Valentine's Day Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
Follow this Easy Recipe and Bake Some Heart-Shaped Treats
Jan 14, 2009
Valentine's Day can be especially difficult for children with autism that are on a GFCF diet. It is hard to resist the temptation to not eat all that good looking heart shaped candy. This simple recipe for gluten-free sugar cookies will help cure any GFCF diet blues.
List of Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups Brown Rice Flour Mix ( 2 cups brown rice flour, 2/3 cups potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca flour)
- 1/4 cup sweet rice flour
- 1 tsp.baking powder
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Recipe for Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
- Use an electric mixer to beat butter and sugar together until creamy and then add egg and vanilla and keep beating until smooth.
- Add all flours, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt and beat until dough is thick and smooth.
- Roll out dough between two sheets of wax paper and chill until very cold.
- Cut with heart-shaped cookie cutter and chill again before baking.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes on a cooking sheet lightly greased with cooking spray. Cookies should be a light golden color when done.
Storage
Unbaked dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for 2 months. Cookies can be stored for three days at room temperature, stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or frozen for 1 month.
Decorating
There are many gluten-free options for decorating cookies:
- Add red food coloring to some sugar and sprinkle over cookies.
- Cover cookies with pink, white or red royal icing. See recipe below.
- Decorate with gluten-free candy like Skittles or Gum drops.
GFCF Royal Icing Recipe
This is a basic firm frosting ideal for decorating cookies or cakes. The ingredients are 2 egg whites, 3 cups confectioner's sugar, 1 tbsp. lemon juice and 1/4 tsp. salt. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes until soft peaks are formed. This will be enough to frost an 8 inch two-layer cake. This recipe is from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook 13th Edition by Marion Cunningham [A.Knopf, Inc. 1996].
Having a child with autism or celiac disease on a GFCF diet can be very difficult. A lot of cooking, creativity and planning is needed to succeed. Having a batch of frozen cookie dough on hand is most helpful when there are parties or holidays approaching. Plus, the smile on his face will be worth it!
For additional recipes see Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts [ Agate Publishing, Inc. , 2006].
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