Maple Cinnamon Snickerdoodles

I made a lot of gluten-free cookies over the holidays, but my favorites by far were Kimberly's snickerdoodles. My only problem was that they were so chock full of sugar that I could feel the rush the second I ate them. I often get instant heartburn when I eat something I really shouldn't, and unfortunately, these cookies caused that reaction. I knew with every bite that it was too much sugar and not enough substance for my body. The recipe was so good though that I wanted to use it to make a healthier version.

What I ended up doing was replacing the sugar with maple syrup, an egg with flax seed meal, and tapioca flour with amaranth flour. The result was a soft and chewy cookie that I think I might actually like more than the original! And I didn't feel an immediate sugar rush with these! Now don't get me wrong...these cookies may be slightly healthier, but they're also still slightly indulgent. So they're really only for special occasions.

And what would be the perfect occasion to make these? A birthday! Tomorrow will be the first day of my elimination diet, so I certainly won't be eating these. But it's also my friend, Paco's birthday. Paco has Celiac Disease, and it was on his advice that I first tried eating gluten-free. So without his encouragement, I may never have discovered that gluten was the source of my depression. So thanks, Paco, and happy birthday! Hope you enjoy the cookies!


Maple Cinnamon Snickerdoodles (click here for the original recipe)
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Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 Tbsp. flax seed meal
1 3/4 cup sweet white rice flour (a.k.a. glutinous rice flour)
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup amaranth flour
2 tsp. xantham gum
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

1. Cream the butter and shortening together.
2. With a whisk or hand blender, completely mix in the maple syrup, egg, and flax seed meal.
   
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until completely mixed.
   
4. Chill dough in fridge for an hour.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
6. Form the dough into balls with your hands, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Don't flatten the balls, as they will spread while they bake.
   
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges just barely begin to brown.
   

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Now that I've made these and know the recipe works, I imagine I'll play around with it some more and try to add healthier flours and cut down on the maple syrup. But not this month...this month I'll be cooking and baking elimination diet style! Check back tomorrow to see how my first day of the smoothie cleanse goes.

This post is linked to Calling All Cookies,  Fight Back Fridays, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

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