What to Do with 8.5 lbs. of Blueberries

The first time I made this gluten free blueberry zucchini bread was in in 2013. I was recovering from an injury that August, which seems to be right on schedule for me. I had fallen down the stairs at my church and severely sprained my ankle.

As I hate crutches, I convinced my husband to bring up my rolling desk chair, which was in the basement. It became my personal scooter/wheelchair. It’s handy for when you want to do the dishes and make lunch.

Or make gluten-free blueberry zucchini bread because you recently picked 8.5 lbs of blueberries and you’re bored out of your mind.

What’s that you say? Your zucchini crop is starting to come in gangbusters? Yep, this gluten-free blueberry zucchini bread is definitely a necessity. (P.S. – The rolling chair also makes your dog look at you funny as he’s wondering WHAT on earth you’re doing.)

Inspiration for this Blueberry Zucchini Bread

I found this blueberry zucchini bread recipe on AllRecipes.com. For my loaf, I made many substitutions, including cutting the recipe in half. I used one of my new go-to gluten-free flours, King Arthur Baking Measure for Measure Flour.

I also substituted the oil with a 1/2 applesauce, 1/2 oil combo, just like in my applesauce bundt cake. The recipe appeared overly sweet, therefore I used half white sugar and half brown sugar, but less than the total amount listed in the original recipe.

Because I subbed some of the oil for applesauce, I also used fewer eggs than called for in the recipe. In many vegan recipes, applesauce is substituted for eggs.

Shredding & Squeezing Your Zucchini

I recently purchased a Hamilton Beach food processor, and it made mixing this recipe a breeze. I’ve never seen zucchini shred so easily!

However, if you don’t have one, you can shred your zucchini by hand with a box grater. (Just watch your knuckles and your finger tips!) I used almost a pound of fresh zucchini (one large), to equal the one cup, squeezed, needed for this recipe.

To make this gluten-free blueberry zucchini bread turn our perfectly, you want to squeeze the excess water out of it. (Just like in my cauliflower pizza.)

I shredded the zucchini first, then placed it in a clean kitchen towel, and squeezed out the excess water. I also rolled my blueberries in a little bit of cornstarch. This prevents your blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the loaf.

Streusel or Glaze- Yay or Nay?

Quite a few people suggested coating the top with a streusel mixture of flour, sugar and cinnamon. However, I think this gluten free blueberry zucchini bread is absolutely perfect on its own.

If you’d like to make these more portable, you could easily bake these as muffins. Just follow the guidelines I shared from King Arthur Flour in my Gluten-Free Banana Cinnamon Chip Muffins

If you’d like, you can make a quick glaze for this bread using 1/2 c. powdered sugar and 1 tbsp of milk. Did you know you can make your own powdered sugar? Simply put granulated sugar in a spice blender, and grind until powdered! I like it so much better than store bought, which can sometimes have a funny after taste.

Can I Make This Recipe Dairy Free? Egg Free?

As written, this recipe contains no dairy. It does contain one egg. While I have not tried it, a flax egg (1 tbsp + 3 tbsp water) should work. You could also use an egg replacer such as Bob’s Red Mill. Or try this vegan zucchini bread from Rhian’s Recipes. Looking for a grain free recipe? Try this Paleo Zucchini Bread recipe from Downshiftology.

Other Gluten Free Blueberry Recipes

Picking blueberries has become quite the tradition for us. Therefore I have lots of blueberry themed recipes on my site. From Grain Free Blueberry Pie, to Blueberry Pancake Casserole, and Blueberry Hand Pies, there’s bound to be something you like! My gluten free cream cheese stuffed, Blueberry French Toast Casserole is a favorite even among gluten eaters!

More Gluten Free Quick Bread Recipes

Looking for other quick bread recipes? My gluten free Peanut Butter Bread is quick and easy. What the Fork is the queen of quick bread, and she has a great gluten free zucchini bread recipe. Her Gluten Free Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread sounds fantastic, too!  Needing an egg free recipe? Try this Gluten Free Vegan Zucchini Bread recipe from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free.

