How does a foodie respond when they discover their favorite foods are forbidden due to a medical condition?

And so begins the story of Dream Desserts…

Marissa Hayes, a foodie by blood, discoverd she had celiac disease in 2007. It forced her to ban all of her favorite desserts. Given her infamous sweet tooth and her mother’s even more infamous desserts, Marissa was seriously disheartened by the diagnosis. Her caring husband started researching gluten free bakeries online and even ordered several products for his wife to try. The desserts didn’t measure up to her mom’s delicious desserts. So, in an effort to cheer-up Marissa, her mother started modifying her recipes to see if she could make some desserts that her daughter could enjoy.

BINGO!

After a couple of successful recipes, her mother really dived into an array of gluten free sweets. As the delicacies were perfected, Marissa’s husband, Brian, was impressed with the desserts and amazed that they were gluten-free. Brian suggested they start offering the desserts to others via a business.  Marissa was hesitant at first, but she decided to give it a shot while taking some time off from her corporate job to have their son.

Dream Desserts are delicious, inventive, and safe for everyone with gluten intolerance. Marissa and Brian bake in a certified gluten-free kitchen while her mother continues to invent scrumptious gluten free sweets for them to explore. Recently, Marissa featured a chocolate brownie for the holidays; due to its popularity they may bring it back a few times in 2012. Stay tuned for other delectable treats in 2012.

Marissa is also a big advocate of small businesses, as she feels they have a true passion for what they do. Small producers aren’t breaking the bank with profits. This is something they do because they love it and therefore they attend to the details more carefully:  “My mom and I do this because it impacts our lives and we understand the importance of having healthy AND tasty options.”

Dream Desserts…a family business making the dreams of gluten-intolerant folks come true!

For this recipe, I delved into a bag of  gluten free lupin flour by Lupino Foods.  Lupin flour is made from lupini beans, which are unusually high in protein and fiber, and unusually low in fat and starches.  This gives lupin the lowest Glycemic Index of any grain.  Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of them; they’re more popular in Australia.  But the health benefits listed are impressive, and I encourage everyone to watch this video on Fooducopia to learn more about lupin.

Disclaimer:  I have to say that it’s probably impossible for anything in my house to be truly gluten free. I bake so much that the air is probably one percent wheat flour. And that’s on a day when I haven’t had an unfortunate flour-spewing accident.  That said, these cookies were made without any intentional gluten. What fell out of the air, I can’t control.

The problem with a lot of gluten-free baked goods is that they can have a weird texture, or the hint of a strange flavor. The background note in these is the almonds, and upfront is the chocolate. There’s no odd flavor, and there’s nothing about the texture that screams “gluten-free.” And they look pretty.

For the chocolate, use your favorite – anything from unsweetened to milk chocolate will be fine, since it’s such a small amount – even those mini chocolate bars you’ve got squirreled away from Halloween.

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Almond Cookies

1 1/2 cup lupin flour
1 cup almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 ounces chocolate, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line several baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the lupin flour, almond meal, baking powder, kosher salt, and cocoa. Whisk to combine and break up any large lumps.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or you can use a hand-held electric mixer, if you prefer) beat the butter until it is soft. Add the sugar and beat until it is light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are incorporated. Add the chocolate, and beat until it is incorporated.

Add the flour mixture, and mix until it is thoroughly combined. This is the point where a regular cookie recipe would tell you to not overmix. There’s no gluten here to worry about, but there’s still no sense in mixing it to death, either. Just combine it well, and you’re done.

Using a small scoop (I used a #40 scoop, which is less than 2 tablespoons) put rounds of cookie dough on your prepared cookie sheets, leaving room between them to spread during baking. If you don’t have a scoop, just use a spoon to portion the dough and roll it into a ball with your hands.

Bake at 350 degrees until the cookies have spread, cracked on top, and are just barely browned, about 15 minutes. Move them to a rack to cool completely – they will crisp up as they cool.

Donna Currie is a Colorado-based food writer who operates the blog Cookistry.

Read another blog post about Lopino Foods and their Lupin Beans products.

At Fooducopia, our mission is simple — we connect food entrepreneurs and local farmers to customers across the country. If you’d like to discover delicious artisan foods filled with the heart and soul of the people who made them, Fooducopia is a place we think you’ll love.

These Easter basket ideas will help you design the perfect assortment of treats for people who prefer something unique.

Sweet & Sophisticated

Some people would rather not have an obnoxiously-large chocolate bunny and rainbow-colored jelly beans in their Easter basket. Put together a few of these elegant items and acknowledge their refined style.

