Almond Milk Gluten Free Baked Donuts....No, They ARE Good!

/

Look at these here baked donuts, made with almond milk and gluten free flour. Delicious, right?

It's our twice monthly Cook the Book. We are cooking our way through every chapter of Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

My mom, Gran Fran, made fried donuts just once that I can recall. She has a big fear of somehow burning down her kitchen while working with hot oil, cooking anything fatty in the oven, or, come to think of it, anything other than pasta or potatoes. For a woman who spends so much time in the kitchen, she certainly isn't comfortable with any kind of volatile cooking.

When I mentioned I was making donuts, she, in NY, said to me, in SF:

"Make sure you open all the windows, have the fire extinguisher handy, and maybe let the neighbors know you're frying something, so in case there's some kind of fire, they can help you."

I'm the youngest of five, two of us live 3,000 miles away from Gran Fran. She has been giving me these long distance words of wisdom for 20 years. I can only image what kind of in-person guidance my NY siblings get from her.

When I was in New York for my parents 50th wedding anniversary, one of the granddaughters made a list of all the Gran-Fran and Joe-isms she could think of, along with some input from the other 10 grandkids and my sisters and brother. Let me tell you, there were a good number, none of which included any reference to the fire extinguisher. Wish I had remembered to bring that one up when the list was put together.

Two quotes stand out in the lineup:

1. "I'll make you a plate."

2. "Make sure you lock the top lock."

The first quote is a straightforward example of Gran Fran always making sure we are well fed, to the point of needing to switch into our stretchy pants.

The second refers to always locking all the locks on the door, especially the top lock. Whenever she would leave us alone, she'd lock the door behind her and get in the car. Next thing you hear is her banging on the back door yelling "Make sure you lock the top lock." This inevitably scared the heck out of us as we had already locked the top lock, and were not expecting a re-appearance of Gran Fran. (A friend sent me this link of S**t Italian Moms Say.  Make it to the very end, you'll see why).

With Gran Fran's warning in my ear, I opted out on frying the donuts and instead chose a baked donut recipe. This is the second time I've tried baking donuts. The consistency is more like a cake donut, not so air filled, denser. I prefer a nice cake donut, so it's perfect for my taste. If you like an airier donut, you probably want to stick to frying.

Almond Milk Gluten-Free Baked Donuts

adapted from Marion Cunnigham’s The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Ingredients

  •     2 packages dry yeast
  •      1/3 cup warm water
  •      1½ cups almond milk
  •      1/3 cup vegetable shortening
  •      ¼ cup sugar
  •      2 teaspoons salt
  •      2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
  •      2 eggs, lightly beaten
  •      4½ cups all-purpose flour, approximately (I used Gluten-Free Pantry's All Purpose Flour Mix)
  •      ½ cup melted butter
  •      1 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a small bowl and let it dissolve for 5 minutes.  Put the milk and shortening in a saucepan and heat until the shortening is melted.  Cool to lukewarm.  Pour the yeast mixture into large mixing bowl and add the milk mixture.  Stir in the ¼ cup sugar, salt, nutmeg, eggs, and 2 cups flour.  Beat briskly until well blended.  Add the remaining 2½ cups flour and beat until smooth.

Cover the bowl and let double in bulk, about 1 hour.  Dust a board generously with flour and turn the dough mass onto it.  The dough is soft and needs enough flour on the board to prevent sticking, but is easy to handle.  Pat the dough into a round about ½ inch thick.  Use a 3-inch doughnut cutter to cut out the doughnuts, placing them (and the doughnut holes) on greased baking sheets, 1 inch apart.  These don't spread much; they rise.

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.  Let the doughnuts rest and rise for 20 minutes, uncovered.  Bake about 10 minutes, or a little longer, until they have a touch of golden brown.  Remove them from the oven.

Have ready the melted butter and a brush.  On a sheet of waxed paper spread the cinnamon sugar.  Brush each doughnut and doughnut hole with butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar.  Serve hot.

Grits, Fried Green Tomatoes and Bacon: The Perfect Meal

/

Grits, fried green tomatoes and bacon were the first combination that came to mind when I started work on this installment of our Cook The Book project.

We are covering cereals from Marion Cunningham’s The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

I've never made either of these dishes before. Both turned out to be very easy and very satisfying. I was surprised at how much I loved the grits. They are a cross between traditional polenta and a warm grain cereal, like cream of rice or farina. Those were two of my favorite warm cereals growing up, so it makes perfect sense that the grits made me so happy. It's such a filling dish that I think I can get six to eight servings out of each batch.

The recipe said you could serve the grits as a sweet dish with milk and sugar. Savory breakfast is more my taste, so I tried the grits two ways: one just with butter and one with black truffle oil and bacon.

The black truffle oil was my favorite, but way too rich to eat very much of it. The fried green tomatoes were nice and crispy, as an alternate cornmeal texture against the smooth silkiness of the grits. I have plans to make a ton of this, and will likely experiment with some other combinations.

Good Grits

adapted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book, copyright 1987, Alfred A Knopf

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Bring the water to a boil and add salt. slowly stir in the grits, and stir for a few seconds more.
  2. Turn the heat to medium-low (closer to low than medium on my stove) and cover the pan.
  3. Cook, stirring once or twice for five minutes (I left it for up to 10 minutes).
  4. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter or the black truffle oil.
  5. Serve hot.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ingredients:

  • 4 small hard green tomatoes cut into slices
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (you may want to add more at the end depending on taste)
  • 1 to 2 eggs, whisked until yolks are incorporated with the whites, in a shallow dish
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup cornmeal, on a small plate
  • Tobasco or Chalula sauce for serving.

