Happy Anniversary to LoveSorghum.com!

This week is the one-year anniversary of LoveSorghum.com – Woohoo! I can’t believe I have posted 52 recipes containing sorghum! I’m celebrating with this awesome oatmeal cookie recipe from Around My Family Table.

This amazing oatmeal cookie has coconut AND chocolate chips. Then I added Texas pecans, to make it even better!

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Pecans

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour
• 1 tbls cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter or butter substitute, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg or egg replacer
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup gluten-free chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you have celiac disease.

Combine oats, oat flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Dry ingredients mixed together.

In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugars until light and fluffy. I used a hand-held mixer. Add egg and vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs combined.

Mix the oat mixture into the wet mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Dry and wet ingredients mixed into cookie dough.

What could be better than chocolate chips, coconut and chopped pecans added to oatmeal cookie dough?

Fold in the chocolate chips, coconut and pecans.

Oatmeal cookie dough with all the goodies folded in.

Form cookie dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Dough rolled into 1 1/2-inch balls and ready to bake.

Bake at 350° F for 15 minutes or until edges start to brown.

Let the cookies cool for a minute or two or they will break apart when you scoop them up from the cookie sheet.

Cool cookies in pan for a minute or two and then use a spatula to place them on a cooling rack or plate. Recipe yields about two dozen cookies.

Ready for snacking!

Adapted from Coconut Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies – © Around My Family Table.

Milo says….

Maizy is SO happy we are ONE YEAR OLD! Can I have a COOKIE, too?

 

Gluten-free Apple Crisp

When you don’t have time to role out a traditional pie crust, apple crisp is a quick and easy alternative. This recipe is from the Whole Grains Council. I added walnuts just because I think everything is better with nuts – and they’re really good for you!

Apples are a really healthy choice for dessert. They are a relatively good source of potassium, a mineral not affected by cooking, with about 200 milligrams per cup. One baked apple is a good source of fiber with 5 grams total, which is 19 percent of the daily target.

I think this recipe would be really good using other fruits, as well, like blueberries or peaches.

Ingredients

For the fruit filling:

• 4 cups sliced apples (or other fruit)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

For the crumble topping:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or trans-free margarine
• 3/4 cup of sugar or brown sugar
• 3/4 cup sorghum flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Slice apples into an 8 x 8 inch greased pan or similar-sized casserole dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Add walnuts, if you are using them. I also sprinkled the apples with a few drops of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown while I prepared the topping.

I added cinnamon and walnuts to the sliced apples, plus a few drops of lemon juice.

Combine crumble ingredients and sprinkle evenly over apples.

I mixed the butter, flour and sugar together with a pastry blender until the mixture was crumbly.

Topping added to the sliced apples.

Bake at 350°F for approximately 1 hour or until topping turns light brown.

It came out of the oven crispy and brown on top, bubbly underneath.

Add a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Note: You can also use an alternate version of the crumble topping, with less sugar and butter: 3/4 cup sorghum flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter or trans-free margarine. (Jenny Rees, University of Nebraska Extension Educator)

Nutrition facts per serving:  Calories: 250 , Total Fat: 12 g, (Saturated Fat: 7 g), Sodium: 10 mg, Carbohydrate: 37 g, Fiber: 3 g,  Protein: 2 g.

 

Milo says….

Go! Walk! Snack! Certain words just make my tail wag.

Gluten-free Ginger Cookies

Since my fresh ginger cake fail a few weeks ago I’ve wanted to try another ginger recipe. Ginger is supposed to have a number of health benefits, including reducing inflammation. It seems like a good snacking choice for anyone with autoimmune disease. These warm cookies are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

This recipe is from Nu Life Market. Their gluten-free All-Purpose Flour mix is about the same as Carol Fenster’s sorghum blend, but has xanthan gum added.

