About

Photo of Nicole Spiridakis holding her cookbook.

Welcome! I'm Nicole Spiridakis, the recipe developer and baker behind Cucina Nicolina. I'm a writer and cookbook author who specializes in gluten-free baking recipes. This site serves as my online cookbook of sorts, where I share beloved, tried-and-tested recipes for super yummy gluten-free treats, plus baking tips and how-tos. (And if you want a hard copy of my published cookbook, it is available on amazon!)

I also write a weekly newsletter on Substack called Letters from My California Kitchen, where I share gluten-free baking tips, thoughts, recipes, and a new recipe for subscribers once a month. I'd love you to join me there!

On Cucina Nicolina, you'll find all sorts of doable gluten-free desserts and other bakes, often with a focus on seasonal ingredients.

Whether you're in the mood for a citrusy gluten free lemon loaf, a tender and moist gluten free chocolate layer cake, or just want to whip up a batch of gluten free chocolate chip cookie bars for the perfect afternoon/after-school snack, you'll find a gluten free tidbit for everyone.

Slices cut in a gluten free hummingbird cake.
A tea pot and a cup of tea next to whole wheat rhubarb scones.

My mission is to create delicious gluten-free recipes you can easily make at home - and that no one will be able to tell are gluten-free!

Explore Recipes Learn About My Cookbook

It's so good to meet you, and I'm thrilled you stopped by! Founded in 2006, Cucina Nicolina is your home for approachable gluten-free baking recipes that always taste good, all created, written, and photographed by me, a food writer and cookbook author.

I live in Sonoma County with my family in a little yellow house tucked among redwood trees, apple orchards, and vineyards. Once upon a time, I lived in other places, including Washington, DC, San Francisco, Casablanca, Riyadh, and Sydney. We're happy to now call Northern California home.

My girls (Sierra, 12, and Elsie, 9) are my ultimate taste testers - I figure if they like what I make and have no idea it's gluten-free, well, it's worthy to share here!

I've been baking gluten-free for well over a decade and even wrote a cookbook called Flourless: Recipes for Gluten Free Desserts that's packed with naturally gluten-free dessert recipes (it was published in 2014 by Chronicle Books). My objective has always been to create gluten free desserts that are so good you'd never notice the absence of gluten. And after being diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis in 2021, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid, I went wholly gluten-free myself.

I LOVE chocolate cake (my highly rated oat flour chocolate cake is my go-to birthday cake recipe), and baking with oat flour, my favorite gluten-free flour, always creates the best results. And to keep baking easier, I created a super reliable homemade gluten free flour blend that works 1:1 in all regular recipes. Check that out!

My self-published cookbooks, Gather: Recipes for a Gluten Free Thanksgiving and Celebrate: The Gluten-Free Holiday Table, are also available on amazon. I encourage you to give those a look if you need gluten-free holiday recipes.

Why Cucina Nicolina?

No, I'm not Italian, though I dearly loved my time in Italy during my trip there in 2000. The name came up when we were tossing around names for a food blog, and it stuck. I love the warm, inviting feel of "cucina" - it brings to mind a cozy kitchen where the scents of homemade bread and chocolate cake mingle comfortably, and where all are welcome.

My Work

I am a former journalist who traded the newsroom for food and lifestyle writing and recipe development. I have written articles and recipes for many print and online publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, NPR Online, Reuters, Santa Rosa Press Democrat, and other local and national outlets. My cookbook, Flourless: Recipes for Naturally Gluten-Free Desserts, was published by Chronicle Books in 2014 (more about that below). Please visit my clips site for more information and writing samples, or to work with me on a project!

What You'll Find on Cucina Nicolina

  1. Simple, effective recipes. At Cucina Nicolina, all recipes are created using naturally gluten-free ingredients. My general cooking and baking philosophy is "simple is best." This means that ingredient lists won't contain anything hard to pronounce or hard to find.
  2. Reliable. These recipes are developed and tested (and re-tested!) in my home kitchen, and I don't share a recipe until it's finalized.
  3. Easy to follow. I try to include process shots to guide you through each recipe, tips to make it turn out perfectly, and always offer substitution suggestions so you can make these recipes dairy-free as well as gluten-free. And if you need to swap out one flour for another, no problem. I'll give options for those as well.
  4. No weird ingredients. I am a big believer that gluten-free doesn't have to be complicated! I also don't like to develop recipes that need additives like xanthan gum (I don't think you need gums in gluten-free baking!). With the right combination of gluten-free flours or just the right ratio of one gluten-free flour, you absolutely don't need to add anything processed.
  5. No AI-produced content. What can I say ... I'm old school. I write, photograph, and edit everything on this website myself.

Get to Know Me

go-to coffee order

whole milk latte

Couldn't live without

my family!

All Time Favorite meal

beans and rice with guac and sour cream

I'd rather be

at the beach

My Favorite Memory

traveling with my family

Take my money

my local bookstore

You can always find me

in the garden or kitchen

On Repeat

kate rusby

FAQ

I love this question! Start with a batch of oat flour chocolate chip cookies or oat flour blueberry muffins. You'll need just one gluten-free flour - oat flour! - to make these recipes, and they are so delicious.

I hear you. But remember that gluten-free baking has come a long way even since I wrote my cookbook 10 years ago. To help, I have a whole Gluten Free Resources section that I'm continually adding to. For starters, always rest a gluten free batter before baking it for at least 20 minutes. You will taste the difference!

It's no secret that I LOVE oat flour (see my oat flour baking guide and archive of oat flour recipes for more). It's such a gorgeous gluten-free whole grain flour that works so well in everything.

However, I know that not everyone with celiac can eat oats. In that case, I recommend brown rice flour as a great substitute.

I got you! One: hydrate your batter. This means letting it rest for at least 15-20 minutes before baking (12 hours or more is ideal for cookie dough).

And two: Weigh your flours! I write all of my recipes in both cups and grams, but if you want to try converting recipes yourself, don't just do a 1:1 swap for gluten-free flour. Pick a recipe that lists the weight measurements then weigh out your flour for the best results.

If I had to pick just one recipe to make over and over again, I think I'd go for my oat flour chocolate cake.

To be honest, I prefer mixing and matching flours, or using just one gluten-free flour (like oat flour). But, I know it can be easier to use a blend, and I love my homemade gluten free flour blend. It's made without xanthan gum, because I firmly believe you can make great gluten-free bakes without it.

My cookbook, Flourless: Recipes for Naturally Gluten-Free Desserts, contains a wide selection of gluten-free goodies, including cookies, puddings, cakes and cupcakes, candy, and more.

Yes! We spent two years in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as part of the U.S. diplomatic mission. I learned how to make really good hummus and came to appreciate a warm winter. Then we swapped seasons and moved to Sydney, which is another story for another time. See my Substack newsletter, where I'll share more about living overseas.