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Gluten Free Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Equipment

• King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour 3 Pounds
• Wilton Medium Loaf Baking Pan – 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″
• Hamilton Beach Food Processor

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour I used King Arthur Measure for Measure
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp Chinese 5 Spice or cinnamon
• 1 cup shredded and squeezed zucchini
• 1 cup blueberries tossed in 1 tbsp corn starch

Wet Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. lemon extract or vanilla
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/4 c oil
• 1/4 c applesauce
• 1 tbsp lemon zest optional

Instructions

• Shred zucchini in a food processor or with a box grater. Transfer zucchini to a bowl lined with cheesecloth or a towel. Gather fabric around zucchini and squeeze out excess water. Return to bowl and allow to dry further.
• In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda and powder, and spices. Add shredded zucchini and toss to coat. Then set aside. 
• In a small bowl combine egg, lemon (or vanilla) extract, sugars, oil and applesauce. If using dried lemon zest, add to wet ingredients and allow to rehydrate for 10-15 minutes. 
• Next, coat blueberries in one tablespoon of cornstarch to prevent them from sinking as they bake. The cornstarch also acts as a drying and binding agent to counteract some of the moisture released by the blueberries as it bakes. 
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir to combine. 
• Gently fold blueberries into the batter.
• Allow batter to rest for 30 minutes. This helps the flour to fully absorb the moisture and fat. Don't skip this step. It will allow for a better and more uniform rise to your bread. While the batter is resting, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease a 9×5 pan and gently transfer the batter to the loaf pan.
• Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. (I usually check it 30 minutes and rotate the pan 180 degrees.) Remove from the oven to cool, in pan, for 15 minutes, on its side. Then, remove loaf from pan to cool completely for 2-3 hours. (Or overnight.)

What’s your favorite type of quick bread? And what are your favorite ways to use zucchini? My friends keep dropping them off!

**This post contains 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 August 2013

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My Father In Law’s Favorite Pie

Short Story. So, growing up, I never heard of, nor tasted, a Fruits of the Forest Pie. Not until I married my husband. My father-in-law stated he tried this pie on a trip, and it was his absolute favorite. Because it contains rhubarb, I had zero interest in making or trying it. However, my father in law passed in January of 2023, and I’m making this pie in his memory. While you can definitely make your own pie crust, I’m saving time by using Maine Pie Co. frozen gluten free pie shells. 

Where to Buy Maine Pie Co. Gluten Free Pie Shells

Based in Biddeford, Maine, The Maine Pie Co. makes certified gluten-free pies, tarts, pie shells, and “mini” pies that everyone can enjoy – whether or not they eat gluten-free. Michigan shoppers can find Maine Pie Co. pie shells at Meijer stores and “mini” pies at Fresh Thyme Markets. The Maine Pie Co. also ships nationwide.

What is in a Fruits of the Forest Pie?

As you may have guessed it, this pie contains fruit. A LOT of it. This recipe uses

• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Rhubarb, and
• Apple

Some recipes I’ve seen use blackberries. However, I find the large seeds in blackberries to be unappetizing. If you don’t mind the seeds, you’re welcome to swap blackberries for raspberries. In reality, this is a gluten free mixed berry pie. The apples are included to help provide structure. I explain that more below.

Tips On Choosing the Best Rhubarb

Despite this recipe name, rhubarb is a vegetable, and not a fruit. There are a few things to know about picking the best rhubarb for pie. You want to choose rhubarb that is thin, and sturdy. These will be more sweet, as opposed to thicker, woodier rhubarb. I don’t have a green thumb, nor rhubarb in my garden. Therefore I purchase rhubarb both at Meijer or Walmart. *Note- Rhubarb LEAVES are poisonous, so please don’t eat the leaves.

How To Prevent a Soupy Fruit Pie

I lost track how many times I attempted this pie. Maybe 6? I always struggled on how to make a pie that included all those fruit flavors, without a loose, goopy mess. I tried less sugar and more corn starch. (Ok, but not great, and very cloudy). I tried cooking all of the filling before adding it to the pie. (No structure.) I tried tapioca flour instead of cornstarch. (Too goopy.) 

After doing some more research, I took a tip from America’s Test Kitchen. They recommend cooking part of the fruit, with the sugar, in a small pan. Since King Arthur Baking listed that strawberries and raspberries need more thickener, I chose to cook those two into a reduction. Once that reduction cools, you have something akin to jam, but with a deep strawberry and raspberry flavor.  

