Hubby’s favorite treat!

We made these the other day…they are so fun! They are a bit of a cross between biscuits and cookies, in that they are sort of fluffy and light in texture but hold their shape like a cookie. One of the best GF sugar cookie recipes I’ve attempted! They can be done GF, egg and dairy free. The dough is a little sticky, so you have to use a lot of tapioca flour in the rolling process…you sort of knead in the flour as you roll, which is (I think) what gives them that velvety-soft texture. Here’s the recipe:

Velvet Sugar Cookies (GF with dairy and egg free substitutes)

You Need:
1 cup shortening, or GF/Dariy free butter substitute
1 cup sugar
1 egg (or egg replacer for one egg)
8 ounces dairy free sour cream (or regular)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups rice flour
1 3/4 cups tapioca flour (plus more for rolling)
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
dash nutmeg

For Frosting:
Two sticks GF/Dariy free butter replacer (or real butter)
Two cups powdered sugar
Two tsp. vanilla
dash nutmeg

My kitchen assistant

You Do:
Cream together shorting (or substitute) and sugar. add egg (or replacer) and beat well. Add sour cream or replacer and beat until well combined. Combine flours, baking soda, salt and nutmeg, and beat into the creamed mixture until well combined. The batter will be sticky, add a little extra tapioca flour if it appears too sticky. Put in the fridge for at least an hour to chill.

Dust your work surface well with tapioca flour, and cover your rolling pin with it. I just left the container of flour out on the table, and kept adding more as I worked. Place a handful of the dough onto the floured surface, and dust the top with more flour. Knead the flour into the dough until it is workable, then roll it out to about 1/3 inch thickness. Cut out shapes (no bigger than 2 inches diameter, or they won’t hold together) and place on a cookie sheet, repeating until all the dough is cut.

Bake cookies at 350 degrees, for five minutes. Check at five minutes, if they are slightly brown on the edges they are probably done. If not, check every minute until they are ready…they don’t take long to bake. Allow to cool slightly and then remove to a plate.

The frosting: Cream the butter/butter substitute with the sugar, and add vanilla and nutmeg. Frost cookies when they are completely cool.

OR, you could melt some chocolate chips and coat one half of the cookie in chocolate, and allow to harden. They would made very good chocolate tea biscuits!

Enjoy!