Saturday, August 22, 2015

Gluten Free Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake

Is it a cookie?  Is it a cake?  Yes, it is.  This Gluten Free Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake is made of three huge Snickerdoodle cookies sandwiched in between a creamy brown sugar and cinnamon frosting and cutely adorned with miniature Snickerdoodle cookies.  You get to have your cookie and eat your cake too (like the way I redid that saying?  Clever, huh?)  The whole thing starts with a Gluten Free Betty Crocker mix!  Isn't that great?  I love short cuts.
Gluten Free Snickerdoodle Cookie Cake

Betty Crocker really has some great ideas on their site.  Some are already gluten free, but because they make some great gluten free cake and cookie mixes, it's easy to revamp the ones that are not.  This was a fun one to make and decorate.

GLUTEN FREE SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE CAKE
Recipe from: Goodies Gone Gluten Free
Adapted from:  Betty Crocker
click here for Printable Recipe

Cake:

2 boxes of Gluten Free Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix
1 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Cinnamon Sugar topping:

1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream or milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Line bottoms of three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease with butter or cooking spray (you may need to increase the cook time if you use an 8 inch pan).

Stir together cinnamon and sugar in small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cake ingredients with a an electric mixer on medium speed until combined.

Shape 8 rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mix.  place on cookie sheet and bake 5 to 6 minutes or until edges are set.  Cool completely before removing from pan.

Divide remaining dough among cake pans and spread to cover bottoms of pans, patting the dough down with your hands.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture, until dough in each pan is lightly covered (you may not use all of the sugar mixture).  Bake 20 minutes or until edges are set and lightly golden (you don't want to over bake the cookies or they will be too hard and crumbly to cut through the layers nicely).  You are trying to achieve a soft cookie, but not raw dough!  Cool completely and remove to wire racks.

In a medium bowl, beat softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Decrease speed to low and add powdered sugar, vanilla and cream until combined.  Increase speed to high and beat about 2 minutes or until light and creamy.

Place 1 cookie layer on cake stand or large plate.  Cover with a third of frosting.  Top with another cookie layer, another one third of frosting and then the final cookie layer.  Place remaining frosting in decorating bag with tip and pipe 8 frosting swirls around top edges.  Place a mini cookie in each frosting swirl.  Store covered at room temperature.


Gluten Free Mini Chocolate Eclairs

Summer is coming to an end and I wonder if it went as fast for you as it did for me?  It went so fast I realize I haven't posted anything for the majority of the summer!  I have made some yummy things, though this summer, so I made sure to store them up to share with you all!

Gluten Free Mini Chocolate Eclairs
Goodies Gone Gluten Free
The first one I will be sharing with you today is so scrumptious! This is one of the desserts I miss getting to eat since becoming gluten intolerant, so I am so happy to have them back on my list of allowable treats.  These Gluten Free Mini Chocolate Eclairs are decadent little bites of creamy, fluffy, chocolaty goodness.  They look elegant and like you spent tons of time, but they really are pretty easy to make.  Filling and dipping is a bit time consuming, but so worth it!

I made mini eclairs, but if you wish to have full size eclairs, just pipe out 5 inches instead of 2 inches of dough on your baking sheet.  Have fun and enjoy!

GLUTEN FREE MINI CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS
Recipe from:  Goodies Gone Gluten Free
click here for Printable Recipe

Pastry:

1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup gluten free all purpose flour ( I used the blend on the blog)
2 Tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan (unless you are using a blend that contains xanthan)
4 eggs

Filling:

3 cups milk
3/4  cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. gluten free all purpose flour
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla

Icing:

4 oz. (1/2 cup) Dark chocolate chips
4 Tbsp. butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Heat water, butter and sugar until boiling.  Add flour and stir constantly until mixture is smooth and forms a ball.  Cool until you can stick your finger in the dough without it feeling too hot to handle.  Beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well in between each addition.  Make sure mixture is smooth and not clumpy.  Refrigerate dough a few minutes to make it easier to handle.

Cut a hole in the corner of a gallon size ziplock bag.  Fill bag with dough.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 2 inch logs.  Bake at 400 degrees F.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until puffed and light brown.  Set aside to cool.

Prepare filling by combining milk, sugar, salt and flour.  Cook slowly until thickened. Add 3 beaten eggs and continue to cook until mixture is even thicker.  Remove from heat, cool and add vanilla.

With a serrated knife, slice pastry puffs lengthwise, but not all the way through.  Pipe custard mixture into the center, or drop by teaspoonfuls.  Melt chocolate and butter in microwave on 50% for 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted.  Dip tops into icing and cool eclairs in the fridge until icing is set.  Pastry and cream filling can be made ahead of time, but it is best to assemble them just before serving.  Store extras in refrigerator.

Piped dough before going into oven



Baked eclair shells just waiting to be filled!