Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my grandmother's recipe.

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar (C&H)

1 cup granulated sugar (I usually just use about 1.5 cups brown sugar and no white sugar--C & H brand brown sugar is cane sugar with no additives)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (organic vanilla with no corn syrup is usually safe)

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 cups flour (I use King Arthur’s Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour)

2 cups rolled oats

1 to 2 cups chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips are safe)

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla. Sift together soda, salt & flour; add to egg mixture. Mix well. Stir in oats. Add chocolate chips.

Bake in 375 degree F oven for 8-10 minutes or until not quite done in appearance. Let cool and finish baking slightly on cookie sheet, then move to cookie rack.

Basic Yam (Sweet Potato) Puff

This is a simpler (and closer to the original) version of the Spiced Sweet Potato Puff recipe I posted previously.

4 large yams (sweet potatoes, the dark orange kind)

¼ cup butter

2 well-beaten eggs

⅓ cup sugar

¼ tsp baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Pare potatoes and boil until tender, then drain--or, for a richer flavor, bake them in the skins and then peel them. Mash and add remaining ingredients. Beat well and transfer to buttered casserole. Dot with additional butter and bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 30-40 minutes.

Pink Berry Rice Picnic Salad

One of the foods I've most missed was the "pink salad" my family traditionally makes for summer potlucks and picnics. So when my grandmother figured out how to make a version that was "safe" for everyone in the family's allergies and food intolerances, I had to make my own version too. Hers had crushed canned pineapple instead of the mandarins, and, since she had previously crushed frozen strawberries, she drained the pineapple and strawberry juice to thicken instead of using apple juice.

You could probably use any type of fruit and fruit juice, and the quantities don't have to be exact. If you use granulated sugar instead of honey, you may need to increase the amounts of both sugar and liquid, or if you have less than a half-cup of liquid, you may want to reduce the starch accordingly.

Approximate amounts:

1/4 cup apple juice
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons starch (I used Kuzu starch this time; tapioca flour or arrowroot powder should work just as well)
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup sliced fresh mandarin oranges (this was about 4 tiny oranges, with the segments separated and cut in half)
1 to 2 cups cooked rice (I used 2 cups of cooked brown rice for my version)

Later, you'll need:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon honey
Vanilla to taste, if desired.

Mix the fruit juice and honey in a small saucepan, stir in the starch, and heat slowly, stirring with a whisk to keep it from becoming lumpy, until thickened. Add the sliced fruit and mash with a potato masher or use an immersion blender until the fruit is mashed up to your taste.

Stir in the cooked rice and chill the fruit and rice mixture until it begins to set and is cool enough not to melt your whipped cream. :)

Whip the cream with the honey and vanilla. When the rice and fruit mixture is cool, gently fold in the whipped cream.

You can eat this right away, but the flavors will blend and the rice will soften nicely if you leave it in the refrigerator for a while before serving.

Serve chilled.

My kids loved this, and it's so much healthier than the version we used to make with flavored gelatin and artificial whipped topping. :) If you can have cottage cheese, it could probably be substituted for the rice, but we haven't found an excitotoxin-free version of cottage cheese yet.

Gluten-free Banana Waffles

This is the gluten-free version of the Banana Waffle recipe I've been making lately. You can use any GF flour, but keep in mind that different flours may absorb more or less liquid, so you may need to adjust the amount of milk substitute.

2 cups flour (I use 1 and 1/2 cups brown rice flour plus 1/2 cup sweet white rice flour a.k.a. gelatinous rice flour, or it's even better with 1 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup coconut flour, and 1/2 cup sweet rice flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp sugar, optional (I usually leave this out or use an unrefined sugar such as palm sugar)
3/4 tsp. salt

2 mashed ripe bananas (about 1 cup--I'll add a third one if they're extra-small)
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/2 cups milk or milk substitute (I use rice milk)
1/3 cup melted shortening or oil (coconut oil works great)
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

(or, if preferred, you can use buttermilk or diluted plain yogurt [1/2 cup yogurt, 1 cup water or milk] instead of the milk and omit the vinegar)

Blend or sift together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the bananas and other wet ingredients and mix well. Then mix together the wet and dry ingredients just until the flour blend is moistened. Bake in a hot waffle iron until crispy and brown on the outside and the amount of steam coming out of the waffle decreases.

Depending on your waffle iron, you may or may not need to grease the iron between waffles. With mine I usually find I can oil it just at the beginning of the batch and they don't stick.

