Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever

prep: 20 minutes
cook: 45 minutes hour

serves 12

you’ll need…

1 cup chopped pecans

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup brewed coffee, chilled

1 8-ounce container sour cream

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups gluten free flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened and cut into 1-inch pieces

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup gluten free chocolate chips

let’s get to it…

Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Combine the pecans and brown sugar together in a small bowl. Spoon half of the mixture into the greased pan; set aside remaining nut mixture.

Whisk the chilled coffee, sour cream and vanilla together in a small bowl; set aside.

Stir the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl until blended; set aside.

Beat the sugar and the butter together with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the beaten eggs. With mixture on medium-low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture and mix until smooth. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Spoon half of the batter into the greased Bundt pan on top of the nut mixture you sprinkled in earlier. Sprinkle remaining nut mixture on top of the batter. Top with the remaining batter.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the Best Gluten Free Coffee Cake Ever in the pan for 10 minutes and then loosen the sides with a knife. Invert it onto a wire rack and remove the pan. Cool cake completely before slicing into a little piece of heaven.

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart

prep: 20 minutes
cook/bake: 90 minutes

serves 8

you’ll need…

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 large onion, thinly sliced

3 cups butternut squash, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 box (5.2 ounces) Boursin cheese

2 eggs

½ cup milk

1 cup grated Gruyère cheese

salt and pepper to taste

let’s get to it…

Place oven rack in center. Heat oven to 425°F.

Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add sliced onion and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, while onions cook, toss squash in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. Spread squash on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake 15 minutes (squash will NOT be cooked through); set aside to cool.

Press pie crust onto bottom of a 9-inch tart or pie pan. Line pie crust with a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than the bottom. Fill with pie weights. (Pie weights keep the bottom from puffing up or the sides from falling down.) Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Beat Boursin cheese, eggs and milk in a medium bowl until well blended; set aside.

Spoon sautéed onions and squash evenly onto bottom of pie crust. Pour Boursin cheese mixture on top of onions and squash. Sprinkle on Gruyère cheese.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until pie is golden brown and the center is set. Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving.

Homemade Chocolate Cherry Bundt Cake

prep: 15 minutes

bake: 40 to 50 minutes

serves 12

you’ll need…

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 cups cake flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup shortening, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup plain yogurt, divided

½ cup freshly brewed coffee

3 eggs

1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling

let’s get to it…

Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray and dusty lightly with flour; set aside. Place oven rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 350°F.

Break chocolate into small pieces and place in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat when most of the chocolate has melted (it will continue to melt).

Sift cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add shortening, half of the yogurt, coffee and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add remaining yogurt and melted chocolate and beat another 2 minutes.

Pour mixture into Bundt pan. Pour cherry pie filling on top of cake mixture. Pat mixture down slightly (you’ll still be able to see it).

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (make sure you aren’t sticking it in the middle of the cherry pie filling).

Loosen cake from sides of pan. Cool in pan 30-minutes. Carefully turn out onto a serving plate.

Save-A-Step Gingerbread Skeletons 

prep: 15 minutes (and 2 hours in the refrigerator resting)
cook: 10 to 12 minutes
makes: 12 6-inch Gingerbread Skeletons

you’ll need…
1 package Spice Cake Mix
1¼ cups all purpose flour (plus a little extra for rolling out the dough)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup dark molasses
3 teaspoons dried ground ginger
1 16 ounce can Ready-to-Serve White Frosting
Candy, cereal and other sweets for decorating

let’s get to it…
Heat oven to 375°F.
Blend cake mix, flour, eggs, oil, molasses and ginger in a large mixing bowl. Remove dough from bowl, divide in half and place in two Ziploc® Brand Storage Bags Gallon size or wrap separately in Saran™ Premium Wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Lightly flour a work surface and place half of the dough in the center. Cover with parchment paper or waxed paper and roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Cut with gingerbread man cookie cutters. Place 1-inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before decorating.
Spread frosting on each of the cookies and decorate with candy.

Cooking Know How:

• Evenly divide frosting into four separate Ziploc® Brand Freezer Storage Bags and add a few drops of orange, black or purple food coloring to each bag. Reserve one bag for white frosting. Knead the sealed bags to mix the colors completely. Push the frosting into the corner of the bag and snip off a corner and squeeze into a bowl. Use the Ziploc® Brand Freezer Storage Bag as a decorating bag by snipping off a tiny corner: very small for dots, and a little bigger for writing and outlining.

• Use cut up red and black licorice and marshmallows to make “bones” and Red Hots cinnamon candy or frosted cereal for “eyes.”