Recipe: Gluten Free Strawberry Raspberry Rhubarb Cutout Pie

LOOK, I made a pie! And it's GOOOOOD! I love pies but I rarely make them. I never know if I'm making the dough right and then it ends up being too crumbly and just not quite right--insert adult tantrum here. What I usually end up making is a crostata because you know, it tastes like a pie and who cares if it's ugly, it's rustic!

So when I made this beauty of a pie, I couldn't stop smiling and bragging at how well everything turned out (right, Nick?). I'm still kind of in shock. The recipe for this Strawberry Raspberry Rhubarb Cutout Pie is from the amazing new book Alternative Baker by Alanna Tobin-Taylor, recovering pastry chef-turned food photographer, stylist, cookbook author, and blogger of The Bojon Gourmet. Not only are the photos utterly gorgeous, but there's a photo for practically every recipe! I just love that about cookbooks. Alanna talks in depth about the alternative flours she uses, noting their flavor profiles, consistency, brands tested, how to store it and use it, health benefits and more.

I haven't been this excited about a cookbook in a really long time. I went to the Alternative Baker launch party at my friend Sarah's house and sampled many of the recipes from the book. They were all SO GOOD. Immediately after the party, I dragged Theo with me to Whole Foods and picked up the alternative flours I didn't already have on hand. Though I'm not allergic to gluten, I love experimenting with gluten free baking and making something healthier that tastes really good--and this book is so inspiring. I can't wait to make the Pistacio Lime Matcha Snowballs next!

Exciting news! I will be hosting an Instagram giveaway on Tuesday, October 11th that will include a signed copy of Alternative Baker along with a few other amazing prizes. Stay tuned and check my Instagram on Tuesday morning for details.

I've only made one gluten free pie crust before and it was dry and tasteless. This recipe was so flaky and full of butter flavor and to be honest, I was pretty surprised. This is definitely my new go to crust recipe. Apple pie, here I come!

The recipe calls for ground white chia seeds but I only had black chia seeds which worked just fine and even added a nice peppery touch :)

I love Alanna's use of the pie dough as cutout rounds. I just used a floured glass cup and it make the pie beautiful and rustic.

Stay tuned for my Instagram giveaway on Tuesday, October 11th that will include a signed copy of Alternative Baker along with a few other amazing prizes.

+ Full recipe for Gluten Free Strawberry Raspberry Rhubarb Cutout Pie
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper), Twitter (@good_on_paper),
Pinterest (@goodonpaperdes) and Tumblr (hellogoodonpaper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts and Good on Paper updates delivered to your inbox.
+ You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.

Recipe: Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of my favorite things to bake. I usually have a bunch of super ripe bananas in the freezer that are perfect for making sweet and moist banana bread. I decided to use my usual recipe from Flour bakery but adding healthy raw cacao powder, cacao nibs and making it gluten free with brown rice flour. Keep in mind this is the healthy version and not super sweet or chocolatey. If you want to go that route, I would swirl some melted chocolate chips into the batter. Yum! Check out these other gluten recipes for Citrus Ricotta Mini Cakes, Cardamom Coffee Cake, Carrot Muffins, Spiced Lentil Soup, and Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes.

+ Full recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Banana Bread
+ I get my cacao nibs and brown rice flour from Thrive Market. Get 15% off using my referral link.
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper), Twitter (@good_on_paper),
Pinterest (@goodonpaperdes) and Tumblr (hellogoodonpaper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts and Good on Paper updates delivered to your inbox.
+ You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.

Recipe: Healthy Chocolate Pudding

The word "healthy" in this chocolate pudding recipe refers to a secret ingredient that you'd never guess -- avocado. I first learned about this recipe from Jennifer Tyler Lee of 52 New Foods at the Williams-Sonoma event I attended a while back. One taste and I was hooked! Luckily the recipe is in her book, The 52 New Foods Challenge, which I made one afternoon with the help of Lucas. Scroll down and you'll see Lucas' favorite part about making it!

Enjoy!

Yeah, I let Lucas do this.

And yeah, I let him do this too.

One tip I loved from Jennifer was not to hide any of the ingredients but let your kids make it with you and see everything that goes in it.

+ Click here for a printable pdf
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts and Good on Paper updates delivered to your inbox.  You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.

