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Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays Cookbook Review and Giveaway

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Jeanne Sauvage, gluten-free, baking, holidays, recipes, cookbook, Art of Gluten-Free Baking

Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays by Jeanne Sauvage

What says Christmas and the holidays more than Pressed Butter Cookies, aka Spritz Cookies? Not much in my opinion. Think Christmas trees, bells, and the like. Jeanne Sauvage (Art of Gluten-Free Baking) made those cookies for a recent support group meeting of mine.

Today is Jeanne Sauvage’s birthday so it seems a fitting time to share her first cookbook, Gluten Free Baking for the Holidays: 60 Recipes for Traditional Festive Treats. I met Jeanne a few years ago when I attended the International Food Bloggers Conference in Seattle, where Jeanne lives with her family. She was a true delight and I started following her blog which was formerly called Four Chickens, but that had already been rechristened Art of Gluten-Free Baking by that time (although Jeanne’s Twitter handle remains @FourChickens).

Jeanne’s cookbook starts out with her personal story. It ranges from standing on a chair as a toddler to help her mother bake to finding out she was gluten intolerant shortly after her daughter was born to feeling helpless at living gluten free initially to mastering gluten-free baking and sharing her knowledge with others via her recipes for beloved traditional baked goods.

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Jeanne traveled cross country for an event with the writer of her cookbook’s foreword, Nancy Baggett. While Nancy is not a gluten-free cookbook author, she is a very well-known and well-respected cookbook author herself (she recently published Simply Sensational Cookies). Nancy shared her own attempts and failures at baking gluten-free treats. So her appreciation of Jeanne for her “remarkable success in cracking the gluten-free code” and her statement that she “baked her gluten-free dinner rolls and her spiced Speculaas cookies and served them in place of my usual wheat-based versions. It was terrific that everybody at my table could once again enjoy the usual holidays treats together without having to offer any explanation or apologies, I might add.” is quite an endorsement!

While Jeanne was on the east coast she honored my support group with an appearance and presentation, and, last but not least, her homemade pressed butter cookies, also known as Spritz cookies. Yes, she traveled cross country—and by plane, train, and car, no less—with her cookie press and customized gluten-free flour mix with her. (Note that her flour mix recipe is both on her blog and in her book.) I only had to supply the butter and a few short minutes later, she was offering all of us some amazing spritz cookies. She also melted dark chocolate (again, brought with her) and turned some of her cookies into sandwich cookies. Do you remember Pepperidge Farm Milanos? Jeanne’s sandwich cookies were very similar to those and just perfect in their taste, texture, and “indulgence.” Not surprisingly, all of Jeanne’s cookies were gone in mere minutes. I don’t know a better recommendation than that!

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Pressed Butter Cookies “Spritz” Cookies Made from Jeanne Sauvage

However, that said, I will still give you two more recommendations. Jeanne’s book was recently rated one of the Top 25 Cookbooks for this year by The Daily Meal. And that was up against all other cookbooks, not just the gluten-free ones! And just today, Laura Russell, author of The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen (another cookbook you’ll want in your kitchen!), posted the following comment on Facebook:

“Last night we made the Thumbprint cookies from Art of Gluten-Free Baking‘s “Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays”. They’re tender, buttery and even better than I remember. Home run!”

So clearly, this is a great cookbook! Note that it is a gluten-free cookbook and does not focus on recipes that are what I call “more free” (e.g., dairy free, sugar free). However, Jeanne does share a table for Butter and Dairy Substitutions before her recipes. Finally, not only does Jeanne give you her “tried and true” recipes, but she also explains gluten-free baking concepts such as how certain ingredients work with others to empower you to be able to create your own gluten-free recipes or other variations of her recipes. (Here’s an example of that type of instruction over at Jeanne’s blog when she discusses baking powders needed for gluten-free baking.)

UPDATE:  This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to gfe reader Carolyn (see below) and thanks to all who entered. 🙂 Remember to subscribe to gfe or check back daily to take part in all the giveaways for Home for the Holidays!

