The Christmas baking continues. Did you know it’s only 2 weeks until Christmas?? With how fast this past week has gone, I’m scared to see how fast the next two will go. With concerts, gatherings & parties to attend, the next two weeks will be gone before you know it! So, how is your Christmas shopping/baking/preparing coming along?? Is anyone making any hand-crafted gifts this year? I have a few that I need to complete, but the shopping is done. So, onto the baking & sewing! 
Today’s recipe is for gluten-free snickerdoodles. These snickerdoodles are really, really good. They have the same flavour & texture as my regular snickerdoodles. I had a container of ‘regular’ ones, as well as the gluten-free ones, and after I was eating one, I had to double check to make sure I took it from the right container. Thankfully I did.
Makes about 3 dozen.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup shortening (I used margarine)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla flavouring
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp water
Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture:
- 2 Tbsp sugar mixed with
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and vanilla flavouring. Mix well. Add potato starch, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and water. Mix well to eliminate any lumps in the dough. Dough will be sticky. Lightly oil hands or spray them with nonstick spray to better handle dough. Shape into small balls, using a slightly-rounded teaspoon of dough for each cookie. Roll in sugar/cinnamon mixture.
- Place on lightly greased baking sheet and press each ball to an even thickness of about 1/3 inch. Bake for 10-12 minutes. A single cookie should be removed at the shortest-baking time to test for doneness. Browning is not a good indicator for these cookies.
Source: The Gluten-Free Baker by Robyn Ryberg
Great pic Jeanine..these cookies look delicious! Years ago I tried making them and something went wrong but I am willing to try again.
Snickerdoodles, a Christmas Tradition! Yours look great!
These cookies take me waaaay back to my first Home Ec cooking experience. Good memories.
Anyway, I made these GF this weekend and they are another hit! The only reason there are some left at all is due to much self control on our parts. These will now be a regular at our house.
Thanks.
Iris, you make me smile everytime you tell me that you’ve got another winning recipe to use. I am so pleased with how these Snickerdoodles turned out. Yum! I’ve got a bunch more recipes coming.
Plus, check out Gingerlemongirl’s blog today, she’s got a cookie round up on there. YUM!
OK..I made the gluten free version, and they look nothing like the picture, and I need to find out what I did wrong. They tasted good, but were VERY flat! Like something was missing. Did I cream the shortening and sugar too long??? Is there suppose to be flour??? Help = (
Hi Joelle,
there is no flour in this recipe, just potato starch & cornstarch. Did you do the full amount of cornstarch? It may have helped you to refrigerate your dough for a bit before forming into balls. Also, is your oven temp correct? That could have an effect as well.
Hope we can figure out how to fix these for you…they are really great cookies!
Hey Joelle, I made this too and had the EXACT same problem…flat cookies! I decided the chill them in the freezer the dough in the freezer a few minutes the 2nd time around and got the best results..pillows of cinnamon goodness! In fact, I think you have chill the dough well for ALL Gluten-Free cookies cuz they all went flat on me!
My awesome brother made these for me and they are actually better than the ones my mom always used to make us. Sorry, Mom! So delicious!
Yes, putting the cookies in the fridge or freezer before baking will help them to retain their shape when baking. You also want to make sure that if you are using margarine, it is the brick margarine, and not the tub margarine. That stuff doesn't work for baking.
Sarar – SO glad to hear that they worked well for you…and better than Mom's! Yeah!
In the gluten free version you don't have cream of tartar, did you forget to add it or is there a reason it isn't there? I'm new to the gluten free world!! thanks!
These are the best gluten-free cookies ever! I have made them three times now, the first with dorky halloween frosting, and this time with the cinnamon-sugar as prescribed. The texture is so amazing! I would love to hear if you have any recommendation for other GF cookie recipes, since the other ones I tried out always are too crunchy.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hoping to try these soon. About crunchy cookies, I have been using a cooking stone for years to make cookies and love the results. I never burn them and it seems easier to control the soft/crunch factor because of this. One thing to remember, the first batch needs to cook for at least 2 minutes longer since it takes the stone extra time to heat up. I like to put mine in the oven as it preheats and eliminate the extra minutes. Once your stone is seasoned well(acomplished by lots of use) you will not need to oil it nor use parchment paper. I don’t even own a regular cookie sheet any more. Also, the cookies cook evenly.
Thanks, Maia! Glad that you're enjoying the snickerdoodles, I agree, they are awesome.
Right now, my favorite cookie is the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies: http://www.thebakingbeauties.com/2010/09/gluten-free-oatmeal-chocolate-chip.html
These turned out beautifully! Thank you so much for posting this one as well as all of your wonderful recipes! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to you and your family