Gluten Free Cake Mix Sugar Cookies

Gluten Free Cake Mix Sugar Cookies

1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix                        

1/2 cup butter, softened                        

1/2 teaspoon vanilla     

   

1/2 teaspoon almond extract                 

1 egg

Pre-Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir all ingredients with spoon until dough forms. Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into balls. On cookie sheets sprayed with Pam, place balls 2 inches apart. Flatten with bottom of glass or palm of your hand. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; carefully remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Dream sickle
add 1/2 tsp. orange extract to dough & frost with Dream sickle flavored frosting (Pillsbury)

Colored sugar
Flatten dough balls with bottom of glass dipped in colored sugar.                 

Strawberries and Cream Bars

     What happens when you have an abundance of strawberries in your fridge??? Well you make an amazing strawberry recipe!! That's what!
     Strawberries were on an amazing sale during Valentines week. I may have bought a container too many, so I thought rather than let them go to waste, I would whip up this yummy treat. I had run across the recipe that inspired this recipe clear back during summer. I printed it off and tucked it away to be made. However, I forgot to get that done. The original recipe was gluten-full. It used a bag of sugar cookie mix and the filling recipe was a little different. So I converted it to gluten free, tweaked a few things and here is the amazing result. I think it turned out pretty darn yummariffic!
Strawberries and Cream Bars

Sugar Cookie Base:
3 cups gluten free flour blend
1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. sour cream

Creamy Filling:
1 C. White Chocolate Baking Chips
1 package (8oz) Cream Cheese

Strawberry Topping:
4 C. Sliced Fresh Strawberries
1/2 C. Sugar
2 T. Cornstarch
1/3 C. Water

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.
Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Spread the batter in the bottom of a 15x10 or a 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 min. or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely, about 30 min.

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the baking chips. Microwave on high for 1 min. Stir and repeat until smooth. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in melted chips until blended. Spread over cookie base. Refrigerate while preparing the strawberry topping.

In a small bowl, crush 1 cup of the strawberries. In a small saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the crushed strawberries and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Cool for 10 minutes and then stir in the remaining 3 cups of strawberries. Spoon topping over the filling. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving (to allow it to set up). Store covered in the refrigerator.

Mix Sugar and butter together, then add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition

Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Then mix in dry ingredients.

Evenly spread the cookie dough out over the bottom of a pan sprayed with cooking spray.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 min or until golden brown

I may or may not have saved a little cookie dough out to make myself a few sugar cookies...shhhhh do NOT tell ;) I promise not to tell if you do it too!

Spread the creamy filling over the entire cookie base and put into the refrigerator to chill while making the strawberry topping.

I used a potato masher to smoosh my 1 cup of strawberries. It worked great! They weren't too mangled.

Cook the topping until thickened. Cool for 10 min. and then add the other 3 cups of berries.

Spread the strawberry topping over the creamy filling and refrigerate for about 1 hour so it can all set up.

     These are SO good, I will for sure be adding them to my favorite dessert repertoire!! I'm a sucker for anything strawberry.

-Jessica

Knockoff Glutenfree Lofthouse Cookies and an adventure gone wrong!

   I am either fortunate or unfortunate enough to have had many years of my life where I could eat gluten. I used to LOVE those little cookies that you buy in the bakery department. They always had pastel colored frosting and sprinkles. They were soft baked sugar cookies and they were AMAZING. However, they are also filled with gluten so now they are out. I just drool over them when I walk by them in the stores.
     The other day I was checking out Pinterest and saw a recipe for cookies that were supposed to be JUST LIKE Lofthouse cookies!! I pinned the recipe and decided I would have to give them a try sometime. I also decided that they would make a great base recipe for this other cute idea I had seen. You turn a circle shaped cookie into what looks like a melted snowman.
    So today I decided I would convert the lofthouse recipe into gluten free and make the snowman cookies. I made the cookies and then went to start on the decorating.....OOPS I bought the wrong size marshmallows, and I don't have the right ingredients to make the right kind of icing. OH geez...this isn't turning out very well at all. So my snowmen turned out pretty darn ugly!! They were NOT the cute and adorable things that I had pictured. Mine were downright scary! So I ended up pulling the little marshmallows off the cookies, making the knockoff lofthouse icing and coating the cookies with a second layer of icing. I topped that second layer with sprinkles and the ugly cookies were now beautiful!! So the epic fail turned into a save!! YEAH!!! I may give the melted snowcookies a try another day when I have the right ingredients gathered. But for now...
      Here are some pictures for your laughing pleasure.............

