Bear's Pear Walnut Bread

  Get ready, because this recipe is going to knock both your socks off.

  The original recipe, which I found on Pinterest (the gold mine of all gold mines), wasn't gluten, dairy, or soy free, but this recipe IS. With just a few simple, inexpensive substitutes, you food-allergen sufferers can fully enjoy this tasty delight. Best part is, even us non-sufferers will enjoy it, because it is AMAZING.
  The recipe calls this a "bread," but it's really more cakeish. It's crunchy on the outside, and oh-so-moist on the inside. Great with milk, coffee, tea, or just about anything. Here's my modified recipe, with the original ingredients in parentheses, for those of you who don't need to swap out ingredients. Enjoy!

Ingredients

•3 cups gluten free all-purpose flour (or regular flour)
•½ teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon baking soda
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 teaspoons cinnamon
•¼ teaspoon ginger
•¾ cups coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
•2 cups turbinado sugar (or granulated sugar)
•3 eggs
•2 pears, peeled and diced
•2 teaspoons vanilla
•1½ cups chopped walnuts

Instructions

1.Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray one large tube or bundt pan or two loaf pans with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
2.Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3.Cream together vegetable oil, sugar and eggs. Spoon in flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in pears, vanilla and walnuts.
4.Pour into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 60 minutes, or until skewer or toothpick come out clean when inserted in the center of the bread.
5.Remove from oven and allow to rest in the pan(s) for about 10 minutes. Turn out and allow to cool completely.

Gluten Free Funnel Cake

  Yes INDEED. Gluten free funnel cake. Now everybody can enjoy this state fair treat!

  The recipe is simple. Getting the thing to fry up correctly is a little more complicated, and I'll get into that shortly. First, here's the recipe (original recipe with allergen-substitutes in parentheses)

3 large eggs
2 cups milk (can be soy milk or rice milk)
1/4 cup white sugar (can be turbinado sugar or sugar substitute)
3 cups all-purpose flour (gluten free flour, or even gluten free Bisquik)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Oil for frying (I used coconut oil)
Powdered sugar or other toppings (your discretion)

  The directions are easy. Mix all your dry ingredients, then your wet ingredients, then combine them. You should have a fairly thick pancake-batter consistency. Heat the oil in a skillet to 350 degrees. You want enough oil that your batter will float. Too shallow and you'll end up with a flat, cracker-like thing.
  Now, I didn't have an actual funnel, so I tried using a squirt bottle. This was problematic, as it really works best if you have a constant flow going into the oil. Without a funnel, you can do what I did and use a measuring cup with a pouring spout. It might take you a couple tries to get the flow right. If you pour too much too quickly, you'll get a very bloated, doughy cake. Too little at a time, it will just ball up in the oil and turn brown. Try to aim for about a toothpaste-sized stream.
  Crisscross back and forth in the oil, trying to not leave any pieces floating by themselves. After cooking a couple minutes, use a large spatula or tongs to flip your cake and cook the other side. It will be very oily when you pull it out at the end, so have some paper towels on your plate to soak it up. After it cools slightly, throw your toppings on and enjoy!