Gluten Free Lemon Bars

First Published Aug 26, 2013

Update: This recipe has stood the test of time. Watch the demonstration video on YouTube:

How to Make Gluten Free Lemon Bars Using Gluten Free Bisquick Mix

Thanks for reading. September, 2025

These gluten free lemon bars are a family favorite. Sweet with a bit of tartness, and a crust that has just the right texture. I credit the Gluten Free Bisquick Pancake Mix for that. The half cup of white rice flour gives the crust a bit more body, and the powdered sugar keeps it sweet.

For the crust:

1 cup Gluten Free Bisquick Pancake Mix

½ cup white rice flour

¼ cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled gluten free butter spread

4 teaspoons to ¼ cup cold water

For the topping:

2 eggs

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon white rice flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Zest of one large lemon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray an 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper

Make the Crust

Whisk together the gluten free flour mix, white rice flour, powdered sugar and salt.

Cut the chilled butter into chunks and add it to the mix.

Use a fork or pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mix.

When the flour mix is crumbly, use your fingers to break it down until it has a sandy feel to it.

Add two teaspoons of cold water and work it in with your fingers.

Continue adding one teaspoon of water at a time until the mixture feels sticky.

Add ½ teaspoon of water at time until the mixture holds together.

Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan and press it across the pan, making it as even as possible.

Place the pan in the oven and bake the crust for 20 minutes.

Make the topping

Five minutes before the crust is done baking, make the lemon topping.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the eggs and cream of tartar until light and fluffy.

Add the sugar, white rice flour and baking powder, the lemon juice and zest to the egg mixture and beat on medium speed until well blended and slightly thickened.

Take the crust out of the oven and pour the lemon mixture over the hot crust.

And Bake

Put the pan back into the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for at least one hour before cutting.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top if desired. I don't usually do this, because I find the bars to be sweet enough, but a little extra sweetness is always an option.

Recipe for Gluten Free Brownies

First Published May 6, 2013

Update: While I favor the mixes for convenience, I like this recipe. It makes a cakey brownie the family likes, and uses Gluten Free Bisquick, a flour blend I can find in almost any supermarket.

You can watch the demo video of this recipe on YouTube: 

A Gluten Free Brownies Recipe made with Gluten Free Bisquick Flour Mix

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

Original Post: One of my New Year's resolutions was to create a recipe for really good gluten free brownies. I didn't want a goopy, overly sweet brownie; I wanted a delicate, cakey kind of brownie that held together when I cut a piece.

Two issues I encounter when experimenting with brownie recipes is the final product is either too wet or too dry. I search recipes online and many of the recipes call for a pile of dates in place of sugar, or massive amounts of butter. These are all too goopy.

The ones that call for sixteen different kinds of gluten free flour are too dry or crumbly, and/or have a chalky kind of aftertaste.

Hence, my resolve to create my own recipe. After several trials and errors, I have found the ultimate combination of ingredients and now have my gluten free brownie recipe.

Like many of my recipes, though, there's always room for play. I want to try adding a handful of chocolate chips, or maybe some crushed almonds. I gladly welcome suggestions in the comment section.

Recipe for Gluten Free Brownies 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8in. square pan

 

Dry Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cup Gluten Free Bisquick Mix

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

Wet Ingredients:

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 stick gluten free butter, nearly melted

Instructions:

• Whisk together the Bisquick mix, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
• Sift in the cocoa powder
• Whisk the cocoa powder into the dry ingredients until blended
• Add the vanilla and eggs to the dry ingredients
• Stir to break up the eggs and start incorporating them into the mixture 
• Add the nearly melted butter and stir until the ingredients are blended and the mixture is thickened
• Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes
• Allow to cool for one hour before cutting
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired

Resolution Update

Other than creating a brownie recipe, I also vowed to make more cooking videos. I'm working on that, as you can see.

 

I also vowed to start a gardening blog, which I did. Check out just az gardens to see how my gardens grow.

 

Haven't quite gotten the vegetarian meals my husband will actually like yet, but hey, the pizza bread I made the other night was meatless, and he liked that.

 

I also intended to exercise more. That, to, is a work in progress.

 

And finally, I resolved to find inner peace. Yea. That one is taking some work as well. But hey, I'm growing veggies and making brownies. So maybe it's all good.

How I Created the Gluten Free Chocolate Donut Recipe

First Published March 14, 2013

Update: We really like donuts.

Thanks for reading. September, 2025

Sometimes people ask me how I come up with my recipes. Well, like most cooks, I look to already existing recipes for inspiration and guidance. But I also depend on the Scientific Method.

It's a sound methodology for recipe development, and I used it to create the recipe for my gluten free chocolate donuts.

Ask a Question (Can donuts be low fat and gluten free?)

