holiday baking: gluten-free sugar cookies.

photo by Jessamyn Harris

Gearing up for some holiday baking? So are we, and we are pleased as punch! This year’s goal is to come up with a good GF recipe for Mexican Wedding Cookies (aka Russian Teacakes)…definitely feeling a little nostalgia for that powdery, crumbly goodness all up in our mouths. Since we don’t have that recipe ready to share with you, what we CAN share with you is a solid (as in: solidly delicious) recipe for gluten-free sugar cookies. Make it. Roll it. Cut it. Bake it. Decorate it. Eat it.

. . .

Almond sugar cookies
Dust off those old cookie cutters you haven’t used since you kissed gluten goodbye, because these sugar cookies were made for decorating. They’re thin and crisp around the edges and moist and chewy in the middle.

makes 18 cookies

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fine almond meal
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (do not substitute white rice flour)
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup brown rice flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light in color, about 2 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk almond meal, sweet rice flour, potato starch, brown rice flour, and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, beating until combined, about 1 minute. Mixture will look crumbly. Beat in egg and vanilla. Dough will remain crumbly but should hold together when pinched.

Transfer dough to a large sheet of parchment paper. Form into a ball and flatten to a 6-inch disc; refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F, grease cookie sheet, and lightly flour a rolling pin and cookie cutters. Let dough rest at room temperature for 3 minutes, then roll out to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut desired shapes. Transfer cut cookies to the prepared baking sheet and bake until lightly browned on the bottom, 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

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