Apple Pectin for Pie Perfection

Pectin is a soluble fiber found in plants, which helps to thicken jams and jellies. Luckily for us, apples contain lots of pectin. (So do cranberries and grapes.) While a blueberry pie may need as much as 3/4 cup of cornstarch, an apple only needs 2 tbsp. Since my past pie performance lacked structure, I decided to start as if I were making an apple pie. *Note- the reason bakers recommend using tart apples is due to their higher pectin content.* Then I added my fresh blueberries and rhubarb, and tossed all of that in cornstarch. 

Thickeners – Corn Starch vs Quick Cooking Tapioca vs Flour

There are thousands of different pie recipes, and they all use different types of thickeners. I chose to use cornstarch because 1) it’s cheaper than gluten free flour and 2) most people have it on hand. I never keep quick cooking tapioca in my home. While some sites say that you can use tapioca flour instead of pearls, others say it’s not the same. So I’m just going to stick with cornstarch. This handy Pie Thickener Chart from King Arthur Baking Company tells you how much thickening agent to use, depending on the fruit you’re using. 

How to Top a Gluten Free Fruits of the Forest Pie

Because I’m using a Maine Pie Co. frozen pie shell, I chose to do a streusel topping for my gluten free Fruits of the Forest pie. While some streusel toppings contain oats, mine does not. As a portion of the Celiac Disease community can’t tolerate oats (and neither can I), I don’t use them. If you DO want a streusel topping that contains oats, I’d recommend this one in One Lovely Life’s Triple Berry Crumble Pie. 

If you want to do a top crust, or lattice crust, you’re welcome to do that as well. Maine Pie Co. pie shells come in packages of two. You *could* thaw the second one, reroll it, and use it as a top crust. Or, you can make the gluten free pie crust found in my strawberry galette recipe. If you really want to be fancy and do a lattice crust, Simply Recipes offers a step-by step lattice top tutorial on their website. 

How to Bake a Pie Without Burning the Crust

In addition to filling failures, some of my pie attempts yielded burny crusts. Ain’t nobody want a burnt pie crust. While I have a silicone pie shield, it was not helpful. Many people recommend an aluminum pie shield. (This adjustable pie shield from Nordicware looks impressive.) Therefore, I went the old fashioned route and crimped aluminum foil around the edges of my pie, prior to baking. Worked like a charm! 

How Long Do You Bake a Fruits of the Forest Pie? 

There are a few methods for keeping your gluten free pie crust nice and flaky on the bottom. First, we’re going to place the pie on a cookie sheet, that’s preheated in the oven. Secondly, we’re going to bake the pie at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350, and bake it for 30 minutes longer. The streusel shouldn’t be overly brown. However, if you feel it’s getting too dark, you can tent it with tinfoil.  

How Long Does My Pie Have to Cool? How Do You Reheat a Pie?

All pies benefit from a resting period. Please allow this pie to cool for at least 4 hours. I find this pie works best if chilled overnight, in the fridge. I feel this pie tastes great at room temperature. However, if you like your pie slightly warmed (with ice cream!), you can reheat the whole pie in the oven. It’s recommended to reheat your oven to 350 degrees, and reheat for 15 minutes. Some recommend covering it with aluminum foil, but I dont think it’s necessary. 

Other Gluten Free Pie Recipes

If you can’t find Maine Pie Co. gluten free pie shells near you, you can order them directly from their website. Also, you can use my crust recipe from my Gluten Free Strawberry Galette to make a crust from scratch. My pie recipe does call for dairy and eggs. If you need a gluten free and vegan pie crust, try this gluten free and vegan pie crust recipe from Jessica in the Kitchen. She uses Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour blend. (Blue bag)

In the mood to make even more pie? Try my recipe for individual Chicken Pot Pies , or my grain free Blueberry pie. Want something smaller? Try my gluten free jam filled hand pies. For even more delicious pie recipes, check out this round up of the 20+ Gluten Free pie recipes from Mama Gourmand. What’s your favorite kind of pie? Tell me in the comments!

