Easy Eggless Fruitcake Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies - with Gluten-Free and Vegan option

Christmas baking will never be the same in my household.  Now that I have food allergies/sensitivities, I include gluten-free and vegan baking into my repertoire.  So far, I have had very good luck choosing recipes to try. 

Here is the gluten-free and vegan version of a classic:  slice and bake shortbread cookies.  I came across this recipe for Eggless Tutti Fruitti Cookies. I didn't have "Tutti Fruitti" mix but it's the same as chopped glace fruit used in fruitcakes.  I even added yellow and dark raisins into the mix.  For those that are not keen on glace fruit, you can use dried chopped fruit such as raisins, apricots, dried cranberries, dried cherries or dates.  The possibilities are endless!  

Eggs are an important binder used in gluten-free baking but alas, there are people who cannot use eggs.  Since this recipe is already eggless, I know that the dough would hold.  

The replacements used in gluten-free and vegan baking differ with respect to mouthfeel, texture, taste and presentation.  It is a precious treat for those who can enjoy something equivalent to a classic recipe.   

My tip for gluten-free and vegan baking:  replace the wheat flour with all-purpose gluten-free flour in vegan recipes.  The recipes are already egg-less and dairy-free!  I simply peruse the vast number of vegan (dairy-free and egg-free) recipes and replace the wheat flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.  

I am in the middle of experimenting with a box of King Arthur Flour's Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour Mix.  I bought in on sale during my trip to Hawaii.  Basically, it is a mix of white and brown rice flours with tapioca and potato starch.  You can easily find recipes online to mix your own favourite gluten-free flour. It doesn't have a I like Sarah's Gluten-Free Flour Blend recipe. 

After freezing the dough logs overnight (optional), the dough was a little crumbly when I sliced it for baking.  Luckily, I was still able to press the dough together into each cookie with success!  Next time, I may add a bit of vanilla and almond extract, as my classic fruitcake recipe has amaretto in it.  In addition, I have made this recipe with all-purpose wheat flour and butter with no complaints.  

Easy Eggless Fruitcake Slice and Bake Shortbread Cookies - Gluten-Free & Vegan option
makes about 2 dozen

1 cup all-purpose flour, gluten-free* or wheat
*1/4 tsp xanthan gum if your gluten-free flour blend does not have a stabilizer/binder
1/3 cup softened butter or vegan butter/margarine 
1/2 cup icing/powdered sugar
1/3-1/2 cup Deluxe holiday mix, glace red & green cherries or a mixture of your favourite dried fruit bits (e.g. yellow/dark raisins, apricot, prunes, dried dates, dried cherries or dried cranberries)  
1 to 2 Tbsp water or milk (Use only as needed.  I used water.  For gluten-free flour, I only needed a splash to get the dough to bind.  For all-purpose flour, I needed the full 2Tbsp water) 

Beat softened butter with icing/powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Stir in flour and fruit mix.

Add enough milk/water to form a soft dough.  Shape into log,  wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper and freeze for 40 minutes to firm up.  (I have found that freezing the dough is not necessary, but if your dough is very soft, freezing it would help make the dough easier to slice.)

Slice logs into about 1/4" thick slices.  If the dough crumbles, press the dough into each cookie.  Bake about 10-12 minutes in preheated oven 350F.  

- Adapted from Sharmis Passion's:  Eggless Fruit Cookies/Tutti Fruitti Cookies

Fruitcake cookies made with Deluxe Holiday Mix, all-purpose wheat flour and butter.  

I am pretty amazed how versatile and forgiving this recipe is with the substitutions made!  I have a few days left before Christmas to get things in order.  I'm trying not to stress.  I just do my best and trust that somehow everything will fall into place. 

Enjoy!

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Reduced Sugar Cranberry Butter Tart Squares

It has been so long since my last post!  I was extremely busy in October and November and didn't have time to blog.  Also, we just got back from my brother's dream beach wedding in Hawaii last week.  Trying to adjust from Honolulu's +30C to 100 Mile House's -30C weather was quite a shock now that we are back home!  

Luckily, it's -2C and I'm finally starting to get into the Christmas baking season!

With a few basic ingredients, I wanted to make something fast, easy and buttery but not too sweet.   The cranberry butter tart squares were inspired by this reduced sugar butter tart squares recipe.  Butter tart squares are a great addition to any Christmas cookie platter.  

I used dried cranberries when I didn't have enough raisins.  Hubby said that they were the best butter tart squares I have ever made!  The tanginess of the dried cranberries made the squares less sweet.  Substituting with alternate ingredients can create something even better!  

This recipe has eggs, butter and gluten.  I plan to create a gluten-free and vegan equivalent of this recipe later on so I can eat them too!  

