Gluten Free Vegan Sugar Cookies

Christmas has come and gone. Time moves at a quick clip when you're an adult.  I could wander down a path of pondering the speed of time but I would lose the point of this post.

And that point is that our Christmas was wonderful.  How was yours?  I can only hope you had the same love filling up your wine glasses and stockings.  I spent the days leading up to Christmas baking sugar cookies (we will come back to these), picking out last minute gifts, and preparing a fancy Christmas Eve dinner.  The presents we gave ended up hitting all of the right notes; there were a smattering of thoughtfully handmade pieces from Etsy, a few items I had remembered my family members mentioning in passing, and framed photos of Melissa for our parents and my grandparents.

Oh, and the gifts given to us?  Wow.  Just wow.  You who gave gifts to us--you really love us.  Cooking ware, entertaining pieces, new clothes, camera accessories, gift cards, red lipstick (for me) and a brand new turn table (for Tim).  As I type this, I'm listening to Tom Waits' album The Heart of Saturday Night.  It's one of my favorites and it gives me a feeling that listening to an MP3 just can't deliver. 

Our tree may only last a few more days in the living room as I've started to tackle some of our holiday clutter.  Putting things back in their rightful place seems the only way to master untidy accumulations and so the tree may go back into its box sooner than later.  These Christmas cookies may be the last holiday item to go if I can make them last that long--and that is proving difficult.

I assumed I would be able to make some baked goods to meet my allergists' restrictions, but I didn't think it would be this simple.  I happened upon a sugar cookie recipe that had already been adapted gluten free, and I only needed to swap a few additional ingredients to make it dairy free and egg free.  I wasn't convinced it would work, but I loved making Christmas cookies last year and didn't want to go without. 

Obviously, it worked.  Texturally, these cookies were a little chewy with a nice light crumb.  I made two batches with different gluten free flour mixes, and I much preferred the King Arthur Gluten Free flour blend though I don't think someone would notice the difference without being able to compare them side by side.  Also, if kept in the refrigerator in a sealed container, these cookies can last up to a week, maybe two.  I highly recommend making them in advance as they were even better on the second day.  

Gluten Free, Vegan Sugar Cookies with Vegan Buttercream Frosting 
cookie recipe adapted from Inner Circle Chic
frosting recipe adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
makes about 36 cookies

If you are not vegan or do not have egg and dairy food intolerances/allergies, you can use the same amounts of butter and egg as a substitute.  You could also use Earth Balance's traditional soy-based spread instead of the soy-free spread.  You can make similar substitutions in the frosting recipe.  I cannot guarantee that the cookies will turn out exactly as well as mine did if you use a different gluten free flour blend as all flour blends are different. 

Ingredients for the Cookies
3/4 cup Earth Balance soy-free spread
1 cup sugar
2 Ener-G eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Flour Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp fine salt

In the bowl of a upright mixer, combine Earth Balance, sugar, egg-replacer, and extract.  Mix on medium speed until all ingredients are combined and the mixture is slightly fluffy.  There may be small lumps of Earth Balance.  If they are smaller than a pea, it's okay.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, gum, and salt.  Add dry mixture to wet mixtuer and mix on low speed until well incorporated.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.  If well covered, can be made a day in advance.

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Remove dough from refrigerator.  Take a handful of the dough about the size of a baseball and making into a ball.  Set the ball of dough on well-floured (with gluten free flour) surface.  Return unused dough to the refrigerator.  Roll out the dough so that it is between 1/4 inch and 1/8 inch thick.  If dough is crumbly when you are rolling it out, just let it rest for a few minutes and then try again. 

Cut dough into desired shapes using cookie cutters or biscuit cutters. (The amount of cookies this recipe makes will depend largely on the size of your cutters.)  Place cut-out shapes onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 6-8 minutes until cookies are done.  For a crisper cookie, bake an additional minute past when the cookies are cooked through.  After removing cookies from the oven, allow to sit for at least five minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to cool on a wire rack.

Repeat process until all dough is used.   Cool cookies completely before icing.  (Cookies can be frozen at this point although I personally did not test freezing and defrosting them.)

Ingredients for the Vegan Buttercream
1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening (soy-free)
1/2 cup Earth Balance soy-free spread
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 - 1/2 cup plain almond milk

Beat the shortening and Earth Balance together until fluffy.  Add the confectioners sugar and beat for 3 more minutes.  Add the vanilla and 1/4 cup almond milk and beat for another 5-7 minutes.  If icing seems too thick, add more almond milk.  Beware of the icing being too runny for piping onto cookies!  If you add too much liquid, you can always add a little more powdered sugar to balance it out.

The frosting will be very light and fluffy.  Chill the frosting for 1 hour before using.  In a medium bowl, add some icing and desired food coloring and mix.  Frosting will begin to slightly soften as you mix the color. Put frosting into a pastry bag or a zip-lock back with a snipped corner and decorating tip.  Pipe onto cookies and decorate as you desire.  Keep unused frosting in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.  Icing may seem soft but will firm up when refrigerated.  Keep iced cookies in a cool place. 

