Snickerdoodles

The men in my life are HUGE fans of snickerdoodles.  The ones we've been buying from the store cost almost $4 for two big cookies.  I found Martha Stewart's recipe, http://www.rachelleb.com/2009/02/23/martha-stewarts-snickerdoodles/,  and thought I'd give it a go.  We were seeing if duck eggs would be a thing the chitlin could eat, being as some people with chicken egg allergies seem to tolerate them.  Nope.  The recipe was REALLY good, though, with our Bob's and the duck eggs, so I thought I needed to try it with some flax gel and guar gum, instead, because the chitlin still deserves delicious cookies, even if he can't have eggs.  Or maybe because he can't have eggs.  Anyway, I am happy to report that the recipe is still quite wonderful vegan, so here's my version.

Makes 20 cookies



2 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten-free flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter flavored shortening (I use Spectrum brand), room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 flax egg replacers*
1/2 tsp guar gum**
- – -
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder, guar gum, and salt into a bowl. Put shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in flax eggs. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 20 (1 3/4-inch) balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake cookies, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored between layers of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days, and they freeze very well.

GK's notes:  Ok, * flax egg replacer recipe:  3 T very hot water, 1 T ground flax seed.  Allow to sit for a few minutes, to gel.  That's it!  ** It's possible that the guar gum is unnecessary--I will try it another time and come modify the recipe if needed.  I thought it might be handy, because a lot of this kind of cookie gets very crumbly if it doesn't have eggs.  Turns out it's a pretty chewy cookie, so it may not need it.  When I first started baking, I put xanthan gum in everything, because most gluten-free recipes call for it.  But I forgot it one time, when making cupcakes, and couldn't tell a difference, so I rarely bother anymore, and my baked goods usually come out pretty well without it.  Xanthan gum is no longer a good choice for us anyway, because it's made using corn, so IF I use a gum, now I use guar, which isn't quite as effective as xanthan anyway.  However, the texture of these cookies is nearly indistinguishable from the ones I made with duck eggs, so as far as I'm concerned at this time, the recipe is great!