Simple, scrumptious and gluten free
If you love homemade pumpkin pie, then you’ve got to try these gluten-free pumpkin pie bars! With a flaky shortbread crust, and a rich, creamy pumpkin filling, these bars taste just like pumpkin pie but can be made in half the time!
Celebrate the spooky season by baking these wickedly good Halloween cookies! A scrumptious sugar cookie base decorated with royal icing, these melt-in-your-mouth cookies are soft on the inside with a lovely crisp exterior and a sweet vanilla flavor. Delicious to eat, adorable to behold, and …
With a flaky shortbread crust, sweet apple filling, and crunchy streusel topping, these gluten-free apple pie bars make the perfect autumn snack or dessert. They taste just like apple pie— but are so much easier to make!
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Apple pie is one of my all-time favorite desserts. I especially enjoy tucking into a piece of apple pie in the autumn, when apples are in season and plentiful. I love the mix of sweet and tart that you get when you bite into the warm apple filling, that lovely touch of cinnamon and brown sugar that pairs beautifully with that apples, and of course, the buttery, flaky pie crust.
However, I’ll be the first to admit that making a good apple pie from scratch, especially with a gluten-free crust, takes a fair amount of time and effort. You need a large number of apples, all of which need to be peeled and cut, and of course the dough for the pie crust needs to be made in advance, chilled, then rolled out and shaped to the pan (and don’t even get me started on the lattice topping).
So instead of baking an apple pie, I decided to make something just as delicious but much simpler: gluten-free apple pie bars. Inspired by a recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction, these bars have all the things I love about a good apple pie, but they take less than half the time and energy to make.
My gluten-free apple pie bars are too just good to be missed; they have a delicious filling of fresh chopped apples tossed with spices, a light and buttery shortbread crust, and finally, a sweet and crunchy brown sugar streusel topping. They have a little bit of everything; sweetness, tartness, freshness, crunch, and a just touch of spice.
If you’re a fan of apple desserts, or you just enjoy baking with apples, then you absolutely must try this simple and scrumptious dessert. Let’s get started!
I used a mix of Granny Smith apples and sweeter Gala apples for the filling, but feel free to use whatever apples you prefer. Here’s the full list of ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F / 180⁰ C/ 160⁰ C Fan. Grease and line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. Whatever you do, don’t skip this step! Without the parchment paper, removing the apple pie bars from the pan will be a long and painful process.
First, let’s make the shortbread crust. In a mixing bowl, beat the soft butter with an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Add the sugar and beat for another 30 seconds. Add the flour and milk and beat until combined. The mixture should be quite crumbly.
Press the dough into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake for 18-20 minutes until it’s a nice golden brown.
While the shortbread crust is baking, you can make the apple filling. First, core and peel the apples and chop them into small pieces (as you can see, I chopped mine quite roughly). In a mixing bowl, combine the chopped apples with the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and lemon juice. Mix until the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.
Next, proceed with the streusel topping. In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free oats, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Cut the cold butter into small pieces directly into the dry ingredients. Mix everything until combined (I used my hands for this). The mixture should have a wet sand consistency. Set aside.
Remove the shortbread crust from the oven, and evenly layer the apple filling on top of the warm crust. Press down gently on the apples to fill in any gaps. Then sprinkle the streusel over the apple layer.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is a lovely golden brown.
Remove from the oven, allow it to cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Then place the pan in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Once chilled, remove it from the pan by gently lifting the sides of the parchment paper. Using a sharp knife, cut it into square or rectangular bars (12 large bars or 16 smaller bars).
Enjoy these luscious apple pie bars at room temperature, cold, or warm. They are delicious on their own, but feel free to drizzle a little caramel on top, or even add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Enjoy!
Serving Size 1 bar
Servings 12
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
This nutritional information is based on the brands and ingredients I used for this recipe. They may not be 100% accurate for you. Please check your nutrition labels for more precise information.
Perfectly spiced with a nice crunchy outside and soft pull-apart interior, they taste like gingersnaps but are larger and chewier. The molasses gives the cookies a warm, rich flavor and delightful sweetness.
Tender, soft, and perfectly sweet, these delicious pumpkin muffins are brimming with autumn spices and topped with a crunchy pecan streusel topping. If you love the taste of pumpkin, these beautiful muffins are an absolute must-bake!
Banana bread step aside! This gluten-free zucchini bread is incredibly moist with a cozy cinnamon and brown sugar flavor, and a soft, nutty texture. Enjoy a slice for breakfast or as a scrumptious snack on a cool, crisp autumn day.
If you like my zucchini bread recipe, you’ll definitely want to try my delicious blueberry muffins. They are amazing.
