GLUTEN FREE ORANGE COOKIE RECIPE AND GLUTEN FREE RICH ROLL BUTTER COOKIE RECIPE with VEGAN/DAIRY-FREE VERSIONS

Gluten Free Orange Cookies

Gluten Free Rich Roll Cookies

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     In December I did a lot of baking.  In this post I will give recipes for two cookies, Orange and Rich Roll.  Both cookies are traditionally made with butter, but both recipes can easily be made vegan/dairy free.

     I love the strong flavor of the Orange Cookies. The original recipe calls for dipping the cookies half way into chocolate. I actually prefer the taste of the plain cookies, but they are good either way and look pretty with the chocolate.  This wheat recipe was one that a friend gave me years ago and I converted into a gluten free one.

     The Rich Roll Cookies are from a recipe in Joy of Cooking.  These rich butter cookies are crisp and delicious.  The wheat version is easy to make into shapes with cookie cutters.  As with most recipes that are made gluten free, this dough is wetter and softer than the original.  Rolling out and cutting shapes with the GF dough is a challenge and requires infinite patience and time.  I had limited amounts of each when I baked them this year and only made about a quarter of the batch into shapes.  The rest I rolled into a log and sliced into round cookies. 

     These butter cookies were my son’s favorite and I now make them vegan for him. He is an artist and as a child he would make beautifully decorated cookies. It was a fun tradition for us to make these cookies together every Christmas.

Gluten Free Orange Butter Cookies

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

Cookies

1 cup	Sugar
¾ cup	Unsalted Butter – For Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine and omit salt in the recipe.
1 tsp.	Vanilla – for Vegan/Dairy-Free I used Vanilla ‘Butter’ emulsion to give a richer flavor.
1	Egg – For Vegan use ¼ cup of water
1 cup	Sorghum Flour
½ cup	Chickpea Flour
½ cup	Tapioca Flour
½ tsp.	Xanthan or Guar Gum
1 tsp.	Baking Powder
¾ tsp.	Sea Salt
2 Tbs.	Grated Orange Zest - This is the zest of 2 oranges

Chocolate Glaze

1 cup	Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – for Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-dairy chips.
¼ cup	Non-hydrogenated shortening
3 Tbs.	Light Corn Syrup

Directions

     Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

     In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and butter or margarine until light and fluffy.

     Add vanilla and egg or water and blend well.

     In a separate bowl add the flours, xanthan or guar gum, baking powder, salt and orange zest.  Mix well with a whisk.  Add this flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir in until well mixed.

     Using a scoop that measures 1-inch across, scoop out dough and roll each piece of dough into a ball.

Dough scooped out and rolled into balls.

     Place balls 2-inches apart on baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper.  Cover balls with a sheet of plastic wrap and press flat with the bottom of a glass to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4-inch.  Remove the plastic wrap from on top of the cookie dough.

Dough balls covered with plastic wrap
being pressed flat with the bottom of a glass.

     Bake for 6-8 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned.  Cool 1 minute before removing to a rack to cool completely.

     If you want to glaze the cookies with chocolate combine the glaze ingredients in a saucepan.  Heat the ingredients over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture is smooth.

     Remove from heat and pour into a glass measuring cup.  While working, keep the cup of chocolate warm by setting it in a pan of hot water.

     Dip half of each cookie into the glaze and shake off excess chocolate.  Place dipped cookies on a wax paper lined baking sheet. 

Chill until set, about ten minutes.

     Store these cookies in a tin or airtight container lined with wax paper. Use wax paper between layers of cookies. This will keep the chocolate from sticking. 

RICH ROLL BUTTER COOKIES

Makes about 60 cookies.

Ingredients

1 cup	Unsalted Butter – for Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine.
2/3 cup	Sugar
1	Egg – for Vegan use ¼ cup water.
1 tsp.	Almond (or Vanilla) Extract – I used 1 tsp. Almond extract and ½ tsp. of Vanilla ‘Butter’.
1 ½ cups	Sorghum Flour
½ cup	Tapioca Flour
½ cup	Chickpea Flour
½ tsp.	Xanthan or Guar Gum
½ tsp.	Salt

Directions        

     In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter or margarine.

     Beat in egg (or water) and almond (or vanilla) extract.

     In a separate bowl combine flours, xanthan or guar gum and salt.  Stir with a whisk until well mixed.

     Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.

Refrigerated dough rolled into a log and cut into slices.

     To make round sliced cookies divide dough into two or three parts and roll out each part into a log and wrap in plastic wrap.  Chill several hours until firm and then slice with a sharp knife into ¼-inch thick cookies.

     To make cookies in shapes with cookie cutters, divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and roll into balls. Between two pieces of plastic wrap, roll out each piece of dough into a ¼-inch thick disk.  Place the rolled out dough, still between the two pieces of plastic wrap, into the refrigerator for a few hours to get firm.  You can also freeze the dough for later use.  Take the dough out of the freezer and rest in the refrigerator until firm but not brittle.

