Recipe Review: Gluten-Free Bagels

While at the library this weekend, I came across a copy of Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry cookbook of gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free recipes by Elana Amsterdam. Within it's pages I was intrigued by a gluten free bagel recipe and put it aside on a pile of take-home and try cookbooks.  

Photo credit:  Leigh Beisch from the Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry

The photography in this book is delightful and quickly got me imagining how much I can save if I made my own gluten-free bagels. Aww, what a foolish dreamer I am.  

They look nowhere as appealing and they taste awful. A total epic failure and an expensive experiment. Amsterdam credits the recipe to Jenni Hulet, author of the blog The Urban Poser but I'm unable to find this recipe on her website. Instead, Hulet's blog does contains a recipe for Paleo Sourdough mini bagels and the recipe doesn't resemble Amsterdam's in the slightest.  

Paleo Cooking from Elana's Pantry

The only liquid called for in Amsterdam's bagel recipe is from the apple cider vinegar and eggs act as a binding agent. Hulet's recipe calls for less eggs and 1/2 cup of water which makes me question if there is a missing ingredient?  

I could experiment some more and try adding water to Amsterdam's recipe but I think I'm just going to move on and try a different bagel recipe altogether. Until then, it's gluten free store bought ones to keep me going.  

Gluten Free Fig and Macadamia Nut Biscotti Cookies

The other day I found a wonderfully delicious Red Fig Jam and it got me thinking about using it in a cookie recipe. I turned to the biscotti cookie recipe in the Cooking Light Gluten-Free Baking cookbook since it worked well in the past and went to work modifying the recipe.  Instead of pistachios, I used macadamia nuts, added chopped dried figs and some red fig jam.

Let me just say, these are delicious, taste wise I couldn't ask for better flavours. Texture wise, I think I will need to do some more tweaking with the recipe. It's a little soft in the centre.  Perhaps I should have flattened the dough a little more prior to the first bake.  And maybe added more flour to the mix to compensate for the figs and jam?  I'm definitely going to work with these flavours again because there is nothing to complain about in that department. In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the biscotti with a cup of tea.