« Back to News List

Sam's Gluten Free Recipes

October 1st, 2023

Bacon wrapped figs stuffed with Goat cheese

My go-to holiday appetizer is great for any time of the year. The perfect balance of sweet and savory, these naturally gluten free bites are sure to impress. 
 
Ingredients:
24 dried figs 
4oz. goat cheese, room temperature
1 lb bacon, halved crosswise
 
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Line a baking dish with parchment paper. I use a large lasagna pan, you just want something with an edge to keep in the grease.
Cut just the very tops off of the figs and use your finger to make a well in each one.
Using a piping bag, fill each fig with goat cheese.
Wrap each fig with a half piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick if desired. If you don't have toothpicks, just put the seam of the bacon on the bottom. 
Bake for 25-35 minutes until crispy. 
These are great served immediately or at room temperature. 

Auntie Angie’s Italian Wedding Cookies

One of my favorite traditions is making Christmas cookies with my family. My Italian wedding cookie recipe is older than I am, but I have altered it a bit to fit my needs. This cookie is traditionally anise, but works great with lemon also. 
 
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups flour (My gluten free blend is 1 cup brown rice flour, 3/4 cup each of sweet sorghum flour and tapioca starch or arrowroot, plus 2 teaspoons xanthan gum)
1 cup sugar
dash of salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1 stick margarine
½ cup sour cream
1 egg
1 tsp anise oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine dry ingredients in small bowl
In a large mixing bowl (I use my kitchenaide stand mixer), cream margarine and sugar 
Add the egg and anise
Mix in flour mixture and sour cream alternating dry, wet, dry until combined
Drop cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake 11-12 minutes until lightly browned on the bottoms

Icing:
1/4 cup sugar 
½ cup water
Anise oil
 
Combine sugar and water and bring to a boil while stirring until sugar is melted. 
Cool. 
Stir in powdered sugar with a fork
Add anise until you achieve desired taste and consistency (it should slowly fall off of fork)
 
Assembly:
Place a cooling rack over parchment or wax paper.
Drizzle icing over cookies while they are still slightly warm
Sprinkle immediately
Serve or store in a cool dry place. I like to keep them in small gift boxes. They are also excellent to freeze and serve later. 

Overnight French Toast

I make this every Christmas eve. It’s fairly simple to put together, and the
pay off is a stress-free breakfast on Christmas morning. All you do is preheat the oven and pop it in.

Topping
1 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup (I tend to substitute maple syrup if I don’t have corn syrup on hand, it will
result in a thinner glaze)
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Base
3 eggs
½ cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
A dash of nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 slices of French bread cut diagonally in ¾ inch thick slices (I use Schar baguettes, they come in two and
the recipe uses about 1 ½ .)
Directions
Grease 13 x 9 inch pan
Sprinkle pecans on bottom
Mix the rest of the topping ingredients in a saucepan over medium/low heat until smooth, don’t boil.
Pour and spread on top of pecans.
Beat eggs, milk, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt.
Dip the bread in the mixture and arrange slices over the topping.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake 20-25 minutes until the topping seems to bubble and the slices are slightly toasted.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes
Flip onto a heatproof serving platter.
Enjoy!  

 

« Back to News List