Raisin Spice Cookies

I am a picky eater.
Not in the "I only eat chicken!" sense, but in the quality sense. I don't have any place on my plate for "junk" food. I buy good quality meats, free range organic eggs, local ingredients whenever possible. If we can, we grow it ourselves. This doesn't mean we never have a treat though. I own a cake & cupcake company, so treats are a given. I just prefer that we make them ourselves. Real ingredients, nothing artificial.
That became especially important once we realized there was a gluten intolerance in our house. Yes, you can buy gluten-free cookies, but it is much cheaper to make them yourself, and they taste so much better. In fact, I think these taste better than any spice cookie I have ever eaten, gluten-free or not. I'm not alone in that sentiment. I like to test my recipes on my gluten eating friends and family, get their opinions, and THEN tell them they are gluten-free. So many people have pre-concieved notions that gluten-free food is tasteless and strangely textured. That way I get an unbiased opinion, and this one was overwhelmingly positive.

the partially chilled dough

Recipe:

1 cup butter, salted, room temperature

1 cup sugar, granulated

1/2 cup sugar, brown, packed

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup rice flour (I prefer finely ground Thai rice flour for its smooth texture in baking)

2/3 cup potato starch

1 1/2 tsp. tapioca flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 tsp. cinnamon, ground

1/2 tsp. nutmeg, ground (fresh, if you have it)

1 pinch cloves, ground

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut or gluten-free oats

2 cups raisins, seedless

4 cups Rice Krispies, gluten-free brown rice variety

Mmm, fresh cookies, straight from the oven

Method:

In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer, cream the butter with  both sugars, until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and  vanilla, and beat until combined.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together the rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, baking powder and soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. On medium speed, beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture. Then, blend in the coconut or oats, and the raisins. Turn speed down to low and mix in the Rice Krispies, until just combined.

Place the bowl of cookie dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Once the dough is chilled, use 2 spoons (or a handy ice cream scoop, as pictured) to make 2 tbsp. dough balls, and place them in rows of 3x4 on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Chill another 10-12 minutes in the fridge, until firm.

Bake for 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer carefully to a cooling rack, until room temperature.

Continue, until all dough balls are baked.

Makes approx. 6 dozen cookies :)

*I like to use two cookie sheets, and have one in the oven baking, while the second cookie filled sheet is in the fridge chilling. This makes the process go much faster.*

These cookies freeze beautifully, in an airtight conatiner, for a month or so. That is, if you can keep them around that long!

The end result, delicious raisin spice cookies :)