Michigan Cherries

Did you know that Michigan produces more tart cherries than any other state in the country? No wonder Traverse City is designated as the permanent home of the National Cherry Festival! Usually people think of pie or cobbler when baking with cherries.

However, I think these gluten free cherry chocolate chunk cookies should be just as revered. The blend of the tartness of the cherry with the sweetness of the chocolate chunk tastes like a chocolate covered cherry, wrapped up in buttery cookie dough. One bite and you’ll be hooked!

Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate

If you’ve been following me any length of time, you know I love Enjoy Life Foods chocolate. I often write about their dark chocolate morsels or their semi-sweet chocolate mini chips. However, their semi-sweet chocolate mega chunks deserve a shout out as well. I mean, who doesn’t want more chocolate in every bite, right?

I buy them not just because they taste good. Enjoy Life Foods carries a reputation of food allergy safety in all they do. In fact, they earned the first gluten free certification from GIG. In addition to that, these chips are non-gmo, kosher, halal certified, vegan, fodmap friendly, and paleo. I love brands who try to help as many people as possible.

(One of my favorite uses for Enjoy Life Chocolate is this decadent dairy free, Gluten Free Mocha Cake!)

Coconut Oil vs Shortening VS Butter

So, these gluten free cherry chocolate chunk cookies use a blend of coconut oil and butter. Why? Well, shortening and coconut oil in a cookie recipe prevent spread. Since we want the cookies to flatten a little, not a lot, we use an equal blend of both.

Could you use all butter? Sure. However, know that shortening and butter contain different levels of moisture. Butter contains approximately 80% fat and 20% liquid. Shortening and coconut oil contain no liquid. Therefore, if you choose to sub straight butter in a recipe, you will likely need more flour, or reduce the liquid in the recipe.

(Also, why coconut oil vs. shortening? Simply because I use coconut oil for other purposes, and have it on hand. If you want to use shortening, knock yourself out. Well, not literally. That would hurt.)

King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour

Speaking of flour, my gluten free flour preferences have changed over the years. In all honesty, I used to bake with whatever flour I had handy. However, I recently started using King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure gluten free flour in almost all of my baking. Let me tell you why.

First, one 1/4 cup of KAF GF flour weighs approximately the same as wheat flour. This does not hold true for all gluten free flours. Second, it contains no dairy and no gmo’s. Plus, King Arthur Flour fortifies this GF flour with iron, calcium and B vitamins. Not a common practice among other companies.

(Note – For those with additional food restrictions, this product contains none of the top 8 allergens. However, King Arthur Flour informed me they process it on lines shared with milk, egg, soy and almonds.)

Cherries and their Juice

This recipe for gluten free cherry chocolate chunk cookies uses dried cherries soaked in cherry juice.  (No vanilla!) However, it uses only one tablespoon. So, whaddya do with the extra tart cherry juice? Well, drink it, for one. Or use it in this amazing Tart Cherry Glazed Salmon recipe from Running to the Kitchen.

Some research suggests that that cherry juice may help with sleep regulation. Therefore, I’ve been tempted to try these Tart Cherry Sleep Gummies from WellnessMama. Fruit snacks aren’t just for kids anymore, my friends!

Don’t want to buy cherry juice? You can soak them in water, instead.

Looking for more cherry recipes? Try my easy Gluten Free Black Forest Trifle.

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Gluten Free Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Equipment

• USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan
• Enjoy Life Semi Sweet Mega Chunks, 10 Ounce Bags (Pack of 6)
• King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 Pounds

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c King Arthur Flour Measure for Measure Flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup dried cherries chopped
• 1 tbsp tart cherry juice (or water)
• 1/4 c butter softened
• 1/4 c coconut oil softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 c white sugar
• 1 egg
• 5 oz. Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks

Instructions

• Chop dried cherries and soak in warm tart cherry juice (or water) for approximately 10 minutes.
• Using stand or hand mixer, cream butter and coconut oil. Add sugars, and continue creaming until well combined. Add egg into the creamed sugar mixture. 
• In smaller bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking soda. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, about one third at a time. Make sure to scrape bowl in between additions to make sure all flour has been incorporated.
• Add soaked cherries and chocolate chunks and stir well with a spoon. 
• Cover dough and chill for at least one hour or longer.
• Remove dough from fridge, preheat oven to 350, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• After dough has come to room temperature, use your hands to gather about 2 tbsp of dough. Roll into a ball and then flatten. Place cookies on lined cookie sheet and bake in oven for 10 minutes. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes prior to moving to cooling rack.

