I have managed to remove most of the dairy and refined sugar from the recipe without any complaints. However, I have kept powdered sugar in the glaze/frosting, and that seems to please everyone’s taste buds.

My son requests these for breakfast quite frequently, but I try to limit it to once a month. I don’t want to make them too often, or it won’t seem like a special treat anymore.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Almond Milk, warmed
1 Tbsp Yeast
2 Tbsp Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks, softened
1/4 Cup Coconut Crystals (or other sweetener)
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Grapeseed Oil (or other cooking oil)
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups (9 oz.) Pamela’s Baking Mix
1-1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum

Filling:
1/2 Cup Coconut Crystals
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Glaze:
3/4 Cup (3 oz.) Powdered Sugar
1 Tbsp Almond Milk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Prepare an 8″ cake pan by spraying lightly with oil, or line with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the warm almond milk with the yeast and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the vegan “butter” with the 1/4 Cup coconut crystals. Then, add the egg, oil, and vanilla, and mix. Add the yeast and milk mixture, and continue mixing until thoroughly combined. Next, add Pamela’s Baking Mix and xanthan gum. Mix the ingredients again, until the dough is combined well and starts to pull together.
5. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Top with plastic wrap and roll out the dough to about a 16″x14″ rectangle.
6. Remove the plastic wrap and cover the dough evenly with the filling.
7. Lifting the edge of the parchment paper on a long side of the dough, begin rolling the dough into a log shape, peeling off the paper as you roll the dough.
8. Cut the dough log into nine equal rolls. I find this easiest to do by cutting into thirds and then each third into thirds.
9. Place the rolls, cut side down, into the greased pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
10. While the rolls are baking, mix up the glaze.
11. Once the rolls have baked, drizzle or spread the glaze on top of each roll while they’re still hot.

Additional Notes:

• Instead of a greased cake pan, use cupcake liners and bake the rolls on a cookie sheet.
• You can use plastic wrap instead of parchment paper.
• Adjust the glaze to your liking by using more or less liquid. The amounts I have listed above make a thick frosting. You can also use orange juice instead of almond milk to give it a slight citrus flavor.
• If nine cinnamon rolls just isn’t enough for you, double the recipe and bake them in a 9″ x 13″ pan for 25-30 minutes.
• Make ahead. You can mix up the dough the night before you want to serve them. Make sure to cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, pull out the dough and continue with step 5.

More Cinnamon Roll Recipe Ideas:

• Kim makes a gluten-free Cinnamon Bun Cake at Cook It Allergy Free
• Lisa at Extraordinary Life makes large gluten-free cinnamon rolls like you find at Cinnabon 
• Angela makes gluten-free, dairy-free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls at Once a Month Mom

**For more Slightly Indulgent recipes, visit Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free, where Amy has a link-up with healthy recipes from around the web.
**Visit Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker for more gluten-free recipes.

It’s not sticky like caramel corn, but it is a little crunchy, a little sweet, and a little salty. It’s gluten-free and dairy-free (lactose-free and casein-free, too!). Kids and adults are going to LOVE this. I make a big batch because it disappears so quickly.

Caramel Corn Puffs Recipe

Ingredients

12 oz. (2 pkgs) plain, unsweetened whole grain Puffed Corn
1 Cup (2 sticks) Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
1- 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar, lightly packed
1/2 Cup Agave or Honey
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Sea Salt, finely ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250º F.
2. Pour plain Corn Puffs into a large roasting pan, or onto two large baking sheets with sides, and set aside.
3. In a 3- or 4-quart sauce pan, combine vegan buttery sticks, brown sugar, and agave syrup. Over medium-high heat, bring it to a boil and and let it continue to boil for 5 minutes.
4. Carefully pour in the vanilla and baking soda. This will cause it to bubble up, so watch it carefully and stir quickly.
5. Remove it from the heat and quickly pour the mixture over the corn puffs in the roasting pan. Gently stir the corn puffs so that all are covered with the caramel mixture.
6. Put the corn puffs in the oven and bake at 250º F for a total of 60 min, taking it out of the oven and stirring every 15 minutes to make sure every piece gets baked evenly.
7. After 60 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle sea salt on the corn puffs while they’re still warm. Stir, cool, and enjoy!

