The Gluten-Free Holiday Cookie Exchange: Strawberry Thumbprints and a Cookbook Giveaway

Cookies, cookies, cookies! It's time for the Gluten-Free Cookie Exchange, hosted by Michelle Palin of My Gluten-Free Kitchen. Eighteen gluten-free bloggers are sharing their favorite cookie recipes, and each site is also giving away prizes. What could be better? Make some cookies, share them at your own cookie swap (or save them for yourself and Santa) and enter to win great prizes!

This recipe from The Allergy-Free Pantry is one of my favorites, and definitely worth sharing. And these cookies are not just gluten-free, they are also top-8 allergen-free! No dairy, eggs, nuts, or soy!

Strawberry Thumbprints
Makes about 28 cookies

Make these cookies with Strawberry Jam or another favorite jam. Ask the kids to help; a child’s thumb is just the right size to make thumbprints.

194 grams (about 1½ cups) gluten-free flour blend
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend contains a gum)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (110 g) organic cane sugar
10 tablespoons shortening, softened
1 Flaxseed Egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ cup (61 g) Strawberry Jam

1. Combine the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

2. In a separate large bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening using a mixer on medium speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The mixture will be light and fluffy.

3. Add the flaxseed egg and vanilla. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.

4. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and blend on medium speed, about 2 minutes. The batter will be thick. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic and chill it for an hour. Cookie dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

5. When you are ready to make cookies preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Use your hands to shape the dough into balls, about 1¼ inches (3 cm) round.

7. Place the cookies on the baking sheet with space in between and flatten them just slightly. Use the tip of a finger, your thumb, or the back of a small spoon to create a small well in the center of each cookie.

8. Fill the center of each cookie with ¼ teaspoon of jam.

9. Bake each sheet of cookies separately in the center of the oven for 15 to 16 minutes, until the jam centers are sizzling and the edges of the cookies are golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

To freeze
Baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months; thaw them at room temperature. Cookie dough (prepared through step 4) can be frozen for up to 6 months; thaw the dough in the refrigerator before forming cookies, filling with jam, and baking.

Credit line: Recipe from The Allergy-Free Pantry: Make Your Own Staples, Snacks, and More Without Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Soy or Nuts, copyright © Colette Martin, 2014. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are sold.

And now for my giveaway:

One lucky reader will win signed copies of Learning to Bake Allergen-Free and The Allergy-Free Pantry. Also included in the prize package will be the most needed kitchen tool when baking gluten-free - a digital kitchen scale for weighing gluten-free flours!

If you already own my cookbooks, you may choose to have them sent to someone else (or keep the signed versions and give your original copies away).

To enter:

Leave a comment here. Say whatever you like - tell us about your favorite cookie, why you'd like to win my cookbooks, or simply tell a joke. You have until Saturday, Dec 19th, at midnight to enter. The winner will be announced on December 20th. After leaving a comment, get your bonus entries:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


And be sure to visit all of the other participating sites and enter their giveaways:

• Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Cookies Recipe from Vegetarian Mamma
• Gluten-free Vegan Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe from Sarah Bakes Gluten Free
• Gluten-free Snickerdoodles Recipe from Only Taste Matters
• Gluten-free Vegan Ninjabread Men Recipe from Flippin' Delicious
• Gluten-free Vanilla Wafers Recipe from gfJules
• Gluten-free Cranberry Bliss Oatmeal Cookies Recipe from Making It Milk Free
• Gluten-free Strawberry Thumbprints Recipe from Learning to Eat Allergy-Free
• Gluten-free Holiday Sandwich Cookie Assortment Recipes from Go Dairy Free
• Gluten-free Cranberry Lime Cornmeal Cookies Recipe from Cafe Johnsonia
• Gluten-free Caramel Hot Chocolate Cookies Recipe from Faithfully Gluten Free
• Gluten-free No Bake S'mores Cookies Recipe from My Gluten-free Kitchen
• Gluten-free Dairy-free Sugar Cookies Recipe from Allergy Free Alaska
• Gluten-free Pfeffernusse Recipe from Fearless Dining
• Gluten-free Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe from Maebells
• Gluten-free Flourless Chocolate Pecan Cookies Recipe from Around My Family Table
• Gluten-free Chocolate Gingerbread Bars Recipe from Gluten-Free Palate
• Gluten-free Snickerdoodles Recipe from Gluten-Free Homemaker
• Gluten-free Christmas Wreath Cookies Recipe from Gluten-free Frenzy

Or click on an image below to be taken to the cookie you crave: