Look no further than my newest recipe: gluten-free apple cider whoopie pies. I have found that swapping apple cider for milk or water in a recipe adds a beautiful depth to apple recipes. I used it in the gluten-free apple cider snack cake recipe I created last year and in my newest gluten-free apple coffee cake.

If you have a favorite fall recipe, try this liquid swap and let me know how it works out. I just finished testing a brand new gluten-free apple cider donut muffin recipe, and that should hit the blog next week. After three rounds of testing, I have perfected the recipe. (See the above photo.) These muffins are so fluffy, nobody will be able to tell they are gluten-free.

I have several recipes in the works, including gluten-free pumpkin pie thumbprint cookies and pumpkin crinkle cookies. I'm testing the pumpkin thumbprint cookies in two ways. One uses my gluten-free sugar cookie dough, and the other uses my popular gluten-free pumpkin cookie dough. One beauty of having 800+ recipes on my blog is that I can use some of my most popular recipes as the base for new creations. I have done this with recipes like my gluten-free base biscotti recipe and my gluten-free rough puff pastry dough.

While I test out these new recipes, here are a few more fall recipe reader favorites:

Apple:

1. Gluten-Free Apple Turnovers - Use my rough puff pastry dough (linked above), this DAIRY-FREE gf rough puff pastry, or store-bought. These apple turnovers are full of delicious fall flavor.

2. Gluten-Free Apple Cider Donuts - They taste just like the ones you would buy at an apple-picking farm! They are baked, not fried.

3. Gluten-Free Apple Dumplings - I wrap fall apples in my flakiest pie crust, and they bake to create their own caramel sauce!

Pumpkin:

1. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls - Big and fluffy, they taste like the real deal. (Use a gluten-free flour blend that works with yeast. I cover this more in the recipe post. Many popular 1:1 blends don’t.)

2. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Scones - The best of the best, these homemade scones are perfect for snacking or served with breakfast or brunch. Top with an optional cinnamon icing.

3. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pie Bars - This is the recipe to bookmark for Thanksgiving. If you are in charge of bringing a gluten-free dessert, try this recipe. It tastes just like pumpkin pie, but with half the work!!

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Let me introduce you to Winifred, the starter I created about a year ago. She is a faithful friend, even when I forget about her and leave her in the fridge too long between feedings.

She has helped me create so many incredible gluten-free sourdough loaves and discard recipes. If you already have an active gluten-free sourdough starter, you can see all of my Gluten-Free Sourdough Recipes and find a new favorite.

If you want to learn how to make a gluten-free sourdough starter, I have all of the directions, tips, and tools listed => HERE.

This recipe can be made with two ingredients: gluten-free flour and water. If you want a jump start, I recommend adding Culture’s For Health Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter to the mix. (Affiliate link.)

In 7 days, if you follow the directions, including using purified water and sterile equipment, you should be able to make your first loaf of gluten-free sourdough bread. My Gluten-Free Artisan Sourdough Bread is a great loaf to start with.

It is important to note that many 1:1 blends do not work in yeast recipes. I have created several gluten-free flour blend recipes that will work in yeast recipes, including my Gluten-Free All-Purpose Blend and my Gluten-Free Whole Grain Blend.

After you master a basic loaf, try these flavors: Gluten-Free Ceddar Sourdough Bread or Gluten-Free Cranberry Walnut Bread.

(Please note it is too soon to use the discard, so continue putting any discard in the compost bin until your starter is 2 weeks old and very established.)

If you have any questions while creating your starter or baking one of my bread recipes, you can always reach out to me! admin@fearlessdining.com or via my blog, Fearless Dining.

Ripe, juicy strawberries are one of my favorite berries to bake with, and spring is the time to use them at their absolute best. When strawberries are truly in season, their flavor is sweeter, brighter, and more intense than anything you will find in a grocery store in January. I reach for them constantly this time of year. They add so much flavor to these Gluten-Free Strawberries and Cream Scones, which are flaky, lightly sweet, and perfect with a cup of tea. You will also want to try this decadent Gluten-Free Banana Strawberry Bread that comes together easily.

