Duncan Hines NEW decadent gluten free Vanilla Creme Cake.

Duncan Hines Gluten free

Our local discount grocer had an item I had not seen before.

Duncan Hines NEW decadent gluten free Vanilla Creme Cake.

The cake had a good texture, flavor, and held up well.
The creme filling was a good flavor, not too sweet. Just the right thickness.
The glass was smooth, chocolaty and easy to make.
Over all I'm  impressed, for their first try at Gluten free cake. And so were our dinner guests.

The is product in not listed on the Duncan Hines sight, nor is it in stock at most regular grocers. So I would guess that it's not going to be continued. But I hope that means that Duncan Hines will not give up making gluten free products.

King Arthur flour, muffin mix

I still get asked, to recommend an all purpose flour blend. And the honest answer is "I've not found one".
One in good for cookies, that are chewy .
Another for cake like cookies.
Different for brownie then cake.

So as new products arrive on the market, I keep exploring, and experimenting.

Today's story is about 

King Arthur Gluten Free Muffin Mix, 16 oz King Arthur GF muffin

I would have thought I had tried it before, since I am a fan of their cookie mix.  King Arthur flour has changed the packaging, so perhaps the ingredients have.
Either way, I was looking for a savory bread, to have with dinner. 

I attempted the loaf variation on the box, because it was to cook at the same oven temperature as the Turkey.

Similar to the cookie mix, you are to provide your own add ins. I tossed some cardamom, saffron, rosemary and basil into the batter. I used oil, not butter. And I used my electric whisk, to really mix it up. I baked in a silicone loaf pan.

The loaf turned out well. The crust was a little thick, for my 4 year old, but the rest of the dinner guests liked it. A good homemade texture and taste. A little delegate, but not crumbly. Springy and moist.

I think this would have been better as a sweet bread... perhaps dried cranberries, some Orange zest and a little almond extract.

Quest for GF sugar cookies, third try

Glutino; gluten free pantry

Gluten free sugar cookies

I used shortening instead of butter, so that my dairy free sister in law can eat them.
Still too much spreading for shapes.

But I make some Snicker-doodle style, rolled in cinnamon sugar cardamon. For a more complex flavor.
They look good, and taste excellent.

Half Baked baking company: Gluten Free Cookie mix

Only a half stick of butter and an egg.
Ginger not too powerful. 
Good texture. 
puffed, but not puddles.


I would get these again

Antonina's Natural Gluten free, chocolate chip gourmet cookies

I liked that the cookies were individually wrapped.
I don't have a very strong sweet tooth, so I can't eat an entire package of cookies before they go stale. So being able to unwrap one at a time was nice.

The texture, or grain of the cookie, was good.And they tasted alright. I thought they were a bit dry. Like a chips ahoy cookie. And I personally prefer a soft baked cookie.

Half Baked baking company: Gluten Free Cookie mix

Only a half stick of butter and an egg.
Ginger not too powerful. 
Good texture. 
puffed, but not puddles.


I would get these again

Milton's soft baked double chocolate cookie

These were super good.
I like soft baked, and they were chocolaty.

Milton"s Gluten free Soft baked double chocolate cookies

miltons baking

Better then expected. Chocolaty and sweet. a little fragile, but not crumbly.
I would get again.

Bob's red mill, Gluten free Shortbread cookie mix

Bob's red mill, Gluten free Shortbread cookie mix

I prepared the mix as directed.

Then I rolled the dough out before I chilled it. 

After it had chilled, I cut it out, into ice cream scoop shape. ( i made the cookie cutter myself, out of a clean can) 

Then I baked as directed.

They turned out very good, A little fragile. The triangle cones brake under their own weight. 

For the glaze, i just put some pixi-sticks and powdered sugar in melted butter. And a few GF sprinkles on top.

Half Baked Cookie company

I picked up a cute little tub of Half Baked cookie company's gluten free ginger Lemon cookie mix. 

They were very good. You can see in the photo, how they baked up, and how many one tube made.

I relay liked the flavor. Not too much ginger, and the lemon was a nice balance.
The crumb was soft, but not dry or dense.
Overall I will get them again

Krusteaz Gluten free Blueberry muffin Mix.



Krusteaz Gluten free Blueberry muffin Mix.

Got a box, on sale, and gave it a try.

Didn't raise very much. Box was close to its "best by" date, so maybe the mix was stale.
Good flavor. Slightly crumble. Light, not too dense.
Best warm, fresh, with butter.

Krusteaz Gluten free pancake mix.

Krusteaz Gluten free pancake mix.
BEST. PANCAKES. EVER. EVER!

