Gluten-Free Red Hot Pancakes for Valentine’s Day, Birthdays, or “Saturday”

Pancakes! One of the first foods I mourned when getting the news that I would never, ever, ever, eat gluten again. Yet there are a surprising number of gluten-free pancake mixes on the market, and I’ve been in not one — but two — restaurants that even make their ‘cakes gf. This means I am not alone in the hardcore craving for the flapjack.

Now that I know I can have a pancake whenever my heart desires, it’s time to step things up a notch. A red hot notch. Introducing, the red hot pancake.

Some of you are disgusted right now, and others are in the middle of having your mind’s blown. It’s okay either way, just know that these special, seasonal, treats turn your regular pancake into a cinnamon-y mouth explosion. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Side note — Can we talk just a second about how red hots went from grocery store staple to only coming out around Valentine’s Day? WEIRD. Also, how rad is it that red hots are gluten-free? Super rad.

The reason I’m positive red hots used to be available year-round is two-fold. One, I was a child candy hoarder. And two, when I would go for sleepovers at my friend Stacey’s house, her mom would always make these amazing red hot pancakes. Which is why I knew my own daughter would freaking love them. And today is my little girl’s 6th birthday (another side note — I simply cannot believe that munchkin was sliced out of me six years ago today), so I made this on Saturday morning. What? Have you ever tried to get a kindergartener out of the house while red hot pancakes are INSIDE the house? Weekday pancakes are for people with nannies.

You may be looking for a recipe for these delicious pancakes of candy. However, the best most awesome way to do it is to get a superior gluten-free pancake mix (I love the Pure Pantry), and add 1/2 cup of red hots like so:

Gluten-Free Christmas Candy Because You’re Worth It

It’s time to stuff your face with candy, or make it for holiday gifts. Or both! Luckily lots of candy is naturally gluten-free. Unluckily, you’ll have to make it yourself since if you buy it, your candy of choice just might have all kinds of unpronounceable ingredients that may or may not contain the devil gluten. But yet, luckily again, I’ve been slaving over a hot candy thermometer just so you guys can have some great recipes for the holidays! Yes, that’s totally the only reason. Don’t look at me that way. No that’s not butter mint on my boob shelf/catch-alls.

So after experimenting (and failing miserably with the divinity — I clearly should never have moved away from the South’ish) I’ve found three winners that simply scream Christmas candy. Put these into your goodie bags, or stuff them all up in your face, I don’t care. They’re gluten-free and festive as hell. I made this:

See’s Fudge

Here’s the story with this fudge. My mother put together a family cookbook a long time ago, and this recipe was via my Aunt Shirley. Of course, I always thought See was some crazy old ancestor no one ever talked about, but was instead memorialized in this amazing fudge recipe. Then I went to California and understood that See is actually a huge candy corporation that may, or may not, sue me for reprinting this recipe. Still, this is super easy and I’ve been making it every holiday for years. This year, however, I learned a very valuable lesson about See’s Fudge: Go cheap, or go home. You see, I thought it might be nice to take it up a notch and try some organic condensed milk, maybe low-fat, some very fancy chocolate, and hey, why not some organic raw sugar while I was at it? Four attempts later I went back to the cheap stuff — we’re talking Carnation, Nestle, and Pure Cane Sugar from Hawaii — and voila, the fudge was to die for.

Butter Mints

When I was growing up I went through a candy making phase that can only be described as “crazy” and “of the ’80s.” I had rubber candy molds, lollipop molds, chocolate molds, the works. One of my favorite things to make were these butter mints in little flower patterns. This recipe, however, tells you to go to town with a cookie cutter. So I did!

Pretzel Almond Turtles

So incredibly easy, I could make, and eat, these in my sleep. The only trick is making it gluten-free. The pretzels are a no-brainer because I’m addicted to Glutino’s gluten-free pretzels. But finding chocolate covered caramels that are gluten-free is another task altogether. Lucky for me, I live near Trader Joe’s and they have chocolate covered salted caramels. But you may not, so always check with your candy company first. In a pinch (like I was in last night) buy Dove candies as their ingredient list is safe, even though it’s been manufactured in a facility with wheat. If you’re super sensitive, skip the sampling and give these out as holiday gifts to those without the sprue.

Here’s how you too, can be the talk of the neighborhood when you show up with your gluten-free candy. Oh, who are we kidding, you’re already the talk of the neighborhood because you’re gluten-free and a massive pain in the ass to prep for when invited to a party.

Happy Holidays!