Serious Eats: Recipes
Gluten-Free Tuesday: Cut-Out Cookies
[Photograph: Elizabeth Barbone]
This time of year leaves me feeling a little like the Cookie Monster: "Me want cookies!" And I don't want just any cookie, I want cut-out cookies. I love cookie cutters. I might love them too much. My 200-plus cookie cutter collection even boasts an armadillo-shaped cookie cutter.
When I want to make use of my excessive cookie cutter collection I turn again and again to my recipe for basic cut-out cookies. As written, it makes delicate vanilla-scented cookies that strike a nice balance between sweet and buttery. But like most Serious Eaters, I like to play with my food. This recipe welcomes change! If you crave a more robust flavor, swap brown rice flour and brown sugar for the white rice flour and granulated sugar. Or you can add some lemon zest and oil instead of vanilla extract.
Cookie Variations
- Flours: Use a different gluten-free flour, such as brown rice flour or sorghum flour. They'll both provide you with a deeper flavor and color.
- Sugars: You can replace the granulated sugar with brown, raw, granulated maple or muscovado sugars. Just be sure to avoid using a liquid sugar (like honey or maple syrup).
- Flavors: Feel free to vary the extract, or add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon. (I've found adding cinnamon is especially nice in batches where I've also used brown rice flour and brown sugar.)
- Dairy-free: Use a solid non-dairy replacement, like shortening or coconut oil. Be sure you use a solid, not liquid, fat replacement.
About the author: Elizabeth Barbone of GlutenFreeBaking.com joins us every Tuesday with a new gluten-free recipe. Elizabeth is an alumna of the Culinary Institute of America and Mount Mary College. With her professional baking background, Elizabeth is known for creating gluten-free recipes that taste just like their wheat counterparts. She is the author of Easy Gluten-Free Baking.
