Let's go ahead and get any eye-rolling, boo-ing or swearing out of your system.... ok, are we good? Because I have something to tell you... please don't hate me. Because.... I love Valentine's Day. I do. I can't help it.
It's definitely not my favorite holiday by any means, but I love to love people. Isn't that essentially what Valentine's Day is all about?
(total side note: isn't this tin lovely? My dear friend Lindsey gave it to me! I think she's super swell.)
Nothing says loving like something sweet from the oven. So one of my favorite things to do is to bake special treats... shocking to you I'm sure. And better yet, if I can bake something and make it pretty, by golly, I'm all in!
Sugar cookies are a great option for baking up something delicious and pretty. The decorating part can be a bit time consuming, but these cookies are just as delicious on their own... ask my husband, I had to slap his hand away from the cooling cookies so I'd have some left to decorate!
I'm also quite excited about these cookies, because they are my own recipe! I never thought I would get to a point where I could make up my own recipes, but I have! And I'm so pleased!
Just as a note, coconut oil is used for this recipe instead of butter so there is a slight taste of coconut. I think it's fantastic, but if you would rather jump off a cliff than eat something that tastes like coconut... then I have a lovely chocolate chip recipe for you instead.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose gluten-free flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
In a large bowl, whisk together all your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In a small bowl, whisk together all you wet ingredients: egg, egg yolk, coconut oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and beat together using a handheld mixer until thoroughly combined. Knead the cookie dough in the bowl until all the ingredients are well incorporated and the dough forms a ball. Divide the dough in half. Make a disc with each half and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a well floured surface, working with one disc at a time, roll out the dough until its approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut cookies out with your desired cookie cutter (mine was an approximately 2 inch heart shaped cookie cutter). Save the scraps, knead back into a disc, and repeat the rolling and cutting until you've used all the dough you can.
Place the cookie shapes onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper with about an inch between each one. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remember that if you used a smaller cookie cutter the baking time will be less, and if you used a larger cookie cutter the baking time will be more.
If you are wanting to decorate with royal icing (like mine). Follow this incredibly helpful guide from Bake at 350 to make the frosting. You'll want to look around on her website for inspiration, trust me!
Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Jill