Brazilian Cheese Rolls

This recipe came to me from a fabulous blog, www.ourbestbites.com.  If you've ever had the Against The Grain french bread, these aren't too far off.  Best part, they are insanely easy.  Easier than opening a can of gluten-ful biscuits easy.  They are like little cheesey poofs of bread.


Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese* (preferably medium or sharp)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
*you can play around with the cheese.  I’ve used Monterey Jack, low-moisture mozarella, swiss, and even gruyere in place of the cheddar.  All great!

Optional:  extra cheese to sprinkle on top and any herbs/flavorings you’d like to add.  Try rosemary and or garlic powder, my favorites!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth.  Add cheeses and pulse 2 times.  Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.  If desired (and I recommend), sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top and/or a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden.  Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan.  Serve warm. {Que Gostoso!}  These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh.

Sea Salt Caramel Crispies

Kellogs has recently come out with Gluten Free Rice Krispies.  Yay!  This discovery lead to the secondary discovery that Post's Cocoa Pebbles were already gluten free.  While I stood in the aisle of the grocery store, the idea for the perfect rice treat came to me...


Sea Salt Caramel Crispies

4 tbsp of Trader Joes sea salt caramel sauce
3 tbsp of butter
3.5 cups mini marshmallows
6 cups cocoa pebbles

You know the drill.  Melt the marshmallows in the butter.  When this is a sauce consistency, stir in the caramel.  Pour over the pebbles.  Stir.  Pour mix into a baking dish to cool.

If you want to really drive the point home, melt some butter and dark chocolate chips in the microwave then pour over the treats.  Sprinkle sea salt on top.

Puddle Cookies

Since my last post, I've finished the hell that is a gluten challenge.  Now with a diagnosis of Gluten Intolerance (with a side of potential "pre" celiac),  I'm diving even more headlong into baking.

First off, puddle cookies.  Deliciousness.  Picture a meringue, a brownie, and a lava cake morphing into a heavenly cookie.  These are amazing.  The best part is they were gluten free from the start...  No gums, special flours, or starch required!

Puddle Cookies:

3 cups pecan pieces

4 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cups (scant) cocoa powder

1/2 tsp (scant) sea salt

4 egg whites at room temp.

1 tbsp GF vanilla

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line two baking sheets with silpats.  

Sift together sugar, cocoa, and salt.  Stir in pecans.  Add egg whites and vanilla.  Stir until well combined.

Spoon the batter onto the sheets in heaping tablespoons with lots of room between for the cookies to grow. 

Bake until the cookies, puff up and crack 12-15 minutes.  Let them cool and eat as many as possible.  They get chewier the second day.  You may want to eat them with vanilla ice cream and caramel.  Hypothetically, of course.