Caramel Brownies

This recipe originally called for a box of chocolate cake mix. I tried using a gluten free version of boxed cake mix and the result was a disaster! Rarely do I have to throw food away and start over, but that time I did. Since I had already melted the caramels in the microwave, I quickly scoured the internet looking for the perfect made-from-scratch cake mix substitute. I tweaked a few of the ingredients and these brownies turned out to be the best I had ever made!

Caramel Brownies
Yield: 9x13 pan

Ingredients
Brownie layer (top & bottom):
 3/4 cup butter, melted
 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
 1 1/2 cups sugar
 1/2 cup cocoa powder
 1 Tbsp baking powder
 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup evaporated milk

Caramel layer:
 11-oz package caramel bits plus 1/2 cup from another 11-oz package
 1/3 cup evaporated milk
 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Make brownie layer: Stir together butter, flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and evaporated milk. Press half of batter into greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
3. Make caramel layer: Melt caramels and remaining evaporated milk until smooth.
4. After 10 minutes, remove pan from oven. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips over brownie layer and pour melted caramel over chocolate chips. Layer remainder of batter over caramel. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips.
5. Return pan to oven and bake an additional 20-25 minutes.
6. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Cookie Bars

I'm the kind of girl who can eat Nutella straight out of the jar...just hand me a spoon! So when I came across this recipe that pairs all that chocolatey goodness with a buttery oatmeal cookie, I had to give it a try...because oatmeal makes the Nutella healthy, right?!

My kids couldn't wait to dig into them as an after school snack. See all that gooey, delicious filling? That's what happens when you cut into the bars after about 2 hours of cooling time!

Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Yield: 8x8 pan

Ingredients
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x8 square pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, whisk melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until combined.
3. In separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
4. Place a little more than half of oat mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Press mixture into even, flat layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and immediately add Nutella. Since crust will be soft, don't spread the Nutella. Simply dollop small spoonfuls of Nutella evenly over top of crust.
6. Sprinkle Nutella layer with chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oat mixture evenly over top of chocolate. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until top is set and golden brown.
7. Place pan on wire rack to cool. The longer these cool, the more "set" the filling will be. Do not cut them while they are hot, as the chocolate will ooze out. Serve them slightly warm so that chocolate is mostly firm but still a little melted.

Here's a picture of the bars the next day...much more set up, but still mouth-watering!

Recipe adapted from Celebrating Sweets.

Banana Bread

Every gluten free kitchen needs a tried and true banana bread recipe...and I've got one for you!

Banana Bread
Yield: 1 loaf

Ingredients
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk (I use almond milk)

Optional mix-ins:
 For banana nut bread, add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
 For chocolate chip banana bread, add 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 335°F. (I have a convection oven. If using a standard oven, increase temperature to 350°F.)
2. Grease loaf pan with Crisco.
3. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Set aside.
4. Beat eggs, bananas, oil, and milk in large bowl until well blended. Add dry ingredients; stir just until moistened. Fold in nuts or chocolate chips, if desired. (Recipe is great on its own even without mix-ins!) Pour into prepared pans.
5. Bake 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
6. For easier slicing (and moister bread), wrap bread in plastic wrap and store overnight before cutting.

Note: Can be made in mini loaf pans; cook about 30 minutes.

Blueberry Muffins

Something I missed when switching to a gluten free way of eating was a bakery style muffin with all of that crumbly goodness on top. Then I discovered this gem filed away in one of my recipe boxes, and let me just say WOW! It does not disappoint. I had a few friends over for brunch one morning while all of our kids were in school, and these were a hit! Everyone asked for the recipe and took the leftovers home to snack on later.

Blueberry Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients
For batter:
 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
 1/3 cup milk (I use almond milk)
 2 large eggs
 3/4 tsp vanilla
 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
 3/4 cup sugar
 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
 3/4 tsp salt
 2 cups fresh blueberries

For topping:
 3 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
 3 1/2 Tbsp sugar

Directions
Make batter:
 1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin pan(s) with paper liners.
 2. Melt butter. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add milk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir until just combined.
 3. Fold in blueberries gently but thoroughly.
 4. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups, spreading evenly.

Make topping and bake muffins:
 1. Rub together all topping ingredients in a bowl with fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over batter in cups.
 2. Bake until golden and crisp and a toothpick inserted diagonally into center of a muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes.
 3. Cool in pan(s) on a rack 15 minutes, then run a knife around edge of each muffin and carefully remove from cups.
 4. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I rarely find a recipe that literally everyone in my family loves, but this one falls into that category! All three of my kids devour these muffins when I make them, and I send them in my husband's lunch for work. I hope they turn out to be a family favorite at your house, too!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Yield: 18-24 muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp applesauce (or vegetable oil)
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana (about 3 bananas)
6 Tbsp creamy peanut butter (equals 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Reese's peanut butter chips

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir together with a fork to blend.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, brown sugar, eggs, banana, peanut butter, and sour cream until smooth.
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix just until incorporated and fully blended. Fold in peanut butter chips.
5. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Allow to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: For mini muffins, bake about 12 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Annie.

Meet my friends, Bob and Bob

So when I started thinking about writing this post, I realized my two best friends in my pantry are Bob and Bob. My mind automatically went to a Sandra Boynton board book that all three of my kids (as well as my husband and myself!) have absolutely loved...

Now you're probably thinking that animals have nothing to do with this post, but hear me out. Take a look at a few pages from the story...

Now that I've given you the gist of the story, see what I mean?! And those are just a few of the pages in the beginning. Now you understand (at least a little bit) why I made the connection to my friends, Bob and Bob!

My first friendship was formed with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour because flour is the foundation of practically every baked good out there! My second friendship was formed with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats.

Once you become friends with these two Bobs, gluten free baking all of a sudden seems a lot more approachable!