A good sugar cookie is hard to come by. You know the kind… Chewy with a crunchy edge. Mmmmm.
It’s nearly impossible if you’re gluten free, dairy free, and egg free. I will tell you right now, that these sugar cookies are perfection. They fool even the “normal” cookie eating folk. My hubby will eat at least 5 straight out of the oven… I won’t tell you how many I devour. I also won’t tell you how many times I’ve made these beauties in the past few months. It’s shameful.
I adapted this recipe out of my Better Homes & Garden cookbook. It is actually supposed to be a recipe for snickerdoodles, so if you prefer cinnamon to sugar- roll these bad boys in a cinnamon sugar mix before you bake them (and add 1/4 tspn of cream of tartar to the dry ingredients). I’ve done them both ways.
I almost forgot: I did not make these vegan because I used regular sugar, which is not vegan. If you are so inclined, use vegan sugar!
Sugar Cookies:
whatcha need
Preheat the oven to 350 F
1/2 c butter (dairy free), softened
1 c sugar
1/4 c applesauce
1/2 tspn vanilla
3/4 c asian rice flour
1/2 c brown rice flour
1/4 c sweet rice flour
1 tspn baking soda
1/2 tspn xanthan gum or guar gum
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients. Set aside.
Using a handheld mixer, beat your (dairy free) butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. I used df/sf butter (me +soy=blah).
Scrape down the sides of your bowl and beat in your applesauce and vanilla.
Once again, scrape down the sides of your bowl. Carefully dump your dry ingredients into your wet. Mix well until everything is incorporated. I chill my dough into the fridge for about 30 minutes.
On a parchment lined baking sheet, scoop dough and roll into balls (I just use a cookie dough scoop- a little less than 2 TB- and don’t worry about rolling them) about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten the tops a little and put them in the oven for 10-12 minutes. You want them to look lightly browned and not gooey.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sugar or sprinkles. Let them sit for 3 minutes on the baking sheet. Using a nice spatula (I use stainless steel) put them on a baking rack to cool. If you don’t have self control (raises hand…) try one when they’re still warm and gooey. Otherwise you can wait for them to cool.
If these last more than a day, I store them in Tupperware at room temperature. This has only happened once. 🙂
Good-bye Gluten 