Buckles, crumbles, cobblers, crisps….so many fruit desserts, so many names. They all begin with a fruit or berry and the rest is just topping.

They truly are some of the least complicated desserts you can makes, so a great choice for a child wanting to experiment in the kitchen or anyone new to baking. Just make sure and choose really fresh, ripe fruit and all other mistakes will most likely go unnoticed. They are very forgiving, making them the perfect recipe to adapt to be gluten free.

With loads of fruit and a topping of choice, they are always delicious. They are old-fashioned American comfort food at it’s best; usually messy, not always pretty, always delicious.

I pulled out one of my baking books to find a quick definition of each.

Crisps: The easiest to make, consisting of fruit mixed with sugar and often spice, placed in a pan and topped with butter, sugar, flour & often oatmeal.

Crumbles: Really a crisp with a slightly different texture. The fruit is topped with a streusel consisting of butter, sugar, flour, and chopped nuts.

Shortcake and Cobblers: Fruit covered in a sweet biscuit topping. As the fruit bakes and bubbles it softens the baking powder biscuits, which will rise impressively.

Buckles: It’s basically a berry-laden coffee cake with a crunchy-sweet streusel topping. Blueberries appear to be the traditional berry used in these cakes, sometimes called crumb cakes.

Growing up ate a lot of these dishes. My mom would typically use peaches or apples, but really, nearly any fruit or berry will work. They are very simple, yet smell and taste amazing. These are great choices from an impromptu treat or a summertime dessert for company.

For several years I have been making a blueberry buckle. My whole family enjoys it, especially the topping. It is a really simple, from scratch cake. I got around to making it gluten free and I was quite pleased with the results.

I know you are supposed to use fresh blueberries, but I couldn’t wait for them to be in season, so I used frozen. I think frozen berries make the cake more dense, but it is very good still.

With all the summertime fruit in season I am sure you can find a fruit and topping combination that your family will enjoy. Happy Gluten free baking!

A piece of Blueberry Buckle.

Gluten Free Blueberry Buckle

for the cake:

• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

for the topping:

1/2 cup sugar ( I use white or a combination of white/brown)

1/3 cup white rice flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8×8 pan.
2. For cake: cream together sugar, butter, and egg; about 30 seconds.
3. In a separate bowl mix together all dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients, alternating with milk, to the creamed mixture (dry ingredients, milk, dry ingredients).
4. Stir in blueberries and vanilla. The batter will be very thick; spoon it into the prepared pan.
5. For topping: In a small bowl combine all topping ingredients and using a fork blend. Sprinkle over the cake batter and bake for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Breakfast, Cooking With Kids, Desserts gluten free blueberry cake, gluten free coffee cake

Strawberry season is in full swing here so I have been making quite a few strawberry goodies. Shortcakes, freezer jam, but perhaps the easiest of all, strawberry syrup.

I like to make the syrup really simple and uncomplicated, without too much sugar. I think the flavor of the berries should really be the main focus. We have really sweet berries here, but if your berries are tart, you might want to add extra sugar.

We think strawberry syrup is perfect on pancakes, waffles, ice cream (especially homemade sour cream ice cream) and chocolate desserts. But I also think it could be stirred into fresh lemonade.

Strawberry Syrup with ice cream.

Strawberry Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 cups crushed strawberries
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in about 1 tablespoon water

1. Place water and sugar in a small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved; stirring constantly. Add berries, lemon juice and cornstarch slurry. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens slightly. Reduce heat and simmer to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.

Breakfast, Desserts, Sauces & Dressings Stawberry Syrup

If you have kids you probably make pancakes. They are usually quick, easy and relatively inexpensive. And children just love them.

However, the gluten free pancake is somewhat of a challenge. If you have too much rice flour it ends up gritty, many of the alternative flours lend an off taste, and if you simply try to replace a gluten free flour blend the pancakes seem to take forever to cook thoroughly.

However, after a lot of recipes and a lot of not-so-good pancakes, I have found a couple that I use regularly now.

I like slightly sweet pancakes, ones reminiscent of what you would get at a diner. They need to be fluffy and soft with a nice golden color. And the batter needs to cook in a reasonable time and I need to see bubbles; I like to know when to turn them over. Without the bubbles it is a guessing game.

The recipe I am posting today is a great, easy recipe that can be mixed up all in one bowl, which I love. And it meets all my criteria.

I divided the wet and dry ingredients in case you wanted prepare the dry ingredients ahead of time and store in a resealable container or bag. I am not much of a morning person, so I find this is helpful for me.

I like to add cinnamon and vanilla to gluten free pancakes and waffles. I think it adds a nice, subtle flavor.