You can also roast strawberries for a deliciously sweet topper for yogurt and ice cream. Roasting concentrates their natural sugars and turns even slightly underripe berries into something deeply flavorful. A little honey and a splash of balsamic vinegar in the roasting pan take them somewhere special.

If you want more of a dessert, these Gluten-Free Strawberry Bars are the best potluck recipe you can make. They are easy to pull together with just a few simple ingredients, and they travel beautifully. I have made them for everything from casual get-togethers to holiday gatherings, and the pan is always empty before I leave.

Another tasty spring tradition is buying green garlic at our farmer’s market. The bulb pictured above was from towards the end of last season, when the bulbs grow larger and more fully formed. Early in the spring, they are much smaller, and green garlic resembles a tiny leek more than the garlic bulb most people recognize. The flavor is also a bit milder and fresher early in the season, which makes it wonderful raw in dressings or stirred into soft scrambled eggs.

Do not let the size fool you, though, because green garlic can pack a real garlic punch as the season progresses. I slice them up just like leeks and add them to any meat, fish, or vegetables I am sautéing. They cook down quickly and add a layer of flavor that dried or jarred garlic simply cannot match.

Asparagus is another spring vegetable I look forward to all year round. You can find it in purple, white, and the most common green variety, and each has a slightly different flavor profile worth exploring. Just know that purple asparagus will turn green when you cook it, so enjoy that color while it lasts on the cutting board.

Try asparagus in this Gluten-Free Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart recipe. It is perfect for breakfast or brunch! My friend, Jenni, uses asparagus to make this popular Asparagus Lemon Soup, and Beth loves using it in this Preserved Lemon Asparagus Salad. I would love to hear your favorite recipe using asparagus!

Let’s chat about the recipes I loved to make with my kids. They are older now, but when they were young, they were my best helpers!

These gluten-free cakesicles are fun because you can use leftover cake, store-bought cake, or make a cake special for this recipe. I share several flavors of cake, and all of my tips and tricks.

See the Gluten Free Cakesicle Recipe.

The next fun project is making cake pops. This is another great recipe that uses leftover cake. You choose the decorations! I use Ghirardelli Melting Wafers as a coating because Wilton and other brands of colored wafers are made on shared equipment with wheat…and this is a big no-no if you have Celiac disease.

Get the Gluten Free Cake Pops recipe.

Moving into some easy recipes, brownies and cookies are always popular.

1. Gluten Free (and dairy-free!) Brownies - These homemade brownies are easy to make, and have the perfect fudgy flavor. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut them into hearts.

2. Gluten Free Toll House Cookies - These are always a staple, and you can make a batch in about 20 minutes!

3. Gluten Free Brookies - A decadent cross between a cookie and a brownie. These are quite addictive!

4. Lastly, for those who love a decorated cookie. This is my popular gluten free sugar cookie recipe, and I include the royal icing recipe and lots of step-by-step photos to walk you through how to decorate the cookies! If you prefer a frosted cookie, use your favorite frosting to top them.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!!

Usually, my recipe testing goes pretty smoothly, and I rarely have so many dramatic fails to share, but this project has been full of them. Here is where I am after three different attempts. If you're looking to bake some of my perfected apple recipes, you can find all my gluten-free apple recipes on the blog => get my apple recipes.

Test #1 - My GF Rough Puff Pastry Dough

First up, I have now made three variations while testing this recipe. I had hoped to have it perfected by now. I have tried using my Gluten-Free Rough Puff Pastry, a new store-bought gluten-free puff pastry dough I found at Sprout Market, and a cheat dough version where I just shred frozen butter into the dry ingredients.

This has been the most promising version so far. The dough flaked beautifully, the butter pockets did their job, and the flavor was rich and satisfying.

The big problem? Thickness, way too much. My dough was way too thick for rolling. Rolling this dough thin enough without breaking those precious butter layers was tougher than I expected. The result was delicious but overwhelmingly pastry-heavy. Think: more crust than apple.

