Strawberry Shortcake

It is strawberry season here in NC! Today was the opening day of a local strawberry patch so Taylor, B, and I went out and picked some beautiful fresh strawberries! We didn't pick enough for jam this time so I decided to make GF strawberry shortcake for dessert.  I used Pamela's GF Baking and Pancake mix to make them.  I love this mix because it is easy and makes everything I love.  I used it to make the BEST coffee cake ever last weekend.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup shortening or butter
1/3 cup milk mixed with 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients.

Cut in shortening or butter with pastry blender or two knives. Work until pieces are the size of peas. Add milk until just mixed.

Turn out onto board well dusted with Pamela’s mix and pat into a rectangle. Don’t squish down, leave as plump as possible. Square up sides with flat edge of knife. Cut into 4 pieces.

Bake on parchment on cookie sheet at 375° for 15 to 17 minutes. Split into top and bottom. Layer with sweetened whipped cream and berries or peaches.

There were a bit crumbly but hit the spot! So fresh and delicious with our hand picked strawberries!

The BEST almond flour chocolate chips cookies (ever)

It is no secret that I have a sweet tooth.  I like to have ice cream after dinner every night.  Sometimes I think lunch should also be followed by dessert.  I LOVE sweets and baked goods.  Since going gluten free it has been hard to find good, let alone tolerable, baked goods.  During pregnancy I gave up on gluten free and just ate to survive.  While my mother-in-law was here following the birth of baby I had a hankering for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  So I made the recipe we used to always make as kids.  It is SOOOO good. I thought "and this is why being gluten free is NOT worth it".  Well, fast forward 6 weeks, and I decided to recommit to being GF so I went in search of an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe that would fill my craving.  I have tried other GF chocolate chip cookies and lets be honest, they suck.  But! When I made these my heart rejoiced for they are almost as good as the real thing.  Careful though, they are just as addicting.  They only last in the house for maybe 3 days.  Here is the recipe! Originally from here.



Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups blanched almond flour
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips of choice
2/3 cup toasted walnuts (optional)

1 cup of oats (this is my addition because I love oatmeal cookies)



Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar. Add the vanilla and eggs, mixing until incorporated.
Mix in the baking soda and salt. Add the almond flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts and oats with a wooden spoon.
Form the dough into tablespoon rounds and place on the lined baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown around edges. Cool and enjoy! These cookies are best enjoyed the day they are baked.

*when they come out of the oven I like to give them a little slap with the spatula to flatten them out so they stay doughy ad chewy in the middle.  Also, they are great frozen!

Nutella Hot Cocoa

Thank you Pinterest for giving me yet another fabulous idea to try.  This hot cocoa is so yummy I've made it several times already!  It's not too sweet, which is just how I like it, and it seriously even better topped with homemade whipped cream.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

1 cup regular unsweetened almond milk
2 1/2 tablespoons of Nutella
1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa
pinch of salt

In a small saucepan heat all the ingredients over medium heat.  Whisk together until smooth and creamy.  Serve in a mug topped with whipped cream or marshmallows.  Enjoy!

Spiced Pear and Pomegranate Salad

If you're looking for a fun new recipe to spice up your holiday meals, then this is the one for you!  Pomegranates, in addition to being delicious, always seem so festive, and are one of my favorite winter fruits.  This salad is super quick to throw together and always gets rave reviews.  The recipe is just a jump off point, as I always use more fruit than it calls for.  Also, if you want to save time and don't care as much for presentation, you can skip peeling the pears; it will still taste delicious.

3 pears, peeled and cut into slices
1 pomegranate, (skin and membrane removed)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Place the pears and pomegranate seeds (arils) in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice.  In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon, then stir into the fruit.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Blueberry Macaroons

These bad boys are one of the few treats Joey can eat on his autoimmune paleo regimen.  Sweetened with dates, these are relatively healthy, yet will even have a three year old asking for more!  Check out the Auto-Immune Paleo blog here for more great recipes and to order the cookbook, it is AWESOME!

Blueberry Macaroons

2 cups fine coconut flakes (unsweetened)
1 cup dates, pitted and soaked in warm water for 5 minutes
1 cup blueberries, frozen
1/4 teaspoon alcohol-free vanilla (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons fine coconut flakes (or more, to roll them in)

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.  Place everything (except the extra coconut to roll them in) in a food processor and process until thick and sticky.  Form into little balls, rolling the coconut flakes for decoration.  Bake on a greased (or parchment papered!) cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes, or until barely golden.