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Gluten Free Fruits of the Forest Pie

Ingredients

• One Maine Pie Co. Gluten Free Pie Shell

For The Cooked Compote

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 cup strawberries cubed
• ½ c sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ginger

Further Pie Filling Ingredients

• 2 small/ medium apples peeled & sliced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1.5 cup blueberries
• 1 cup rhubarb chopped (2 thin stalks)
• ¼ c cornstarch

For The Streusel Topping

• 1 cup gluten free flour I prefer King Arthur Measure for Measure
• ½ c butter
• ½ c brown sugar

Instructions

• Remove frozen gluten free pie shell from freezer, and allow to thaw. If using homemade crust, leave pie shell in refrigerator while preparing the rest of the pie.
• Cook strawberries and raspberries in a medium pot for 5 minutes, to release juices. Then add sugar and spices. Cook 8-10 minutes more, until it thickens. Allow to completely cool.
• In a large bowl, add 1 tbsp lemon juice. Add sliced apples and coat. Add blueberries, rhubarb and cornstarch. Stir until all fruit is evenly coated in cornstarch.
• To the large bow, stir in cooled strawberry and raspberry compote with the remainder of the fruit.
• Place all the filling in the pie crust. Cover crust with tin foil or pie shield to prevent burning. Leave foil on for the entire baking time.
• To make the streusel topping, use food processor or pastry cutter to cut butter into flour. Add brown sugar. Top uncooked pie with streusel. It may seem like a lot of topping, but you're going to need it all.
• Place cookie sheet in oven, and preheat to 400°.
• Once oven has reached 400°, place pie on cookie sheet and bake at 400° for 20 minutes. Then turn down oven to 350°. and then bake for another 35 minutes.
• Remove pie from oven and allow to cool for at least 4 hours before serving.

My Favorite Pie Making Ingredients and Utensils

• Cup 4 Cup Multipurpose Flour
• Relative Foods Organic Brown Sugar (Michigan Business!)
• Totally Bamboo Rolling Pin
• OXO Pastry Cutter

This post is sponsored by Maine Pie Co. This post may also contain Amazon affiliate links. I make a small advertising commission, but it does not change the price that you pay. Thank you for supporting my blog and advocacy work!

Originally published June 2023

The post Gluten Free Fruits of the Forest Pie appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.

What Kind of Sweet Potatoes do you Use to Make “Toast”?

You’re going to need to find some “uber tubers” to make these. For example, one of my sweet potatoes measured 7 inches in length, and 11 inches in circumference. The 3 lb bag of small sweet potatoes at Aldi are not ideal for making sweet potato toast. I buy my sweet potatoes at Horrock’s in Lansing.

How Do You Make Sweet Potato Toast?

While some people recommend making sweet potato toast in the toaster from raw potatoes, I don’t recommend that. I find cutting the sweet potato into rounds, and then baking them, creates a better “toast.” These would be great to prep for the week, chill in the refrigerator, and then rewarm then in the toaster.

How Thick Should I Cut Sweet Potato Toast Slices?

On my first attempt, I cut my sweet potato in 1/4 in thick slices. However, I felt that that was too thin to hold as an actual piece of “toast.” Therefore, for my second batch I cut them 1/2 inch thick, and baked them for a total of 15 minutes. (Other recipes recommended as long as 30 minutes, and I feel that made the rounds WAY too soft.)

What Do You Put on Sweet Potato Toast?

Really, you can put anything you want on sweet potato toast. However, the combination of the sweetness of the potato, with the savory of Lifeway Farmer Cheese is delicious. From there I topped it with homemade blueberry jam. It’s the same recipe from my hand pies, but I reduced the sugar down to 3/4 cup. I added a sprinkle of chopped walnuts, and a drizzle of honey. The jam is sweet enough, so the honey is optional.

What is Farmer Cheese?

That’s a great question. It’s a soft cheese, and a variant of cottage cheese. However, Farmer Cheese is more solid, as the whey and liquid have been pressed off. The curd is also smaller than cottage cheese. It’s similar in texture to ricotta, and can be used as a substitution in recipes that call for it. The taste reminds me of a mild cream cheese.

What Nutritional Benefits Does Lifeway Farmer Cheese Offer?

This Farmer Cheese is a more nutritious option for your morning bagel. It contains half the calories of Neufchatel, and 75% less fat. While lowfat cream cheese has 120 mg of sodium, this Farmer’s Cheese contains only 10 mg of sodium. Plus farmer’s cheese contains Vitamin D, Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin A. Cream cheese contains none of these nutrients. Also, Lifeway Farmer Cheese contains gut healthy probiotics.

Where Can I Buy Lifeway Farmer Cheese?

