Gluten-Free Holiday Cookies
By Sara MayerPublished on May 24, 2019
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1½ hours chilling, 20 minutes cooling, and 20 minutes drying
Yield
Makes about 24 (3-inch) cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
12½ ounces (354 grams/2¾ cups) America's Test Kitchen All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened7 ounces (198 grams/1 cup) superfine sugar 1 large egg, plus 1 large yolk2 teaspoons vanilla extractGlaze
1 tablespoon cream cheese, room temperature2-3 tablespoons milk 6 ounces (170 grams/1½ cups) confectioners' sugarBefore You Begin
If you do not have superfine sugar (which is sold in the baking aisle at most supermarkets), process granulated sugar in the food processor for 30 seconds. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the cookies. Do not shortchange either of the chilling times for the dough; if you do, the cookies will spread too much.
Instructions
- For the cookies: Whisk flour blend, salt, and xanthan gum together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla and beat until well combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until flour is incorporated and dough comes together, 2 to 4 minutes. Divide dough into 4 even pieces. Press each piece into 4-inch disk, wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 1 hour. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 weeks; defrost frozen dough in refrigerator before using.)
- Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll 1/8 inch thick between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Peel parchment from 1 side of dough and place back on dough. Flip dough over and repeat with second sheet of parchment. Slide dough, still between parchment, onto baking sheet and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 sheet of dough at a time, peel parchment from 1 side of dough and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters; space cookies 1½ inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until firm to touch and edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. (Dough scraps can be patted together, chilled, and rerolled once.) Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool to room temperature before glazing.
- For the glaze: Whisk cream cheese and 2 tablespoons milk together in medium bowl until no lumps remain. Add sugar and whisk until smooth, adding remaining 1 tablespoon milk as needed until glaze is thin enough to spread easily. Using back of spoon, drizzle or spread scant teaspoon of glaze onto each cooled cookie. Allow glazed cookies to dry at least 30 minutes. (Cookies are best eaten on day they are baked, but they can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 days.)
Time
2¾ hours, plus 1½ hours chilling, 20 minutes cooling, and 20 minutes dryingYield
Makes about 24 (3-inch) cookiesIngredients
Cookies
Glaze
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cookies
Glaze
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Cookies
Glaze
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
In our early attempts at creating gluten-free holiday cookies, substituting our gluten-free flour blend into our favorite recipe created a whole host of problems. The dough was incredibly sticky, and even when we managed to stamp out a few cookies, they turned out with an unappealing sandy, airy texture. They also lost their shape in the heat of the oven—not surprising given the gluten-free flour blend’s high amount of starch, which doesn’t set up until cool. Swapping out the granulated sugar in favor of superfine gave our cookies a more even crumb and a crisp texture. And unlike our drop cookies, where we used melted butter for a chewy texture, we opted to cream the butter here for a crisp texture. To make the dough easy to work with, we chilled it twice: before rolling it out, and again before stamping out the cookies. Chilling the dough wasn’t enough to ensure cookies that held their shape through baking, so we added a small amount of xanthan gum for structure.
Before You Begin
If you do not have superfine sugar (which is sold in the baking aisle at most supermarkets), process granulated sugar in the food processor for 30 seconds. Do not omit the xanthan gum; it is crucial to the structure of the cookies. Do not shortchange either of the chilling times for the dough; if you do, the cookies will spread too much.
Instructions
- For the cookies: Whisk flour blend, salt, and xanthan gum together in bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter and sugar at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, yolk, and vanilla and beat until well combined. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until flour is incorporated and dough comes together, 2 to 4 minutes. Divide dough into 4 even pieces. Press each piece into 4-inch disk, wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 1 hour. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 weeks; defrost frozen dough in refrigerator before using.)
- Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll 1/8 inch thick between 2 large sheets of parchment paper. Peel parchment from 1 side of dough and place back on dough. Flip dough over and repeat with second sheet of parchment. Slide dough, still between parchment, onto baking sheet and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with 1 sheet of dough at a time, peel parchment from 1 side of dough and cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters; space cookies 1½ inches apart on prepared sheets. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until firm to touch and edges are just beginning to brown, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. (Dough scraps can be patted together, chilled, and rerolled once.) Let cookies cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Let cookies cool to room temperature before glazing.
- For the glaze: Whisk cream cheese and 2 tablespoons milk together in medium bowl until no lumps remain. Add sugar and whisk until smooth, adding remaining 1 tablespoon milk as needed until glaze is thin enough to spread easily. Using back of spoon, drizzle or spread scant teaspoon of glaze onto each cooled cookie. Allow glazed cookies to dry at least 30 minutes. (Cookies are best eaten on day they are baked, but they can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 days.)
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