The great thing about these waffles is that the bananas make them so sweet and moist, you don't even need toppings like syrup. We just eat them plain as finger food. :)

You could add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla and/or cinnamon if desired. To turn these into an extra-special treat or a dessert, you can add chocolate chips (and maybe top with whipped cream).

Crustless Sweet Potato Pie

One 15-oz. can or 2 cups pureed sweet potatoes (the more orange ones often called yams)
1/2 cup honey
Scant 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1 cup milk or milk substitute (I used whole goat milk, but coconut milk would probably also work very well in this recipe)
4 eggs, beaten

Mix ingredients together, pour into oiled pie pan or baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-45 minutes. Best if cooled before eating.

Fluffy Fry Bread

Mix together:

1 cup flour (I used oat flour this time)
1/2 tsp. safe baking powder
1/8 tsp. sea salt

Add:

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk, milk substitute or water
1 to 2 tsp. maple syrup or other sweetener (optional)

Mix just until moistened.

Drop by spoonfuls and fry in hot oil until lightly browned, turning to cook both sides.

You can substitute other types of flour, but may need to adjust the amount of liquid depending on how absorbent your flour is. It should be slightly thicker than pancake batter.

Homemade safe chocolate

Take a small amount of your favorite fat that's solid at room temperature--I like coconut oil, butter, or a combination of the two. Add a small amount of sweetener (brown sugar is my favorite, but honey is good too) and cream this together with cocoa powder or raw cacao to taste. Eat as is or pour onto greased surface and chill to harden.

Spiced Sweet Potato Puff

This is an old family recipe with some modifications--I doubled the eggs, used 1/4 cup honey instead of the original 1/3 cup sugar, and added pumpkin pie-type spices. I think I actually prefer it without the spices, or with just the cinnamon, but it's good both ways. I use whipped cream instead of the traditional marshmallow topping, or it's good with no topping at all.

It turns out quite fluffy.

4 large sweet potatoes (the darker, sweet deep orange kind often called yams or garnet yams in U.S. markets), cooked and mashed (drain water if boiled)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
4 eggs, thoroughly beaten
1 tsp salt (I put in slightly less)
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Scant 1/2 tsp ginger (optional)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or maple syrup(optional)

Butter large baking dish (I used 9" x 13" x 2")

If mashed sweet potatoes are still warm, stir butter in and allow to melt. Add honey, and eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients (either mix together or add baking powder last), beat until well-blended, and pour into baking dish. Dot with butter if desired.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm or cold, topped with whipped cream if desired.

Gluten-free Chocolate Zucchini Quick Bread

This recipe is egg-heavy, because I find we do better with a lot of protein along with our sugars. With all the eggs, it's sort of a brownie/cake/quiche cross.

This cake is not super-sweet; I'll even serve it for breakfast. If you like your coffee cake or dessert heavily sweet you may want to add an extra 1/4 cup of honey or other sweetener, or mix in chocolate chips.

For the eggless version, try my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe with regular or gluten-free flour.

Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Oil or grease a 9" x 13" pan (I used a glass casserole dish; a metal pan may cook faster)

Peel zucchini and cut into chunks--about 2 small or 1 large zucchini.

Sift together in large bowl:

3/4 cup brown rice flour (or any other gluten-free flour)
3/4 cup ivory teff flour (or any other GF flour)
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 Tablespoon (1 and 1/2 teaspoons) baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

In pitcher of large blender, combine:

1/2 cup plain yogurt or applesauce (you can substitute safe chocolate or vanilla yogurt, pureed pears or a dairy substitute)
Enough zucchini chunks to make 2 cups of puree

Blend up the yogurt and zucchini, adding more zucchini until it makes a total of 2 and 1/2 cups combined puree.

Add to blender:

1/4 to 1/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil, but any mildly flavored oil or melted butter will work)
1 cup honey
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional--omit if you are avoiding corn, gluten, alcohol or fermented foods and are not sure if your vanilla is free of these items)


Process zucchini mixture in blender until smooth.

Pour zucchini mixture into dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Fold in 1/2 to 1 cup nuts or chocolate chips if desired. Pour batter into greased pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean.

Let it cool for a few minutes before trying to cut it, but you can serve it a bit warm if desired. Your family won't even know they're eating their vegetables for dessert!

Chocolate Fudge Cereal Treats (or No-Bake Cookies)

Grease an 8 x 8 pan or a cookie sheet, or lay out waxed paper on paper bags. Get out candy thermometer.

