Gluten-free baking can be easy and tasty
Gluten-free diets are a necessity for people who have Celiac’s Disease, a condition that causes an immune reaction in the small intestine from eating gluten.
This reaction causes damage to the small intestines that can lead to pain and other symptoms. Going gluten-free also is a choice for people who experience other reactions to eating gluten products that are not related to Celiac’s, or have been instructed to do so on the advice of their nutritionists or doctors.
It used to be that gluten-free cooking, especially baking, was extremely limited and the results may have not tasted much like gluten-containing counterparts.
However, thanks to recipe experimentation and new flour blends on the market, baking gluten-free breakfast items, breads and desserts is much easier and tastier — as is the case with “Glutenfree Buttery Snickerdoodles,” courtesy of King Arthur Baking Company.
These flavor-packed cinnamon cookies are sure to wow friends and family at gatherings, like spring picnics or Memorial Day Celebrations, even if they don’t need to follow gluten-free living.
Gluten-free Buttery Snickerdoodles Yields 31⁄2 dozen 21⁄2-inch cookies
Dough
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature*
3⁄4 cup sugar
1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⁄2 teaspoon salt*
1 teaspoon baking powder
11⁄3 cups Gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour
*If you use salted butter, decrease the salt to 1⁄4 teaspoon
Coating
2 tablespoons sugar
1 to 11⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon, to taste
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
To make the cookies: Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, beating until smooth. Beat in the vanilla, salt, and baking powder. Add the flour, mixing until totally incorporated.
To make the coating: Shake together the sugar and cinnamon in a mediumsized zip-top plastic bag.
Drop small (1-inch diameter) balls of dough into the bag; a teaspoon cookie scoop works well here. Roll/toss the cookies in the cinnamon-sugar until they’re completely coated.
Space the cookies at least 11⁄2 apart on the prepared baking sheets. Use a flatbottom glass to flatten them to about 3⁄8 thick; they’ll be about 11⁄2 in diameter.
Bake the cookies for 8 minutes
(for soft cookies) to 10 minutes (for crunchier cookies). Remove them from the oven, and cool them on the pan until they’re firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Store any leftover cookies, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Tip: If you prefer chewier cookies, chill
the dough before making into cookies and do not press the snickerdoodles as thin.