Black Bean Brownies

One of my friends who is not even gluten free introduced me to these yummy treats - and I LOVE when I find a GF recipe that just uses "normal" ingredients instead of all the exotic flours and things that your average person doesn't keep around.  We've made these 5 or 6 times before finally getting a picture; they kept disappearing too fast!

Black Bean Brownies

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 eggs
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
optional 1/2 teaspoon each of baking power and baking soda to make them more cake-like

Mix all ingredients together in a food processor until blended well.  Pour into a greased 8x8 baking pan.  Stir in some chocolate chips or nuts if you so desire.  Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for 30 minutes.  They cut better if you let them cool.

Ginger Snaps

Our mom has the best soft and chewy ginger snap recipe and when I think about not be able to eat them in all their gluten-y goodness it brings tears to my eyes. So today while scouring the web for a GF dessert to make, I stumbled upon a paleo molasses spice cookie but changed it a bit because it had no sugar (whaaaa?) and had some other weird stuff instead of molasses. So here is my version:

  

Ginger Snaps
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger (I threw in a pinch more)
½ teaspoon cinnamon (and I threw in a extra pinch of this)
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup molasses

¼ cup sugar

Combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, ginger and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Stir together the melted butter, sugar, and molasses.
Mix wet ingredients into dry.
Scoop onto parchment paper lined baking sheet 1 tablespoon at a time and gently press.
Bake at 350° for 6-10 minutes.
Cool and serve.

I didn't wait for them to cool completely to start devouring them.  They tasted very close to mom's recipe.  The only difference was the texture.  The almond flour makes them a bit grittier than our normal smooth floury ones.  

Are they as good as the originals? NEVER!

Are they a good substitute for what we really want and can't have? *sniffle* i guess....

Pavlova

This dessert is as delicious as it is beautiful!  It was really quite simple, but looked so elegant.  We loved it.  I found the recipe in the July Good Housekeeping magazine.

Berry and Lemon Pavlova

2/3 c. sugar

1 Tbsp.cornstarch

4 lg. egg whites

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

3/4 c heavy whipping cream

1 c. prepared lemon curd

1 Tbsp. honey

Berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees.  Onto sheet of parchment paper, trace 9-in. circle.  Turn over; use to line cookie sheet.

2. In small bowl, whisk sugar and cornstarch.  With mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.  Add sugar mixture to whites 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating well between additions.  Add vinegar and extracts; beat until stiff peaks form.

3. Transfer whites to parchment circle; spread whites to form nest, with sides higher than center.  Bake 2 hours.  Turn off oven; let stand in oven at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

4. To serve, remove parchment from meringue.  Beat cream on medium high speed until stiff peaks form.  Spread over meringue.  Dollop top with curd; spread evenly.  In large bowl, microwave honey and 1 Tbsp. water on high for 20 seconds.  Stir in berries until well coated.  Spoon over curd.  Serve immediately.

I did add a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar to the cream.  I also omitted the honey because my berries were so sweet!

Super Easy Sweet Sticky Rice w/ Mango

The mangos we've been getting lately have been so sweet and ripe and delicious that I knew we had make this for dessert one night!  There are tons of mango sticky rice recipes out there and I've tried a few different ones, but have decided for the time and effort involved this is simplest way to go if you're in the mood for this flavor combo.

2 cups uncooked sticky rice
4 cups water
1 can coconut milk
1 cup sugar (more or less - adjust to taste)
2-3 ripe mangos (or more if you like lots of mango!)

Bring the water and sticky rice to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until done.  Meanwhile combine the coconut milk and sugar in a bowl large enough to contain the rice.  Once the rice is done, stir it in to the coconut milk sugar mixture.  Let sit, stirring occasionally, until the rice comes to room temperature.  Dice up the mangos, place them on top, and go to town!

Cool Rhubarb Dessert

I love rhubarb.  It's the first thing ready in the garden which is always so exciting after winter!  This recipe is one of my favorite ways to use it, and is different from the strawberry/rhubarb flavor profile you usually see!  As a side note, this is also the first time I've used an all purpose gluten-free flour.  I had to - I wanted the crust, and didn't feel like experimenting with an almond flour option.  Do what you will with it.

