It’s true that the bruschetta I whipped up to take to a friend’s barbecue look fabulous—thanks to the recipe for Jan’s Bruschetta in Anne Byrn’s What Can I Bring? Cookbook. (Humility has never been my strong suit.) But, seriously, can we just forget about the food for a second and check out my hair? I mean, it’s not very often that the Coiffure Gods smile with such magnanimity upon a mere mortal. Just look at that mane! Every strand is in place! It’s softly shining in the late-afternoon sun that’s streaming through the window! For this one brief moment in time, my hair was, I believe, worthy of an Annie Leibovitz portrait. (Annie, are you reading this?)

For the record, the bruschetta were consumed quicker than I could pile the topping onto the toasts. (But, really—let’s talk about the hair! Here it is from another angle, next to my hunky friend Andrew.)

P.S. If, after reading this far, you still care more about the bruschetta than my follicular supremacy, check out Jan’s Bruschetta in the What Can I Bring? Cookbook.

For more about gluten, check out Friday’s post, All About Gluten. For gluten-free baking recipes, look in Anne Byrn’s new book The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free

• Always wash pans and utensils well with soap and hot water. Place pans and utensils that come into contact with wheat gluten in the dishwasher.
• Decrumb drawers that hold baking utensils so as not to cross-contaminate them.
• Or, set up a separate drawer or pantry for your gluten-free utensils.
• Set aside a separate cutting board for baking gluten-free.
• Have a separate sifter, spatulas, wooden spoons (older cracked spoons can hold flour in the cracks), and beaters for the electric mixer for gluten-free baking.
• Cover baking sheets with aluminum foil before making cookies.

What is gluten?

Gluten is the protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It is a sticky substance and when used in baking helps hold bread, cakes and pastries together and encourages them to rise as they bake. Gluten is not found in rice, corn, millet, amaranth, and teff. Oats, also, do not contain gluten, but because they are grown and transported in bulk, they may contain trace amounts of gluten from wheat, barley or rye. To make sure oats are gluten-free, look for proof on the package.

Where can gluten be hidden?

• Malt and malt flavoring
• Soy sauce
• Some soy milk products, make sure to check labels
• Some modified food starch
• Some dextrin
• Some store-bought vanilla cake frosting
• Lipstick
• Play-Doh

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Looking to get more quality time with your buddies? Don’t sit and watch the game by your lonesome on your high-def gewgaw with your nonworking remote, people! It’s time to TAILGATE with the man Oprah called “the gladiator of grilling.” Yup, it’s Raichlen’s Tailgating! 31 Righteous Recipes for On-the -Go Grilling, by Steven Raichlen, who personally curated 31 perfect tailgating recipes from his bestselling Barbecue Bible cookbooks for your mobile grilling pleasure. Download it at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other e-book retailers.

Newly engaged brides and grooms:  Once the mists of rrrrrrooomance have cleared and you’re ready to get down and dirty with some planning, do your and your family’s wallets a favor by checking out Your Dream Wedding on a Budget: 47 Cost-Cutting Secrets from America’s Favorite Wedding Planner by Mindy Weiss, featuring a goldmine of tips compiled from her be-all-end-all wedding planning resource, The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day. Mindy may be known for her blowout celebrity to-dos (favorite piece of Mindy news from last year = story of Hilary Duff and the lost tooth!) but now that she’s planning her son’s wedding, you can bet she has budget on the brain! Barnes and Noble,Amazon, and other e-book retailers.

Say no to store-bought cakes, and a hearty yes to making loved ones of all ages feel ultra special on their birthdays. Bring on the balloons, the streamers, and the kazoos! Then get to (not so much) work by whipping up one of the tasty treats from The Cake Mix Doctor’s 25 Best Birthday Cakes: Easy Luscious Layer Cakes, Plus Frostings, Icings, Tips, and More by Anne Byrn. The doyenne of cake mix guarantees your guests won’t be able to guess it came from a box–but we defy you to resist the temptation of announcing it to all and sundry! Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other e-book retailers.

And finally, January brings the undeniable urge to start plotting the year’s escapes. Get cracking! In Perfect Island Getaways from 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: The Caribbean, Bahamas & Bermuda, discerning travelista Patricia Schultz gives you a foolproof access card to 53 destinations in paradise. Why waste hours, nay, days, combing through endless travelers’ reviews on the web when you can grab the authoritative, vetted, to-die-for bucket list with the click of a mouse? Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and other e-book retailers.

Because a launch isn’t a launch without a P-A-R-T-Y, we’re going to be feting these shorties and their fab authors with a virtual pub party featuring (virtual) cocktails, cake, bbq, and more! Stay tuned for details.