Reduced Sugar Cranberry Butter Tart Squares

makes 1- 9"x13" pan

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 cup butter

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 eggs,  lightly beaten

2 cups light brown sugar (I used only 1 1/4 cup!)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 pinches salt

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup dried cranberries (instead of 2 cups raisins)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I omitted)
optional:  powdered/icing/confectioner's sugar

In bowl, combine flour with sugar; with pastry blender, cut in butter until crumbly. Press into 9x13-inch pan; bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 15 minutes.

Topping: In bowl, mix together butter and eggs; blend in sugar, flour, baking powder, vanilla and salt. Stir in raisins and pecans; pour over base.

Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Let cool on rack. (Make-ahead: Wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) Cut into squares.

Optional:  dust with powdered icing sugar right before serving for prettier presentation. 

- Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine: July 2009

Enjoy!

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Fluffy and Moist Sour Cream Banana Bread (Whole Wheat option)

This morning, I volunteered for the "Breakfast for Learning Program" at my older kiddies' elementary school.   Through generous donations from the community, school and the Parent Advisory Committee (PAC), our children's school can offer a simple breakfast for those who come to school hungry.  The PAC helps purchase and provide juice, milk, yogurt, cereal bars, cinnamon buns and muffins.  Depending on the volunteer, someone can make pancakes or waffles for a hot breakfast!  

  

Since this was my first gig for the year, I simply set out the usual milk, fruit, juice and store bought bran muffins.  To test the waters, I also brought a batch of my sour cream whole wheat banana bread.  I made them into mini muffins, mini loaves and a big loaf.  I was OVERWHELMED by the response!  When I ran out of mini muffins, I cut up the last loaf and it was GONE IN SECONDS.  Wow.  

This is another one of those recipes that I have been using for over 10 years.  Great for gift-giving and Christmas.  I think the secret is the moistness and fluffiness from the sour cream. 

What can a creative mom do to get school kids try whole wheat banana bread?  For marketing purposes, I added some chocolate chip garnish, so they can try my home baked goodies.  And sprinkled a wee bit of cinnamon sugar on top... I got rave reviews!!!  No one noticed that I used half whole wheat flour in the recipe.  

Fluffy and Moist Sour Cream Banana Bread

makes 4- 7"x3" loaf pans

3/4 cup butter (I used non-hydrogenated soft margarine)
3 cups white sugar (I decreased to 2 1/2 cups)
3 eggs
6 very ripe bananas, mashed (I used 5 large ripe bananas)
1 (16 ounce/2 cup) container sour cream (I have used light sour cream, plain yogurt and combination of both)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups whole wheat flour + 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour)
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I used chocolate chips in the batter + on top instead)

Preheat oven to 300F.  Grease four 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs, mashed bananas, sour cream, vanilla and cinnamon.  Mix in salt, baking soda and flour.  Stir in nuts (or chocolate chips, if desired). Divide into prepared pans.

Bake for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

- Adapted from Allrecipes.com:  Sour Cream Banana Bread

Note:  I have baked this as mini muffins, muffins, mini loaves and in loaf pans.  It is a very flexible recipe that can handle substitutions and changes, if needed.  I have also baked this at 350F for mini muffins and mini loaves.  Please check the times accordingly so you don't overbake!  

Mini muffins made without any nuts or chocolate chips. 

I had to promise the school kids that I will bring more next time!  I couldn't cut my last loaf fast enough for them!  That is the biggest form of flattery for this mom!  They really made my day.

Have a wonderful day!

Enjoy!

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Piped Butter Cookies (or Whipped Shortbread Cookies)

My family adores the classic piped butter cookies from European bakeries.  Sadly, our local Swiss bakery closed its doors forever on Christmas Eve and we cannot enjoy our favourite European baked goodies from there anymore. 

Making these light, crispy cookies has eluded me for YEARS.  The batter was either too stiff for my hands to pipe from a pastry bag or I would get pools of shapeless blobs.  I am recovering from carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis in my wrists, so my weak hands could not squeeze the tough cookie dough out of the pastry bag.  I stopped trying.  

The other day, I stumbled across a "Whipped Shortbread" recipe. I have not tried whipping the dough for 10 minutes before piping and it required only 3 simple ingredients:  butter, icing sugar and flour. Not the healthiest, but I really wanted to try this.   

I was not sure about whipping the cookie dough for 10 minutes with my powerful KitchenAid stand mixer.  All over the net, this recipe appeared to be a classic, so I assumed that this was written for a hand mixer.  I used my KitchenAid stand mixer and decreased the time to 5 minutes. 

I have only made this once with success and I hope the results are the same every time.  

Whipped Shortbread Cookies
makes about 40 cookies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup icing sugar (sift before measuring)
1 cup softened butter
- optional:  pieces of glace cherries, chocolate chunks, etc.  

