SPONSORED: Pillsbury Gluten Free Muffins—what you’ve been looking for!

If you’re living a gluten-free lifestyle and have been searching for a moist homestyle muffin bursting with flavor, our Pillsbury Gluten-Free Muffins are exactly what you’ve been looking for!

The ready-to-eat muffins are individually wrapped for on-the-go convenience and certified gluten free by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization. Sold in packages of four and available in Blueberry or Chocolate Chip, they can be found in grocers’ all-natural freezer cases.

Our Pillsbury Gluten-Free Fruit Tart will please everyone at your gathering–whether they need to avoid gluten or not.

Ingredients

  • 8 Pillsbury™ Gluten Free Ready to Eat Muffins, Blueberry or Chocolate Chip (2 7-0unce boxes)
  • 3 Tbsp. gluten-free butter or margarine
  • 1 cup gluten-free vanilla frosting (prepared or homemade)
  • 1 small can mandarin oranges, well drained
  • 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
  • 1 pint blueberries, rinsed and dried
  • 12 medium or large strawberries, rinsed and dried (1 whole for center)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

CRUST

  1. Blend 8 Pillsbury Gluten Free Muffins in a food processor (or break apart by hand in a mixing bowl) until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
  2. Add melted margarine and blend well, forming a thick dough.
  3. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Place dough ball on cookie sheet and press evenly into a flat circle about 9 inches wide.
  4. Bake crust for 15-17 minutes, until firm and lightly browned.
  5. Let crust cool completely. Using a metal spatula to help, very gently slide crust from cookie sheet to serving platter (or the crust can be baked on an oven-safe serving plate, avoiding this step).

TOPPING

  1. Spread 1 cup gluten-free frosting over cooled crust, leaving about ½ inch unfrosted at the edge.
  2. Place a whole strawberry in the center of the crust, and begin laying fruits in concentric circles, working your way outward (see photo for an example) until you reach the edge of the frosting.
  3. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve

To find more tasty recipes like this, visit our web-site

www.unclewallys.com and click on our Product Recipe page

© General Mills.  Pillsbury is a trademark of General Mills, used under license

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SPONSORED POST: Healthy Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

The season of indulgence is upon us. But what if you could have all the rich and delicious flavors you love without the dairy, sugar, or guilt? With this Healthy Bananas Foster Bread Pudding recipe, you can! Made with Schär’s new Artisan Baker 10 Grains & Seeds bread, this is a healthy spin on a sweet favorite.

Ingredients

6 slices Artisan Baker 10 Grains & Seeds Bread

2 large ripened bananas, peeled and sliced

13.5 ounces full fat coconut milk

3 eggs

3 tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend

Powdered sugar, if desired

Preparation

  • Lightly grease a 12” x 9” baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Cube the bread slices into bite-sized pieces and scatter them in the prepared dish.
  • Layer the banana slices on top of the bread cubes.
  • In a large measuring jug, combine the coconut milk, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla, and spice blend and whisk together well until it’s all mixed and the eggs are well-beaten.
  • Pour this mixture over top of the cubed bread and bananas, pressing all of them down slightly with a spoon or spatula to ensure all the bread is well covered.
  • Allow to soak for 30 minutes, pressing down if needed. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown,
  • Serve warm or cool with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, if desired.

SPONSORED POST: Cool Gluten Free Desserts for Summer—and All Year Long

Things we know:

  1. Dessert is not a necessity.
  2. Dessert can make a day better.

Gem City Fine Foods has been providing an array of certified gluten free desserts for several years around the country. The 3-inch individual and 6-inch “party” size cheesecakes, cakes, and signature chocolate torte are perfect for summertime, as they can be stored frozen or in the fridge and thawed for a cool treat.

Gem City Fine Foods began as Blossom Fine Foods, a traditional bakery in the Sugarhouse District of Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah, and in 2012 moved to a new location, a SLC suburb—the company is a proud Utah’s Own member—that has always been dedicated and certified gluten free. Flourless Chocolate Torte, a rich, creamy torte topped with a white chocolate swirl, is the all-time favorite, but there are several other desserts to choose from: a Vegan Chocolate Cake (which kids love and is great for parties because even those with gluten and other allergies can enjoy this sweet treat), Carrot Cake, and five different cheesecakes: Triple Berry Streusel, Lemon Zest, Pomegranate, Mocha and (seasonal) Pumpkin—a variety for every dessert-loving taste bud.

Gem City desserts are appealing not only for their variety of flavors, but also because they are made with high quality ingredients and taste so luscious that any discerning dessert lover, whether celiac, gluten free or simply one with a sweet tooth, quickly becomes a fan. And they are ready-made, requiring no more than thaw and serve. You’ll find these desserts in the freezer or grab-n-go at stores around the country, or on Amazon, where your order is shipped frozen direct from the bakery.

Better-for-You Pumpkin Recipes

Fall is here, and it’s time to put all those pumpkins to yummy use. If you crave the seasonal staple but don’t want to consume so much sugar, these recipes from Simple Mills present better-for-you alternatives. Made with nutrient-rich ingredients such as almond flour and coconut sugar, Simple Mills’ mixes are certified gluten free and contain less sugar than competitors.

