But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Hebrews 13:16 (NKJV)
With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas before us, it’s time to start making more goodies. Today I share two gluten-free recipes you can use to make treat plates to take to neighbors, if you can deliver the goodies before your family munches them!
The photo here includes both the gingerbread cookies I share with you today, along with the sugar cookies I made one Valentine’s day. Both are delicious and gluten-free, though I think the gingerbread variety holds together the best.
Gingerbread Cookies
Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut oil or goat butter
1/2 cup monk fruit or coconut sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 Tablespoon vinegar
1 beaten egg
2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca or arrowroot flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a medium saucepan, bring coconut oil, monk fruit, molasses, and vinegar to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat to potholder on the counter and allow to cool.
In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients: Brown rice flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
When pot is cool, stir in the beaten egg, followed by the dry ingredients. Mix well, cover, and chill for 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to bake cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove gingerbread dough from fridge and let sit on counter while oven is preheating. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Use extra tapioca flour to flour a cutting board lightly. Scoop part of the dough onto your prepared cutting board. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut out your favorite Christmas shapes. Use a metal pancake turner to lift the cookies from the cutting board to the parchment paper pans. When the pans are full, bake for 5-8 minutes, or until done. Cool on cooling racks. Decorate with your favorite frosting and sprinkles. (We mix 2 T. coconut oil, 2 cups powder monk fruit, a teaspoon of vanilla and enough almond/goat milk to make a fine frosting). Merry Christmas!!!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant. Genesis 18:5 (NKJV)
If you’re like us, your freezer still has zucchini from last August. We grated several zucchinis and bagged them for winter baking and cooking. Grocery stores still have zucchinis this time of year, too. This recipe was one of our favorites we made in summer. The Chocolate Zucchini Bread can be wrapped and given as a gift, or sliced and arranged on a plate with the cookies. This recipe we modified from the Gluten-Free Mama Cookbook, another great resource for gluten-free eaters.
Ingredients:
Coconut oil to oil baking pans
2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca or arrowroot flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups monk fruit or other sweetener
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 cups shredded zucchini
4 eggs
1 cup organic apple sauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 package Enjoy Life or Lily’s Chocolate Chips
2 Tablespoons monk fruit
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two loaf pans with coconut oil. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift together the brown rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, monk fruit and cocoa. Set aside.
In a stand mixer combine the zucchini, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix for one minute. Next, add the dry mixture, a little at a time, mixing just a little bit until combined. Finally, add the chocolate chips and gently mix.
Pour half the batter into each prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the tops with monk fruit. Bake for 1 hour or until done. Remove from oven to cooling racks. Cool completely before slicing. So tasty it should probably be called cake!
Arrange all the goodies on plates for your neighbors with a Christmas greeting and Bible verse. Another recipe your neighbors will love is Anna’s Peanut Butter cups!
Remember the REASON for the SEASON!
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV)
Scripture from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
To make this a festive Thanksgiving dish, instead of serving in a casserole dish, serve it in a pumpkin! You will have to pre-bake the pumpkin. Here’s how: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Choose a small to medium pumpkin and wash thoroughly. Cut off the top and scoop out the insides. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and turn the pumpkin upside down onto the paper. Bake the pumpkin for at least an hour, until the inside seems tender. Don’t bake too long, or it will collapse (that’s what happened to mine this year, so I don’t have a final photo for you 😕 ). Remove from oven and place upright on a fresh lined pan or oiled casserole dish. Layer the rice con queso ingredients and bake as described above. It’s an amazing treat for Thanksgiving!
Cream coconut oil, Earth Balance butter and sugar together. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, guar gum, and salt (I used 3 1/2 cups brown rice flour and 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour). Add dry ingredients to coconut oil mixture, stirring until it is well combined. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator 4 hours or overnight.
I love to have a Christmas theme with our holiday meals. This Christmas Eve we will have Shepherd’s Pie and Angel Food Cake! You can’t beat that for sharing the Greatest Story while enjoying a family meal. We will talk about how the shepherds were just sitting in their field, talking and watching their sheep as they did every night since they could remember. When, boom, up in the sky appeared an angel, proclaiming to them:
Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the 
Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? Luke 14:34 (NKJV)
It’s time to make holiday treats again! If you’re like me, you are eager to try new recipes. But often that is tricky if you need to make gluten-free and dairy-free confections. My friend Anna served these at a gathering for homeschool moms this fall. She had a bowl full of them in her fridge. They are so tasty, I don’t think a bowl would last very long in my fridge!
My kids have been asking for these recipes, so I thought I would put them here where all of us can easily find them! Our favorite pumpkin pie recipe came from an old church cookbook that had half a dozen pumpkin pie recipes. I finally starred the one I liked best. Our favorite pecan pie recipe came from the Joy of Cooking recipe book we were given at our wedding over 28 years ago! Both recipes have been adapted to be gluten-free and dairy-free. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas pies!
Every summer I enjoy finding a new favorite salad recipe. And this summer my son Jacob gets the prize for the best salad of summer! Here is Jacob’s version of broccoli salad, packed full of healthy ingredients AND it’s so yummy. Sometimes we even have a bowl for dessert or a late evening snack. Ready for some delicious nutrition? Here we go…