Breaking all the Rules

When you are gluten-free, some aspects of baking just get missed altogether. Like, for example, kneading dough. I have very fond memories as a small child- kneading my own little bread dough ball, for my own personal bread loaf. Gluten-free dough is generaly too sticky. And rolling out dough- you can just through that out the window. If you ever roll out a gluten-free dough, it's between wax paper and it's really difficult. Reminiscing about these things, I seem to have accidentally made a baked good that does both, breaking all the seemingly inescapable "laws" of gluten-free baking! Oops!



The fun about his cookie is that you have to work it into a ball, roll it out, "cookie cutter" it, and then you can enjoy a tasty snack 20 minutes later (which, by the way, are delicious with a cup of hot chocolate.)



I have never been too fond of ginger snaps, but this particular cookie won my heart at once. Thinking I was making a spicy snicker doodle, what slid out of the oven was most certainly not a snicker doodle, but spicy gingersnaps! I have high hopes for this particular concoction, as it could be the base (without the spices) for a cracker. Only time will tell.....

Snazzy Spicy Gingersnaps
gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, oil-free

1/2 c. soy flour, lightly packed
1 c. sorghum flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 c. whole almonds, ground OR 1/4 cup leftover almonds grits from Basic Almond Milk, dried out and ground down
1/4 c. + 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, diced
scant tablespoon agave nectar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and get out a cookie sheet. You don't need to grease it.

Heat a pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the ginger and agave nectar until the ginger has absorbed all the nectar and has begun to brown. Scoop out of pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy flour, sorghum flour, ground almonds or almond grit, cayenne, curry, cinnamon, and salt. Add the brown rice syrup and the candied ginger and mix/knead the dough with your hands (yes, your hands. Just wash them before you do this) until it forms into a ball. This can take 3-5 minutes, so don't give up or be tempted to add extra liquid.

Place the dough ball on a floured surface (use more sorghum flour) and roll the dough out anywhere between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If if begins to crack, dab a bit of water on it and continue rolling. The thinner the dough, the more crispy a cookie you're going to get. Using your choice cookie cutter(s), shape the dough and place them on a cookie sheet, you can pack the raw dough together, since the cookies won't spread. Re-roll the leftover scraps and "cookie cutter" them, you may have to add a bit of water to get it the dough to hold.

Bake the cookies for 15-20 minutes, until they become firm and, if you have a thinner cookie, begins to brown on the edges. Let cool briefly before serving, so the cookies can become firm and crunchy.

Makes 20-25 cookies (depending on the size of your cookie cutters)

Printable recipe