This frosting can also be used on cakes and cupcakes.

Monday Links: 2011 Holiday Gift Guides Round-Up

Instead of creating my own, I decided to to link out to some of the gift guides I've found around the web.  I'm nearly done with my holiday shopping--and I've done it almost exclusively online--but I need to pick out a few more items.  I hope you get some inspiration to shop for yourself or your loved ones.

Wine Me Dine Me Holiday's Gift List Part 1 and Part 2  (maybe more to come?)

The Proper Man: A Gentleman's Gift Guide (a Homefries blog)

The Kitchn's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide for Good Food Causes 

We Are Not Martha's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide for Food Lovers

Simple Bites 2011 Holiday Gift Guide: Top 10 Cookbook Picks  (sidenote: I really want Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five!)

The Homesick Texan Gift Guide 2011 (in honor of my Texas family--send me some of that Dr. Pepper, would you?)

A variety of Gift Guides from Serious Eats

Want more ideas?  Hit up the treasuries on Etsy for themed collections. (I particularly like this mustache-themed collection!)

Not a gift guide exactly, but you can order Gluten-Free Gift Baskets to send to loved ones from this new website, So Lucky

(tip-hover over the website names for active links to the sites)

Have you finished your shopping?  Are there any gift guides that I should add to my list?  Please tell me in the comments!

Meta-Photography

See that up there?  My early Christmas gift from Tim.  I couldn't figure out how to tell you about it without taking a picture of it, and then thought about the slight absurdity of photographing a camera (might I call it meta-photography?).  He purchased it from someone on Craigslist; it's practically unused and came with the original box.  I have had just one afternoon since he gave it to me (before our 5:30pm sunset) to snap a few pictures of the dogs playing in the backyard.  I am just getting the hang of it, and I suppose once I get started taking pictures I may never stop learning.

I like to imagine Tim and I traipsing around the globe with this camera hanging from our necks, snapping pictures of one another posing awkwardly in front of "The World's Largest (Blank)."  In fact, we are going to start doing that this weekend.

Well, there is no impromptu cross-country road trip planned, but Tim called me this afternoon to inform me that we have nothing planned this weekend.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Two whole days.  So we are going to spend Saturday morning visiting Findlay Market, slurping Pho for lunch, and then finding spots in the city to take pictures.  Think sunny thoughts for me, would you please?

I also plan on doing some experimental baking.  I've got this (crazy) idea to make a beloved family dessert fit my diet restrictions, and I may spend any other free time I have figuring it out.  One thing I have learned about cooking since I started avoiding certain foods is that there is no equal substitute for certain items.  If you swap out the regular flour for gluten-free flour, you will not necessarily get an equal result.  It does require changes in my expectations, but I'm hopeful that I can come up with something close enough.  It wouldn't be Thanksgiving if this dessert wasn't on the buffet table.

Speaking of baking...I'd like to propose a Virtual Cookie Swap on December 12.  No stress--just post a favorite holiday cookie recipe on your blog on Monday, December 12, and then come over here and comment on my blog with a link to your post.   Then I will do a cookie recipe round-up that will inspire bakers to get in the kitchen and into the holiday spirit!  I will post more information on the blog about this virtual event before then, and you can also look for the hashtag #cookieswap on Twitter!

Have a great weekend--and I hope to have some photos and recipes to share with you next week. 

Brussels Sprout Slaw...finally

I have a story to tell you, but I'm going to save it for when I have more than five minutes to write it out.  As a spoiler, the title is The Christmas Mouse.  Is your interest peaked?  Good, then I hope you come back in a few days to read it. 

Today I do have something exciting to tell you about, but there has been so much build up to it that I don't think it will take me very long to say it.

Brussels sprout slaw.

You may have been wondering why it took me a month to finally post it here, after many broken promises that it was coming soon.  Well, the truth is, I liked the original, but I didn't love it.  I felt like it needed something so each time I opened my blogger account to describe it, I just stared at a blank screen.  I write this little blog to tell you about the recipes and food that teach me to appreciate what I eat in new ways.

So I waited until I had the opportunity to make the slaw again and fix what I thought needed tweaking.  Before I give you my new, improved recipe, I did want to say that this was just to my taste and you should feel free to make this as the original recipe suggests. 

Brussels Sprout Slaw
adapted from food52
serves 2-3 as a side dish

The issues I had with the original were only small.  The biggest one was the even though the recipe suggest soaking the red onion to soften the bite, I still felt like the onion flavor was so intense that it overpowered the rest of the flavors.  As a result, I swapped the red onion for green onion.  I also thought that the slaw needed more sweetness to balance the sharp acidic flavors so I balanced the amount of honey and whole grain mustard.  And lastly, I just didn't feel like buying Pecorino just for this slaw, so I used Parmesan and thought it was perfect. 

