Quarkbällchen - doughnut heaven

Yep. You heard right. Gluten free doughnuts. Homemade, deep fried, and so completely German!

As some of you might know, Germany is THE place to be at Christmas time. We actually discovered that the region we live in, the Erzgebirge (or Ore Mountains), is the birthplace of Christmas as we know it today. The Christmas tree, ornaments, and especially the lights we put up came from this region of Germany! They also started the wildly popular European tradition of Christmas Markets. And boy are they amazing! They build little villages for the whole month before Christmas and they are right out of a Hallmark card. Lights everywhere, music playing, people drinking mulled wine and eating... doughnuts! Ok, they're eating quarkbällchen, which is basically a doughnut.  They have all different flavors: vanilla, almond, cinnamon sugar, etc. So of course Levi tries one. And he LOVES them. So we get them a few more times. And finally, I'm a little fed up with watching someone else eat delicious, German doughnuts...

These are not just any doughnut. They are made with a special dairy product called quark (hence the name). It loosely translates as curd cheese. This is different than cheese curds and most closely resembles cottage cheese. I checked and I guess they sell it at Whole Foods! Not sure about regular grocery stores as I can't really check until I get home this summer. It's everywhere here. Very popular and treated almost like yogurt. They flavor it and eat it right out of the container. This is completely new to me so excuse me if this is common in the US. Maybe I've been living overseas too long...

So what do I do when I want something I can't have? Make it myself! And boy was it worth it.

This is adapted from a German recipe so all the ingredients are listed by weight.  I have a kitchen scale (which is awesome) so I didn't convert anything to typical US measurements. Sorry!

Gluten Free German Christmas Doughnuts (Quarkbällchen)
Makes: 20-30 doughnut balls               Time: 10 min prep, 20 min frying

INGREDIENTS

• 250g All-purpose gluten free flour (see my blend here)
• 250g Quark (or cottage cheese if you have to)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 113g Sugar
• 8g Baking powder
• 3/4 tsp Guar gum
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 Eggs
• Oil for frying (I used vegetable oil)
• Toppings: powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar

METHOD

1. Add about 4 cups of oil (or 1 liter) to a sauce pan and heat on medium or a little higher. You're deep frying so be careful! You'll have to test the oil temp with a few tester doughnuts to get it right. You want it to sizzle but not get dark too quickly. The inside needs to be cooked and the outside golden brown.
2. This is exactly why this recipe is awesome: put all the ingredients in a bowl (except the oil and toppings) and use a hand mixer to make a smooth batter.
3. Take a mini ice cream scoop, or use two spoons, and scoop small balls of dough into the oil. Do a couple at a time so they cook evenly. Trial and error is the name of the game. Make one, cook, cut it open. Is it done on the inside? Is the outside a dark golden brown? Did it take forever to cook? Change the temp accordingly and be aware it takes a while for the oil temp to change.
4. Once they're cooked, fish them out with kitchen skimmer. Put on paper towels to soak up excess oil.
5. To finish them off, either dust with powdered sugar or roll in cinnamon sugar.

Eat them while they're fresh! They are incredible. Light, fluffy, sweet. Have with a mug of hot mulled wine to get the full German Christmas market experience. Invite friends over and they will be floored. Or don't because you really want to eat them all by yourself.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

Here's some websites that talk about the history of Christmas in our region:

• http://www.christkindl-markt.com/erzgebirge-germany-home-christmas-ornaments-a-12.html
• http://www.live-like-a-german.com/germany_related_articles/show/The-Erzgebirge-Christmas-Country-in-Germany

Zucchini Bread - it will change your life

Hi everyone! It seems crazy but our regular season is already over! It's playoff time and we're really excited to actually be in the playoffs this year. That also means that our time here is almost over. Whenever something is coming to an end it makes you look back and remember that stage of your life. Our time in Poland has been great. Sometimes hard, frustrating, even boring but overall we've enjoyed ourselves here.

Looking back at my year usually involves thinking about the best things I've made. This one was actually brought to my attention by one of our teammates. I made some zucchini bread at the beginning of the year and brought it to some of our friends. He thought it was the best thing he's ever eaten. And he kept telling me how great it was. He ate the whole loaf in one sitting. Then he told me he would invest in my bakery if I ever opened one in Israel. That was definitely one of the best compliments.

Honestly, I've always loved zucchini bread. My mom has made it ever since I was little and it's one of my favorites. So being gluten free was not an excuse to leave behind one of my favorite things.

