Nutty Pumpkin Bread is Gluten Free, but you'd never know it

Nutty Pumpkin Bread is Gluten Free, but you'd never know it

The theme for Recipe Redux this month is Creative Quick Breads, just in time for the holiday season. 

I love anything pumpkin and this time of year it is easy to find pumpkin soups, breads, coffee drinks, and ice cream. Yum! I love pumpkin bread, and wanted to create a gluten-free version for a potluck I’m attending where I know one of more of the guests are not eating gluten.

Using a store-bought gluten-free flour blend makes this recipe easier and faster to put together. I have had good success with the gluten-free flour mix from Bob’s Red Mill. This is a combination of garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour and fava bean flour.

Nutty Pumpkin Bread, Gluten Free (but you wouldn’t know it)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 banana, mashed

White sugar substitute equivalent to 1/2 cup (I used 1/4 cup Truvia sugar blend)

Brown sugar substitute equivalent to 1/2 cup (I used 1/4 cup Truvia brown sugar blend)

2 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin

2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour mix)

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon xanthum gum

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray 9x5-inch bread pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine butter, coconut oil, banana, white and brown sugar substitutes; mix well. Add eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin. Mix well.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, xanthum gum, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring only until combined. Do not over mix.

Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on wire rack and then remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes  12 servings.

Nutrition Information per Serving:

242 calories, 12 g total fat, 7 g saturated fat, 41 mg cholesterol, 3 g dietary fiber, 4 g protein, and 167 mg sodium. One serving of this low cost recipe provides an excellent source of vitamin A.

Be sure to check out these other quick bread favorites.

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Peach Cake with Peach Schnapps is a Great Way to Use Summer Peaches

Peach Cake Uses Summer Peaches and Peach Schnapps

The theme for Recipe Redux for July is to show others how you like to cook, bake, or mix-it-up with spirits, extracts or other alcohols. What’s your healthy recipe with spirit? What immediately came to my mind was a great tasting and great looking peach cake I made several years back that uses peach schnapps to intensify the peach flavor of the cake.

I found this Summer Peach Cake recipe in the July/August 2011 issue of my favorite magazine, Cook’s Illustrated. I love this magazine because they do an outstanding job of creating wonderful recipes and testing them umpteen times to get just the right cooking method and the perfect amount or proportion of ingredients. You also refresh your memory or learn many food science concepts.

The peach cake uses 2 and a half pounds of fresh peaches in one 9-inch round cake. Prior to mixing the peaches in the cake, you bake the slices in the oven to help intensify their flavor and caramelize their juices in order to prevent a runny cake. Yvonne Ruperti, the person who created this recipe for Cook’s Illustrated, tried lots of ways to enhance the peach flavor, from using dried peaches to peach-flavored yogurt. The peach schnapps was the winner. I was extremely pleased with the final product. It looked fabulous, like I had spent a lot of time (which I didn’t). It tasted great and had great peach flavor.

By getting the peaches on sale, I was able to make this cake for $6.27 total, or $0.63 a serving for 10 servings. A great buy for an impressive-looking summer dessert.

Here is the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated:

Summer Peach Cake

From Cook’s Illustrated, July & August 2011, page 24-25.

Serves 8 to 10

2-1/2 pounds peaches, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges

5 tablespoons peach schnapps

4 teaspoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed (3-1/2 ounces) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup sour cream