I do plan to do further testing using my rough puff pastry dough.

Test #2 - Store-Bought GF Puff Pastry

I was excited to find a new gluten-free puff pastry at Sprout Market, and I was curious to see how it would compare to my puff pastry dough. The dough came pre-rolled into three sheets, which should have made things easier… except they refused to stick together. Even after patching and coaxing, I could feel the seams fighting me.

In the oven, the edges of the strudel collapsed. I expected the sealed edges to cause the fail, but they actually held up really well. The sides practically melted off under the weight of the filling. It tasted great with light, flaky, and buttery layers, but structurally, it was a huge fail. This test was definitely not blog-worthy or even strudel-worthy.

After baking, the store-bought pastry fell apart on the sides. I expected this dough to fail when I tried to get the three sheets to stick together. These seams held up well, but the entire side of the dough fell apart during baking. It looks like the side melted off. The puff pastry did taste delicious, and it was very light and flaky, but it couldn’t hold up to the filling.

Test #3 - Shredding Butter

For my third test, which I did not photograph, I froze butter and shredded it into my dry ingredients. This is something I do when making biscuits or scones when I am in a hurry, or can’t find my pastry blender.

This was also a failure for the same reason as using my rough puff pastry…the butter pockets were eliminated when rolling the dough thinly.

Where things stand now…

So that is where I am with developing this recipe for the blog. It is delicious but not quite publishable. I really do want it perfect for you, and I promise it will be worth the wait. I am thinking of using less dough with my rough puff recipe so I have fewer rolled layers.

Stay tuned because I am determined to crack this one. While you are waiting, try these Gluten-Free Apple Dumplings or these incredible Gluten-Free Cinnamon Apple Scones.

Visually? Not bad! My first attempts actually looked like croissants, and I had one early win I was thrilled about; there was zero butter leakage during baking. If you've ever made laminated dough, you know what a big deal that is.

Of course, no first test goes off without a few hiccups. I ran into a few challenges right away, starting with yeast that didn’t activate properly and dough that became a little too sticky to handle easily.

Looking back, I can definitely see where my process went sideways. In gluten-free baking, yeast typically only gives you one really good rise. And with every roll and fold of the dough, I worried I was deflating what little rise I had. By the time the croissants were shaped and ready for their final proof, I was pretty sure I had overworked the dough.

Another issue? I let my butter get too soft. That’s basically the cardinal sin of laminated dough, at least it is in regular baking. I am hoping gluten-free is a little more forgiving, given the difficulty level to get it right.

For anyone new to making croissants or working with gluten-free pastry, here’s why this matters: if your butter isn’t cold, it will melt into the dough as you roll and fold, instead of creating distinct layers. In a traditional croissant, cold butter creates steam in the oven, which helps puff up the dough and form those beautiful, flaky layers. Without that, the texture suffers. You can see some flakes in the crust here, but inside, they’re a bit dense and crumbly, not the flaky layers I was hoping for.

Wins From This Test:

1. There was no butter leakage.

2. My gluten-free pastry flour blend held up beautifully…it is also delicious in all of the things I made with my gluten-free rough puff pastry dough.

3. The crust was crisp and flaky, and it’s not far off from what I’m aiming for.

4. My mother-in-law loved them enough to say she is taking them all home with her.

Fails That I Learned From:

1. Doing multiple rolls and folds will not prevent the dough from rising during baking. This is a huge relief. Look at the two photos above of before and after baking. The croissants definitely still had some good rise.

2. Chill the dough for 45-60 minutes between the rolling and folding (laminating) the dough.

3. Don’t give up!

If you enjoyed following along with this first test of my gluten-free croissant recipe, I’d be so grateful if you’d consider becoming a paid subscriber. Recipe testing, especially for gluten-free baking, takes a lot of time, care, and costly ingredients. Your support helps me keep creating well-tested, reliable recipes that you can count on to work in your own kitchen.

