{Gluten Free} Butterscotch Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Cranberries

Never in a million years did I think that one day I would be standing in my kitchen with organic coconut sugar and gluten free flour. Five years ago I didn’t even know that there were “organic” foods or “gluten free” foods or any of that. All I knew was “food”. My oh my how things have changed in the past 5 years.

I first attempted gluten free baking/dessert making when my brother’s girlfriend found out that she had Celiac Disease. We had a few other family members before her that had found out that they had Celiac Disease but I never had to bake for them. Baking gluten free was/is a whole new world for me. Reading labels 1,000% more carefully, making sure to only use gluten free items, worrying about the taste, worrying about how it would come out and worrying if it would still make them sick. I get freaked out over regular baking haha, gluten free baking takes me to a whole new level of freak out.

When I found out that Ricki from RickiHeller.com had a new cookbook coming out that was packed with recipes that were Naturally Sweet and Gluten-Free, I jumped at the chance to take a look at it and get some more inspiration for my new quest to “make things that Meghan can eat”! This cookbook has over 100 gluten-free, allergy free, natural sweet dessert recipes! I chose these Butterscotch Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Cranberries for my review.

I personally thought that turned out pretty well for someone that doesn’t do a lot of gluten free baking (that would be me haha). They kind of had the texture of cookie cake (which I LOVE), I could taste the chocolate and the tartness from the cranberries and hints of butterscotch throughout them. They had a bit of sweetness but definitely were not super sugary sweet like some desserts. Also I didn’t have this enormous amount of guilt hanging over my head from eating something “packed with sugar”! Love that!

I got to ask Ricki a few questions about her cookbook and diet and loved getting her answers! I’m sharing them with you here!

#1. What made you want to stick to a vegan diet? Have you always eaten that way or was it an adjustment?

Ricki : As far as I can remember, I’ve always been naturally drawn toward vegan cuisine, and it’s the kind of food that has appealed to me the most. Ironically, my dad owned a butcher shop, so our family ate meat every day when I was a kid! By the time I went away to university, my diet was about 90% vegan food, even though I had never even heard the word “vegan”!

As I learned more about veganism over the years, and especially after studying to become a holistic nutritionist, I made a conscious choice to continue eating a vegan diet in a more balanced way. It’s the diet I enjoy most, and the one I feel healthiest and most comfortable following—both physically and philosophically.

When I was diagnosed with candida (an overgrowth of yeast in the body) several years ago and told I would have to give up all sugars (including fruit for a time) as well as gluten and several other foods—well, that was actually much more of an adjustment!

#2. Do you have any certain food allergies? I have a few family members that have to follow a gluten free diet and there are some foods that they really, really miss but can’t have. Do you miss certain foods or have you found ways to make all of your favorite treats fit into your current lifestyle?

Ricki : I’ve never been formally diagnosed with specific food allergies, but I do know from many years’ experience which foods are “trigger foods” for me. For instance, when I eat anything with gluten, I almost immediately begin to feel bloated, I have abdominal pain, and my nose becomes stuffy within minutes! If I consume oats that aren’t gluten-free, the same thing happens, but I’m fine with steel-cut or gluten-free rolled oats. There are a few other foods that have the same effect on me, so I just try to avoid them. Luckily for me, I won’t have an anaphylactic reaction, so it’s just an annoying error if I eat something to which I’m sensitive. But I know that there are lots of people for whom it’s not so easy.

Because I was never a huge fan of bread (I know, I’m weird!), I don’t really miss glutinous bread at all. I find that the few gluten-free breads I buy on occasion satisfy my desire for something “bready” very well. Plus, I tend to bake my own quick breads that I enjoy even more. I was always more of a muffin or scone kind of gal, and I’ve definitely managed to create an array of recipes that have replaced my old standards (there are eight kinds of muffins, five scones/biscuits and four kinds of loaf recipes, plus cinnamon buns, in Naturally Sweet and Gluten-Free—more than enough for me to feel as if I’m not missing out on anything!).

As for sweet treats, I can honestly say there’s nothing I used to eat—from chocolate chip cookies to frosted layer cakes to brownies or butter tarts that I haven’t been able to replicate without gluten, eggs, dairy or refined sugars, so no, I really don’t miss anything. And I’ve found that once you are accustomed to eating sweet treats made with whole-food ingredients, the old standard stuff—if you ever do taste it again—will seem tasteless and lacking substance in comparison. At least, that’s what my husband and I have found for our taste buds.

What would you say is your favorite recipe from the cookbook?

Ricki : Oh, this is a really tough question—mostly because I always think the most recent recipe is my favorite! How about if I give you my top picks?

I’m not only a sweets lover, but also a chocoholic, so one of my favorites is definitely a brownie. While I love all five brownie recipes in the book, my go-to when I’m baking for people who might be skeptical about “healthy” or “allergy-friendly” foods is always the Sweet Potato Brownies. They’re fudgy, dark, dense and just all-around great—and they’ve won over many a friend (and their kids!). If you’re a fan of frosting on your brownies, try the Allergy-Friendly Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, made without grains, dairy, eggs, sugar, nuts, corn or soy, another favorite.

I’m also a huge fan of breakfast and brunch, so I’ve turned to the Carob-Buckwheat Pancakes with Chopped Almonds and Carob (or Chocolate) Chips countless times.

