Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Oh, poor neglected blog! I have had 'blogger's block' for way too long. We discovered in November that my son has multiple food sensitivities/allergies. So we embarked on an elimination diet of sorts. Not a full elimination diet, mind you, but it was enough. Plenty to overwhelm me a bit. I mean cooking gluten and dairy free is one thing, but cooking without gluten, dairy, peanuts, eggs, corn and soy is quite different! Corn is the hardest, because it's in everything. And since it's not one of the top 8 allergens, it doesn't have to be on the label and it's hidden in a lot of ingredients. So that means absolutely no eating out and cooking everything from scratch. I normally cook from scratch anyway, but this seemed to go to a whole new level.

Anyway, my son is still on this diet and I am finally feeling confident with cooking again. Confident enough that I decided that a valentine's day treat was definitely in order. Baking is extremely hard, with no gluten or eggs to hold things together. It didn't matter with these cookies though...they came together just beautifully. The cookies were not crumbly, just chocolatey, not too sweet and GOOD. But the best part? They make the perfect cookies for ice cream sandwiches! YAY!!! :) :)




Chocolate Shortbread Cookies (I found this awesome recipe in Living Without)

1 cup butter or soy free earth balance spread
2/3 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp gf all purpose flour mix of your choice (I used the Analiese Roberts mix)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (or if you are avoiding corn, guar gum)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
• Using a mixer, beat together butter/butter substitute and sugar for around 5-7 minutes.
• Add vanilla and gently combine. Set aside
• In a medium bowl, mix together flour blend, xanthan gum (or guar gum), salt and cocoa powder.
• Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing on low speed until ingredients are combined. Don't over mix. Put dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• Dust cutting board with some of the flour mix. Place dough on board and roll out until about 1/2 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter and cut into desired shape. Space evenly on prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes or until they are golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet.
• Enjoy!
  

They are good plain, but even better as an ice cream sandwich. Yum! :)

If you're looking for more great gluten free recipes, check out Gluten Free Wednesdays over at the Gluten Free Homemaker.