Chocolate Sunshine Bars: gluten, nut and dairy free!

Amy is baking “without” this week: come taste the delicious results! — Denise

When my family went gluten-free last year, I started to notice that many gluten-free products weren’t nut- or soy- or dairy-free. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, but I also began to realize how many children have nut allergies or soy-sensitivity and how many adults are eating less dairy. My son couldn’t sit at the allergy table because he was usually bringing nut-based foods to school.

Living gluten-free isn’t optional for those with celiac or gluten-sensitivity. Sometimes it is hard to go out to eat, because you feel excluded from the fun — the pizza, the pasta, the fresh bread. And once you enter the -free communities, the last thing you want is to exclude anyone else. Baking dishes that are gluten-, nut- and dairy-free are great ways to help everyone feel more included.

Anyone who has baked gluten-free foods knows that finding a good all-purpose flour mix is crucial to easy and tasty baked goods. This week, I tried two different flour mixes that are gluten-, nut- and dairy-free and readily available: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour and King Arthur’s Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour. Each of these mixes are good but they have different tastes and textures.

Bob’s Red Mill uses bean flour as a key component. The upside? The beans add great fiber, which gluten-free products are often missing. The downside is that the beans taste like, well, beans. This is a mix better used in hearty recipes with strong flavors, like the Chocolate Sunshine Bars above (a nut-free redo of Denise’s Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Bars).

Popovers: great crust without gluten, dairy or nuts!

King Arthur’s flour uses rice flour as its key component. Rice flour is much lighter and softer than wheat, so King Arthur’s adds tapioca flour, too. They also recommend adding xanthan gum to recipes. The rice flour helps make these Popovers light and airy; the extra egg gives them a delicious custard flavor that can’t be beat.

Both of these recipes are great for sharing with those who eat gluten-free, nut-free or dairy-free — ideal for summer gatherings of all sizes.

Chocolate Sunshine Bars (GF, Nut-free)
Makes 16 or 25 squares

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten-free oats, divided (try Trader Joe’s)
• 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All Purpose Baking Flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup sun nut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup nut- and dairy-free chocolate chips
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8×8 pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Put 1 1/4 cup oats in bowl of food processor and process until almost smooth. Add remaining oats and pulse 2 times (you want to have some large oat pieces but mainly smaller pieces). Pour oats into medium bowl. Add flour, salt and cinnamon and mix until combined.

Melt the coconut oil and almond butter on the stove or in the microwave. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well.

Using your hands, press the dough into the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top starts to turn pale brown (it won’t get very brown – this is ok!).

Allow bars to cool completely in pan. When the bars are completely cool, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil together; mix until smooth. Spread on top of bars and wait until top cools. Using parchment paper, lift bar onto cutting board. Cut into 25 pieces (5 rows of 5 bars) or 16 pieces (4 rows of 4 bars)

These bars are even better the next day – so enjoy them today and tomorrow!

Popovers (GF)
Makes 6 large popovers or 12 muffin-sized popovers

Ingredients

• Grapeseed oil spray
• 4 large eggs
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbs grapeseed oil
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened rice milk (substitute: any dairy or nondairy milk)
• 1 cup King Arthur Glutenfree Multi-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place 6-popover pan or 12-muffin pan in oven to preheat.

Whisk together eggs, egg white, oil and rice milk in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum and salt. Gradually whisk flour mixture into egg mixture until you have a smooth batter.

Remove pan from oven and spray cups with oil spray. Pour batter into cups, filling each 3/4 full.

Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until popovers are browned. Remove from oven, let firm for 5 minutes, remove from pan and serve immediately.

Download recipes now!