Holiday Baking!

It's the holidays!!  My favorite baking season!!  And let me tell you, you can make some AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS goodies for the holidays!  I've been looking for a minute or two to share some of my favorites with you!   But what to start with...hmmmm.  Well, at our house, when we went gluten free, we started in the month of April.  I was doing fine, learning to make some good treats and I really didn't miss very much.  But then, the holidays came! And with the holidays comes a tradition in our family....Dad's sugar cookies!  He makes them, bakes them, and decorates them.  Well, he lets the kids help, but he doesn't just frost them, he literally decorates them!  So not only are they delicious, but they are beautiful! And we aren't just talking at Christmas!  For the Super Bowl he makes helmets with both teams colors and names on them.  At Halloween, we get ghosts, cats, pumpkins.  At Thanksgiving we get Turkeys and Pilgrims.  And of course at Christmas we get everything Christmassy!!  Even stockings with our names on it!!  I thought I was going to die with the first batch!  So after feeling sorry for myself, I got to work!!  And now, Dad still makes his, but we also have Mom's sugar cookies!!  They may not be as beautiful (I'm not quite as patient as Scott!  That's why he decorates all the birthday cakes too!!) but they are delicious!!  So for nestagia's sake, I will start with sugar cookies! 

Here is a picture of Scott's that he just made to send to our son, Tyler, who is on a mission in Guatemala.

Mine are equally FANTASTICAL,  I believe!

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

3/4 C shortening (even tho I am NOT a fan of shortening, it makes a difference if you don't use it!)

3/4 C butter softened

2 C sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla (mexican vanilla being my favorite!!)

Mix well, then add dry ingredients

5 C gf baking flour made with the RICE POWDER!  very important!!  if you don't know what that is, refer to the post about the baking flours. 

1 Tbl xanthan gum

1 Tbl baking powder

2 tsp salt

Mix together well.  Dough should be sticky.  Refrigerate 1 hour then roll out and cut!

Bake @ 400,  6-8 min

We frost them with your basic powdered sugar frosting.

A little butter (like a tablespoon maybe), a little milk,  a swig of vanilla and enough powdered sugar to make it thick!   ENJOY!!



Monster Cookies

These cookies are the greatest gluten free cookies ever!!  Because they aren't just gluten free...they are flour free!!!  Okay, I guess I better do a disclaimer.  Now remember, oats aren't technically "gluten free".  You can buy gluten free oats tho.  So this recipe is great if oats don't bother you!  They don't bother us and we eat WAY too many of these!!!!  Maybe someday I'll add a picture!!!
Another hint - you need a powerful mixer to make these.  You will burn up a regular mixer on these.  I use my bosch with the cookie paddles. 

Just add the ingredients in order and mix as you go.  This is a HUGE batch!  If you don't have 10 kids like me, and you are just making them for the fam, then I suggest you 1/2 this recipe!

MONSTER COOKIES

6 eggs
2 C brown sugar
2 C white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp karo syrup
4 tsp baking soda
2 cubes butter
3 C peanut butter (I sometimes use some Nutella- yum!)
9 C oatmeal
12 oz bag of M&Ms (you can use just choc chips too)

When I don't have M&M's I use choc chips, butterscotch chips and white choc chips together!!   That's my favorite!!

When it is mixed well, drop onto cookie sheets and Bake @350 for 9-11 min.   ENJOY!!