Do Background Research (Discover donut baking pans- Viola! Baked donuts cut the fat)

Construct a Hypothesis (The right gluten free flour blend with a method for baking donuts results in a gluten free, low fat donut)

Test the Hypothesis by Doing Experiments (Test various gluten free flour blends combined with other ingredients until one particular set of ingredients in specific amounts results in tasty donuts)

Analyze Data and Draw a Conclusion (Take the donuts to work and see if everyone else likes them as well. If so, the recipe works)

Communicate the Results (Make a YouTube video)

One of the most important steps in creating a new recipe is keeping track of the experiments and the results of those experiments. My notebooks are filled with recipes that didn't work, but I don't throw that data away. Parts of a failed recipe may have worked, and I can draw on those minor successes.

For example, I may have a sauce recipe that didn't work for enchiladas, but hey, with a bit of tweaking, it will make a great chili sauce.

It took four 'experiments' to get just the right donut recipe. I kept track, and so didn't make the same mistake twice, and made notes on what worked and what didn't.

But it doesn't stop there. Oh no. Now that I have a basic chocolate donut recipe, I'll start playing around with it. Maybe I'll add some sour cream, or yogurt- just to see what happens.

Well, that's my 'secret' to creating new recipes. I follow a method and then cook, cook, cook. And even after I get it right, I cook some more.

Time to Make the Donuts

First Published Jan. 8, 2013

Update: This is a good recipe, and you can watch the demonstration video on YouTube:

Gluten Free Chocolate Donuts, An Easy Recipe: No Fryer Needed

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

Original Post: Donuts were practically a food group for us when the kids were young. Sunday mornings Bob or I would go to the Safeway down the street, which had a great bakery, or sometimes to Dunkin' Donuts, which wasn't quite so close to home. The kids, of course, loved the sweet cakey treats and it was an easy breakfast for a lazy day.

Donuts and Coffee

The Safeway down the street has closed. Bob and I aren't allowed the deep fried cakes because, well, they're deep fried. My son can't have them because he has to maintain a gluten free diet, and donut batter is made with wheat flour. Only my daughter the vegetarian can have donuts, but she doesn't eat many sweets these days, so donuts aren't around anymore in our house.

Until now!

Donut Pans

We missed donuts. We wanted donuts. So one day I saw in a Bed Bath & Beyond flier these nifty pans for baking donuts. The next chance I got I went to that cook's paradise and purchased two of them.

I've written a recipe for chocolate donuts that are pretty low in fat, comparatively speaking, and of course, gluten free. It's an easy recipe and you can store them in a cake saver or similar container for up to three days - if they last that long.

Gluten Free Chocolate Donuts
Makes 12

Dry ingredients:
1 1/4 cup Gluten Free Bisquick pancake mix
1/4 cup gluten free cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Wet ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 cup rice milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp softened gluten free butter

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
-Use a gluten free cooking spray and spray the two donut pans.

-Sift the GF Bisquick and cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl.

-Add the sugar and whisk the dry ingredients together.

-Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

 

-Fill each donut round three-fourths of the way full, smoothing out the batter with a small spatula or the back of spoon.

 

TIP: Wet the spatula or spoon first. The moisture makes the batter easier to smooth.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for 7-to-9 minutes. Allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes. Slide a butter knife around the edges to loosen and remove the donuts from the pans. 

 

Try these with your morning coffee or tea, or with a cold glass of your favorite sort of milk. These are great for breakfast, for snacks and for dessert. The calorie and fat count is much lower than store bought donuts and of course, they're perfect for anyone on a gluten free diet.  

It's Time for New Year Resolutions

What I Hope to Achieve in 2013

First Published Dec 26, 2012

Update: Yea... some things never change.

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

I must admit, 2012 was not one of my better years. Money was tight -who doesn't have that complaint, except of course the muckity-mucks in Washington for whom the bad economy is merely a political issue and not a reality.

I'm having a hard time keeping up with the bills, and work isn't exactly plentiful right now. Some weeks, at my day job, I don't get more than 12 hours. At my hourly pay, that barely covers a week's worth of groceries.

I've been experiencing chronic fatigue associated with hypothyroidism, but don't want to go to the doctor because the insurance company is always a pain about paying (though I make my payment every freakin' month) and I'm just too tired to deal with all their bullshit.

I suffered through a week of the most miserable flu in October. I don't usually get the flu, and if I do, I'm over it in a day or two. So I was pretty mad about being laid up a whole bloody week.

In December, I got a ticket (first in over 30 years), broke may toe (Won't go to the doctor's- see above), and my car broke down - twice.

On the plus side, I had a great Christmas. Everyone in the family is healthy, and we spent Christmas Eve eating pizza and opening presents. My toe still hurts like the devil himself is chewing on it, but I'm sure this too shall pass.

So my resolution for 2013 is to not have such a crappy year.

Now, I understand the current administration in the White House has no intention of worrying over the economy. The First Family isn't likely to experience foreclosure, have to go on food stamps, or forego a doctor's visit because the insurance company won't pony up.

But I'm not going to let the self-serving fools in Washington make my life more miserable, though it seems they do enjoy trouncing the working poor. I'm going to set out few simple goals, and I'm going to accomplish them. 