Additional Comments

• You can store this in airtight containers on the counter for a week, without losing any quality of taste. (Maybe longer, but that is as long as I can keep it on the counter without eating every last piece.)
• Make sure the puffed corn you purchase is gluten-free. Some brands may have cross-contamination warnings.
• Add some nuts, or other ingredients to make it a trail-mix treat.

*Find more healthy snacks and recipes at Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
*Find more gluten-free snacks and recipes at Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.

I’ve already shared the rubber duckies and ghosts I’ve made in the past. Now, I’m sharing some that are more appropriate for this season: Snowmen and Christmas Trees!

Basic Meringue Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites (at room temperature)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
food coloring (optional)
1/2 Cup superfine sugar
candy for decorating (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200° F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites until they become foamy little bubbles. Add the cream of tartar, almond extract, and food coloring. Continue beating at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add in the sugar while beating until smooth and glossy and stiff peaks form.
3. Fill a piping bag with open or large round tip. (I used Wilton disposable decorating bags.) If you don’t have these, you can simply use a zip-style plastic bag and cut the tip off a corner to squeeze out the meringue.
4. Next add candy to finish the look.
5. Place in the oven and bake for 2-3 hours. (Smaller, thinner cookies will bake/dry out in 2 hours. Larger, fluffier cookies will need more time or they will be sticky on the bottom.)
6. Let them cool on the cookie sheets.
7. Place them on a plate to serve, or store in an airtight container.

Snowman Notes:

• For the snowmen, I started by squeezing out a round shape of meringue for the head then moved to the middle and bottom to finish it.
• I used Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips for the eyes and buttons, and cut up Tootsie Roll Midgees for the boots. I’m thinking now that I should’ve cut out some hats, too. What would Frosty be without a hat?
• For the “carrot” nose on the snowmen, I used orange colored Jimmies.
• I was able to make 15 snowmen from one recipe.

Christmas Tree Notes:

• For the Christmas Trees, I started squeezing out the meringue at the top of the tree. Then, I made diagonal zigzags to finish the shape.
• I tried two different sprinkles for the ornaments/lights on the trees – Rainbow Sprinkles and Rainbow Sparkling Sugar. I think I like them best plain.
• For the star/diamond on the top of the tree, I didn’t have any star-shaped candies or sprinkles. Instead I cut mini marshmallows into thirds then covered with yellow sugar for the star/diamond on the tree. I gave the ends a little squeeze to make them diamond-shaped.
• My kids thought the trees needed trunks, so I cut up Tootsie Roll Midgees into quarters.
• I was able to make 20 Christmas Trees from one recipe.

**Be creative and use whatever extra candy you have. These Jumbo Star Sprinkles would be great to use for stars on top of the tree. You could also use mini M&Ms for the snowman buttons, or large ornaments on the trees.

More Meringue Cookie Recipes:

• Carol’s Chocolate Cherry Cloud Cookies at Simply…Gluten-Free
• Shirley’s Coconut Meringue Cookies at Gluten Free Easily
• Zoe’s Crispy Crunchy Meringue Cookies made with honey instead of sugar at Z’s Cup of Tea
• Celiac Family’s Rubber Duckies Meringue Cookies and Raspberry Divinity Tarts
• Celiac Family’s Ghost Meringue Cookies

Ghost Meringue Cookies

Raspberry Divinity Tarts

Rubber Duckie Cookies

Review Even More Great Recipes at: 

• Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker where you’ll find more gluten-free recipes. The theme this month is chocolate, so you may find lots of GF chocolate recipes this week!
• Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free where you’ll find more great recipes that are a little healthier.

I made a batch of these mini muffins a few weeks ago for two reasons. One, I was getting bored with our breakfast routine. And two, I thought I would freeze some for school mornings when I needed to serve a quick breakfast. Well, I never got around to freezing them because they disappeared so quickly. So, the next week I made another batch, and still couldn’t get them into the freezer fast enough. The kids gobbled them up for breakfast and after-school snacks. In two days they were gone. So, I guess I’m going to have to bake more, and double the recipe next time.

Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Cup mashed, ripe Bananas (about 2 bananas)
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Coconut Nectar (or other sweetener)
1/4 Cup Grapeseed Oil (or other cooking oil)
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Cups (9 oz./250 g) Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup mini Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Prepare a Mini Muffin Pan by spraying with oil, or using paper liners.
2. Mash bananas in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, coconut nectar, oil, and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly combined.
3. Add Pamela’s Baking Mix and salt, and continue to beat.
4. Mix in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop scoops of about 1-1/2 Tbsp of batter into the prepared muffin pan, or until each cup is about 2/3 full.
6. Bake at 375° F for 10 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then finish cooling directly on a wire rack.

Additional Notes:

•  Makes about 3 dozen mini-muffins, depending on how full you fill the cups.
• For simplicity, I used Pamela’s Baking Mix for the flour. Pamela’s mix already contains baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum. So, if you’re going to attempt this recipe with other flours, I would suggest adding a little bit of each of those.
• I have now made this recipe several times using different sweeteners – honey, coconut nectar, and agave. I’m happy to say that they all turned out delicious. I’m sure that sugar would work, too, but I didn’t even feel the need to try it.
• If your family doesn’t eat them as quickly as mine, put them in a sealed container or bag in the freezer. Because they’re small, they thaw quickly on the counter. Or, just pop them into the microwave for a warm treat.

When I was speaking with my daughter’s teacher last week, she told me that she likes to use play dough in the classroom. I told her that it would be a problem for my daughter, but that I’d be happy to make some gluten-free play dough for the class. For some classes in the past, I’ve purchased pre-made play dough, and my kids have just used their own personal supply of gluten-free play dough. But, I’ve also made play dough for the whole class to use. I’ve done well with the Kool Aid recipe below without problems, but I didn’t have the Kool Aid needed. And, I often had to add a lot of cornstarch to it after it cooked.

I decided to adjust the recipe to make it easier and faster to make. After one completely disastrous attempt, I came up with a recipe that was absolutely the easiest and fastest I’ve ever made. I kept Cream of Tartar in the recipe, but found that Xanthan Gum wasn’t needed. Five minutes of measuring and mixing, three minutes of cooking, and another five minutes of kneading in the color resulted in hours of fun! And, the texture was perfect – just like you would expect homemade play dough to be.

Easiest Gluten-Free Play Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Cup White Rice Flour
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
1/2 Cup Salt
1 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
1-1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 Cup Water, hot but not boiling
Food Coloring, as desired

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium pot.
2. Add the vegetable oil, then the water, and continue to mix until thoroughly combined.
3. Heat the pot on the stove over low heat for about 3 minutes. I like to stir frequently with a silicone spatula.
4. When the dough starts to pull away from the sides easily, turn out the dough onto parchment paper. Let it cool briefly until you can work it with your hands.
5. Knead food coloring into the dough until you get the color you desire.

Additional Notes:

• Don’t overcook the dough. It shouldn’t need more than five minutes.
• To add food coloring, I use the method I’ve used since I was a kid: Using your thumbs, make a well in the middle of the ball of dough and drop the food coloring into the well. Close up the well with the outside dough, keeping the food coloring in the middle of the ball. Then, carefully begin kneading it until the color is evenly distributed throughout the dough.
• You don’t have to use the parchment paper. The dough shouldn’t be sticky. I use the parchment paper to simply keep residue and food coloring off my counter top. Wax paper or a plate would work just as well.
• If needed, adjust the texture with small amounts of water (for dry, crumbly dough) or cornstarch (for sticky dough).
• Makes about 2 cups of play dough, or about 2 baseball-size balls of dough.
• Store in tightly sealed plastic bags or containers.

_______________________________________________________________________

Original Post January 28, 2009

We’re on our second snow day at home and the kids were happy to pull out the play dough for something to do. I was amazed that it was still good. It’s been a couple months since we’ve played with it, and about 9 months since we first made it! We’ve tried several recipes for play dough, but this one is our favorite. The Kool-Aid gives it a nice scent and additional color. You can use the additional cornstarch to adjust the consistency as needed. We store different colors in zip-type plastic bags and put them all together in a plastic bucket with a lid.

Gluten-Free Play Dough Recipe

Ingredients:

2/3 Cup rice flour
1/3 Cup potato starch or cornstarch
1/3 Cup salt
2 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 Tbsp Cream of Tartar
1 pkg unsweetened Kool-Aid
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Cup warm water

Additional food coloring optional
Extra potato starch or cornstarch for kneading dough – We use a lot to get a preferred consistency.