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Autumn has just begun, and it’s always been my favorite season. Perhaps my fondness for autumn comes from my childhood; I grew up in New England and would spend much of the season romping through the apple orchards and pumpkin patches with my family and friends. I love almost everything about autumn; the cool, crisp weather, the snuggly sweaters, the stunning colors on the trees, and most importantly, the glorious autumn fruits and vegetables.
As a child, I remember proudly telling everyone that squash was my favorite vegetable. While I still love squash, over time I’ve developed an increasingly ardent love for zucchini. Sure, it may taste boring on its own, but I just love how zucchini mops up the flavor of anything you cook it with, such as meat, fish, sauce, or other vegetables. And it’s so versatile! Normally featured in savory dishes, zucchini also works remarkably well as the main ingredient of sweet (but not too sweet) zucchini bread.
So what exactly is zucchini bread? Well, I like to think of it as the underrated cousin of the more popular banana bread. Unlike bananas, the zucchini does not add flavor to the bread, but it adds a lot of moisture and gives it a lovely, soft texture.
Recently, I bought some lovely, large zucchinis from the farmer’s market and eagerly attempted my own gluten-free zucchini bread recipe. And I’m so glad that I did because my version is terrific. Every slice is so tender, moist, and delicious that you’ll want to gobble it up in one go and then lick the crumbs off the plate. The warm, rich taste comes from the spices as well as the brown sugar, which also gives it a lovely sweetness. The toasted pecans add an earthy flavor, and also provide a nice bit of crunch.
Besides the incredible taste, my favorite thing about this recipe is that it’s insanely easy to make. Seriously, the most time-consuming part of the process was shredding the zucchini, and that took almost no time at all. So no more excuses. Go bake this fantastic gluten-free zucchini bread today!
One medium to large zucchini is essential for this recipe, as is a grater for shredding it. The pecans add a lovely flavor and texture to the bread but feel free to omit them if you don’t like or can’t eat nuts. They can also be replaced with walnuts if you prefer. Here’s the full list of ingredients:
Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F / 180⁰ C / 160 ⁰ C fan. Grease a large loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Whatever you do, don’t skip this step! Lining the bottom makes it so much easier to remove your beautiful baked loaf in one piece.
Using a grater, shred the zucchini (with the skin on) and gently press the shredded pieces between two paper towels to remove excess moisture. There’s no need to overdo it, as you definitely don’t want dry zucchini in your batter.
If desired, toast the pecans and give them a rough chop. This will soften the nuts and also enhance their delicious flavor. I toasted mine at 160 ⁰ C fan for 7 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sifted flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown and white sugar, oil, and vanilla extract until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until almost combined. Be careful not to overmix the batter, as it will make the texture of the bread chewy (and nobody wants that). Now stir in the chopped pecans and shredded zucchini.
And that’s it! (I told you it was easy). Now pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. You will know the bread is done when a toothpick through the center comes out mostly clean. The top of the loaf will be cracked and be slightly domed.
Remove from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.
This delicious bread can be served at room temperature, or slightly warm, and can be enjoyed plain or with cream cheese, honey, or a dollop of nut butter (personally, I think it tastes amazing with almond butter). It makes a satisfying breakfast or can be enjoyed as a tasty snack with a nice warm cup of coffee or tea.
Serving Size 1 slice
Servings 12
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
This nutritional information is based on the brands and ingredients I used for this recipe. They may not be 100% accurate for you. Please check your nutrition labels for more precise information.
Moist coconut cupcakes filled with smooth pineapple curd and frosted with delicious coconut rum buttercream— take a bite and you’ll be swept away to a lovely tropical island beach! If you’re a fan of cupcakes, then be sure to check out my gluten-free lemon cupcakes …
A light and creamy mousse topped with a layer of tart raspberries, crunchy macadamia nuts, topped with freshly whipped cream—this gorgeous dessert has a little bit of everything!
Dark chocolate cake, frosted with luscious cookies and cream buttercream and topped with cookie crumbs and whole Oreos— this cake is every bit as decadent as it sounds. Intensely rich and chocolatey, it’s just like eating an Oreo in cake form!
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I’ll never forget the day when my husband discovered that Nabisco had come out with gluten-free Oreo cookies. He couldn’t stop talking about it, and indeed, visited three supermarkets in one day to try to find them. No luck. We spend months looking for them in Czech grocery stores and specialty shops— nothing. While gluten-free Oreos are now fairly easy to track down now in the US, unfortunately, they are not available in the Czech Republic yet.