Measure out 4 cups of puffed grain or cereal (I used puffed rice).

Combine in a heavy saucepan:

1/3 cup oil (I used safflower)
2/3 cup honey
4 Tbs (1/8 cup) sifted unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's baking cocoa)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup rice milk (I use Rice Dream Original Unenriched)
2 teaspoons calcium/magnesium powder (optional)

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer registers 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove pan from heat and stir in cereal until well coated.

Pour into greased pan for bars, or quickly drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper or greased cookie sheet for cookies. Allow to cool and enjoy!

If you leave the cereal out, this might make a good hot fudge topping.

Colored Birthday Cake

Oil two 8 x 8 inch cake pans or one larger rectangular pan (I think I used a 9 x 13 pan).

Combine and set aside:
1/4 cup plus 1 and 1/2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift together:
3 cups flour (cake flour would be best, but I used King Arthur All-Purpose Unbleached flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Hain Featherweight, which is made with potato starch)
1 tsp salt (RealSalt)
1 packet Kosher for Passover gelatin dessert mix (such as Ko-Jel or Kedem)--I used raspberry flavor Kedem (Note: gelatin is not an excititoxin-safe ingredient)

Cream together:
3/4 cup soft butter (you could substitute oil--I would probably reduce to 1/2 cup next time if subbing oil)
2 cups sugar (C & H/Domino's is pure cane sugar)

Blend into sugar mixture:
3/4 cup rice milk (Rice Dream Original Unenriched)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional--I used more like 1 tsp homemade vanilla that was essentially a vanilla bean cut up and simmered in water)
Cooled flaxseed mixture

Stir together wet and dry ingredients and blend well, then pour batter into pan and smooth flat.

Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick comes out clean (about 50 minutes for a 9 x 13 pan).

Top with berries or whatever you like to put on cake. This time I made a Kosher For Passover vanilla pudding mix with half the amount of rice milk called for, added some K for P marshmallows while stirring over low heat, and then added pureed strawberries. It made a thin mixture that we spooned over each piece of cake and topped with a K for P marshmallow.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This started out as a brownie recipe, but I think it has more of a cake consistency. It's moist and chocolatey--yum! Nuts could be stirred in before baking if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and oil a rectangular pan.

Mix together and set aside:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
3/4 cup boiling water

Sift together until blended:
2 cups whole grain flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat, but any flour should work. I think even a gluten-free flour should work with this recipe, although it may require longer baking. If you test the recipe that way, please let me know how it turns out.)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Hershey's)


In blender, combine and blend until smooth:
1/2 cup sourdough starter, applesauce, or yogurt (chocolate, vanilla or plain) [optional--cake will be denser if left out]
1/3 cup oil
1 cup honey
2 medium peeled/sliced zucchini (about 2 cups worth after processing)

To dry ingredients, add zucchini mixture and flaxseed mixture. Stir just until blended and pour into oiled pan.

If desired, sprinkle batter with 3/4 cup chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips and pressed them in to the batter a bit.

Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. I used a pan smaller than a traditional cake pan, so ended up baking it for about an hour because it made the batter deeper.

(Note: I recently made this cake and forgot to put in any sourdough starter, fruit or yogurt. It was fine without the acid--a little denser, more brownie-like. I mixed about a cup of Enjoy Life choc. chips before pouring the batter into the pan, and it was good.)

Sourdough Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

These cookies taste very "normal." The recipe uses sourdough starter as the acid, but nobody would ever guess they're sourdough. You can leave the dough to ferment at room temperature for a couple of hours without hurting it. Fermentation supposedly enhances the digestibility of gluten-containing grains. Use "fresh" sourdough starter that has been fed within the last 12 hours or so, or part of your sponge.

These cookies aren't particularly healthy, so they are for special occasions, but they are whole-grain and the sugar is not highly refined. I add a tablespoon of calcium powder so I can pretend they're healthy. :) They are also free of corn, soy, eggs, milk/dairy, oats and nuts. If you use vegetable gelatin they can be vegan.

The dough tastes just like cookie dough should. We like to eat it raw since it contains no eggs. You could add a teaspoon of corn-free vanilla with the wet ingredients if desired.

Sourdough Brown Sugar Drop Cookies

Mix 1 tablespoon plain unflavored gelatin with 3 tablespoons cold water. Leave it for a couple of minutes to soften, then stir in 1/4 cup boiling water to dissolve. I use beef gelatin, but other types should work as well. If you use a vegetable gelatin, you may have to adjust amount/temperature of the water.

