Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies

These cookies were created for two reasons. First: they are the 12^th post for my holiday “12 Days of Cookies” on my Facebook recipe page (I saved the best ‘til last!)  Second: they are one of my husband’s favourite kinds of cookies, and I thought it would be a nice Christmas gift for him! 

I sweetened them with pure dark Maple syrup, and the flavour, while not quite traditional, is divine!

As for making them grain free, as is more the norm for my baking, that was a struggle. I couldn’t seem to strike the right combo of ingredients. But, when I added in the rice flour (which is still a traditional shortbread ingredient) the whole cookie came together beautifully. Chill the dough thoroughly to make rolling out a breeze!

They do make a very tender cookie, so take care when handling the finished product, as I had a few that broke when I was plating them for a gathering.Let them cool completely before attempting to move them at all...unless you are taste testing of course!!

Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies

1 cup Butter, room temp

½ cup Maple syrup

1 ½ cups Arrowroot flour (plus a bit more for rolling out the dough

1 c white rice flour

Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350F

Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until nice and creamy. 

Add the maple syrup and mix until well blended.

Turn mixer off, add flours and salt, turn mixer on low (to avoid a large cloud of dust!!) and mix until it all comes together into a nice dough. 

Do not over-mix!

Shape dough quickly into a disk and refrigerate for 

at least 30 minutes or until firm.

On a lightly  arrowroot or rice floured board or piece of waxed paper, roll out dough into a ¼ inch flat disc. Cut into desired shapes, re-rolling scraps(and chilling if needed) until all is used up.  

Carefully place on parchment lined cookie sheet, prick with fork 

if desired for a more traditional look.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-13 minutes or until they just slightly start to turn brown at the edges.

(You don’t want much colour at all!!)

Carefully remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container on the counter for a few days, or in the freezer for longer storage.

Grain Free Maple Pecan Cookies

These little beauties are made start to finish in a food processor. If you don’t have access to one, you could use your blender to process your pecans, just pulse until they are fairly uniformly ground. (If you go too far they will become pecan butter!)They keep well at room temperature for a few days, and freeze wonderfully too. 

Grain Free Maple Pecan Cookies

1 cup pecans

¼ cup butter, slightly softened

½ cup arrowroot flour

3 Tbsp coconut flour

2 Tbsp maple syrup

2-3 Tbsp coconut sugar (use 3 for a slightly sweeter version)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

In the bowl of a food processor measure your pecans and pulse until they are fairly fine crumbs. You still want them dry, if you process too much you will make pecan butter!

Measure in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until it all comes together into a sticky dough.

Scrape out of food processor onto a plate or bowl, and chill for 30 min plus to firm up the dough.

Preheat oven to 350F

Roll chilled dough into balls and palace on parchment covered cookie sheet. Press a pecan into the top of the ball and bake in preheated oven for 10 -12 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Keep leftovers in airtight container for a few days, or freeze for later use. 

Grain Free Maple Bacon Cookies with Thyme

These grain free lovelies are a palate pleasing combination of sweet and savory. The bacon marries the maple syrup and thyme into a wonderfully different cookie, in a very good way. Use dried thyme if you must, but try to find fresh if you can!  If you don’t have bacon fat, you can sub in a good quality lard, coconut oil or butter, but the bacon fat contributes to the uniqueness of the cookie!

Grain Free Maple Bacon Cookies with Thyme

1 cup almond flour

½ cup arrowroot flour

1 Tbsp coconut flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Pinch of salt

¼ cup dark (grade b or c) maple syrup

¼ cup cooled bacon fat

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, woody stem and big peices removed, (sub ½ tsp dried thyme)

¼ cup + 2 Tbsp diced precooked bacon, separated.

Preheat oven to 350F

Whisk dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Add bacon fat and maple syrup,
 and mix with wooden spoon until well combined.

Fresh thyme has a bigger flavour profile than dried, try and find it if you can!
Luckily I still have some in the garden :)

 Add the fresh thyme and the  ¼ cup diced bacon and mix in well. Dough should be slightly sticky.

Using 2 spoons place approx 1 tbsp cookie dough on pan,

Top with a smidgen of the leftover bacon, pressing down slightly into the top of the dough to secure. 

Bake in preheated oven for 12-13 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
Remove to a wire rack to cool. 

