Cut-Out Sugar Cookies

[ Prep Time: 25 Minutes | Start to Finish: 2 Hours 25 Minutes | 1½ dozen cookies ]

• 1 cup sorghum flour
• 1 cup white rice flour
• ½ cup almond flour
• ½ cup potato starch
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup melted ghee or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla
• ½ teaspoon lemon oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coarse sugar

1. In medium bowl, stir together all flours, potato starch, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt; set aside.

2. In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients except coarse sugar with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute or until well blended. Add flour mixture; beat until blended. Shape dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours.

3. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheets and rolling pin with cooking spray (without flour). On nonstick baking mat or parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray (without flour), roll dough to ¼-inch thickness with rolling pin. Using 3- to 3½-inch cookie cutter, cut shapes from dough; place 1 to 1½ inches apart on cookie sheets. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

4. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

1 Cookie: Calories 190; Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 5g; Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 20mg; Sodium 150mg; Total Carbohydrate 28g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 2g Exchanges: ½ Starch, 1½ Other Carbohydrate, 1½ Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2

Contributed by Jean Duane Alternative Cook www.alternativecook.com

The lemon oil adds a nice flavor to this sugar cookie. It is available at most specialty kitchen or cookware stores.

Almond flour and almond meal are not the same thing. Almond flour is made from blanched and finely ground almonds. Almond meal is ground almonds with the skin on and is usually a coarser grind than almond flour. Almond flour works best in this recipe.