Sugar Cookies...melt in your mouth goodness!

When I was a little girl, making sugar cookies with my grandmother was a special treat. I loved spending time with my grandma in her kitchen and her old fashioned sugar cookies were the best. Just a simple cookie, no frills or fancy shapes, no frosting or sprinkles. A simple round cookie, squished down with a glass dipped in sugar.

Even into adulthood those cookies took me back to my grandmother's kitchen with just one bite. Such special memories came to mind with those cookies. In the last few years since cutting gluten from our diet, these cookies have been sorely missed!

While doing the product review on Authentic Foods Multi Flour Blend, I decided to try my grandmother's recipe using their flour. What a wonderful result I got, tasted just like my grandmother's cookies. They were gone in a matter of a couple of days! Today I decided to try these cookies with a home made flour blend, much like the one that Authentic Foods sells.

While I love their blend and will most certainly be purchasing some, I also like having the option of using a flour blend that I can make at home in my own kitchen. Why? For many reasons really. We live on a very tight grocery budget and buying ready made "anything" is not always an option. Cooking from scratch, as you know if you've read any of my past blog entries, is what I do. So, making a flour blend my self is something that I have no problem doing, and enjoy.

Another reason I like making flour blends of my own is that I am able to control the kinds of flours I am using. There are some gluten-free flours that I try not to use in large amounts or at all because of taste, other food issues and nutrition. It is so easy to use a lot more starch than our bodies really need while eating gluten-free, so I try to keep a handle on this area of our diet.

For someone just starting out on this gluten-free journey, having a number of different flours in your kitchen may be more overwhelming than it will be worth the savings in the end. I can totally appreciate that! Everyone has their own "comfort level" as far as this topic goes, this is just where my comfort level is. If buying five different flours is out of the question for you, then by all means take advantage of the wonderful mixes that are out there!

I have been absolutely amazed at the number of wonderful products that are at our disposal these days. I know that even three years ago there were not as many tasty options out there. Doing the review on that flour blend was a huge eye opener for me. Putting their flour blend to the test made me want to test more recipes that we have been missing!

The cookies I made today turned out pretty well, not as wonderful as the ones made with the store bought flour blend, but pretty close! It is still a work in progress and has room for improvement, but that is the beauty of learning to use gluten-free flours, playing is always an option.

Having to eat gluten-free does not mean that all of your old favorites have to be a thing of the past. I encourage you to try some of your old family favorites, play with them and see if you can't get them to work with some of the gluten-free flours, mixes and products that are out there. Even if you decide to use one of the many flour blends that you can make at home, don't be afraid to try an old family favorite. You never know what you might discover!

You may just discover that a favorite that you thought you would always have to avoid is really easily converted to be a gluten-free option. Be bold, be adventurous, try new things and don't be afraid to fail. Yes, the cost is a bit higher than run of the mill wheat products, but you can and will find options that will work. Just remember to use xanthan gum or guar gum to help your gluten-free flours hold together and give you the texture you are looking for.

General rule of thumb is 1/2-1 teaspoon per cup of flour. If the flour blend you are using doesn't have xanthan gum or guar gum already added in the mix, then add 1/2 teaspoon to your quick bread, cookie or cake recipe. It will just give the flour a little bit of help in holding together for the best possible texture in your baked goods.

So, now go dig out your grandmother's cookie recipe and try your hand at an old family favorite!