Since going gluten free, it's been a bit trickier. Christmas cookies are now off-limits, unless they're made by dear friends or family who love me and know of my dietary needs (or purchased from Trader Joe's...). I have to hunt down the box where the candy canes came from to read the ingredients before I can use one to stir my cocoa. Staples like stuffing become quite a bit trickier.
Yet I am blessed to have an incredible family who goes far beyond the extra mile to make sure I can eat. Now that my mom is a gf-er as well, I'm in good company.
As one of only two people in a family Christmas celebration of two sisters, two parents, one brother-in-law, one husband, two grandparents, and two little nieces, only one of whom is gluten free, I wanted to make sure those who eat gluten still had a good Christmas, despite the fact that neither mom nor I was willing to touch a bag of wheat flour with a ten foot pole.
So I baked (gluten free, of course!). Some recipes were experiments, some were tried and true, but almost all of them were huge hits. It brought me such tremendous joy to see my nieces, sisters, brother-in-law, husband, and father reaching for second and third cookies and smiling. "These are gluten free?" some of them asked, incredulously. "They're really good!"
For the next few days I'm going to cover several recipes for Christmas success, beginning with my, my husband, and my dad's favorite: iced sugar cookies.
Awesome and Delicious Iced Almond Sugar Cookies
3/4 c. butter
1 1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 t. almond extract
2 3/4 c. Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix
1. Cream together butter and sugar until well blended.
2. Add in eggs, one at a time.
3. Add almond extract.
4. Slowly add in Pamela's mix.
5. Roll into spoonful-sized balls and flatten until thin on greased cookie sheet (or cookie sheet covered in parchment paper).
6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until edges are slightly brown. Cool completely before frosting with...
Awesome and Ridiculously Simple Frosting
2 c. powdered sugar
2-3 T. milk
Pour sugar into a bowl. Slowly add milk until a frosting-like consistency is achieved. Ice your cookies. Add (gluten free!) sprinkles or colored sugar if you can. Try not to eat them all in the first five minutes. Yum.
Yummy! I had the same experience over Christmas. I was in charge of bringing rolls. My sweet friend who invited us said that she'd buy some "normal" rolls just in case everyone didn't want gluten-free. I finally convinced her that no one would know. Guess what. The amazing rolls were all that everyone could talk about! Yay gf successes!
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