Carolyn’s comment (chosen randomly):  “The shortbread cookies for sure!”

One gfe reader will win a signed copy of Gluten-Free Baking for the Holidays: 60 Recipes for Traditional Festive Treats.

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on which recipe you’d like to try. (Notes: If additional comments are provided by a reader, the reader will not be included as an entrant for the giveaway. You do not need to leave your email address in your comment. I can see that in my blog’s admin panel.) Here are your choices:

Cookies

Speculaas

Lebkuchen

Pfeffernuesse

Springerle

Pepparkakor

Rugelach

Benne Cookies

Fortune Cookies

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Spritz Cookies

Shortbread Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies

Cutout Cookies

Thumbprint Cookies

Gingerbread Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Meringues

Meringue Mushrooms

Chocolate-Cherry Biscotti

Lemon Bars

Gingerbread House

Cakes

Genoise

Bûche De Noël

Fruitcake

Cranberry Cake

Gingerbread Cake With Persimmon

Chocolate-Mandarin Cake

Orange-Scented Olive Oil Cake

King Cake

Pound Cake

Trifle

Toasted Pecan Snack Cake

Steamed Plum Pudding

Pies & Tarts

Pumpkin Pie

Apple-Cinnamon Pie

Maple-Pecan Pie

Chocolate-Sunflower Butter Pie

Mincemeat Tarts

Flaky Pie Crust

Breads & Crackers

Simple Scones

St. Lucia Buns

Applesauce Spice Muffins

Cinnamon Rolls

Dinner Rolls

Featherlight Buttermilk Biscuits

Skillet Cornbread

Soft Sandwich Bread

Date Nut Bread

Panettone

Stollen

Cheese Crackers And Straws

Stuffing Like Mama Made

Deep-Fried Treats

Pumpkin Doughnuts

Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts)

Pizzelles

Krumkake

Rosettes

Struffoli

Buñuelos

Cannoli

The giveaway ends Wednesday, December 19, at midnight EST.

Full disclosure: The cookbooks provided for my review and this giveaway were provided free of charge by Jeanne Sauvage and her publisher. However, the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

This post is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesdays and Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

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Comments

  7. Back in the day I always gravitated to the Mexican Wedding cookies because they looked so festive. Those would be the first recipe I would make but the spritz cookies scream Christmas. Thanks for the chance to win Shirley!

    Reply

  8. I would try the Mexican wedding cookies, the Cranberry cake, the rolls and the cheese straws. I’ve made each of those every Christmas for my entire life (first as a kid with my Mom and Grandmother, and then as an adult in my own kitchen)…..until I went gluten free. They’re a Christmas tradition, and I miss it.

    Reply

  9. Oh! This cookbook looks delightful. I want to make the pumpkin donuts. I grew up in New England, where you can’t go more than a block or two without running into a donut shop. Since I was diagnosed as Celiac they’ve been one of the things I miss the most.

    Reply

  15. Mexican Tea Cakes, Spritz, Pizzelle…oh my. And of course, a wonderful pie crust recipe to boot! Thank you for the opportunity!

    Reply

  18. I would LOVE to try GF rosette and shortbread recipes. Those are the two things I always particularly looked forward to making with my Mom every year and have missed for the last several years because of food sensitivities. Even if I don’t win this book I’ll have to go find it for those recipes! Thanks Shirley!

    Reply

  19. For me, it’s the Stollen recipe. I had a “CURSES TO AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS AND GLUTEN INTOLERANCE” moment this week when I gazed upon my favorite brand of holiday Stollen, and I felt sad and mad and pondered whether I’d ever taste it again. Thanks for hosting such an awesome contest, BTW!

    Reply

  20. I’d have to try the pound cake! My mom makes the absolute best pound cake (a recipe passed down from my grandma), and I really miss it!

