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.   

Obamacare and Healthy Diet Prescriptions

First Published July 7, 2012

Update: I still believe the American people are entitled to a better product from health insurance companies. If they can charge us for the privilege of seeing a doctor, they can provide that doctor with the tools to keep clients healthy.

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

Original Post: I'm not a fan of Obamacare. I think forcing American citizens to purchase expensive health care insurance is not a solution to the health care crisis. President Obama can enact a law saying "You have to buy this product", but that doesn't mean the financially challenged among us will magically have the money to pay for it. It's a stupid law, even if it is considered constitutionally correct.

The health care crisis, in my opinion, can't be addressed by insurance plans. But since that seems to be the direction this administration is taking us, I'd like to discuss an idea I have for insurance companies to offer a better product.

Start with a Script 
I'd like to see "healthy diet prescriptions." Doctors often say, "Eat healthy. Stay away from fatty foods and reduce your sodium intake." For many people, those words don't really identify what constitutes a healthy diet, one that would aid in their staying healthy.

Now, insurance companies encourage doctors to assembly line their patients through the office so there's no real dialogue. Patients leave the office thinking they just can't eat McDonald's anymore. I propose that patients who have plunked down their $50 copay get a little more for their money.

Physicians write a "Healthy Diet Plan" prescription, and the patient is then sent to a certified nutritionist. The health insurance company pays for this visit; it's part of the original copay.

The patient gets an in-depth session with a nutritionist. The nutritionist develops a diet specific to that patient's needs, and takes the time to explain how best to utilize this plan.

The Cost of a Healthy Diet

Healthy foods, though, are more costly than cheap, junky food. A single green pepper can cost a dollar (How outrageous is that!)Lean cuts of beef cost around $8 a pound, and chicken breasts around $6 a pound - more in some regions of the country.

People often forego the better foods because their budget is already strained, and ground beef is cheaper than chicken breasts, and a can of beans (think fat and salt) goes farther than a single green pepper.

Ahh, but now the patient has a prescription for these healthier foods. Now, getting healthy and staying healthy through proper nutrition is a medical thing, not just a food trend. The patient isn't just buying expensive food, he's buying meds.

So, how does the healthy diet prescription help our patient reduce the cost of his medically prescribed diet?

Tax Deductions
According to the Obamacare plan, it falls to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect the penalties for lack of health insurance from those citizens unable or unwilling to pay for this product.

Medical costs, such as doctor visits and prescriptions, are tax deductible. I propose that anyone with a healthy diet prescription, or a prescription for a gluten free diet, or a prescription for a diabetes diet - you get the idea - is allowed to claim the cost of their foods as a tax deduction.

So, let's say our patient spends $75 a week on his prescription diet. In a year's time, he's spent $3900. That entire amount counts as a medical deduction.

Why Should Health Insurance Companies Do This
It's time for the health insurance industry to put its money where its mouth is. Health insurance companies yammer on about "health visits" and "preventative care" and send customers pamphlets about being healthy. They do this because healthy customers don't cost them money.

If we, as a nation, are putting the health insurance industry in charge of our health care, then it needs to put up or shut up.

Insurance companies need to pay for customers to stay healthy. They need to make it possible to deduct the cost of healthy foods, of yoga classes, gym memberships and exercise equipment.

The health insurance industry needs to subsidize health food stores and supermarkets that carry specific dietary foods that meet the needs of those whose conditions demand a specific diet. This subsidy would reduce the initial out of pocket costs of these foods for those who are already financially challenged.

If we, as a nation, are putting the health insurance industry in charge of health care, then we need to demand a better product, one that keeps us healthy, not leaves us sick and financially crippled.