chip cookies are all incredible. No one can believe they are gluten free.

Anyway, this book is called "Gluten-Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. I really recommend this cookbook to everyone. And she's has just come out with a gluten free bread machine book, although I haven't got that one yet so I can't comment on it.

If you really miss the "old" stuff, I suggest you get this book. It has made me stop missing the wheat foods because now I have delicious things to make--not just lousy replacements, but really really good and virtually identically flavored alternatives. But you absolutely have to have the Authentic brand rice flour to make your flour mix with. That's the key, because this flour doesn't give things that gritty texture that the other flours tend to give. It has to do with the fineness of the grind, and also, it's a brown flour, which the author says also makes a difference in how things turn out.

If you go to amazon, you can read all the reviews.

[lmvrbaby]

Hi, I do have this book and it is the only gluten free book cook/baking book I have and it is amazing. I love it. I am the only one in the house gluten free and my son who is a picky eater will help eat these baked goods. I do truly recommend this book as well. Happy baking!

[DakotaRN]

This sound like exactly what I have been looking for. Thanks, I'm going to check it out.

[jkmunchkin]

I agree, this is the absolute BEST gluten free baking book out there. She is coming out with one for breads (to be made in the Zo), releasing in April. I will definitely be buying that one. Every recipe I try from her book is incredible.

I often have requests for the coconut cake from gluten eaters. Picky gluten eaters I might add!

P.S. CMCM - your dog is adorable

[Ginsou]

I also have 2 copies of this cookbook....one in the house, one in the motorhome. So glad she has another cookbook in the works. I have quite a collection of gluten-free cookbooks by many authors, and use certain recipes from many of them.

For ice cream lovers who are lactose/milk/casein intolerant, I highly recommend The Ice Dream Cookbook by Chef Rachel Albert-Matesz. This book is well worth the price

[luvs2eat]

Been using her book for several years. I made about 10 batches of her carrot cake recipe and made my 3 tiered wedding cake a few years ago. It was awesome!

[Mae1118]

I have been diagnosed with celiac disease in the past 6 months, and this was the first cookbook that I bought. I bought it mostly because of all of the wonderful reviews I read on Amazon. I agree that it is a great cookbook - my family LOVES the french bread and the pizza crust recipe (my husband who is not gluten-free actually thinks that my gluten-free pizza is better than any gluten pizza I ever made!). I made the chocolate cake recipe for my daughter's birthday, and several of the parents were very surprised to hear that it was gluten-free, and a couple even told me it was the best chocolate cake they ever had. The cinnamon roll and brownie recipes are also awesome!

Unfortunately, though, I have been having a lot of trouble with the cookie recipes. I am not saying this to discourage anyone from buying the book. I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong and anyone else has had the same problems? The cover of the book has a raving review of the chocolate chip cookies, but mine just flattened and covered the whole pan and never set. I tried adding more gluten-free flour mix (a LOT more), and chilling the cookies on the sheet before I baked them, and finally got something edible. I just tried the gingersnap recipe, and the first pan to come out of the oven did the same thing. I haven't tried adding anything to the rest of the dough yet.

Most of the rest of the recipes I have tried have come out so good, and I have heard such glowing reviews from others about this book that I am sure there must be something I am doing wrong. I am generally a very good baker, and I know I am measuring all of my ingredients carefully. I will admit that the only thing I have not been doing according to the recipe is using the superfine brown rice flour. I can't afford it, so I have been using regular brown rice flour in my flour mix. This has not seemed to matter in any of my other recipes. I know she says that her baked goods have a better texture with the superfine flour, and I am sure that my baked goods would be even better if I did use the superfine flour, but I can't imagine that this would be causing the particular problems that I am having with the cookies. Has anyone else tried the recipes with regular brown rice flour or had the same problems that I have been having? Thanks!

