Books & Cooks Letter X: Xanthan Gum

This year I’m going to be combining two of my passions – cooking and kid lit for Books & Cooks! I’ll be bringing you great recipes based on spices of the alphabet that pair perfectly with kid lit books! Next up? The letter X and the stabilizing Xanthan Gum!

Spice: Xanthan Gum

This is a reach, I know. There are just some letters that don’t really have any great spices attached to them. X is one of them. But, I found this to be really interesting and thought I’d share what I found. Xanthan Gum is a plant-based thickening and stabilizing agent that is often used in gluten-free baked goods to add volume. Many gluten-free flour mixes now automatically include Xanthan Gum in the mix already!

Book Review: 201 Gluten-Free Recipes for Kids: Chicken Nuggets! Pizza! Birthday Cake! All Your Kids’ Favorites – All Gluten-Free!

I had very little luck finding a character in a children’s book that is gluten-free or has Celiac’s disease. There were a handful of self-published titles, but I didn’t find anything from a major publisher and I even reached out on Twitter for suggestions! Today I’m including a cookbook as it might be the best way to navigate the waters of gluten-free cooking when kids want to eat their favorites and fit-in with friends!

Recipe: Classic Gluten Free Pound Cake

I love how basic a pound cake is – add a little fruit and whipped cream to dress it up or eat it plain! It’s a perfectly simple cake to make for summer barbeques or fancy Mother’s Day teas. And if you need a gluten free option, this looks perfect!

During the month of April, I’ll be participating in the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge 2020. For my theme this year (Books & Cooks), I’ll be combing children’s books with cooking spices and including a recipe to bring the book into your very own kitchen! I love to cook and read, so I thought this would be a fun way to combine two of my passions. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it! Let’s dig in! And if you want to see what I’ve done in the past, check out the past few years – 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019!