What cookie is your favorite? What’s your favorite regional ingredient with which to bake/cook? Leave me a note in the comments below!

**This post was not sponsored by Enjoy Life or King Arthur Flour. However, this post does contain Amazon affiliate links. I receive a small commission from those sales, but that does not affect the cost of your purchase. Thanks for supporting my page!**

Originally Published January 2017

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What is a Trifle?

I love a good trifle for all sorts of reasons. One, they might be the easiest dessert to put together. Secondly, they often use ingredients I have laying around the house. Possibly the best thing abut a trifle is the layers. I love a good layered dessert, don’t you? All the layers get repeated so you get to savor each taste over and over again.

After making this easy gluten-free Black Forest Trifle I found on the internet, it got me thinking. What exactly IS a trifle? What makes it different from a parfait? How are they both different from a fool? (Who even knew there was a dish called a fool?!?!) All desserts have cake of some sort, and layers of custard or pudding, and whipped cream.

Liqueur (or Liquor) is The Key Ingredient

Apparently, what sets a trifle apart from the rest is soaking liquid. Apparently, most trifles contain cake soaked in liqueur. Well, I was serving this easy gluten-free Black Forest Trifle at a church funeral dinner. Yeah, choosing to leave the alcohol out of this one. However, the chocolate cake could be soaked in cherry juice. Noted for next time.

Make This Easy Trifle with a Gluten Free Cake Mix

I used Better Batter’s chocolate cake mix as base of this easy gluten-free Black Forest Trifle. They generously sent me free product to try this past summer, and I still had their chocolate cake mix sitting down in my pantry.

Better Batter mixes contain NONE of the 8 most common allergens. Even their powdered sugar is corn-free! This mix is easy to whip together. Simply add water, oil and eggs, mix well and bake! Doesn’t get much easier than that.

I baked my cake one day before I needed the dessert. Therefore it would be completely cooled when it came time to assemble. The original Black Forest Trifle recipe I found on the internet, by The Novice Chef, called for chocolate pudding.

However, I had an extra box of vanilla pudding mix in my cupboard I wanted to use. So I improvised, made the vanilla pudding, and added homemade chocolate syrup I had in fridge. Voila, chocolate pudding! Need it dairy-free? Use my recipe for dairy-free pudding!

How to Make Homemade Whipped Cream

This recipe calls for whipped cream. I don’t know about you, but I’m not a fan of Cool Whip. It works great in a pinch, but it’s not REALLY whipped cream. Besides, homemade whipped cream is so easy to make.

Want to know my secret trick? Freeze the bowl you intend to whip the cream in overnight. I use a metal mixing bowl for this. It dramatically cuts down the amount of time you need to whip your cream. I whipped mine for less than three minutes. Oh, and I also added sugar to the cream prior to whipping.

Other Gluten Free Trifle Recipes

Well, I’m happy to report that this easy gluten-free Black Forest Trifle was a success. The head of the kitchen committee at church messaged me to say “It was excellent!” They consumed every last bit, down to the last crumb.” Score one for gluten-free baking!

I’ll add that to my list of other successful trifles, such as this peppermint Christmas Chocolate Trifle. Looking for something similar, but in a smaller portion size? Check out Eat At Our Table’s recipe for an adorable Gluten Free Midnight Brownie Cookie Parfait.

Check out this list of 50 trifle recipes for parties for more inspiration! 

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Easy Gluten-Free Black Forest Trifle

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 box gluten-free chocolate cake mix prepared
• 1 box chocolate Jello pudding 5.9 oz (6 serving) size
• 1 can cherry pie filling If you like a lot of cherry, you might want a second can.
• 1 16 oz carton heavy whipping cream whipped, with 2 tbsp sugar
• 1-2 cup fresh cherries pitted
• 1/2 c kirsch brandy or cherry juice – optional

Instructions

• Prepare gluten-free chocolate cake mix according to directions. Allow to cool, preferably overnight. If desired, soak cake with 1/2 cup kirsch cherry brandy or cherry juice. 
• Prepare pudding. You can use instant or cooked, but it needs to be thoroughly chilled which ever you choose. 
• Whip the cream. This is easier to accomplish if whisked in a metal bowl that has been stored in the freezer for a few hours. (But not absolutely necessary.) Whip cream until soft peaks form, approximately 2.5 minutes. Be careful not to overwhip, as it will start to turn to butter. 
• Cut cooled cake into chunks, and layer 1/3 of the prepared cake into a large glass bowl. Top with 1/3 of the pudding, then 1/2 of the cherry pie filling, and finally 1/3 of the whip cream. Repeat layers until ingredients are used.
• Adorn the top of the trifle with the fresh cherries, and shaved chocolate if desired. Refrigerate at least an hour prior to serving.  . 

