Gluten Free Stained Glass Cookies

Gluten Free Stained Glass Cookies

Ingredients

• 1.5 sticks dairy free margarine, or butter , 175g
• 1 cup sugar , 200g
• 2 large eggs
• 3.5 cups all purpose gluten free flour blend , 450g
• 1 tsp xanthan gum , omit if included in your flour blend
• 1 tsp gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1 lb bag of hard clear candies , like Jolly Ranchers

Instructions

1. READ NOTES FIRST
2. You will need two cookies cutters of the same shape, with one smaller than the other for the cut out centers.
3. Preheat your oven to 350F
4. Separate the hard candies into their various colors and put each color in a small ziplock bag.
5. Using a rolling pin or something similar carefully smash the candies into small pieces.
6. Cream together margarine and sugar.
7. Add in eggs and vanilla and almond extracts and mix until combined, remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
8. Measure out the dry ingredients into another bowl and mix by hand to combine the gum and baking powder.
9. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar and egg mixture and mix well to combine.
10. If the cookie dough is too soft to roll out at this point, place it in a bag or in a covered bowl in the fridge to allow the margarine to harden enough so that you can roll it out later.
11. When the dough has hardened roll it out on parchment paper, I use cling wrap to cover the top of the dough as I roll it out so that it does not stick to the rolling pin, I don't use extra flour.
12. Transfer the cut out cookies to the lined baking sheet and then use a smaller cutter with the same shape to cut out the centers.
13. Fill the center of the cookies with approx 1/2 to 1 tsp crushed candy.
14. Bake cookies for 12 - 14 minutes at 350F on a parchment lined baking sheet.
15. Allow to cool on baking sheet, the cookies will firm up once cooled and the 'glass' center will harden.
16. The candy will be bubbling when it comes out of the oven, this is normal and it will spread out when it cools down and the bubbles should disappear.

Recipe Notes

1. I bake by weight as I find that gives the most consistent results, especially when baking gluten free. One cup of your gluten free flour blend may not weigh the same as my blend, all the commercially available blends have different mixes and ratios of flour in them. I’ve weighed cups of different blends of flour and noted that a cup of gluten free flour can vary in weight from 125g up to as much as 170g depending on how you scoop it, and what type of mix you use. You can see how this could drastically alter the outcome of a recipe.

I recognise that most Americans are used to the cup method which is why I also include those measurements,but they may not give you accurate results. If you are a keen gluten free baker I would encourage you to invest in a scale, you can get one for only $10 - $15.

2.I prefer to use my own homemade gluten free flour blend as it's cheaper and I get really great results.

3. If you can, avoid buying flour with gums already added. The reason for this is that you have no way of knowing how much gum is in there and that can alter the outcome of the recipe. So for example, too much gum can give you a more sticky texture in a cupcake. And though the cupcake recipe will still work, it won’t be as nice as if you measured and added the gum yourself.

Sources: https://letscooking22.blogspot.com/2018/11/100-best-christmas-treats.html