Okay, here’s my blog post about making gluten-free and nut-free desserts, told from my personal experience:
So, I’ve been messing around in the kitchen again, and this time it was all about gluten-free, nut-free desserts. I got this idea because my niece has a nut allergy, and a good friend of mine can’t eat gluten. I thought, “Challenge accepted!” I wanted to see if I could make some treats that everyone could enjoy without any worries.
First, I gathered my ingredients. This was a bit tricky, since I was used to my usual baking routine. Instead of regular flour, I grabbed some rice flour, tapioca flour, and potato starch. For sweetness, I opted for maple syrup and some coconut sugar. And instead of butter I got coconut oil. It was a whole new world of ingredients, let me tell you!
The First Try – Chocolate Chip Cookies
I started with chocolate chip cookies, figuring that was a safe bet. I basically followed a regular recipe, but substituted the flour and butter. They were a complete disaster and a complete fail. They were dry and kind of like rocks. It just goes to show, baking isn’t as easy as it looks!
The Success – Muffins!
I didn’t give up though. I thought muffins might be easier. So, I whipped up a batter using the rice flour, mashed bananas for moisture, and some baking soda. I also added some cinnamon for flavor. Then I decided to go simple and not do chocolate chips, to make sure the nut-free part was covered. I poured the batter into muffin liners and baked them for about 20 minutes.
- Mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon
- Combine wet ingredients: mashed bananas, coconut oil, maple syrup
- Mix wet and dry together gently
- Pour into muffin liners
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
And guess what? They actually turned out pretty good! They were moist, a little sweet, and you wouldn’t even know they were gluten-free and nut-free. I was so happy! I tested them on myself first, then gave some to my niece and my friend, and they both loved them. It was a real win.
So, this whole gluten-free, nut-free baking thing is definitely a learning curve. It’s not as easy as regular baking, but it’s totally doable. And it’s worth it to be able to make treats that everyone can enjoy. I’m definitely going to keep experimenting and see what other delicious things I can come up with. Maybe next time I’ll try a cake! Stay tuned…
