Vegan Buttermilk Gluten-Free Biscuits

I've been doing a lot of experimenting with gluten-free flours. The other night I made a hearty soup and really wanted to have a yummy biscuit to help sop it up. I came up with the following recipe, which was incredibly quick and easy. The next morning the leftover biscuits tasted awesome with strawberry preserves. Here's what I did....

FIRST: 
~ Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees
~ Pour 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar into 1 cup of soy milk (This will become the "buttermilk"; it needs a little time to "curdle" so be sure to do this before going to the next step. I recommend using a 2 cup measuring cup so that you'll have room to stir during the third step.)

SECOND: 
In a large mixing bowl, combine the following dry ingredients throughly: 
~ 1/3 cup tapioca flour
~2/3 cup sweet sorghum flour
~1 cup Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour (blend of various flours)
~ 1 tsp baking soda
~ 1/2 tsp baking powder
~ 1/2 tsp sea salt
~ 1/2 tsp xantham gum

THIRD: 
~ Add 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil to the "buttermilk" (Stir the mixture; it should be rather thick) 

Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir until a dough forms. Knead the dough into a large ball. Create biscuit by flattening out balls of dough and place on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet. Bake for approximately 12 minutes. 

Gluten-Free Buckwheat Biscuits

Lately, I have been going crazy for organic strawberries. They are great on homemade waffles, cold cereal and banana splits. I've been creating all kinds of "healthy" desserts centered around strawberries. I love the combination of something hearty paired up with delicate berries and then topped with something creamy, such as soy yogurt or coconut ice cream.

One evening I decided to make an alternative vegan version of a strawberry shortcake. I started by creating a healthy biscuit, which could  replace the fatty, gluten-filled, high-caloric ones normally used. I then topped it with sliced strawberries, shredded coconut and low-fat vegan ice cream.

Here's how I created a low-fat, low-sugar biscuit, which was super yummy and tasted great the next day with low-sugar jam!

• This recipe will yield 8 large (but flat) triangular biscuits.

• Give yourself about 45 to 60 minutes to make, bake and cool biscuits. 

• You'll need a large cutting board or a large clean surface to cut the dough, various size measuring cups, 1 large mixing bowl and a large cookie sheet (or 2 small ones). 

PRE-HEAT OVEN at 375 DEGREES

1. In a bowl, throughly mix the following dry ingredients: 

~ Buckwheat flour: 1/2 cup & 1/8 cup

~Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour: 1 & 1/8 cups

~Sweet Sorghum Flour: 1/2 cup

~Baking Powder: 1 & 1/8 tsps

~Sea Salt: 1/8 tsp & one pinch

~Organic Cane Sugar: 1/3 cup

2. Push the dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Then mix the wet ingredients within the well first and then mix with the dry until fully incorporated and the dough forms:

~Organic Rice Milk (or other non-dairy milk): 1/2 & 1/8 cups

~Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: 1/2 cup

3. Put the dough in the fridge to cool for about 10 minutes. 

4. On a large cutting board, cover the surface lightly with one of the flours used. Then press the dough with your hands or use a rolling-pin until it forms a circle. Cut the dough with a knife or pizza cutter into 8 triangular pieces. 

5. On a prepared cookie sheet (with either parchment paper or a non-stick surface), place the biscuits so that they have a little room to expand. 

6. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool on wire rack for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before serving unless you want to eat them warm. 

Brownies with a KICK

Last night I went to a New Years Eve party and wanted to bring brownies. Since I knew there would be numerous, yummy chocolaty choices, I decided to do something different. I am a fan of dark chocolate candy bars spiced with hot peppers and this was my inspiration. The result was a crowd pleaser and I was happy to discover that the brownie was still deliciously sweet but had a pleasant after burn. It wasn't too spicy. No one ran to the kitchen for a glass of water. If I had added more heat, I don't know if the positive reaction would have been the same. I guess if you tweak this recipe, know thy audience!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

You'll need 2 mixing bowls, one for dry, one for wet. If you don't have two big bowl, you can use a smaller one for the wet.

DRY BOWL (mix the following throughly):
~1 1/2 cup sugar (I like to use organic sugar)
~ 1 1/3 cup flour
~3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
~3/4 tsp baking powder
~1/4 tsp sea salt
~1/4 tsp ground habanero chile powder (I used the Spice Island brand which is SUPER hot, one little morsel on your tongue can be a fiery inferno to the faint hearted. There is also a warning label on the bottle! If I used cayenne, I would probably add more. Use your best judgement if you alter the type of chile powder.)


WET BOWL: 
Rapidly mix together: 
~ 2 tsp ground flax seed/ flax meal
~ 2 tbsp water
Now add the following and throughly mix together:
~1/2 cup water
~3/4 cup apple sauce (plain, not sweetened)
~2 tsp vanilla extract


Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient and stir until batter is smooth. Pour into lightly oiled glass baking pan (8X8). Bake for 40 minutes. The brownies will come out VERY moist and gooey. If you like a more cake-like brownie, cook for a little longer. 


I topped the brownies with a couple of dried hot peppers and glazed the brownies with a mixture of powder sugar, vanilla, red food coloring and a tiny bit of water. Then I added glittery sprinkles. I used the hot peppers as a decoration but mostly as a warning device. None of the topping is necessary.