     When ready to bake cookies preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Refrigerated dough cut into shapes and
placed on a silpat lined baking sheet.

Cut out cookies decorated with sugar, coconut and chocolate chips.

     Take one firm rolled disk and place on counter.  Tear off one side of the plastic, put it back and flip the disk over.  Tear off the other piece of plastic and set aside.  Using a cookie cutter dipped into GF flour, cut out shapes and place them 2-inces apart on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Decorate with colored sugars, sprinkles, raisins, chocolate chips etc.  With this recipe it is best to use the metal cutters with simple designs.  The dough tends to get stuck in the details of the more intricate plastic cutters.  Re-roll and chill the scraps.  Repeat with all the dough disks.

     Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until slightly colored, not brown, on the edges.  Cool on trays for 5 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.

     Store in an airtight container or a tin lined with wax paper.  They keep well for a few weeks, if there are any left.

Gluten Free Orange Butter Cookies Makes about 6 dozen cookies. Ingredients Cookies 1 cup Sugar ¾ cup Unsalted Butter – For Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine and omit salt in the recipe. 1 tsp. Vanilla – for Vegan/Dairy-Free I used Vanilla ‘Butter’ emulsion to give a richer flavor. 1 Egg – For Vegan use ¼ cup of water 1 cup Sorghum Flour ½ cup Chickpea Flour ½ cup Tapioca Flour ½ tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum 1 tsp. Baking Powder ¾ tsp. Sea Salt 2 Tbs. Grated Orange Zest - This is the zest of 2 oranges Chocolate Glaze 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – for Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-dairy chips. ¼ cup Non-hydrogenated shortening 3 Tbs. Light Corn Syrup Directions Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and butter or margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg or water and blend well. In a separate bowl add the flours, xanthan or guar gum, baking powder, salt and orange zest. Mix well with a whisk. Add this flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir in until well mixed. Using a scoop that measures 1-inch across, scoop out dough and roll each piece of dough into a ball. Place balls 2-inches apart on baking sheets lined with silpat or parchment paper. Cover balls with a sheet of plastic wrap and press flat with the bottom of a glass to a thickness of 1/8 to 1/4-inch. Remove the plastic wrap from on top of the cookie dough. Bake for 6-8 minutes until the cookies are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute before removing to a rack to cool completely. If you want to glaze the cookies with chocolate combine the glaze ingredients in a saucepan. Heat the ingredients over low heat and stir constantly until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and pour into a glass measuring cup. While working, keep the cup of chocolate warm by setting it in a pan of hot water. Dip half of each cookie into the glaze and shake off excess chocolate. Place dipped cookies on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Chill until set, about ten minutes. Store these cookies in a tin or airtight container lined with wax paper. Use wax paper between layers of cookies. This will keep the chocolate from sticking. RICH ROLL BUTTER COOKIES Makes about 60 cookies. Ingredients 1 cup Unsalted Butter – for Vegan/Dairy-Free use non-hydrogenated margarine. 2/3 cup Sugar 1 Egg – for Vegan use ¼ cup water. 1 tsp. Almond (or Vanilla) Extract – I used 1 tsp. Almond extract and ½ tsp. of Vanilla ‘Butter’. 1 ½ cups Sorghum Flour ½ cup Tapioca Flour ½ cup Chickpea Flour ½ tsp. Xanthan or Guar Gum ½ tsp. Salt Directions In a large bowl cream together sugar and butter or margarine. Beat in egg (or water) and almond (or vanilla) extract. In a separate bowl combine flours, xanthan or guar gum and salt. Stir with a whisk until well mixed. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. To make round sliced cookies divide dough into two or three parts and roll out each part into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill several hours until firm and then slice with a sharp knife into ¼-inch thick cookies. To make cookies in shapes with cookie cutters, divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and roll into balls. Between two pieces of plastic wrap, roll out each piece of dough into a ¼-inch thick disk. Place the rolled out dough, still between the two pieces of plastic wrap, into the refrigerator for a few hours to get firm. You can also freeze the dough for later use. Take the dough out of the freezer and rest in the refrigerator until firm but not brittle. When ready to bake cookies preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take one firm rolled disk and place on counter. Tear off one side of the plastic, put it back and flip the disk over. Tear off the other piece of plastic and set aside. Using a cookie cutter dipped into GF flour, cut out shapes and place them 2-inces apart on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Decorate with colored sugars, sprinkles, raisins, chocolate chips etc. With this recipe it is best to use the metal cutters with simple designs. The dough tends to get stuck in the details of the more intricate plastic cutters. Re-roll and chill the scraps. Repeat with all the dough disks. Bake cookies 8-10 minutes until slightly colored, not brown, on the edges. Cool on trays for 5 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or a tin lined with wax paper. They keep well for a few weeks, if there are any left.

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