Gluten free Christmas cookies

Do you need to leave gluten free Christmas cookies out for (uhumm) "Santa", due to that seasonal visitor having a food intolerance? If so, then this recipe is just the ticket. All the family, not just Santa, can enjoy these melt in the mouth treats.

There is only one problem with making these in my house. If I didn't put one or two aside for the midnight visitor, then there wouldn't be any left for him (her)! If the same thing is likely to happen in your home, then I would advise you to double the quantities in the recipe below.

NOTE: Warning! Once you have tried these, you will be spoiled. No shop bought gluten free cookies have ever come close in my opinion.

I have never met the real Santa, so I don't know if he has to stick to a gluten free diet or not, but it is always better to be safe rather than sorry, isn't it? And he does have an important job to do on Christmas Eve, so we don't want him suffering any ill effects do we?

Gluten Free Christmas Cookies Recipe

Ingredients

75g (3oz) butter
50g (2oz) icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
finely grated rind of 1 small lemon
1 egg yolk
175g (6oz) gluten free flour mix *
pinch of salt

* I like to use about 4oz of tapioca flour to two oz of either potato starch or rice flour for this recipe. It makes the cookies as light as a feather, and they just melt in your mouth.

Method

Preheat the oven to 190^oC/375^oF or Gas Mark 5.

In a large bowl, put the butter, sugar and lemon rind. Beat this together until light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg yolk, a little at a time, and then sift in the flour and salt.

Knead the mixture into a smooth dough, and wrap in cling film (saran wrap) and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ensure that your work surface is clean and has no trace of gluten on it. Lightly dust the surface with gluten free flour and roll out the dough to be about 3mm thick.

Use a cookie cutter that has not been used on wheat based cookies or play dough in the past, cut out your cookies and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Chill on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes, until firm.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until they begin to color.

Allow to cool on the baking sheets so that they are easy to remove onto a cooling rack.

Once completely cooled, decorate and store your gluten free Christmas cookies in an airtight container.

Don't forget the reindeer!

Now you have baked your cookies for Santa, you must not forget Rudolph and his friend's! Don't you think that they may get a little fed up with a carrot every time they visit a house? Perhaps they would like something a bit different for a change?

You can make a special treat for the reindeer which they will really enjoy. It will help them get Santa from house to house really quickly.

Reindeer Food Recipe

Caution! I would imagine that you would wish to make this with your child. However, you may decide that you will opt for non-gluten free ingredients to save money. In this case you do need to take care if either you or your child is gluten intolerant.

Ingredients

50g (2 oz) Rolled Oats (or certified gluten free oats)
50g (2oz) muesli (or a gluten free variety)
25g (1 oz) brown sugar (or you could use a colored sugar)
Magic Reindeer Mix (gold glitter)

Method

Place the oats, muesli and sugar into a mixing bowl.

Stir the mixture with a spoon.

Add the magic reindeer mix.

Spoon the food into bags and seal

Write down the rhyme below so that the feeder of the reindeers can read it as they sprinkle the food.

Be sure to take this magic food and sprinkle on the lawn
On Christmas Eve, Santa's reindeer travel miles before the dawn
The smell of oats and glitter path will guide them on their way
And you'll wake up to Santa's gifts, next morn on Christmas Day!

Clearing Up

Now that you have made the Reindeer Food, you have to be very thorough in cleaning up, especially if the children have helped you make these goodies. Remember that you will need to...

Wash all chef's hands, arms, faces and necks
Wash all aprons used
Clear all equipment away and wash, or stack in dishwasher
Scrub down your work surfaces, removing everything that was on there

Making sure you do this, will ensure that there is little chance of cross contamination happening in your kitchen and that it remains the safe environment it should be.