Gluten-Free Vegan Linzer Cookies - Rhian's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep gluten-free cookies from falling apart? ›

Remember: Xanthan Gum is Your Friend

It might sound scary, but xanthan gum is key for successful gluten-free baking. It helps bind together the ingredients, preventing your cookies from falling to pieces. Be careful to not use too much; no one likes gummy baked goods.

13- Make sure your baking soda and/or baking powder are fresh. These are the leavening agents in your cookie recipe and if they are no longer active, your cookies won't puff up and may spread more. Try a fresh container if they've been open longer than 3 months. 14- Use a tried and true gluten free cookie mix.

Another reason is that gluten-free flours, such as almond flour or coconut flour, can behave differently than wheat flour in baking. They may absorb more liquid, for example, which can result in dry or crumbly cookies.

Sweet rice flour helps the cookies hold together and creates a smooth texture, like all-purpose flour would. You can substitute Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour, which is made with sweet rice flour, or try cassava flour.

Add extra liquid: Gluten-free flours tend to absorb more liquid than regular flour, so you may need to add more liquid to your recipes to compensate. This can help to keep your baked goods moist and prevent them from becoming dry and crumbly.

Using xanthan gum helps provide some of the stickiness that gluten free goods lack, replacing some elasticity. Xanthan gum mimics some of gluten's most essential properties by sticking to flour and its moisture. This helps create moist goods that hold their shape after being baked.

Cassava Flour

It's grain-free and can be used as a 1:1 for all purpose flour in some recipes. We like it in tortillas, cookies, and crackers, and it's also featured in our MB Gluten-Free Flour Blend!

2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of gluten-free flour is necessary to ensure proper leavening. Baking soda and buttermilk can be used to leaven instead of baking powder, but 1-1/8 teaspoon of cream of tartar should be added for each 1/2 teaspoon baking soda used.

As with gluten, this could stop a cookie from spreading too much as it bakes. So I've decided to try adding a hydrocolloid to my gluten-free dough. Some grocery stores sell xanthan gum and guar gum, especially if the stores have a gluten-free aisle. Many gluten-free recipes call for xanthan gum.

Any taste differences also depend on which flour or flours are used and in what proportions. The variety of gluten-free flours is advantageous in that they can be blended to achieve the results that bakers want. Baking with gluten-free flour will produce some slight differences in taste or texture.

Why are my vegan cookies so crumbly? ›

If you think vegan baked goods are dry and crumbly, you probably haven't had one that's been made with the right fat (or the right amount of fat), according to Konya. Butter is what makes traditional baked goods so darn tasty—as well as helps keep it all together—so you can't merely eliminate it and hope for the best.

Timing is Key

While visual cues like the toothpick test and pressing the top of the cake will still help, the best way to determine if your baked goods are perfectly done is with a timer and oven thermometer. This is because gluten-free treats often look underdone and slightly wet inside after baking.

White Rice Flour: An all-purpose flour for breading and thickening. Sweet Rice Flour (Mochiko): Thickens gravy and sauces, and is used to make noodles. Tapioca Flour (Tapioca Starch): Use it to thicken sauces, as you would starch. Xanthan Gum: Include in gluten-free flour mix to help your baked goods stick together.

Instead of proceeding directly to baking, let the gluten-free cookie dough rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. This resting period is crucial for hydration, not leavening. During this time, gluten-free flours absorb moisture from the wet ingredients, altering the dough's texture and consistency.

Gluten's elasticity allows batters and doughs to trap air released by leavening agents (yeast, baking powder, or baking soda), which is how they're able to rise. Without this protein, gluten-free baked goods have the potential to be grainy, dense, and crumbly, but they don't have to be!

If your blend doesn't have a binder a good rule of thumb is to add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum for every 1 cup of gluten free flour. This changes depending on the type of recipe you're making so it's simply a guide.