Recipe: Soft Baked Pretzels (Baking with Kids)

A couple of weeks ago, I volunteered to make homemade soft pretzels with Lucas' preschool class. I made them last year as well and they were such a big hit with the kids and the teachers so I figured I would make them again. Plus, who doesn't love a soft baked pretzel, salty and dripping with melted butter?

Lucas helped me knead the dough in his jammies before heading off to school. He's a great helper in the kitchen -- remember how he peeled those Brussels sprouts? I let the dough rise for an hour while I got the kids ready and dropped off at school. The kids were super excited to make their own pretzels! They used their listening/following instructions skills to roll out their own dough and twist them into a pretzel shape. I dipped them in a baking soda/warm water bath (this gives the pretzels a nice golden-brown color) and then laid them out onto parchment paper on a tray. I used a Sharpie to write kids' initials next to their pretzel. The kids also had to be extra patient as the dough had to rise again for 15 minutes and then bake in the oven. When they were ready, the only complaint I heard was that they all wanted more!

Each pretzel was unique and they kids were so proud. I offered two dipping sauces, ranch and nacho cheese, but most kids wanted them plain with salt.

+ Click here for a printable PDF (Note: This recipe makes 6 pretzels but I quadrupled the recipe for the kids project)
+ Photos taken with my iPhone 5 (excuse the not-so-great quality of the photos -- I had flour and butter all over my hands and surrounded by 20+ preschoolers)
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts and Good on Paper updates delivered to your inbox.  You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.

Recipe: Cardamom Coffee Cake (Gluten Free)

This Cardamom Coffee Cake is probably my biggest go to recipe for every brunch, potluck, or anytime dessert. My friend Christine first made it for me years ago and I immediately had to have it in my recipe book. I've made it countless times ever since and I always get "mmmm's" and "ohhhh, this is so good", and "can you send me the recipe?" Though I typically make this using the original non gluten free recipe (and sometimes in mini bundt form like I did for this Banchan Workshop), I love experimenting with gluten free flours. I relied on my trusty brown rice flour + xantham gum combo, but I also decided to make use of the huge bag of coconut flour that's been sitting in my pantry drawer. I had tried subbing in coconut flour in this Lemon Olive Chicken recipe, but it was disastrous so I've been a little wary of trying coconut flour again. But I'll admit this cake came out way better than I expected. With a little added texture and subtle hint of coconut, the result was pretty amazing. I love it with coffee in the morning, with tea in the afternoon, and with decaf tea for dessert while watching The Walking Dead. Ha! Let me know if you try it!

+ Click here for a printable PDF
+ Photos by me
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts and Good on Paper updates delivered to your inbox! Simply click here. You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.

Recipe: Magical Marvelous Memorable Cookies

I love a forgiving recipe. Bonus points if it's a forgiving baked treat recipe. These Magical Marvelous Memorable Cookies from Food 52 are just that. Crispy on the edge, salty, sweet, and chewy on the inside with lots of random good stuff nestled in between the layers of buttery goodness. I love how I was able to throw in raisins, millet, chocolate chips, salty pretzels, and some leftover granola to create this delicious cookie. Enjoy and happy weekend!

+ Click here for a printable PDF
+ Photos by me
+ Find me on Instagram (@good_on_paper)
+ Subscribe to receive the latest posts and Good on Paper updates delivered to your inbox! Simply click here. You could also use Blog Lovin' or Feedly to follow along.

Food: Baking with a 6-year-old

Several weeks ago my good friend Lisa asked me if her 6-year-old daughter Zoya could come over and bake something with me sometime. She knows I love to bake and apparently Zoya loves it too (she actually reminds me of ME as a kid). I didn't hesitate for a second to say yes. I decided that I wanted to go all out and make this strawberry and chocolate layer cake with chocolate ganache (instead of the strawberry swiss meringue buttercream frosting we made a simple cream cheese frosting). A little ambitious for Zoya's first time, but seriously she was the perfect assistant -- she listened well, followed directions extra carefully, asked questions, and was a total cutie eager beaver to learn and do things right. Did I mention she's six? I mean, she basically made the entire thing herself with me handling the grown up safety stuff. The cake tasted amazing and most importantly, we had so much fun and we both want to do it again! And p.s. I took way too many photos of her Hello Kitty tattoo. So cute!

Thank you Zoya! I can't wait to bake with you again soon.

Sign up to receive Good on Paper posts directly in your email inbox.