Not Your Average Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies/Biscuits

       Who makes chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips in the morning?

        Apparently I do. This sounds crazy but I, I guess I “stressed” and feared over trying one of the gazillion Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes I’d found Thursday, fearing they’d come out a disaster. That fear, worry got bigger and bigger, as I looked at and wrote down some gluten free recipes and non-gluten free recipes (the so-called regular or original, which ever you prefer to call it.)

        I don’t know why I do that to myself – give myself a high standard or a set expectation of time for something and then beat myself up when I don’t make it. Yes, I do this, for some reason, even with baking or simply eating or avoiding a certain food. But in life, I do this to myself with exercising, homework (I used to be on top of that – last year.) And honestly I hate to disappoint people; therefore I hate not getting my homework.

         Anyways, back to the cookies, the dough was delicious, then after baking the first couple batches of cookies I decided to try adding peanut butter. And the dough tasted even better as did the cookies.

         The first cookies without peanut butter, I did not know what to think of them other than that they crumbled and melted in my mouth like a buttery soft powder. Then later that today I figured out that the taste of the finished product reminded me of shortbread cookies.

        So I call them “Shortbread Cookies.” Or "Shortbread Biscuits," depending on if I'm using American or British term for the delicasy. ;)

        Notice that I have not added any chocoate chips. Why? Because I had none, unfortunately at the time of their making.

Here's the Recipe for "Gluten Free (Peanut Butter) Shortbread Cookie/Biscuit"

1 cup Sorghum Flour

1 cup Tapioca Flour/Starch

1/2 cup Buckwheat Flour (gluten/wheat free)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

(mix in a large bowl)

1 cup Butter, softened (Organic)

1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

1/2 cup Sugar

2 Tablespoons vanilla

4 Egg Whites (or 2 Large Eggs)

(mix in a medium-sized bowl then add to the large bowl and mix all together)

almost 1 cup Peanut Butter - maybe more (depends on your taste preference, but if you put in too much the dough gets crumbly and very stiff) (I added it in gradually - the dough will start to get stiff anyways) (I used organic - the kind you don't have to stir)

Bake at 160 degrees Celsius

Drop a couple teaspoon sizes or a tablespoon size dough ball on the pan and flatten slightly. (The cookie/biscuit will not change shape or size when it cooks. - It cooks better, perhaps even faster when you flatten the dough ball slightly.)

They were in the oven for at least five minutes, but I honestly have no idea long they were in, I did not keep track of the time. I'm pretty certain that it was more than five minutes. But I just checked them constantly and when the top of a cookie/biscuit was slightly hard, I pulled them out and waited for them to cool slightly (like a minute or two) then put them on plate and dished up the next batch!


History Facts:
Did you know that Shortbread cookies evolved in Scotland in the the 12th century? So it MAY have existed in the Middle Ages when they called them "biscuit bread," beacuse biscuits were made from left over bread dough. In fact, the whole British Isles took on this practice.

Regardless, the more modern shorbread biscuits were more familiar in the 16th century after sugar was added to sweeten it and when it was more expensive to make (because they added butter to leaven it). So it was made on special occasions, especially for ordinary people. It was a luxury for weddings and Christmas and Hogmonay (Scottish New Year's Eve).

The large amount of butter is what makes shortbread short: the term "short," when applied to biscuits and pastry, means crumbly, like "shortcrust" pastry should be. It is the reason why the fat added to biscuits and pastries is called "shortening."

Shortbread was classified as a bread by bakers to avoid paying the tax placed on biscuits.

Interesting Facts:
January 6th of each year is National Shorbread Day.

Shortbread is made from flour, butter and sugar (though it can be made with a variety of flavours of choice).

Don't be surprised if you read some of my characters eating Shortbread on the holidays! ;)





Resources:
http://britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com/2012/06/10/shortbread/

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Scottish-Shortbread/

http://www.ehow.com/about_4688387_shortbread.html

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Shortbread.aspx