Pre-heat your ovens to 360!

So I've been doing a LOT of baking lately, and since I can't seem to fit these recipes into any meal posts, I'm just gonna cram it all into one baking post! Early this week, I decided to make spicy smokey gluten-free corn muffins. However, I do think the texture needs a bit of work, so I'll hold off on posting that. I also make the gluten-free zucchini muffins which I included in a previous post. But there were 2 other, quite successful experiments.


The lab where Matt works has pot lucks occasionally, and since he knows how much I love to bake, especially for his lab (HEY GUYS!), he asked if I could make something. Now, gluten-free baking can get expensive, so since no one is completely gluten-free, I figured I should just go for regular flours. For me, regular flour means a 50/50 combination of whole wheat flour and unbleached all-purpose flour. This is a way of making it a little healthier while keeping the texture almost exactly the same as if you had used all white flour. I am a sugar addict, so finding ways of making sweet treats a little healthier while keeping texture and flavor always excites me. So, I decided to go for...


Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Honey Cinnamon Frosting

1/2 stick butter or margarine

1/2 rounded cup peanut butter

1/3 cup splenda

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs 

1 1/2 tsps vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups milk

2 smashed bananas

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Alternate adding the milk and dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the bananas. Pour into the baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until just golden brown around the edges (test with a toothpick). Leave in the pan until cool enough to handle, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Coat with the frosting. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Honey Cinnamon Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

3 tbls honey

2 tsps cinnamon

2 cups confectioners sugar

With a hand mixer, beat together ingredients until just combined. Add small amounts of milk if the frosting is too thick. Store extras in the freezer until next time you bake a cake and need a delicious frosting!

The second recipe was for the latest young adult event at my church, the beginning of the year get-together, which was a picnic. I almost always bring a dessert because, well, baking makes me happy.


Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

2/3 cup vegetable oil (or other non-olive oil)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup brown sugar

3 eggs

2 tsps vanilla

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup potato starch

1/4 cup teff flour

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 rounded cup chocolate chips

1 rounded cup rolled oats

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking pan with non-stick spray. Cream the oil, peanut butter and sugars in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours through the salt.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and oats. Pour into the baking pan and bake for about 20 minutes, or until just golden brown around the edges (test with a toothpick). Leave in the pan until cool enough to handle, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into squares and store in the freezer until ready to serve.


Just a tip for any gluten-free baked good: put it in the freezer for a while before you eat it. For whatever reason, it really improves the texture and makes it softer and creamier. Happy eating!