Hamantaschen

Purim is next week, and I was determined to make gluten-free hamantaschen. These worked pretty well! This makes a cookie-style hamentaschen, not the cake-like ones.

1 stick butter or margerine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 T orange juice (or lemon juice)
1 t vanilla
2 t baking powder
3/4 t xanthan gum
3/4 cup corn starch *
1/2 cup white rice flour *
1/2 cup brown rice flour *
1/2 cup potato starch *
1/4 cup tapioca flour * * or use 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour of your choice


Filling: Apricot, prune, or strawberry preserves or jam
mini chocolate chips, M&Ms, etc


Directions:
1. In mixer, cream butter and sugar
2. Add egg
3. Add orange juice and vanilla
4. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and xanthan
5. Add flour slowly to mixture
6. Refrigerate dough for several hours ( I do overnight)
7. Roll out dough onto lightly gluten-free floured surface. Roll to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness
8.Cut into circles with 2 1/2 inch wide glass
9. Fill each circle with about 1/2 teaspoonful of filling of your choice
10. Fold up 3 sides of circle and pinch edges firmly to form triangle with opening at center to let filling peek thru
11. Bake at 375 degrees on parchment covered cookie sheet for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool before transfering to plate.

Makes about 26 hamantaschen cookies. Recipe can be doubled

Challah (Egg Bread)
(parve)

1 1/2 cups cornstarch
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
3 T almond meal
1 T xanthan gum
1 package red star quickrise yeast
1 t salt

1 cup warm water (120 degrees)
2 T dry potato flakes
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk


Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients in heavy duty mixer
2. Dissolve potato flakes in warm water, and add slowly to mixer
3. Add oil and honey
4. Add eggs and mix until blended
5. Beat on High speed for 2 minutes - batter should look like pudding
6. Spoon batter into greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan (I spray with Pam, and use dark Teflon pan)
7. Smooth top surface of batter using WET hand
8. Cover pan with plastic wrap (spray underside of plastic sheet with Pam so it won't stick to batter as it rises)
9. Let rise in warm place for about 35 minutes or until reaches top of pan
(I turn my oven on warm for 30-60 seconds, turn off, then use as warm place for rising)
10. Using fine serrated knife, cut 2 diagonal lines across top of bread about 1/8 inch deep (lets steam escape)
11. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (cover with foil after 20 minutes if top gets too brown)
12. Transfer to wire cooling rack, rub top with margerine while still hot.

Enjoy!

GLUTEN FREE MATZO!

I found a website that makes and sells gluten-free Kosher for passover matzo.

www.ubaccess.com/oatdetails.html

I'm going to get a box ASAP...

gluten-free Matzo Balls

This recipe uses ground oats - but I would try it with other gluten-free flour if you cannot tolerate oats.
***To make Kosher for Passover, don't use ground oats...I used ground up gluten-free matzos made with potato starch (see next recipe)


4 TBSP rendered chicken fat (*you can use plain oil, but it's not nearly as good. I use Empire Kosher rendered chicken fat - prefrozen in tubs)
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground oats (* I grind my own in cuisinart)
3/4 cup dried potato flakes

Directions:

1. Blend eggs and chicken fat (with fork, or with cuisinart)
2. Add dry ingredients, and mix
3. Cover and let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes
4. Have briskly boiling water ready
5. Roll 1 1/2 inch balls from mixture using wet hands, drop into boiling water
6. When all balls are in water, use a long spoon to make sure none of the balls are stuck to the bottom of the pot
7. Cover pot with lid, and cook over medium heat for 35 minutes.
8. Using slotted spoon, transfer balls directly to soup, or to freeze for later use, transfer to waxpaper lined cookie sheet and freeze until hard, then transfer into ziplock freezer bags.

Makes about 11 matzo balls. Recipe can be easily doubled or halved.

Enjoy! Sara

I hope I'm not the only one on the board who's looking for kosher recipes!

gluten-free "Matzoh"

I don't know if this is considered "kosher" for the actual seder...but I'm not inviting the Lebbavitcher Rebbe to my house anyway!

It tastes better with a combo of rice flour and potato starch, but rice is only considered kosher le pesach if you are a sephardic Jew. I think I may "become" sepharidic for Pesach this year.


3/4 cup potato starch
1/4 cup almond meal
pinch salt
2 T olive oil
3T + 1t water

mix all ingredients in bowl -texture should be like playdough - if too dry add small amount of extra water. Knead into ball and divide into 4 pieces. Take 1 piece and roll between 2 sheets of parchment paper - roll as thinly as possible - be patient - dough will tear easily.
Prick dough all over with fork. Score with knife if you want to break into squares after baking. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-13 minutes, or until lightly browned. Makes about 4 8-inch round matzot.

I'm going to try grinding these up after baking to see if I can get "matzo meal"

Chocolate Chip Mandelbrot Mandelbrot (or mandelbread) is German for almond bread. It is very similar to biscotti. This recipe is adapted from my Grandmother's original recipe. I altered it to make it softer. It's a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a bar cookie. My kids adore these (me too!)


1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bette Hageman's featherlight, but OK to try others too)
3/4 t xanthan gum
pinch salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 or 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (to your taste)
nuts (optional - I don't use, my kids won't eat them)
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling on top

Directions:

1. In mixer, cream butter and sugar
2. Mix in eggs
3. Add baking powder, salt, vanilla, almond extract
4. Add flour slowly
5. Add nuts and / or chocolate chips
6. Onto ungreased parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, sppon into 2 equal oval-shaped loaves. Use full length of cookie sheet, leave about 2-3 inches between loaves for spreading while baking.
7. Top loaves generously with cinnamon sugar
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
9. When cool, slice (as one would slice a loaf of bread, but thicker slices)

(Some people turn slices on their sides and rebake to make a dryer cookie - good for dunking into coffee - I don't do this last step)


Enjoy! Sara

Sara, you have a gluten-free kosher friend! I actually made really delicious hamentaschen last night. I found a basic recipe online and just substituted the regular flour with Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour. I had to add about an extra 1/2 cup of the flour so that it wasn't so sticky but it worked really well. By the way, don't know if you live near a Whole Foods but they sell kosher for pesach gluten free matza around pesach time.
I also plan on trying a bunch of gluten free challah recipes when I get a chance, probably not until after pesach. I'll let you know how they turn out!

Thanks Erica! I'm so glad to have found you on the board...I hope you had a happy Purim ( and ate lots of gluten-free Hamentaschen)! Let me know if you come up with any good new recipes. Have a good Pesach - it's coming up fast! I'm already cooking...I've got 25 guests for dinner on the first night...yikes! My briskets and soup are made and in the freezer... now I've got to make lots and lots of matzo balls! People are bringing stuff to help, but between keeping kosher and kosher for passover, and gluten-free rules...it's easier to cook it myself. Sara

PS. thanks for the tip about gluten-free matzo at Whole Foods - I'll definately look there... it's alot closer to my house than the orthodox grocery store in Chicago.