Gingerbread People and Houses

                                                                                                                                                                      

Yield: about 6 dozen cookies or 2 small houses and 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tsp xanthan gum
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups molasses
• rice flour for rolling

Directions

Cream butter and sugar until well-combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in molasses. With mixer on low speed, add gluten-free flour mix, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, and beat until combined. Divide dough into 3 discs, and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a generously floured piece of parchment, roll dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour. Slide dough and parchment onto baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.

Cut out desired shapes. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze for 15 minutes.

Bake cookies for 6 minutes. Remove sheets from oven, and tap them firmly on counter to flatten cookies. Return to oven, rotating sheets, and bake until crisp but not darkened, 6 to 8 minutes more. Cool sheets on wire racks.

Spoon icing into a pastry bag fitted with a very small plain round tip or just use a zip-top bag and snip the very tip off for piping. Pipe designs on cookies and use icing as "glue" to hold house pieces together. Let cookies stand at room temperature until set, at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers for up to 1 week. Enjoy!

Royal Icing (for decorating)

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 egg whites, beaten or meringue powder equivalent

Directions:
Combine ingredients in mixer. Beat on high till smooth and holds its shape.

More to come with Love!

Curry Cashew Blondies

I like to play with food. In my world, there are no culinary no-nos, only flavor combinations that I will not try again. I had never made blondies before and I wanted to try them out, but they seemed so, well, boring. I wanted to incorporate interesting flavor into the cookies and I thought curry and cashews work so well together in savory dishes, perhaps they would work in a sweet application. Success!! These are awesome all by themselves or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some caramel sauce. Note: vanilla ice cream sprinkled with curry powder and topped with caramel sauce and chopped cashews is fantastic too!


Yield: 9 large or 16 mini bars

Ingredients:
8 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for pan

1 cup packed brown sugar (or 1 cup white sugar and 3 Tbsp molasses, cause that's how brown sugar is made anyway)

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 2/3 cups gluten-free flour mix

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (about 3 ounces)

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2+ Tbsp curry powder (depending on your tastes)
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese, 1Tbsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt and curry powder; set aside.

Coat an 8x8 baking pan with butter (you can also spray it with oil spray). Combine melted butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Add gluten-free flour mix, xanthan gum, sea salt and cashews and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. Scrape into prepared baking pan and spread out.

Evenly dot the top of the blondie batter with cream cheese mixture and use a knife to swirl it through. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Allow the blondies to cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!

Note: If you dont' like the idea of curry in blondies, just leave it out and enjoy cashew cream cheese blondies instead!

More to come with Love!

Pumpkin Pie Cookies with Maple Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing

These cakey little treats have all the flavors of pumpkin pie in a single-serve cookie. The brown butter cream cheese icing is good enough to eat all by itself. You can either make sandwich cookies, with the icing in between 2 cookies, or simply top them with the icing. Of course, you can always eat them plain, but if you are like me and feel guilty for eating frosting by the spoonful, these are a perfect vehicle for any frosting addiction.

Yield: about 3 to 4 dozen single cookies or 2 dozen sandwich cookies, depending on size

Ingredients

Cookies:

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin - note: this is equal to one 14 or 15 oz can, but I roast and puree my own
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk or cream (I used cream)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
•  2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Filling:

2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese

4 Tbsp pure maple syrup

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp gluten free maple flavor

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk or cream, and vanilla and mix until well blended, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed . Add gluten-free flour mix, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and mix until combined.

You can either use a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip or use a 1 to 1.5 inch ice cream scoop to form cookies. Pipe 1 1/2-inch rounds or drop with ice cream scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until tops spring back, about 12-15 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Filling/Frosting: Put cream cheese in bowl (you can either use a stand mixer or a hand mixer). Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, swirling pan occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add butter to cream cheese, scraping any browned bits from sides and bottom of pan, and mix until well combined. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix until combined, then add maple syrup, vanilla and maple flavor and mix until fluffy and smooth. If the frosting is not thick enough, add more powdered sugar till you get your desired consistency. Just remember that as the butter cools, it will return to a solid state so you may want to wait a bit before adding more sugar.

For sandwich cookies, spread about 1 tablespoon of icing onto the bottom of one cookie and top it with another cookie, bottom side down. For iced cookies, just top each cookie with about a teaspoon of icing (or if you are me, about 1/4 cup). Enjoy!