Thank you!!

Sandi

Flops are the behind-the-scenes recipe versions that never make it to the blog. They’re the ones that looked promising, but something didn’t work out. Sometimes it's the flavor that's off, the texture fails, or it just doesn’t bake the way I hoped. This one looked okay at first…until I sliced into it.

Let’s dig into what went wrong, because with gluten-free baking, every flop is a chance to learn something new!

Here’s a peek at the loaf from the outside. When you look at the bread from this angle, it appears to have a nice, tender crumb. But crumb is the keyword here. Just look at the cutting board. So. Many. Crumbs.

This bread completely fell apart when sliced. No matter how gentle I was, it just crumbled. Not exactly the texture I was going for. In this test, I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour Blend and 2/3 cup of my gluten-free sourdough discard (1:1 flour/water). I loosely based the recipe on my well-loved Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread recipe.

I had visions of making this recipe summery with fresh blueberries—and maybe switching to cranberries in the fall. But for now, this dough needs a few more tests before it’s blog-ready.

Here’s what the dough looked like just before baking. On the left, you can see it after mixing and resting. At first glance, it looked fine. I let it rest for 10 minutes (a helpful step when working with gluten-free flours, especially rice flour, so it can absorb some moisture and soften). Then I shaped it and popped it in the pan.

But if you look closely, there were a few warning signs.

Notice the little dry bits stuck to the top of the bowl? And those small cracks in the dough surface? Both of those are clues that the dough needed more liquid.

That’s a tip I wanted to share: if your gluten-free dough is looking a little dry or cracked, especially before shaping, add more liquid. A tablespoon or two can make a big difference. I should have trusted my gut and adjusted the dough. Lesson learned!

Even though this loaf didn’t turn out, I wanted to share the process anyway. These are the real moments behind the glossy blog photos—and they’re often the most helpful.

I’ll keep you updated when I do another round of testing for this recipe. Hopefully, next time I’ll have a sliceable loaf to show you!

Until next time,

❤️ Sandi

I started my blog before commercial 1:1 gluten-free flour blends were available. Many of my older recipes use individual flours because, back then, that was all I had to work with. At any given time, I had bags of brown and white rice flour, sorghum, millet, buckwheat, corn flour, and multiple starches in my pantry. It worked, but it definitely isn’t practical for most people. That’s why I’ve been slowly updating my older recipes to use modern blends like King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1.

Here’s a look back at the original scone photos from 2018:

Gluten-Free Cheddar Scones

started with the cheese scones. The original recipe used a blend of sorghum flour, corn flour, tapioca starch, and xanthan gum. The flavor was amazing, but I wanted to simplify it using Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend.

One of the fun things about recipe testing is that I get to adapt based on what I have on hand—just like many of you do! The original version used Fontina cheese, but I didn’t want to run to the store mid-test. I had a Mexican three-cheese blend in the fridge, so I used that along with a sprinkle of dried French thyme. That’s the beauty of this recipe—you can easily change up the flavor with different cheese and herb combos.

I calculated the total amount of flour and starch from the original version and swapped in an equivalent amount of the 1:1 blend. The dough turned out a little wetter than expected, so I added an extra ¼ cup of flour. I was a bit worried the scones wouldn’t have the same golden color without the corn flour, but they baked up beautifully—golden and flaky!

Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Scones

Next up was the old gluten-free sweet potato scones recipe. This one was trickier to convert. Even after reducing the amount of sweet potato puree, the dough was still very wet. That’s both good and bad—good because it meant more scone dough to work with, but bad because the extra moisture kept the scones from rising as much as I’d hoped. They spread out instead of puffing up.

I also wasn’t happy with the original photos, so I switched from wedge shapes to using a biscuit cutter for a round look. One important tip if you're doing this: don’t twist the cutter when pressing it into the dough. Just push straight down and lift straight up. Twisting seals the edges and keeps the scones from rising properly.

One big tip when using biscuit cutters is to NOT twist the cutter out of the dough. Push it down straight and lift it out straight. Twisting seals the edges, inhibiting the rise of your biscuits or scones.

