Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Toffee Cookies (using Hodgson Mill Cookie Mix)

I am into making cookies from scratch...but I am also very into making my life easier!  I was given a box of Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Cookie Mix by my sweet sister, who for my birthday gave me a big ole' gift basket filled with all things that a gluten free baker would love and use.  I love the gluten free cookies I make, so I thought, why not throw in everything I love from each cookie I make into this one easy to use mix, and oh boy did I love the results of these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Toffee Cookies! They came out big and rounded on the top with a little crisp on the edges, but soft inside. I found this mix at Walmart, and I'm pretty sure they carry it at most grocery stores in the gluten free section.  I have also used this mix to make peanut butter cookies and they are very good too!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Toffee Cookies

These Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pecan Toffee Cookies are very dangerous to have around my house.  I will make a confession... I made these yesterday and ate four of them!  I grabbed one every time I walked by...then the next day, I had one for breakfast. I know,  I'm bad.  The thing about these cookies is that besides the fact they are so easy to make, they are one of the few gluten free baked goods that actually taste even better the next day.  I find that most gluten free baking is best the day it is made...but not these babies...they just get better with time!

So if you are looking for something easy to bake that doesn't require buying all sorts of gluten free flours, this is the recipe for you...no one will know it started with a mix!

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE CHIP PECAN TOFFEE COOKIES
(using Hodgson Mill Cookie Mix)
Recipe from: Goodies Gone Gluten Free
click here for Printable Recipe

1 box of Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Cookie Mix (requires butter, egg and vanilla)
1/4 cup of ground gluten free oats (grind whole oats in blender, then measure 1/4 cup)
1 to 1 1/2 cups of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips (depending on how much you like)
1 Heath or Skor bar, chopped or broken into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (depending on how much you like)

Mix up cookies according to package directions, using 2 tsp. of vanilla.  Add ground oats, chocolate chips, toffee bar and nuts and mix well.  Using a cookie scoop or spoon, place large rounded spoonfuls on parchment paper lined cookie sheet about three inches apart.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 14-15 minutes or until edges are light brown.  Let sit a minute before removing to finish cooling on cooling rack.

Gluten Free Sweet Corn Cake Casserole

Happy New Year!  I got all caught up in all the Christmas activities and found I didn't blog much.  I'm hoping to find and share lots of new goodies in this coming year.  I thought I'd start off with this yummy Gluten Free Sweet Corn Cake Casserole.  Have you ever had the corn cake at a Mexican restaurant, like El Torrito?  I just love the little ball of corn cake they serve with their dishes.  I have made this sweet corn cake dish in the past and it reminded me of the restaurant version.  I made it gluten free, and for some reason it seems even more like the restaurant version. I added extra sour cream to compensate for the dry gluten free flour, so maybe this creamier version is closer to what I like.   This one is topped with melted cheese, which is such a nice addition to the sweet and crunchy corn in the  cornbread/sweet corn cake.

Gluten Free Sweet Corn Cake Casserole

The thing I like best, is it all starts with a gluten free cornbread mix.  I used the Krusteaz Gluten Free honey cornbread mix.  This Gluten Free Sweet Corn Cake Casserole is a nice side for any Mexican dish, salad, soup or chili you are making.  Enjoy!

GLUTEN FREE SWEET CORN CAKE
Recipe from:  Goodies Gone Gluten Free
Adapted from: Paula Deen
Click here for Printable Recipe

1 (15 1/4 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4 ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8 ounce) package gluten free corn muffin mix (if using Krusteaz use 1/2 box or 1 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter.  Pour into a greased 13x9 dish.  Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until set and slightly brown (the casserole will still be soft, but should not be raw or runny).  Remove from oven and top with cheddar cheese.  Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.  It warms up nicely in the microwave the next day too!

Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge - Gluten Free

This is the best fudge I have ever eaten.  It is also the easiest fudge to make.  I love the combo of peppermint and chocolate.  This Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge will definitely be one of my baking gifts this Christmas.  Thank you to Barefeet in the Kitchen for this wonderful recipe!

Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge

We just watched A Christmas Story, which is one of my favorite Christmas movies.  If you have seen it, you know the part when Ralph is helping his Dad change the tire and knocks all the bolts out in the dark snow and he says, "oh, fudge!"  Well, every time I eat this Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge it makes me say, "Oh, fudge"  but in a good way!  Watch your favorite Christmas movie and enjoy some Peppermint Marshmallow Fudge too!

PEPPERMINT MARSHMALLOW FUDGE
Recipe from: Barefeet in the Kitchen
Recreated by: Goodies Gone Gluten Free
click here for Printable Recipe

2 cups semi sweet or dark chocolate chips
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1/8 tsp. peppermint extract
2 cups mini marshmallows
6 miniature candy canes or 1 large, crushed

Combine the sweetened condensed milk, the chocolate and butter in a medium size glass bowl and heat in the microwave for 90 seconds.  Stir to combine and heat another 15 seconds if needed.

