#like replacing one egg with one-fourth cup applesauce. that works even with gluten free baking

[arctic-hands]

I love looking up the histories and backgrounds of poverty food, mostly past but sometimes present. Seaweed/channel wrack during the Irish Famine, acorn flour in North America both in Native communities and by European occupiers. Wartime "roof rabbits" (depressing, don't look up if you're sensitive about pet death). Depression-era and WWII rationing as a whole topic in and of itself. Various nuts around the world that are otherwise shunned in times of plenty because of the association with Bad Times. And of course the history of lobster going from being considered water insects in attitude to an expensive gourmet cuisine.

The one time I ever got pissed off by this was watching a Townsends video where he made colonial-era rice bread, because rice was cheaper than wheat at times. Anyone who's forced to be gluten free will tear our hair out at that statement, because most of us have to forgo bread entirely because rice bread and other gluten free bread at this point is 4 times more expensive than white wheat bread and you only get like a third of the portion in both size of the loaf and the amount of slices within (this has only gone up even more with the corporate price gouging of regular food).

[arctic-hands]

My gluten free, eggless Nutella oatmeal cookies kinda melted in the oven, prolly because I added too much applesauce, and took forever to cook and solidify. Still good tho, even if they look like crap.

[Image Description: a mass of toasted oatmeal cookie that has been haphazardly divided with a spatula after flattening and combining together in the oven. End I.D.]

Recipe

Half cup margarine with a little salt, or if you're a rich prick enough to afford salted butter use that.

One cup brown sugar

Half a cup of Nutella, or roughly that. I didn't really have enough for it but whatevs it still worked.

One-fourth cup applesauce. I actually used double that, because applesauce is what replaces the egg and you always add an extra egg to gluten free baked goods, but I think that was too much moisture and why they spread out so thinly. So I'd try for just one-fourth cup.

One cup all purpose gf flour (I used King Arthur's All Purpose GF)

One cup gluten free rolled/old fashioned oats

One teaspoon baking soda

Mix together flour, oats, and baking soda

In a separate bowl, cream together the margarine/salt (or salted butter) and sugar. And if you're like me, "cream together" means angrily mash and wisk together with a fork while cursing Black And Decker's name because you still can't afford to replace the egg beater you bought from them that rusted in six months.

Add the Nutella and applesauce into the creamed mixture and incorporate well.

Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.

Refrigerate dough for a half hour.

Preheat oven to three hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit.

Use a spoon to dollop the dough onto a lined (with parchment paper or foil) baking pan.

Dig out your pizza pan and line that with foil too because you don't have enough room on your baking pan.

Allegedly bake for ten minutes.

Add on about another fifteen minutes because gluten free baking never runs on time.

Enjoy!

[arctic-hands]

[Image Description: reply by @flyingbaran that says "How are their gluten free cakes? My friend still brings up how bad gluten free pancake mix was (different brand)" End I.D.]

Gluten free baking is BULLSHIT if you don't know the right tricks. Namely, ALWAYS add an extra egg, or an equivalent. The extra moisture from the extra egg turns the pastry from a dense lump of dry lead in your gut to something deliciously fluffy and moist. AND with the high cost of eggs lately I've learned a new trick: instead of an extra egg, add one-fourth cup applesauce.

NOW, I have successfully replaced a gf peanut butter cookie recipe that called for a single egg with applesauce, but I have yet to completely replace all of multiple eggs in a recipe so your mileage may vary if your friend experiments with that. And unless it's spiced with cinnamon or something you don't even taste the applesauce.

I've also been told that if you can't add an extra egg (or applesauce) than extra oil will do it too, but I've never tried that and don't know the right measurements

Obvs if your friend is allergic to egg don't do this, but find a way to get the extra moisture in there that won't evaporate out when it's in the oven and will bind the ingredients together. Plain water won't work.

Now for pancakes specifically, if you can't use/don't have an extra egg or applesauce, I have used small amounts of apple cider vinegar to make the pancakes somewhat fluffy, with the side effect (negative or positive, depending on your own preference) that it imparts a citrussy twang to your tongue. However this was like seven years ago and I don't remember how much cider vinegar to add. Also I've only used applesauce in from-scratch pancakes not from a mix, but in that experience I learned to use slightly less than one-fourth cup because a full one-fourth made the batter too thin.

The fact that boxes, food blogs, cookbooks, culinary teachers don't teach this is BULLSHIT! I only learned this from a friend who also has celiac, and it was a total game changer. I went from despising gluten free baking that I only did out of desperation for a craving, to actively enjoying baking, either from scratch or mix, and do it quite often and enjoy the results.

Also, gf baked goods almost always take twice the amount to cook than is called for on boxes and recipes. Check it at the listed time and then keep baking in ten minute increments until the toothpick/whatever you're sticking in the center comes out clean.

As far as brand goes, King Arthur's gluten free is pretty solid, especially with the above tricks. Sometimes it even bakes on time. I also like the Cup4Cup brand for the same reasons. Other brands can be hit or miss but can be made better with the tricks. There is precisely one cake mix brand I've come across that doesn't require the extra egg, they make a small lemon cake mix and an orange cake mix, but I cannot remember the name of the brand 😭

Happy gluten free baking to you, your friend, and anyone else just now learning the tricks!

Y cake take so long 2 cool down so as i can put icing on top???