Here are a couple of photos of the new sweet potato scones. They didn’t rise super high, but the inside is incredibly flaky and tender. Honestly, I’m still debating whether to retest the recipe one more time for better lift in the photos... but they taste amazing and those flaky layers are just right.

I’m off to finish updating both posts so you can grab the new versions on the blog and give them a try! I’d love to hear what you think once you make them.

👉 Get the Gluten-Free Cheese Scones recipe.

👉 Get the Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Scones recipe.

I have been mulling over the best ways to use my Substack to connect with my readers. I already have all of my recipes on Fearless Dining, so it seems silly to post the same recipes here as well.

One area that always gets lots of attention and discussion is when I post behind-the-scenes photos of recipe testing, fails, and fun discoveries I make on my Facebook page. The only problem is that Facebook controls the algorithm and what you see on Facebook. Over the past few months, I am lucky if 1000 out of my 101,000 followers even see my posts on Facebook.

AI spam recipes that a real person does not even test are flooding Facebook and Pinterest, and so many gluten-free people feel scammed and end up tossing expensive ingredients away due to these recipes failing.

I am not mentioning this to be negative; these are facts that prevent you from seeing my recipes. I am here, as a real human, creating delicious free recipes.

I have decided to use this Substack account to show you the behind-the-scenes work I do when creating new recipes…I will include not only my successes but also my failures and the thought process I use when creating and testing new recipes.

My next newsletter will start with fun shots of the testing and fails while creating my Gluten-Free Rough Puff Pastry and Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Rough Puff Pastry recipes. Next, I am going to start testing a full gluten-free puff pastry for croissants. You will get to follow along with that whole, fun process!

XXOO,

Sandi

Let’s start off with my biscuit recipes. I have 10 incredible gluten-free biscuit recipes. All but two are egg-free!! (All except the pumpkin and brown sugar cinnamon biscuits!)

You can check out the biscuit recipes. Let me know which you make!

If you love meatballs and hidden veggies, you need this easy, family-friendly, gluten-free meatball recipe. This recipe uses ricotta cheese and shredded zucchini as a swap for eggs. When my picky eater loved this recipe, I knew I was on to something magical!

Find these recipes in the links above, or visit my entire Egg-Free Gluten-Free category on my blog!

Gluten-Free Egg-Free Recipes

Whether you’re celebrating with a loved one, friends, or treating yourself, there’s always time for something sweet! If you’re looking for a last-minute treat, I’ve got you covered with a few quick and easy gluten-free recipes that come together in no time.

Here are some simple sweet ideas you can put together in just minutes:

🍫 Gluten-Free Chocolate Brownie Mug Cake – Rich, gooey, fudgy, and ready in 3 minutes!

Mug Brownie Recipe

🍓 Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries – A classic that’s effortless yet elegant. I recommend using Ghirardelli Dark or Milk Chocolate Melting Wafers for a smooth, chocolaty flavor!
🍪 Gluten-Free Cake Mix Cookies – Perfect for a cozy semi-homemade treat. Grab your favorite cake mix; it is a great shortcut when you are short on time!

Cake Mix Cookies

Wishing you all a day filled with love, joy, and, of course, something delicious! 💕 Let me know what you're making today!

👋 Get the conversation started!!

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I will check into the chat a few times daily to look for questions, respond to questions, and offer help/suggestions.

Chat Rules:

1. Be kind and supportive to everyone. I want this community to be where we all look forward to spending time.

2. No food shaming anyone’s choices of food.

3. If you don’t like or agree with a comment, scroll past it.

4. We want everyone to give and receive accurate information. Fact check if you are answering a question for someone. (For example, envelope glue does not contain gluten…)

That’s it!

Sandi

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I have been working on several new recipes, including this gluten-free sourdough discard focaccia. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Please drop a comment and tell me what you want to see or discuss here. I plan to start a conversation on gluten-free flour blends and more on gluten-free baking techniques.