It is a good idea to lightly spray your measuring cup with a nonstick vegetable spray before pouring in the molasses. This prevents the molasses from sticking to the cup. Chill the dough for a few minutes or dust your hands with flour if the dough is too sticky to form into balls.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups Nu Life Market Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar + 1/4 cup for rolling
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup of molasses

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl whisk together Nu Life Market Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour, ginger, cinnamon, clove, salt, and baking soda; set aside. With a mixer, in a separate large bowl beat 1 cup of white sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well. Mix in water and molasses.

 

Butter, sugar, egg and molasses mixed together.

Slowly add the flour mixture, mixing until well combined.

The cookie dough was a bit sticky, so I dusted my hands with a little flour before rolling into balls.

Form dough into one-inch round balls and roll in the remaining 1/4 cup of white sugar.  Place cookies on an ungreased baking sheet two inches apart.

Ginger cookie dough rolled into balls, ready to bake.

Bake for 8-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to rest on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, once rested remove to a wire rack and allow to cool.

The cookies were soft right out of the oven and got crispier on the outside as they cooled.

This recipe makes about 36 medium-sized cookies.

Milo says….

I’m really glad dogs don’t have to HUNT for our own FOOD any more. I’ll have another DOG COOKIE, please!

 

Sorghum Caviar

Here is another recipe from the Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board. I decided to use black-eyed peas instead of black beans to bring good luck for the new year. I also used canned green chilis, but I think it would be better with fresh jalepeños, if you can find them.

In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year. Some people say this tradition was started during the Civil War when the Union troops wouldn’t eat black-eyed peas because they were considered food for livestock. Others say eating black-eyed peas for good luck is an ancient Jewish tradition dating back to 500 CE or earlier.

No matter how you celebrate, this dish is great for holiday gatherings. I’m thinking about bringing this healthy, gluten-free snack to a Super Bowl party! This recipe makes enough for a pretty large crowd. You can eat it by itself or with tortilla chips.

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2-3 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (I used a can of Hatch green chilis)
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups cooked whole grain sorghum
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drain & rinse (I used 2 cans black eyed peas)
• 1 (11-ounce) can sweet yellow corn, drain & rinse (I used about 2 cups frozen corn, thawed in microwave)
• 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 (16-ounce) bottle gluten-free zesty Italian dressing
• 1/4 tsp black pepper (optional)

Sorghum Caviar ingredients.

Directions:

Cook the whole grain sorghum and cool. You can find the instructions for cooking the sorghum here.

Cook the whole grain sorghum first and let it cool.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix everything together and chill in the refrigerator. The whole grain sorghum will absorb the flavors.

Cover and refrigerate two hours or overnight to marinate. Serve with tortilla chips.

This recipe makes a big bowl of sorghum caviar.

Recipe developed by Barbara Kliment, Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board.

 

Milo says….

Happiness is watching the Super Bowl in Maizy’s lap!

 

Gluten-Free Molasses Quick Bread

This recipe is from Carol Fenster’s cookbook “100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes” that I received for Christmas (thanks, little brother!). I made this bread hoping it would be a quick alternative to yeast bread that would go well with soups or for snacking. I was very disappointed when I sliced off my first, warm slice and it broke in half! When I tasted it, the flavor was good – a hearty taste, mildly sweet – but it was very crumbly and dry. I usually have very good luck with Carol’s recipes, (I didn’t even make any changes to this recipe!) so I can only assume that I mis-measured the ingredients in some way.

I found this video on Carol’s website that has instructions on the proper way to measure flours. I thought it might be helpful to review, since measuring correctly is very important in helping gluten-free baked items turn out well.

I placed the loaf of bread in a plastic bag and stored it in the refrigerator over night. It has moistened up a little bit, so I think it will be edible and not a total loss.

If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turns out. Happy measuring!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
• 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups Carol’s Sorghum Blend
• 1/2 cup gluten-free yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup molasses (not blackstrap)
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional)

Carol’s Sorghum Flour Blend:

• 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
• 1 1/2 cups potato starch (not potato flour) or cornstarch
• 1 cup tapioca flour/starch

Instructions:

Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a small measuring cup, mix the milk and vinegar together and let stand for 5 minutes.

