Holiday Cookies: Featuring a Wonderful Gluten-Free Gingerbread House

The holidays would not be the same without delicious Christmas cookies and wonderful holiday treats. Baking gluten-free during the holidays can sometimes pose some difficult challenges. We are here to tell you that it is possible to make delicious gluten-free cookies even Santa will love!

Choosing the Perfect Baking Flour

The first challenge is choosing the appropriate gf flours. We have found that instead of donning your food chemist coat and mixing various gf flours (Tapioca, Rice, Potato, etc.), and adding your own stablizers (xanthan gum and/or guar gum) and producing marginal results, you may find it easier to use a prepackaged gf flour mix. The Gluten-Free Pantry, makes a wonderful mix called "Country French Bread Mix". The mix has all the flours already mixed together and it requires the "baker" to add the fats, sugar, eggs, etc. So, in an effort to make your life easier this holiday season, try the Gluten-Free Pantry flour as a substitute. Our suggestion is to try this flour mix as a substitute for regular flour in nearly all of your baking. We are confident you will find this to be a must-have in your pantry.

Measuring Ingredients

Extra flour can make a huge difference in your baking results. Carefully measuring out your ingredients, both dry and wet, can make a difference in not only taste but texture as well. When measuring out gf flour, first fluff it with a fork, then spoon it into a dry measuring cup. Level the top with a knife to ensure an even cups worth. It is not always necessary to sift your dry ingredients together. The job can be done sufficiently by mixing the dry ingredients with a whisk or a fork.

In measuring your liquid ingredients be sure to use a glass measuring cup (to ensure proper level of fullness) and place the cup on a level counter. If using a recipe calling for oils and thick, "syrupy" ingredients, measure out the oil first, followed by the thick, sticky ingredients. This will eliminate the sweeteners from sticking to the sides of the cup.

Cutting in Butters or Fats

If your recipe calls for cutting in fats (butter or shortening) into dry ingredients, it is important to use chilled butter to eliminate the possibility of it melting during the mixing process. You will find the best results using a pastry blender (a device that looks like a "U" with a handle at the top, with the U being made up of a series of rigid wires). If a pastry blender is unavailable you can also use 2 knives, crisscrossing them like open scissors and cutting through the butter to blend into flour. The end result should be flour particles coated with butter, resembling small peas or coarse meal. The purpose of this procedure is to allow the butter to melt during the baking. The moisture contained in it produces steam, thereby giving the pastry a flaky, tender texture.

Rolling out gf Dough

This you may find a little tricky when using gf doughs. The key is "patience", perseverance and a small bag of tricks — compliments of Glutenfreeda. Depending on the dough you are working with you may need to adopt a few strategies to eliminate the headache of ripped, misshapen cookie tragedies.

Some cookies are quite simple, like the Maple Spice Cookies. Simply mix together your wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls, then

Lemon Poppy Stars & Moons

combine until the batter is mixed thoroughly. Drop your cookies on a cookie sheet and bake!

Other cookies, like the Stained Glass Cookies, Lemon Poppy Stars & Moons, and the Gingerbread Cookies,

require the batter to be chilled before rolling out or shaping into cookies. We have found that these cookies tend to have a truer consistency and better taste than those that aren’t chilled first. For these cookies, make sure that your dough has been chilled for the appropriate time. This will allow the dough to "rest" and also allow the fats (butter or shortening) to harden enough to facilitate the process of rolling out the dough.

Gingerbread Cookies

Depending on the type of cookie you make you need to be careful on the method you choose to roll out your dough. If the dough has a larger than normal butter content and is wetter than your traditional dough (a good example of this is the Gingerbread Cookie recipe) you will need to roll the dough out on a gf floured surface. However, most cookie recipes that require you to roll out the dough, you will get the best results from rolling it out between two sheets of parchment or wax paper.

Stained Glass Cookies

If you are using cookie cutters (as in the Christmas Cookies), and are having difficulty with the cutter not releasing the dough, try placing a small amount of gf flour on a plate or on your pastry board. Move the cutter back and forth, coating the blades with the flour. This will help eliminate any stubborn cookies from releasing.

Making a Gluten-Free Gingerbread House

This year, we wanted to try a traditional Gingerbread House for all of those gluten-intolerant children to enjoy! Making a gingerbread house is a fun and exciting activity for kids to do during the holiday season.

Making the Gingerbread Dough:

To make the mixing of the dough easier, especially with gf flour, make two batches separately.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups gf flour (we used The Gluten-Free Pantry’s Country French Bread mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 Tablespoon water
  

Whisk together dry ingredients (gf flour through salt). In a separate bowl, beatthe butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg, molasses and water. Beat half of the dry ingredients into the molasses mixture until well blended. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, then knead the mixture with your hands until well blended. Place dough on a sheet of wax paper, mold into a ball or disc shape and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cutting Pattern Pieces

Cut your pattern pieces out of a sturdy material, like heavy graph paper or a manila folder. Cut out and label the following pieces:

	Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut dough in half. Working with one half at a time,roll out the dough between two sheets of parchment or wax paper to the thickness of 1/4-1/8-inch. Try to keep the thickness as uniform as possible. This will allow the dough to bake evenly and help with the construction of the house. Lightly rub rolled out dough with gf flour. Lay as many pattern pieces on top that will fit and cut out the pieces. (Cut out the door and reserve.) Carefully transfer pieces to cookie sheets. Group larger pieces together to ensure even cooking. If desired, texture the roof, sides and front by lightly cutting shapes or using the tip of a fork. Bake the gingerbread pieces until the pieces are lightly browned and the edges begin to darken, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let cool on racks (leave the gingerbread on the cookie sheet during this time) until the pieces are cool and firm, about 15 minutes. Once cool, carefully transfer the cookies to racks to cool completely. (You can make the gingerbread pieces several days in advance to constructing your house.)

Making the Caramel "glue"

Ingredients:

• 4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Place sugar, water, and cream of tartar in a large pan (big enough to accommodate the width and length of your gingerbread pieces — you will be dipping your edges into this caramel). Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Place a warmed candy thermometer in the pan and cook, without stirring, until it reaches the light caramel stage, 320°F.

Working on a large wax paper or parchment sheet, start by putting the house front, sides and back together. Working quickly with the caramel, dip the end of one side piece in the caramel, gently press it onto the back piece. Hold for about 2 minutes. Repeat with other side piece.

After both side pieces are "glued" to the back, invert so the exposed ends of the side pieces are facing down. Carefully, dip them into the caramel. Place on the back of the front piece. Hold in place until set.

For the roof, with a warm spoon, carefully spoon the caramel onto the edges ofthe house top. Gently lay one side on the roof and hold in place for 1 minute. Repeat with remaining roof top. For the chimney, glue the four pieces together, then glue onto the house.

Decorating the House:

To decorate your house you will need icing and assorted candies. There are many gf candies available on the market that work wonderfully. We used, Lifesavers, Skittles, and Peppermint candies and Candy Canes. (As always, we advise you to check with manufacturers to make sure that they are indeed gluten-free.)

Icing:

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar, plus more for stiffening

3 egg whites

Combine powdered sugar and egg whites in a grease free bowl. Beat the whites on low speed. After 30 seconds, scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and gradually increase the speed to medium-high. Beat until the icing is glossy and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes. Add about 1 tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time and mix with a spatula until the icing is fairly stiff. Spoon into a pastry bag.

Use your imagination when decorating your house. You may want to pipe icing around the edges of the roof and chimney to give the appearance of snow. To apply the candy, just pipe a little amount of icing and stick the candy on.

We hope you and your family enjoy a wonderful holiday season!

- Glutenfreeda