Gluten Free Mama & Holiday Stained Glass Cookies

For our last post this week, you can check out our guest article over on Gluten Free Mama's blog!

From Rachel aka Gluten Free Mama:

Christmas is the time of sharing and our friends over at Glutenfreeda have been so kind to share with us one of their favorite Christmas Cookies, Holiday Stained Glass Cookies. I couldn't think of a better cookie to make the list for Day 4 of Mama's 25 Days of a Gluten Free Christmas.

Glutenfreeda.com is a great resource for those living gluten free with one of the largest gluten free recipe databases in the world. Glutenfreeda also manufactures some of my favorite gluten free products including, Gluten Free Instant Oatmeal, Real Cookies (authentic frozen cookie dough), Granola, Burritos and Gluten Free Ice Cream Sandwiches.

My friends Kelsey and Kristine over at Glutenfreeda have been beacon of support for Gluten Free Mama, specifically by helping us with resources to expand our products into grocery stores in the Northwest region. They are such a huge support for the gluten free community. Thanks Kelsey for sharing with us! For more information on Glutenfreeda go to http://www.glutenfreedafoods.com/ or http://www.glutenfreeda.com/

Holiday Stained Glass Cookies
Since 2004, this has been one of our most requested cookie recipes! What would Christmas be without cookies? Perhaps the tradition began with our childhood and the humble offering to Santa placed beside the fireplace the on Christmas Eve. Whatever the case, cookies and Christmas seem to go hand in hand. But what happens when you add the dynamic of the gluten-free diet? Great gluten-free cookies are often a challenge. Many times they come out either flat and misshapen or so dry that if you accidentally inhale as you take a bite you may choke! We’ve spent many years experimenting and developing some great cookies that don’t taste gluten-free. In fact they are truly delicious, even for those not on a gluten-free diet.

Ingredients
2-1/2 sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
3 cups Gluten Free Mama's Coconut Blend Flour
Gluten free apricot or seedless raspberry jam

Cookie cutters: one 2-inch round, bell-shaped or ornament-shaped cookie cutter, and 1-inch cookie cutters in different festive shapes (stars, trees, bells, etc.) for the "window".

Royal Icing, if desired

Directions
With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and salt until creamy. Beat in egg yolks, lemon zest and vanilla until well combined. On low speed, beat in gluten free flour, 1 cup at a time, until just combined.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces and flatten each into a smooth disk. Wrap separately in wax paper and refrigerate until firm, at least 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll out one disk at a time between two pieces of parchment paper to 1/8" thickness.

Using cookie cutters, cut dough into simple holiday shapes (bells or ornaments or disks) - make sure you have an even number of "frames"! Using the 1-inch mini-cutters, stamp out patterns in half of cookies to form the "windows".

With a metal spatula, transfer cookies to a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until pale golden.

Let cookies cool on parchment, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining disks. Spread a rounded teaspoon of jam on each of solid cookies and top each with a windowed cookie.

Decorate with Royal Icing if desired
Ingredients

4 cups confectioner's sugar (approx. 1lb), sifted
3 egg whites

Icing Directions
In a grease-free bowl combine 4 cups confectioners’ sugar and egg whites. Using clean beaters, beat on low speed. After 30 seconds, scrape down bowl with a rubber spatula and gradually increase speed to medium-high. Beat until icing is glossy and stiff peaks form when beaters are lifted, 5 to 7 minutes.

If icing is to be applied with a paint brush, stir in water, a few drops at a time, to achieve desired consistency. If icing is to be piped through a pastry bag fitted with a decorating tip, stiffen icing by stirring in more confectioners’ sugar.