For a more colorful salad, add some red cabbage or toasted nuts like almonds.  They would also add nice texture, and I would have thrown them in if I had them lying around.  This recipe would easily double or triple for a large group but I warn you that the slicing of the sprouts is tedious even if you use a mandoline!

Ingredients for the slaw
1.5 cups thinly sliced Brussels sprouts (about 10 sprouts)
2 or 3 green onions, sliced and using both the white and light green
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Ingredients for the dressing
zest of 1/2 a lemon
juice of half a lemon
1 tsp honey
1 tsp whole grain mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

In a medium bowl combine the Brussels sprouts, green onions, and Parmesan cheese.  In a separate small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, mustard, and olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the dressing to the slaw and toss.  Chill for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

Will store covered for 8 to 10 hours in the refrigerator. 

2010 Foodie Holiday Gift Guide

I have a friend who has already completed her holiday shopping.  She posted on facebook that she was going to spend the rest of the holiday season sipping wine by her decorated tree while the rest of us frantically shop until the last moment.  The image of me with my hair in a tousled side-bun in my sweatpants on Christmas Even waiting in endless lines at the mall is frightening so I decided I don't want you, my dear readers, to be in that predicament either.

In the spirit of giving, I'd like to offer you a list of 10 gifts you can consider giving to your dearest Foodie Friend/Family Member/Spouse/Boss/Secret Santa.


OGFL 2010 Foodie Holiday Gift Guide

1.  For the Hostess with the Mostess

If you know he or she loves to entertain, then gift them a set of holiday place card holders in a neutral color to go with any kitchen or dining room.  It will add an elegant touch to any dinner party. 

2.  For the Newlywed's First Holiday

Monogrammed towels are so last year.  Any couple would enjoy this set of  monogrammed black leather coasters, and these are just masculine enough that a guy would like them as much as a gal.

3.  For the Tree-Hugging, Animal Loving, Picky Eater

It ain't easy being vegan, so buy them this cookbook to make it easier.  If you flip through the book before you wrap it up, you might even whip up a few meals of the veggie persuasion yourself. 

4.  For the Family Pet (Who Eats Well, Too)

I admit that Tim and I treat our dogs like they are our babies, but that is because they bring me so much happiness.  I think any animal lover would howl with glee if they received a canister for their dog treats that matches the current trend of stainless steel appliances and accessories in the kitchen.  

5.  For Someone Who Appreciates a Nice Presentation

If the receiver is a terrible baker, these won't help.  (Sorry!)  But if he or she generally has more hits than misses, I think a beautiful plate might make a great dessert taste even better.  And if they love having uniquely mismatched dishes, then you will score even more points. 

6.  For the Hunter and Gatherer

This person likes everything else from scratch so why not make their own hard cider or beer?  Tim's friends are all enthusiastic home brewers and have gatherings specifically to sample what the others have been brewing lately.  While we have not started this tradition at our house (yet), I think that this is a great gift for someone who is interested in a simple introduction to zymology. 

7.  For the Bookworm Who Also Cooks

If he or she has already read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, then definitely pick up The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz.   After they devour this book in a few days, invite yourself over for dinner and dessert. 

8.  For Someone Who Doesn't Take Things Too Seriously

A bottle of wine is a nice gift, but if you added this sock monkey wine sleeve, I think the wine would be even more appreciated (and so would your sense of humor). 

9.  For Someone Still Mourning the Loss of Gourmet Magazine

Even if he or she doesn't sleep with an old copy of Gourmet on their nightstand, any fan of the magazine would love to receive The Gourmet Cookie Book.  I've already read a review of the recipes and I think you can trust Gourmet. 

10.  For the World Traveler (or World Eater)

If you know the receiver is an adventurous diner, a thoughtful assortment of spices will can be a fantastic gift.  If you aren't lucky enough to have a gourmet herbs and spice shop near you where you can get an expert's advice, then try ordering a gift box of regional spices.  Are they a glutton for spicy punishment?  Give them an assortment of fiery spices.  Do they love Indian food?  An assortment of curry powders will do the trick.  Unsure what kind of spices they would like?  A gift box of assorted sea salts would be a safe choice.

I hope that my gift guide will inspire you to thoughtfully consider what your Friend/Family Member/Spouse/Boss/Secret Santa might like to receive. 

Now, it's your turn.  Have any great ideas for a foodie gift this holiday?  Please share your ideas! Did you make your own list?  Link to the list in the comments! 

Lastly, I know you may be waiting on my Thanksgiving re-cap (or maybe you've forgotten already that you begged me for the results of my Brussels sprout slaw) and I assure that it is forthcoming.  I've just hit a bit of a technology snag--as in, our computer where I upload and edit my photos is in the repair shop and so I'm without any evidence of how wonderful everything went.  I promise that as soon as it comes back I will share my successes--and there were oh so many. 

Happy Holidays to you and yours!