By Lisa Stander-Horel and Tim Horel – The writing and photography team behind the blog Gluten Free Canteen and authors of Nosh on This: Gluten Free Baking from a Jewish-American Kitchen.
December 2014 – When December rolls around we get busy in the Canteen kitchen baking our favorite goodies like festive cookies, ginger everything, a little eggnog, and all things topped with an extra helping of chocolate.
These days baking gluten-free can be easy and fun. There are all kinds of box mixes, flour mixes, and choices when it comes to making our favorite things. If you can’t find a product locally, there are many online resources to help make shopping easier. Ginger is a big favorite in our kitchen during the holidays, but anything chocolate is at the top of the wish list.
Entertaining during the holiday? Bite sized savory treats like mini quiches are easy to prepare and feed a crowd. Desserts can range from simple but tasty holiday cupcakes to excellent and affordable chocolate treats such as rocky road cupcake bites and chocolate cherry hazelnut bark. They also make great homemade gifts for everyone on your list.
Triple Ginger Cupcakes are loaded with holiday flavor. Use a holiday cupcake wrapper to make these festive and be sure to make a double batch because they disappear quickly.
Easy Holiday Ginger Snaps can be prepared and baked in no time at all making them a perfect gift to share with everyone. For the holiday, use colored sugar but after the holidays are over use coarse sugar and you’ve got a year-round treat.
Chocolate Cherry Hazelnut Bark is embarrassingly easy to make. Use any dried fruit and roasted nut you like in place of cherry and hazelnut. This is not only an economical way to make candy gifts, but a great way to give someone a perfect holiday present whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or Valentine’s Day.
Rocky Road Cupcake Bites are a one bite chocolate treat. Bake them in a holiday cupcake liners and you’ve got a perfect treat for company or for wrapping up as a homemade gift from your kitchen. Everyone loves rocky road, and this one is made with a rich chocolate base which makes it extra festive.
Two Bite Spinach Quiche is perfect savory to make for an easy brunch or buffet dish. The recipe also includes a method for making homemade crème fraîche which is far easier than you can imagine and costs so much less than the store. Brunch for a crowd plus saving money is always a win.
