Cut Out Sugar Cookies

[Dee]

1/4 cup shortening (Spectrum)
1/4 cup butter ( Earth Balance DF/SF
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg or egg substitute (or Ener-G Egg Replacer)
1/4 cup non dairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups GF flour blend
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream shortening and sugar until very fluffy.
Add egg (or egg replacer), vanilla extract, milk and beat.
Add the dry ingredients last, mixing until evenly blended.
Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate until cold and no longer sticky, at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375º.
Lightly flour the rolling surface, rolling pin and cookie cutters with GF flour.
Roll the dough to approximately 1/8-inch thickness and cut shapes, re-rolling dough, to use all the dough.
Place cut-out cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and decorate with colored sugar or sprinkles.
Bake approximately 8–10 minutes, but remove before they begin to brown at the edges.

[christinakay]

Do you really use 14 tsp of xanthan gum? These are my favorite cookies and was surprised to find a recipe for them. I am new to G/F baking.

Christina

[Dee]

Hi Christina,
Nope! 1/4 teaspoon.
Thanks for catching that!! :-)

[gluten]

Hi Dee, Is there a substitute for the 1 cup of refined sugar? Refined sugar is one of the worst sweetners that can be used. The other is high fructose corn syrup. Jon

[Dee]

Refined Sugar Subs
Use 3/4 cup of agave nectar for every cup of sugar the recipe calls for. For each cup of sugar used in a recipe, reduce the amount of honey needed by 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar. To decrease the acidity in honey, use ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Since baked goods brown quicker when honey is used, reduce the heat required by twenty-five degrees. One teaspoon of powdered or liquid stevia will stand in for a whole cup of sugar. A ¼ teaspoon of stevia can replace a teaspoon of sugar-substitute 6 to 9 drops of liquid stevia for the same amount of sugar. The xylitol to sugar ratio is pretty simple - 1:1, the same rate applies to applesauce.