Mix or sift together:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) (if you like denser, less cakelike cookies, try reducing to 1 teaspoon and adding a pinch more salt)
1/2 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1 tablespoon calcium/magnesium powder (optional)

In a separate container, blend until smooth:
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use safflower oil)
2 cups brown sugar (C&H/Domino's is a pure cane sugar that's corn-free and naturally brown)
Gelatin mixture

Stir into sugar mixture:
1 cup sourdough starter

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix just until blended.

If desired, stir in:
1 cup baking chips, raisins, or other mix-in of your choice. (An entire package of Enjoy Life Chocolate chips is perfect in this recipe--since they are mini chips, they seem to need more to taste right
.)
You can also add rolled or puffed grains (quinoa, rolled oats, etc) if you like. I add a cup or two depending on the grain and the consistency of the dough.

(Depending on the type of flour you use and the consistency of your sourdough starter, you may need to add an extra 1/4 cup or so of flour or a few tablespoons of water to get the dough to good drop-cookie texture. If the texture is wrong, try letting the dough rest for 5 minutes before you make adjustments.)

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto non-stick baking dish. Bake at 375 F for 12 minutes or until solid and lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately for slightly chewy, moist cookies.

(I have in a pinch used an oiled glass baking dish and longer cooking time with some success.)

Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.

Flourless Potato Cookies

These cookies are grain-free and vegan. They are made almost completely with potatoes and some sweetener. They're quite sweet and rich-tasting, especially with chocolate or white chocolate baking chips in them. My husband thinks the texture is like French Fries, although the taste is different.

The brands in parenthesis are what I used when developing this recipe. Since different varieties of potato flour perform differently in baking, you may need to experiment with leaving out the water or adding more liquid if you use other brands of ingredients.

To make these cookies Kosher for Passover, use all K for P ingredients. If you are sulfite-sensitive, this would not be a good recipe to try since potato chips, starch and flour are all likely to contain sulfites.

2/3 cup potato flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1/3 cup potato starch (Manischewitz Kosher for Passover)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (Featherweight corn-free gluten-free, or see this post for baking powder substitutes)

1/2 cup honey (Fred Meyer pure clover honey)
1/2 cup brown sugar (C & H pure cane sugar)
1/3 cup oil (Trader Joe's grapeseed oil)
2 tablespoons water

1 cup coarsely crushed potato chips (Manischewitz Kosher for Passover Potato Stix)
(optional) 1/2 cup of your favorite mix-in (I used a mixture of Lieber's decorating chips [white chocolate] and Oppenheimer chocolate chips, both Kosher for Passover)
(optional) 1 teaspoon of your favorite flavoring (safe vanilla, ground cinnamon, etc.)

Sift together potato flour, starch, and baking powder. If adding a dry spice, add it with the potato flour.

In a separate container, blend oil, sugar, water and honey. If you're using a liquid flavoring, add it with the liquid ingredients. The oil may not blend into the other ingredients well, and that's okay.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend as well as you can with a spoon. If you have trouble stirring, knead the misture with your hands until smooth.

Stir or knead in the potato chips and the mix-in. Drop by tablespoons onto a cookie sheet. Do not flatten the tops of these cookies; the rounder they are the better the texture will be.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 8 minutes. They will be golden-brown around the edges and will still be a bit soft and gooey when you remove them from the pan, but stiffen up as they cool.

Best served warm.

Matzo Cookies

Here's a Kosher Pareve cookie recipe I worked up using some of the corn/soy/dairy-free Kosher for Passover products available this time of year. I modified my mom's famous chewy oatmeal cookie recipe, using crushed matzo (also spelled matza, matzoh, or matzah, or in Hebrew מַצָּה maṣṣā) crackers instead of oats.

If you need a Kosher for Passover recipe, substitute matzo meal for the flour and K for P sugar or honey for the brown sugar. You may need to add a tablespoon or more extra flour if using a liquid sweetener, and the texture won't be the same.

I also tried the recipe with 2 tablespoons less margarine (6 tablespoons total) and 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1/4 cup honey. That worked fine although the texture and flavor weren't quite as good.

