A long while ago, before I became gluten-free, before I met my OH and opened a restaurant, I had a very small kitchen in Surrey and made cookery videos.  I think it's definitely something I will start doing again, though the set up can be a little onerous at times.  Especially when the best place to film is your dining room and therefore you have to get everything set up on the dining table etc. - not ideal!  Anyway, I digress.  I used to make these cute little cinnamon biscuits (which are very popular in the US) quite regularly as they are not only super easy to make, they are utterly fantastic with a good cup of coffee (or cuppa joe to quote our American friends).  I made a video of the making of these, and thought I would provide the gluten-free recipe here, as the video shows a "regular" version.  I've made these very recently, as, whilst we are in lockdown, having time to really indulge in a little Hygge / Fika is definitely something I'm really loving.

Makes 12-15

INGREDIENTS:
150g gluten free plain flour, or any GF flour of your choice
1/2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
100g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp coffee mate (I know, weird, right!  This can be omitted if you don't have it, but it adds a lovely creaminess to the cookies)
30g butter, melted & cooled
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

FOR THE COATING:
1tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon


METHOD:

• Pre-heat the oven to 180/160 fan/gas 4
• Line 2 x baking sheets with parchment 
• Sift (sorry, I know it's a bore, but it makes for a super light doodle) the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, coffee mate and cinnamon together

• Stir in the sugar
• In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together the egg and butter

• Pour this into the dry ingredients, stir together with a wooden spoon (or whatever implement you fancy), then work it together with your hands to form a dough

• Once in a ball, chill this mixture for 15 minutes
• Whilst the dough is chilling, mix together your coating ingredients

• Roll a heaped spoonful of the mixture into a ball (it will be a little crumbly because it's chilled, just work it a little and it'll come together, I promise, but the chilling part is really important), then coat in your lovely sugary cinnamon mixture

• Place on a baking tray and push down just a smidge

• Bake for 10-15 minutes, then leave to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before popping them on a wire rack to cool completely
• Savour with a cup of your favourite tea or coffee!

Change up the spices if you fancy it - ginger works a treat, as does mixed spice!

​

I like old stuff.  I'm a vintage girl and constantly inspired by things from the past.  The inspiration behind these crackle cookies is, not surprisingly, Black Forest Gateau.  Whilst I am not going to lie to you and say that eating these cookies is like eating a Black Forest Gateau, they do, for me, conjure up the same sense of nostalgia.  The dried cherries give these little nuggets a delicious sourness which works so well against the heady hit of chocolate.  They are not overly sweet, but with their prettily pink dusting of cherry powder, they have just enough to indulge your sweet tooth.

I use Food Thoughts products as I believe they give a superior flavour, however, feel free to use whatever you have in your store cupboard.


RECIPE
Makes 24
Total time to make: 30 minutes


INGREDIENTS

• 150g gluten-free plain flour
• 30g Food Thoughts cacao powder
• 30g Food Thoughts cocoa powder
• 30g Coffee Mate
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 tbsp cherry powder, plus extra for dusting
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 25g Food Thoughts cacao nib
• 2 eggs
• 60g butter, melted and cooled
• 40g dried cherries, soaked overnight in 1 tbsp Kirsch
• 30g icing sugar (for dusting)

METHOD

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c/160c fan/gas 4 and line 2 large baking trays with baking paper
2. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cacao powder, baking powder, xanthan gum, Coffee Mate and cherry powder together
3. Stir the sugar, cacao nibs and dried cherries through the flour mixture
4. Whisk the eggs and butter together, then pour this into the dry ingredients.  Stir together using a wooden spoon, then work with your hands to bring it together into a ball.
5. Roll about a dessertspoon full of the mixture into a ball, then roll in icing sugar and place on your prepared baking tray
6. Continue in this way until you have used all the mixture
7. Bake for 10-14 minutes, remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for about 10 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  If you are unsure if they are cooked or not, give them a little nudge; if they slide they are cooked and can be removed.  If they don't budge or your finger leaves an impression in the cookie, you will need to leave them in for another 3-5 minutes.
8. Once cooled, dust them with cherry powder then eat, greedily.