If you want to make blueberry pancakes, simply add a few tablespoons of blueberries to each pancake before flipping it over; you can add it to the batter, but I find it turns the batter blue.

And although maple syrup is the go-to topping, I think fresh, in-season fruit is such a healthier alternative.

Pancakes With Fresh Strawberries

One Bowl Gluten Free Pancakes

If you like your pancakes less sweet, simply reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon.

dry ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
• 2 Tb sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• dash cinnamon, optional

wet ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk (I use 1%)
• 2 Tb canola or vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla, optional

1. In a medium bowl, stir together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir to blend thoroughly.
2. Allow batter to rest 2-3 minutes before using; I use this time to heat the griddle or pan.
3. Heat a nonstick griddle or pan over medium heat (if you don’t have a nonstick surface be sure to oil the pan). A drop of water dropped on the surface should sizzle when the pan is hot enough.
4. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancake onto the griddle. Flip pancakes when the surface is covered in bubbles. Cook another 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Serve with fruit or syrup.

Breakfast, Cooking With Kids gluten free pancakes

To say we like banana muffins at our house would be an understatement.

I don’t really know what it is about them exactly that we love.  I guess they make the perfect breakfast or snack on the go. And they are so tasty, not to mention how they make the house smell so yummy while they cook. And it’s the perfect way to use up those not so fabulous bananas you have on the counter or freezer (here is my post about freezing bananas).

I have already posted a banana cupcake recipe, but it has sour cream in it so I wanted to figure out a way to make them easier to adapt to be dairy free as well. The only dairy here is butter, so it’s super simple to substitute with a dairy free margarine or shortening.

And although I really prefer Authentic Foods Superfine rice flours, I have made these with Bob’s Red Mill rice flour and they were still really good.

I have read, as you probably have as well, that it is necessary to cook gluten free baked goods in light colored metal pans. They all warn DO NOT use the old, dark colored pans.

But as you can see, I didn’t toss out all my well-loved pans. In fact, I have one 6-space new, light colored pan and one that is so dark it is almost black. I can not swear they perform exactly the same for everything, but I can assure you that I made a pan of each for this recipe and the muffins took the exact amount of time to bake and they all looked identical.

Needless to say, I am not a big believer that the color of your metal pans matters much. I sure wouldn’t spend a fortune replacing them.

Sometimes I wonder about all these expert cookbook authors. Where do they find these people?

Yummy Banana Muffins

Banana Muffins

Yes, this is the same recipe I use for banana bread. I discovered it is the perfect amount of batter for 12 muffins. Although we are nut free, I think 1/4 cup chopped walnuts would be a great addition….or maybe some chocolate chips. And these can be mixed by hand with a wooden spoon if desired.

wet ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cups very ripe mashed bananas
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

dry ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups white rice flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease or place paper liners in a 12 space muffin pan (or 2 6-space ones if you are like me).
2. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and mashed bananas; allow to sit for 15 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at time, mixing well after each addition. Add half of the dry ingredients and blend until smooth. Add banana-sugar mixture and stir until well mixed. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until smooth.
5. Divide batter evenly among muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle of a muffin tests clean.

Breakfast, Desserts, Snacks gluten free banana muffins

Throughout childhood we had a Christmas morning breakfast tradition.

My mom would always bring a large, puffed pancake to the table. Hidden underneath were cinnamon and sugar spiced apples. She would scoop into it and the pancake would deflate. She would then dust each piece with confectioners’ sugar before giving it to us.

It was much fancier and sweeter than our typical breakfast fare. And definitely more dramatic.

We always referred to this dish as Dutch Baby Pancake however they are also called German Pancakes, and most likely are a variation of a German breakfast dish.

A Seattle restaurant claims to have created this hybrid pancake-popover, however, I am not sure when the addition of apples became popular.

I like to use my freezer apple pie filling in this recipe, making it a very easy weekend breakfast or brunch item. However, you could use canned apple pie filling (not sure which brands are gf) or simply saute up some sliced apples with some butter and cinnamon and sugar.

The only change I needed to make to my regular recipe was use my favorite gluten free flour blend (that has xanthan gum in it). I know a lot of people dislike flour blends, but I really think this blend can be used interchangeably with all-purpose flour in most recipes and I can assure you, it definitely works in this one!

So next time you need a special breakfast dish, consider making an Apple Dutch Baby. Your family or guests will surely be impressed.

Hot apple pie filling

Batter poured over hot skillet/apples.

Hot out of the oven and starting to deflate.

An inverted slice of the Dutch Baby.

Gluten Free Dutch Baby Pancake You could skip the fruit altogether, although I think apples and pancakes are a winning combination. Make sure both the oven and the skillet are hot or the pancake will not puff properly.