Almond milk and apple cider vinegar mixed together.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sorghum blend, cornmeal, potato starch, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda. Beat in the milk-vinegar mixture, eggs, molasses and oil with an electric mixer (I used a hand mixer) until the batter is smooth.

The batter was thick and sticky.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a wet spatula. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. (I didn’t use these)

Batter in loaf pan, ready to bake.

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

The loaf rose nicely and was very pretty when it came out of the oven.

Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and cool for 15 more minutes. Slice and serve.

 

Milo says….

Santa brought me a chew rope, a ball and some SNACKS! If I can find him, I’m going to LICK his face! THANKS SANTA!

Gluten-free Spicy Cheese Crackers

Here is another recipe you can prepare for a holiday party. These crackers are really easy to make. I used Parmesan cheese, but these would be good with just about any cheese. If you don’t like garlic and cayenne, you could try other spices like rosemary, onion powder or black pepper. I want to try them again using Pepperjack or sharp cheddar cheese.

I used Parmesan cheese, but you could use any cheese you like.

I would recommend rolling them out as thin as you can, to make them crispier. I was afraid they would fall apart when I transferred them to the baking sheet, so I rolled them out to about 1/8-inch thick but I wish I had gotten them thiner. After baking, they were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Still good, but not quite a crunchy cracker.

After the crackers cooled, I put them in a bowl with a lid on top. (Milo kept sniffing around and I wanted to remove the temptation!) The next day they had lost their crispiness, so I put them on a tray in the toaster oven for about 10 minutes and they came out crunchy and very good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used Carol’s Sorghum Blend)
• 1 cup grated cheese
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
• 1/2 cup water
• grated cheese to sprinkle on top (optional)

Carol’s Sorghum Flour Blend:

• 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
• 1 1/2 cups potato starch (not potato flour) or cornstarch
• 1 cup tapioca flour/starch

Instructions:

Whisk together dry ingredients. Stir in cheese.

Mix dry ingredients together, then add the cheese.

Mix with oil and water to form a ball of dough. Cover and place in the refrigerator to cool for about 15 minutes.

The cracker dough was soft and slightly sticky.

 

Roll out in sections on floured wax paper and cut into slices or wedges. Sprinkle with additional grated cheese, if desired.

 

I sprinkled some flour mix on a sheet of wax paper, rolled out the dough to about 1/8-inch thick and cut it into rectangles.

Crackers cut out and ready to bake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until crackers reach desired crispiness. Top with your favorite topping or eat them just as they are!

Baked cheese crackers ready for snacking!

These crackers can be made ahead of time and frozen for later use. Warm them up in the oven for a few minutes if they lose their crispiness.

Recipe adapted from Balance & Elegance. Thanks Kaci-Ann!

 

Milo says….

Wake up wagging and the world wags with you!

Merry Christmas from Maizy and Milo!

 

Gluten-free Crepes

I had never made crepes before I tried this recipe. I was amazed by how easy they were to make and how good they tasted! I also made up a kale, mushroom and cheese filling to go inside and it turned out really good. The crepe recipe came from Barbara Kliment at the Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board. Thanks Barb!

Crepes:

• 1 cup Carol’s Sorghum Blend
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs beaten
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups milk (I used almond milk)

Carol’s Sorghum Flour Blend:

• 1 1/2 cups sorghum flour (or brown rice flour)
• 1 1/2 cups potato starch (not potato flour) or cornstarch
• 1 cup tapioca flour/starch

Stir together flour mixture and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and melted butter.

Eggs mixed with butter and flours.

Add milk and mix until well-blended. Add flour mixture and whisk until batter is smooth. The batter should be thin, pourable and not very elastic.

The batter is very thin.

Heat a non-stick 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, ladle 1/4 cup of batter into skillet, swirling to spread evenly and thinly.