Preheat oven to 350F.  Sift flour and sugar together and set aside.

Beat softened butter with mixer until light and fluffy.  Add dry ingredients gradually on low speed until well mixed then beat the dough for 5-10 minutes until light and fluffy.  

Spoon dough onto cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.  If desired, pipe with a pastry bag and star tip in different shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Optional:  place a piece of cherry onto the middle of each cookie. 

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are very lightly browned.  Let cookies rest on the cookie sheet for a few minutes before placing them on a rack to cool.  

- Adapted from Whipped Shortbread Cookies and Allrecipes.com: Whipped Shortbread Cookies

My personal notes with the KitchenAid stand mixer: 

• I didn't use softened butter (too impatient), I diced up the cold butter into small pieces and beat it with the paddle attachment for 5 minutes.   
• After adding the flour/sugar mixture, mix for 2 minutes on low/medium to make dough.  Change to the wire whisk attachment and whip the dough for 5 minutes, instead of 10.  The dough will have a soft, fluffy, aerated texture that makes piping a breeze.  
• I piped about 1 1/2" sized cookies with the Wilton 1M tip 
• Decorated with glace cherry pieces and baked for 11-13 minutes until edges were lightly browned.  
• I always check the cookies about 5 minutes before the recipe says it is done.  Every oven is different.  
• I was able to make about 60- 1 1/2" sized cookies from this batch.  

Success!  The whipped dough was effortless to pipe for my weak hands.  I placed the dough in a disposable plastic piping bag with a Wilton 1M star tip.  Again, I didn't get a chance to try them as I'm still gluten and dairy-free.  Hubby and the kids told me that they were better than our local Swiss bakery's!  What a way to make mommy's heart sing!

Enjoy! 

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White Amaretto Fruitcake

Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day!  We wish you all Joy, Peace and Happiness!  We are truly blessed with wonderful friends and family from all over the world.  

Every family celebrates this holiday season differently with their own set of festive traditions.  One Christmas tradition I started several years ago was to make a white Christmas fruitcake flavoured with Amaretto (a sweet, almond-flavoured Italian liqueur) and brandy.   Fruitcake is not for everyone.  I know that store bought dark fruitcake is not for me.  When I tried the home made stuff for the first time, I was hooked!  Almost 15 years later, I finally took the plunge and made it myself.  The children LOVE this!  Although there is alcohol, it is cooked off and I serve the fruitcake in small, thin slices.    

I know my children will continue this tradition.  They are the reason why I blog.  I write all my recipes here so that one day when they are older, they can have access to all our family favourite recipes.  This is also a great way to sharing my recipes with friends and family.  

There are many fruitcake recipes out there, but this will always be their "Mom's".  I know how difficult it is to locate lost recipes, so I am making it easier for them to find. 

This recipe uses a few measurements in ounces.  I tried to convert the measurements to cups but found it easier to use a digital kitchen scale.  If you like to bake and cook, I highly suggest a food scale if you do not have one.  It takes the guesswork out of recipes that have ingredients measured by weight instead of volume.   

I think the key ingredients are brandy and Amaretto.

I used my digital kitchen scale to measure the fruit easily.  I dumped the fruit mix according to the scale.  Then I reset the scale to zero with the contents and added the cherries to the amount of weight needed.  

Marinate the fruit with brandy and Amaretto overnight.

Grease the pans and line with parchment paper.  I used a mini loaf pan and 1- 7" x 3" pan. 

Coat the fruit with 1/2 cup flour and toss in the whole blanched almonds.

Start the batter by creaming the butter and margarine with sugar.

Add the dry and wet ingredients alternately to make a thick batter.  

Stir in the fruit and nut mixture.  With all the fruit, nuts and batter, this mixture can be stiff and hard to mix together.  A stand mixer is highly recommended.

Place the filled pans in the oven along with a pan of water underneath.  I baked the smaller loaves for about 1 hour and the larger loaf for about 2 hours, until the top was golden brown and toothpick came out clean.

  

The mini loaves turned out so cute and perfect for gift giving! 

White Amaretto Fruitcake

Fruit:
1 1/2 cups golden raisins
12 oz deluxe holiday fruit mix*
8 oz candied red cherries
4 oz candied green cherries
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup Amaretto 

Cake:
1/2  cup all purpose flour
4 oz whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup butter 
1/2 cup margarine or shortening (I used non-hydrogenated soft canola margarine)
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp almond extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup Amaretto
1/4 cup milk
2 oz ground almonds

DAY 1: Cut candied pineapple into 1/2" pieces.  Place pineapple, raisins, peel and whole cherries in a large bowl.  Pour 1/4 cup each of brandy and Amaretto over top. Mix throughly, cover and leave overnight.

