Here’s another cookie recipe that I’ve been making for 20 years!
I just converted it from “regular flour” to gluten free last week. It was a friendly recipe, thank goodness because it was perfect the first attempt.
The only thing that I changed was the flour and I added 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum and I increased the egg from one to one and a half.
This recipe has somewhat of a shortbread cookie texture. The apricots and almonds in this cookie make it great tasting and very special.
Other than chopping up the apricots and the almonds, this cookie is very easy and fast to make. It does need some chilling time in the refrigerator because you form the dough into 2 logs and then just cut them into slices and bake after they are chilled.
I think I will be using this base cookie without the apricots and almonds for other recipes because it works so well.
I have been doing very well with my cookie recipe tests and conversions this year- I have made about a dozen different kinds of cookies and only had one that I wouldn’t make again. It was a coconut cookie (not my recipe!) and it just was blah and not worth the calories!
I made another pecan cookie that I will be posting and it took a couple of tries because the original recipe called for too high of an oven temperature.
I made a coffee and raisin cookie that is good, but just has too much flour I think. I will try it again with less flour.
I shared the link to this recipe with Food On Friday at Ann Kroeker, Merry Merry Munchies at Dining With Debbie, Gluten Free Wednesdays at The Gluten Free Homemaker, Make It With. . . Mondays at Couscous And Consciousness
Cream butter and sugar then blend in egg and almond extract.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1- 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 and one half eggs
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside:
2- 1/2 cups GF Flour Mix*
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Finely chop 1 cup of dried apricots (I used Trader Joe’s Blenheim)
Finely chop 1/2 cup almonds (or other nut of your choice)
Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture and blend in thoroughly.
Add apricots and nuts and stir until mixed in.
Shape dough into 2 rolls about 2 inches in diameter on top of wax paper. Smooth rolls then wrap wax paper around them and refrigerate for a few hours until firm.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Cut rolls into 1/4 inch slices and place on cookie sheets covered with parchment paper.
Bake cookies for 10 minutes, switching pans top to bottom half way through the cooking time.
This recipe makes about 5 dozen.
These cookies make great gifts and also ship very well.
You could change out the apricots for other dried fruit.
*GF Flour Mixture
The GF flour mixture that I use is pretty standard. I use Authentic Foods gluten free flours because they are ground more finely than commercial brand GF flours that you can buy off the shelf. This results in wonderful baked goods that do not have that “gritty” feel when you chew them like so many products that we all tried in the beginning!
GF Flour Mixture
2 cups AF Superfine Brown Rice Flour (available in the amazon.com store on my blog)
2/3 cup AF Potato Starch Flour (available in my store)
1/3 cup AF Tapioca Flour (available in my store)
I make up several batches of this mixture at a time and keep it in a canister. I keep all of my other GF flours in the freezer.
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I have some dried apricots that need to be used. This sounds like a great way to use them.
I love cookies with dried apricots in them! It’s fun because you don’t see them as often as other types of cookies. I have 2 other different recipes with apricots that I still need to convert to gluten free. I think these are my favorites though!
Your cookies look great!!! I would have to replace the sugar with Xylitol.. but I think that would work.
I am a new follower on twitter (CandidaJourney)
Also, I have a Gluten Free Blog linky up if you would like to link up. There are 24 blogs linked up so far
http://myjourneywithcandida.blogspot.com/2010/01/gluten-free-blogs.html
Can’t wait to try these. I love apricots but I’ve never tried them in cookies. Yum.
Hi Johanna! Thanks for commenting! I have 2 more apricot cookie recipes to convert to gluten free (and tons of other cookie recipes) so keep checking back for more!
These are great looking cookies Andrea – apricots and almonds are such a great combo, but as you suggest the base cookie would probably lent itself well to all sorts of other combinations.
Thanks so much for sharing these at Make it with … Mondays, challenge almonds – I do hope you’ll join in again.
Sue
Thank you Sue!