And honestly, for anyone who is thinking about this cookbook, I would still recommend buying it, even if just for the pizza crust recipe alone! I was even able to prebake pizza crusts (underbake them just slightly), put toppings on them, and then freeze them. We are able to have frozen ready-to-bake pizzas again, and they taste even better than the gluten-full ones in the stores! :D

[purple]

I have been diagnosed with celiac disease in the past 6 months, and this was the first cookbook that I bought. I bought it mostly because of all of the wonderful reviews I read on Amazon. I agree that it is a great cookbook - my family LOVES the french bread and the pizza crust recipe (my husband who is not gluten-free actually thinks that my gluten-free pizza is better than any gluten pizza I ever made!). I made the chocolate cake recipe for my daughter's birthday, and several of the parents were very surprised to hear that it was gluten-free, and a couple even told me it was the best chocolate cake they ever had. The cinnamon roll and brownie recipes are also awesome!

Unfortunately, though, I have been having a lot of trouble with the cookie recipes. I am not saying this to discourage anyone from buying the book. I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong and anyone else has had the same problems? The cover of the book has a raving review of the chocolate chip cookies, but mine just flattened and covered the whole pan and never set. I tried adding more gluten-free flour mix (a LOT more), and chilling the cookies on the sheet before I baked them, and finally got something edible. I just tried the gingersnap recipe, and the first pan to come out of the oven did the same thing. I haven't tried adding anything to the rest of the dough yet.

Most of the rest of the recipes I have tried have come out so good, and I have heard such glowing reviews from others about this book that I am sure there must be something I am doing wrong. I am generally a very good baker, and I know I am measuring all of my ingredients carefully. I will admit that the only thing I have not been doing according to the recipe is using the superfine brown rice flour. I can't afford it, so I have been using regular brown rice flour in my flour mix. This has not seemed to matter in any of my other recipes. I know she says that her baked goods have a better texture with the superfine flour, and I am sure that my baked goods would be even better if I did use the superfine flour, but I can't imagine that this would be causing the particular problems that I am having with the cookies. Has anyone else tried the recipes with regular brown rice flour or had the same problems that I have been having? Thanks!

And honestly, for anyone who is thinking about this cookbook, I would still recommend buying it, even if just for the pizza crust recipe alone! I was even able to prebake pizza crusts (underbake them just slightly), put toppings on them, and then freeze them. We are able to have frozen ready-to-bake pizzas again, and they taste even better than the gluten-full ones in the stores! :D

I don't have her book yet, but I was just wondering if you use butter, margarine, shortening, or coconut/vegetable oil in the cookies and if you use xanthan gum. Someone else should be able to answer your question.

[Mae1118]

I don't have her book yet, but I was just wondering if you use butter, margarine, shortening, or coconut/vegetable oil in the cookies and if you use xanthan gum. Someone else should be able to answer your question.

The cookie recipes call for shortening. Butter or margarine are actually supposed to cause exactly the problems I am having with my gluten-free cookies, although I am using shortening. And the 2 cookie recipes I have tried so far do also call for xanthan gum. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the superfine rice flour is denser because it is more finely ground, and maybe it would absorb more liquid than the flour I am using? But if that were the case, I would think that it would affect the other recipes as well, especially the cake recipe. Hmmm...

[taweavmo3]

The cookie recipes call for shortening. Butter or margarine are actually supposed to cause exactly the problems I am having with my gluten-free cookies, although I am using shortening. And the 2 cookie recipes I have tried so far do also call for xanthan gum. The only thing I can think of is that maybe the superfine rice flour is denser because it is more finely ground, and maybe it would absorb more liquid than the flour I am using? But if that were the case, I would think that it would affect the other recipes as well, especially the cake recipe. Hmmm...

I have noticed that the superfine brown rice flour is very dense....when I use it in other recipes, I always have to add more liquid. It does seem very absorbent, so maybe that's the problem? If you get a chance to buy the superfine brown rice flour, it is really worth it. We are on a tight budget too, so I bake sparingly, lol. After making the baked goods from this book, I don't even like the cupcakes from the local gluten free bakery anymore!

I have to agree that this is the best baking cookbook out there...my husband's coworkers beg for the chocolate chip cookies (which makes me cringe since they are so pricey), and my entire family loves, loves, loves the layer lemon cake. Gluten free baking really doesn't get much better than this!