This easy gluten-free Black Forest Trifle would be perfect for a Christmas dinner. Let me know if you make it, by tagging it with #miglutenfreegal.

Originally Published November 2017

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This Recipe Uses One Measuring Cup

This simple recipe for a gluten free upside down cake originates with my husband’s grandmother. This recipe’s uniqueness stems from its usage of mainly one measuring device. A one cup measuring cup, in fact. He told me about this “heaping cup, scant cup” years ago and it fascinated me.

As you’ve seen me state before, measuring flour should be an exact task. One should spoon the gluten free flour into a cup and then level it off. (This Levup from DreamFarm makes that easy with a built in leveler.) However, this recipe throws that knowledge to the wind. If grandma say “heaping cup of flour,” that’s what we’ll do!

How much is a heaping cup of flour? Approximately 1 1/4 cup.

So Easy It Worked the First Time

One thing I wish to accomplish with this blog is to make old things new. To allow you to remake old recipes you loved, before you started this gluten free journey. Also, I want to show that just because we follow a strict diet doesn’t mean there’s not room for creativity.

Would you believe I’ve never made an upside down cake? My grandmother made many cakes when I was a child. However, I don’t remember even eating pineapple upside down cake once. So I decided this would be my year to do so. And when I had leftover cherries from my Gluten Free Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookie photos, I decided it was time.

No cherry pitter? No problem! I simply used a paring knife to cut my cherries into fourths

How Much Baking Powder per Cup of Flour?

So, I wanted to get this gluten free upside down cake started. However, my husband was fast asleep in the recliner, and the recipe was in his noggin’. Therefore, I called my mother-in-law to ask her. Since the quick cake base originated with HER mother-in-law, she wasn’t sure of the ingredients either.

Luckily, he woke up while we were on the phone. As I started to relay the recipe to her over the phone, she started to jot it down herself. None of us were certain on how much baking powder, salt or vanilla. After searching the internet for rations and discussing things further, we arrived at a recipe.

What’s the ratio of baking powder to flour? 1 tsp baking powder per 1 cup flour

How Long Should You Bake an Upside Down Cake?

While we all agreed on the cake portion, the fruit portion left me a bit stumped. I relied heavily on The Kitchn’s “How to Make an Upside Down Cake with Almost Any Fruit.” They state to melt the butter and sugar in the pan, then place the fruit on top. My husband says grandma mixed the fruit in with the sugar.

I did it the Kitchn’s way. They stated to cook it for 40-45 minutes. I did it for 30 minutes. However, when I flipped it over, the center was undercooked. I magically managed to flip it back into the pan and bake it for another 10 minutes, which did the trick. For a rookie, I sure lucked out.

Just Like Grandma Used to Make

Again, never having made a gluten free upside down cake before, I relied on my husband’s taster for an opinion. He stated “That’s exactly what an upside down cake is supposed to taste like!” I’d like to think grandma would be proud.

This is one of just many family recipes I’ve recreated from my husband’s family. If you like lemon, try my mother in law’s Gluten Free Layer Cake filled with homemade Lemon Curd. Prefer chocolate? Try my Gluten Free Wacky Cake recipes, which also happens to be egg and dairy free. Not into sweet stuff? Try Grandpa’s Gluten Free Buckwheat bread recipe.

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Gluten Free Upside Down Cake

Equipment

• Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour, 3 Pound
• OXO Good Grips Cherry & Olive Pitter – Beet

Ingredients

• Heaping cup of gluten free flour blend 1 1/4 cup (I used gluten free Cup 4 Cup flour)
• Scant cup of sugar 3/4 cup
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

In a one cup measuring cup, mix together

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp oil
• then fill the rest with milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the fruit “topping”

• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 1 c sugar
• 2 cups of fruit I used 10 oz of fresh cherries, quartered

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. 
• In a one cup measuring cup, add a cracked egg and beat. To that, add 2 tbsp oil of choice, and mix. Finally, fill the rest of that one cup measuring cup with milk. Add to dry ingredients and mix well. 
• Add vanilla to batter and blend. Set aside. 
• In a 9 inch round baking pan, melt butter. I did so placing it in the oven while it heated. To that, I added the sugar, stirred it carefully, and returned it to the oven to stay warm. 
• Prepare your fruit by chopping it into smaller pieces. You should have approximately 2 to 3 cups. I simply used enough to cover the bottom of the pan. 
• Remove warm pan of butter and sugar from the oven, and add fruit on top. 
• Next, pour batter over fruit, and bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
• After removing from the oven, place a plate or platter over the top of the pan, and flip it over onto the plate. Do so shortly after removing it from the oven, or the sugar will harden, making it difficult to remove from the pan. 