If you’d like to add Lifeway Farmer Cheese to your meals, you’ll find it at Whole Foods, Better Health Stores and Fresh Thyme Markets in Michigan. Plum Markets and Busch’s Markets reportedly stock it as well. You can also use the store locator on their website to find it in independent stores near you.

What Other Ways Can I Use Farmers Cheese?

Want more ideas on how to use Lifeway Farmer Cheese? Lifeway has a plethora of recipes on their website. I really want to try their Peach and Farmer Cheese pizza. Kate Scarlata, an expert on the FODMAP diet, also has a delicious Spinach, Kale & Farmer’s Cheese Quiche recipe on her website. Or use like Old World Gluten Free does, to make gluten free pierogi!

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Sweet Potato Toast with Farmer Cheese

Equipment

• Fisher Chef’s Naturals Walnut Halves & Pieces 1 lb, 100% California Unsalted Walnuts for Baking & Cooking, Snack Topping, Great with Yogurt & Cereal, Vegan Protein, Keto Snack, Gluten Free
• ZWILLING Twin Signature 3-pc German Knife Set, Razor-Sharp, Made in Company-Owned German Factory with Special Formula Steel perfected for almost 300 Years, Dishwasher Safe
• Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheet, 2-Pack, Silver

Ingredients

• Large Sweet Potato
• Cooking Spray
• Salt

Toppings

• Farmer Cheese
• Preferred Jam
• Chopped Walnuts

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Scrub one large sweet potato until clean. Do not peel. 
• Slice sweet potato into 1/2 inch rounds. 
• Spray both sides of sweet potatoes LIGHTLY with cooking spray. If you add too much oil, your sweet potato toast rounds will be soggy. 
• Bake in oven for 15 minutes. I recommend flipping them over at the 10 minute mark. 
• Once finished, take out of oven and allow to cool completely. Store sweet potato toast rounds in a container, in the fridge, until ready to use. 
• Sweet potato toast can be warmed in the toaster, and topped wih Farmer Cheese, jam and chopped walnuts. 

This post is sponsored by Lifeway. They supplied free product for this recipe, as well as paid me monetarily for my time and energy. Regardless, I’ve been a fan of Lifeway products for many years, and am grateful to be working with them. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Originally published August 2021

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The Easiest Homemade Jam, Ever

I love blueberries. Which is ironic, because I didn’t until well into my 20’s. Maybe even my 30’s. I think it all changed once we started picking our own. Every summer, we make the 20 mile drive with friends to Montrose Orchards. It’s not uncommon for us to come home with ten pounds of berries.

Every year I look to make something new. I’ve made blueberry pie, blueberry muffins, and even Blueberry – Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole. This year, I decided to make jam. I found THE easiest recipe for Blueberry Freezer Jam from She Wears Many Hats. My past failures at making freezer jam have been redeemed with this one recipe. I daresay it’s the best jam I’ve ever tasted. (I imagine you could use it to make strawberry or cherry jam, as well.)

Gluten Free Pie Dough

So now I have two containers of blueberry jam. It tastes wonderful on toast and delicious paired with peanut butter. However, I wanted to take things a step further. So I decided to make gluten free jam hand pies. (My, that’s a mouthful!) Perfect for breakfast, packed in school lunches, or a simple dessert.

For the dough, I followed the pie crust recipe from Linda Fedewa’s Bake It Best Cookbook. (Everything I know about pies, I learned from her.) I used a Wilton 3 inch circle cookie cutter. Although now I want to try a Pampered Chef Cut N Seal, (affiliate link) after watching Eat At Our Table make Homemade Gluten Free Uncrustables!

Perfect Proportion of Filling for 3″ Hand Pies

I prepared Linda’s gluten free pie crust recipe as directed. When I was finished rolling and cutting, I successfully created 26 circles. After reading various other jam hand pie recipes, I decided to brush each bottom crust with egg wash before adding the topping. On my first hand pie attempt I tried 1 tablespoon of filling. However, it was a mess to seal.

Therefore I decided to use only a teaspoon of blueberry jam on the next attempt. It placed the second crust on top of the first, and pinched it down with my fingers, creating indentations around my jam hand pies. It turned out to be the perfect amount of filling. Each finished hand pie is brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with sugar, and poked with a toothpick so steam can escape. This prevents blown out seams and exploding filling!

Can I Use Store Bought Jam?

