The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookie Book (26 page)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the shortening and brown rice flour. Beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The cookie dough will be quite heavy in texture.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough well apart onto the prepared pan. The cookies will spread during baking. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes until the bottom edges begin to brown and the tops take on a little color. Allow the cookies to cool briefly on the pan for easier removal.

brown rice flour
MAKES ABOUT 30 COOKIES

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the shortening and brown rice flour. Beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Once the dough comes together, continue beating for an additional minute or so to make the dough easier to handle. The dough will be very soft and ideally should be refrigerated for 30 minutes if you plan to roll it out and cut it, rather than make drop cookies. (The most adept at rolling cookies will prove me wrong on this point.)

Roll out the dough to a scant ¼-inch thickness and cut it with gingerbread men cookie cutters. Place decorative candies or raisins on the cookies if desired. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. Let cool on wire racks. The cookies will stiffen while cooling. Decorate with icing, if desired.

oats and brown rice flour
MAKES ABOUT 30 COOKIES

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

Place the oats in a blender and pulse until they are partially broken down. Pieces of all sizes should remain. Set aside. In a medium-size bowl, combine the shortening and brown rice flour. Beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add the remaining ingredients, including the oats, and mix well. The cookie dough will be very heavy to the beaters, but soft to the touch.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared pan. Using your fingertips, press them to ¼-inch thickness. The cookies will not spread much during baking. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottom edges begin to brown. Let cool on wire racks before serving.

brown rice flour
MAKES ABOUT 35 COOKIES

You can add
½
cup of chocolate chips to these if you’ve got a chocolate
and peanut butter craving. Or keep them plain for an especially good
traditional cookie! The slight undertone of the honey works nicely with
the overall peanut butter flavor.

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the shortening, peanut butter, and brown rice flour. Beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The cookie dough will be tacky and soft.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared pan. Using the tines of a fork dipped in brown rice flour (or sprayed lightly with nonstick spray), press them to ¼-inch thickness. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the bottom edges begin to brown and the tops take on a little color. Let cool on wire racks before serving.

brown rice flour
MAKES ABOUT 15 COOKIES

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square pan.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the shortening and brown rice flour. Beat well. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl at least once during mixing. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The dough will be extremely soft.

Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick tests cleanly. (If the bars are not done, the toothpick is unlikely to hold any batter, but will seem wet.) Let cool.

Sprinkle the bars liberally with confectioners’ sugar before slicing. Let cool, then cut into bars.

 

brown rice flour
MAKES ABOUT 30 COOKIES