Mind Blowing Brownies (GF and DF)

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For my son's 1st birthday I made a bunch of desserts for the party (it was a dessert only party).  A few of my family members have dietary restrictions including a dairy and gluten free diet.  I asked them what sounded good and I was met with a confident "brownies!" reply.  I had made gluten and dairy free brownies from Gluten Free Goddess once before, and when I went back to make them again, the recipe had been updated.  It was the day before the party, I only had enough ingredients to make it once, but since Karina's recipes have yet to fail me, I committed 100%. 

I love rich, fudgy brownies.  I was concerned that these would taste like they were a gluten free version of a brownies.  OH. MY. GOSH.  I was so proved wrong!  They came out and my house smelled like heaven (at least what heaven would smell like for me if I could choose).  These are the most incredible, rich, fudgy, yet just enough cakey to be not outright fudge.  I have never had a brownie this good, and I will never make a gluten laden box recipe again.  This is now my go to brownie recipe.  If you like chocolate, you have to make these. I added some instant coffee granules to enhance the chocolate flavor, but otherwise did it as written from Gluten Free Goddess.

I can not stress how much you need to make these.  Seriously, go.  Make them.  Karina has brilliant recipes over there for gluten and dairy free needs.  Absolutely brilliant!  Someday maybe I will mess around with the recipe and make some changes, but I really don't want to mess with perfection right now.

I will warn you though, they are not health food.  At all.  Not even close.  Don't eat the whole pan unless that is all you are going to eat for the day.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  But truly, these will blow your mind to pieces.

*Note-If you are baking these for someone with gluten or dairy intolerance or allergies, please do your homework and make sure the ingredients you use are in fact gluten and/or dairy free.

MIND BLOWING CHOCOLATE BROWNIES (GF and DF)
(Ever so slightly adapted from Gluten Free Goddess' Dark Chocolate Brownies)

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

• 5 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate (I used Trader Joe's semi-sweet chocolate chips, they are gluten and dairy free)
• 1/2 cup organic coconut oil (I used Sprout's organic refined coconut oil)
• 1 cup brown sugar, not packed
• 1/2 cup almond meal (Trader Joe's)
• 1/4 cup brown rice flour (Bob's Red Mill)
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp instant coffee granuals or espresso powder (optional, but enhances chocolate flavor) 
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional, I omitted)
• 1-2 ounces chocolate chips for the top (optional, but looks so nice, and tastes so good!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line an 8x8 inch baking dish parchment paper or aluminum foil (oiled).
2. In a microwave safe dish, melt the chocolate, coffee granules (optional), and the coconut oil in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until well combined.
3. In a medium bowl mix the brown sugar, almond meal, brown rice flour, salt, and baking soda together.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on low speed to combine, then drizzle in the chocolate mixture.  Mix on medium speed for two minutes, making sure everything is well incorporated.  The batter will thicken as it is beaten and will become smooth and shiny.
5. If you are adding nuts, mix them in now, and then spread the batter out into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the top with chocolate chips if desired.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until they are set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with maybe a few moist crumbs.  The top cracks like a flourless cake, so don't fret when that happens.
7. Cool on a wireless rack.  Chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before cutting if you want to have them cut nicely.  They can be eaten warm if you don't want to wait and don't mind them not holding together real well.  They will taste just as good.
8. I made these the day before my event, let them cool on the counter, stored them in the fridge over night, pulled them out 30 minutes before serving.  They cut beautifully! Taste amazing.  I stored the leftovers (the few there were) in the freezer, they taste great right out of the freezer too.

Homemade Hot Buttered Pretzel Rolls

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In my household, we are pretzel addicts.  And roll addicts.  So naturally, I managed to come up with the best of both worlds.  I make soft pretzels all the time, and this is the same dough, just in a roll.  Simple and easy and so very tasty.  I used to use a recipe that had a long rising time, and was very labor intensive and involved boiling the pretzels before they were cooked and it was really just a pain.  Then, in true King Arthur Flour fashion, I discovered that not only did they have an amazing soft pretzel recipe, it was simple too!!!  I made a few modifications to their recipe, but for the most part, it is their recipe for Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels .

