sweet miscellany

Holy crap it’s December. I have done zero Christmas shopping/planning at this point other than random times in the past couple of weeks when ideas might enter my head. Since moving I’ve felt a little discombobulated as I struggle to develop a routine or a new sense of normal. Naturally this has affected everything in my life, including this blog. I haven’t been posting as much as I want to and I realized that it’s because I still haven’t found a comfortable routine for doing so. The light situation in the house is challenging and I often have to lug things back to my room or outside to get a good photo. But, enough excuses. Until I find the new “normal”, I’ll just keep buggering on.

‘Tis the season to focus on COOKIES! Starting back in 2012, I decided to make December “cookie month” on the blog where I share cookies/other treats that are appropriate for holiday parties, cookie exchanges, gift giving, and providing festive options for your sweet tooth. Last year I sort of failed and didn’t share too many options, but this year I hope to make up for it. I’ll be shooting some recipes this week and hopefully sharing them soon, but until then I wanted to provide you with some inspiration from years past. Happy baking!

* Pecan Raspberry Linzer Cookies (gluten free & vegan) *
These are more time-consuming than the others, but definitely one of my favorites!

Salted Dark Chocolate Nibby Cookies (gluten free, grain free, & vegan) *
Perfect for those with grain sensitivities or those who like a salty/sweet combo

* Spiced Apple Butter Thumbprints (gluten free, grain free, & vegan) *

* Chai Spiced Persimmon Oatmeal Cookies (gluten free & vegan) *

* Almond Butter Gingerbread Slice (gluten free, grain free, & vegan) *

* Hazelnut Espresso Truffles (gluten free, grain free, vegan, & no-bake) *

* Jammy Meringue Clouds (gluten free, grain free, & dairy free) *

So in case you’ve been living under a rock or in a very remote location, you know that Thanksgiving is in less than a week. As in you better get your butt in gear and figure out what lovely dishes will be gracing your table (I’m mostly talking to myself here…). October flew by and now November is following suit. I feel like a broken record when I say this, but where the heck did the time go?

I actually planned on posting this bread recipe earlier in the week, with a separate Thanksgiving post to follow suit, but I started a new job and things have been a little crazy. So, I’m combining the two in case anyone still needs any gluten free/vegan Thanksgiving inspiration or a new loaf of bread to try. The bread recipe is listed first, followed by links to Thanksgiving-worthy dishes in the archives.

This bread is part of my ongoing experimentation with garbanzo bean flour. I found that it works much better for my tastes in savory applications like this one. This resulting loaf of bread is hearty and dense and reminds me a bit of soda bread. The first test was taken straight from the Flying Apron Baking Book and wasn’t necessarily meant for the blog. I was in the mood to bake bread and wanted to see how a new recipe turned out. The first test was a bit dry, dense, and incredibly underwhelming so I set about using my own baking instincts and tweaking the recipe. The second test was much more successful so I decided to share it with you here.

As I mentioned above, this bread is dense and toothsome. Thanks to the garbanzo and brown rice flours, it has a relatively high amount of protein/fiber so you don’t need much to fill you up. It comes together easily without much fuss and takes a nice long rest in the oven, giving you time to take a nap, watch Netflix, or maybe prepare dinner. Since it is gluten free/vegan, it is best eaten the day it is made, or within a couple of days. If you plan on keeping it longer, I recommend keeping it in either the fridge or the freezer and then warming it up in the toaster whenever you want to eat it. Or, you can make any dried out portions into breadcrumbs, croutons, or stuffing 🙂
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