Cookies Done

Gluten Free Cookies: Brown Butter Shortbread

Gluten Free Brown Butter Shortbreads

See the bits of sugar that didn’t dissolve?

I’ve been intrigued by the gluten free mix Cup 4 Cup for awhile.  It’s a collaboration between famed Chef Thomas Keller and Chef Lena Kwak. Chef Kwak created the mix when she worked as the Research & Development Chef for the French Laundry in Yountville, CA.  It’s expensive.  I paid $19.95 at Sur la Table for a 3 lb bag.  I was curious to see what results would come of a product with such an impressive pedigree.  I don’t bake gluten free often enough to want to spend time making my own mix (for now).  Ergo the decision to lay down a $20 for (hopefully) instant gratification.

Admittedly I chose a recipe that only benefits from a lack of gluten.  Shortbreads have a lovely sandy texture that only exists because the amount of fat tames the gluten in wheat flour.  But, baby steps, right?

I threw the cookie together in a few minutes.  When the little blinged out rounds were sitting next to me in the car on their way to a Valentine’s gathering of single friends I couldn’t resist.  Man they’re good.  As you’ll learn as I post more recipes I don’t like super sweet sweet things.  The combination of the deep almost winey flavor of the muscovado sugar and the deeply browned butter makes these cookies wonderful for a tea time snack.  The lemon just gives the deep flavor a bit of a lift and a lovely aroma.  Try them out and let me know what you think.

Change Up
Because I chose to use salty butter the finished cookies are just lightly sweet.  So they would also be fantastic as a base for a savory topping like a whipped Maytag blue cheese.    Cookie as canapé base.  Yum.

Gluten Free Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies

Course: Dessert, Tea Time
Cuisine: American
Servings: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Passive Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
Brown Butter
1 1/4 sticks salty butter

For Cookies
1/2 cup Muscovado or Piloncillo (extra dark brown sugar) firmly packed
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Brown Butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/3 cups Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour
Sanding Sugar for rolling

Instructions
Brown Butter
1. Cut butter into four or five pieces and cook butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it has a nutty fragrance and flecks on bottom of pan turn a light brown, anywhere from 4 to 7 minutes. It helps to frequently scrape the solids off the bottom of the pan in the last couple minutes to ensure even browning. Transfer butter to a bowl and chill until just firm, about 1 hour in refrigerator or ½ hour in freezer.

To make cookies
1. Beat together lemon zest and sugar for a few seconds.

2. Add cooled butter and beat using the paddle of a stand mixture (or an electric mixer) until the sugar lightens in color a bit and gets a little fluffy. If you’re using piloncillo or Muscovado don’t’ worry if you have a few beads of sugar that don’t completely mix into the butter. They will add great texture.

3. Add lemon juice and beat to mix.

4. Add flour and mix well at medium speed. Dough might remain somewhat crumbly.

5. Dump dough (or crumbly dough) onto a sheet of wax paper or parchment. If your dough is crumbly simply squeeze it together. Your flour has no gluten so you don’t need to worry about overworking it. Make a log about 1 1/2″ thick. Roll the log in coarse sugar, pressing the granules into the dough.

6. Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

7. Wrap the cylinder in wax paper and chill until firm, about 1 hour.

8. Slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

9. Bake cookies until the edges take on color approximately 15 -20 minutes. Let them cool on the pan before moving. They’ll firm up as they cool.

Recipe Notes
I used gold sanding sugar left from the Angeli pastry dept. Everyone asked about it.