I had intended to offer you today a gluten-free version of the “snowball” cookies we make at Christmastime, all decorated for Valentine’s Day by rolling in red sugar.  And, as you can see, I did some experimenting with making them heart-shaped, as well.  Unfortunately, the conversion to GF was an epic fail — as snowballs go.

These are the first major baking recipe I’ve tried to convert that does not include eggs or some sort of egg substitute, and they are very, very tender.  Tender enough that if you try to roll them in powdered sugar straight from the oven — or after they cool, for that matter — they smash into a million pieces.  They taste fantastic, though, so we’ll just not coat them, and call them Butter Cookies, okay?  (It also occurred to me that they might be really good coated in chocolate.  Which would also help hold them together.  But I was out of chocolate so I didn’t try it.)

Admittedly, I did not use gums in this at first.  I prefer to avoid them when I can, because I don’t find them as “natural” as some other options, and a lot of times they really aren’t necessary.  After the first batch, I did add enough xanthan gum to have added up to about 1/2 tsp. (if I recall correctly) if I’d put it in the whole recipe.  It didn’t seem to make a difference.

There is sugar in this.  Liquid sweeteners do not behave the same way in baking, and make a significant difference in the finished texture of cookies.  I think that would be particularly true of these cookies, which are fairly “dry” to begin with, and are designed to largely hold their shape, rather than spread and flatten.  But you should be able to grind an unrefined sugar in the blender and use that powdered, if you prefer.  There’s not that much sugar in these, proportionately, so they’re not horribly unhealthy even as-is.

GF Butter Cookies

Rachel Ramey

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert, GF

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. butter softened (2 sticks)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. pectin
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum*
• 1 c. brown rice flour
• 1 c. sweet brown rice flour
• 1 1/2 c. almond meal

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, and butter; mix well.
• Gradually stir in flours, pectin, and xanthan gum, then almond meal.
• Cover dough and chill until firm.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Form dough into 1" balls and place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set but not brown. Cool on wire racks.

Notes

*The first batch was without xanthan gum; the second batch with. They didn't seem to hold together better either way, so I would probably either omit this ('cause it's not worth it) or increase it (to see if it helps).

Oh, in case you were wondering about the hearts…I smooshed some of the dough into heart-shaped silicone ice “cube” molds, then shoved them out onto the baking sheets.  Although they aren’t all neat and pretty around the edges, as you can see, they worked pretty well.  (If your silicone molds are oven-safe, you can probably bake them in there.  I wasn’t too sure about mine, so I popped them out and just baked them on the baking sheet.)

Everyone in my household has enjoyed these, they just weren’t the pretty sugar-rolled  “snowballs” I’d been hoping for.

Shared at Just Another Meatless Monday, My Meatless Mondays, Gluten-Free Fridays.