No One Noticed the Gravy was Gluten Free: Biscuits and Gravy

Who doesn't love biscuits and gravy? Well I do and I miss it terribly so I decided to embark upon a journey to find the perfect gluten free biscuits (still searching in fact) and gravy (DISCOVERED!). I don't have all the gluten free staples in my house but typically can use alternatives to find a way to make recipes work. The recipe for the gravy called for xantham gum which I didn't have so I experimented (Yes I am a culinary scientist when I need to be) with a combination of coconut flour and arrowroot powder to thicken the gravy. It worked so well in fact that no one noticed the gravy was gluten free and I was asked to make this again when we go camping. SCORE one for Momma!

As I mentioned I am still looking for the perfect recipe for gluten free biscuits to pair with this lovely gravy however the recipe I used left much to be desired. I found a recipe for gluten free coconut flour cheddar biscuits but they were gritty and mealy and tasted like more like egg than cheddar. Not impressed but if you are a culinary scientist I'll include the recipe below for future experiments. I will note these could probably be turned into the Red Lobster style biscuits with garlic and butter and improvements on the bread-like consistency.

Gluten Free Cheddar Biscuits
1/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix together and drop spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake 14 minutes in oven preheated to 400 degrees fahrenheit.

And now for the piece-de-resistance. the gluten free gravy! I will note that I used homemade chicken broth which is impossibly simple if you make a whole chicken in the insta-pot the night before like I did. I put the bones with any leftover meat and skin into a stockpot and cover with water and boiled for about an hour. Voila broth and if you're really adventurous keep boiling for 4-24 hours to make bone broth (you will have to add more water to cover the bones multiple times).

Gluten Free Sausage Gravy
1 lb ground sausage
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
3 tsp arrowroot powder
3 tsp coconut flour
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp onion powder (or 1/4 chopped onion)
salt and pepper to taste

Brown sausage with thyme, onion powder (or onion), and salt and pepper over medium high heat. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. In a separate bowl or cup mix the heavy cream, 1 tsp arrowroot powder, and 1 tsp coconut flour and whisk until thick. Add the cream mixture slowly into the sausage broth and stir. Wait until it begins bubbling and then add an additional 1 tsp arrowroot and 1 tsp coconut flour. Stir and make sure it keeps bubbling and then add the last 1 tsp arrowroot and 1 tsp coconut flour and continue to boil until it thickens. If you are having a hard time getting it to thicken you can add an additional tsp of the arrowroot and coconut flour but I found the 3 tsp of each worked very well for me.

Now the rest of my family is not gluten free so I made regular biscuits for them because I haven't found a recipe that is delicious and because you really can't fool people with gluten free biscuits (at least I haven't been able to yet since I am still searching for the gluten free biscuits of my dreams). So serve the gravy over the biscuits of your choice (I have been told Aldi's carries a gluten free baking mix that can be used exactly like a Bisquick mix but I have not experimented with this yet).

Someone Stole My Gluten Free Brownies

Well I was going to do a review on these King Arthur Gluten Free brownies but someone stole some before I had a chance to take a picture. I'm still not sure if it was my husband or my 8 year old (my 1 year is napping so she's not in the investigation) but apparently they smelled so good someone had to slice into them before they were fully done cooling.

This mix uses a combination of almond flour and tapioca starch instead of traditional wheat flour and also uses baking powder to help the brownie rise to resemble normal gluten brownies. I'm all about convenience since I'm always at the office so I was pretty excited to get this from Amazon prime and not have to battle lines at a grocery store. I purchased these in an Amazon order from prime pantry along with a few other staples I keep around the house. I also purchased some of Amazon's wickedly good soups so I will have to do another review later on.

Here's my thoughts:

These smell amazing and the cocoa texture is decadent without being overly rich or sweet like some brownies. These are chewy around the edges but seem to stay a bit doughy in the center even when baking at the maximum time (45 minutes for glass pans). After chewing I did noticed some of the graininess all of the almond flour but it didn't really bother me like some previous recipes I had tried. Overall I would definitely purchase these again.

Happy Mother's Day: Apple Rose Tart

Happy Mother's Day! We had an absolutely amazing day spent with the family after my baking spree this weekend. This dessert was SO easy to make and looked GORGEOUS.

Ingredients
1 pkg of cinnamon rolls (or use your own homemade recipe)
2 apples slices in half and then in 1/8-1/4 inch pieces
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (optional but I thought it needed a bit more)
icing for topping (optional: we topped half of this with icing and left the rest alone and it was great either way)
muffin tin or round baking pan

1. Unroll cinnamon rolls into a loose spiral. Note: I did this in a round baking pan but it was hard to cut and stay in one piece so it might work better in a muffin tin
2. Place apples, butter, brown sugar, and optional cinnamon in microwave safe dish and heat for 3 minutes OR heat on stovetop until apple slices are pliable enough to roll together.
3. Make the center of your "rose" by rolling 4 slices of apples together and place in center of cinnamon roll. Slide remaining apple slices between the layers and tighten as you work from the center outward.
4. Pour or brush the remaining butter/brown sugar/cinnamon mix on top 
5. Bake at 375F for 25 minutes and after cooling top with icing if you'd like