[Mae1118]

I have noticed that the superfine brown rice flour is very dense....when I use it in other recipes, I always have to add more liquid. It does seem very absorbent, so maybe that's the problem?

Thanks, Taweavmo3! I guess that maybe I will have to take that into account. I still can't figure out why it doesn't seem to matter in the other recipes, though, especially for the cake. Or maybe those recipes would be even better than they are already! Maybe it's good that I don't know what I am missing, or I would go broke! I live on the East Coast, and the last I checked the price on that flour, it was completely outrageous to have it shipped here from California where Authentic Foods, the company that makes it is located. Maybe I will check with my health food store and see if they would consider stocking it, since I know they already carry the Authentic Foods sweet rice flour.

[Ginsou]

Mae 1118

Oh, I am so glad to see your comments about the chocolate chip cookies!!!I've had the same experience...they liquify when cooking....quite a disaster. I have used regular brown rice flour, and Authentic Foods brown rice flour and got the same results. I have found that using 2 3/4 cups of brown rice flour and refrigerating the dough, and baking them for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees works well for me. I was using a cookie scoop and stopped using it, and went back to the old method of using small teaspoon size. I also used parchment paper on an insulated cookie sheet. I believe I also had good luck using a silicon mat.....I have so many notes on this recipe page, I'm losing track. The taste of the finished product was excellent.

I thought perhaps an altitude of 4,000 ft. was the problem, but I had the same results at a lower altitude.

I have many food allergies and use Spectrum for the shortening, because vegetable shortening is soy, and I am very allergic to soy.

Thanks for the heads up on the other cookie recipe.

I recently tried another chocolate chip recipe from another cookbook and had to throw out the dough. It was terrible....the same soupy result. I tried to tweak the recipe, but had to throw it out.

All the ingredients I used were fresh.

I've learned when trying a new recipe, cut it in half and also cook only 1 cookie....if it turns out to be a disaster, perhaps you can "tweak" the recipe and get a decent result.

This cookbook is still my favorite.

[lobita]

I used her chocolate chip recipe and didn't have the liquify problem, but I REALLY didn't like the taste of the shortening in there. The texture and the look were great, but they tasted like something a grocery store bakery would make. Maybe some people like that kind of fakey taste, but not me.

I also tried doing the Italian/French bread recipe and was disappointed. It was SO dense and didn't rise at all. I've had better luck w/ the bread recipe that is found on this forum.

I'm not giving up on the book, though. I really want to try the elcaire recipe.

[Wonka]

Mae 1118

Oh, I am so glad to see your comments about the chocolate chip cookies!!!I've had the same experience...they liquify when cooking....quite a disaster. I have used regular brown rice flour, and Authentic Foods brown rice flour and got the same results. I have found that using 2 3/4 cups of brown rice flour and refrigerating the dough, and baking them for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees works well for me. I was using a cookie scoop and stopped using it, and went back to the old method of using small teaspoon size. I also used parchment paper on an insulated cookie sheet. I believe I also had good luck using a silicon mat.....I have so many notes on this recipe page, I'm losing track. The taste of the finished product was excellent.

I thought perhaps an altitude of 4,000 ft. was the problem, but I had the same results at a lower altitude.

I have many food allergies and use Spectrum for the shortening, because vegetable shortening is soy, and I am very allergic to soy.

Thanks for the heads up on the other cookie recipe.

I recently tried another chocolate chip recipe from another cookbook and had to throw out the dough. It was terrible....the same soupy result. I tried to tweak the recipe, but had to throw it out.

All the ingredients I used were fresh.

I've learned when trying a new recipe, cut it in half and also cook only 1 cookie....if it turns out to be a disaster, perhaps you can "tweak" the recipe and get a decent result.

This cookbook is still my favorite.

This recipe is excellent and gives me consistant good results.

Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

* 8 ounces unsalted butter

* 11 ounces brown rice flour, approximately 2 cups

* 1 1/4 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/4 cup

* 1/2-ounce tapioca flour, approximately 2 tablespoons

* 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup

* 10 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 1/4 cups

* 1 whole egg

* 1 egg yolk

* 2 tablespoons whole milk

* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.