More to come with Love!!

Rosemary Pine Nut Cookies

If you like to take a walk on the culinary wild side, these cookies are a festive way to do it. They combine an interesting combination of usually savory flavors into an exquisite little treat. A great conversation starter, they would be a great addition to any cocktail party, or cookie jar.

Yield: About 3 dozen 2 1/2 inch cookies

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped, plus more whole ones for top of cookies
• 3 1/2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Finely chop rosemary. Cream butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, cream and olive oil. Reduce speed to low and add flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, ginger, rosemary and pine nuts and salt and mix until well combined, about 2 minutes.

Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls, and space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly with fingers, and top each with a whole pine nut. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, about 13 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on sheets on wire racks. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 7 days. Enjoy!

More to come with Love!

Spritz Cookies

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt

colored sugar/sprinkles

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream butter and sugar on low speed until combined. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low until all ingredients are well incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary. Fill cookie press with 1/4 to 1/2 of the dough at a time, depending on how much your cookie pess holds. Form cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet, decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles if desired and bake for 6 to 9 minutes or until set and just golden around the edges. Cool on a wire rack and store at room temperature in an airtight container between sheets of wax paper. Note: If you don't have any colored sugar or sprinkles its really easy to make the colored sugar; just take some granulated sugar and add liquid food coloring drops (don't use the gel kind, it will never dry). Mix until you have the shade that you want. Let it dry overnight and store in an airtight container.

More to come with Love

Linzer Cookies

These little raspberry filled sandwiches are the cookie version of the fameous Austrian holiday treat, the Linzertorte. The cookie has a hint of cinnamon and lemon, and with your favorite raspberry preserves sandwiched between two of the crispy layers, this cookie is the perfect thing to serve at your next holiday party, or to give to the gluten-free family members or coworkers in your life.

Yield: About 2 dozen sandwich cookies, depending on size

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp gluten-free vanilla
1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
2 cups gluten-free flour mix
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup almond meal, or blanched hazelnuts finely ground


1/2 cup raspberry preserves or jam, for filling
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar for dusting


Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and granulated sugar with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 or 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla, and lemon zest. With mixer on low speed, add gluten-free flour mix, almond meal, baking powder, xanthan gum, cinnamon and salt, and beat until combined.


Divide dough in half and roll out each half on a rice flour-dusted sheet of parchment paper to about 1/8 of an inch. You will need 2 cookie cutters of different sizes (I used 3" and 1" biscuit cutters) . Using the larger of the cookie cutters, cut an even number of shapes. Using the smaller cutter, cut the center out of half of the large shapes. Remove trimmings and centers. Note: You can either bake the centers for bite-sized cookies or roll them into the rest of the dough with the trimmings. Repeat rolling and cutting with remaining dough. Place cut shapes in the freezer until firm.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove cookie shapes from the freezer and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until just golden around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Dust tops with powdered sugar. Spread about 1 1/2 tsp preserves or jam on the bottom of one of the whole cookie shapes and top with one with the cutout and serve immediately. Note: If you want to make these ahead of time, you can store the unfilled cookies in an airtight container for up to a week and fill them right before serving. If you fill them more than an hour before serving, the cookies will get a little soft. Enjoy!

More to come with love!!

Russian Tea Cakes

If I had to choose one cookie that epitomises Christmas, for me the Russian Tea Cake would be it, no competition. We have had them for both Thanksgiving and Christmas every single year as far back as I can remember. The sweet and delicate little cookie balls are loaded with nutty flavor and the double coating of powdered sugar just screams wintertime treats.

Yield: about 2 dozen 1" cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp gluten-free vanilla
1 tsp gluten-free almond extract
2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour mix
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup finely chopped nuts of your choice (I use pecans)


1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar for rolling


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter with confectioners' sugar on low speed until combined. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix on low speed until combined, scraping sides of bowl if necessary. Stop mixer and add flour, xanthan gum, salt and nuts. Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes or until a ball forms. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set but not brown. While the cookies are still warm, very carefully roll them in confectioners' sugar (because they are not quite set all the way when they are fresh from the oven they may crumble if care is not taken when rolling). Cool and roll in sugar a second time. Store at room temperature in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper. Enjoy!

More to come with Love!!