Celiac Disease Diet – Gluten Free

First off, I want to say THANK YOU to all of you that entered the giveaway for Elana Amsterdam’s new cookbook “Gluten-Free Cupcakes”. The winner has been picked, and I have emailed them. You can check to see who the winner is HERE.

Now, onto something totally decadent, sinfully delicious, and ready to eat in 1 hour. Yeah, that’s the dangerous part, isn’t it? When it can be ready to eat in such a short time?

These blondies are full of so many amazing flavours, it’s hard to know where to start. There is chocolate. There is cheesecake. There is Kahlua. And there is also toffee. LOADED. Seriously. But, it’s the weekend. Feel free to bake up a batch and enjoy them with some girlfriends for a movie night, or with the guys for the game (which ever one that is for you), or hey, you can even bake up a batch, put on the flannel jammies, grab a fork and enjoy a piece (or two) all by yourself (I have a feeling these would freeze beautifully, and probably be wonderful straight out of the freezer too).

This recipe is adapted and made it gluten-free from my friend Cindy’s Real Women of Philadelphia entry (you should really click on through and watch her video, she’s so darn cute!). Cindy is also a foodie, and has a blog called Hun, What’s for Dinner? where she has amazing recipes, plus a few giveaways going on right now. I won her last giveaway (woohoo!), so I’ll let you have this one. Go ahead, hop over there to enter. I’ll wait.

Back to the blondies…they are so moist and gooey, loaded with chocolate chips, espresso powder, and toffee bits, with a baked cream cheese layer on top. Ugh, I think Cindy just took all things yummy in her kitchen and jam packed them into this dessert. Wonderfully done, Cindy!

Adapted from: Hun, What’s for Dinner?

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 2 Tbsp espresso powder
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (see Note)
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 large egg
• 3 Tbsp Kahlua liquor
• 1/2 cup toffee bits

NOTE: The all-purpose gluten-free flour blend consists of 4 cups superfine brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch. Combine all ingredients in a large zipper-top bag. Shake until well blended.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper so that it runs up the sides (making the squares easy to remove from the pan).
2. In a bowl, combine the all-purpose gluten-free flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the espresso powder and melted butter. Stir in brown sugar, salt, vanilla and eggs. Add in flour mixture and stir to mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. With wet hands, press batter into your prepared baking pan. Press into an even layer. Set aside.
4. In a second bowl, mix together the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, egg and Kahlua. Whisk until very smooth. Pour over batter in baking dish, and sprinkle top with toffee bits.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 38-40 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from baking dish to cooling rack. Cut into 12 squares and serve.

NOTE: There is a printer friendly button embedded on the blog. To print the recipe, please visit www.thebakingbeauties.com

This is the last of the recipes that I submitted to the Real Women of Philadelphia Contest. Phew! After this week, we will return to our regular programming, of more great gluten-free recipes, some reviews and yes, even a giveaway! Time to celebrate summer (and the fact that the postal workers aren’t on strike anymore), so look for that early next week.

Thanks again to everyone that encouraged me to become part of this contest, it really made me learn a lot of things about myself (like the fact that I prefer to make desserts over appetizers, entrees or side dishes), and gave me an opportunity to make a bunch of new gluten-free recipes in a short amount of time. Not to mention, educate the other ladies that were participating about gluten-free food, and how it can taste GOOD! I hate to hear the words “It’s good, for gluten-free”, I want to hear “Holy cow, that’s great! Is it gluten-free?”.

And for the finalists that will be flying to Toronto for next week’s cook-off…have a fantastic time! I have enjoyed getting to know all of you, and look forward to seeing what the next 6 months will bring for all for all of us.

To all of you, I hope you all have a safe and fun Canada Day and Independence Day, depending on where you’re celebrating. Any special food plans?

NOTE: There is a printer friendly button embedded on the blog. To print the recipe, please visit www.thebakingbeauties.com