Christmas Sugar Cookies

I used to make these cookie-cutter cookies with my mom every year. I knew Christmas was right around the corner, which meant I'd work myself into a guaranteed immune-system-busting holiday frenzy. Like clockwork, I'd contract a nasty coldflufever, adding to the agony of the Christmas countdown since all I could do was hang out at home, bored offa my gourd. Making Christmas cookies is a sweet tradition, although if you have a sickie at home, I recommend separating out the sick dough so as not to infect everyone in the house.

I still have the same cookie cutter shapes of a stocking, bell, Christmas tree, and santa that I used in the 70s and 80s to make these cookies with mom. Since I love the holidays, I had no choice but to figure out how to make these cookies GF.

Make & decorate these sugar cookies with the children in your life, and you will be sure to feel festive in no time flat.

Sugar Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened to room temp

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 egg

2 1/2 cups GF baking flour, such as Bette's Featherlight Flour Blend

2 rounded tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Extra GF baking flour for rolling/cutting surface

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla. Add in egg until smooth. In separate bowl, sift GF flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients until a dough forms. The heat from your hands will fully form the dough. If it gets too warm, wrap dough in plastic wrap and cool in the fridge for 30 mins.

Liberally sprinkle extra GF flour onto rolling surface and rolling pin. Evenly roll out your dough, one section at a time, until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut shapes with cookies cutter, re-rolling the excess until you use up all of your dough.

Bake on cookie sheet (1/2 inch apart) 8 mins at 375 degrees. Let cool on rack completely before decorating cookies.

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter, melted

3 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

5 drops to a quarter teaspoon of preferred GF food coloring

Using a hand mixer, blend melted butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until it forms a smooth icing. Split icing into separate containers and add desired amount of GF food coloring. Use icing, granulated sugar, sprinkles, etc. to decorate the sugar cookies, but make sure to check the labels of the decorations to ensure they are gluten free.

Brisket

Since I didn't grow up Jewish, the wonders of the cut of meat that is brisket never crossed my path. We were Methodists. Sure, we had our delicious white trash staples, oftentimes pork-based roasts and chops, dumplings and ham hock soup. But I was so thrilled every time I ate Jewish food, like Mrs. Zeitz's fantastic latkes, that when I wound up at Emory (a Methodist school that has an over 40% Jewish student body), I was in heaven when I was lovingly overfed lox, matzoh, kugel, and brisket.

Fast forward to years later, with a spotlight on my love of cooking with the crockpot shining brightly. I surveyed the Jews, the Interwebs, and all the Jews on the Interwebs, but eventually I resorted to inventing my own brisket recipe. Here it is in all of its melt-in-your-mouth glory. If you make it for your family and friends, they will swear allegiance to you mightily.

fresh outta the crock pot, before slicing

Crock Pot Brisket

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup GF soy sauce

1 can tomato paste (6oz)

1/2 cup water

1/2 GF boullion cube (I had chicken, but you can use beef or veggie)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon dried mustard

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt & Pepper

1 onion

3-7 pound brisket (get a brisket as large as can fit in the crock pot b/c they shrink)

1. Slice 1 onion, place slices in bottom of crock pot.

2. Rub salt & pepper into the brisket. Place fat side up in crock pot, atop of sliced onions.

3. Whisk together remaining ingredients until you've made a marinade with a ketchup-like consistency. Pour over brisket.

4. Cook on low in crock pot for 8 hours.

If you don't have a crock pot, you can use a dutch oven. Combine all ingredients above, cover, and cook in oven at 250 degrees for 8 hours.