Stir until smooth.  Stir in the extract (careful not to pour more than the 1/8 tsp., as it will be too minty).  Pour into well-greased pan (8x10 is what was used).  Top with crushed candy canes.  Chill until ready to serve.  Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Gluten Free Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle

 This Gluten Free Gingerbread Pumpkin Trifle has a moist and tasty gingerbread cake that starts with a gluten free cake mix.  You could even just make the cake and frost it with a cream cheese frosting and it would be nice, but the pumpkin filling and toffee that nestles between each piece of cake should not be missed! It's presentation is a real crowd pleaser too!

If you are going to attend or give a Christmas party, I hope you try this out!

Gluten Free Gingerbread Pumpkin Triffle

GLUTEN FREE GINGERBREAD PUMPKIN TRIFLE
Recipe by: Goodies Gone Gluten Free
click here for Printable Recipe

Cake:
2 boxes of Betty Crocker Gluten free Yellow Cake Mix
1 Tbsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon plus 1/3 tsp. for pudding
1/4 tsp. each ground cloves and ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. baking soda
12 Tbsp. butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup molasses
1 Tbsp. vinegar
6 large eggs
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 (5.1 ounce) package cook and serve vanilla pudding mix (make sure it is gluten free)
1 (30 ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
16 oz. (1 pint) whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
2-3 Heath Toffee bars, broken in bits


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.  Whisk together the cake mix, spices, and baking soda.  In a separate bowl beat the butter with half the cake mix/spices.  Beat in the molasses, vinegar, and one of the eggs.  Add the remaining eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the buttermilk alternately with the remaining dry mix, one third of each at a time.  Beat until smooth, scraping the bowl after each addition.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake the gingerbread for 45-50 minutes, until it's brown and firm on top and a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.  It will be very high and full.  Remove the cake from the oven, and cool it on a rack.

Meanwhile, while cake is cooking, prepare the pudding and set to cool.  Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar and cinnamon into the pudding. Whip the whipping cream on high speed with electric mixer or stand mixer.  When a soft peak starts to form, pour in the 1/3 cup sugar until a hard peak forms.

Crumble a layer of gingerbread cake on bottom of triffle dish or punch bowl, pour 1/3 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then top with a layer of whipped cream, and then a tablespoon or so of toffee.  Repeat layers until bowl is full, ending with whipped cream and sprinkle top with toffee bits.

Gluten Free Chicken & Apple Sausage Penne

Gluten Free Chicken & Apple Sausage Penne

One of my daughter's favorite pastas I make is my Chicken & Apple Sausage Penne.  The sausage is sliced and caramelized in light olive oil, with onions and garlic, then topped with tangy goat cheese. When I made the gluten free version of this pasta, she loved it too!

 For me, the two main things I thought I would have to give up when I found out I was gluten intolerant was bread and pasta; two of the things I really love to eat (beside dessert, of course).  I quickly found out, though, that there are a lot of really good gluten free pastas out there.  A lot of them can be found in regular grocery stores, too.

 The first gluten free pasta I tried when making a gluten free version of this Chicken & Apple Sausage Penne was Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne.  This is a very good pasta, but if you cook it too long it gets pretty soggy, so you have to really watch it and test it as you go.  I soon found there was a whole slew of gluten free pastas out there.  Even Barilla has a gluten free pasta (their pasta is made with a combination of corn and rice) that is also good.  Honestly, I have tried more brands of gluten free pasta than I can recall (I see one I haven't tried, and I have to try it out.  You are welcome gluten free pasta companies).  Almost all of them were good.  I did find that I preferred either an all brown rice pasta or a combo of corn and rice. as opposed to a corn only pasta. I found a brand at Walmart that I have been using , that I do like, called Pasta Joy by Tinkyada.  It is a brown rice pasta.

 This time I made my Gluten Free Chicken & Apple Sausage Penne with yet another brand of gluten free pasta that had a combo of rice, corn and quinoa.  I found it at Fresh & Easy, and the brand was Garofalo.  It was probably the best gluten free penne I have used up until now.  I use Aidells Chicken & Apple sausage, as it has no msg or nitrates, which I also have an allergy to.  Aidells also makes a Chicken & Mango sausage which I have used in this recipe in the past, and it is very good also.  This is a quick and easy stove top recipe that is served up nice with a side salad (a little gluten free bread on the side doesn't hurt either!).

This Gluten Free Chicken & Apple Sausage Penne is a simple dinner that would be great on a hot summer night!  I hope you try it out.  Let me know in the comments section below if you do try it, and how you liked it!

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GLUTEN FREE CHICKEN & APPLE SAUSAGE PENNE
Recipe from: Goodies Gone Gluten Free
Yield: 6-7 servings
click here for Printable Recipe

16 oz. gluten free penne pasta
12 oz. package Aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage (or any chicken & apple sausage brand)
Small onion, diced (I like to use a Vidallia, or sweet onion)
1/2 cup light olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese, plus a Tbsp. for topping

Boil salted water for pasta, and cook pasta according to package directions.  Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a large pan and saute onions with a sprinkle of salt and pepper, until they start to soften.  Slice sausage into rounds and add to onions and cook until the sausage is browned and caramelized.  Add garlic and cook for a minute, just until fragrant (you don't want to burn your garlic by cooking too long).

Drain pasta and add to pan of sausage and onions.  Stir to coat.  Add olive oil, salt, pepper and goat cheese and stir until fully coated.  You can drizzle more olive oil if it looks too dry.  Top with extra goat cheese and serve!