Bake it Up Blue for Autism
It's almost April, and I'm sort of wondering how that happened. But that also means that just around the corner on April 2 is "Light it Up Blue", one of Autism Speaks' awareness events. I do plan to go down to Home Depot and grab a blue light bulb for the front porch.
And I'm also planning on doing one other thing - and I invite you to join me. Let's Bake it Up Blue for Autism. Any time during the month of April, bake something "blue." I'm game for anything. You can use blue food color, or blueberries, or blue raspberry Jell-o - whatever strikes your fancy. Post it to your blog and add the link to the Simply Linked widget below. Or send me an E-mail and I'll add it to the Blog Hop list at the end of this post. Don't have a blog? That's OK, too. Send me the picture and a little about your baked good and yourself, and I'll do a round-up at the end of the month.
Don't worry, not everything I post here in April will be blue. But to get us started off, I give you:
Blueberry Filling
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a small dish.
In a small saucepan, heat blueberries if frozen until juice begins to release.
Stir in sugar/cornstarch mixture, water, and lemon juice.
Cook over medium-high until mixture boils and thickens. Allow to cool, then blend with a stick blender to make more uniform. Set aside.
Vanilla Batter
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 c. + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg white
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. Fancy Flour Blend OR
1/4 c. millet flour
1/2 c. white rice flour
1/4 c. sweet rice flour
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
2 Tbsp potato starch
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, sift together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter.
Beat in egg white and vanilla.
Scrape down sides of bowl, and alternately add flour mixture and milk. Grab a piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Strip one side of the bag with the blueberry mixture.
Fill the rest of the bag with the vanilla batter. Squeeze out a little batter until the blueberry mixture and batter are flowing out together. It doesn't have to be (and won't be) even, but there should be some of each. Pipe quarter-sized dollops onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheets. It's OK if they are "cone heads" at the moment - they'll sink down during baking.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until set and very slightly starting to brown.
Allow to cool on parchment paper a few minutes before removing to a rack to cool.
These were a big hit with my girls. All in all, they had a good weekend. My eldest got to go see Riverdance with her grandmother and I. She enjoyed it, though the noise level did get to be a bit much for her. The Princess, like many Autistic folks, has a sound sensitivity. She has trouble filtering out noise so that she can focus on other things. Have you ever been driving in a strange part of town, looking for an address or street and find yourself turning the radio off? Eliminating the extra stimulus seems to help you concentrate, right? Now imagine feeling like that all the time. And consider joining me to Bake it Up Blue for Autism. Again, just add your link to the list or drop me a note if you want to participate!
And I'm also planning on doing one other thing - and I invite you to join me. Let's Bake it Up Blue for Autism. Any time during the month of April, bake something "blue." I'm game for anything. You can use blue food color, or blueberries, or blue raspberry Jell-o - whatever strikes your fancy. Post it to your blog and add the link to the Simply Linked widget below. Or send me an E-mail and I'll add it to the Blog Hop list at the end of this post. Don't have a blog? That's OK, too. Send me the picture and a little about your baked good and yourself, and I'll do a round-up at the end of the month.
Don't worry, not everything I post here in April will be blue. But to get us started off, I give you:
Blueberry Vanilla Wafers
Blueberry Filling
1 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
Stir together sugar and cornstarch in a small dish.
Vanilla Batter
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 c. + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 egg white
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 c. Fancy Flour Blend OR
1/4 c. millet flour
1/2 c. white rice flour
1/4 c. sweet rice flour
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
2 Tbsp potato starch
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, sift together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together sugar and butter.
These were a big hit with my girls. All in all, they had a good weekend. My eldest got to go see Riverdance with her grandmother and I. She enjoyed it, though the noise level did get to be a bit much for her. The Princess, like many Autistic folks, has a sound sensitivity. She has trouble filtering out noise so that she can focus on other things. Have you ever been driving in a strange part of town, looking for an address or street and find yourself turning the radio off? Eliminating the extra stimulus seems to help you concentrate, right? Now imagine feeling like that all the time. And consider joining me to Bake it Up Blue for Autism. Again, just add your link to the list or drop me a note if you want to participate!
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