Grands-style Biscuits, Gluten Free

2 sticks butter or non dairy margarine, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and frozen
2 1/4 c (9oz or 255 g) Better Batter Gluten Free Flour, plus extra flour for rolling/shaping.
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 c plain yogurt, sour cream, or dairy free sub
1 large egg
1egg + 2 tbsp water, whisked together for egg wash.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a rolling surface and rolling pin with a little bit of Better Batter flour and set aside.

Prepare butter or non dairy margarine by cubing into 1/2 inch cubes and freezing, while you whisk together the other ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, combine Better Batter flour, baking powder, and salt, until well combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sour cream or dairy free substitute and 1 large egg, until evenly combined. Set aside.

Remove butter or non dairy margarine from the freezer and working quickly, cut it into the flour mixture in the bowl, until you have lumps the size of marbles (about 1/4 inch in size). I find the most effective way to do this is to use a kitchenaid mixer and pulse it on low speed several times, or until the butter particles begin to break up and smash a little.

Add the yogurt/egg mixture all at once, stirring quickly to combine – the mixture will look dry and shaggy, and be pretty sticky. Work together just until all the ingredients clump together.

Lightly flour a nonstick rolling surface, using about 1/4 c of flour. Turn the sticky biscuit mass out onto the rolling surface and dust with a bit of additional flour, about 1-2 tbsp or so. Working quickly, using your hands, pat the dough into a rough rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

Using your hands or a spatula, fold the dough into thirds, as if you were folding a letter. Take your rolling pin and roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thick again.

Fold the dough again as if folding a letter and roll out again to 1/2 inch thick.

Fold the dough one last time as if folding a letter. You will now need to decide how thick you want your biscuits to be (see below):

OLD FASHIONED GRANDS
Roll the dough out one last time to 3/4 inch thick. Using a 4 inch biscuit cutter, cut biscuits from the rolled out dough. For best results you will need to use a very sharp cutter – the sharper the blade the higher the rise of the final biscuits!. DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER, but rather press straight down and lift straight up for best results. Push the dough out of the cutter and place the finished biscuit on the baking sheet. Repeat, cutting as closely as possible to prevent excessive scraps. Gather remaining scraps together and press together to make one or two final biscuits – these will not rise in the same way or have the same layers as the original biscuits. Brush the top of the biscuits with the egg wash, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown, puffed, and flaky. Remove from the oven and serve either warm or at room temperature.

GRANDS JUNIORS
Roll the dough out one last time to 1/2 inch thick. Using a 3 inch biscuit cutter, cut biscuits from the rolled out dough. For best results you will need to use a very sharp cutter – the sharper the blade the higher the rise of the final biscuits!. DO NOT TWIST THE CUTTER, but rather press straight down and lift straight up for best results. Push the dough out of the cutter and place the finished biscuit on the baking sheet. Repeat, cutting as closely as possible to prevent excessive scraps. Gather remaining scraps together and press together to make one or two final biscuits – these will not rise in the same way or have the same layers as the original biscuits. Brush the top of the biscuits with the egg wash, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, puffed, and flaky. Remove from the oven and serve either warm or at room temperature.

Gluten Free - Graham Crackers

2 cups all purpose gluten free flour (I used Better Batter or Cup4Cup)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour already contains it)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons  molasses
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg, large at room temperature, slightly beaten
2 to 4 tablespoons milk, at room temperature

Topping, if desired
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (Mix and sprinkle on pre-baked crackers)

Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Prepare and shape the dough. In a large bowl, place the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and granulated sugar, whisk to combine. Add the brown sugar and whisk again, working out any lumps.

Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the shortening, honey, molasses, vanilla, egg and 2 tablespoons of the milk, mixing to combine after each addition. Knead the dough together with your hands, adding more milk 1 teaspoonful at a time as necessary to help bring the dough together.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper and, sprinkling lightly with flour as necessary to prevent sticking, roll out the dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into 2 x 4-inch rectangles (or use a 2 x 4-inch rectangular cutter to cut out shapes) and place them about 1-inch apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets. Gather and re-roll the scraps to cut out more crackers until you’ve used up the dough. Sprinkle with topping if desired.

Place the baking sheets, one at a time, in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the crackers are golden brown all over and dry and firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheets. They will get crispier as they cool. Store in a sealed glass container at room temp for 5 days. For longer storage, seal them in a freezer-safe wrap or bag and freeze. Defrost at room temp.

Breakfast Pizza

1 lb. frozen shredded hash browns, defrosted
6 large eggs
2 c. shredded Cheddar
salt n pepper
Cooking spray, for pan
6 strips bacon
Chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, combine hash browns, 2 eggs, and 1/2 cup cheddar and season with salt and pepper.

Spray a baking sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray and add hash brown mixture. Using your hands, pat mixture into a circular crust.
Bake until golden, 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain, then crumble.

Top baked crust with remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese and crack remaining 4 eggs on top. Scatter with crumbled bacon and season all over with salt and pepper.

Bake until egg whites are set but yolks are runny, 15 minutes. (If you prefer a less runny yolk, bake 18 to 20 minutes.)
Garnish with chives, slice, and serve.

Gluten Free Breakfast Gravy

2 uncooked breakfast sausages
1 small or 1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 packed tablespoons chopped sage
Pinch sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
Dash ground or freshly grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons ghee
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon arrowroot starch

Heat skillet over medium heat. Break apart sausages and brown in pan. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and sage and stir to combine. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, then stir in ghee. Let cook 1 minute.

In a small bowl, whisk together almond milk and arrowroot starch. Pour over sausage mixture, stir, and let cook 5 minutes to thicken. Check for seasoning.

(Gluten Free and Paleo)
Great with the gluten free biscuits I have posted!

Banana Bread (Best Ever!!!)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup butter
2 cups pure cane sugar
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4-5 bananas)
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (plus extra, if you like)

Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans or one 9x13 casserole dish.

Sift the flour, salt and baking soda into a large bowl.
In separate bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Stir in the bananas, eggs, vanilla and nuts until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour, and stir just until blended. Divide the batter between the 2 loaf pans or pour all mixture into the 9x13 pan.

For loaf pans, cook 60 to 70 mins.
For 9x13 bake for 35-40 mins.
Keep a close check. Bread is done when a knife inserted into crown of the loaf comes out clean.

Let cool in pan(s) 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

Note: To make Gluten Free, substitute flour with a quality GF flour, such as cup4cup, and reduce amount to 1 and 3/4 cup. Also add an additional egg (total of 5 eggs) and a tsp xantham gum.