Gluten-Free Cheese Biscuits

It's a little well-known secret in our household that Christmas always includes a family baking session. Every year, mother and I get together to bake some festive treats for the holidays—and cheese biscuits are always top of the list.

After being diagnosed with celiac disease, I had some trepidation about making cheese biscuits this year because we'd already perfected the wheat recipe...and I was worried gluten-free cheese biscuits wouldn't be quite as tasty. Thankfully, the gluten-free recipe we have created makes delicious biscuits, too.


Ingredients:

225g (8oz) plain gluten-free flour
1/2 tsp of xanthan gum
1 small egg
175g (6oz) of butter
175g (6oz) of grated strong or extra mature cheese (Taw Valley Tickler Cheddar from Morrisons is fantastic for this recipe)
A pinch of dry mustard and cayenne pepper

Method

1) Preheat oven to 230°C (or 450°F), gas mark 8.
2) Put flour, xanthan gum, grated cheese, cayenne pepper, mustard and butter into blender and mix.
3) When the mixture starts to look like breadcrumbs, slowly add in the egg until dough is formed. (It's important that you do this slowly, as the mixture can become quite runny so you may not need to add all of the egg!)
4) Place sheet of baking paper onto tray
5) Take a strip of cling film and place across work space to stop the dough from sticking
6) Roll dough out to roughly 6mm in thickness
7) Cut dough into roughly 5cm rounds and place on tray 
8) Put in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden.

We also used some of the dough and rolled it out into mini sausages so that we could have thick cheese straws. They tasted incredible when they came out of the oven.

Happy Christmas Eve! x

Christmas Magic

Christmas Day is almost upon us. As I write this post to you, the presents have already been stacked under the tree and the last of the pre-Christmas preparations finished. There's something a little bit magical in the air around Christmas Eve and I can't quite shake the feeling that something good is coming my way. Earlier misgivings are fading and giving way to a renewed feeling of hope and love.

 

I choose to believe in the magic of wishes. With the fire place aglow and a plate full of steaming hot mince pies awaiting me, I'm going to take a few minutes to make a wish on whatever Christmassy star is shining outside. The true magic of Christmas is in the spirit of believing; if you believe in miracles then anything can happen.

Last Christmas, I got one of the biggest miracles I'd ever asked for by being positive and believing. Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to get your wish this year if you do the same. It might not always come in the way you expect but things have a way of working out.

That being said, sometimes you've also got to know when to stop chasing a dream. If you're persistently being blocked then maybe there's a reason for that. If your dream involves someone else then remember that you cannot be the only person to put in all of the effort. Sometimes a little help has to come from the other person—and if they can't do that, or aren't even willing to try, then move on and find yourself a new dream. You are worth more. You might not believe it... but you are. If one dream isn't working out for you then build yourself a better one.

Believe in the magic, make a wish, dare to dream...and have a wonderful Christmas.