Determined to get my hands on them, I ended up ordering two packs from Amazon.co.uk. When they arrived, my husband and I sat down eagerly together to try our new gluten-free goodies. Our verdict: pretty darn tasty. The cream filling seemed to be identical, and the texture and taste of the cookie were almost the same as the original. The only difference we noticed was that the gluten-free version had a slightly savory aftertaste, like a cracker. Overall, we were very satisfied with our purchase.
As we had more than enough for snacks, my husband requested that I use some of the Oreos in a baked good. Excited, I thought about my favorite desserts; I love cookies, but I love cake even more. Especially chocolate cake. So, what could be better but to combine the two?
I ended up making this beautiful, indulgent cake for our wedding anniversary. While the recipe could easily be doubled, I chose to make a single-layer cake for the two of us (I cannot bear the thought of cake going to waste). With its dark chocolate sponge, delicious Oreo buttercream, and chunks of whole Oreo cookies, this cake was a huge hit in my house. I hope you will love it just as much as I do.
This cake is very easy to make, and most of the ingredients are pantry staples. The only unusual items are gluten-free Oreos (essential, for obvious reasons) and black cocoa powder (optional, but highly recommended). Here is the full list:
While not required, if you can get your hands on black cocoa powder I would highly recommend using it for this cake. Black cocoa powder has a rich, intense taste and is much darker in color than natural cocoa powder, which will not only deepen the chocolate flavor of the cake but will make it appear almost black— just like an Oreo!
For best results, I suggest combining black cocoa powder with another type of cocoa powder in baking. For this recipe, I used 20g of natural cocoa powder and 20g of black cocoa powder.
First, preheat the oven to 350⁰ F /180⁰ C / 160⁰ C fan. Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pan and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the sifted dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum) until nicely combined and all clumps have disappeared.
In a separate larger bowl, add the milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer or stand mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat everything together with a mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes. Easy peasy!
Stir in the hot coffee. Don’t worry, this will not make your cake taste like coffee, it will just enhance the chocolate flavor. The batter will be shiny and fairly thin (and that’s okay).
Pour the batter into the greased cake pan. Bake for 35-38 minutes. To test for doneness, stick a toothpick through the center of the cake— if it comes out mostly clean, it’s done! If the toothpick comes out sticky, put the cake bake into the oven for another 1-2 minutes.
Once the cake is baked, let it cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to let it cool completely.
If the cake is domed (like mine), you can trim off the top with a serrated knife or cake leveler. However, if you do this, do not throw out those cake scraps from the top! They are actually the moistest part of the cake and are absolutely delicious. Enjoy them as a snack, or freeze them for later to make cake balls/pops/truffles.
First, we’re going to blitz some Oreos. Put 7 gluten-free Oreos in a food processor and pulse until they become fine crumbs. Set aside, and try not to nibble.
Now for the frosting. In a large mixing bowl, whip the soft butter with a stand mixer or electric mixer for 4-5 minutes until pale and fluffy.
Add half the (sifted) powdered sugar into the butter, and mix on low for 1-2 minutes until combined. Turn up the speed to medium-high and whip for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the second half of the sifted powdered sugar and repeat.
Add the vanilla extract and then add the milk, one tbsp at a time, to loosen up the frosting. If the frosting is too stiff, add a little more milk. If it’s too runny, add a little more powdered sugar.
Once it’s nice and spreadable, reserve approximately ⅓ of the frosting and place it in a covered bowl or container for decorating at a later stage (this is the vanilla frosting).
With the remaining ⅔ of the frosting, add the Oreo crumbs gradually, one small handful at a time, mixing as you go. Add as many crumbs as you like, depending on your preference, and stop once your frosting has achieved its desired look and consistency (this is the cookies and cream frosting).
Decorating time! You can frost the cake however you want, but I started by doing a crumb coat with the cookies and cream buttercream. A crumb coat is a thin layer of frosting that helps seal in all the crumbs before adding the final coat. I put my crumb-coated cake into the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
Next, I added a second, thicker layer of Oreo buttercream to the cake. I used a palette knife to make it nice and smooth, then decorated the sides of the cake with extra Oreo cookie crumbs. Personally, I think the crumbs add a nice texture and also create a lovely visual contrast with the white frosting.
I finished off the top of the cake with large swirls of vanilla buttercream and, of course, whole Oreos cut in half. It is an Oreo cake, after all.
And there you have it: a delicious gluten-free Oreo cookie cake. What a beautiful thing to behold (and eat).
Serving Size 1 slice
Servings 8
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
The nutritional information is based on the brands and ingredients I used for this recipe. They may not be 100% accurate for you. Please check your nutrition labels for more precise information.
Zesty lemon sponge and tart blackberry icing come together beautifully in these delicious summer cupcakes.