• about 3 cups apple pie filling (defrosted if necessary)
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup gluten free flour blend
• dash salt
• confectioners’ sugar for dusting, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Pour apple pie filling into 10-12 inch cast iron skillet (You could use another metal, oven-proof dish here) and place in oven until hot, about 10 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and flour blend until smooth. Remove skillet from oven and pour egg mixture over the apples. Return to oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.
4. To serve, slice into wedges (I like to invert the slices so the apple side is up) and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Breakfast gluten free dutch baby, gluten free german pancake

A frittata is the perfect weekend breakfast or brunch dish. It would be a great choice for Mother’s day as it is fancier than scrambled or fried eggs, but easier than a quiche.

I wanted something a bit special, so I chose the combination of spinach and pancetta. Pancetta is Italian cured pork belly, similar to bacon. I had no problem locating a brand in my supermarket clearly labeled gluten-free.

Uncooked pancetta.

Wilted spinach with bell pepper and pancetta.

A slice of frittata.

Spinach and Pancetta Frittata

I cooked this in a cast iron pan, but if you don’t have and oven-proof skillet you could change step 5 & 6 and assemble it in a pie plate and bake in the oven. However, this might add couple of minutes to the cooking time.

• 3 oz pancetta, diced
• 10-12 oz fresh spinach
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
• 6 large eggs
• 2 Tb heavy cream or whole milk
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, cheddar or favorite cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a cast iron skillet, over medium heat cook pancetta until crisp and browned, stirring often; this takes about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove pancetta from pan and remove all put 1 tsp drippings (it may not be necessary to do this step, it just depends on how fatty the pork is).
3. Add the spinach to the pan and continue to cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted; this only takes a few minutes. Spoon off any extra liquid if necessary.
4. Stir in cooked pancetta and bell pepper and cook an additional minute or until pepper is slightly softened
5. In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, cream, and salt and pepper and pour over the spinach mixture; tilting pan so that the eggs evenly cover the spinach mixture.
6. Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake in oven for 10-14 minutes or until puffed and set in the center.
8. Cut the frittata in wedges and serve hot or at room temperature.

Breakfast spinach and pancetta frittata

Frittatas are very similar to quiches and omelets, but much less fussy. No crust to make, no ingredients to carefully fold in. And they reheat well.

I came across a recipe for mini frittatas from Giada and I just had to try them as they contained no flour. Although her recipe made tiny appetizer-sized frittatas, I opted to cook mine in my whoopie pie pan. This made them fitting for a main dish; we had them for dinner with some fruit and a green salad, but they would be great for breakfast or lunch too.

I love that this is a very basic frittata recipe, feel free to change up the ingredients to your liking. I think the possible combination of meats, vegetables, herbs and cheeses are nearly infinite; and would be a great way to use up some leftovers. Make sure you chop the meats or veggies very small though, especially if using a mini-muffin tin.

Individual Frittatas

• vegetable oil or cooking spray
• 8 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 1%)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 ounces thinly sliced ham, chopped (I used leftover spiral ham, 4 oz measured almost 1 cup)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 TB chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves

1. Preheat oven to 375. Oil 2 mini muffin tins (each with 24 spaces) or 2 whoopie pie pans (each with 12 spaces).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Stir in ham, cheese and parsley. Fill prepared pans almost to the tops.
3. Bake in preheated oven until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center; about 8-10 minutes for the mini-muffin pan and 12-15 for the whoopie pie pan.
4. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide onto a platter. Serve immediately. (We also reheated leftovers in a 350 oven for about 5 minutes; still tasted great the next day this way!)

Breakfast Giada's mini frittatas, gluten free frittatas, individual frittatas

I have a fruit salad recipe that my family loves. It is slightly sweetened so it works as a dessert, but we usually eat it as a side dish for breakfast or lunch. I originally got this recipe from my sister, but it contained flour, so I had to make some adjustments.

I love that this salad tastes great, yet is very simple; an older child who likes to cook can definitely make this with very little or no assistance. It can be made the day before, but I would add the bananas right before serving to prevent them from getting brown and mushy.

Creamy Fruit Salad

Don’t feel constrained by the fruits listed below. It is really the sauce that makes it special, so use whatever fruit you have on hand or prefer as long as you have 7-8 cups total.

• 1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained -juice reserved
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 TB cornstarch
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 bananas, sliced
• 2 (11 ounce) cans mandarin orange segments, drained
• 3 medium apples, chopped (peeling is optional)
• 1/2 pound seedless grapes, halved

1. Place reserved pineapple juice in a small saucepan and add sugar, cornstarch and egg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. If the egg gets “scrambled” during this process, don’t worry, you can just pour the hot sauce through a kitchen strainer and all will be well. Allow sauce to cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine all the fruit and pour cooled sauce over; toss gently, making sure to evenly coat the fruit. Chill before serving.

