Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays
60 Recipes for Traditional Festive Treats
by Jeanne Sauvage
Photographs by Clare Barboza
Chronicle
October 2012
$24.95/Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-1452107011

Contact: David Hawk
415-537-4276
David_Hawk@chroniclebooks.com

Goodbye gluten—hello holidays! If you think you can’t enjoy your favorite holiday baked goods anymore, well, think again. Gluten-free baking expert Jeanne Sauvage has perfected 60 recipes that taste so delicious you’ll swear the gluten is still there.

Gluten-Free Holiday Baking makes it easy to bake up homemade treats that let everyone indulge in the festivities.  From savory Cheese Straws perfect for party snacks and light and airy Dinner Rolls to classic desserts like Apple-Cinnamon Pie and crispy Candy Cane Cookies, each decadent cake, pie, cookie, bread, and special dessert has been taste tested by the author (gluten-intolerant herself), her family, and a veritable army of her gluten-sensitive friends.

Rugelach for Hanukah, Benne Cookies for Kwanzaa and a traditional Bûche de Nöel for Christmas—offer up plenty of choices here for everyone to celebrate. Complete with a list of sources for finding essential gluten-free ingredients including flours (brown rice, tapioca, and more) and xantham gum, plus the recipe for Jeanne’s personally developed all-purpose flour mixture, this cookbook will make your holiday baking very merry and delicious indeed.

About the Author

Jeanne Sauvage writes the popular blog Art of Gluten-Free Baking. Since being diagnosed as gluten-intolerant after the birth of her daughter in 2000, she has devoted herself to investigating and developing new gluten-free recipes that taste just as great as those with wheat.  Her philosophy is that it’s not enough to bake gluten-free, the recipe needs to be delicious or what’s the point? She lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter.

Clare Barboza is a Seattle-based food photographer, with a passion for documenting how food goes from the farm to the kitchen to the table. She has photographed several cookbooks and regularly shoots for various publications, restaurants, and chefs.

Sample Recipes

Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour

Makes 4½ cups / 660 g

1¼ cups/170 g brown rice flour
1¼ cups/205 g white rice flour
1 cup/165 g sweet rice flour
1 cup/120 g tapioca flour
Scant 2 tsp xanthan gum

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown and white rice flours, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum thoroughly. Transfer the mix to an airtight container. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 6 weeks or in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.

Cheese Crackers and Straws

60 or more crackers or straws

Cheese crackers and straws are terrific party snacks, especially for New Year’s Eve. They are simple to prepare and get rave reviews from guests. Sometimes I make them with cheese only, and sometimes I add a pinch of cayenne for a little kick. You can also experiment with your own choice of herbs and spices. The recipe here calls for both Cheddar cheese and Parmesan. If you like, you can use Cheddar alone, by replacing the Parmesan with the same amount of Cheddar.

1½ cups/210 g Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (see below)
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
½ tsp dried herb such as thyme or rosemary or ground spice such as cumin (optional)
6 Tbsp/85 g cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2½ cups/175 g grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup/70 g grated Parmesan cheese
1 extra-large egg
¼ cup/60 ml milk

Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C/gas mark 5. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a food processor, combine the flour, salt, cayenne (if using), and dried herb (if using).

Pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and both the cheeses and pulse until evenly mixed with the dry ingredients, about 1 minute. The dough will look like wet sand with pebbles. Add the egg and pulse until incorporated. With the motor running, pour the milk through the feed tube and blend until the dough forms a ball. (Alternatively, you may mix the dough by hand, using a pastry cutter to combine the dry ingredients and the butter and cheeses. Then, with a wooden spoon, stir in the egg and milk. The dough will be very stiff.) Divide the dough into two equal portions.

To make cracker rounds: Place a portion of the dough between two pieces of waxed paper and roll to ⅛ in/3 mm thick. Using a 2-in/5-cm cookie cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Using a spatula, place the cutouts on a prepared sheet, spacing them at least ½ in/12 mm apart. Roll out the dough scraps and repeat the process until all the dough is used.

To make straws: From a portion of dough, pinch off a marble-sized piece of dough. Roll into a ball and then put on a piece of waxed paper and roll into an evenly shaped cylinder about 5½ in/14 cm long. Place on a prepared sheet. Repeat until all the dough is used, spacing the cylinders at least ½ in/12 mm apart.

Place the sheets on the middle and lower oven racks. Bake until the crackers or straws are brownish around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. They will be moderately crunchy. Let the crackers or straws cool on the cookie sheets until you can pick them up, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Gingerbread Cookies

4 dozen medium cookies

Gingerbread cookies are the quintessential Christmas cookie. This recipe calls for the same dough prepared for the Gingerbread House. You can use cookie cutters to create any shapes you want. I have to say that you should make at least a few gingerbread men and women.

4½ cups/630 g Jeanne’s Gluten- Free All-Purpose Flour (see above)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 cup/225 g unsalted butter
1 cup/200 g granulated sugar
1 cup/240 ml unsulphured molasses

Royal Icing
3 egg whites
4 cups/450 g confectioners’ sugar, plus more if needed
½ tsp cream of tartar

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and ginger.

In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the granulated sugar and molasses and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely.

Carefully pour the sugar mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed for several seconds until combined. The dough will be stiff and oily. Divide the dough into three fairly equal pieces, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C/gas mark 5. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator. Place the dough between two pieces of waxed paper and roll to ⅛ in/3 mm thick. Using cookie cutters, cut out as many shapes as possible. The dough is oily, so the cutter shouldn’t stick to the dough. Using a spatula, place the shapes on the prepared sheets, spacing them at least 1 in/2.5 cm apart.

Bake until the cookies are dark brown, about 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Let the sheets cool completely and repeat with the remaining dough.

To make the royal icing / In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and the cream of tartar and whisk until smooth. The mixture should be thick, but not so thick that it is a paste. Add water, 1 tsp at a time, if it is too thick. Cover the icing with plastic wrap until needed.

Decorate the cookies and let sit for about 1 hour to allow the icing to set.

Store in an airtight container, with waxed paper between the layers, at room temperature for up to 7 days.

These Recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:

Recipes from Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays by Jeanne Sauvage. Photographs by Clare Barboza. (Chronicle; October 2012; $24.95/Hardcover: ISBN-13: 978-1452107011).  http://www.chroniclebooks.com/.