It all looks very orderly and civilized. But mere moments after documentation, the subjects of these photographs were gobbled up by a gaggle of hungry bookmaking elves. . . . Happy holidays!

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pound Cake with Peppermint Drizzle

Snickerdoodle Cookies (Gluten Free)
From The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free by Anne Byrn

1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), cut into tablespoons
1 large egg
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (see below)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375˚F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.

2. Place the cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse once to combine. Add the butter to the processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, 15 to 20 pulses. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the dough comes together in a large ball, 10 pulses.

3. Scoop the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and arrange 12 balls on each baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart. Sprinkle the top of each ball of dough with a little of the cinnamon sugar. If you want crisp 3-inch cookies, press down on the balls with the bottom of a small glass to flatten them. If you prefer chewy 2 1/2-inch cookies, do not flatten the balls of dough.

4. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake the cookies until golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Using a metal spatula, immediately transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely, 15 minutes.

Keep it fresh! Store the cookies in a cookie jar or tin at room temperature for up to a week. Freeze the cookies, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a resealable plastic bag for one month. Let the cookies thaw on the kitchen counter overnight before serving.

Cinnamon Sugar:

To make your own cinnamon sugar, stir 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon into 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.  Spoon the mixture into a clean spice jar with a shaker lid and store it with your spices.

For more cake and cookie recipes this holiday season, visit CakeMixDoctor.com.

24 silver or foil liners for cupcake pans (2 1/2-inch size)

CUPCAKES
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain devil’s food cake mix
2 tablespoons Dutch process cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

FROSTING:
Buttercream Frosting (recipe below)
6 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops red food coloring

GARNISHES:
24 Chocolate Spiders (recipe follows)
Tiny round decorating candies (optional)
Brown decorating gel (optional)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with silver paper liners. Set the pans aside.

2. Prepare the cupcake batter: Place the cake mix, cocoa powder, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Spoon or scoop a heaping 1/4 cup batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it two thirds of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.

3. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 16 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool completely, 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Buttercream Frosting. Place G cup of the frosting in a plastic sandwich bag and set aside. Add the yellow and red food coloring to the remaining frosting. Blend well so the frosting is evenly orange. Place a heaping tablespoon of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely.

5. Garnish the cupcakes: Cut off a small piece from one of the bottom corners of the plastic bag holding the frosting. Pipe 2 eyes on each of the Chocolate Spiders. Place a small round decorating candy in the center of each eye, if desired. Place a spider on top of each cupcake. There will be 6 extra spiders for additional platter garnish or simply to enjoy. If you wish, pipe a web on the platter using brown decorating gel. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

Store these cupcakes, uncovered or in a cake saver, at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the unfrosted and undecorated cupcakes in a cake saver for up to 6 months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before frosting, decorating, and serving.

CHOCOLATE SPIDERS
You can make these spiders up to two days before you bake the cupcakes. The six extras make wonderful platter decorations or sweet treats by themselves.

1 1/4 cups chow mein noodles
2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup crispy rice cereal

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and set aside.

2. Measure out 1 cup chow mein noodles and break them into small pieces. Break the remaining noodles into 2-inch pieces. These will be the spiders’ legs. Set the noodles aside in separate groupings.

3. Combine the chocolate chips and milk in a medium-size saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the confectioners’ sugar, cereal, and the small chow mein noodle pieces until blended. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Drop the chocolate mixture by tablespoons in a slightly oblong shape (the body of the spider) onto the prepared baking sheet. You will have about 30 bodies, about 2 inches in size. Immediately insert the noodle legs into the spider bodies, 4 on one side and 4 on the opposite side. Space them evenly apart. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the spiders until hardened, 30 to 40 minutes.

4. Once chilled, remove them from the waxed paper by pushing up from the underside of the waxed paper.

Store the spiders in a plastic storage container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

the Cupcake Doctor says . . .
Here’s something to remember when you’re making orange-colored frosting: Use drops of yellow
and red food coloring in a 3 to 1 ratio, adding for example, 6 drops yellow and 2 drops red.

the Cupcake Doctor says . . .
Once the frosting for the cupcakes is made, reserve a small amount of it to pipe on each spider for its eyes.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Makes 2 1/2 cups, enough to frost 24 cupcakes (2 1/2-inch size)
Preparation time: 5 minutes

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature (see “the Cupcake Doctor says” below)
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners’ sugar, 3 tablespoons of the milk, and the vanilla.

2. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Add up to 1 tablespoon more milk if the frosting seems too stiff.