Method:

  1. Heat a skillet over high heat.
  2. Place the tomato slices in the egg wash, turning to coat them completely.
  3. Transfer the egg-coated tomato slices to the cornmeal and coat them completely in corn meal.
  4. Add the olive oil to the hot pan, swirling it around to cover the entire surface of the pan.
  5. Place the tomato slices in the hot oil and cook for four minutes, or until the coating on that side has browned well.
  6. Turn the slices over and cook for an additional four minutes on the second side.
  7. Remove the slices to a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with salt and serve.

Cook the Book: Gluten-Free Cinnamon Butter Puffs

/

Better than beignets, these cinnamon butter puffs really knocked my socks off.

In this installment of our Cook The Book project, we are covering quick breads from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

After my wonderful cinnamon buns, I was prepared to commit at least eight hours to making these. The butter puffs were made, start to finish in just over thirty minutes. They came out of the oven just as we finished eating dinner, so instead of these being a breakfast treat, we ate them as desert.

This perfect marriage of sugar and spice yields moist, fluffy muffins with a kick of nutmeg. The gluten-free flour mix I used did not take away from the fluffiness of the muffins, which was my main concern. My daughter loved the flavor and texture of them so much that even after I told her they were gluten-free, she said they tasted just right.

Enjoy with tea, cafe au lait or hot chocolate. The lip-licking coating and the downy interior elevate these muffins beyond traditional breakfast offerings.

You may also want to give these fig, ham and butter sandwiches from the same book.

Gluten-Free Cinnamon Butter Puffs

adapted from Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup shortening (I used butter instead, same measurement)
  • 1/2 cup suger (less if desired)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups flour (I used Gluten-Free Pantry's Baking Mix)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup milk

Topping:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar combined with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Meethod:

  1. preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the muffin tins.
  2. Put the shortening (or butter), sugar, and egg in a mixing bowl. Beat well.
  3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and add to the first mixture.
  4. Pour in the milk and beat until blended and smooth.
  5. Fill the muffin tins about two-thirds full.
  6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
  7. For the topping, have the melted butter ready in a bowl that is just large enough to hold one puff.
  8. Have a shallow bowl nearby with the combined sugar and cinnamon.
  9. As soon as the puffs are done, remove them from the pan and dip them one by one into the melted butter, and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

You Will Be Missed Marion Cunningham: Fig and Ham Sandwiches on Rye Bread

/

Fig and ham sandwiches with butter on rye bread mark my second installment in our Cook The Book project.

We are cooking through Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book. There are six of us participating in the project: Rachel of Ode to Goodness, Sammy of Rêve du Jour, Emily of The Bon Appetit Diaries, Aimee of Homemade Trade and Claudie of The Bohemian Kitchen.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that our author, Marion Cunningham, passed away last week. She was 90 years old, and died from Alzheimer's in Walnut Creek, CA. You can read more about her in the New York Times' obituary. I'm glad we chose her book and that we can use these next few months to showcase her wonderful recipes and keep her legacy alive.

The sandwich recipe I selected, fig and ham with butter on rye bread, is a perfect example of Cunningham's style of cooking. She was known for relating recipes from home cooks for home cooks. The straightforward nature of her writing is a breath of fresh air. Though I love today's cookbooks and all the techniques, varied ingredients and multiple steps they outline, I just adore a simple home-style recipe.

As my mother, Gran Fran, put it: "Cunningham joins Dionne Lucas, Elizabeth David, and M.F.K. Fisher as much-missed writers of the joys of cooking." So right. These are the names I recall when looking through Gran Fran's cookbook collection over the years. I can remember Gran Fran reading and marking up Cunningham's books, just as I do today.

The sandwich turned out wonderfully. It would never have occurred to me to add butter to a sandwich with meat (although I do recall loving a sandwich I had in Paris that clearly had butter on top of ham). Even though I didn't have gluten-free rye bread, I did eat one triangle of this sandwich. I just couldn't resist. The sweet figs, salty ham and soft creamy butter make a heavenly combination.

So here's to you, Marion Cunningham, for leaving wonderful tomes of recipes for us to remember you by. I can't wait to cook the next installment of The Breakfast Book.

The rye bread featured in the pictures is standard-issue. You can purchase this Colorado Caraway bread from Canyon Bakehouse, online or check out their store locator to see if it's available near you. 

Fig and Ham on Rye Bread

from Marion Cunnigham's The Breakfast Book, Copyright 1987, Alfred A. Knopf

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices rye bread
  • Butter
  • 5 ripe figs
  • 4 pieces of thinly sliced ham

Method:

  1. For 2 sandwiches, butter 2 slices of bread to the edges. Trim the blowwom end and stem from 5 ripe free figs (the Adriatic variety is delicious) and slice each one into 3 slices.
  2. Divide the slices of fig between 2 unbuttered slices of bread. Place a very thin slice of ham [I went with 2 slices on each sandwich] over each and cover with the buttered bread.
  3. Gently press down on each sandwich. Cut in half and serve.