• Organic loose leaf teas
• Teapot or cup
• Rich tea biscuits
• Scented candle
• Gourmet marshmallows
• Book or magazine
• Tea flavored chocolate

Field of Greens

This assortment makes a great gift for the green thumb in your life who’s already itching to get out in the garden. Stick to this list to keep it earthy, or throw in some traditional sweets if desired.

• Pickled asparagus spears
• Seed packets
• Gourmet salsa
• Gardening gloves
• Custom roasted coffee
• Sunglasses
• Gourmet dried fruit

Gluten Free Gourmet

Don’t let anyone with dietary restrictions go without this Easter! Choose gluten free treats and show how much you care. Just remember to double check ingredient lists!

• Gluten free cookies
• Fresh flowers
• Spicy chocolates
• Jelly beans
• Gluten free scones
• Flavored gum
• Cabernet fudge sauce

Do you have a unique Easter Basket idea? Leave us some “Crumbs” below — our list is far from complete!

Yesterday, in Part I of this post, I introduced the question–what’s the gluten-free food buzz all about? Here’s the rest of what Gluten Free Dee taught me.

The Rise of Gluten Sensitivity

“It’s becoming increasingly more difficult to digest the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye,” Dee said, and she suspects that genetic modifications in our wheat supply have caused the increasing gluten sensitivity.

by  jayneandd

“I would definitely say it’s because of genetic engineering. The quantity of gluten that is in a bushel of wheat now is different than it was for our parents and very different than it was for our grandparents,” Dee said.

This is because famers were asked to genetically engineer wheat to include more gluten because it makes a better baking product. Today, gluten levels are much higher than they would be naturally.

So for many people who are sensitive to the high levels of gluten that can be found in wheat products, a gluten-free diet is their ticket to better digestion.

The good news is that gluten-free products are tasting better and better. Dee insists that gluten-free products must taste good. Otherwise, people will never be able to stick to a gluten-free diet. Here’s a selection of gluten-free products that Fooducopia has to offer:

• WOW Baking Company‘s Chocolate Brownies
• Mac-n-Mo’s selection of gluten free cookies, better known as Morselicious Treats
• Raging Raw Organics‘ Banana Raisin Currant Flax Seed gluten free cracker
• 479 Popcorn‘s selection of organic popcorn (a naturally gluten free snack!)

Dee Valdez is a  gluten-free product ambassador and consultant and founder of the nation’s first gluten-free food bank. Learn more about the gluten-free food bank movement and Dee’s mission at her website, glutenfreedee.com. For information about the gluten-free diet and Celiac disease, visit celiac.org.

Unless you never go to the grocery store or spend time shopping on Fooducopia (we really hope you do both!), you’ve likely noticed the increasing number of products with “Gluten-Free!” and “Wheat-Free!” on their packaging.

Dee Valdez, a.k.a. Gluten Free Dee

You may be wondering, what’s the gluten-free buzz all about? Well, in hopes of finding out, I interviewed Dee Valdez, a.k.a. Gluten Free Dee. She’s a gluten-free consultant and product ambassador based in Colorado who also founded the nation’s first gluten-free food bank in 2009. Here’s what Dee taught me:

Gluten-Free Food 101

First of all, gluten is a protein naturally found in wheat, barley, and rye. It gives breads that nice elastic, sticky texture. Think pizza dough.

Gluten-free food products are those that leave out all traces of wheat, barley, and rye. Although oats do not contain gluten, farmers often grow them on the same land as wheat, and they become cross-contaminated. So gluten-free products are usually picky about their oats, too.

People with Celiac disease, an auto-immune disorder that makes digesting gluten impossible, are the primary consumers of gluten-free foods, and so these products have been around for a while. Dee has Celiac disease and has been eating a gluten-free diet for 18 years. Until recently, her options were scarce.

Simple Economics

More gluten-free products are popping up in the market because more people are demanding gluten-free options. My college economics professor would love this example.

Until this fresh demand hit the market, a few obscure gluten-free options did the trick. Now, the demand is giving new companies the opportunity to add to the short supply. In 2008, there were 9,000 new gluten-free products added to the market with another 4,000 added by April of 2009. In addition, Dee says gluten-free dining is one of the fastest-growing segments in the restaurant industry.

So who are all these people going after gluten-free products? Tomorrow, I’ll give you Dee’s next lesson.

If you want to learn more about Dee’s mission and the gluten-free food bank movement, check out her website and blog at glutenfreedee.com. For information about Celiac disease and the gluten-free diet, visit celiac.org.