Cooking With Chef Ben White — Gluten Free Red Cherry Licorice

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup (70 g) high-quality all-purpose gluten-free flour (any of my favorite blends will do)

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon cherry flavoring oil (LorAnn brand is gluten-free)

Red gel food coloring, as desired (about 1/4 teaspoon)

8 tablespoons (112 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (168 g) light corn syrup

1/2 cup (156 g) sweetened condensed milk

4 tablespoons (84 g) Lyle’s golden syrup (can substitute an equal amount honey or molasses)

DIRECTIONS
Grease well a 9-inch square baking dish with butter or vegetable shortening, and set it aside. Assemble your ingredients next to the stovetop. In a small bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum and salt, and whisk to combine well. Set the flavoring oil and a measuring spoon, plus the food coloring, to the side, within arm’s reach.

In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan, place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, sweetened condensed milk and Lyle’s Golden Syrup (or honey or molasses). Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches a boil, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to medium so the mixture maintains a slow boil, and continue to cook until the temperature reaches 240°F on a candy thermometer. Any higher and the butter will burn. Any lower and the licorice won’t hard enough as it cools.

Remove the mixture from the heat and add the flour mixture. Working quickly, mix everything well. Add the flavoring oil and food coloring (I generally use a toothpick to add gel food coloring), and mix well once again.

Gluten Free on a Shoestring

This is week three of Chef Ben White’s recipes.

Some of you know him as Blair and Teri White’s son. A few of you recognize him as the nephew of Bill and Bob White. I know him because he is my neighbour, Joyce White’s grandson. It doesn’t matter how you met him, you should be aware that the fourteen year old High-Schooler is an up and coming triple threat to the Food Network chefs. Ben and his brother Emmett share my Celiac disease, so all Ben’s recipes are gluten-free. His Mother has also set up a Facebook page called Go Gluten Free so everyone can share their gluten free recipes. As he told his father, local plumber, Blair White,

“Dad, you fix peoples pipes, I fix up people’s tastebuds

Cooking With Ben White — Gluten Free Deep Fried Pickles

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

Carleton Place- The Happiest Damn Town in Lanark County

For the Facebook Group:

• The Tales of Carleton Place and Just a Little Bit Farther Up the Line

Tilting the Kilt, Vintage Whispers from Carleton Place by Linda Seccaspina is available at Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street, the Carleton Place Beckwith Museum in Carleton Place, Ontario and The Mississippi Valley Textile Mill in Almonte.  available on all Amazon sites (Canada, US, Europe) and Barnes and Noble

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