Store bought jam should be fine to use. I would make sure to use jam versus jelly. As The Kitchn explains, jam still contains bits of cooked down fruit. Jelly, on the other hand, is made from fruit juice and is very thin. I fear that jelly would not hold up well in jam hand pies at all.

As for a brand of jam, choose what you like best. I think any of Bonne Maman’s preservers would work well in these gluten free jam hand pies as well. (They’re certified gluten free, too!) Use their blueberry preserves, or even try their peach or orange marmalade.

Hand Pies Vs. Pop Tarts Vs. Toaster Pastries

What’s the difference between the three? To be honest, I don’t think they’re all that different. The Wikipedia entry for “toaster pastry” includes a picture of the frosted Kellogg Pop Tarts most of us grew up eating. My gluten free jam hand pies contain no outer icing. So maybe that’s the difference. **Note – Don’t reheat these in the toaster!

If you are looking for the more traditional “pop tart,” I recommend giving this Giant Strawberry Pop Tart recipe from A Dash of Megnut a try. You can make it into smaller sections. Want something less sweet? Try my egg and bacon savory breakfast toaster pastry recipe. No sweet icing on top, but it’s great smeared with goat cheese!

Need a vegan recipe? Try the Vegan Berry Pop Tarts from Allergylicious! 

The Bake It Best Cookbook

As I mentioned, everything I learned about baking pies I gleaned from Linda Fedewa. If her name sounds familiar, she owned A Piece of Cake in East Lansing for many years. After leaving the bakery, she sold her own proprietary gluten free flour blend and gluten free cookbook.

She no longer produces the flour. However, you can still order her Bake It Best cookbook via email. The cost is $25, and she will also include the recipe for making her flour blend. Linda is a phenomenal cake artist should you need a cake for your wedding or other event. She made my father’s 60th birthday cake and everyone adored it!

P.S. You Need This PB + J Spoon

As mentioned, Linda no longer produces her flour. Therefore, I replaced her flour with Pamela’s Products gluten free artisan flour, and the crust worked out great. I again want to thank them for donating to our Michigan gluten free kids camp. This package of flour was sent to camp and I brought home the extra to play with.

Last but not least, I wanted to tell you about this WONDERFUL handmade wooden peanut butter and jelly spoon. It’s handmade by a lady I met at a craft fair. Her Etsy shop is Barden Woodworking. This creative spoon has a spreader on one end for nut (or seed) butter, and a spoon for jam. She makes Michigan shaped cheese boards, too!

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Gluten Free Jam Filled Hand Pies

Equipment

• Pamela’s Products Gluten Free Artisan Flour Blend, 4 Pound
• Sandwich Cutter and Sealer,
• USA Pan Bakeware Half Sheet Pan

Ingredients

For the Crust

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour I used Pamela’s
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 12 tbsp cold butter
• 2 tbsp ice water

For the filling

• Approx 12 tbsp of jam
• For homemade jam recipe visit She Wears Many Hats
• 1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp water for egg wash
• Sugar for sprinkling on top

Instructions

• In a food processor, blend together flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine ingredients until thoroughly distributed. 
• Add egg to processor and pulse until combined, about 5-6 times
• Add 12 tbsp of cold butter, cut into chunks, to food processor. Pulse until mixture begins to take on a sandy texture and butter is distributed. 
• Slowly add ice cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until a dough starts to form. Linda usually does only one tablespoon. I needed two. 
• Remove dough from food processor and place onto a piece of parchment paper, sprinkled with a bit of flour. Knead dough until smooth and pliable. The heat from your hands will melt any bits of butter in the dough. (At this point the dough can be refrigerated to use later if needed.) 
• Divide dough in half. Lightly dust your surface again with flour, and roll the first half of dough. Use a circle cookie cutter to cut your rounds for your hand pies. You should get 12-13 per dough half. Store in the fridge, and repeat with remaining half of dough. (Super cold dough helps in the baking process.) 
• Once all circles have been cut and chilled, remove from refrigerator and prepare to fill the hand pies. In a small dish, whisk together one egg and one tbsp water to create an egg wash. 
• Place half of the cut circles on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with egg wash. These will be the bottoms of your hand pies. 
• Next, place one tablespoon of filling on each bottom. 
• Cover each topped circle with another circle of dough. Use your finger to press down around the other egg, sealing the dough circles together. Repeat until all bottoms have tops. 
• Brush the tops of the sealed hand pies with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. Use a toothpick to pierce two or three holes in the top of each hand pie. This allows steam to escape and prevents the seams from splitting. 
• Return hand pies to fridge while preheating oven to 350 degrees.
• Once the oven is heated, bake hand pies for 25-30 minutes. I find it best to rotate the pan 180* halfway through cooking.  
• Once finished baking, allow to cool to room temperature. You can add a simple glaze if you like, but I find these to be delicious on their own. 