Matzo Cookies

1/2 cup Kosher for Passover Pareve margarine (I used Mother's brand regular salted margarine)
3/4 cup brown sugar (C & H is corn-free, pure cane sugar)
1 egg

1 cup flour (I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. additive-free salt (kosher salt or unrefined sea salt)

2 large matzo crackers, coarsely crushed (makes almost 1 cup of crumbs)

1/2 to 1 cup of your favorite cookie mix-in (optional)
1/2 tsp. flavoring of your choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Crush the Matzos. I broke mine in quarters and put them in a sandwich bag, then pounded the bag with a blunt object (the bottom of my sea salt canister) to crush them.

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg and mix well. If you wish to add a safe vanilla or another liquid flavoring, stir this into the wet ingredients with the egg.

In separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. If you are adding cinnamon or another dry flavoring, add it to the dry mixture.

Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture and stir just until blended. Mix in the matzo crumbs. If desired, stir in your favorite cookie mix-in (i.e. raisins, baking chips, candy, dried fruit or nuts).

Drop in small spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven while they still look soft and shiny in the center for cookies with a chewy texture; they will continue to cook a bit after you take them out of the oven. I baked mine for just 8 minutes and immediately removed them from the pan to a cooling rack.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Honey-Cereal Candy

This is the vegan, corn-free, gluten-free, soy-free version of rice krispies treats. No marshmallows or refined sugars involved.

If you cook the syrup a little longer, it will be more reminiscent of the honey-sesame hard candies with a texture like nut brittle.

You can substitute other kinds of cereal, such as puffed rice, crispy rice cereal, the round O's type of cereal, or a mixture of several kinds. Different cereals will absorb varying amounts of liquid, so start with 3 cups of cereal and add enough so that the caramel is evenly coating all the cereal without collecting pools of liquid.

The cooking time and temperature given gets the caramel to a soft- or medium-ball stage. This yields a soft, slightly chewy texture at room temperature.

For a chewier, stiffer or even crunchy candy, just increase the cooking time until the caramel reaches a higher temperature and the desired stiffness. Drop a small amount of the syrup into cold water to test what it will be like when cooled.

Ingredients:

1 cup honey
1/3 cup oil (I used safflower oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 and 1/2 cups puffed millet


Instructions:

Oil an 8 x 8 or 9 x 13 pan.

Cook the honey, salt and oil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Make sure that you use a saucepan large enough to handle the honey mixture boiling up to several times its height--probably at least a 1 to 2 quart pan.

Bring to a boil and cook for approximately 10 minutes, until a candy thermometer reads 250 degrees F. The mixture will thicken and darken in color, and a drop of the syrup will have the texture of chewy caramel when cooled.

Remove caramel from heat and stir in the cereal. Smooth the mixture into the oiled dish and allow to cool slowly to room temperature.

While it's still slightly soft, cut the candy into small squares (2" or so is good, but you'll want to make them bite-sized if you cooked the caramel to a hard ball or hard-crack stage). The recipe as written will stay soft enough to cut at room temperature, but don't try to refrigerate it first and then cut it. :)

If you have leftovers, wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze the pieces in a larger bag. The colder the candy gets, the harder it is.

Parsnip Cake

Tender, moist, sweet and delicious!

You've heard of carrot cake, but have you ever thought of trying parsnip cake? It has a sweeter, milder flavor than carrot cake. The parsnip, spices and brown sugar give it a special, almost caramel-like taste. If you don't tell your kids, they'll never guess they're eating their vegetables.

My family dislikes parsnips, so I'm always trying to find ways to disguise them. I baked this cake for company tomorrow. What started out as "just a taste" tonight turned out to be the family devouring half the cake before we enforced a limit.

This cake creates a bit of a crispy crust on top and is good without frosting. If you can tolerate dairy products, some lightly sweetened whipped cream would probably complement the flavors nicely.

If desired it can be eaten warm, straight from the oven.

Parsnip Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix together and set aside, stirring occasionally:
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup boiling water

Oil a 9 x 13-ish cake pan and lightly dust with flour.

Blend together:
2 and 1/2 cups whole grain flour
2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (I used Featherweight, or see baking powder substitutes here)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh ginger (I put mine through a garlic press instead of dicing it. If you don't have fresh ginger, try 1/4 teaspoon of powdered ginger.)

In a separate container, cream together
1 cup oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (C & H is pure cane sugar, free of corn)

Add to sugar mixture and blend well:
1/2 cup water
Flax seed mixture

To dry ingredients, add liquid ingredients and
3 cups grated parsnip

Mix it all together, pour into the pan and smooth batter flat. Bake at 350 until toothpick comes out clean, approximately 45 minutes.

