Homemade Gluten Free Biscotti

This year, I wanted to create "Baby It's Cold Outside" themed gift baskets for my family- my thought was everyone could enjoy an evening indoors with all they would need to relax.

My little Ms helped to create the homemade GF dog biscuits & stuffed bones for their canine cousins...

...and I began making "candy cane" peppermint foot soaks,

...and then hot chocolate sticks with homemade marshmallows & ganache:)

I also chose to make biscotti to accompany the hot chocolate sticks...

 

...and ssshhh, they're gluten free!

 FYI, they're so good, "Ricky" couldn't even tell as he was scarfing one down:)

Gluten Free Almond Biscotti- adapted from Cooks Illustrated

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) whole almonds, lightly toasted
• 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) gluten free flour (I used Namaste)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 large white beaten with pinch salt
• 1 cup (7 ounces) sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract  
• Vegetable oil spray  

The almonds will continue to toast while the biscotti bake, so toast the nuts only until they are just fragrant. 

(I also made these with 2 tsp vanilla, omitting the almond extract- delish!)

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Using ruler and pencil, draw two 8 by 3-inch rectangles, spaced 4 inches apart, on piece of parchment paper. Grease baking sheet and place parchment on it, ink side down.

2. Pulse 1 cup almonds in food processor until coarsely chopped, 8 to 10 pulses; transfer to bowl and set aside. Process remaining 1/4 cup almonds in food processor until finely ground, about 45 seconds. Add flour, baking powder, and salt; process to combine, about 15 seconds. Transfer flour mixture to second bowl. Process 2 eggs in now empty food processor until lightened in color and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. With processor running, slowly add sugar until thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Add melted butter, almond extract, and vanilla and process until combined, about 10 seconds. Transfer egg mixture to medium bowl. Sprinkle half of flour mixture over egg mixture and, using spatula, gently fold until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and chopped almonds and gently fold until just combined.

3. Divide batter in half. Using floured hands, form each half into 8 by 3-inch rectangle, using lines on parchment as guide. Spray each loaf lightly with oil spray. Using rubber spatula lightly coated with oil spray, smooth tops and sides of rectangles. Gently brush tops of loaves with egg white wash. Bake until loaves are golden and just beginning to crack on top, 25 to 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.

4. Let loaves cool on baking sheet for 30 minutes. Transfer loaves to cutting board. Using serrated knife, slice each loaf on slight bias into approx 1/2-inch-thick slices. Lay slices, cut side down, about 1/4 inch apart on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Bake until crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 35-45 minutes, flipping slices halfway through baking. Let cool completely before serving.

 Biscotti can be stored in airtight container for up to 1 month.

(Ribbon & tags from Stampin' Up!)

These are my new fave GF treat & since they're not too sweet & contain no gluten, they're virtually guilt free!

Enjoy!

Tiffany

Homemade Hot Chocolate Sticks

Confession: once again in my frenzy to complete this project, I neglected to take pictures so please bear with me and enjoy some that inspired me, taken by "professionals":)

To create my hot chocolate sticks,

I began by making the marshmallows using this wonderful tutorial.

Then I proceeded to make the ganache...mmmm.

I opted to make the ganache with bar chocolate vs chips for a superior texture but supposedly the chips work fine:)

I followed this tutorial, tweaked from the King Arthur Flour Company and it was lush!

Marshmallows & ganache complete, it was time to assemble...

This pic isn't mine, but looks just like my creations:)

 

And since I didn't have time to snap pictures, you can imagine I didn't have time to package each hot chocolate stick individually...so I grouped mine in bags of six:)

I loved this project and wasn't stressed to the limit achieving completion either!

I made the marshmallows & ganache simultaneously once my little Ms were in bed as both recipes involved "resting overnight"- perfect!

I then assembled & packaged the morning of Christmas Eve:)

So glad I took the time to try something new and I heard they tasted great- happy Mama:)

Next up: homemade biscotti, including a gluten free version!

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Homemade Marshmallows

If you're on Pinterest at all, you've no doubt seen these:

Hot Chocolate Sticks!

I fell in love with these and since I'm not able to indulge in these while nursing Baby M, I settled for making them for my family to enjoy:)

The first step was deciding to make the marshmallows vs buying them & then deciding on a recipe...

 

 ...I chose this one, adapted from an Alton Brown recipe, as the tutorial is great with preferred pics...

...and they came out well despite the fact that I cooked them a bit longer than necessary due to my candy thermometer being off:/

Note to self: calibrate candy thermometer BEFORE baking!

Glossy & thick...it was a pretty sight...

