Dr. Pepper Pie

My kids LOVE this simple pie! The original recipe was for Root Beer Pie, but my son begged me to make one using Dr Pepper, and it turned out yummy! 

1 carton Cool Whip (8 oz) thawed

3/4 cup cold Dr Pepper

1/2 cup milk

1 package (1 ounce) Jello instant vanilla pudding mix

1 gluten free graham cracker crust

Directions

1. Set aside and refrigerate 1/2 cup Cool Whip for garnish. In a large bowl, whisk the Dr Pepper, milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Fold in half of the remaining Cool Whip. Spread into GF graham cracker crust.
2. Spread remaining Cool Whip over pie. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
3. Dollop reserved whipped topping over each serving; 

Peppermint Bark

This is the easiest dessert recipe ever, but it's soooo amazing!! Here's how you make Peppermint Bark....

Ingredients (There are only 2!!)

1 box Bakers White Chocolate
Candy Canes

Directions

Unwrap the candy canes (about 3) and place in a zip bag. Close it up and with the back of a heavy spoon ( I use my ice cream scoop) smash the candy canes to bits! This is kind of fun :)  Set aside.

In a microwaveable bowl, break apart white chocolate and microwave according to package directions till melted.

Stir the candy cane bits into the chocolate while its hot.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the wax paper and spread out in an even layer with a spatula.

Place in refrigerator for a few hours to harden.

Once hard, take bark off of wax paper and break into medium size pieces.

You can make a small batch or large batch...I usually have to make more than one recipe, it doesn't last very long at our house!

Enjoy!

GF Cookies that are just, well...awesome!

The other day I was headed out for the day and since I knew I'd be gone for a while, I stopped by the store to grab a few GF snacks to have on hand. I noticed that Enjoy Life had a variety of snacks that I had not seen before, so I grabbed a box of their Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies. These are by far the BEST GF packaged cookies I have tried so far. They are just delicious! My kids, who aren't gluten free, LOVE them too :) I was so pleased to see they are nut free as well, so my kids can enjoy them. Here's a link to the Enjoy Life website.

http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/soft-baked-cookies/

GF Strawberry Cobbler.....yum!

Every year around here, folks wait with great anticipation for strawberry season....that's because we have a local farm here that has, by far, the BEST strawberries ever! They are just unbelievably wonderful! Well, my Dad stopped by yesterday with a fresh basket of them. I had been wanting to try a gluten free version of my go to cobbler recipe with these strawberries, so that's what I did!

What is my go to cobbler recipe, you ask? Well I'll tell you.... :) Paula Deen's awesome recipe for Peach Cobbler is one I made a lot before going GF. It's kind of your basic cobbler recipe with a few extra steps that make it extra good!! Here's the original recipe

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/peach-cobbler-recipe/index.html

Here's what I did to make a GF version :) ....

Ingredients

• 4 cups capped and sliced strawberries
• 2 cups sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup water
• 8 tablespoons GF butter (a GF butter stick works best)
• 1 1/2 cups GF flour mixture (See note)

The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour. Since I don't have self rising GF flour, this is what I did...I combined 1 1/2 cups Betty Crocker All Purpose GF  Rice Flour, 2 tsp Clabber Girl GF Baking Powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Put these three ingredients together in a bowl, stir well and use as you would self-rising flour. ~ Found this helpful tip online here http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-self-rising-flour-substitute-29318

• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Ground cinnamon, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the strawberries, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a baking dish and place in oven to melt.

In a separate bowl mix remaining 1 cup sugar and flour (measure 1 1/2 cups from the flour mixture you made earlier ~ don't just throw in all the flour, as the mixture turns out being more than the recipe calls for) and then add milk slowly to prevent clumping.

Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir.

Spoon fruit on top, then gently pour in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using.

Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until done.

I used an 8x8 baking dish, and the cobbler began pouring out over the sides and making a mess, so use a larger deeper dish if possible :) Also I baked mine for about 35 minutes and it turned out great!

To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with GF ice cream or non-dairy frozen dessert :)

Linked to...

Allergy Free Wednesdays http://glutenfreepantry.blogspot.com/2012/04/allergy-free-wednesdays-blog-hop-week.html

Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love http://allergyfreecookery.blogspot.com/2012/04/allergy-friendly-lunchbox-love-4612.html

Gluten Free Wednesdays

SO Delicious is so delicious!

Have you tried SO Delicious? This frozen dessert is delightful! The first flavor I tried was Mocha Fudge....scrumptious! It's gluten free and dairy free. Another great flavor is the Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean. It's gluten free, dairy free, and soy free. Both are yummy. There have other varieties as well, but I always make sure it says GF on the labeling. So if a flavor doesn't plainly say (and even when it does :)) be sure to check the ingredients!

This post is linked to Allergy Free Wednesdays

Yummy GF Chocolate Truffles

I have made oreo truffles for years. The original recipe comes from kraftfoods.com. These truffles are so delicious, I had to find a way to make them gluten free.  Who knew something with just three ingredients could taste so wonderful?!  Here's the recipe...

Ingredients~
1 package gluten free oreo-style cookies...or about 25-30 cookies (I used Kinni-Toos chocolate sandwich cream cookies)

1 8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese or Philadelphia neufchatel


2 boxes Baker's semisweet Baking Chocolate squares
(or you can use 1 package GF semi-sweet chocolate morsels such as Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate mini chips)

Directions~
Crush cookies to fine crumbs in blender, place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese and mix with electric mixer until well blended.

Roll cookie mixture into balls and place on wax paper covered baking sheet.

Melt the chocolate squares according to pkg directions.  

If you are using the chocolate morsels,  just melt them in the microwave 15-30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until melted.

Dip balls in melted chocolate and place back on wax paper.

Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

*For easy dipping, place truffle in melted chocolate, roll gently to coat, and lift truffle from chocolate using 2 forks, allowing excess chocolate to run off before placing on wax paper.

This recipe is linked to...

Full Plate Thursday
http://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com

Recipes I Can't Wait to Try....Pumpkin Pie

So for Thanksgiving I tried the pumpkin pie recipe from glutenfreecooking.com over in my links... It was wonderful! I couldn't figure out what I was going to do for a crust, then remembered that I had some GF Bisquick, and sure enough, found a recipe for a GF Bisquck pie crust online. The pie turned out delicious! I think the next time I make it, I will try it without a crust at all and see how that turns out! Check out the recipe!

Unbelievably Fabulous Fruit Dip

This is a recipe for fruit dip that I have used for years....I was so thrilled when I discovered that the only two ingredients in it were GF! It's so delicious, sometimes I just eat it with a spoon...no joke :)

As always, double check ingredients for yourself if you're GF :)

1 jar Jet Puffed Marshmallow Cream

1 block Philadelphia Cream Cheese or 1/3 less fat Philadelphia Neufchatel

Put the ingredients in a bowl and combine with a hand mixer. Mix till combined and smooth. Serve with fruit...my faves ~ strawberries and pineapple!

The original recipe uses the full fat cream cheese. The 1/3 less fat recipe is oh so yummy too though :)