Crust
1 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the ingredients, spread in a glass 9x13 baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Rhubarb filling
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
4 cups sliced rhubarb

In a saucepan bring the ingredients to a boil, then simmer five minutes, stirring frequently.  Pour over the crust.  Put in the fridge to chill.

Additional ingredients
vanilla instant pudding (I use the big box b/c we like a thick pudding layer!)
milk - to make the pudding
cool whip or whipped cream
1/4 cup toasted coconut (stir coconut in a pan over medium heat until toasted)

Once the crust/rhubarb layer is chilled, make the pudding according to the package directions and spread over the rhubarb layer.  Spread the cool whip or whipped cream over the pudding layer, and top with the toasted coconut.  Chill until you're ready to serve it!

GF Peanut Butter Cookies

These are not healthy.  They are however gluten-free and delicious!  Seriously though, feed them to your non-GF friends and family and they will love them and never know there isn't a drop of flour in them!  I made a double batch this past weekend for a get-together at our house and they were the first thing gone.  A friend who was there and had tasted of their goodness actually texted me later that night for the recipe so she could make a batch right then.  Who am I kidding, we made another batch that same night because we couldn't get enough of them.  They're that good.  Go make them.  Right now.

1 egg
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the first four ingredients in a bowl.  I think using a hand mixer works best.  Add the peanut butter and mix again.  Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet.  Using a fork, flatten each ball into a cookie shape so you get that classic peanut butter cookie look.  Bake for 11 minutes.

Just after being flattened with the fork, ready for the oven!

Fresh out of the oven

Power Up!

My need for sweets drives my life... usually into guilt-laden activities such as watching tv with a spoon and a half gallon of Blue Bell ice cream, or making a very large self portion of rice krispie treats via the microwave.  After many "why did I do that" thoughts to myself, I decided to find a healthier outlet.  Enter "No-Bake Energy Bites".  (choir of angels singing "aaaaaahhhh")

If No-Bake cookies and cookie dough had a healthy baby, this would be it.  These little "energy bites" or "energy balls," as I have started calling them, as soo delicious and satisfy my dessert/sweets/sugar cravings without any guilt :) I found countless versions of them on pinterest and decided to give them a try. They are super fast to whip up and store.

No-bake Energy Balls

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (depending on your tastes)
1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 cup rolled oats
1/4-1/2 cup of flax seed


Mix the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Then add cocoa powder.  Then add in the oats and flax seed.  Refrigerator for an hour and then roll into bite size balls.  Place balls into an airtight container and store in fridge or freezer.

There are endless variations of these balls.  You can add in chopped nuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut, etc.  Kind of like trail mix in a little ball.

I like to keep mine choco peanut so they are more like a little ball of no bake cookie goodness.  You can eat 2-3 of them for a snack because they are pretty filling or I like to eat one after lunch to soothe my sweet tooth cravings.  Taylor likes to sneak them at breakfast when I am still asleep.  He will come in to give me a kiss before he leaves and I can smell the chocopeanuty goodness on his breath!

Now that I have made them a couple times, I never measure any of the ingredients.  I just kinda pour and mix until I get the combination of flavors and texture that I like.  So experiment, have fun, and don't feel guilty! They are healthy, right? ;)

I Need a Brownie!

Have you ever noticed how often people try to serve you brownies?  I have.  Since I went gluten free last August, I have passed on many, many brownies.  Just this week, there was a tray of mint brownies in the faculty room that I had to keep walking past.  Torture.  Today I had had enough.  I really needed a brownie.  I went on line and spent about an hour looking at different brownie recipes.  The gluten free ones had strange starches and flours and some of the paleo ones had some interesting ingredients, such as sweet potatoes.  I almost gave up.  I checked the Wheat Belly Cookbook and his recipe sounded closer to our traditional recipe than the others, so I decided to give it a try.  It calls for bittersweet chocolate.  I could only find some old bars of semisweet in the back of the cupboard--I didn't dare check the expiration date--but by this point I was desperate.   The brownies were amazing!

 Mocha Walnut Brownies

8 ounces bittersweet (85% cacao) chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup butter

2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (I did not add this.)

1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia 

4 eggs

1/4 cup canned coconut milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons coconut flour

1/4 cup ground golden flaxseeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" X 9" baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine the chocolate and butter.  Microwave on high power for 1 minute, stirring once halfway through the cooking time.  If not completely melted, microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until melted.  Stir in the espresso powder (if using) until completely melted.