Breakfast, Desserts, Salads, Sauces & Dressings gluten free creamy fruit salad, gluten free fruit salad

I always thought I hated hash browns, but my husband kept asking me to make them. Homemade ones seem to get crisp and burned on the outside, and weird and mushy in the middle. For years I kept trying to make hash browns with little success.

A few years ago I read a Cook’s Illustrated article on the topic. For starters, you have to squeeze all the excess water from the shredded potatoes. This is probably the most important step.

You also only want to flip the hash browns once, and not before it is nice and browned. This keeps the hash browns together and gives a nice texture. Don’t be intimidated by the method in this recipe that call for flipping the potatoes, it really works and it sounds much harder than it actually is.

Finally, homemade hash browns that taste great. And now that we have to eat gluten free, they are great for a weekend breakfast (and they’re inexpensive as well).

Cooked Hash browns

Hash Browns cut into wedges and ready to eat

Homemade Hash Browns

• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and grated (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 Tb grated onion, optional
• 1 Tb fresh minced parsley or chives, optional
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tb butter

1. Wrap the grated potatoes in a kitchen towel and squeeze the excess moisture out. Place potatoes in a bowl and toss with onion, salt, pepper and herbs, if using.
2. Melt 1/2 Tb butter in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to brown; swirling to coat bottom of pan.
3. Scatter the potatoes evenly into the skillet and press firmly. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until dark golden brown and crisp on the first side, about 8 minutes (I set the timer).
4. Slide the hash browns onto a large plate, then invert it onto a second plate so that the browned side is facing up.  Add the remaining 1/2 Tb butter to the pan and melt. Slide the hash browns back into the pan, browned side up. Cook over medium heat until the second side is golden crisp, about five minutes longer. Slide the hash browns onto a plate or cutting board and cut into wedges.

Breakfast, Sides cook's illustrated hash browns, homemade hashbrowns

I really wanted to figure out how to make scones gluten free. I figured having a good scone recipe could come in handy for entertaining or a child’s tea party. I have seen a few recipes, but they had a lot of ingredients.

Personally, I hate recipes with twenty ingredients. Not only do you have to gather all those things and put them away, chances are you’ll have to make a trip to the store.

I wanted to find a reliable scone recipe that wasn’t too sweet and sugary and wasn’t too complicated. I went to one of my favorite sources, the people at America’s Test Kitchen. These are the same people from Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines, and they have a show on PBS, America’s Test Kitchen. If you like cooking and really knowing why recipes work, this is a show to watch.

I adapted their Cream Scone recipe and it worked very well. It has a few steps, but they weren’t hard, and I pictured them below so you could see how easy it really is.

I added dried cranberries and orange zest, but I think you could really stir in any dried fruit or even some chocolate. They would, or course, also be could without any additions and topped with preserves or lemon curd.

The  dough after needing a few times on the counter.

The dough pressed into a round, floured pan.

The dough, turned out of the pan and cut into wedges.

The scones ready to bake.

The scones ready to eat!

Gluten Free Cream Scones

Resist the urge to eat these hot out of the oven; I learned the hard way that the texture really improves as they cool.

• 2 cups of your favorite gluten free flour blend (I used the Brown Rice Flour Blend given below)
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum, if not in your flour blend
• 3 TB sugar
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 TB butter, chilled and cut into cubes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2-3/4 cup nuts or dried fruit, optional
• 1 tsp citrus zest, optional
• cornstarch for dusting pan

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425.
2. In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. Scatter the butter over the top and pulse until the mixture resembles a course cornmeal; about 12 pulses.
3. Add any dried fruits or nuts and pulse once to combine.
4. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and stir in cream with a rubber statula until the dough begins to resemble a dough; about 30 seconds.
5. Turn the dough out onto counter, I used a silpat mat, and knead a few times to form a slightly sticky ball..
6. Press the dough into a  8 or 9-inch cake pan that has been liberally dusted with cornstarch. Unmold the dough and cut into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on a cookie sheet, I used a silpat-lined baking pan.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until scones are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes; serve warm or at room temperature.

Brown Rice Flour Blend

• 2 cups Brown rice flour (Authentic Foods Superfine)
• 2/3 cup Potato starch (not potato flour)
• 1/ 3 cup Tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1. Place all ingredients in a resealable bag or container; close and shake to combine. You can also try to place in bowl and stir, but I find this make a huge mess.
2. Make sure to shake vigorously before measuring the flour. It seems to really settle and doesn’t measure accurately unless shaken first.

Breads, Breakfast, Gluten Free, Snacks america's test kitchen scones made gluten free, gluten free cream scones, gluten free scones