Ø  Create a recipe for the perfect gluten free brownie

Ø  Develop low-fat, vegetarian meals my husband will actually like

Ø  Make more cooking videos

Ø  Start a gardening blog

Ø  Exercise more- even when I'd rather take a nap

Ø  Find inner peace

While the big shots in Washington wreak havoc on the lives of their constituents for their own amusement, I, and many of you, will persevere. I resolve to have a better year in spite of the politicians and their Wall Street cronies. I resolve to have a better year in spite of health insurance companies and over-zealous policemen. I resolve to have a better year because I want to have a better year.

 

Wish me luck as I wish good luck for all of you.

Recipe for Apple Sausage Stuffing

First Published Nov 16, 2012

Update: I still use this recipe today. It's really good.

You can watch the video on YouTube, demonstrating this recipe: How to Make French Apple Sausage Stuffing

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

Original Post: When it comes to Thanksgiving, my husband I tend to cheat a bit on our low-fat diet; we love our gravy and mashed potatoes with turkey

. We also like stuffing, the soft/crunchy concoction of bread, veggies and meat.

I'll make apple sausage stuffing this year, and I want to share that recipe with you. It's chicken sausage, instead of pork, so I feel like I'm at least trying to be a little low-fat.

But first, a bit of history.

The bready mix we're familiar with today likely had its origins in ancient Greece and Roman kitchens, but as to it being called stuffing, that dates back to the middle ages. The bread and veggie mix was called farce, meaning 'to stuff': It was a play on words referencing the brief and humorous plays, called farces, 'stuffed' between long and boring religious presentations.

Victorian sensibilities, however, found the word 'stuffing' a bit too graphic, and applied the term 'dressing' to the mixture. Today, the two words are interchangeable, and dressing may be cooked without getting stuffed into a bird's backside.

Apple Stuffing

1 lb ground French apple chicken sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery

1 stick butter or margarine, divided
8 cups cubed bread, divided
2 cups chicken broth, divided

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 large sweet apple, chopped

1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

1. Over medium high heat, brown the French apple chicken sausage in a large pan in a teaspoon of oil, adding the onion and celery to the pan when the sausage just starts to brown and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, just until the veggies are tender. Remove the mixture from the heat.

2. Put half the butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add 3 cups of bread cubes to the butter as it starts to melt, stirring to coat and moisten the bread cubes. Add approximately 1/3 cup of chicken broth to soften the bread.

3. Add the chopped apples and jalapeno peppers to the bread mixture, along with the remaining butter and stir to combine.

4. Add the remaining bread cubes and remaining butter to the pot. Stir to combine and melt the butter. Slowly add the remaining chicken stock, stirring the mixture to ensure all the bread cubes are thoroughly moistened and softened. Turn off the heat and stir in the sage and parsley.

5. Spoon the bread mixture into a buttered casserole dish, cover and cook at 375 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes. Allow the stuffing to rest for approximately 10 minutes before serving.

Tips
For a little more sweetness, add dried cranberries or raisins to the mixture while adding the remaining chicken broth.

A note about jalapeno peppers- The smaller the pepper, the more intense the heat. If you just want a little heat, use larger peppers. If you can't find fresh jalapenos, use canned, but test for heat levels before adding.

Celebrating Vegetarianism

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month...and no, that doesn't mean you have to buy cards or gifts for the vegetarians in your life. It means you, as a meat eater, should spend a little time trying to understand why someone chooses to follow a vegetarian diet, and how such a choice affects other aspects of their lives.

One example is how some vegetarians also opt to eliminate other animal products, such as leather or fur, from their lives. They may do this because they feel that killing animals for the sake of clothing is inhumane. These are compassionate people. What these people are not are zealots.

They do not leave pamphlets on your doorknobs touting the re-emerging practice of Meatless Monday, a practice born of war. How ironic that something that is now considered humane started from a most inhumane action.

Vegetarians do not gather in front of the meat counters at supermarkets and terrorize those perusing packages of top sirloin or rump roasts. They do not picket or protest or otherwise engage in acts of culinary disobedience.

Vegetarians just don't eat meat. It's that simple, and that complex. As anyone who reads this blog with any frequency knows, my daughter is a vegetarian and has been all her life. Her father and I have teased her, good naturedly, about this lifestyle choice, as she has teased us about our food choices. But her decision, from the time she first started eating solids, to reject meat has presented me with challenges that have proven to be opportunities.

All of us in our family eat healthier because I've always had to include meat free dishes in our family meals. When my husband was put on a restricted diet because of his heart surgery, I was challenged even further, but it would have been all the more difficult if I hadn't already been familiar with cooking from a vegetarian point of view.

With food trends being so well-publicized now, thanks to Food Network and Food Channel and all the foodie magazines, blogs and websites, one would think vegetarianism would be no big deal. But as my daughter points out in her blog post, "5 Ways to Help Vegetarianism While Not Giving Up Meat," some people still don't get it.

She tells of eye-rolls and heavy sighs, and people trying to trick her into eating meat. Shame on them. Shame on them for their deliberate ignorance and their disrespect. Food is essential to our lives, to our well-being, and food choices are a part of who we are as sentient beings.

So take a little time this October to set aside any food prejudices and make a few meatless meals, and offer to break bread with your vegetarian friends. You just may find that they are presenting you with culinary opportunities you hadn't yet imagined.