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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Easy Buttery Garlic Bread Spread (Garlic Butter), Vegan or Not

My kiddies adore garlic bread!  I had to write this recipe down for them, as I know that they will want to make it just "like mom's".  

Garlic toast hot dog buns 

At my local Canadian grocery store, a loaf of garlic bread (French bread spread with garlic buttery spread) costs $4.  Their garlic spread has a very long (and unnatural) ingredient list.    

A loaf of plain French bread costs $2.  I make my own garlic bread at a fraction of the cost.  No French bread?  I toasted hot dog and hamburger buns (leftover from Baby's birthday party) with this garlic spread and my family loved it!

My kiddies loved this so much, they even had it spread on their morning toast!  

With only 3 simple ingredients, we were able to enjoy "restaurant-style" garlic bread at a fraction of the cost.  I always have dried parsley and garlic powder in my collection of spices.  

With soft non-hydrogenated margarine (I used Becel vegan) or softened butter, this mixes up super fast!  The dried parsley makes the garlic spread look like the ones in the restaurants.  

A great way to use up leftover hot dog buns!  Ready to be toasted in the oven.  

Easy Buttery Garlic Bread Spread (Garlic Butter), Vegan or Not

makes 1/2 cup garlic butter

1/2 cup softened butter or vegan non-hydrogenated margarine (I used Becel vegan)
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder* (I tone it down to 1 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp dried parsley
optional:  your favourite shredded cheese

Mix softened butter or margarine, garlic powder and dried parsley together in a bowl.

Spread on your favourite bread (and add shredded cheese, if desired) and bake in hot 375F oven for about 3 minutes or broil until golden brown.  

*I think grated or finely minced fresh garlic would be great.  Just add to taste.  

- Adapted from Allrecipes.com: Great Garlic Bread

Leftover hamburger buns?  Make garlic toast hamburger buns!

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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The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Happy Halloween!  How can you resist a buttery, sweet sugar cookie on a dreary fall day?

This is my favourite "go-to" sugar cookie recipe. The ingredients are simple and the recipe is very straightforward.   It has never failed me and it is a DREAM to roll out.  The dough is soft and pliable -- wonderful to work with!  And believe me, I've baked enough treats.  I have even made some changes and the cookies are delicious.    

This recipe has been in my recipe collection for a few years now.  It was great to see my friend Lara post the same recipe on her blog The Wandering Fork a few weeks ago.  

I like to roll thin cookies for a sweet and crispy cookie.  Rolling the dough out thick (1/4" to 1/2")  will yield a nice soft cookie. I have made these lovely sugar cookies for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, birthdays, parties, etc.  It's a great addition to any event. Sugar cookies also make wonderful gifts.  I have packaged them in cute cookie tins and they were much appreciated!     

Note:  This recipe makes a lot of cookies.  I usually cut the recipe in half.  This time, I made the full recipe with the intent of sharing.  So far, I have baked about 5 dozen thin cookies with only half the dough!  

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies 
Makes 5 dozen, 2-inch cookies, rolled 1/4-1/2" thick

1 1/2 cups butter, softened  (I used 1/2 cup softened butter & 1 cup soft non-hydrogenated canola margarine)
2 cups white sugar (I decreased to 1 3/4 cup sugar)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 2 tsp)
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes for thick cookies, 4-6 minutes for thin cookies in preheated oven.  Cool completely.

- Adapted from Allrecipes.com:  The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

Have a Safe and Happy Halloween!

Enjoy!

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Reduced Sugar Butter Tart Squares

In the middle of June, I had a craving for something that tasted like Christmas but it had to be easy, buttery and sweet.  Butter Tart Squares!  I like making one big pan full of yummy squares.  They are great for sharing!   

Butter tarts are a classic Canadian treat.  I usually see them on cookie platters around the holidays and Christmas.  These tarts are LOADED with sugar, raisins and nuts.  Classic ingredients for the holidays.

The original recipe was from Canadian Living Magazine.  I doubled the recipe to fit a 9"x13" pan but I cut the brown sugar in half!   Nuts were omitted due to nut allergies in the family.  I couldn't bring myself to use the whole amount of sugar.  

Everyone loved these squares!  Even with the reduced sugar, they were still sweet enough from the raisins and shortbread crust.  I don't like my treats tooth-achingly sweet, just sweet enough.  With butter.  For butter tart purists, you can add up to the full amount of sugar.  For us, it was tasty enough!  My son enjoyed each bite with his eyes closed...  YUM!

Reduced Sugar Butter Tart Squares

makes 1- 9"x13" pan

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/3 cup) 

1 cup butter

Topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 eggs,  lightly beaten

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

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

2 pinches salt

2 cups raisins (I used 1.5 cups)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I omitted)

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.

- Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine: July 2009

Enjoy!

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