So I found a recipe online and adapted it to be gluten free. And it just so happens to be dairy free. After a couple of trials I have tweaked it to be just right. Not that it needed changing. Just perfecting. That's kinda how I do things :)

I adapted this recipe to be gluten free from this regular version: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-zucchini-bread/

Zucchini Bread

Time: 1 hr 20 min                              Servings: 2 loafs

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups All purpose gluten free flour (see my blend here)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Baking soda
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 2 tsp Guar Gum (or xanthan gum)
• 2 tsp Ground cinnamon
• 4 Eggs
• 1 cup Vegetable oil
• 1-3/4 cups Granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
• 2 cups Zucchini, grated
• 1 cup Walnuts, chopped (optional)

METHOD:

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, guar gum, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in zucchini and nuts. Pour batter into pans.
4. Bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top becomes too brown, tent it with some aluminum foil. Cool bread in the pan for 20 minutes.

You're supposed to wait until the loaf is completely cool before you slice it, but it's soooooo good warm from the oven. It's kinda like cake that you pass off as a bread. If I make it for dessert, I don't put the nuts. You could even add a glaze to be extra fancy. Either way, you will love this. It might unofficially be the best thing I've made this year...

Love,

Maura

Christmas Cookie Decorating - an American Tradition

Decorating dozens of sugar cookies is what most American families will be doing at Christmas time.  This is definitely a tradition we brought with us to Poland. Our Polish friend was very excited to learn what this craziness was all about. Unfortunately, since the American population in Slupsk is quite small, there are not a whole lot of cookie decorating supplies in the grocery stores. So we did our best with no cookie cutters or food coloring for the frosting. Nonetheless, we had a wonderful time. So if you are in need of a gluten free/dairy free Christmas cookie recipe, this is it! Just make sure your decorations are also.

Frosted Sugar Cookies
Makes: ~3 dozen       Time: 10 min prep, 3 hrs chilling (optional), 8 min baking

COOKIE INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 lb (2 sticks, 250g) Salted Butter, softened (or shortening for dairy free)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp GF Vanilla Extract*
• 1/2 tsp GF Almond Extract*
• 2-3/4 cups All-Purpose GF Flour
• 1 tbsp guar gum
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cream of tartar*

*NOTE: They do not have extracts in Poland. They instead have something called aromat which is scented but honestly tastes terrible. Real extracts are preferred. Also, cream of tartar has proven very hard for me in find in both Poland and Spain. Lucky for me, I can bring a 9 month supply of these with me each time.

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
• 2-1/2 tbsp Salted Butter (or Shortening)
• 1-1/2 tbsp Heavy Cream (or Soy Milk)
• 3/4 tsp GF Vanilla Extract

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I used a silicone baking mat)
2. Cream together the powdered sugar and butter/shortening in a mixer (or with a hand mixer) until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract.
3. Stir in the flour, guar gum, baking powder, and cream of tartar. Careful not to get covered in flour if you are using your mixer still :)
4. Now that your dough is ready, you can choose the fast or slow option. If your kids (or you) can't wait 3 hours before baking/decorating, just spoon rounded tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet and press to flatten. Otherwise, chill the dough for 3 hours in the fridge. Then you will be able to roll it out (about 1/4 inch thick) between sheets of plastic wrap to cut out shapes. Dip your cookie cutters in flour so the dough doesn't stick.
5. Be careful when you are spacing out your cookies. They will grow in size so leave about 1-2 inches between each one. If the dough gets too sticky, put it back in the fridge for 10 minutes or even in the freezer. Cold dough is key! You could even cut out the shapes, remove the excess dough, and then pop them back in the fridge before attempting to transfer them to the baking sheet.
6. Bake for 7-8 minutes until the edges are lightly brown. Baking them on parchment paper or a silicone baking mat with allow for easy removal. Let the cookies rest for 5 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.
7. Frosting: cream all the ingredients together until smooth.
8. Wait till the cookies are cool and then frost away!

I love knowing that even though I can't have gluten and Levi can't have dairy, we can still have an awesome and delicious cookie decorating party. And I bet you wouldn't even know. Merry Christmas!!!!!!

The Knutsons 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies...with Coconut Flour!

The more gluten free baking I do, the more random ingredients I come across.  Coconut flour is kind of exotic and honestly, without Celiacs, I probably never would have used it. However, coconut flour is awesome! First, it's really absorbent so you use WAY less flour than a normal recipe. I've made a batch of cupcakes with only 1/2 cup of flour. Second, it makes the most light and fluffy baked goods ever. And it's pretty healthy! Gluten free or not, you should try some recipes with coconut flour. 

Oh, and conveniently, I am going to give you one. Chocolate Crinkle Cookies! These are so good. The fudgy cookies that are covered in powdered sugar and then when you bake them they get all cracked. I think people make them around Christmas time but I make them whenever I want. I made them for the team a couple weeks ago and they were a hit.