DAY 2: Preheat oven to 275F. Grease a 6½ and a 5" round fruit cake pan, or any suitable baking pans that will hold at least 12 cups batter. Line the pans with parchment paper and grease the paper. Sprinkle ½ cup flour over the fruit mixture, and toss to coat fruit. Mix in whole nuts.

Place ½ cup each of butter & shortening in a large mixing bowl. Beat together until creamy. Gradually beat in the sugar, eggs, then the flavourings. Add 1 teaspoon almond extract. Add about ¾ cup of flour, beating just until mixed. Beat in the brandy & Amaretto. Add another ¾ cup of flour, beating just until mixed. Beat in the milk and remaining ¾ cup flour. Then stir in the almonds. Pour over the fruit and nut mixture and stir until combined.

Turn into the prepared cake pans and smooth the top. Place a pan containing water on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake cakes in the centre of preheated oven for 2 - 3 hours. Remove from oven, let cool in pans on a rack for 15 - 20 minutes. Then remove from the pans; peel off paper and cool completely. Wrap cakes well and let ripen for 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator or freeze.  

Makes 2 round cakes or 2-3 loaves.  (I made 8 mini-loaves and 1 medium loaf)

* you can also substitute the holiday fruit mix with 4 oz diced candied citron peel and 8 oz candied yellow pineapple

- Adapted from Dave's Garden Cookbook: Amaretto Fruitcake

I usually cut them into thin, bite sized slices.  Very festive with the vibrant colours, addictive texture and almond Amaretto flavour!  Perfect for holiday sharing. 

Enjoy! 

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Candy Cane Ice Cream

Merry Christmas Eve!  I can't believe how quick Christmas has come up.  At the grocery store, I saw some candy cane ice cream and thought that it would be a great dessert idea for Christmas dinner.  We can't forget dessert!  

The kiddies brought home candy canes from school and other activities.  Usually, we put them on the tree.  Yes, I am one of those moms that do not let their kids eat candy yet.  By all means, we do eat junk food:  chips, cake, cookies, ice cream, pastries, sweets, etc.  I thought that having candy cane ice cream is a nice treat so they can have their Christmas candy canes, but in smaller amounts.  

I used my Mint Oreo Ice Cream as a starting point for my candy cane ice cream.  Instead of Oreo cookie chunks, I used crushed candy canes.  I used a combination of green/red candy canes (raspberry flavoured) and some regular mini ones.  In total, I had 4 Tbsp of finely crushed candy canes.  I had the girls break the candy canes up and put it in a zipped sandwich bag.  I crushed them with the flat side of my meat tenderizer/hammer on a cutting board on the floor.  It was so much fun! 

Candy Cane Ice Cream

makes about 4 cups

4 Tbsp finely crushed candy canes

1/2 cup pasteurized liquid egg (or 2 large eggs)
3/4 cup sugar [Edited to add sugar]

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup milk (I use organic whole milk)
2 teaspoons peppermint extract

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more.

Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.  Add the peppermint extract blend again. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following manufacturer's instructions. After the ice cream stiffens, about 2 minutes before it is done, add the crushed candy canes, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

- Adapted from Ben & Jerry's Mint Oreo Ice Cream

 

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Enjoy!

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Vanilla Christmas Mini Donuts

Over the past few weeks, I have baked over 350 Christmas mini donuts!  This month, I have brought a batch of 70 mini donuts to a few Christmas parties.  They are bite sized, very cute and easy for little kiddies to eat.  Even if the children do not like them, there is very little to waste. Each pan only takes about 5 minutes to bake and they cool very quick.

Yesterday, my son had a small gift exchange and we had to bring 22 small gifts for his classmates. I wrapped about 30 small packages of 3 mini donuts with clear plastic wrap, tied with a ribbon. The extra gifts went to the principal, staff and teachers.

I love buying different kinds of sprinkles for decorating. Who doesn't like a splash of colour in their baking?

I made a slight variation of my mini donut recipe.  I omitted the nutmeg and used buttermilk instead.  When I ran out of buttermilk, I used 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 3/4 cup milk.  These made the mini donuts very fluffy and moist.  I filled the batter into a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 12 round circular tip.   It took a mere minutes to pipe the batter in 4 mini donut pans.  

Vanilla Christmas Mini Donuts 

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar (I use 1/3 cup brown sugar & 1/3 cup white)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or 3/4 milk with 1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted butter 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a mini donut pan. 
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, and vanilla. Beat together.  Add melted butter.  MIx until well blended.

Fill each donut cup approximately 1/2 full. Bake about 5 minutes in the preheated oven, until donuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan. 

Decorate with melted chocolate or candy melts and sprinkles, as desired.
- Adapted from Allrecipes.com: Fluffy Cake Doughnuts

Enjoy!

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