Our family has a holiday tradition of sugar cookies. This year, I finally conquered a sugar cookie with no egg, dairy, butter or flour containing gluten. However, I did leave in the sugar. ๐
This recipe does have some quirks… But, what gluten free flour recipe doesn’t?!
1) I used Montana Gluten Free Baking Mix. Both my food allergic son and I have a texture issue with rice flour. Thus, we use oat flour. If you choose to use another baking mix, test it as the recipe instructions specify. If you make changes because of the baking mix you use, write notes on your recipe; otherwise, you’ll wish you had next year. (Ask me how I know?! ๐ .) Most baking mixes should be interchangeable, but I’d hate for you to go to all that work and expense to roll out a bunch of cookies to be bummed that they didn’t bake correctly.
2) Use the simple ingredient of vegetable shortening. I tinkered with the recipe and tried coconut oil because it’s supposed to be healthier. Coconut oil just isn’t mild flavored enough to let the sugar cookie speak gentle volumes of sweetness to the tongue. Coconut oil is an overwhelming flavor for most gluten free recipes. I avoid it and stick with the old fashioned shortening.
3) I am posting the frosting recipe first, so you can get it done before making the cookies. I found that you have to work fast with this dough. I made the first half of the batch and then went on to make frosting and decorate the cookies. When I came back to it an hour later, the dough was dry and crumbly. I added water to moisten the second half of the batch, but it changed the texture a bit. It’s better just to roll and bake the cookies during the same baking session.
4) Use powdered sugar on the counter top to roll out the cookie dough. It does two things for you… 1 – using gluten free flour to roll out cookies, wastes expensive flour on the countertop. 2 – sweetens the outside of the cookie. (Corn allergy? Make your own powdered sugar.)
5) Use parchment paper on the baking sheet.
6) The cookies will seem under baked at 7-8 minutes, but let them rest on the pan after pulling out from the oven for 5 minutes to let them continue baking.
7) We, the testers, all agreed that these cookies are much better with frosting on top of them. ๐ Click here to get Dairy Free Butter Flavored Frosting
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Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. egg replacer + 1/4 c. warm water
- 3/4 c. vegetable shortening
- 1 1/3 c. white sugar
- 1/4 tsp. Adam's imitation butter flavoring ***
- 3/4 tsp. baking powder
- 2 1/2 c. gluten free baking mix (contains xanthan gum)
- 1/8 tsp. salt (if baking mix does not contain salt)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375*. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
In a small bowl, mix together the egg replacer and warm water. Let sit separately for a few minutes.
In a medium sized bowl or food processor bowl, combine the sugar and the shortening. In a food processor, pulse until the sugar and shortening are light and fluffy. Or with a hand mixer, mix for a minute on medium high speed until the shortening and sugar are fluffy.
Add in liquid egg replacer and imitation butter flavoring. Pulse or beat again until it is incorporated.
Add in gluten free baking mix, baking powder and salt (if there is none in the baking mix).
Pulse or mix on low until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and become crumbly or slightly balled. Ball the dough to make sure it will clump together in your hand. If it doesn't clump together, add a tablespoon of water and mix again.
To test the dough, make a ball of dough the size of a ping pong ball (about 1" round), place it on the baking sheet. Flatten it to 1/4" thick. Place in the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes and the sides are a golden brown. Pull it out of the oven and look it over and taste it. If the baked cookie comes out looking pocked with grease holes or tasting greasy, add 1/4 cup more of gluten free baking mix and remix. The dough may seem dry, but it is deceptive because the shortening in the mix melts when it is in the oven. Keep adding baking mix until you like the look & taste of the cookie.
If it comes out dry and not pocked with grease holes, continue to rolling out your dough. Continue to do this until your dough looks like sugar cookies. Baked cookies should look golden on the edges like this:
Once you have attained the proper cookie dough, sprinkle your countertop or flat surface with powdered sugar. Using about one-fourth of the dough at a time, roll out the dough to 1/4" thickness with a rolling pin.
Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters. Lift the cookie up from the surface with a spatula and place on a baking sheet. If the cookie does not lift up easily, add more powdered sugar to the surface.
Place cookies on baking sheet and leave half an inch between the cookies as you set them on the baking sheet.
Place in the oven for 7-8 minutes and until edges are a golden brown.
Pull out from the oven and let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes.
Continue making and baking cookies. When done baking cookies, frost with frosting and decorate.
***I hot linked to Adam’s imitation butter flavoring on Walmart’s website. I receive no compensation for linking to Walmart. I looked on Adam’s website and they do not have any disclaimers for their products. I tested it on my son who is allergic to all dairy and egg products, and he had no problems with it. Use at your own discretion.
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