Tips for Fabulous Gluten-Free Cookies!

Compiled by Sylvie Ryan, our Culinary Educator

What I love most about cooking is the infinite creativity it inspires. Baking, however, is a very precise science, so it’s important to have a specific, well-measured recipe to help you achieve delicious results. And, when it comes to baking gluten-free cookies, I've discoverd some excellent tips that will ensure success!
Mary Frances from the Gluten Free Cooking School blog has tons of incredibly helpful information, and I've listed here 5 of her very best cookie baking tips and a great sugar cookie recipe, too. Be sure to sign up for her newsletter when you visit her blog!

Did you know that gluten is very rarely necessary in a good cookie? This also means that most gluten-free cookies can be made without xanthan gum or guar gum. A little of these ingredients might help with crumbliness, but they are not an essential ingredient like they would be with a bread recipe. Here are 5 more tips that I picked up during my cookie research this week:

1. Remove cookies from the baking sheet and onto a cooling rack as soon as they can be moved without breaking. They will continue to cook while they are on the sheet and, as I can personally attest, will become stuck. Instead, check them to see whether the cookies are ready to be moved every 30 seconds after they come out of the oven.

2. A good general rule is that you should always grease your cookie sheet with shortening, butter, or a non-stick spray (make sure that it doesn't contain flour). Alternatively, you can cover the sheet with parchment paper and bake the cookies on top of that.

3. If your cookies are too domed, try adding baking soda to the recipe in 1/4 tsp. increments. Baking soda will help increase the spread of the cookie as long as the recipe also includes an acidic ingredient like honey, brown sugar, or cream cheese.

4. Any number of things can cause a cookie to spread too much, and the problem isn't specific to gluten-free cookies. If this happens, consider whether your flour measurement was incorrect. Volume measurements (like cups) are notoriously inaccurate, and if you did not measure out enough flour then the fat in the recipe overwhelms the flour and the cookies' structure is not able to form.

5. Cool cookie sheets completely between batches to prevent the pan from warming the dough to much. A warm cookie sheet can cause the cookies to flatten and spread. Use several cookie sheets so that you can rotate through them as you bake batches of cookies.


A Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie for Decorating

1/2 lb (2 sticks) Butter, softened

2/3 cup Sugar

1 large Egg

1/4 tsp. Baking Powder

1/8 tsp. Salt

1-1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

2-1/2 c. Mary's Gluten-Free, All-Purpose Flour Mix

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg, baking powder, salt and vanilla and mix until well combined. Then stir in the flour until well-blended and smooth.

Divide the dough in half and roll out each half to 1/4 in. thickness between two sheets of parchment paper. Keeping the paper in place, move the dough to the refrigerator and chill for 20 - 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Move one oven rack to the upper third of the oven. Grease your cookie sheets.

Take one portion of dough out of the refrigerator. Peel one piece of parchment paper off and then replace it. This is now the bottom side of your dough. Take off the other piece of paper and discard. Cut out the cookies using cookie cutters that are 2 - 3 in. long. Place the cut-out cookie on the cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Roll out the dough scraps and keep cutting cookies until all the dough has been used. Refrigerate the dough again if it gets too soft to handle.

Bake the cookies just until they are lightly colored and slightly darker at the edges - should be around 6 - 9 minutes. Rotate the cooking sheet halfway through baking for even browning. After they are done, transfer them to a cooling rack as soon as possible.

Onion Soup with Madeira

Onion soup with toasted, cheesy bread or croutons was traditionally served after midnight at Parisian restaurants to please crowds coming out of the opera or theaters. This particular recipe comes from the Ducastaing Restaurant, which was a famous Parisian hang out for actors, writers, and performers.


It never fails that this time of year I crave the comfort and warmth of soups, especially onion soup topped with gooey, yummy melted cheese on toasted bread. I make this version throughout the holidays. It is a tradition in France to have a large pot of onion soup heating on the stove to serve after midnight on Christmas eve, or after a long evening of dancing and food festivities. It is such a convivial way to start the new year. This soup gets better as you reheat it and it's simple to double or even triple the recipe for a larger crowd. It will keep for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

I particularly love the taste of Madeira, which adds a definite sweetness. You may use a dry sherry or port, or even dry white wine instead of Madeira.


Serves 6 - 8

For the Soup:
4 oz. Butter or ½ cup Cooking Oil
3 - 4 Onions, thinly sliced
½ cup Whole Wheat Flour
½ cup Dry Madeira
8 cups Vegetable Stock or Broth
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 Tbsp Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Large pinch of Dried Thyme
Large pinch of Ground Mace

For the Garnish:

1½ cup Grated Gruyère
1 Egg Yolk
2 Tbsp Butter
6 - 8 slices toasted Whole-Wheat Bread

Heat the butter in a large saucepan or casserole (Le Creuset is best). Sauté the onions until translucent (about 6 minutes), allowing them to turn slightly golden and caramelized.

Sprinkle in the flour and stir well. Stir in the Madeira and stock or broth. Boil for 20 minutes, then add the cheese, salt, pepper, thyme and mace. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the garnish. Blend the cheese, egg yolk, and butter to a paste. Spread a little on each slice of toast and brown under the broiler (griller) . Serve the soup in individual tureens, floating one slice of cheesy toast on each bowl.



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Roasted Chestnuts

This recipe is tucked inside a drawer or in the back of a recipe box or dog-eared in a magazine in almost every kitchen. Chances are, it hasn't been tried yet. This is the next best thing to the chestnut vendor on the street.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut an X across the round side of each chestnut, otherwise they will explode. Arrange on a cookie sheet and roast until the skins pull back from the cuts and the nutmeats are soft. Time depends on the chestnut, but at least 15-20 minutes. Remove the nuts from the oven, mound in a dishtowel, wrap them up and squeeze, let sit for a few minutes. Open a bottle of beaujolais and pour a glass, (or a cup of wassail), peel the skin off the first chestnut and enjoy.

Marge's Wassail

While wassail is quick to prepare, made hours in advance it will fill the home with a wonderful aroma.

Ingredients:

2 quarts sweet apple cider
2 c orange juice
1 c lemon juice
1 1/2 c unsweetened pineapple juice
1 stick cinnamon
12 whole cloves
sugar or honey to taste

Stir all ingredients in a large pot. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Do not boil or it will thicken. Strain to remove cloves. Serve hot with or without rum or brandy.  Garnish with a thin fresh orange slice cut on the round.

Hot Buttered Rum

If you dare to make this hot buttered rum, there will never be another in your life.  Splurge and enjoy. This recipe serves many and without the rum it is a treat for the under 21 crowd as well.

1/2 lb Organic Brown Sugar
1/2 lb Organic Powdered Sugar
1/2 lb Organic Butter (unsalted and room temp)
1/2 quart good quality Organic Vanilla Ice Cream (softened)
1 tsp Nutmeg

Blend all ingredients until smoth. Freeze to chill and harden. Use 1-2 Tb. per cup. Add hot water and 1 oz of rum to make 1 cup.

Keep in the freezer until all is gone.