**Dreamfarm sent me some of their products to try, for free. I was not otherwise compensated for this post. However, this post does contain Amazon affiliate links. Anything purchased through them does credit me with a small portion of the sale. It does not, however, affect your cost.**

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What Exactly is Spumoni?

Spumoni is a funny name for an interesting combination of flavors. DeLuca’s Restaurant in Lansing was the only place I knew that offered this ice cream made of three unique flavors. Made from a blend of chocolate, cherry and pistachio ice cream, it’s popular here in Michigan.

I had a collection of pistachios, dried cherries and bittersweet chocolate chips in my kitchen. So I decided to make Gluten Free Spumoni cookies. The blend of saltiness of the pistachios along with the sweetness of the chocolate and cherries makes for a blend of flavors that won’t soon be forgotten.

Which Gluten Free Flour Should I Use?

Please remember that different flour blends absorb moisture differently. When I first wrote this recipe, I used a Ryze gluten free flour. This company is no longer in business. Now I use King Arthur Measure for Measure. You can use a different blend, just remember that your results may vary.

Why I Recommend Chopping Your Pistachios

So, I followed a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and added chopped pistachios and chopped dried cherries. I suppose you could leave them whole, but I like cookies that have a bit of each taste in every bite. When it comes to pistachios, I prefer to use Wonderful Pistachios, because they are specifically marked gluten free.

Why We Refrigerate Cookie Dough

When making a cookie dough, it’s always best to refrigerate your dough prior to baking. It helps the gluten free cookie dough hold its shape. It also allows the flavors of the ingredients to meld together.

I found that this Gluten Free Spumoni cookie dough, when refrigerated, doesn’t spread as much as others. Therefore, after scooping out dough, pat the cookie into a round shape to get the well rounded cookie. Otherwise the cookie stays in a round heap.

The Perfect After School Treat

These spumoni cookies are loaded with fruit and nuts, so that makes them healthy, right? They’d definitely be great for an after school snack, with a cool glass of milk. These cookies, which are a blend of sweet and tart, remind me of one of my favorite children’s books, The Watson’s Go To Birmingham.

Written by a Flint native (whose sister-in-law lives in my neighborhood), this Newberry award winning book combines memorable moments of laughter with poignant stories of a distressing time in our country’s history. The book is intended to teach children about the events that happened at 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham.

Egg Free, Dairy Free and Grain Free Options

Need them to be egg and dairy free? Try my Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. Need a grain free chocolate chip cookie? Try these Almond Flour Gluten Free Cookies from A Saucy Kitchen. Or these Coconut Flour cookies from Texanerin.

Other Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

These Gluten Free Spumoni Cookies are just one of many gluten free chocolate chip cookies on my website. Want them without nuts? I recommend my Gluten Free Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Short on time and can’t take time for all those individual cookies? Make my easy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Blondies. One pan, two mixes, and you’re practically done! Want a cookie tried with various kinds of gluten free flour blends? Try this well researched recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from There is Life After Wheat.

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Gluten Free Spumoni Cookies

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Chill Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 27 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp butter, unsalted room temperature
• 1/3 c sugar
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2 cups King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 c. chopped pistachios
• 2/3 c. chopped dried cherries
• 1 c. chocolate chips

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with salt and vanilla. Add in sugars and beat well until mixture is smooth. Add eggs & milk and mix well.
• Add baking soda and half of the flour. Beat batter after each addition.
• Fold in chocolate chips, chopped pistachios and chopped dried cherries. Mix with spoon until distributed throughout.
• Scoop dough into balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate dough for 1-2 hours until well chilled.
• Preheat oven to 375. Bake cookies for 11 minutes.
• Remove cookies from oven and let cool, on cookie sheet, for 10 minutes. Remove to rack to cool completely.

Notes

King Arthur recommends using only 2 tbsp of milk, as well as adding 3 tbsp of honey and 1 tbsp of cider vinegar. They also suggest using 3/4 tsp salt instead of 1/2 tsp, but with the addition of the pistachios, I think that would make these cookies too salty. 

** This post does contain affiliate links. Purchases made through those links help support this blog with no extra expense to you. Thank you for your continued support!**

Originally Published February 2017

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