Recipes That Don't Come Out

[lpellegr]

Has anyone had problems with gluten-free recipes from the major cookbooks? I have the Gluten-Free Gourmet series, the Wheat-free,Gluten-free Reduced Calorie Cookbook by Connie Sarros, and

Gluten-free Baking by Rebecca Reilly. I used to make a lot of normal breads and pizza and cookies etc in the days before my diagnosis, so I am trying to make a lot of my own stuff now, stocking up on cheap rice flour etc at the Asian grocery store, but jeez, some of these recipes are just plain wrong as they are written. Betty Hagman's Swedish Hardtack makes these crunchy cookies that taste like animal crackers and last forever, but I had to add an entire extra cup of brown rice flour to turn the dough solid enough to handle. Last night I wasted a lot of effort on Cornmeal Scones - Reilly might be proud of how she can convert recipes for celiacs, but if she was one herself she'd know that "sand" is not an acceptable texture for real food. Even my kids wouldn't eat more than one bite. Some of the bread/cracker/brownie recipes have come out great, but my books are getting full of my edits to make these recipes work. My kids are about to be tested for celiac disease and I anticipate a lot more gluten-free baking, but if anyone has suggestions for recipes that really work and come out great from those books, or corrections for some of the others, I'd love to know.

Here are recipes I've tried that come out right:

Zucchini Cake - Gluten-Free Gourmet (GFG)

Quick and Easy Muffins with blueberries (GFG) - bake 5 minutes longer

Almost Pumpernickel (GFG) - lasts for days, yummy

True Yeast Bread (GFG) - also lasts, good texture

Shortbread (More from the GFG)

Light Granola (More from the GFG) - if you can track down all the ingredients

Mock Oatmeal cookies (More from the GFG)

Grated Apple Loaf (More from the GFG)

Caraway Soda Bread (More from the GFG) - like a biscuit when fresh, but can slice later

Rapid-Rise French Bread (More from the GFG) - this is awesome when right out of the oven

Easy Pizza (GFG Cooks Fast and Healthy) - most like a doughy yeast crust - very good

Onion Crackers (GFG Cooks Fast and Healthy) - great if you leave out all but 1/4t of the salt

Velvet brownies (GFG Cooks Fast and Healthy) - a little weird, but okay

Corn Muffins (Connie Sarros) - freeze well for a good breakfast

Here are ones with problems:

Melt-in-the-mouth Oil Crust (for pies) (More from the GFG) - truly gritty and nasty

Swedish Hardtack (More from the GFG) - really good, but there's way too much liquid in the recipe

Cornstarch Bread (GFG Cooks Fast and Healthy) - yes, it does make good melba toast, but it's not good for much else

Cornmeal Scones (gluten-free Baking) - like a mouthful of finely powdered sand

It's a lot of work to make this stuff and I don't mind if it's worth it, but it's a waste for something that doesn't work or just tastes bad. Can we help each other out? I plan to keep working my way through the interesting recipes to weed out the bad ones and find what my family will eat. I'm especially interested in successful cookie and pie crust recipes that don't rely on crushed cereal.

[AnnieMarie]

Dear Ipelleger,

Nestle Toll House Cookies come out great if you want a cookie that your family was use to pre gluten-free. All you have to do is sub. the flour using 3 cups of rice flour. I use half brown and halh white.

When you use the recipe flour the instructons on the bag precisely and never omit the nuts, they help bing the flour.

My oven is hot so I only cook them 7 minutes, then cool on pan 2 minutes, then remove

Annie