Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles (Wheat, Nut and Fish-Free, Can Be Soy, Egg and Milk-Free)

Autumn, to me, means all things cinnamon. {You expected me to say pumpkin spice, didn't you? ;) Sorry to disappoint.}  One of my favorite cookies to make for fall is Snickerdoodles.  They're simple, easy, delicious, and tick that cinnamon box for me.

This recipe is a modified, gluten-free version of one that I found in my Betty Crocker's New Cookbook (which was new back in 2000, so this one was new a couple of additions ago :) ).  They only take 8 ingredients, and they are very simple to prepare.  Gotta love that!

If you've never had a Snickerdoodle before, they taste a little like a cinnamon sugar donut but in cookie form.  If the idea of that appeals to you, you will definitely want to to give these a try!

These cookies are wheat, nut and fish-free, and can be soy*, egg and milk-free (see variations).

*Note: The gluten-free flour I recommend does not technically contain soy, but it does contain xanthan gum (see "Soy-Free" under variations for more details) which can cause issues for people with soy sensitivities or allergies.  For this reason, I will not claim that this recipe is soy-free.  I will share a soy-free alternative in variations, though.

Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

1 1/2 Cups white sugar

1 Cup (2 sticks) salted, full-fat butter, softened

2 large eggs

2 3/4 Cups gluten-free measure for measure flour

(We normally use and highly recommend King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure For Measure Flour.)

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon-Sugar Mixture For Rolling:

1/4 Cup white sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400^o F .

2. Combine the 1/4 Cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl to make the cinnamon-sugar mixture for rolling and set aside.

3. Mix the 1 1/2 Cups of sugar, butter, and eggs in a large bowl and beat until well combined.

4. Stir the gluten-free flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt into the creamed butter mixture until well combined.

5. Using a 1.5-tablespoon scoop, scoop mounds of dough and shape them into balls.

6. Roll the balls of dough into the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

7. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

8. Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes or until set.

9. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheets, and cool them on a wire rack before serving.

Makes around 4 dozen cookies.

Variations (Please keep your individual dietary needs in mind when using variations):

• Milk-Free: Use non-dairy butter of your choice, coconut oil or lard in place of the butter in this recipe. 
    
• Egg-Free: Follow one of the recommendations here to replace the eggs in this recipe.
   
• Soy-Free: The King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure For Measure Flour that we use does not claim to contain soy, but it does contain xanthan gum, both of which can cause issues with people who have soy sensitivities and allergies.  For this reason, I will not claim that this recipe is soy-free.  You can use regular flour (if you can have it) or a soy-free, gluten-free flour of your choice.  Keep in mind that if your blend doesn't contain guar gum or xanthan gum, you may need to add between 3/4 to 3 teaspoons of ground flax seed, guar gum or xanthan gum to help with textural issues, too.

They're that easy, folks!

Give them a try!

You will not be disappointed!

Enjoy!

 

Quiet Reflections: The Heart of It

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don't think the heart of a movie or play is always the most popular song.  Sometimes, the quieter song is exactly where the heart lives.  

In Frozen, "Let It Go" is the sweeping, girl-power anthem.  It is designed to let us breathe with Elsa.  It invites us to cheer for her as she comes into her own. But the heart of the story?  It's "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?"  

 

It's the story of a little girl wanting more than anything to reconnect with her sister but has no idea how.  Anna keeps asking her to come out, to meet her, and let her in.  Time and time again, she is met with silence.  It's a song about a little girl who desperately misses her sister.

The heart of Frozen is not that Elsa can finally be free to be Elsa.  It's about unconditional love that is communicated through the eyes of Anna and the sound of her repeated requests to build a snowman.

In Wicked, the heart of the play is not "Popular" or even "Defying Gravity."  It's "For Good".  It's about being changed by someone for the better because you knew them.  It's about the people who have left their marks on our lives, even if we've only known them for a short time.  It's about how we are never quite the same again because our paths have crossed.

Those songs are powerful because they reveal the emotional truth beneath the performance. Without them, we miss something essential to the message of the story.  We may still have an entertaining story, but we lose the central heart of the story.

I think the same can be true for the people in our lives.

The ones who affect us most aren't always the loudest, the most popular, or the prettiest.  Sometimes, they're the quiet, still ones who see us when no one else does.  The ones who invite us to share a piece of ourselves with them without demanding we be anything other than who we are.  The ones who challenge us to be better, and yet somehow also make us feel safe enough to simply breathe.

Those people are few and far between.  And often, we don't even realize just how deeply they have affected and changed us until we stop to look back.

So, my challenge for you is simply this: be that person for someone.  Be the person whose presence makes a difference.  Let your kindness leave a mark.  Be the friend who helps someone be a little more confident being who they are.

Be the person someone can one day say this of:

🎵"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."🎵