Nankathai, an Indian inspired shortbread cookie

(a gluten free, vegan recipe)

by Moy's Gluten Free Kitchen

Gluten Free Vegan Nankhatai Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free flour blend

½ cup almond flour*

½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if included in your flour blend)

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

pinch of ground cardamom powder

pinch of grated nutmeg

1/3 cup icing sugar

2 tsp coconut oil

3 tbsp non dairy yogurt (should work with coconut milk)

1/8 cup of water (more by tablespoon if needed)

A few sliced almonds for garnish

*Traditional recipes use chickpea flour (Channa flour, Gram flour or Besan). You can swap out the almond flour, adjust the liquid quantities if needed.

Directions

Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside

Add the wet ingredients and knead to a smooth dough that is soft and lightly sticky. If using milk add that before the water, use only the amount of water needed to form the dough

Pinch pieces from the dough, about a tablespoon at a time and roll in your palms to form a smooth ball

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, flatten to your preferred size and press sliced almonds on top

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F, for 10–12 mins till lightly browned

The edges of the cookie should be set. A longer baking time yields a crunchier cookie.

Put the cookies on a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

It's Kurma and it's gluten free, vegan and baked

by Moy’s Gluten Free Kitchen

Before you begin, this is not the traditional method of making kurma. This version is gluten free, dairy free, has less sugar and is baked. Any of the spices or sugar can be modified to your liking

Gluten Free Baked Kurma

Ingredients

1 cup of Gluten Free flour*

½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if already in your flour mix)

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder (more if you prefer it lighter)

½ tsp baking soda

¼ cup brown sugar**

2 tsp flaxmeal (optional, but it helps to keep the dough together)

¼ tsp cinnamon

small piece of whole ginger (can sub 1/8 tsp ginger powder)

2 large cardamom pods (elaichi)

1/3 cup warm coconut milk

1/8 cup coconut oil

2 tsp vinegar

¼ cup powdered sugar

*A flour blend that is used to bake bread will be ideal here. Any flour blend will do but the texture will vary.

**This yields a mildly sweet kurma, you can sweeten to your preference

Directions

Line a baking tray with parchment paper

Add the cardamom pods and the piece of whole ginger to the warm milk, cover and allow to steep for 8-10 mins. The ginger can be muddled (pounded lightly) to release more flavour. If using ginger powder add it to the dry flour mix

Combine the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and flaxmeal, mix well

Add the milk mixture (remove the pods and the ginger), coconut oil and vinegar, mix thoroughly to form a slightly sticky but firm dough. The dough should be easy to handle with moistened hands. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and set aside for a few minutes (8-10 mins)

Roll out the dough to a thin rectangular shape, it does not need to be perfect. Sprinkle the dough lightly with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Cut the dough into 2” wide strips. Working with one strip fold the dough unto itself, three folds will do. Use a little water to moisten the edges so that the folds stay in place. You can lightly roll the folded strip with the palm of your hand and in one direction, to make it more cylindrical. Do not flatten out the folds completely, the folds help with the final texture. Cut each strip or cylinder to your preferred length. Place the pieces on your lined baking tray. When you have made all the strips put the tray in the refrigerator to chill (10 to 15 mins, I use that time to clean up my kitchen). Alternately you can roll the dough into several noodles and then cut along the length to make the kurma pieces.

While you wait preheat the oven to 425 F. When ready bake the kurma at 425 F for 5 minutes to give it colour. After the 5 minutes drop the heat to 375 F and bake for 8-10 mins until firm. A longer baking time yields a crispier kurma but even then it should still be somewhat soft especially in the middle, it will firm up as it cools

Remove from oven and while still hot toss the kurma in the powdered sugar to coat. Toss again to coat a second time if desired

Store in an airtight container in a cool area of your kitchen for up to 5 days

Notes:

For a more traditional Kurma, a simple sugar syrup (phag) can be used to glaze the finished sticks.

The Kurma can also be deep fried. Drain the kurma on paper towels. To make it even crunchier place on a baking tray in your oven at the keep warm setting (about 200F) until you're ready to coat with sugar syrup or powdered sugar

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (gluten free & vegan recipe)

Gluten Free Vegan Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

(This recipe makes 15 cookies about 2 ¼ diameter each)

Ingredients

1 cup GF flour blend

½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if it's part of your flour blend)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2/3 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

¼ cup brown sugar

1/8 cup white

¼ cup vegetable oil (I use coconut)

1 tbsp flax meal

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I use coconut)*

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp almond extract powdered sugar (¼ – ½ cup for rolling the cookies)

*You can add a 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee to the milk which will deepen the flavour of the chocolate

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Combine the dry ingredients, except the flax meal, in a bowl and set aside

Whisk the wet ingredients including the flax meal until the sugar is dissolved

Add the flour mix, sift to remove clumps if needed, and mix until a firm but sticky dough is formed

Place the powdered sugar in a bowl or a plate. Pinch off pieces of the dough, about a tablespoon each time and using the palm of your hand roll around in the powdered sugar to form a ball.

Place each cookie unto the prepared baking sheet and flatten out to your desired thickness. Do not use wet hands, this will dissolve the sugar. You can refrigerate the dough (about 15 mins) to make it easier to work with. Or you can roll out and flatten the cookies without dusting in the powdered sugar. When you have formed all of the cookies, start with the first one and dip each side in the powdered sugar. By this time the surface of the un-dusted cookies would have dried out a bit making it easier to coat

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes until set. They will firm up as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack almost immediately. The cookies will “sweat” if left in the tray dissolving the sugar.

Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days