Here’s the first crepe cooking in the frying pan.

Allow the batter to cook until set but not crispy (1 to 2 minutes). Flip crepe over with a wide spatula. Allow the other side to cook for about 30 seconds.

The first one didn’t look that great when I flipped it over, but each one got a little better.

Remove crepe from the pan and cover with a moist paper towel. Repeat with remaining batter and stack crepes, covered, until ready to serve.

Finished crepe ready to put in filling.

Fill with your favorite filling and enjoy! (My filling recipe is below) Makes about 10 crepes.

Filling:

(I made this before making the crepes)

• 6 slices bacon, fried and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 4 cups chopped kale
• 5 large white mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tsps dried basil
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Italian six-cheese blend)

Frying bacon is a good first step for any recipe!

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil.

Add kale, mushrooms and bacon pieces, plus basil.

Next the vegies, bacon and basil are added to the skillet.

Cover and cook on medium-low until kale is tender and mushrooms are cooked, stirring occasionally.

Cover skillet and cook on medium low, stirring occasionally until vegetables are cooked.

Cooked vegies and bacon for filling.

Add Italian blend shredded cheese and stir to mix in. Remove from heat and set aside until crepes are ready.

Add cheese to filling, remove from heat and set aside.

I used an Italian shredded cheese blend. You could use whatever cheese you like best.

Added the vegie-bacon-cheese filling and gently rolled it up.

I also warmed up some frozen blueberries in the microwave and tried them in a couple of crepes. Marvelous!

I tried some with warmed up blueberries, too – yummy!

 

 

Milo says….

Maizy was easy to train. I just sit straight, hold out my paw and she KNOWS she is supposed to give me a treat!

 

Gluten-free Fresh Ginger Cake – FAIL

This week’s baking project was a near-disaster for me. I was really excited about this recipe – I love the spicy flavor of ginger in baked items. But I made several errors on this one and it came out pretty bad. I decided to go ahead and post it anyway – maybe someone out there will benefit from my mistakes. I’m sure this is a good recipe when followed correctly. All of the mistakes were mine.

The biggest mistake I made was I didn’t read the directions carefully enough and I chose the wrong size cake pan. I used a 1.5-inch deep pan that you would use for a layer cake instead of a 3-inch deep pan. I don’t know what I was thinking! When I put the batter in, it came almost to the top. I should have known it wouldn’t have room to expand. It overflowed the pan while baking and I was really glad I put a cookie sheet under it.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the oven and found this. Hmmm. Something is not quite right here!

The cake that was left in the pan was moist inside, but really crumbly. I think this might have been because of the changes I made to the recipe. I didn’t have any sweet rice flour (I can’t seem to find this at any of my local stores), so I used two cups of Carol Fenster’s gluten-free flour blend. (1.5 cups sorghum flour, 1.5 cups potato starch and 1 cup tapioca flour) I also had only 1/2 cup of corn syrup, so I made up the difference with some dark molasses. Additionally, I mixed the baking soda in with the other dry ingredients instead of putting it in with the syrup and hot water. I’m not sure what this is supposed to do, but it might have made a difference. Another thing that might have helped my cake was an adjustment for higher altitude. I live at 3600 feet above sea level and cakes sometimes turn out crumbly here if you don’t make adjustments.

The cake was pretty crumbly around the edges when I took it out of the pan.

The flavor of the cake was very spicy with fresh ginger flavor. Even though the texture wasn’t great, it was still pretty good with some vanilla ice cream. I’m posting the original recipe below without any of my changes. I hope you have better luck if you try this recipe. Be sure to read all of the instructions carefully!

The spicy taste of the cake went really well with vanilla ice cream – and it didn’t matter if it fell apart!

Ingredients

• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1 cup sweet rice flour
• 2 tsp dried ginger powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 35g ginger root, finely grated (1/4 cup = 35g)
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup (Beehive) corn syrup (you can replace with light molasses)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously butter an 8-inch round, 3-inch high spring form pan. Line bottom with parchment paper and place on baking sheet.