Finally, as a proud Canadian, I can’t help but love the Butter Tarts (a Canuck classic that normally contains butter, sugar, eggs, brown sugar and corn syrup—sort of like pecan pie without the pecans). Imagine a rich, gooey, decadent butter tart–but without gluten, eggs, butter or sugar! That’s the recipe you’ll find in the cookbook. My hubby tells me they taste just like “the real thing,” too.

What was your main reason for wanting to write a dessert cookbook instead of a cookbook of entrees or something along those lines?

Ricki : Well, I’d say there are a few reasons for this choice of subject matter. For most people who switch to a gluten-free diet, baked goods are the most difficult to replace, since they are the foods that rely on flour, our greatest source of gluten. There aren’t that many people who eat wheat berries or rye grain on their own; it’s the flours that generally need to be substituted. And since baking is where we use flour most often, baked goods seemed to be a natural choice for the book if I wanted to provide the most useful recipes to the largest number of people.

In addition, Naturally Sweet and Gluten-Free is my response to so many of my former customers when I ran an organic bakery, as well as to current readers of my blog who deal with food allergies. They’ve been asking for this kind of recipe for several years. For me, there’s nothing quite as gratifying as hearing from a mom who reports that she baked my chocolate layer cake for her daughter’s birthday party and that it was the first time her daughter was able to taste her own birthday cake along with all the other kids. Motivation enough, right there!

Finally, another reason I focused on this kind of recipe is my own penchant for sweet treats and desserts. I just couldn’t imagine not enjoying my favorite goodies any more! So I decided to compile a list of all my favorites, plus many others that incorporate allergy-friendly ingredients along with whole foods and natural sweeteners, for healthy alternatives to all the high sugar and refined flour products out there right now.

I do plan to write more cookbooks in the future focusing on entrees, soups, appetizers, and so on . . . but that’s a ways down the road for now!

Do you have any advice for someone that’s having to switch to an allergy friendly diet, but is having a hard time making the transition?

Ricki : My best advice for people would be to focus on all the great new ingredients and foods you CAN have instead of those you feel you are giving up. I think of it like learning a new language: when I attended French immersion school as a teenager, we were no longer allowed to speak English during school hours. We basically left our old language at the door. Within weeks, I was fluent, and soon thereafter, bilingual. That wouldn’t have happened if I’d continued to compare every word to its English counterpart all day.

It’s the same with a new food vocabulary. Jump right in and immerse yourself in all the wonderful new grains, flours, sweeteners and other ingredients you can eat, and you’ll find that there are dozens of new recipes and foods that you will love as much as, or more than, your old favorites. I’ve discovered so many new foods since I turned to a supposedly “restricted” diet. And I actually now enjoy baking with the incredible variety of gluten-free flours way more than I did baking when I had a choice of just one kind of flour!

—-

For the cookbook, Ricki also says that “the treats are all made with low glycemic sweeteners for people looking to cut sugar from their diets”

So what do you think? I wish that you were here to taste them! Do you cook or bake gluten free? If so, (or if you’re wanting to start) I’ve got a giveaway for you at the end of this post! I’m giving away a copy of Ricki’s new cookbook Naturally Sweet and Gluten-Free! {Look below under the recipe for the giveaway}

I know the ingredients list might make some people a little nervous, but don’t be! I found most of what I needed at my local Walmart. Some things like the lucuma powder and xanthan gum that I couldn’t find there can be found at Whole Foods or online!

{Gluten Free}
Butterscotch Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Cranberries

by Angie Barrett 9-17-2013

Ingredients

1 cup (135 g) Ricki’s All-Purpose Gluten-
Free Flour Mix (see page 22)
¾ cup (75 g) whole oat flour (to make
your own, see page 35)
3 Tbsp (45 ml) lucuma powder
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
½ tsp (2.5 ml) baking soda
¼ tsp (1 ml) fine sea salt
1 tsp (5 ml) xanthan gum (use only
Bob’s Red Mill brand if you are
concerned about a corn allergy)
1/3 cup (25 g) coconut sugar
1 Tbsp (15 ml) water
½ cup (120 ml) coconut nectar
1/8 tsp (.5 ml) pure stevia powder or
¼ tsp (1 ml) pure plain or vanilla
stevia liquid, or to taste
1/3 cup (90 ml) sunflower or other
light-tasting oil, preferably organic
1 Tbsp (30 ml) pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp (1 ml) rum, butterscotch, or brandy
flavoring (optional)
½ cup (100 g) unsweetened carob chips
or dairy-free dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup (80 ml) dried goji berries,
cherries, cranberries, or dried fruit of
your choice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F (170°C). Line an 8-inch (20-cm) square pan with parchment paper, or spray well with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, lucuma powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.

In a large bowl, mix the coconut sugar and water until the sugar begins to dissolve. Add the coconut nectar, stevia, oil, vanilla, and flavoring, if using, until well blended. Gently stir in the chips and gojis (or cranberries).

Pour the dry mixture over the wet ingredients and stir to blend. You will have a thick and sticky batter. Turn the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through baking, until a tester inserted in the
center comes out just barely clean (a moist crumb or two is fine). Take care not to overbake, as these will dry out!

The top may fall a little as it cools; this is fine. Allow to cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

See page 37, storing your baked goods. May be frozen.

Yields: 9 large bars

Recipe re-printed with permission from Ricki Heller and publisher!

You can find Ricki Heller on her blog,Facebook , and on Twitter. You can also purchase her new cookbook here!!