Sugar Cookie Cut Outs GF, Egg Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free

My first attempt at cut outs was at 21 when I was planning a trip to see my boyfriend (now husband) over the February Break.  I was working in an elementary school as a long term substitute speech-language pathologist for a maternity leave and looking forward to seeing him after a month long break.  I bought heart shaped cookie cutters in three sizes and set to work mixing up the dough, chilling the dough, and then scrounging around in a box of mom's old cast offs for the ancient rolling pin she had brought me.

My first try at the cookies was a sticky mess.  I had a hard time rolling out the dough- too thin, too thick, but I was in love with the cookies.  The flavor was just what I was looking for, even if some of the hearts were lopsided or even broken.  That was what frosting was for!

Unfortunately I was using frosting from a can and it was not fixing things as much as making a huge mess.  I vowed then to never frost cookies with canned frosting again.  Still, the cookies were a hit-devoured by both him and all of our friends at college that I had left behind when I graduated a semester early.

Those cookies came back around the following February when we helped a friend move to Wisconsin.  They fueled the long drive out in her beat up car pulling a uhaul trailer and the even longer train ride back when our train was over 10 hours late pulling into Buffalo.  We were grateful for the cookies sitting on the tracks in the middle of February with no power to our train car because the front of the train had become detached from the back! What an adventure! At that point a tradition of Valentine's cookies was born.

These cookies continued to arrive for Valentine's Day almost every year. Once the kids came along I started making them at Christmas too.  Everyone enjoyed the cookies both before and after they were frosted.  They would bake up crisp and buttery with just a hint of vanilla. 

Later my grandmother passed all of her cookie cutters on to me 'to bake with the girls'.  We took them home and gently spread the 2 gallon pail of them out on the table.  Suddenly the possibilities were endless.  Sugar cookies for Christmas, Valentines, Easter, Halloween, and everything in between.  There were card shapes for game nights and tiny shapes for filled cookies.  We made sugar cookie flowers on sticks for birthday treats and sugar cookies went to the Halloween Bake Sale at school.

After going gluten free, egg free, and corn free I adapted the recipe. The kids were still making 'gluteny' ones, but I couldn't stand missing out.  These still have that great taste.  If you can have dairy, make it with butter and you won't be sorry.  If you are dairy free, I can tell you these will not disappoint with either dairy free butter or a palm shortening.  I used the Nutiva blended red palm and coconut oil shortening this year and the family couldn't even tell the difference between these and the 'real ones' once they were frosted.

Here's the recipe...

 Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Gluten Free

Corn Free

Allergen Free for: Egg, Soy, Nut, Peanut, Wheat, Shellfish, Fish, Dairy

Ingredients:

1 cup palm shortening 

(can substitute dairy free butter or blend of shortening and coconut oil)

1 cup sugar

1 flax egg (1 TBSP ground flax + 3 TBSP water) or a real egg if you can

2 tsp. vanilla

140 grams white rice flour

70 grams arrowroot starch

140 grams brown rice flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 tsp salt

Directions:

blend dry ingredients in small bowl

in large bowl, with mixer:

blend shortening and sugar

add flax egg and vanilla; beat until fluffy

blend in dry ingredients

form a ball with dough

chill for 1-2 hours

If you chill these longer...and at some point you will because life happens and you need to live...

If you use butter these will roll out easily.  If you use palm shortening or palm shortening with coconut oil they may be very hard and seem dry when you first take them out of the fridge.  You will need to allow them to warm up a bit, and possibly knead the dough incorporating all the 'dry' little bits.  You may also be tempted to add more moisture-please don't!  When they get to just the right temperature they will be plenty moist and roll easily.  Too warm and the dough will even be wet and sticky.

roll out dough to 1/8 inch

cut out cookies

bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Frost with:

Thin Cookie Icing

2 cups corn free confectionery sugar

2-3 TBSP water or non-dairy milk

1 tsp vanilla