Gluten free gingerbread men

  Over the years, I have made gingerbread cookies, doodling and dabbling with different recipes to come up with the best gluten-free gingerbread cookie.  This year I think I may have found it. I completed a recipe, adapted from the Joy of Baking and it came out beautifully. This cookie is actually more a bread than a cookie, a little less sweet but that works out nicely because once we begin to decorate them with royal icing and sprinkles, it would make them extremely sweet.  This is the perfect balance.  This year my husband and I made the dough together and our 12 year old daughter, Autumn rolled out the dough, cut out the gingerbread men, and decorated them.  Quite the talented little chef.

The gluten-free cookie flour recipe we use was given to us by our dear friend and gluten-free mentor, Amy Radbill. Amy teaches gluten- free cooking classes  at the Davis Food Co-op. The sorghum Featherlight flour mix is Amy's adaptation of Bette Hagman's Featherlight flour mix using sorghum flour instead of rice flour.  The sorghum flour has a nutty flavor, more protein and without the gritty texture of rice flour.  This gluten-free flour mix is so amazing because you can use it 1 for 1 with ANY wheat flour cookie recipes, with the addition of xanthan gum.  I mix up this flour mix and have it ready in the fresszer so that whenever my family has a hankering for cookies we can make them just as easily as we could with our former wheat cookies.

Gingerbread Cookies:


3 cups gluten-free cookie flour (recipe to follow)

1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup unsulphured molasses (We use Brer Rabbit)

*Note: To prevent the molasses from sticking to the measuring cup, first spray the cup with a non-stick vegetable spray (like Pam).

Royal Icing Using Egg Whites:

2 large egg whites

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3 cups confectioners
(powdered or icing) sugar, sifted


or

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:

4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup warm water

Food Coloring (I use Gel Pastes)

Amy’s Featherlight Sorghum flour Mix aka:  Gluten-free Cookie Flour Mix 


1 part sorghum flour

1 part tapioca flour

1 part cornstarch (arrowroot starch if allergic to corn)

1 tsp. potato flour (not starch) for each cup of flour not starch

Rule of thumb for gluten-free cookies is 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum per cup of cookie flour in ANY cookie recipe.

Gingerbread Cookies: In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.


In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until well combined. Gradually add the flour mixture beating until incorporated.

Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a floured cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch (2.54 cm) apart.

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minutes. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies depending on the size of cookie cutter used.

Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

Gluten-free chicken pot pie is another one of our family's ultimate comfort foods.  And if you do not feel like making your pie dough from scratch, you can always use an uncooked gluten-free pie shell from Whole Foods.  That is exactly what I did here.  I know what you are thinking, Whole Foods does not make a lattice pie shell, and you are completely right, they don't.  So what I did was take the extra pie shell since they come in pairs, and I rolled it out on a piece of parchment and gingerly sliced the lattice pieces.  It was not as easy as when I have cut wheat pie dough in my distant past, and it was far from perfect, yet it sure was pleasing to the eye; even better it tasted scrumptious! 

Whole Foods pie shells are pretty decent and they are excellent in a pinch.  I will use them often for Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, when I am thoroughly exhausted and I do not want to make one more thing from scratch.  They are light and not gritty, and do not have a funny after taste.  This is a quick and simple idea to get dinner on your table in under an hour.  But if you would like to make your pie shell from scratch see the recipe at the bottom.  Another idea would be to make the pie shells over the weekend and then freeeze them already rolled out and in the pan, completely rolled out flat with parchment paper in between, and in a zip lock and frozen, or just after all ingredients are combined and it is in the ball stage, and ready to be rolled out,  flatten it, and wrap .  Whichever way is more convenient for you. 

The aroma of freshly baked chicken pot pie will drive you wild.  I am not sure what it is about sauteeing onions, carrots and celery that just fills your home with that feeling of comfort and warmth.  Adding the fresh herbs tickles the senses, and the combination of chicken, vegetables, herbs and a light cream sauce is the perfect marriage.  Make sure to allow the chicken, vegetable, herb and cream sauce mixture to cool off before placing into the pie shell, or it will crack your pie bottom and make it next to impossible to cut the slices of pot pie. 

 

Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie  

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3/4 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Featherlight flour mix
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons chives, snipped
2  teaspoons fresh parsley, minced

salt to taste

freshly ground black pepper

1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the butter and vegetable oil.

Saute the onion and when it is translucent add in the chicken.  Saute chicken for 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned but not cooked through.

With slotted spoon, remove chicken to bowl. In the same pan over medium-high heat saute the carrots, celery for 5 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove vegetables to another bowl. Stir thawed peas into vegetables.

Prepare the sauce: In the same pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until the mixture is bubbling and smooth, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in stock, cream, and thyme. Return skillet to heat, bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minutes until sauce has thickened and is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Stir in reserved chicken and vegetables. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spoon cooled chicken and vegetable mixture into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate.

For top of pot pie take the second pie shell and on a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a circle 11-inches in diameter. Place pastry on top of chicken mixture. Trim pastry edge, fold overhang under and press gently all around baking dish to make a decorative edge. Reroll any trimmings and cut out to make a decorative design for top of pie. Brush pastry with beaten eggwash.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown, chicken and vegetables are tender and filling is heated through.

Yield: 6 servings





Fabulous Gluten-Free Pie Crust
This recipe is based on one of the recipes in the Chez Panisse cookbooks and converted to gluten-free by Amy Radbill.  Amy is a dear frined, my first introduction to gluten-free baking and she is currently teaching gluten-free baking classes at the Davis Food Co-op.

2 1/2 cups Featherlight Rice flour mix
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
3 sticks (24 tablespoons) very cold butter or Earth's Balance Buttery Sticks, or Spectrum Butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup ice cold water

Mix the flours and the xanthan gum together.  Cut the butter into the flour just until it all turns into a coarsecrumb.  Add the water 1/4 cup at a time, and combine just until you can gather the mixture roughly into a ball.  Flatten the ball, wrap it in plastic wrap or waxed paper, and refrigerate it for 30 minutes before using it.  Roll out on a lightly floured surface, using Featherlight flour mix.