I mentioned these a few weeks ago, but this is the third time I have made these, and I love them!

 

   Light fluffy and tall. Excellent texture or mouth feel, an amazing buttermilk and vanilla flavor. The best gluten free pancakes I have had in 15 years.
I do however want to take note that since this is a mix your result might vary but not if you follow the directions. The box calls for lightly spraying the pan with oil and cooking them at medium heat. my husband attempted to make the pancakes at high heat and use butter; and it turned out disgusting; burnt outside, gelatinous inside and crunchy edges. So I recommend you go with the directions on the box.

 



Krusteaz Gluten free pancake mix, review

Picked up a new product this week; Krusteaz Gluten free pancake mix.

 





krusteaz.com

 

They turned out very good.
Excellent texture. The batter was thick, but cooked evenly. The flavor was very nice, no bean or strange aftertaste.

This is my favorite Pancake mix!



BTW: I have NEVER EVER been contacted by krusteaz. This blog generated NO income. My opinion is my opinion. I write these reviews with the hope of helping others navigate the GF product marketplace.

Recipie review: ATK Lemon loaf

I had a craving for pound cake. A nice, cake like loaf with lemon and blueberries. I had not yet tried the Lemon pound cake recipe from "America's Test Kitchen, How can it be gluten free" cookbook.
I decided to use some of my frozen blueberry supply to make a lemon loaf.

The batter was a little thin, so the berries sank to the bottom.
At the designated time, the loaf was a little doughy, so I turned the temp down a little and left it in another 10 min.
The finished loaf was rather dense, and crusty. A little hard to eat. It was dry and doughy at the same time.
Not what I was hoping for, in a lemon loaf.
I ate about a third, and then put the rest in the freezer. Perhaps it will make a nice French toast, or cake pop...

King Arthur Flour Gluten free Cookies Mix, review

King Arthur Flour Gluten free Cookies Mix, review



 

 

The benefit of this mix is that it does not come with the chocolate chips or any other mix-ins. So you have the opportunity to cream the dough, and to choose what to put in it.

 The texture is good. The flavor is good.

Probably my preferred cookie mix.

Moon Rabit Pie Crust Mix, review, and tips

 

 First of all, the Moon rabbit bag of mix, is enough to make 3 crust. But the package recipe is for one crust. So it you want an bottom and an top crust you have to make it twice.

But for this pot pie I just did a top.

 

I flowed the directions on the bag, and the dough rolled out nicely, but was too fragile to move tot he pie. So I added a little extra water, and a spoon full of Avocado (for a butter like substitute.) That is want give the crust a slightly green tint, if you notice it.  But most people would not.
Overall not my favorite pie crust.
My favorite pie crust is the Gluten Free Pantry Mix.

Betty crocker, Gluten free sugar cookie mix

Betty Crocker, Gluten free sugar cookie mix

I used the box directions.

The cookies were alright. A till fragile, but not bad.

I thought they needed something.

And some lemon frosting did the trick.

Franz Bakery now has Gluten free Snickerdoodle

These were EXCELENT!
Good texture: moist, slightly chewy
Good flavor: vanilla with a cinnamon sugar crust

It's a test batch
That means that if they sell well, from the outlet locations, then Franz will keep making them.
I hope they do!
I already wrote corporate an e-mail.

So I recommend that you find your self a box, and tell Franz what you think.

PS  the chocolate chip is not as good. Snickerdoodle is the way to go!

oatmeal cookies, the ugly sister of the cookie world

I have see this around:

And My Hubby feels the same way. And I guess, I agree, if I'm looking for a cookie, then raisin is not what I'm looking for.

But I think Oatmeal cookies have their place: It's Breakfast.

So I have the recipe in The How Can it be gluten free cookbook, from America's test Kitchen a try. Seeing as I Love their chocolate chip recipe, I though this might be good.
I was disappointed with their recipe, but came away with a few tips that I will be applying to my future oatmeal cookie recipes.

#1: Soak a portion f the oats in a portion of the liquid, before incorporating into the batter. (softened the oats)
#2. Use Butter and Oil (or in my opinion: Butter and shortening) That way you get the lift and the browning from butter, and the higher smoke point of the oil gives us sustained chewiness. I had heard this logic applied to pie crust, and it works when applies to this kind of cookie as well.

Sabatasso's Gluten free frozen pizza

Our Local Costco has Sabatasso's Pizzeria. Gluten free Pizza. Two per box.

 

Both cooked up nicely, on two different occasions.

 Crust is a thin crust, with good flavor and texture. Not exceptional, but good.