This little book is filled with scrumptious goodies featured at the Flying Apron Bakery in Seattle, Washington. Ms. Katzenberger, who opened the bakery in 2005 with her dad, shares gluten-free recipes—many of which are vegan (dairy-free and egg-free) and soy-free.

The recipes use simple ingredients. Flours range from brown rice to garbanzo bean to buckwheat. Coconut, palm, and vegetable oils comprise the fats and fruit juices or maple syrup are the sweeteners. Additionally, the author encourages the use of organic and locally grown ingredients where possible. My kind of book!

If you’re the kind of baker who wants to offer your friends and family treats like Berry Oat Wondie Bars, Macaroons drenched in dark chocolate, Peach Walnut Tart or a myriad of cakes and cupcakes then this book might be a good choice for you.

A few weeks ago I picked up Allergy-Free Desserts by Elizabeth Gordon. It’s her first cookbook and it’s full of cookies, bars, quick breads, pies and more. Most of the recipes are familiar and beloved—and there’s some new ones. Now we sensitive eaters never have to feel like we need to live without. And, they’re all gluten-free, egg-free, soy-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. According to Elizabeth (via Twitter @AllergyFreeLife) Pineapple Upside-Down Cake is her current favorite. I’m thinking of starting at the beginning of this book and working my way through each recipe. Hey, maybe we’ll make a movie—Nancy and Elizabeth. Oh yeah, that’s already been done.

How to bake without gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame. Some folks might think that’s nearly impossible. Cybele Pascal shows us that’s just not the case.

The book starts with tips about what you need in your pantry—flours, sweeteners, egg replacers, leveners, milks and more. Then on to “how to replace eggs”, “how to replace dairy”, flour mixes and baking tips.

When you get to the heart of the book you’re going to find recipes you’d find in any traditional cookbook—and, as you know, that’s a bonus for those of us who are sensitive bakers. We want the kinds of goodies everyone else wants—and is having.

So, bring on the Chocolate Zucchini Bread, the Snickerdoodles, and the Ginger Snaps. Bake up some Chocolate Chip Cupcakes for a family birthday. And, serve a Pumpkin Pie this Thanksgiving. You can find all of these and more in this handy cookbook.

Browsing recipes on the web the other day brought me to a blog post—gluten-free crusty boule—by Shauna Ahern of The Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef. The more I read the more that bread needed to be cooling on my kitchen counter. I’ve avoided making gluten-free bread because…well, it seems complex with the potential for not so great results. I’ve always loved crusty italian bread and have missed it. How can you replicate great bread without the gluten? Well, this recipe seems like it might be “the one”.

Gluten-Free Crusty Boule is the cornerstone recipe in the gluten-free chapter of a new book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoe Francois. There’s also recipes for gluten-free baguettes, pizza, brioche, cinnamon buns and more. The breads in this chapter are gluten-free but not egg-free.

Out and about this beautiful almost spring day I stopped at the local bookstore and quickly found the book. There were a few copies on the shelf. This weekend I’ll be trying out the boule (using egg replacers so keep your fingers crossed). Then it’s on to the brioche. Oh yeah.

You may know Elana Amsterdam from her wonderful blog, Elana’s Pantry. This is her first cookbook featuring almond flour recipes. In it she shares  sweet and savory baked goods, as well as, entrees like Eggplant Parmesan, Black Bean Burgers, and Cod Piccata Paprika. Most of the recipes use eggs but, I do see the opportunity to convert a good number to egg-free versions. Elana also uses agave, instead of refined sugar, as a sweetener.



A sweet little book featuring 75 vegan (dairy and egg free!) cupcakes. They’ve got basic, classic, and fancy cupcakes along with more than a dozen toppings and frostings. Two gluten-free versions are included as a bonus! Almost forgot to mention the “How to Make Kick-Ass Cupcakes” section which offers information about sweeteners, shortenings, milks, other essential ingredients, tools and troubleshooting tips. So, if these cupcakes tempt you just a little bit—Pineapple Right-Side-Up Cupcakes, S’mores Cupcakes, Apple Cider Cupcakes, or Dulce Sin Leche Cupcakes—you might want to give this book a try.

Note: Most of the recipes in this book are not gluten-free (there’s two GF recipes). They’re all vegan, however.