...until my kitchen was covered in powdered sugar- the above pic is after I cleaned the counters! 

(Insert Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas")... if you can't have the real thing, make marshmallows!

Here's the complete tutorial that I followed:)

Stay tuned for part 2 of my homemade hot chocolate sticks:)

Tiffany

Peppermint Foot Soak

Now that I shared our homemade canine treats & toys, here's one of the people gifts:

Peppermint Foot Soak

This is a great all natural beginner project using essential oils.

Ingredients:

1 cup epsom salt

1 cup Himalayan pink sea salt

10-15 drops peppermint essential oil (therapeutic grade)

Add the essential oil to the epsom salt in a glass bowl and mix well.  Layer the epsom salt and then Himalayan salt in jars to create a candy cane effect:) 

I chose to follow this recipe, gathered my supplies...

I found the jars at the $ Store & they held approx 1 1/2 cups.

...and layered in jars:)

I found the Himalayan pink salt at Sprouts in the bulk section.

 

With Baby M's arrival, (more to come!) I ran out of time to make uber cute tags, thus my cheesy print outs pasted to a random sheet of red card stock...sigh...just thankful they got finished!!!

I heart the peppermint sticks & white sweater trim:)

Up next, homemade hot chocolate sticks & marshmallows!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Handmade Dog Toys

Yesterday I shared our homemade doggie biscuits- today I'm sharing some plush toys that I made to pacify little canine chompers after indulging in their pumpkin treats:)

 I chose the classic 'dog bone' shape, found an image online (although it would be simple to just free hand!) and began cutting my fabric...

...which I scored at a garage sale- black felt & a cute black & white quilting cotton with doggie verbage:)

I cut a black felt back & white cotton front for each bone and sewed RST (right sides together), leaving a gap for turning- I also ran my pinking shears around the perimeter.

Once turned out, I ironed flat and stuffed chock-a-block with polyfill!

I then delved into learning the "invisible stitch" and hand sewed each gap closed.

These may not last long but were made with love and Livy enjoyed helping to stuff these gifts for her canine cousins:)

Next, I'll be sharing the 'people' gifts:)

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Well, now that our Christmas gifts have been shared, I can share the details with you:)

In keeping with my love of themes, I used a "Baby it's Cold Outside" theme as a springboard, creating something to be shared indoors for our family, including the canine members:)

For our beloved doggies, I chose this recipe for an all natural, treat- I didn't have any "guinea pigs" but the reviews were good so fingers crossed these biscuits are being enjoyed!

This was a perfect activity to get my little Ms involved, so with much flour and dough flying, we began!

Livy dove in with her "favorite shape" aka the mini heart cookie cutter...

...and quickly got the hang of popping out the dough...

...while Jonah found that his tummy somewhat inhibited his ability to cut very many biscuits...

...but he didn't mind arranging the "star!" and "har!" biscuits on the cookie sheet and popping a few bits of dough into the bag of flour- "mess!":)

Livy, my serious helper, switched to the star cutter...

 

...and with four baking sheets laden with stars & hearts, Mama baked them:)

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 15oz can pumpkin puree

2 eggs

3 Tbsp all natural peanut butter

3 cups whole wheat, brown rice flour or GF flour- we used GF!

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/2 cup oats (optional if your dog is on a grain free diet)- we left out the oats too!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degreess
2. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs & peanut butter.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats & cinnamon, if using.
4. Stir wet ingredients into the dry and pour onto floured work surface- dough will be sticky so have extra flour on hand:)
5. Roll out to approx 1/2 inch thick and bake for 30-35 mins, until golden brown.
6. Place biscuits on cooling racks and let cool thoroughly- the biscuits will harden as they cool.
7. Store in an air tight container and use within 2 weeks.

*Cinnamon is safe for doggies but not pumpkin pie mix which is toxic!!!

We ended up with over 6 dozen treats since we used small cutters but this will obviously vary.

There are many dog treat recipes floating around the web so I would love to hear of any that you make:)

Next I'll be sharing part 2 of our homemade doggie gift:)

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany

Baby M's Hair Organizer

Baby M has already received multiple hair bows, hence the need for an organizer...

So I hung this framed iron grate (which weighs a ton!) in Baby M's room that I white washed eons ago...

...added some grosgrain ribbon tails and hot glued some bows together...

...but I still need to finish the rosettes to cover the hardware at the top- not holding my breath this will be complete before her arrival though as I can't find the needed ribbon:/

A Welsh love spoon was added...

...and a few more Beatrix Potter residents so she'll be in good company:)

Now back to locating that pesky ribbon....

Thanks for stopping by,

Tiffany