Today I thought I’d offer up some yummy homemade GFCF Marshmallows. They are actually easier than you think and they taste so delicious. The ones in the picture were made with regular store-bought corn syrup, but recently I found Wholesome Sweetners Organic Corn Syrup and will be using that in my next candy making adventure.

My father, who is a self proclaimed marshmallow expert, said that these were so good that he doesn’t even want to eat store-bought marshmallows ever again. And he and my mother both want me to make bunny shaped marshmallows (cut using a cookie cutter) so they can make chocolate covered marshmallows for the boys for Easter. So yummy!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract – you can also add peppermint extract for the winter to add to hot chocolate.
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preparation:

Combine thegelatin and 1/2 cup of cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and allow to sit while you make the syrup.

Meanwhile, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Raise the heat to high and cook until the syrup reaches 240 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from the heat. With the mixer on low speed slowly pour the sugar syrup into the dissolved gelatin. Put the mixer on high speed and whip until the mixture is very thick, about 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix thoroughly.

With a sieve, generously dust an 8 x 12-inch non-metal baking dish with confectioners’ sugar. Pour the marshmallow mixture into the pan, smooth the top and dust with more confectioners’ sugar. Allow to stand uncovered overnight until it dries out.

Turn the marshmallows onto a board and cut them in squares. dust them with more confectioners’ sugar.

Yield: 20 to 40 marshmallows, depending on cut size

As a Rescue Angel I often get asked a lot of questions about GFCF diets and one of the most asked questions I receive is where to find a good GFCF bread. Usually I tell someone starting out that they should just buy one of the commercial breads on the market until they get themselves settled in the diet. Once that happens, then I’m pretty sure they are going to want to make their own bread. How do I know this? Because I’ve eaten a lot of the commercial GFCF breads and know that they just don’t taste that great. Most of them have an undesirable texture, and I have never encountered one that wasn’t ungodly expensive. These breads do have a place in the GFCF diet, they are convenient and they can help a newbie settle into the diet without too much upheaval. But I have to say, in the long run most GFCF parents invest in some alternative flours and just bake their own. So here is one of my favorite breads, adapted from Living Without Magazine.

High Protein Flour Blend
1 1/4 Cups bean flour (I often use sorghum flour)
1 Cup arrowroot starch, cornstarch or potato starch
1 Cup tapioca starch/flour
1 Cup white or brown rice flour (I have used Teff too)

3 Cups High Protein Flour Blend
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/3 Cups warm water

1. grease a loaf pan and dust with flour. (I use a stoneware baking pan from pampered chef and therefore only grease my pan)
2. Sift first 3 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add sugar to warm water (110 – 120 degrees ) and activate yeast, allowing it to proof.
4. Add olive oil to proofed yeast mixture.
5. Blend yeast mixture into dry ingredients and mix on high speed for 4 minutes.
6. Put mixture in loaf pan, cover with clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 40 minutes in a warm area of your kitchen. (I will often preheat my oven to 200 degrees then turn it OFF and put the dough in the warm oven to rise).
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. Bake bread in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped and/or registers 200 to 220 degrees on an instant read thermometer. (I find that I need to use the thermometer on this bread because it can have a tendency to appear done – pulls away from the sides of the pan – but still be undercooked.)
REMEMBER TO REMOVE BREAD FROM PAN AND LET COOL ON RACK OR IT WILL GET SOGGY!

My boys love this bread an I tend to have to make it every Sunday. They love it warm from the oven with a little Earth Balance butter!

My youngest son, Nico, has taken it upon himself to eschew all things protein. My husband and I are getting a bit concerned because the kid just won’t eat anything that is made of meat or egg. He does love his carbohydrates but he has even been a little off of them too. So what is a good mother to do?

I have no idea what a good mother is supposed to do, but I’ll tell you what I did. I decided to try to find a yummy baked good that both the boys would enjoy. So I started out with the idea of a carrot cake. I figured I’d think like the Sneaky Chef and start hiding good stuff in the yummy stuff. So what better way to start than with carrot cake. But I didn’t have a GFCF carrot cake recipe. So I did what any good internet user would do and went to Google and looked up GFCF Carrot Cake. I found a few interesting recipes and then finally settled on this one that I modified to suit my likes and needs.

Here is my version of GFCF Carrot Cake. I’m calling it Carrot Cake Version 1 since I’ve already decided next time I’m either adding some protein powder or some form of legumes, either in flour form or maybe a paste (maybe not, it might make it too heavy). And I think I’m going to try cutting back on the sugar; 1 1/2 cups or seeing if I can switch to Agave.

Flour Blend:

1/2 cup sorghum flour (next time I’m thinking bean flour for more protein)

1/2 cup coconut flour (lots of fiber)

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup corn starch (or arrowroot starch)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup oil

2 cups sugar

5 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour blend

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 heaping teaspoon baking soda

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1 scant teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cloves

3 Cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Blend together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add in flour blend, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda, and spices. Mix together thoroughly. Lastly, stir in carrot, coconut and chopped nuts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking pan. Pour in cake mix. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Watch cake carefully because it can burn easily.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my boys do. Matthew was so thrilled that he could eat “cake” for breakfast. Who was I to tell him it was pretty good for him too.