**As mentioned, Pamela’s Products donated the bag of flour used in this recipe. In addition, the cookbook was a gift to me years ago. I was not paid or compensated in any way for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

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Michigan is the Blueberry State

Confession. I used to hate blueberries. Sad thing, considering “Michigan produces more blueberries than any other state in the nation.” However, over time I matured, as did my taste buds. Thank goodness, because juicy blueberries are the star in this Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole. Since blueberries are good for your health, this makes this a health food, right? Therefore one can eat multiple pieces, right? Because after you taste this, you’re totally going to want more.

Leftover Gluten Free Pancakes?

I wish I could say I am the brain child behind this beautiful Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole. In fact, that honor belongs to Annalise from Completely Delicious. I came across her Blueberry Pancake Bake while searching for creative ways to use leftover pancakes. What? Leftover pancakes?  That week I made gluten-free pancakes for a church event, and went overboard in my portions. Like, 30+ pancakes overboard. Go big or go home, right?

Anyway, I found this amazing recipe Annalise created and I updated it to make it gluten-free. Which isn’t hard really. You only make two subs – gluten-free pancakes and gluten-free flour in the streusel. (In addition, Annalise started with blueberry pancakes. I say use whatever leftover pancakes you have.)

How to Make a Gluten Free Streusel Topping

That’s right. This Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole is covered in the most amazing streusel. Okay, Confession 2 – I totally said “streusel” to my phone to see how to spell it correctly. Is that sad? Does anyone else do that? The placement of the “e” and “u” totally trips me up.

Well, no matter how you spell it, it’s freakin’ delicious. I mean, how can one go wrong with gobs of brown sugar and butter? With this sweet streusel on top, you don’t even need to top this Gluten-Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole with syrup. I mean, you can. No shame from over here if you do. Feel free to let you inner Elf out and coat this bad boy in syrup if you want. Just sayin’ it still tastes AMAZING without it.

How Many Does This Casserole Serve?

This Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole makes enough for at least 8 servings. Even more if you’re serving it as part of a brunch spread with lots of other goodies.

(Maybe with this homemade gluten-free chicken breakfast sausage?) I hypothesize that you could cut the “custard” recipe in half, use less pancakes, and bake it in a 8 x 8 dish. However, I haven’t tried it.

Looking for something even more decadent? Try my Cream Cheese Stuffed, Overnight Blueberry French Toast Casserole. Craving something to feed a family of two? Try my easy gluten free breakfast casserole for two.

Looking  for a bigger savory breakfast strata? Try this one I made with Schar Artisan Baker bread. Suffice it to say, if you’re looking for breakfast foods, I probably have you covered.

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Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole

Ingredients

Casserole

• 20 pancakes cut in half
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 c milk She used whole milk. I used skim.
• 1 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract I use LorAnn Oils vanilla.
• 2 c. frozen blueberries She used 1/2 cup. Not enough blueberries IMO.

Streusel Topping

• 1/2 c. gluten-free flour I used Cup4Cup
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 c. butter cold and cut into cubes

Instructions

• Grease bottom of 9 x 13 casserole dish and line with pancakes, cut side down.Pancakes should be standing up, snuggled next to each other. 
• In a large bowl, mix milk, cream, sugar and vanilla together. Pour custard mixture over pancakes. Distribute blueberries evenly over the casserole. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Or at the very least 3 hours. You want the pancakes to soak up the cream mixture. 
• Remove casserole from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350*. It's important for the casserole to come to room temperature before going into the oven to prevent the dish from breaking. It should rest at least 30 minutes.
• While the oven is preheating, prepare the streusel topping. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together first, then add butter last. You can "cut the butter in" with a pastry blender or fork. If you have a small food processor, you can mix this in there as well. 
• Distribute streusel evenly over the casserole and bake for 50-60 minutes. Mine browned pretty quickly, so you may want to cover it with foil halfway through baking. 
• Allow to firm up at least 15-20 minutes. 

