Valentine’s Day Cookies
Gluten-Free Valentine's Day Cookies
I used to love making cookies with my mom and brother for Christmas. We would make a big batch of dough and roll it out. We used all different shaped cookie cutters to create our cookies. We had the state of Texas shape. We had the classic snowman and gingerbread man. We used a biscuit cutter for an ornament, etc.
I used to do this holiday tradition with my children, but stopped a few years ago when wheat became an issue for us. It is something that I have missed doing with my children. Making holiday cookies is something that we can all do together, even the almost two-year old. Well, I decided that there must be a good gluten-free recipe for rolling out cookies and I went on a search.
Isaac decorating his cookies meticulously.
As usual I found several recipes that looked good enough to try. My favorite one was from Karen Joy, who is also a homeschooling mom of five. I did not have everything in her ingredient list so I had to make some modifications. Check out her blog, Only Sometimes Clever, for her original recipe.
We had loads of fun making these great cookies. Kyla and Jake could cut out and decorate without any help. Isaac did well. He was really excited about decorating his cookies. I think he took the longest time as he patiently placed the icing and sprinkles on each and every cookie he was given to decorate. It was a pleasure watching him.
Andrew did great cutting out the cookies. He does not quite grasp the concept of icing the cookies. He tried with Kyla’s guidance and managed to get two cookies done before he bit into one. At that point, I told him to enjoy his snack and took over his cookies.
I am amazed at how good the cookies taste. There texture is wonderful. I was able to easily roll out the dough and cut them with the cookie cutters. This recipe is a great one! Nobody would guess that these yummy treats were gluten-free.
Gluten-Free Holiday Cookies
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
1 oz. vanilla extract
2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/2 cups sweet rice flour
1 cup potato starch
1 Tbsp xantham gum
1 1/2 Tbsp baking powder
Cream together the first five ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the ingredients. Slowly add the flour mixture to your wet ingredients. Combine the ingredients; then add more until all the ingredients are together in one bowl. Since I use a stand mixer, I let the machine “knead” the dough. If you are doing it by hand, then you will need to knead the dough until it is smooth.
Divide up the dough into three parts. Wrap up each division separately with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. Roll out the dough and cut with heart-shaped cutters. Bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes. You are looking for the edges to turn golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on rack. Decorate with icing and/or sprinkles.
This recipe made four dozen cookies.
Icing
1 stick butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp goat milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
food coloring (I used purple and pink.)
Cream the butter. Then add the sugar. Stir. Now add the milk and vanilla. As you continue stirring, it will become the consistency of icing. Split into different bowls if using different colors. Add the food coloring and stir until well combined. Do NOT stack the cookies because the icing never hardens. Store cookies.
Enjoy this recipe. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day! May you all be surrounded by people you love.
This is looking very tasty! yammy cakes! its seems good!
I just read your article in Countryside magazine and came over to see your website…what a treasure!! We are striving for more simplicity and self-sufficiency on an acre in Oklahoma, though we lived in College Station for a little over a year when DH was doing his post-doc at A&M. Anywho…I am really looking forward to reading more from your site and trying out some of your ideas & recipes!! So glad to have found you! (It was a great article, BTW!)
Thank you so much for stopping by my site. I appreciate your comment. Two families making it on just one acre has to prove that it can work.
I have to make these! What a treat for a friend who has celiac’s!
OK, I made these and they are SO good! You’re right–they’re just like regular sugar cookies. This recipe is a keeper! I melted choco chips and added a bit of butter then made little chocolate sandwich cookies. Thanks for passing along this super recipe! With God’s help and your recipe my first venture into baking gluten-free cookies was a real success!
Hello, I was wondering if the goat milk makes the icing drastically taste different one way or another? The icing looks amazing I just don’t really dig goat milk icing on Valentines cookies.
Christina,
I don’t notice any difference in the taste of the icing from my childhood with cow milk to this icing with goat milk. It is such a small amount of milk in the icing in the first place that I would not expect it to alter the taste. Goat milk can taste different than cow. I have had some before that tasted “goatty.” Usually the milk is not being handled properly, the goat ate something with a strong taste, and/or a buck was with the does. If you use “goatty” milk, the icing might pick up that flavor and it would be undesirable.
Lara
Thanks Lara! I appreciate your input.