Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

I've been meaning to try out some more recipes with gluten-free flour, and the other night when I decided to make some gluten-free waffles for brenner (breakfast/dinner), I went ahead and made a batch of gluten-free snickerdoodles too.  What the heck, right?
Although I was disappointed that these did not turn out fluffy and thick, the way I enjoy snickerdoodles, I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious these were.  They are thin, crisp, chewy snickerdoodles.  There is no flavor difference from snickerdoodles made with regular wheat flour, although there is a slight grainy crunch to them, though, but it's barely detectable. 
If you're new to the whole gluten-free baking thing, I think you might like to start with the Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour because it's worked great in two of my favorite recipes, AND the package is only 22 ounces, as opposed to the 4 pound bag of another brand I have aging in my cupboard. I'm a relatively non-committal person, so the 22 ounces is a perfect size (and price) for me.  Most grocery stores in the Des Moines 
area carry the Bob's Red Mill line of products, so for me they're easily accessible too.

P.S. These cookies are so good that my cookie snob husband gobbled up all of the ones I didn't give to my gluten-intolerant friends.  That's saying something.  Go ahead.  Give them a try.

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

Adapted from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening

• 3/4 cup softened butter
• 1 ½ cups white sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
extract
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½  teaspoon salt

• 2 ¾ cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum powder
• ½ cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

Beat together the shortening and sugar till smooth, then add the eggs, again beating till smooth. Beat in the vanilla, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt, then add the gluten-free flour & xanthan gum, mixing slowly till combined. (Don’t overbeat.  And for the record, be sure to NEVER overbeat cookie dough.) Cover and refrigerate at least two hours.*

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Once dough is chilled, roll tablespoon-sized balls in the cinnamon-sugar mixture in a shallow pan or bowl. You can coat 3-5 balls at a time.  Gently shake the pan/bowl to coat the dough balls with sugar. Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1 ½" between them.

Bake the cookies at 400°F for 10 to 11 minutes, or until puffed and browned around the edges. Remove the cookies from the oven, cool on the pan for about 3-5 minutes, and then cool them on a rack.

*At this point I also like to form the balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.  I freeze them on the pan, and once frozen, I transfer the frozen dough balls to a zip-top bag.  I roll the frozen dough balls in sugar before baking the same way I bake them after being chilled.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies (I think)

Not the most attractive, but the taste is worth the effort.

These were baked after the dough had been refrigerated for a week.