My first gluten free baking experiences were less than positive. The first vanilla cake I made went straight from the cooling rack to the garbage can. It actually tasted like it had wheat germ in it. My next experiment resulted in cookies that had an odd smell and tasted very sandy. In other words they were also inedible. Like many newly diagnosed people with Celiac, I thought excellent tasting baked goods were a thing of the past for me. I could not have been more wrong, thank goodness.
Very early in my gluten free journey I was fortunate to try some chocolate chip cookie bars that were so good, I assumed someone had brought a gluten dessert to a Celiac support group meeting by mistake. I could not imagine something that wonderful could be gluten free. But the bars (made with
Pamela's Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix) were indeed gluten free, and I've been a big fan of the company's gluten free offerings ever since.
These days I use Pamela's Pancake and Baking mix for everything from quiche crust to lemon bars to cornbread. Most cooks have wheat flour in their pantry, but the most finicky gluten free cooks would not be caught without Pamela's mixes in their pantry. There are bread mixes, cake (and frosting) mixes and even a new cornbread mix which I've heard taste as good as a well known mainstream (gluten) cornbread mix that starts with a 'J'.
When using Pamela's baking mix I sub it out cup for cup in many gluten recipes, making sure not to pack it too tightly in the measuring cup. Thus far I have not been disappointed in anything I've used it for. It makes great muffins, pie crusts, biscuits and even a 5-minute gluten free microwave cake that is unbelievably rich and decadent! Pamela's website has one of the most exhaustive collections of gluten free recipes available on any such site.
If you consider yourself 'a cut above' as far as gluten free cooks and/or bakers go, you might want to enter Pamela's 2009 Greatest Gluten-Free Recipe Contest. It begins June 1st and ends August 16th, 2009. There are several prizes for the winning recipes though winning this contest isn't as lucrative as winning the Pillsbury bake-off. Still, if you have glutenoid friends asking you to bring a signature dish (made with a Pamela's product) to every party, it might be worth your time to enter your recipe in the contest. Win or lose it's sure to be a fun experience. Both sweet and savory recipes are welcome so don't limit your thinking to only desserts.
The folks at Pamela's are dedicated to offering great tasting products made with quality ingredients. Their extensive line of ready made gluten free cookies can be easily transformed into any type of pie crust you need. Shortbread cookies make a basic crust while the Ginger Snapz make an exceptional key lime pie crust. They also sell a 2-pack of many of their great cookies, which are perfect for traveling. I find adding a little unsweetened applesauce to their cake mixes gives them the exact moistness factor we prefer around here, and the chocolate frosting mix is one of the best on the market, including gluten versions.
For more info: The photos above show Pamela's Chocolate Cake and a contest winner from 2007 - Sausage Rolls. To find more wonderful recipes click on the RECIPES link on Pamela's website.
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