Add the stevia.  (My grocery store did not have stevia when I looked, so I used 1/2 cup of sugar.)

Add the eggs, one at a time, blending well after each egg.  Stir in the coconut milk and vanilla.

Stir in the walnuts, coconut flour, and flaxseeds until well blended.

Pour into the pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  (Mine needed 10 extra minutes--I may have been using an 8" X 8" pan.")

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Over the past couple of weeks Joey has mentioned a few times that he misses chocolate chip cookies.  When my Wheat Belly Cookbook arrived this week I knew that was one of the first recipes I wanted to try.  Chocolate chip cookies that weren't super unhealthy seemed too good to be true!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup sour cream or coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon liquid stevia
10 ounces bittersweet or dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In  large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter or coconut oil, sour cream or coconut milk, vanilla, and stevia.  Stir into the flour mixture just until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto the baking sheet.  Using a spoon or glass, press each cookie to 1/2" thickness.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.  Remove to a rack to cook completely.

My Take: This was my first time baking a treat without using 'normal' sugar, so that was kind of strange.  I used the Sweet Leaf brand of liquid stevia.  I also went with the butter and sour cream option since I wanted to see how close to traditional cookies they would taste.  When the batter was mixed up, Jenna and I tasted it to see how it was, and surprisingly it tasted like cookie dough!  Little different texture due to the almond flour, and not quite as sweet as my glutenous recipes (which I could have adjusted by adding more stevia) but yummy!  If a three year old wants to eat it by the spoonful, what better endorsement do you need?!
I used my cookie dough scoop to load up the baking sheet, and tried flattening the cookies with both a glass and a spoon.  The spoon definitely worked better.  They looked like cookies going into the oven, I just hoped they tasted like them when they came out!  While they were baking they smelled awesome, and they came out golden.  The best part: they tasted delicious!  I did cut the baking time down a few minutes on the next batch and they turned out even better.

I ate a couple warm out of the oven and was surprised at how filling they were.  I froze a bunch of them to last for the next couple of weeks.  15 seconds in the microwave and they are good as new! 

A word of caution however:  although they aren't terrible for you like normal gluteny, sugary cookies, you still won't feel good if you eat upwards of 10 or so of them (big shocker, right).  Moderation in all things, Joey!!  Oh well, some people never learn.

Let Them Eat Cake

We had friends over for dinner this past weekend and it provided the perfect opportunity to try out a coconut flour cake recipe from Tropical Traditions that I've had my eye on. 

Coconut Flour Chocolate Cake

• 1 cup butter - softened
• 1 2/3 cups sugar (white or brown, I used brown)
• 10 eggs (at room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups coconut flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk or half n' half (I used whole milk)
• Coconut oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9 inch or 8 inch layer pans with coconut oil and dust with cocoa powder.

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar, and beat together for about 2 minutes. Add eggs in one at a time and beat high speed for about 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla while beating the eggs and butter mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients together and add alternately with the milk to the butter mixture. Beat batter for about five minutes on high speed. Spoon batter into the two prepared cake pans and smoothen out tops.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Place pans on wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool cakes completely before frosting. Use your favorite frosting to frost the cake.

Cupcakes: Make recipe as directed but spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for about 26-30 minutes. Frost after cupcakes have cooled completely. Makes about 24 cupcakes.

Cooling cakes - they barely fit in the 8 inch rounds!

Now I don't know about you, but I'm usually a cake mix kind of girl, ok, I'm always a cake mix kind of girl.  Before going gluten free I always used a mix, even if I enhanced it with things like pudding and extra eggs, so baking an entire cake from scratch was a whole new experience for me!  Miraculously, everything seemed to go as it was supposed to and the cakes looked and smelled awesome coming out of the oven.  It was only when I went to frost them that things took a turn for the worst.

To frost the cake I wanted to use a chocolate cream cheese cake filling recipe that our family has used for years and years.  Delicious and simple.  Over the holidays we substituted real whipping cream for the called for Cool Whip and the results were spectaular, not to mention made with real ingredients!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Cake Filling

• 3-4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 ounces Cool Whip (use real whipping cream, WAY better!)
• 1 cup chocolate chips (use semi-sweet, otherwise it can be too sweet)

Melt chocolate chips carefully in the microwave.  Do not overheat!!

