Help Me My Traditional X-mas Cookie Recipe!

[Denah]

Hello;

I am sure I am not the only one who has had this problem, but I have this Christmas white Velvet cookie recipe that needs 2 1/2 cups of regular flour and I need to know what to do. I would truly miss making this recipe as would my kids and my husband. What kind of flours do I use to replace the usual flour? I was diagnosed with celiac 4 weeks ago and I am new to this baking wheat free. Is there anyone that can help me? Thank you, Denah

[Guhlia]

I generally use Bette Hagman's rice flour blend... It seems to work well in almost everything. Of course, you'll want to experiment before the holidays so you don't have a big let down for x-mas.

3 parts white rice flour

2 parts tapioca starch

1 part potato starch

Add 1 teaspoon xantham gum per 1-1/2 cups flour blend

[GFBetsy]

Are the cookies supposed to be crisp and crunchy? Or are the supposed to be soft?

If they are supposed to be crispy, probably using a gluten-free mix plus some xanthan gum will be enough to make the adjustment. I usually use Bette Hagman's featherlight mix when modifying cookie recipes because there's less rice flour in it and so things are less "gritty" when baked. The featherlight mix recipe is:

1 c. rice flour

1 c. cornstarch

1 c. tapioca starch

1 Tbs. potato FLOUR (which is not the same as potato starch)

If the cookies are supposed to be softer, I suggest trying the following . . . it will take a little more experimenting, but is the best way I've found to make soft cookies. Take out 1/2 c. of the sugar that the recipe calls for and add 1 small package of instant pudding mix (I usually use vanilla) (Jello brand is owned by Kraft and doesn't contain gluten - or dairy, if that's important to you). Cream the dry pudding mix with the butter and sugars. Then follow the recipe as directed, adding gluten free flour and xanthan gum instead of regular flour.

You may have to make 2 or 3 batches to make sure that you've got the right combination of flour, etc. If the cookies spread out too much, add a little more flour the next time you make them. If they are too gritty or won't spread while baking, try decreasing the flour or xanthan gum a little.

Good luck!

[Nantzie]

I've had excellent luck using Annalise Robert's flour mix, which is similar to Bette Hagman's.

I've been able to use Annalise's mix as a direct 1:1 substitute in all the family christmas cookie recipes I've tried so far. The extra fine brown rice flour is made by Authentic Foods, in the gold metallic bag. You want potato starch, not potato flour, but one easily found brand of potato starch calls their potato starch "potato starch flour", which is fine.

For three cups mix -

2 cups brown rice flour (extra fine ground)

2/3 cup potato starch (not potato flour)

1/3 cup tapioca flour

For nine cups mix -

6 cups brown rice flour (extra finely ground)

2 cups potato starch (not potato flour)

1 cup tapioca flour

Then I use 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum for every cup of flour mix.

Nancy