I started the week off so excited for Valentine’s Day baking. I had all of these ideas of what I wanted to bake. But my boys requested my delicious gluten free sugar cookies. And since they were requested, I decided to make them my stay gluten free Valentine’s day feature.
I make these cookies using Andrea’s gluten free flour. No matter how hard I tried to use other flours, these cookies are just not the same without it. They can still be good, just not the same and I would be remiss if I didn’t share this recipe with you.
If you remember a while back I wrote about how much I loved this flour and that the only drawback was that it is not available to be ordered online. If it is not available in your area, you may not be able to buy it. You can read more about that here.
But I now have some good news. I have been doing some inquiring and there is a possibility that Andrea’s gluten free flour could indeed be available online very soon. I cannot tell you how happy this news made me after spending 2 solid days in my kitchen trying to revise my cookie recipes.
Since I have been baking with this flour for years, I have enjoyed it’s consistency and reliability. But as I want to grow this blog and community it is important to me to have ingredients and resources that are readily available to you.
Does this news mean I am going to stop looking for an alternative. No! In fact, I think I have now spent more than 2 months doing my gluten free flour challenge and it has been such a learning experience. I have chosen and purchased 4-5 new flours and have been testing them on some of my favorite recipes. Once things settle down, I will be sharing all my results with you.
Do I think things will really settle down? Ha! Not really. The life of a mom of kids with food allergies is very busy. Just being a mom is a busy job. But some how we manage to forgo sleep to get things done.
Speaking of busy, as much as I loved putting together the Superbowl Guide, it delayed my Valentine’s day baking. My sincere apologies about sending you this great recipe so last minute. But there is still plenty of time, because I promise these cookies are very easy to make.
Probably if I am to be honest, this first year of blogging and baking through all the holidays may be challenging as I juggle motherhood with 2 little ones. But I am confident that we will get through this first year together. I just want to make sure I thank you for your patience upfront.
So now let me tell you about these fabulous cookies. These sugar cookies were inspired by a cookie my Nonna used to bake all of the time. I was thrilled to be able to make something so close to what I had growing up.
This cookie is somewhat ingredient brand specific. By that I mean, I have tried to make them using other flours and I have found that I have had to alter the flax eggs and rice milk quantities as well. Using a different gluten free flour may not give you the same results.
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Here are some tips:
If you do use this recipe with another flour here are some suggestions:
- Make two flax eggs each in their own bowl (Each flax egg will consist of 1 tbsp golden flax meal and 3 tbsp of warm water)
- After you have added one flax egg and the rice milk as stated below, check your dough. If it is still not coming together, add the other flax egg
- If you need additional moisture, then you will add additional rice milk 1 tbsp at a time until your dough is formed
In addition, I usually use Spectrum brand shortening, Bob Red Mill golden flax meal, and Rice Dream unsweetened rice milk.
Take a look over my shoulder as I show you how I mix the shortening into the flour.
Once the dough is ready to be rolled out, place a small ball in between 2 pieces of parchment paper and use your rolling pin to create a flat canvas for your cookie cutter. Remove the top layer of parchment paper and use your cookie cutter to create your desired shape. Place the cookie on the cookie sheet. Fill the cookie sheet and bake.
Cooking time is generally 13 minutes. You can tell your cookies are done by looking at the bottom. If the bottom has a hint of color along the edges they are done.
Let the cookies cool completely before icing and that’s it!
I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating this holiday of love and that you are surrounded by love wherever you go. And of course, I hope you love these cookies.
What is your favorite thing about Valentine’s Day? Leave a comment below.
Gluten Free "Cut Out" Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp golden flax meal To be used to make "flax egg"
- 3 Tbsp Warm water To be used to make "flax egg"
- 3 Cups Andrea's gluten free flour
- 1 Cup Granulated sugar
- 3 Tsp baking powder
- 1 Cup Shortening
- 1 Tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 Tsp Lemon extract
- 1/2 Cup Rice Milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside
- In a small bowl combine golden flax meal and warm water. Stir and set aside for at least 10 minutes. It's ok if it sits our longer.
- Measure flour, sugar, baking powder in a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add shortening and with your finger sift the flour and shortening until all of the shortening is separated and you have a find sandy texture.
- Add "flax egg", vanilla extract, lemon extract and rice milk and mix dough until it is a firm dough.