Baby Fruit Tarts, GF

One autumn day about two centuries ago, our family gathered in one of those picturesque New England towns for a sibling/cousins weekend.  My job was to bring homemade apple pies.  The pies were made with apples that we’d picked the weekend before.  They were large pies, apples piled up high and perfumed  with cinnamon and nutmeg.  The crusts were golden brown and flaky – the kind of crust that loves vanilla ice cream on the side.  I’m drooling slightly thinking of that memory.

We had yet to venture into GF pie making which is a whole other world.  But when we did, sometimes GF pies rocked and other times they were slightly off and never as good as the old days.  The fillings were always tasty, but the crust was either like dust or more chewy than jerky.

Triple Ginger Sandwich Cookies, GF

One of my favorite commercial cookies is was Newman’s Ginger-O’s.   I love the fancy-pants ginger flavor and I am a sucker for sandwich cookies.  But while the idea of never eating those again was sad, it probably was a good thing because they were just a touch too sweet aside from being full of gluten.

But we missed ginger cookies.  I made several GF varieties through the years and not one of them is memorable.  But one day, rather recently, I was looking again for something ginger and came across an Alton Brown recipe.  The recipe called for three different variations of ginger in the cookie.  That would be my kind of cookie – ultra redundancy.  I thought it would be worthy of experimentation to re-do it gluten-free.

Mini Black & White Cookies, GFCF

As a small child, there was no better way to spend Saturday morning than to go to the market with my mom followed by a trip to the infamous Snowflake Bakery.  There we would finish up the shopping with purchasing a freshly baked coffee cake and a dark rye bread, still slightly warm.

My mom let me pick out my favorite cookie and I would manage to eat it all on the way home.  Half Moons were huge cookies, almost five inches across and slathered with both chocolate and vanilla glaze. These giant cake-like cookies were better known everywhere else as Black & Whites.

Years later, long after the bakery was gone and I’d moved to the west coast where Black & White Cookies are virtually nonexistent, I learned how to bake them at home for my children.  Now I make them gluten-free in a mini version for my grandsons.

This kid-sized version of the recipe is both gluten-free and dairy-free.

Don’t save them for special occasions – make today a mini Black & White Cookie day at your house.

Gluten Free, Casein Free Mini Black & White Cookies

Makes about one dozen 2 inch cookies

Cookie Batter

• 140 grams gluten free flour (100 grams Bob’s Red Mill GF Oat flour, plus 25 grams Bob’s Potato Starch, plus 15 grams Bob’s Almond Flour) (about 1.5 cups)
• 45 grams sugar (about ¼ cup)
• 8 grams Spectrum solid shortening (1/4 oz. or about 1 skimpy tablespoon)
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/ 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 whole large egg plus 1 large egg white
• 1 scant tablespoon Almond Milk (Diamond)
• ½ teaspoon GF Vanilla Extract
• ¼ teaspoon pure lemon extract (available at most grocery stores)

Glaze

• 1 cup organic confectioner’s sugar (1/2 cup in each bowl)
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
• hot water
• splash of vanilla
• tiny drop of organic corn syrup (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with parchment or silpat.

In a stand mixer bowl, weigh out the flours and sugar, and add the baking powder and salt.  Mix on low for about 15 seconds to incorporate the flours.

Add the shortening and on medium low, mix until it resembles coarse sand.

Add the egg and mix again for about 15 seconds.

Add the Almond Milk and mix again for a few seconds.

That’s it.  Using a spatula, scrape the sides and cover the bowl and let it rest for about 20 minutes.  GF mixtures benefit from a short rest before baking.

Scoop by tablespoons (I use a small ice cream scoop) onto the prepared baking sheet taking care to make sure the scooped dough stays round.  Using a spoon or a small offset spatula, flatten the dough using a circular motion to keep the shape as round as possible.

Bake about 9 minutes and rotate the pan.  Bake about 6 minutes more or until the bottoms are slightly golden.

Cool completely.

Glaze Directions

In two separate small bowls sift about ½ cup of organic powdered sugar into each.  In one bowl add a scant tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa, sifted to remove lumps. Whisk to incorporate.

Add 2-3 teaspoons of hot water to each bowl stirring until the mixture looks like a thick glaze.  Add a splash of vanilla to each bowl and stir.  Add a drop of organic corn syrup to each bowl and stir.

If the mixture is too thick, add drops of hot water.  If it is too thin, add tiny amounts of powdered sugar (sifted – you don’t want lumps). The ideal glaze will be on its way to being thick but still drippy.

Apply the glaze on the flat side or the bottom.

Using a small offset spatula or a very small spoon spread the vanilla glaze on half of each cookie.  Let them dry a bit on the cooling rack.  By the time you finish with the vanilla, the first cookies you glazed should be hardening.  Do the same with the chocolate side.

Hint:  Don’t glaze the cookies over the rack where they are drying – or over the bowls.  I’ve dripped chocolate on vanilla in both circumstances.  Now I slather on the glaze over a small plate which catches the drips.

Let the glaze harden for about an hour.  And enjoy.

GF Ratio Rally: Bisconies, Actually

This month’s GF Ratio Rally is brought to you by the little treat called Scone.  Our host is Lauren of Celiac Teen.  Please visit the other GF Ratio Rally participants listed at the end of this post to enjoy a whirlwind tour of some great GF scone recipes using Ratio baking.  For my account of scone-ville, read on.

Once upon a time, I didn’t know much about scones.  In our universe, breakfast pastry was called cheese Danish.  But one day, thanks to Julia Child and PBS, that all changed.