1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs, crushed fine

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with vegetable oil spray. Gently toss 24 peach wedges with 2 tablespoons schnapps, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar in bowl; set aside.
2. Cut remaining peach wedges crosswise into thirds. Gently toss chucks with remaining 3 tablespoons schnapps, remaining 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in bowl. Spread peach chunks in single layer on prepared sheet and bake until exuded juices begin to thicken and caramelize at edges of sheet, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer sheet to wire rack and let peaches cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
3. Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in bowl. Whisk brown sugar, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, and eggs together in second bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter until combined. Add sour cream, vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon almond extract; whisk until combined. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined.
4. Transfer half of batter to prepared pan; using offset spatula, spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface. Sprinkle crushed bread crumbs evenly over cooled peach chunks and gently toss to coat. Arrange peach chunks on batter in even layer, gently pressing peaches into batter. Gently spread remaining batter over peach chunks and smooth top. Arrange reserved peach wedges, slightly overlapped, in ring over surface of cake, placing smaller wedges in center. Stir together remaining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoons almond extract in small bowl until sugar is moistened. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly over top of cake.
5. Bake until center of cake is set and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack cool 5 minutes. Run paring knife around sides of cake to loosen. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely, 2 to 3 hours. Cut into wedges and serve.

Peach Cake Preparation

Be sure to check out these other spirit-inspired recipes.

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Gluten Free Chipotle Turkey Sliders are a Winner for Everyone at the Party

Gluten Free Chipotle Turkey Sliders

I received free samples of Breton Gluten Free Original with Flax and Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic Crackers from Dare Foods Incorporated mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe, I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Dare foods Inc. and am eligible to win prizes associated with this contest. I was not compensated for my time.

In celebration of Celiac Awareness Month, Dare Foods offered a challenge to Recipe Reduxers. Create a tasty recipe using their new gluten free crackers. Breton has recently introduced two new gluten free crackers with the same great Breton quality, taste and texture: Breton Gluten Free Original with Flax Seeds and Breton Gluten Free Herb and Garlic. I found Breton’s gluten free crackers at my local Shop Rite supermarket. Regular price is $2.49 per box.  I used the Herb and Garlic for my recipe below although either variety would have been fine.

These crackers taste delicious. They have great tender-crisp texture and don’t have a “diet” taste or feel to them. They worked perfect as the “bun” for my sliders. I also used 12 of these crackers, crushed, to the turkey mixture. I served the sliders open-faced on crackers on a bed of shredded kale and topped with chipotle-flavored mayonnaise and a slice of cherry tomato.

Sliders are always popular. These bite-size burgers are perfect for entertaining. Typical sliders of course are served on a wheat bun, which may be whole grain if you’re lucky. But a person avoiding gluten would normally have to eat the slider without the bun. Not with the sliders below. They are completely gluten free.

Here is the complete recipe.

Gluten-Free Chipotle Turkey Sliders

Ingredients:

1 4.76-ounce box of Breton Gluten Free Herb & Garlic Crackers (approximately 32 crackers), divided

1 pound lean ground turkey (93% lean)
1 large egg, slightly beaten

2 medium green onions, trimmed and sliced thin

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, or to taste

2 medium kale leaves, shredded

10 tablespoons chipotle-flavored reduced-fat mayonnaise

7 cherry tomatoes, sliced crosswise

Directions:

Place 12 Breton Gluten Free Crackers in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Combine crushed crackers with turkey, egg, green onion, tomato sauce, and chipotle pepper in bowl. Form 20 one-inch balls. Place patties in single layer in large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat, flattening them as you place them in pan. Cover and cook, turning 2 or 3 times, for about 10 to 12 total minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees on meat thermometer. Repeat pan frying process until all patties have been cooked.

To assemble, place 20 Breton Gluten Free Crackers on serving tray. Top each cracker with shredded kale, then cooked turkey patty. Top each patty with about 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle-flavored mayonnaise and one cherry tomato slice.

Makes 20 appetizer servings.

Nutrition Information per Appetizer Serving:

82 calories, 4.2 g total fat, 1.3 g saturated fat, 26 mg cholesterol, 0 g dietary fiber, 4.8 g protein, and 71 mg sodium.

Cost per Serving: $0.39

Pricing Note: all ingredients were at “regular” prices except ground turkey was on sale for $3.99 a pound.

Here are some prep photos.

Crush 12 crackers to add to turkey mixture

Turkey sliders cooking on stovetop

Be sure to check out these other gluten free favorites using Breton crackers. 

An InLinkz Link-up