Sunday, December 26, 2010

Thumbprint Cookies on a Snow Day!

Thumbprint Butter Cookies

1 1/2 c gluten free flour mix
1/2 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cut into cubes
2 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
jam of your choice (I used rasberry)

Mix the  flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla just until the dough holds together Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for about an hour. 
Preheat the oven to 350. Roll the cold dough into balls, press your finger into the middle to make an indent, and fill with jam. Bake 10-12 minutes, cool on cookie sheet.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Oatmeal Cranberry Delights





Gluten Free Oatmeal Cranberry Delights 

1/2 pound unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons good vanilla extract
1 ½ cups gluten free flour mix 


1 tsp. baking soda
1/tsp. salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups gluten free oats
1 1/3 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with a mixer at medium speed. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Gradually add the baking mix and cinnamon and mix on low until smooth.

Stir in the oats and cranberries until evenly distributed.
Drop in small teaspoons-full on a silpat or slightly greased cookie sheet. Allow plenty of room for them to spread during baking. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Cooking times will vary according to the size of the cookie. Let cool before removing from the silpat or cookie sheet or they could crumble.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Apricot Jam cookies

Enjoy these nice, delicate cookies with a nice cup of tea or hot cocoa!


2 cups gluten free flour mix
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, soft
2/3 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup apricot jam, plus more for topping the cookies

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. Sift them into another bowl with a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside. Put the butter in the bowl of your stand mixer and use the paddle attachment. (If you don't have a stand mixer, it's ok)  Beat the butter for about 30 seconds, and then add the sugar. Beat for only one minute. (When you over-cream the butter and sugar in gluten-free cookies, they spread out in a disappointing fashion.) Add the egg and beat for one minute more. Next, pour in the milk and vanilla. At this point, the batter will look lumpy, even curdled. Don't worry. Keep going.

On the lowest setting, spin the stand mixer and add in the jam. When it is incorporated into the dough, add the dry ingredients, 1/4 cup at a time. You will know you are done when the dough is thick, almost to the point that it resists being poked.

These cookies work best as small cookies, so spoon them onto the baking sheet with a teaspoon. Leave space between the cookies.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, turning the baking sheet halfway through the baking process. The cookies are done when the tops are firmish. They will be pale -- if you keep baking them until they are browned, you will have horribly stiff cookies. You're just looking for browning around the edges.

Bring out the baking sheet from the oven. Make a small indentation in the top of each cookie with the back of a spoon. Carefully pat a dollop of jam into the indentation. Allow the cookies to cool for a few moments before removing them from the rack.

Eat and enjoy.

Makes about 18 cookies

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Snickerdoodles Day!

 Credit goes to Irwin Lin of  Eat the Love  for this delicious recipe.
Gluten Free Girl  also has a blog post today about Irwin's Snickerdoodles ! 

This recipe is amazing! 


Gluten Free Snickerdoodles


½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
3 Tbsp sugar
½ cup trans-free shortening
1 ½ cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp xantham gum
1 cup sweet sorghum flour
1 cup superfine white rice flour
1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour/starch
(I substitute my own gluten free baking mix for the flours, xantham gum and starches)

1. Take the butter out of the refrigerator and cut it into ½” chunks. Put the chunks into a mixing bowl of a standing mixer (outfitted with the paddle attachment).
2. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F
3. Line a baking sheet or cookie sheet with silpats or parchment paper
4. Combine the cinnamon and the 3 Tbls of granulated white sugar together in a shallow bowl. Put aside.
5. Put the shortening in the bowl with the butter and turn on the mixer to medium, beating them together until they are well blended.
6. Add the 1 ½ cups of sugar, and continue to beat until light and fluffy.
7. Add the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition and scraping down the sides with a spatula. Add the egg yolk and beat again. Add the vanilla and beat again.
8. Add the cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and xantham gum into the butter mixture and beat well.
9. Add the flours and beat until smooth.
10. Roll 1 tablespoon amounts of dough into 1” balls into the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place on the baking sheets about 2” apart.
11. Bake for 12 minutes of until the tops of the cookies start to crack a little. Try not to over bake them, but don’t underbake them either. You want them them to crack on top, but not to look to dark brown. Let them cool on the pan for 3 minutes and then move them to a rack to cool.

Makes 48 cookies.

Monday, December 6, 2010

St. Nicholas Day Cookies

The Second Week of Advent

Today is St. Nicholas Day!  Here is a recipe for St. Nicholas Purse Cookies!

Saint Nicholas Purse Cookies
Cookies on plate
Saint Nicholas Purse Cookies

1 stick butter (8 tablespoons)
¼ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups  Namaste Perfect Flour Blend
¼ cup corn starch
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
24 Hershey chocolate covered truffle Kisses
about 2 teaspoons powdered sugar (optional)
¼ cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
Preheat oven to 350º.
In large mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar together on low until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix for 1 minute on low speed. Sift the flour, corn starch, baking soda and salt into the butter mixture. Mix on low speed for about 3 minutes. The mixture will look crumbly at first and then suddenly it will begin to blend together. When the dough forms into a ball it is ready. Lightly roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball, press a kiss into the ball and mold the dough up to shape a cookie that looks like a cinched bag (they settle during baking). Place the dough on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes in a 350º oven until lightly browned. Remove from oven and let sit on pan for one minute before placing on a cookie rack to cool. When cookies are cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Christmas Cookie Recipe!

I will be posting cookie recipes every few days from now until Christmas. This is a recipe my friend Maureen gave me many years ago.  I have made it every Christmas since then.  These don't hang around my house very long!  I have to make them late at night so nobody opens the oven too soon and eats them!

Forgotten Cookies

2 egg whites, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8oz. oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate bits (mini chips work very well)
Preheat oven to 375°F
Beat egg whites until stiff. Gradually add sugar and beat until sugar is dissolved.  Fold in chocolate.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a silicone baking sheet. Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls (or use piping bag) onto lined cookie sheet, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
Place cookie sheet in oven and turn oven off. Leave cookies in oven (without opening the oven door!) for at least 4 hours or overnight.  This recipe is best made on a clear day when the air is nice and crisp.  Humidity is not good for these cookies, they will not dry out properly.  Store in a covered container.
Makes about 2 dozen.

Variation:  Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the mixture after adding sugar. Beat well.
                OR
                Add 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds to mixture at the end.

Happy Baking!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Small Successes

I am joining Danielle Bean this week in her "Small Successes". 

My small successes for the week:
1.  Started writing out my Christmas Cards.
2.  Went for my Mammo.
3.  Now that I have figured out my other food allergy, I have managed to stay "corn free" for a whole week now.  

What have you done this week that was successful?  Click on this link to see Danielle's column.   Faith and Family Live "Small Successes"

It's so important to give ourselves credit for the things we do. Even little things make us feel good about ourselves!