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the rice flour, potato starch or cornstarch, salt, xanthan gum, Cream of Tartar and Kool-Aid powder.
2. Add the oil and the warm water to the flour mixture and mix well. (If you want to add food coloring, mix it first with the warm water.)
3. Heat the mixture on medium heat for about one minute or until the mixture thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat.
4. Turn the dough out onto a cornstarch-floured surface or parchment paper.
5. Knead in enough potato starch until the dough is no longer sticky.
6. Store in an airtight container or bag when not in use.

Notable Links:

• Don’t want to make it? Try Colorations Gluten-Free/Wheat-Free Dough at Discount School Supply.

It was such a busy summer that I never got around to sharing this birthday cake idea with you. My son loves Hot Wheels! His love of cars started at a very early age, and by the time he was three years old could tell me which cars were Hot Wheels as opposed to any other brand of toy car. I created a Hot Wheels monster truck cake for him when he turned 5, so I wasn’t expecting to make another Hot Wheels cake for him this year. But, two days before his birthday, he insisted on a Hot Wheels cake. And not just a Hot Wheels cake, but a Hot Wheels race track cake. Huh? Has he been watching Ace of Cakes when I wasn’t around? I loved the creative challenge, but with only two days to figure it out, I figured he’d have to accept whatever I could come up with.

I started going through his Hot Wheels tracks for ideas. I found a fun little track that I thought would be fun to incorporate with it. But, I couldn’t remove all the track pieces from the base and support structure. As I discussed the idea with my husband, he suggested that we just use the regular flexible Hot Wheels track pieces to make our own race track. Well, they seemed a little big for it, but he convinced me he could make a support structure for it. OK. But to be a Hot Wheels track it has to have a loop, right? And wouldn’t it be fun if it went through a tunnel in the cake? So, that’s how the thoughts flowed to come up with this idea. Crazy, I know. But the kids loved it!

I didn’t get pictures of the building process. I was too busy trying to figure out what to do to stop and take a picture. And, I’m really sorry I never got a video of it working. We had to enlarge the tunnel a little, and find the right, low-profile car to make it through the tunnel. The kids at the party all enjoyed giving it a try before we cut the cake. It worked most of the time, though the car got stuck in the frosting a couple times.

More specifics:

I baked two round 9″ cakes. I used Betty Crocker Gluten-Free Cake Mixes and followed the baking directions.

I made Wilton’s recipe for Chocolate Buttercream Icing, and used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa to make it almost black (and deliciously chocolate ).

For the bottom layer cake, I cut a path for the tunnel 3/4 of the way through the middle. (At this point, it looks almost like the letter U.) Then, I frosted the top and inside the tunnel.

For the top layer cake, I cut out another path for the tunnel. Then, I placed the cake on top of the bottom layer. I had to make some adjustments for the tunnel, by cutting a little more here and there so that the cake becomes like a ramp down the middle. After testing it with the track, I frosted the top, sides and inside the tunnel.

For the side of the cake, I tried to keep the decoration simple. I used a plastic chop stick to make indentions along the side of the frosted cake to resemble tire tread.

For the flames: I used simple icing made with powdered sugar and water. (I start with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp water and adjust as necessary.) Then I separated it into three small bowls and used food dye to create red, orange and yellow frosting. I used Wilton’s small round #3 decorating tip to outline the flames. Then, filled in with the different colors as shown in the picture. I used a small knife to spread the frosting to fill in the flames.

For the support of the track, my husband used a yard stick and a dowel rod secured with a nail. The track and clamp are all Hot Wheels pieces I drug out of the toy bin at home. The track had to be high enough to make the loop successfully. It also needed a little support in the middle of the track, so we used a straw taped to the underside of the track and top of the yard stick.

More Great Birthday Cake Ideas:

• Heidi made a show-stopping Monster Truck birthday cake at Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom.
• Heidi also made a fabulous Star Wars Clone Trooper Helmet cake you should check out.
• And, don’t miss Andrea Meyer’s Lego Star Wars Stormtropper Cake at Andrea’s Recipes.
• If you’re looking for a Cars cake, Andrea also built a great Lightning McQueen cake.