I've adapted this recipe slightly from the one on tropicaltraditions.com. They have all kinds of recipes using coconut flour and they also sell coconut flour that is really good quality. Their recipe creates a gluten free flour blend but since I already have an all-purpose flour, I changed it a bit.


Gluten Free Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Servings: 3 dozen cookies
Prep: 1 hr and 20 min

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
1/2 cup melted butter, coconut oil, or shortening (I used shortening)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-3/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour
3-1/2 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp xanthan gum (I use guar gum, it's cheaper and works the same)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
powdered sugar

1. Melt chocolate in bowl the microwave. Be careful not to burn the chocolate. Microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time, stirring well in between until it's all melted.
2. Whisk in oil and sugar. Then mix in the eggs, one at a time. Then add the vanilla extract. The mixture should be thick.
3. Then mix in all the dry ingredients (flours, xanthan gum, salt, & baking powder). The batter will look like brownie batter.
4. Refrigerate for an hour or more, until the batter is firm.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
6. Put powdered sugar in a small bowl. Take a tablespoon of the batter and roll it into a ball and then roll in the powdered sugar.
7. Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the cookies look set. Let cool for 3 minutes before moving to a wire rack.

That's it! Really make sure the dough is cold so that the rolling process is easier. You will have sticky hands but that's ok :) My batch made about 32 cookies. They are meant to be kinda small, only about 2 inches wide. They are soooooooo good! You will need to find a reason to give them away or you'll probably end up eating the whole batch...


Maura

Plum Crumble Bars

These were SOOOOOOO good. I made them for the team after their first exhibition game. The first game it's always hard to gauge when it is appropriate to hand out treats. So I waited a little to long so only about half the team got some. I brought 24. The team has maybe 12 players, 2 coaches, and a couple of managers and such. So maybe 20 people max. All but 2 were gone between about 6-7 players and wives. So they were epic.

I had been seeing plums everywhere in the grocery stores here. When I saw this recipe for plum crumble bars on one of my favorite websites (glutenfreeonashoestring.com) I had to make them. They tasted like little apple pies, but much more portable. They were dairy free because I found some vegetable shortening here to substitute for the butter (not healthy for you but at least Levi wouldn't get a stomach ache). I doubled the recipe and ended up having too much of the crumble topping. But I just froze it and will use it for a quick dessert some other time.

Here is the epic recipe:

SHORTBREAD PLUM CRUMBLE BARS
2 cups + 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum (I use guar gum. same result, but way cheaper)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
16 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature (or shortening for dairy free)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (in Europe, they only have granulated brown sugar but the end result is the same)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pound plums (ripe, but not very soft), rinsed and blotted dry
1 tsp cornstarch

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9-inch square pan with crisscrossed sheets of unbleached parchment paper, each overhanging two opposite sides. (This helps you take it out at the end with no sticking and no mess.) Set the pan aside.
2. In a large bowl, place 2 cups flour, the xanthan gum, sugar and salt, and whisk to combine well. Add the butter, and mix to combine. The mixture should come together as a soft dough. Remove about 3/4 cup (150g) of the dough and transfer it to a medium-size bowl. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and the remaining 1/4 cup (35g) flour to the reserved dough, and mix to combine. This is the crumble topping. Place the bowl of crumble topping in the freezer to chill.
3. Scrape the remaining soft shortbread dough into the prepared square pan, and press into an even layer with well-floured hands. Set the pan aside.
4. Slice each of the plums in half, then remove and discard the pits. With a really sharp knife, carefully slice the plums into wedges, each about 1/4-inch wide, being careful not to bruise or crush the fruit. Blot the plum slices with paper towels to remove extra juice on the surface. Lay the plum slices on top of the shortbread in 4 parallel rows, from one side of the pan to the other, overlapping them slightly in each row. Sprinkle the plums evenly with the cornstarch.
5. Remove the crumble topping from the freezer and sprinkle it in an even layer on top of the plums. Press down on the topping gently but firmly.
6. Place the pan in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is uniformly light brown in color and seems set. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely (place in the freezer to speed the process). Carefully remove the bars from the pan by the overhung parchment paper. With a very sharp knife, slice into 16 equal pieces. The bars will be moist and will not set up rock hard because of the moisture in the plums, but will hold together when handled carefully.
7. Serve chilled or at room temperature. I preferred room temperature because they are easier to bite into. Freeze any leftovers.

I followed this recipe almost exactly. It worked out really well but the set-up is fairly time-consuming. Pitting, slicing, and placing all the plum slices along with the rest of the pre-baking steps take about an hour. Then 45 minutes of baking. So make this well ahead of when you want to serve them. I bet you could use peaches or apples with this and it would also be totally amazing. Hope you like it!

Maura