First modification--Make a double batch.  No joke, 8 rolls will not be enough!  In the picture above, this was all that was left of a double batch by the time I had a chance to get my camera (which didn't take that long).

This recipe can be made dairy free by omitting the butter at the end or brushing with a dairy free vegetable spread like earth balance.

Hot Buttered Pretzel Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 7/8 to 1 cup warm water*
• *Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Topping

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• coarse, kosher or pretzel salt**, optional (but really fantastic)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I use smart balance to cut down calories, it doesn't take much)
• **I didn't have pretzel salt and I couldn't really find it, so I bought some coarse sea salt that goes in a grinder (from Winco bulk bins) and pulsed it in a food processor to break it down just a bit, tastes much more like pretzel salt than kosher.

Directions:

Note:  I make dough by hand since my Kitchen Aid stand mixer is busted.  It may seem intimidating, but really, just knead it until it looks somewhat smooth ball (won't be perfect) and when you poke it quickly it springs back and the indent goes mostly away within 15 seconds or so.  It will be pretty sticky but just keep sprinkling it with a light dusting of flour until you have kneaded it to where it needs to be.

1) To make dough by hand, or with a mixer: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth, and quite slack (add more flour if it is too sticky, add more water a tablespoon at a time if it is too dry, it will be a fairly sticky dough to work with). Flour the dough and place it in a gallon ziploc bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. 

2) While the dough is resting, prepare the topping: Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved (be careful, when good baking soda hits hot water it bubbles and expands, so add slowly). Pour mixture into a 9" square pan and set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or cooler). 

3) Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper. 

4) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each) and shape into balls.

5)Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan top side down with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color and their characteristic pretzel flavor. 

6) Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt, if desired. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes (important, don't skip!). 

7) Score the top of each roll with two parallel cuts using a sharp knife.  Bake the pretzels for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they're golden brown. 

11) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter.  Eat the rolls warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave. 

Yield: 8 rolls.

Nutrition information (*with butter topping) 

Serving Size: Servings Per Batch: 8 Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171 Calories from Fat: Total Fat: 4.7g Saturated Fat: Trans Fat: . Cholesterol: 12mg Sodium: 888mg Total Carbohydrate: 27g Dietary Fiber: 1g Sugars: 1g Protein: 4g. 

* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.

Copy Cat Woodranch Chicken Enchilada Soup

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The husband LOVES Woodranch's Chicken Enchilada Soup.  I have been on a mission to find a recipe that duplicates that ever so particular taste and texture.  To no avail.  But today, I can say, I have succeeded!  I found a recipe for chicken tortilla soup from Simply So Good and then made some modifications.  It turned out great!  I know the picture isn't pretty, and I will get better at them I promise, but I wanted to get this recipe up because I am so excited about it!  This recipe is gluten free and dairy free if you don't add cheese and use corn tortilla chips at the end.

Copy Cat Woodranch Chicken Enchilada Soup

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
1 tsp granulated garlic or 4 cloves garlic diced
3-6 inch corn tortillas, chopped in 1 inch pieces
1 (10.5 oz) can Rotel tomatoes with diced green chilis
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
1 to 1 1/2 lbs frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (15-16 oz) can white beans, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 cups red enchilada sauce (ex. Las Palmas, La Victoria)
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
corn or flour tortilla chips, broken up

Directions:

 In a 4 or 6 qt crock pot add  all ingredients except the salt and pepper.  Cook on high for 4 hours, or until chicken is cooked, and onions are soft.  Remove chicken and set aside on a plate.  Place the remaining soup in a blender (may take a few batches) and puree until smooth.  Pour back in to crock pot.  Dice or shred chicken breasts and return it to crockpot.  Stir the chicken in to the soup well, then cook in crock pot on high until thickened, or until you cant wait any longer to try it.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish bowls of soup with cheese and tortilla strips if desired.

Serves 8, approximately 1 cup servings

Nutrition* (based on 8 servings and 20 oz. chicken added):

Calories: 164
Fat: 3 grams
Carbohydrates: 16
Protein: 17 grams
Fiber: 4 grams

*Does not include cheese or tortilla strips