I’m also linking this post to Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker, where you’ll find lots of wonderful gluten-free recipes, reviews and ideas.

The second pizza, I pre-baked for only 10 minutes. The crust turned out much better. I decided to use up some leftovers to make a Mexican Pizza. Instead of a traditional tomato pizza sauce, I used salsa. Then I topped it with leftover shredded chicken, black olives and a mixture of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese. The best part about the pizza was the fresh tomato and avocado slices. We placed them on top of the pizza after we removed the pizza from the oven. It was really nice to have the added fresh, raw vegetables on it. Perfect for a summertime pizza.

Mexican Pizza Recipe

Ingredients:

Pizza Crust – Use your favorite or try a Cheese Bread Recipe.
1/2 Cup Salsa – Use your favorite recipe or jarred gluten-free salsa.
1 – 2 Cups Shredded Mexican Chicken
2 Cups shredded cheese (Try cheddar, Monterey Jack, and/or mozzarella.)
1/4 Cup sliced black olives
1 Avocado, sliced
1 tomato, sliced

Directions:

1. Pizza Crust – For the Cheese Bread recipe: Combine the ingredients in a food processor (or mixer), then turn out onto a large piece of parchment paper. Top with plastic wrap and roll or press into a 10-12″ round crust. Remove the plastic wrap and slide the crust (and parchment paper) onto a pre-heated pizza stone. For best results, I pre-baked the crust for 10 minutes.
2. Remove the pizza from the oven and add your chosen ingredients. Start with spreading the salsa (or pizza sauce) on the crust. Then add the chicken, cheese, olives, jalapeños etc. Return the pizza to the oven and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
3. Remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool slightly while you slice the tomato and avocado. Then, top the pizza with the avocado and tomato slices.
4. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Notable Links:

• Recipe for “Chebe” bread or Pao de Chejo from Gluten Free Gobsmacked
• Try The W.H.O.L.E. Gang‘s Quick and Easy Mexican Pizza recipe at GingerLemonGirl.com.
• For more Slightly Indulgent recipes, visit the roundup at Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free.
• You’ll find more gluten-free recipes and ideas at The Gluten-Free Homemaker’s Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

It was a busy weekend for us, and I actually decided last minute what I was making, so I took a short cut and used Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix for the crust. (FYI: The mix can be made egg-free, dairy-free, and peanut-free.) I combined two mixes to make a 16″ pizza crust. Then, I made a simple cream cheese spread to cover the huge sugar cookie crust, and topped it with slices of fresh fruit. It’s a simple and easy dessert, but very satisfying and pretty. You can use whatever fruit you have available. Make a design with the fruit, like I did, or simply pile it all on.

Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Dessert

Ingredients:

Sugar Cookie Dough (2 Cherrybrook Kitchen mixes, 1 Cup margarine, 1/2 Cup rice milk, 5 tsp vanilla)
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 Cup powdered sugar, sifted
Variety of fruit, sliced (I used 3 kiwis, a pint of strawberries and a handful of blueberries.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Make the sugar cookie crust. Follow the recipe as usual for the sugar cookie dough. (I combined two mixes with 1 Cup melted butter, 1/2 Cup almond milk, and 5 tsp vanilla.)
3. Place the dough on a large sheet of Parchment Paper and top with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Then roll, or press, out the dough to a 16″ round. Remove the plastic wrap and slide the parchment paper with dough onto a Pizza Pan or cookie sheet.
4. Place the large cookie dough into the oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until it starts to brown around the edges.
5. Remove the pizza crust from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. The parchment paper will make it easy to slide the crust off the cookie sheet and onto the wire rack.
6. Mix up the cream cheese spread by thoroughly mixing together the cream cheese and powdered sugar.
7. Once the crust is completely cooled, spread the cream cheese/sugar mixture evenly over the top of the crust.
8. Now add the sliced fruit to the pizza. If you are going to make a fun design, I suggest you start in the middle and work your way out to the edges.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until time to serve.

