Apricot Almond Cobbler (Gluten Freè)

My love of local fruits and vegetables in well known but my recent visit to the land of "gluten free" is a new novelty.  I have had a couple of colossal failures (leaving me with deserts that taste like school paste) and a couple of very cool successes (I am I love with those peanut butter cookies.....so much so that I baked a batch and packed them in my hubby's suitcase last week as a treat).  

I have found that my biggest challenge with the whole gluten free recommendation has been breads (God help me! Being Croatian it's like telling me not to breathe). The second challenge is desserts so this recipe is absolutely perfect.

4 c chopped fruit (stone fruit) or berries dusted with tapioca flour

2 c almond flour

1/2 c coconut oil

1/4 c sweetener (stevia or brown sugar)

A couple of dashes of cinnamon

Zest of one lemon

Preheat oven at 375.  Pour chopped fruit I to greased 8 x 8 pan.  Mix flour, oil, lemon zest and sweetener (go easy if you use stevia which can be a bit over powering - I prefer agave or plain brown sugar) adjust the flour so that the mixture looks crumbly.  Sprinkle over the fruit and dash a bit of cinnamon and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  

Easy French Toast Casserole

I know I must be doing something right when my foodie sister tells me the gluten free vegan concoction I whipped up Mother's Day is actually more than acceptable. For this reason alone, I'm posting in honor of Mother's Day!!💐

1 loaf of Udis white sandwich bread, torn in quarters

12 tablespoons of Veganegg plus 3 cups water or 6 large eggs

1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups almond milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup chopped almonds 

1/2 cup raisins or crasins 

Cinñamon to taste

Preheat oven at 450. Grease 9-13 pan.  Melt butter and stir in sugar till dissolved.  Pour sugar mixture on bottom of pan and arrange torn bread on top.  Mix up Veganegg with water or beat six eggs.  Add vanilla and pour over bread.  Sprinkle cinnamon, nuts and raisins.  Let soak for 8 hours or over night.  Bake till puffy or about 30 minutes.

Salted Peanut Butter Cookies

Well.....this was a total find!  Thank you Beth and Smittin Kitchen.  This is not your standard peanut butter cookie recipe so don't expect the same consistency.  This is a unique, totally yummy gluten free (a new thing in my life these days) version that is SUPER easy (I'm talkin total 5 ingredient, 1 bowl easy!)

2 large eggs at room temperature

1 3/4 cups golden brown sugar packed

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups smooth peanut butter (one of those 16 oz jars will do if you don't want to deal with the measuring)

Medium grind sea salt for dusting

Preheat oven at 350.  Line baking pan with parchment paper.

In a glass bowl, whisk eggs with the brown sugar until smooth.  Wish in the vanilla.  Wish in the peanut butter (LOL.... Not an easy task!) until it is smooth and there are no ribbons of either mixture.  Should be the consistency of Play Dough but it's ok if it is a bit more runny. I put mine in the freezer for about 20 minutes then it was perfect for scooping out little balls.  I'd highly recommend putting it back in the freeze while they bake so the consistency stays firm.  

Scoop out little balls and place them on parchment paper.  Sprinkle on a little salt and bake for 13 to 15 minutes for the little balls.  Once they are done let them cool so they set.  They are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the center and totally wonderful!