Dark Chocolate Holiday Truffles

This recipe is super simple & is a fun way to stay involved during the holidays when everyone is baking cookies or giving away baked goods as gifts. Place truffles in mini cupcake liners to box up & give as gifts or to bring to a holiday party! Keep the toppings gluten-free for yourself, and add other toppings (like graham cracker crumbs or cookie crumbs) for those you plan to give away!

Dark Chocolate Holiday Truffles

Grocery Scavenging

One of the worst things about staying gluten-free is that weekly trip to the grocery store. Some stores, like Publix, Whole Foods & Winn Dixie, make it a little easier than others, like Wal*Mart. But no matter where you shop, doing your gluten-free shopping is possible, it takes getting used to! Now that I have some regular snack items I always eat, I am able to make a grocery list before I go which makes things SO much easier, especially when I'm trying to do the gluten-free scavenger hunt. Living in Miami, Publix is basically the ONLY grocery store choice nearby so that's where I do my weekly shopping..and as I was unpacking my groceries today I thought it might be helpful to share what I bought & what some of my essentials are. I make a list by department to make it easier to grab what I need without forgetting anything. 

Pancake Breakfast

When I went gluten-free, the first thing I missed was breakfast. Breakfast is arguably my favorite meal of the day, and "breakfast for dinner" was always such a treat growing up. So, naturally my family faced an issue when weekends would come around and we wanted to have a nice family breakfast. Do they make pancakes/waffles/french toast/biscuits anyways or do they eat gluten free with me and stick to eggs & potato products? Luckily, early on I discovered Bisquick makes a gluten-free product that can be used for the same things as regular Bisquick. Now, whenever I'm home my mom will make a separate batch of pancakes or waffles for me and everyone else has the regular!

The first time I had the gluten-free pancakes made with Bisquick I remember thinking the texture was a little different than ordinary pancakes, however by the second time I had them I didn't even notice & I think they taste as close to regular pancakes as possible. I've tried other gluten-free pancake mixes, and though most I've tried are less expensive...they suck. Suck to the point where I end up just throwing them away. So, I suck it up and just buy the expensive, and tiny, box of gluten-free Bisquick and save it for weekends when I treat myself to a nice breakfast.

A little extra batter is the perfect excuse for a "Mickey" pancake :)