Store any leftovers in the fridge for a few days or freezer for a few months,
if you can keep them that long!

Makes approx 16-18 cookies.

I keep bacon drippings in an empty jam or mason jar
in the fridge until I have enough to use

Grain Free Baguette

This recipe has been a work in progress since the end of September. We were taking a much needed break in the Fingerlakes with our wonderful friends. We planned a 4 day escape and rented a lakeside cottage over one of the most beautiful fall weekends you could ask for.  We hiked Watkins Glen, and had some absolutely delicious meals! (in a cottage with hodge podge of kitchen implements, it was a bit of a challenge to cook!) But, we succeeded in creating some memorable meals, and enjoyed some very much needed time away.

Our view from the deck

Watkins Glen has to be one of the
most beautiful places I have been!

renamed this one "flatbread"

Anyhoo, the whole grain free baguette quest started with a trip to Wegmans (Have you been to Wegmans?? What an amazing grocery experience!! We need Wegmans in Canada!!)We picked up a frozen Against The Grain baguette to go with dinner one night. It was pretty darn tasty, and you would honestly never know it was grain free. Which, of course, made me want to make it myself. Easy peasy…or so I thought….(those of you who follow my Facebook page may remember some of these...)

Dense! But the right shape!!

This one went straight in the trash :(

Well, multiple tries and multiple fails later, I FINALLY came up with a winner! Taste, texture and look, it has it all. It has a great shelf life for grain free as well.  It keeps well for 4 days on the counter in an airtight container, and freezes like a dream. I have toasted it as crostini, used it as a bruschetta base, and have enjoyed multiple slices with a simple skim of butter. It does not disappoint!

In all my trials I have used multiple different types of cheese, and I find ones with less moisture content work best, like a grana padano (my fav) or parmesan. That being said, I have used cheddar, asiago and mozzarella as well with good results.

My favorite cooking method is on my pizza stone in the oven, and while it gives the crust a bit more crunch, it is not absolutely necessary if you do not have one. I have used a sheet pan as well, and it works just fine.

The dark interior colour comes from the chia. I have a very large bag of black chia seeds right now, and all my experimenting has been with them. Using white chia would lighten up the inside of the bread although it won’t alter the taste at all. Give the seeds a quick whiz in a blender before using!

Grain Free Baguettes

1 c whole milk

½ cup avocado oil

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finely grated Grana Padano

3 c tapioca starch

½ c ground chia seeds(whiz in a blender jar!)

1-1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

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2 eggs

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

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100g  cheese, grated with small side of grater (just shy of 1 1/2 cups, NOT packed!)

Heat milk and avocado oil on medium low heat until bubbles start to form all around the edges of the pan, approx 6 min. You want it very warm but not really boiling. 

While milk is heating, in your stand mixer with paddle attachment, mix the tapioca starch, chia, baking soda and salt on low until combined.

Add the hot milk and turn up a notch on your mixer. Let mix until the mixture becomes a fairly smooth dough. Continue mixing until the dough becomes cooler to the touch.

When the dough is cooler, add the vinegar, and the eggs, one at a time, letting them combine somewhat in between. 

Mix until the eggs are well mixed in and your dough smoothes out again. It will take a bit to mix in, but trust me, it will!!

Add the grated cheese and mix well. Turn mixer off, scrape down sides of bowl with firm spatula and mix again for 1 minute to ensure all ingredients are well combined. 

Preheat oven to 425 with rack in the middle position. If you have a pizza stone, put in oven on the middle rack before preheating.

Divide dough in half evenly and with WET hands shape into two long thin baguettes on a piece of parchment paper.  Rewet hands as needed, the dough is sticky and wet hands help greatly with the shaping of your loaves!

With a wet serrated knife, slash shallow cuts diagonally across the tops of your loaves, re-wetting knife blade if it starts to stick.

Using a pizza peel (or the back of a cookie sheet) slide your loaves (still on parchment) onto hot stone in preheated oven. (alternatively, if you have no pizza stone, place the loaves (still on parchment)  on a large sheet pan and place in preheated oven)

Bake for 25 minutes or until baguettes are nicely risen and browning. Do not under bake as it changes the inner texture of your loaf.

Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks before slicing. Store in airtight container for up to 4 days at room temp. Freezes really well.