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Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

This is a truly fantastic biscuit, which I have become quite addicted to.  

This recipe was originally for normal (i.e. not gluten-free) ingredients, but we have adapted it for our own purposes. The amounts have not been altered so if you want to make a "normal" batch, substitute the gluten-free ingredients with standard ingredients.

The baking time has been adjusted for the gluten-free ingredients - normal ingredients will need a couple less minutes.

Also, I used a food processor for Steps 1, 2, and 4.  This worked perfectly, but there's no reason why you can't do the whole thing manually if preferred.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (about 115 grams)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 & 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (we use the Plain Flour from Orgran)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• cinnamon sugar for rolling

1. Cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract together.
2. Add the egg to the mixture, and whip it until light and fluffy.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
4. Add about 2/3 of the dry ingredients to the whipped mixture, and whip until combined.
5. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix by hand.
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.  The dough will likely be tacky, but the cooling period will resolve this.
7. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
8. Line a baking sheet with baking or parchment paper.
9. Using a scoop, make balls of dough (each comprised of roughly 2 tablespoons).
10. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar, and place on the baking sheet.
11. Using a fork, squish the dough out into biscuit shapes.  These biscuits flatten and spread out, so account for this with your placement on the sheet.
12. Bake for 12-13 minutes for chewy biscuits; a couple of minutes longer for crunchy.
13. Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute. Note that they'll be very soft when they come out of the oven - that's fine.
14. Gently remove the biscuits from the baking sheet, and let cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Abernethy Biscuits

These traditional Scottish biscuits (or cookies to our American cousins) don't get their name from the town in Perthshire, but from a Doctor Abernethy who suggested the addition of caraway seeds and sugar to plain biscuits.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 75g caster sugar (although granulated sugar will do)
• 75g butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 standard egg

1. Sift the flour and baking powder, then rub in the butter until thoroughly mixed .
2. Mix in the sugar and caraway seed, then add the milk and egg to make a stiff dough.
3. Roll the mixture on a floured surface until it is an appropriate thickness for a biscuit.
4. Cut out the biscuits with a three-inch plain cutter, rolling the trimmings to make more as required.
5. Prick the top of the biscuits with a fork, and place on greased baking trays.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 190C/375F for ten minutes until golden brown.
7. Cool and store in an airtight container (although they are yummy fresh from the oven).