Fun with Popovers, Part 2

I tried again.
Twofold.
 
First, I used the same flour combination of millet + garbanzo, but added baking soda.
Second, I tried my teff-cinnamon 'waffle flour' blend.

My current hypothesis is that it is impossible to create a true, exploding-out-of-the-pan popover with GF flours. ...I hope to prove myself wrong. However, I did succeed in creating something highly delicious with my present results.


1. Garbanzo-Millet Popover , version 2.0

THE RECIPE:

1 egg
3/4 c almond milk
1/4 c garbanzo bean flour
1/4 c millet flour
1/4 tsp salt ... plus a little more to taste*
1 tsp baking powder.
(extra light olive oil, for pan)

Mix milk + egg. Mix dry ingredients. Mix together wet and dry ingredients. Let sit for 30 min to let flour aerate.

Place muffin tins on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (to catch oil spills) in the oven. Heat oven to 450F. When hot, take out pan setup, and drop enough oil into the each well to cover bottom (0.5 cm deep-ish). Fill each well with batter, and place pan back into oven.

Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes. Lower heat to 350, and bake for another ~30 minutes, until done (test with a toothpick).

Remove and enjoy! I sprinkled veggie cheese and rosemary ontop.

THE RESULTS:

The texture of these was HEAVENLY! Light, fluffy, spongey-- it could pass for a legitimate spongecake.

The taste resembled a gentle cornbread-- slightly sweet, slightly salty, and extremely yummy!

* I only used 1/4 tsp salt, and they probably could have used a full 1/2 tsp. Next time!





2. Cinni-Teff Surprise Popover, version 1.0

So, the teff popover turned out a little less-than satisfactory.

The problem is almost definitely that I did not add salt. Had I added salt, I believe these would have been perfectly delicious, as their two biggest, and really two only problems, were (1) flat taste, and (2) heavy consistency.

However! They have a saving grace surprise! ...a nice glob of almond butter hidden in the center. This saves the day by adding saltiness and texture.

So, at any rate, here is...

THE RECIPE

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c almond milk

1.5 tbs cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

enough teff flour to make dry ingredients equal 1 scant cup

... and 1/2 tsp SALT! (which I did not add)

(+ some almond butter)

(+ coconut oil for pan)

Follow same instructions as for millet-garbanzo version, only using coconut oil instead of olive. When pouring batter into pan, half-fill, then add a dollop of almond butter, and then continue filling with batter to the top. Yum.

The 'popover' shown here is surprise-less, aka almond-butter free. The texture here does appear cake-like, but in the mouth... it tastes bloated. It just needs salt to lighten it up!  

SO. It's not over yet, POPOVERS!!!! (score: Popovers- 2. Mac- 1.)

Popovers! ...attempt #1: the donut.

 
Fun with Popovers, Part 1

What is a popover, you may ask?
Well, I will tell you.

A popover is a cute! A popover is delicious! A popover is a big puff of oven-baked fun!
Or to be more specific, a popover is made with a basic batter of 2 parts liquid, 1 part egg, 1 part flour. Batter is poured into a hot cup-type pan (aka, muffin tin). After they're "popped" into the oven, the batter puffs up into a delightful, doughy poof!

... or, at least that's what happens with regular flour. Mine turned out a bit more donut-like, with puffed sides but an indented center. On the bright side, this was the perfect nest for a sprinkle of shredded veggie cheese and seasoning! So, it all worked out.

However, the next time that I try these, I will add 1 tsp baking soda for every egg in the recipe. Adding baking soda is one of my gluten-free baking standards. By definition, baking powder increases volume and lightness in baked goods by releasing CO2 through its acid-base reaction. When using GF flours (plus no yeast), this is a highly useful trick to imitate natural rising of wheat/white flour.

Having never made white-flour popovers, I figured diving into the ACD friendly version might be risky without any basis for comparison. So, I made my family a normal vesion!

Can't tell you how they taste, but they DID look fluffier and puffier.
I used white flour, milk, egg, and salt, and shredded some muenster cheese on top when they came out. The padres certainly liked them! My dad recommended some maple syrup on top ... mMmm






Without further ado... 
THE RECIPE


1 egg
4 oz almond milk
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup garbanzo flour
1/2 tsp salt (or a little less)
+  olive oil (but NOT in the batter... so don't add it! ...as I may or may not have initially...)

Whisk together egg and milk. Add flour and salt and stir. Let batter sit for ~30 minutes to let flour aerate.
In the meantime, put muffin tins (or popover pans, or oven-proof coffe mugs...) into the oven, and heat to 450F.

When oven is hot/flour has sit for a bit, take out pans, and pour ~1tsp oil into each well*. Pour in batter to fill each well. Place pans back into oven.

Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes, then turn down to 375... then bake until done (about an hour**).

Take out and enjoy! Try sprinkling on seasoning/garnish. I used veggie soycheese with rosemary and thyme.

YUM!

* I used 2 tsp in regular-sized muffin tins, and this was too much! It inhibited the center of the popovers from rising, plus is spilled all over the oven. Hence, I recommend reducing this amount, plus possibly putting an old cookie sheet under the muffin tin to catch any overflow.

** The guidelines I followed said these should be done after 30 minutes. However, that was very incorrect. So keep an eye on those babies and don't plan to eat em so soon.

Ride a Cowboy Cookies

Save a horse! Or just save yourself, and eat my acd-friendly variation of an old standby: the Cowboy Cookie.

Cowboy cookies are a combination of many aspects of what makes a cookie delicious. First, good ol' chocolate chips provide gooey pockets of flavor. Nuts add a satisfying crunch (and protein!). And, granola makes them hearty enough to be a worthwhile snack, and hey-- might even let them pass as breakfast! The harmonious combination of smooth chocolate, rich crackling nuts, chewy granola, and the cakey cookie dough itself make the Cowboy Cookie a grand showcase of textures. These elements balance each other, creating a cookie that's not quite "too"anything... except AWESOME.

In my recipe, coconut oil adds an additional unique flavor. Spelt flour, with its "heavier" flavor, blends well with the granola. Brazil nuts are juicy and slightly sweet. The combination of carob and chocolate cuts the caffeine while maintaining the overall melted-chocolate effect of the chips.

THE RECIPE:

2 cups spelt flour
2 cups whole rolled oats (not instant)
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
¾ cups (non-dairy) grain sweetened chocolate chips
½ cup vegan carob chips
(1/2 cup optional raisins)
½ cup chopped brazil nuts
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¾ cup softened organic coconut oil
¾ cup agave
1/3 cup boiled sweet potato, smashed
1 tsp alcohol-free vanilla extract
1 egg

If you're a raisin fan, those can easily be added too.

Preheat oven to 350F.
Whisk together coconut oil, agave, sweet potato, and egg.
In a separate bowl, combine all dry ingredients, including chips and nuts.
Slowly whisk dry ingredients into bowl of wet ingredients.
Drop 1-2 inch balls onto cookie sheet.
Bake for ~12 minutes, or until edges of cookies become golden.
Makes about 30 cookies.

For a REALLY delicious treat, make this the base for an kream sundae. I recommend using Purely Decadent coconut milk-based Vanilla Bean ice cream. For an easy chocolate sauce, mix coconut oil and cocoa powder, and drizzle on top. Garnish with shredded coconut!

Yum! And, save a horse: ride a cowboy.