What’s your favorite breakfast casserole? Do you like meat in your breakfast bakes, or do you prefer to load it up with fruit? Leave me a comment below!

The post Gluten Free Blueberry Pancake Casserole appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.

Michigan Blueberries

When it comes to summer months, I love July. Why? Because here in Michigan,  it’s blueberry picking time! Every year, my husband and I drive 20 miles to Montrose Orchards. We often like to invite friends and family to go, especially those with little kids who get to experience it for the first time. It brings them such joy, well portrayed by my niece Kyra.

While we chat with friends, we stay busy picking these sweet berries. Our record is 10 lbs, although this year (July 2018), we managed to pick 7.5 lbs between us. And what does one do with all those beautiful berries? Make gluten free blueberry muffins, of course!

Nerd Alert

One day I wondered “How do different gluten free flours perform in a recipe?” A bit of background – I’m a bit of a nerd. As a kid, I sometimes took things apart just to see how they worked. I have a degree in Mathematics (for Elementary School Teachers) and I always like geometric proofs because it “proved” why something was true.

When I first tried my “experiment, I used  four different  flours. I tried GF Jules, Pamela’s Baking Mix, Krusteaz, and Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose flours. As I update this recipe, I chose four other flours with which to make my gluten free blueberry muffins. flours. My base recipe is the Dessert For Two recipe for Blueberry Muffins. 

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins Made with Cup 4 Cup

I adore Cup 4 Cup Multipurpose Gluten Free Flour. If I want to make something right out of a “regular cookbook,” I prefer this mix every time. (Like these Resurrection Rolls!) Christina’s recipe uses only one egg white, which I may have mixed a bit too much. These tasted a  bit more like blueberry studded Angel food cake. (Which is still 100% delicious!) One important note. I ran out of Cup 4 Cup and had to use a smidge of another flour to attain the right amount of flour for these gluten free blueberry muffins. I imagine it altered the texture.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins Made with Pillsbury Gluten Free Flour

I purchased the Pillsbury gluten free flour for the first time recently. Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan. These gluten free blueberry muffins fell apart and the tops broke off when I removed them from the muffin tin. Now, as mentioned before, Christina’s recipe does not use the whole egg. So this may have been part of the cause. However, a gluten free flour blend that states it can be used as an equal replacement should have done better, in my opinion.

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins made with Pamela’s Artisan Flour Blend

These. This batch of gluten free blueberry muffins using Pamela’s Artisan blend turned into a pleasant surprise. The package stated that it may need more liquid than other recipes, but I used the same base recipe as the other two. They baked up beautifully, although sunk a bit as they cooled. My husband tried one, and stated these reminded him of muffins you’d get from a bakery. Therefore, I’d call that a win, wouldn’t you? Also try her bread flour to make these delicious gluten free bagels!

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins made with King Arthur Flour All Purpose Gluten Free Flour + xanthan gum

The three other flour blends included xanthan gum. King Arthur Flour All Purpose Gluten Free Flour does not. Therefore, I added 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum to the gluten free blueberry muffins recipe.

What is xanthan gum and what does it do? I explained it in my gluten free vegan chocolate cake post, so pop over there to read more in depth on it.

Like the other gluten free blueberry muffins, they rose well but flattened out once they reached over the muffin tin. However, they held together much better than the Pillsbury ones. In truth, I would suggest just buying their (AMAZING) gluten free muffin mix than making these from scratch.

In Conclusion

As I stated above, no two “tasters” are alike.  We all like certain products more than others for a reason. And you know what, that’s okay!  It’s great that there is so much safe, gluten free diversity out there. As Celiac Disease and culinary techniques improve, we have a lot of options.

As far as I’m concerned, if there is a product you use that helps you feel like a successful gluten free baker, that’s great! Now pardon me as I go enjoy another one of these gluten free blueberry muffins. Anyone want to come over and help me get rid of these?!

For a simliar review in a chocolate chip cookie recipe, check out this post, “What’s the Best Gluten Free Flour?” from The Gluten Free Austrian.

**I was not paid or compensated in any way by any of the names brands. This post does include Amazon affiliate links. My affiliate link directs a small portion of the sale back to me, while not changing the price you pay in any way. Thanks for helping support my blog!**

The post Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins Made Four Ways appeared first on MI Gluten Free Gal.