Lemon Shortbread Slices — gluten-free fabulousness
OMG! Lemon Shortbread Slices! Gluten-free!
Why, yes, I am exclaiming this with Great Joy and Happiness. I love shortbread. I love lemony flavored desserts. And I now I love gluten-free cooking.
These cookies are fairly light and delicate for a shortbread, and would go nicely with tea, or with a holiday brunch – not too fussy! My recipe is adapted from a similar one found in Luane Kohnke’s Gluten-Free Cookies. I really like almond meal/flour so I upped the quantity of that, and her cookies are drop where mine are rolled-up, refrigerated, then sliced. Look for Luane’s book, I have made several of her cookies… of course, with my usual tweaking for less sugar, less fat.
If you don’t have the different flours/meals/starches called for in this recipe you can substitute using 2 cups Mama’s Almond Blend, which turns out pretty good (even if it isn’t organic). Please use organic ingredients whenever available.
In another bowl, combine the butter and sugar and beat until well blended. You could also use an electric mixer. Add the lemon juice and flavoring, beating in well. Add flour blend, stirring to mix all ingredients.
On a sheet of waxed paper, form half the dough into a log about 1-1/2-inches across. Repeat with remaining dough. Place the wrapped logs on a cookie sheet to chill for at least an hour.
After chilling, preheat oven to 350-degrees. Unwrap the log and cut into 1/2-inch slices, placing about 4 across on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes then rotate the pans. Time again for about 5 more minutes or until barely golden and fragrant. Remove from oven, carefully slide cookies onto a wire rack, then dust with powdered sugar while still warm.
Note from Doreen: I want to add some thoughts here about going gluten-free. Be careful what ingredients you use. Read the ingredients list, especially on purchased prepared items. For instance, I have been noshing away at a yummy cracker called Almond Nut Thins for a few years, thinking they were healthy. Well, they are if you think conventional potato starch is healthy. Anything you eat “potato” should really be organic, since potatoes are one of the most pesticided crops in America (apples are right up there with ’em). My “organic food philosophy” is simple: whatever you eat the most of in your diet should be organic. If you eat potatoes every day, choose organic. If you eat a bowl of oatmeal every morning, start your day with happy healthy organic oats and organic (or local) milk. “Round-Up Ready” alfalfa is now available as seed, and farmers can spray the piss out of their fields with no obvious consequence to the alfalfa. Alfalfa is a major food crop of cows and goats… do the math. This means that even if you avoid cow’s milk, your goat milk may still be fueled by GMO-alfalfa. It’s too bad “organic” is so expensive!