In a bowl mix together sorghum and sweet rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger powder and ground cloves.

In a small pan stir together boiling water, corn syrup and baking soda until completely dissolved.

Place eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat until light, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium low and add olive oil, beating until just combined.

Add grated ginger and mix to combine.

Add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the corn syrup mixture, scraping down as necessary. Batter will be very wet.

Pour batter into prepared pan and transfer to oven. Bake at 320-325°F for 50 minutes.

Let cake cool slightly before removing ring.

Serve warm or cold as it is or with a giant dollop of fresh whipped cream beside each slice.

Recipe from Simple Gluten-free Kitchen. (Sorry I made such a mess of it! I’m sure it’s great if you make it correctly.)

 

Milo says….

Be yourself. No one can say you’re doing it wrong!

 

Gluten-free Coconut-Lemon Cookies

Holiday parties are always uncomfortable for those of us with celiac disease. How many times have you experienced that awkward moment at a party when you realize there is NOTHING on the buffet table that you can eat?

I have found that it helps me if I can bring something to the party that is gluten-free. Then I know there will be at least one thing available for me to eat. I just ask the host/hostess if I may bring a gluten-free dessert and that usually opens the door for more discussion about what other foods are being served and if I might need to bring a main dish I can eat.

Here is an easy-to-make recipe for some cookies I think will work perfectly for gluten-free party snacking.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup sorghum flour
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (plus extra for rolling)
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons butter, gently melted (not hot)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (I used dried lemon zest)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Combine the almond flour, 1 cup shredded coconut, coconut flour, and sea salt until thoroughly mixed. I used a food processor to chop up the coconut into smaller bits then transferred it back into a mixing bowl. If you have a large food processor you can probably mix the dough it in as well.

I used my food processor to chop up the coconut and mix the dry ingredients.

Add the honey, coconut oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Stir until dough forms.

I mixed in the wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl with my hands to make a nice ball of dough.

Pinch off small portions of the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Coat the balls in the extra shredded coconut if desired. I had trouble getting the coconut to stick to the outside of the balls, so a made a small divot in the top and smashed some coconut down into it.

Coconunt-Lemon cookies on parchment paper ready to bake.

Place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 250ºF for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time.

The cookies didn’t spread out while baking and turned a nice golden brown.

Cool completely before serving. Store the cookies in the refrigerator in a sealed container.

Gluten-free Coconut-Lemon cookies ready to taste.

You can also enjoy these as a no-bake snack by putting the dough in the refrigerator until firm rather than baking it.

Makes about 24 cookies

Adapted from Lemon Meltaways in the Spring 2014 issue of Simply Gluten Free magazine.

 

Milo says….

I don’t know what you are eating, but I WANT some!

 

Italian Whole Grain Sorghum with Peas

This recipe using whole grain sorghum will make a great side dish for Thanksgiving dinner or a good accompaniment for the leftovers. The chicken broth really gives the sorghum a rich flavor.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup uncooked whole grain sorghum
• 2 cups chicken broth plus 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup chopped fresh kale
• 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

Directions:

Soak whole grain sorghum in water for about 2 hours. This helps the sorghum cook to a softer texture. Skip this step if you like it with a crunchier texture. Drain and rinse sorghum grains.

I like to soak the sorghum grains for an hour or two before cooking.

Combine sorghum, chicken broth and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes.

I like to use this low-sodium chicken broth.

Stir in onion, garlic, thyme, pepper, peas and kale. Cover and continue cooking for another 15-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed and sorghum is tender.

Chopped onions and kale.

After adding the peas, kale, onion and spices, continue cooking until all the liquid is absorbed.

Stir in cheese and serve. Sprinkle a little more of the cheese on top of each serving.

Makes 6 servings.

 

Milo says….

Being extra NICE to guests goes a long way towards them slipping you a little NIBBLE under the table!