**
For the flour, I used 1 and 1/2 cups King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat and 1 cup White Whole Wheat flour; if using gluten-free flour with low binding properties, try 2 cups of a flour such as brown rice or amaranth flour, and 1/2 cup tapioca or sweet rice flour.

If you use a liquid sweetener, you may need to leave out the 1/2 cup of water.

Minimalist Pumpkin Pie

Most of the comments in this earlier pumpkin pie recipe also apply to this one. This one, however, is made with no coconut milk, and is a bit sweeter and less spicy to balance the flavors in the absence of eggs and dairy-like products.

First, make a pie crust. Gluten-free recipe here, grain-free version here.

Put crust in pie pan and bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust is just a bit firm on the bottom.

Combine in blender:

2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp cloves (heaping, more like 3/16 tsp)
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3/4 cup honey
1/4 to 1/2 cup water or milk substitute. The amount of liquid needed will depend on the texture of your pumpkin and how much liquid is in it. Add just enough liquid to process the mixture in the blender--you don't want to make it watery.

Blend until smooth.

Pour into pie crust and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Chill before serving.

Pumpkin or Squash Pie Reinvented

This pumpkin or squash pie is free of dairy, soy, eggs, gluten, rice and most other allergens. It's also vegan.

The pie has a very silky texture, softer and more pudding-like than a traditional pumpkin pie. To make a grainless pumpkin pudding, just bake the filling with no crust.

I was going to try making it without the baking soda and cream of tartar, and calculate the baking time more carefully. But then I discovered that I'd developed an allergy to coconut, so I won't be making it again.

If you try it, please do post any improvements or adjustments you make in the comments.

Feel free to adjust the spice amounts for whatever you usually use in a pumpkin pie. Remember that you're not adding the eggs, so you'll probably want a lesser amount of spice in a pie than one with eggs.

Pumpkin or Squash Pie

First, make crust. Gluten-free recipe here, grain-free version here.

Put crust in pie pan and bake for 5-10 minutes or until crust is just a bit firm on the bottom.

Pie filling:

Mix together dry ingredients:
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger (I measured this heaping)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves (measured scant)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (if allergic to grapes or sulfites, substitute about 1/2 to 1 tsp lemon juice or cider vinegar with the wet ingredients)


Combine in a separate bowl:
1 15-oz can Libby's Pure Pumpin (not pumpin pie filling--just plain pumpkin) or 1 1/2 to 2 cups squash puree*
1/2 cup coconut milk (I use Trader Joe's light coconut milk; it's corn-free and lower-fat, too) or other milk substitute (for a recipe using plain water, see here)
1/2 cup pure honey or other liquid sweetener

Blend pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients until smooth, and immediately pour into pie crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until set in the middle. A knife will not come out clean when it's finished; it will still be very gooey in the middle until chilled. Don't be concerned if it puffs up a bit in the middle and then collapses as it cools.

Chill before serving.


* If you want to use a fresh pumpkin (or any kind of winter squash such as butternut or acorn squash), you can make your own squash puree.

Bake it whole (or cut in half face-down with 1/2 inch of water in the pan) at 350 degrees in the oven until tender. Scoop out the flesh and mash it with a potato masher.

Then use the blender to process it into a smooth puree. You can add all the other ingredients to the blender and just mix it all up in there if you like instead of mixing wet and dry ingredients separately.

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Mix together:
1 1/4 cups quinoa flour or other gluten-free flour
1 Tablespoon tapioca starch/flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbs brown sugar (I use C & H; it's pure cane sugar and corn-free) or other sweetener (you probably won't need as much if any sweetener if another flour is substituted; quinoa flour needs the sugar to cut the bitterness)

Cut in until the lumps are about the size of sunflower seeds:
1/2 cup shortening (I use non-hydrogenated 100% pressed palm kernel oil vegetable shortening by Spectrum, you can use coconut oil, butter or lard.)

Add, one tablespoon at a time, until moist enough to work with:
5-7 Tablespoons ice water (5 1/2 tablespoons would have been about perfect for my crust)

Pat or roll out between two layers of plastic wrap or waxed paper. If you'll be baking the pie in the crust, bake the crust by itself for 5-10 minutes or just until the bottom is starting to get firm before adding the filling. That will keep the crust from getting soggy. You may need to put foil around the edge of the pie to keep it from getting too brown during baking.