    Reply

  26. I am celebrating my first Christmas Gluten-Free. I have been working hard at it since Sept and am still in a major learning curve. Just to find the products is a challenge as I live in a very small town with about 2 feet of space at one store deadicated to Gluten-free products. Not alot of selection to say the least. Having a good cookbook sure would be helpful. I would try the soft bread for starters. I can get to a store that offers GF bread which is delishious but its 75 miles away so 150 round trip. I buy it and freeze some so I have it but not all the time.

    Reply

  32. I’d love to try many of your cookies and other treats. I would try first the shortbread cookies because I really love them. I lived in Scotland for 9 mos. and worked there so had lots before I needed to go gluten free. My husband also has celiac. It would be wonderful to have your book. Thank you for offering it.

    Reply

  38. Would love some help with preparing gluten free, sugar free foods for my diabetic husband. All of this is new for me. I am cooking by trial and error!! I love to cook but all that I “know” he can no longer eat!!! Ugh!!

    Reply

  45. St. Lucia Buns- My swedish grandmother made the BEST swedish coffee cake, breads and rolls. I miss those most of all being GF. Also- I have pictures of me dressed in my St. Lucia robe and wreath of battery operated candles-serving breakfast to my parents in bed-when I was just a kid. Memories…..

    Reply

  47. I have been living in Mexico for the last 5 years. Almost eery week at the local farmers market there is a vendor with homemade baked goods. I always look at the Mexican Wedding cookies & drool over them. I look forward to being able to eat them again. Thanks for ALL of the recipes!

    Reply

  49. They all sound wonderful but you had me at Pepperide Farm! That was one of my favorites so I would love to try making the Spritz and turning them into the Milano’s.

    Reply

  54. Oh me oh my, these all sound dee-licious! Just choose one…yikes!!! would love to make the lemon bars, those were a favorite of mine since childhood & haven’t made them since going gf – I miss them.
    oh and the Cinnamon rolls, pumpkin doughnuts and a good pie crust… Couldn’t just choose one 🙂

    Reply

  59. I would love to try the Dinner Rolls. Have tried a few GF roll recipes, but they are not any good. Still searching for a good GF Dinner Roll.

    Reply

  60. What an excellent review! I have quite a few recipes I’d like to try, but I’d start with the maple pecan pie. It has been years since I’ve enjoyed a slice of pecan pie. 🙂

    Reply

  61. I have made some of these as one of her testers. I was very happy with my results. I am excited for her steamed plum pudding.

    Reply

  62. I’ve always loved shortbread. Could eat my weight in Lorna Doones. Would love to try the shortbread recipe first thing.

    Reply

  64. I’d try the King Cake, a tradition since childhood but now with our son’s CD diagnosis, all of our holiday treats are up in the air, not sure what we will have this year until I get it all figured out. Looks like an awesome book! 🙂

    Reply

  67. I would like to try the featherlight buttermilk biscuits. I haven’t found any recipe for biscuits that are light and fluffy. So miss the light biscuits. Also would like to try the stollen, something I have never made before.

    Reply

  69. The kids and I would like to try a Chocolate Peanut Butter pie. We had a slice the Christmas before we went GF, we loved it 🙂

    Reply

  78. I would have to say the pie crust. Until we went gluten free I used to make the most incredible pastry and pies. I started making pastry when I was just a tot and by my teens, I was quite expert. I even helped pay for my university fees by making and selling pies. When the family was growing with four children, my baking day started with five pies. That was during my super-woman act when I worked full time and went to school part-time as well;-) I am now in my advancing years and don’t need pie or even miss it that much but my husband really would appreciate it and I would love to surprise him with a really good pie for Christmas. Happy holidays to all and wishing you peace in your body, mind, home and life.

    Reply

  80. Bunuelos. I hope these are as good as the ones my aunt made 40 years ago in Cuba. I am sure these will be as exquisite as all the other recipes!

    Reply

  91. Woo Hoo! I can’t believe I won. I am so looking forward to baking something great! Thanks Shirley for the giveaway and thanks again for selecting me!

    Reply

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