Make Anything Gluten Free - For REAL(!)

Dec 23, 2023
14 People Read
Taylor Swift Gluten Free Chai Cookies

Make Anything Gluten Free - For REAL(!)


So, my husband and I were at dinner last night with a couple with whom he has known via work for close to 12 years and we all have never met! We sat down and after the waiter took our drink order and I asked for a gluten free menu, the wife leaned into me and said, “My son is coming home for Christmas and is bringing home his girlfriend who is gluten free and I have NO IDEA what THAT is all about.”


HA!


Understandably, she had no idea of the following:


  1. That people who are gluten free may have different responses to gluten

  2. That you can actually MAKE ANYTHING GLUTEN FREE with the right ingredients

  3. It’s actually not that hard to get started; you just need a few basics

  4. That Soy sauce actually has gluten in it (random I know but it goes back to our conversation)


So we talked about our family’s journey with being gluten free, where to look for gluten in items (salad dressings, sauces etc), and what might she need to just get through the visit with her son’s serious girlfriend (and possibly potential daughter-in-law??).


I suggested the following:


  1. Go purchase some gluten free bread. She shops at Trader Joe’s and they have some good options for bread there. My kids love this bread as well as the gluten free muffins.

  2. Get some flour. My personal favorite is sold now only through Amazon online called Cup for Cup Gluten Free flour. It does have milk in it so for dairy allergies be careful. I have found that it works really well for even the most tricky recipe substitutions.

  3. Cook meals that are made up of meat, fish, potatoes, rice, vegetables with only gluten free based sauces if they are marinated or are dressed.


Given that its the holidays, there are lots of recipes that I use as is but just swap out the flour. I will occasionally make a few adjustments. Two key pieces of information to he aware of for when you swap out for gluten free flour are:


  1. The cooking time may shorten by as much as 20-30%

  2. Additional liquid may need to be added to ensure it does not get dried out.


How do you determine #2? I often will judge by how long it has to remain cooking. If it is a longer time then you need a bit more liquid.


One such recipe that I’ve had fun with “swapping” is Taylor Swift’s Chai Cookie recipe. Given I have a teenage daughter this has been a fun one to do. And, even though Taylor Swift does these in the fall, I put a little bit of a holiday “twist” on them by making the drizzle with green food coloring and adding some candy cane sprinkles. This combination goes really nicely with the chai taste for some reason. It tastes like minty chai tea.





So a couple of things, I would add a bit more liquid for the gluten free and for the holiday style, I used green food coloring to mix in with the powdered sugar drizzle and added some crushed peppermint candy cane sprinkles.



My husband who is not really a big sweet guy (at all as he prefers potato chips) actually digs these!


So, have fun with making these and if you like Taylor, maybe listen to a little music from her vault ;-)