Add room-temp cream cheese and beat well.

Add vanilla and Cool Whip, beat together

Use as filling between layers of a chocolate cake.  Or if you're like me and use a full two cups of heavy whipping cream prior to whipping it up, use it to frost the whole stinkin' cake!  Just store it in the fridge, duh.

So I whipped up my 2 cups of whipping cream with a little powdered sugar and vanilla, perfect.  I had my cream cheese softened and ready for action.  I went to my cupboard and had exactly one cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips left in the bag.  Everything was set for quick and easy cake assembly.  Then I microwaved the chocolate chips.  Now in the recipe when it says "Do not overheat!!"  it means it!  In no time flat I scorched my cup of chocolate chips.  Melted chocolate with grainy black burnt pieces mixed throughout.  Disaster.  But all was not lost - I still had some milk chocolate chips.  I quickly put those in my other 1 cup glass measuring cup and microwaved them on super low power in short time increments.  Was the frosting saved?  No, not even close.  Somehow I ruined those as well.  They didn't even melt, like at all, just turned into a rock hard mass in the middle of the measuring cup.  Uber-disaster.  Note to self, do not heat chocolate in glass, it gets too hot.  And remember that the brand new microwave cooks WAY hotter than the old one!  And this was supposed to be the easy part!  People were coming over, my whipping cream was just sitting on the counter waiting and waiting, and I had nothing but burned chocolate.  Epic fail.  There might have been tears. 

Luckily Joey stepped in and saved the day, running to the store to buy me more semi-sweet chips, which I melted in a stoneware bowl on a low setting.  Somehow the frosting came together perfectly despite my worry that the whipped cream had sat too long and crisis was averted!  It looked good, it tasted good, and I have to admit I was quite pleased with myself.  It is a little drier than cake mix cakes, but I think all homemade cakes are, and quite frankly I wouldn't have guessed it was gluten free and made with coconut flour except for the fact that I made it.  Would definitely make again!

Epilogue: I've been eating large slabs of cake for 4 days now.  It is still delicious, and very filling!  I don't feel guilty - all those eggs make it healthy, right?!



Coconut Flour Crepes - YUM!

One of the hardest things about going GF for me has been breakfast.  Don't get me wrong, I love my oatmeal, but it's got nothing on a big weekend breakfast of pancakes, waffles, crepes, and other gluten-laden goodies that I used to make when I had more time on a weekend morning.  I can't even tell you my excitement when I stumbled upon a GF crepe recipe here last week.  Naturally, I tried it out this past weekend.

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• Stevia liquid drops, to taste (about 10 drops)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (can substitute almond extract)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
• small pinch of nutmeg
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup whole milk (can substitute regular coconut milk)
• 1-1/2 cups blueberries (or other berries)
• Whipped cream

In a medium bowl with a wire whisk, beat together the eggs, oil, stevia, vanilla, and salt. Mix in sifted coconut flour, nutmeg and cinnamon; stir in milk.

Heat an 8-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, melt a tiny pat of butter, coconut oil or palm shortening in the pan. Pour 1/8 cup of batter in the skillet and swirl around in pan until a thin layer of batter covers the bottom. The crepe should be about 6-inches in diameter.

Cook 1-2 minutes, or until batter is bubbly and cooked around the edges. Flip the crepe and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes more, or until done.

Fill the crepes with the berries, top with a little whipped cream, and if you wish a light dusting of coconut flour.

Makes about 6 crepes.

My Take:  Now if you're anything like me, the first thing you probably noticed was that it is supposed to make 6 crepes.  6 crepes!?  That's not even enough for me!  Well that's what I thought when I read the recipe, so the first thing I did was double it.  I also cut out any stevia/sugar since I never used to add any to the batter when making normal gluten-filled crepes.  In my opinion, pancake/waffle/crepe recipes should not need sugar since most anything you put on them is sweet.  Just me.  The batter behaved a lot like normal crepe batter, but it did take a little longer to cook and they seemed a little more delicate in the flipping process.  The finished product however acted just like any crepe should, and was absolutely delicious filled with strawberries, cinnamon sugar, or any other topping you can think of.  The only problem I ran into was that even with a head start I couldn't make them as fast as Joey and Jenna could eat them and we were all sad when the batter ran out.  Pleasantly satiated, but still sad.  Next time, I'm either tripling the batch, or making them when no one else is around!