The Best Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

I’m not one to toot my own horn, but I’m a little famous for these sugar cookies. They are truly perfect, and the texture is so good you would never even know that these are gluten free. Buttery and sweet, but not too sweet. Crisp on the edges. Melt in your mouth. The perfect accompaniment to a latte or cappuccino, and hold up well to dipping in a drink. A total crowd pleaser and everything you want in a sugar cookie! My family looks forward to these every year, and I hope you and yours will too.

This recipe makes about two cookie sheets worth of cookies

Cookies

1 cup softened butter

1 cup cane sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 tsps. baking powder

2 3/4 cups cassava flour - I use Otto’s organic (or regular flour if you don’t need these to be gluten free)

Toppings

Dark Chocolate - I like Chocolove bars, or Pascha dark chocolate chips

Box of candy canes - I like Yum Earth for clean, dye free ingredients

Recipe

Preheat oven to 400°. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add baking powder and mix again. Next slowly add in 2 cups of the cassava flour mixing all the while. You may not need all the cassava flour, I usually use a little over two cups, it depends on your flour grind. Add in the final 3/4 cup of flour a small amount at a time until the dough feels firm but still pliable, and stop adding flour before it becomes shaggy or piece-y . You don’t want too dry of a dough (a result of too much flour) here or it won’t hold well when you roll out and cut the cookies. The dough will be very stiff, do not chill it.

On a floured surface, roll dough approximately 3/8” thick. Cut with cookie cutters, and place cut cookies on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake at 400 on the middle rack of the oven for 6-7 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned. Allow to cool fully before removing from the cookie sheet.

While cookies cool, smash the candy canes and set aside (I do this with a mortar and pestle), and melt the chocolate in a double boiler. If you don’t have one, an inch or two of water in a saucepan with a glass bowl set on top will do - make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water though. Once chocolate is melted allow to cool a bit until slightly thickened. Add slightly cooled chocolate to a piping bag and snip the end. Drizzle over the cookies, and sprinkle immediately with the smashed candy canes. Let chocolate harden and then enjoy! These keep for about a week on the counter, if they manage to last that long in your house.