It’s Christmas week, can you believe it? Just when time couldn’t fly any faster, it has. But you know what I’ve decided? It’s a sign that life is beautiful and the days are filled with joy and creativity! Feeling blessed at all that’s happened over the last year and can’t wait to spend some time and reflect and look forward into 2017.
But before the New Year kicks in; Christmas!! And what better way to celebrate than with traditional Christmas cutout cookies! I’m so excited to escape the craze and spend Christmas in Montana with my sweet family. I leave soon and am excited to get away and rest and savor all that Christmas brings.
So we just survived quite a snow storm this week in Portland – it rarely snows here and when it does, people freak out a bit. But it’s mainly because the city is not equipped for snow and ice and on top of that, no one knows how to drive in it and certainly no one has snow tires. It’s been a bit chaotic and I myself found my car stranded on an extremely icy hill for several days. Ahh, so adventurous, seemingly right just days before Christmas!
On the first snow day, I stayed in and made these pretty gluten free Christmas cutout cookies, and couldn’t help but step outside and grab some shots in the snow too!
This also happened to be my first shooting day in my new apartment, and I was just so very happy. The fireplace was roaring, the Christmas tree glimmering brightly, and of course the Christmas music was on… and then to top it all off, it snowed for hours on end.
It was the perfect day, and I was certainly thankful to be working from home and not stuck in several hours of stopped traffic outside! I hope you enjoy these cutout cookies as much as I did, they seriously do not taste even remotely gluten free as some products do, and they will be my new go to! They’re also so tasty with the orange zest and cardamom, a perfect combo!
Merry Christmas to you and yours, I hope it’s a lovely holiday for you and that you feel well loved. Oh and if you make these cookies, make sure to take a snap and tag me so I can see!! Thank you also to Jeanette for assisting this shoot!
Gluten Free Christmas Cut Out Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 c. butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/3 c. GF baking flour I recommend this
- 2/3 c. almond flour
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1/4 t. cardamom
- Zest of 1 mandarin orange
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl (preferably in an electric mixer), cream together butter and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- In a separate bowl, add in the flours, salt, cardamom and zest. Whisk to incorporate and add to the wet ingredients while mixer is on low, about 1/3 cup of dry ingredients at a time.
- Scrape sides and beat again to ensure it's well mixed, but be careful to not over mix. Cover dough and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Roll out dough on floured surface, 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven and remove just before the edges start to brown. Cool completely.
- Dust cookies with powdered sugar and store in airtight container for up to 5 days.
