A long while ago, before I became gluten-free, before I met my OH and opened a restaurant, I had a very small kitchen in Surrey and made cookery videos.  I think it's definitely something I will start doing again, though the set up can be a little onerous at times.  Especially when the best place to film is your dining room and therefore you have to get everything set up on the dining table etc. - not ideal!  Anyway, I digress.  I used to make these cute little cinnamon biscuits (which are very popular in the US) quite regularly as they are not only super easy to make, they are utterly fantastic with a good cup of coffee (or cuppa joe to quote our American friends).  I made a video of the making of these, and thought I would provide the gluten-free recipe here, as the video shows a "regular" version.  I've made these very recently, as, whilst we are in lockdown, having time to really indulge in a little Hygge / Fika is definitely something I'm really loving.

Makes 12-15

INGREDIENTS:
150g gluten free plain flour, or any GF flour of your choice
1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
100g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp coffee mate (I know, weird, right!  This can be omitted if you don't have it, but it adds a lovely creaminess to the cookies)
30g butter, melted & cooled
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

FOR THE COATING:
1tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon


METHOD:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180/160 fan/gas 4
• Line 2 x baking sheets with parchment 
• Sift (sorry, I know it's a bore, but it makes for a super light doodle) the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, coffee mate and cinnamon together

• Stir in the sugar
• In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the egg and butter

• Pour this into the dry ingredients, stir together with a wooden spoon (or whatever implement you fancy), then work it together with your hands to form a dough

• Once in a ball, chill this mixture for 15 minutes
• Whilst the dough is chilling, mix together your coating ingredients

• Roll a heaped spoonful of the mixture into a ball (it will be a little crumbly because it's chilled, just work it a little and it'll come together, I promise, but the chilling part is really important), then coat in your lovely sugary cinnamon mixture

• Place on a baking tray and push down just a smidge

• Bake for 10-15 minutes, then leave to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before popping them on a wire rack to cool completely
• Savour with a cup of your favourite tea or coffee!

Change up the spices if you fancy it - ginger works a treat, as does mixed spice!

​

A while ago I posted a recipe for Cinnamon Buns, and, although it was a pretty good recipe then, I've been trying to create one that was closer to the rolls I remember from before I was gluten free.  Now, whilst these still aren't quite the same, they are a pretty decent take.  Using gluten free flour with as high a protein content as you can is key here - it's why bread flour makes such great bread; it has a high protein content and when it's wheat based, it, of course, produces a lot of gluten.  We can't replicate that with GF flours, but we can give our bakes a lot more structure by using these sorts of flours.  I use pea flour in this recipe combined with rice- and corn flours, but you could use quinoa flour, oat flour or amaranth flour if you have them.  I would recommend adding a little rice flour if you use one of these more savoury style flours to ensure your cinnamon buns have the right level of sweetness.

I will also try to add a short how-to style video to my YouTube and IGTV channels for these (if I can figure out how to make them work!)

CINNAMON BUNS

For the Dough:
180ml warm milk
7g sachet of instant yeast
65g granulated sugar
2 eggs (room temp)
50g unsalted butter (melted)
375-450g flour (depending on the flour used).  I used a mixture of 250g pea flour, 125g rice flour & 75g cornflour
½ tsp fine salt
1 tsp xanthan gum or psyllium husk (whatever you have)

For the Filling:
140g brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
50g very soft unsalted butter

For the Icing:
150g icing sugar
2tbsp warm water

METHOD:

• Warm the milk.  About 1 minute in the microwave, or on the stove until it reaches about 40-45 degrees
• Add to the bowl of a free-standing mixer or a large mixing bowl.  Sprinkle over the yeast and leave for a few moments
• Add the sugar, eggs and butter and mix well until combined

These are a great Easter-time treat, or just a treat in general, as right now I think we need all the treats we can get!

Happy Baking!

First of all, I must point out that the image here is not one of mine.  I made these cinnamon buns and they were scoffed before I could photograph them!

I wanted, therefore, to create my own gluten-free version of these Norwegian treats.  I love the recipe I have created, but like everything I do, they will continue to be a work in progress, so if I do find that I hone this recipe further, I will, of course, post an update for you all.  But, in the meantime, please give these delicious cinnamon-scented delights a go and let me know how you get on!  


RECIPE
For The Dough

• 7g fast action yeast
• 150ml warm water
• 100g caster sugar
• 400g gluten-free plain flour
• 1 tbsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 175g unsalted butter
• 1 egg, plus another for glazing

For The Filling

• 75g very soft unsalted butter
• 75g caster sugar
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

METHOD

1. Mix the yeast into the warm water and set aside
2. Melt the butter, allow to cool slightly, then add to the yeast and water.  Stir, then add the sugar, egg and vinegar whisking well to combine (and to ensure the egg does not scramble in the warm mixture)
3. Measure the dry ingredients into a large bowl, add in the yeast mixture slowly, beating well, ensuring everything is mixed.  The dough should be sticky-ish at this point
4. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to prove for about an hour
5. Check it after this time and if it bounces back when poked it is ready.  If not, leave it to prove for another 10-30 minutes.  It is important it is kept warm throughout.
6. Whilst you're waiting for the dough to prove, make the filling by beating all the filling ingredients together until you have a smooth mixture
7. Grease and line a 20cm tin and pre-heat the oven to 200c/180c fan/gas mark 6
8. Cut a third of the dough, and roll it out to fit the bottom of your tin using a dusting of gluten-free plain flour on your board and rolling pin.  It doesn't need to be perfect, you can stretch it to fit as needed, but be careful here, the dough will be fragile.
9. Roll out the rest of the dough to about 20-30cm square (or as big as you can get it), it helps to roll it between two pieces of parchment paper or clingfilm, then spread with the buttery cinnamon filling, taking it as close to the edges as you can.
10. Roll up the dough from the long edge, then slice into 6cm rounds, placing them swirly side up into the dough-lined tin
11. Leave to prove for 15 minutes
12. Brush with beaten egg, then bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and cooked through
13. Remove to a wire rack until cool enough to handle, then pull off a bun and eat, heartily