Holiday Cookie Swap

This month, Cooking for Special Needs is focusing on cookies; and I thought a cookie recipe swap would be a terrific idea. Got a cookie recipe you’d like to share? Email your favorite cookie recipe to flamencomom@gmail.com and I’ll post it here on the site! Whether it’s GFCF or traditional, send it in and share your favorites.

I find that as the holidays approach, I spend more and more time baking cookies. I find they are a thoughtful gift for some of those folks you just don’t get to thank during the year. Just ask my mailman, Kenny; he looks forward to a homemade batch of cookies each December. And with times being lean, a homemade gift like cookies can be a great option. This recipe is for a gluten and casein free option that we like to share.

Choco-Nut Puffy Rice Cookies (adapted from recipe by Lisa Lewis)
Ingredients:
1 cup gluten-free flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1 egg
½ tsp. baking soda
½ cup casein-free margarine (I used Earth Balance)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups puffed rice cereal (check ingredients to make sure they’re GFCF)
½ cups GFCF chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)
½ cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a cookie sheet. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. Using an electric mixer, cream together sugar, vanilla, and margarine until light in fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Stir in the dry mixture, then the cereal, chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoonful onto baking sheet; bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.