Mini Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins
Makes 24 muffins

Mini Pumpkin Doughnuts1_framed

ingredients
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons coconut or grapeseed oil*
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 box Simple Mills Pumpkin Muffin Mix
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

* If using coconut oil, make sure that it is melted and cooled enough to hold your fingertip submerged in it. This is a good litmus test for a temperature that won’t cook the eggs.

directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray or lightly grease two mini muffin pans and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the oil and water.

Whisk in the pumpkin muffin mix and beat vigorously until thoroughly incorporated and no clumps remain.

Add a heaping tablespoon of batter to each compartment of the prepared muffin pans.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the tops are domed and firm to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

While the muffins are cooling in the pan, whisk together the coconut sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.

As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, place each one in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, firmly rolling it around so that the cinnamon-sugar sticks. Gently toss it around a couple of times until the whole thing is covered. If you’re having trouble getting the cinnamon-sugar to stick, you can very lightly brush or spray the muffins with melted oil or butter before you dunk them in the cinnamon sugar. Once covered, place each muffin back on the wire rack to finish cooling.

Serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy of A Clean Bake.


Pumpkin Bread with Cranberries, Pecans and Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin Bread1_framed

INGREDIENTS
  • 3 eggs
  • ¾ cup water
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 box Simple Mills Pumpkin Muffin Mix
  • About ¾ cup cranberries
  • Pecans and pumpkin seeds for topping
directions

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Whisk eggs, water and oil in a large bowl. Add baking mix; whisk until well blended.

Fold in cranberries.

Pour batter into a lightly greased 8 x 4-inch loaf pan.

Sprinkle with pecans and pumpkin seeds.

Bake 30 minutes. Then cover loosely with foil; bake an additional 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and edges of loaf start to pull away from pan.

Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.


Pumpkin Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

pumpkin cupcakes_framed

INGREDIENTS
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 box Simple Mills Pumpkin Muffin Mix
  • 1 tub Simple Mills Vanilla Frosting
  • Cinnamon, for garnish, if desired
DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Whisk eggs, water and oil in a large bowl. Add baking mix; whisk until well blended.

Spoon batter into a lightly greased or paper-lined muffin tin, filling each 2/3 full.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If using paper liners, let cool completely before eating to prevent muffins from sticking to paper.

Frost and garnish with cinnamon, if desired.

 

Sugar and Spice Makes Everything Nice

So far this January I have experienced two random acts of dessert kindness. I never make a “fuss” about my celiac status to a hostess who invites me to dinner. By now, most people who would invite me over know about my dietary needs and make sure there is something I can eat.

Dessert, however, is a tough one. Sometimes it’s an afterthought for a busy party planner or the responsibility is delegated to an attendee. So when I was offered a gluten-free dessert twice this month, it struck me as a very cool thing.

On New Year’s Eve, a group of neighborhood families gathered to celebrate. Boisterous kids hoot it up in the basement and the adults have their own boisterous conversations upstairs. Around midnight, the desserts are placed out with the champagne. One of my friends is the neighborhood doyenne of desserts, she creates beautiful shortbread cookies and bite sized cakes with perfectly piped frosting flower buds. This year she added a “two-bite” Pavlova. Each Pavlova was a crispy meringue basket filled with lemon curd and fresh fruit.

She personally doesn’t like meringue but wanted to make sure that the two celiacs in attendance had dessert. The rest of us devoured them. Each Pavlova was a mouth explosion of sweet meringue, tart lemon and fresh berries. They were perfect with the midnight glass of champagne.

The second evening was a group of friends who rent indoor tennis courts a couple times a year for round-robin mixed doubles. We bash the heck out of each other for two hours of tennis and then convene pot-luck style for good conversation and dinner. I brought the entrée, and my friends who brought dessert arrived with a big fruit salad and a gluten-free cake topped with cinnamon, sugar and almonds.

Ten years ago, I was apt to apologize for something that was gluten-free since it was dense as a brick or dissolved into a puddle of crumbs. This cake was so moist and tasty that the “it’s gluten-free” disclaimer to the non-celiacs was completely unnecessary. We all went back for a second slice, two hours of tennis gave us the freedom to do so!

The growing awareness of which ingredients contain gluten, a little creative thinking and the ubiquity of good gluten-free mixes makes these random acts of dessert kindness possible. Having very nice friends helps a bit too.

Gluten-free, cookie-dough ice cream, Part 2

Good news!

I found the gluten-free cookie-dough “ice cream” mentioned in my last blog when I went to my local supermarket.

Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent cookie-dough flavor was right there in the frozen food case near all the other ice cream.

We had it for dessert that same day.

Amanda said she thought it was good. She never had ice cream with gluten-containing cookie dough so she couldn’t compare the two. And she was a little perplexed as to exactly what the cookie dough was made of (the ingredients label says rice, potato and tapioca flours among other things).

Regardless, she thought the cookie-dough chunks were good and wished there were more of them in the ice cream. She said it’s a flavor she would buy again, but it doesn’t replace her favorite — Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food.

I also tasted it and thought it was a very good copy of the “regular” version. It was a little sweeter, but who can really quibble over sweetness when talking about cookie-dough ice cream!