Additional Notes:

• We cut our pizza into 16 large servings.
• Each Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix makes about 20 cookies.
• Feel free to use any variety of fruit: berries, peaches, nectarines, mango, cherries, etc. You can also use bananas, but remember they will brown so add them right before you serve it.
• Want more fruit? Cut thick slices, overlap the fruit, or just pile it all on. Get creative and have fun!
• You can also use canned fruit, but be sure to drain any sauce or liquid completely from it, so it doesn’t make the pizza soggy.
• Some of our family members added a scoop of vanilla ice cream to top their pizza slice. I don’t think it needs any topping, but if it sounds good to you, you may also consider topping with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or a simple glaze.
• You don’t have to make this as a round pizza. Use a baking sheet/jelly roll pan for the crust. Then, cut into squares for serving. Or, halve the recipe, press it into a 9×13 pan, and bake it for about 15-20 minutes.
• This is such an easy dessert to make, it would be a great project for the kids to make.

Notable Links:

• Cherrybrook Kitchen Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix
• This Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Recipe from scratch makes about 4 dozen cookies, so you should only need to make one batch.
• Visit Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker for more gluten-free recipes and ideas.

I enjoy decorating cakes, but I was short on time this year. Rather than make the cake from scratch, I took the short cuts: Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mixes and frosting. I used four cake mixes. For the bottom layer, I combined two yellow cake mixes and baked them for about 50 minutes in a 9″x 13″ pan. For the top layer I did the same thing with two chocolate cake mixes. I used chocolate frosting between the layers, and vanilla frosting tinted green to cover the top and sides.

Now to decorate. My daughter wanted a Princess and the Frog birthday cake because Tiana is her new favorite princess. I bought the little Princess Tiana dress-up doll set that came with the frogs and firefly to help decorate the cake. That way I could quickly create a swamp and lily pads for the frogs. My daughter was pleased, and I got it done without too much time and drama.

Some of the tools I used to decorate the cake:

• Wilton Color Mist spray – blue and green for the swamp
• Disposable Decorating Bags
• Wilton frosting tips – Open Star Tip to decorate the edge of the cake, Leaf Tip and multiple-hole tip for grass to define the edge of the pond, and round tip for writing.

Want to purchase a gluten-free cake or cupcakes, instead?
Give these bakeries in the DC/MD/NOVA area a try:

• Cakes by Happy Eatery in Centreville and Manassas, VA
• Cherry Blossom Cakes in DC
• Free For All Cupcakes available by special order
• Mallow Drama in Reston, VA
• Sweet Sin Cupcakes in Baltimore, MD

More Notable Links:

• Don’t forget to visit The Gluten-Free Homemaker this week for the Cake Challenge. Lots of great gluten-free cake recipes are linked up.
• Celebrate It! is hosting this week’s All Things Family blog carnival with a roundup of summer party and craft ideas.

.

Chocolate Eggs in a Cookie Basket

Ingredients:

Chocolate Chip Cookie dough (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix.)
Candy-coated chocolate eggs (I used Cadbury Mini Eggs, but you can use M&M’s Chocolate Eggs, too.)

Directions:

1. Mix up chocolate chip cookie dough according to directions, and drop a large mounded tablespoon of dough into each tart impression in the pan.
2. Bake cookies in the tart pan according to the recipe directions.
3. When cooking is done, remove pan of cookies from the oven and press chocolate eggs into the center of each cookie tart. Leave in the pan for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes, gently remove the cookies from the pan by grabbing the edges of the cookies and pulling out with a slight twisting motion. The pan will still be hot, so be careful not to touch it with your fingers!

Additional Notes:

• If the cookies start to come apart while trying to remove, they are probably too soft and warm. Let them cool down for a few more minutes. If the cookies won’t move at all, they are probably too cool. Set them back in the oven for a couple minutes to warm them up. They should now release easily from the pan. (I’ve never had to spray my non-stick pan, but if yours isn’t a non-stick type, you may want to use a non-stick spray before dropping the cookie dough onto the pan.)
• If you can’t get the chocolate eggs, or want to make these for another occasion, try using a different chocolate candy. These are really good with Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cups or Hershey’s Kisses, too!
• One batch makes about 24.

Notable Links:

• For more gluten-free recipes, check out this week’s edition of Gluten-Free Wednesdays at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.
• For more Easter treats, take a look at Celiac Family’s Meringue Duckies and Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.