Angel Sugar Cookies, Gluten-Free
(http://artofglutenfreebaking.com)
-adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From an Accidental Country Girl, Ree Drummond
-makes about 4 dozen 3 inch cookies
Special Equipment Needed
-a stand mixer is nice, but not necessary
Ingredients
4 cups plus 2 TBL (585g) Jeanne's Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 sticks (1 cup; 225g) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (235 ml) neutral oil--I use rice bran oil, but you can also use an oil like canola
1 cup (190g) granulated sugar, plus more for the tops of the cookies
1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, sifted
2 large or extra large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter, oil, and the 2 sugars. The mixture will be quite runny. Beat for about 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Beat to combine. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Beat for a minute more to combine all. Or you can mix it all by hand with a spoon.
Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Cover your bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The dough is quite soft and you need to firm it up enough to work with.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Put some granulated sugar in a shallow bowl. Cover the bottom of a drinking glass with butter and then dip it into granulated sugar. The sugar should now coat the entire bottom of your glass.
With your hands, grab blobs of dough that are a bit smaller than a golf ball and form them into balls--place each on an ungreased baking sheet. Place the unused dough back into the refrigerator--it is very soft and only gets softer at room temperature. Now press down on each ball with your sugar and butter covered glass--this will flatten each cookie and place a topping of sugar on each. Dip your glass bottom into the granulated sugar before flattening each cookie. There should be about 2 inches between each cookie on the sheet because they will spread as they bake.
Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. You want the edges to be just barely brown--but not too brown. Cool on sheets for about 1 minute or two and then remove to racks to cool completely.
These cookies are truly lighter than air and are fragile. They are the perfect treat for anytime you want a little something sweet. I also like them with my cup of tea in the afternoon. They are quite addicting--it is hard to stop eating them once you start!
Enjoy!
Note: If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.