I know it may seem far away, but in just a few weeks we will be on Thanksgiving break preparing for time with family and my personal favorite holiday meal. Whether you are hosting or just bringing a dish, here are some of my favorite recipes:
Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces cranberries
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup orange juice
How to make:
- Gather all ingredients.
- Dissolve sugar in orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir in cranberries and cook until they start to pop for about eight to ten minutes.
- Remove from heat and place sauce in a bowl. It will thicken as it cools.
Not only do I love cranberry sauce with Thanksgiving dinner, but it’s just as good if not better on sandwiches with leftovers!
Apple Pie
Pie Crust
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, very cold
- 1/4 cup shortening, chilled (I used Crisco)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons ice-cold water
Apple Filling
- 6 cups thinly sliced apples
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 salt salt
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
How to make:
- Chop the butter into small chunks and place in a small bowl. Put the butter, shortening, and water into the freezer for about five minutes or until really cold.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the butter and shortening to the flour mixture. Using the paddle attachment of your mixer, mix until fully combined.
- Add the cold water and egg to the mixture and mix until fully combined and the dough starts to form. If you don’t have a stand-up mixer or hand mixer, you can still make this crust the traditional way. The traditional way of cutting the butter into the flour mixture and then adding the wet ingredients, mixing it and forming it into a ball.
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour.
- Remove from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Unwrap the dough ball and place onto parchment paper lightly floured with gluten-free flour. Lightly flour the pastry with gluten-free flour; top with the plastic wrap or another sheet of parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough into a circle.
- Carefully place the crust into a greased 9 1/2-inch pie deep dish pan (“1 1/2-2-inch deep). Press the dough into the bottom and sides (lift the pie crust up and do not try and stretch it). Seal any cracks, if necessary.Place the pie crust into the refrigerator while preparing the pie filling.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Add apples to a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and toss to coat apples.
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Sprinkle mixture over apples and toss until apple slices are evenly coated. Transfer apple mixture into pie crust.
- In a medium bowl, combine the topping ingredients with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles small crumbs. Sprinkle apple mixture with topping.
- Place the pie pan on a baking sheet. Cover the pie crust edge with a three inch aluminum foil strip, to prevent over-browning.
- Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil from the crust and then cover the top of the pie loosely with aluminum foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until pie crust and crumb topping are deep golden brown and filling begins to bubble.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and allow pie to cool for two to three hours at room temperature before serving. Enjoy!
Pair this recipe with some vanilla ice cream and you are good to go!
Stuffing
Ingredients:
- 1Â (14-ounce)Â loaf gluten-free sandwich bread, cut into medium-sized cubes
- 1 tablespoon  olive oil
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 1 tablespoon  sage
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 2 cups gluten-free chicken broth
How to make:
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a two and a half quart casserole dish with gluten-free cooking spray.
- Cut the gluten-free sandwich bread into medium-sized cubes.
- Add olive oil, celery, and minced garlic to a medium skillet and saute over medium/high heat until soft, about six to eight minutes.
- Add salt, onion powder, thyme, sage, and rosemary to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Add bread pieces to a large bowl.
- Pour seasoning blend and whisked eggs over the bread and stir.
- Add sauteed celery and garlic to the bread mixture and stir.
- Pour the gluten-free chicken broth over the bread and gently mix until the bread is evenly moistened.
- Pour the stuffing mixture into the greased casserole dish.
- Bake on the middle rack for 40-50 minutes until the top of the stuffing is golden brown and lightly crisp. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different.
Stuffing is another dish that is so good the next day, especially if you reheat it in a waffle maker. I know it sounds strange, but it makes it the perfect amount of crispy.
These are just some of my tried and true favorite recipes for Thanksgiving. I hope you try them out and find your favorite!
Roberts, Audrey. “Gluten-Free Dutch Apple Pie {dairy-Free Option}.” Mama Knows Gluten Free, 8 Sept. 2020, www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/gluten-free-dutch-apple-pie/#wprm-recipe-container-8210.
Roberts, Audrey. “Gluten-Free Stuffing.” Mama Knows Gluten Free, 9 Aug. 2024, www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/easy-gluten-free-stuffing/#wprm-recipe-container-2152.
Tested by Allrecipes Test Kitchen The Allrecipes Test Kitchen staff are a team of culinary pros who make and vet recipes using only equipment you’d find in a home kitchen. Staff credentials vary but include training at the Culinary Institute of America;, et al. “Cranberry Sauce.” Allrecipes, www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9111/cranberry-sauce/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.