Snowball Cookies

The secret ingredient in this cookie is ricotta cheese! This is a wonderful, slightly crunchy on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside cookie.

2 cups GF flour blend
1 t. baking powder
½ t. baking soda
Pinch of salt
½ cup butter (one stick)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 t. GF vanilla or maple extract

 Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar, 2 T. milk
1cup coconut flakes for garnish

Heat oven to 350˚F. Coat 2 baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray or parchment.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together until blended; set aside. Beat butter and sugar together until blended. Add egg, ricotta and vanilla and beat until combined.

Mix flour mixture into liquid mixture until blended. Chill dough for one hour, if desired.

With oiled hands, roll dough into rough one inch balls OR just scoop out portions with a teaspoon. Place onto cookie sheets two inches apart. Bake at 350˚F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges of cookies. Cool on a rack.

Glaze
Beat powdered sugar and milk until well blended. Dip tops of cookies into glaze and sprinkle with coconut. Set aside on waxed paper until glaze has hardened.

Makes: Three dozen cookies.

This recipe is available in my first cookbook: 
"Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking" www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org

 

Ginger Cookies

Chewy, spicy, wholesome…and as always, gluten free!

4½ cups GF flour blend

4 t. ground ginger

2 t. baking soda

1½ t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

¼ t. salt

1½ cups butter (three sticks), room temperature

1¼ to 1½ cups sugar*

2 eggs, room temperature

½ cup molasses

¾ cup coarse sugar or granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients together with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter on low for a few seconds to soften. Gradually add the sugar and beat until combined. Now beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in the flour mixture. (If dough is too soft to work into small balls at this point, place in refrigerator or freezer for a short time until dough stiffens up.)

Form dough into 1½ inch balls and roll quickly into the sugar to coat.  Place on parchment paper on cookies sheets or on cookie pans that are ungreased. Place at least 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies are puffed. Do not over bake or cookies will not be chewy. Cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes while cookies firm up and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Makes: About four dozen 3 inch cookies.

Notes: *I like to cut sugar where I can. This recipe works with as little as 1¼ cups of sugar. I used coconut sugar (found in health food markets) instead of refined sugar. It has a caramel flavor and also lends itself to a darker color in all baked goods, so it works well with this naturally darker-colored cookie.

Recipe is from my cookbook: 
To view a Youtube slideshow "tour" of the cookbook, click this link:

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Extreme lemon! Rich and creamy, decadent cookie-bar that is perfect to serve for a tea.

Bottom Layer

1 cup GF flour blend

1 egg, beaten

1 cup walnuts, ground

¾ cup butter

½ cup brown sugar

Lemon Cheesecake Layer

2-8 ounce pkgs cream cheese

¾ cup white sugar

1 egg

1 T. GF flour blend

4 T. fresh lemon juice

2 t. lemon zest

Powdered sugar

Fresh strawberries or raspberries, optional

Heat oven to 350˚F. Blend all bottom layer ingredients with a pastry blender/cutter. Place into a 9 x 13 (or smaller) baking pan. Bake bottom layer for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool

Combine cheesecake layer ingredients and beat with mixer. Pour batter evenly over top of the first batter. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until set. Cool completely in refrigerator before cutting into two inch squares. Dust with powdered sugar.

May also top with a garnish of fresh raspberries or strawberries.

Makes: 24 squares.

(Pictured here with Almond Cookie recipe from my cookbook)

This recipe is from my cookbook: "Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking. It is available at:   

http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-

Lemon Poppy Seed Bunnies

These little rabbit cookies are both tangy and sweet...and hopping in just in time for Easter!

2¼ cups GF flour blend

1 t. baking powder

½ t. salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 t. lemon zest

2 T. lemon juice

2 T. poppy seeds

Powdered sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together first three ingredients and set aside.

Beat butter and sugar for two minutes or until smooth. Beat in egg, zest and juice until fluffy. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low, just until blended. Add poppy seeds and stir. Divide dough in half. Flatten each half into a six inch circle; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 2 hours or longer. Let stand at room temperature 10 minutes before rolling out dough.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Coat two cookie sheets with GF nonstick spray. Place a sheet of saran wrap under dough and another sheet on top. Roll out the dough that is between the two sheets of saran wrap, to ¼ inch thickness. Peel back top sheet of saran wrap. Use cookie cutter of choice; I used a bunny cutter. Cut, re-roll scraps and repeat, placing cookies on cookie sheets one inch apart. Keep other dough in refrigerator until you are about ready to use. Repeat cutting cookies from the remaining dough.

Bake 10-13 minutes at 350 F until slightly golden around the edges. Remove to rack and dust with powdered sugar. (If using bunny shape, be careful not to overcook as ears may become too brown.)

Makes: Approximately 30 cookies.

More recipes are available in my cookbook:

"Delicious! The Very Best of Gluten Free and Wheat Free Cooking;
A home style recipe collection for celiacs & wheat sensitive folks" 

available from my website http://www.celiacdiseaseinfo.org 

OR at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Delicious-Cooking-Collection-Celiacs-Sensitive/dp/0615305709/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1282852260&sr=1-1