Gluten and Dairy-free Anise Cookies

[Vian]

I try to eat Paleo, but these cookies are Christmas to me. My Grandma made them when my mom was little, and my mom made them when I was little. They are the only Christmas cookie my family makes, and we only make them at Christmas. I have to have them every year. It's tradition. So, since I am gluten intolerant, I wanted to at least make a gluten-free version. I also wanted to send some to my cousin, who is both dairy and gluten intolerant. I didn't think I could successfully make them paleo with almond and tapioca flours and the like and maintain the character of the cookie, so I decided to just make them gluten and dairy free. I found a gluten-free baking blend flour at the store with sorghum flour, rice flour, buckwheat flour, potato starch, tapioca flour and other flours all mixed to theoretically make something that would behave like wheat flour in baked goods. I have to say, they turned out quite good. They are tender and crispy, though more brittle than the wheat flour version, and the flavor is very good still.

 

Anise Cookies

•   1 c. cane sugar
•   1 c. brown sugar
•   1/3 c. coconut cream (or let coconut milk sit in the fridge, then skim the thick part off the top)
•   3 tbs. molasses
•   1 egg
•   Â¼ tsp. salt
•   4 c. gluten-free flour baking blend
•   Â½ c. ground anise seed

 

Preheat oven to 375. Sift the sugars to make sure there are no clumps. Cream the coconut oil, sugars, coconut cream, molasses, egg, and salt in a bowl with a hand mixer until well mixed and slightly lighter in color. Add the ground anise and flour and mix with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. If using a cookie press, use the disk shaped like ^^^^^^^^^^^^ and squeeze out in long ribbons on a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with colored sugar and bake for 10 minutes. While still hot out of the oven, use a spatula to cut the ribbons into 3-4 inch pieces, then let cool on a piece of newspaper. They will crisp as they cool.

 

If you don’t have a cookie press, roll the dough into a 2-2.5†thick log and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight until firm. Unwrap and cut the log into 1/8†thick slices and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges just begin to darken, and let cool on a piece of newspaper.

[Liberator]

Thanks for sharing! Can this be used for pizzelles?

[Vian]

I have no idea, I've never made a pizelle (I had to google it just now to find out what it was). You'll have to experiment and see.