This is how the Melted Snowman Cookies were SUPPOSED to look

This is how mine was shaping up to look.....epic fail!

This is all the snowmen laid out....but not decorated. I didn't get the right size Marshmallows AND didn't have ingredients for the right kind of icing to decorate them further. UGH! SO I dis-assembled them and made them beautiful pink cookies!

These look SO much prettier than the scary snowmen!

So I will also share the Knockoff Lofthouse recipe....I don't think it is exactly like lofthouse, but it does make a good cookie. I also cut the recipe in half.....the original non gf recipe used 6 cups of flour!!! I couldn't justify using 6 cups on an experimental recipe. Gluten free flour is TOO expensive.

    

Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies

Cookies:

3 cups gluten free flour blend
1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. butter, at room temperature
1 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1/2 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. powdered sugar
3 T. heavy cream OR Evaporated Milk
Several drops food coloring
Multi-colored Sprinkles

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attached, cream the butter and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time beating until each is incorporated. Add the vanilla and sour cream and beat at low speed until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. Dough will be a bit “sticky”. Chill the dough for approximately an hour and a half in the refrigerator.

Use about 1 tablespoon of the chilled dough, roll it into a ball in your hands. Work quickly so the dough doesn't get warm in your hands. Place the ball on a well greased cookie sheet. Flatten the dough down with the bottom of a glass. Continue filling your cookie sheet. Place the unused dough back into the fridge while the batch of cookies bake.

Bake at 425 deg. for about 10 min. or until cookies are a golden brown color.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar. Once smooth and creamy, add in heavy cream, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired spreading consistency is achieved. If desired, add food coloring and beat until combined.

Once cookies have cooled completely, frost and add sprinkles. Allow frosting to set, then store in an air-tight container. Let cookies sit for several hours before serving to allow the flavors to develop.

Roll the chilled dough into balls

Flatten the dough with the bottom of a glass.

Bake at 425 until golden brown (about 10 min.)

Frost with the beautiful pink frosting (or whatever color you chose)

Add lots of sprinkles and be SO glad you didn't make the awful snowmen! ha

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies.....Halloweenie Style

I just love making sugar cookies for the holidays. They are so fun and colorful. I love getting out the special cookie cutters and deciding which ones to use. Am I a weirdo? If so I'm ok with it. Cookie making is fun. (Except for the dirty dishes it creates)
    There is a recipe that circulates locally. It is rumored to be "THE" recipe from this great little bakery that closed a few years back.  I used to LOVE their sugar cookies (pre gluten free days). So last year I decided I would take this little recipe and turn it gluten free!!

Drake's Bakery Sugar Cookies
‎1&1/2 sticks real butter (softened)
3/4c sugar
2 eggs
1T vanilla
2 3/4c flour (use your favorite gluten free mix and about 1/2 tsp xantham gum)
2t baking powder.

Combine all ingredients. Chill the dough in the fridge for about 20 min. Roll out the dough on a well floured surface. Cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters. Place cookies on a greased cookie sheet and Bake at 350 8-9minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Icing: 2C Powdered sugar 1/2 t almond extract 1/2 t vanilla 3T warm water. Combine and dip cookies in the icing. Dry on wire rack until icing is set up.

I always start with the softened butter and sugar first. Cream the two together.

I find the easiest way to roll out dough is on a well floured surface. Then cover the dough with saran wrap. It doesn't stick to everything that way!!

Once your cookies are cut, I find that it is easier to remove the dough around the cut cookie, then use a floured small spatula to place it on the baking sheet.

Remove the cookies from the baking sheet asap. Cool the on a wire rack.

Use magic fairy dust to clean up the mess, or hire someone. ha

Enjoy the recipe and have a Happy Halloween!!

-Jessica