A couple of times a month I like to make a baked good to take to work. It makes me feel good, and from the feedback, my colleagues enjoy tasting the treats I bring. I’ve taken brownies, banana bread, fancy brownie boats, cakes, pies, and all types of cookies and cupcakes over the years.
Essentially everything I have taken contains the usual ingredients. Sugar, baking powder or soda, salt, butter, eggs, and of course, flour. These are the things just about all of us have as staples in the kitchen, especially if we are bakers.
Recently I took some mini cupcakes filled with blackberry jam, and topped with some chocolate buttercream. As I was leaving for the day, there were a few left over. I decided to take those few around to give away so that I wouldn’t have to eat them.
When I stopped by one of the cubbies, I asked my colleague if she would like one. She said she’d like to but, she had to have gluten-free. I felt badly that she couldn’t have any, but mainly I felt badly that I had never really thought about bringing something gluten-free so everyone could partake. I promised her the next thing I made would be gluten-free.
Now, I said that, and then immediately thought, what am I going to make since I rarely make anything gluten-free. I think the only things I’ve made have been some cinnamon rolls, macarons, and some banana bread for a friend and the daughter of another friend.
When I made two of the three gluten-free dishes before, I had to buy a couple types of non-gluten flour like ingredients, then mix them with certain ratios to make them work. Not fun. Then one evening I was looking through my King Arthur catalog and saw they were selling a premade mix that was a 1:1 flour substitute. When I was next at Costco, I saw they were selling a similar mix. I grabbed a bag.
This weekend, I decided I wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies for work. Figured it was the perfect time to finally try the non-gluten flour mix. The good thing about taking baked goods to work, it is a built in taste testing laboratory.
To make this long story short, I made the cookies, making sure there were enough for home as well. The cookies were pretty good. Actually better than I had anticipated. Although they have a much more grainy, gritty taste to them, the flavor was still there.
We liked them enough here at the house, I felt it was fine to take them to work. When I arrived, I sent out a notice the cookies were here, that they were gluten-free, and please stop by to give them a try. To the tee, everyone said they were good for being gluten-free. The fact they were all eaten is enough of a testament to me to try other recipes as well.
Wonder what I’ll make next. Any suggestions?
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 