Vanilla-Raspberry Sandwich Cookies

These raspberry jam sandwich cookies have just the right balance of flavors and textures. The sweet-tart raspberry jam filling marries perfectly with the vibrant vanilla in the ‘buttery’ cookies.

Makes: 40-50 1 1/2 inch cookies
Free of: gluten and all top allergens

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) dairy-free, soy-free margarine, such as Earth Balance, softened
  • 1 cup cane sugar
  • 4 tbsp aquafaba egg replacer (see egg replacer note at end of recipe)
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups Cat’s GF Flour Blend (See recipe below)
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 cup raspberry preserves or jam

Instructions

  1. For the cookies, preheat oven to 325° F and set aside 2 baking sheets and a roll of parchment paper.
  2. In bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat margarine and sugar until creamy. Add aquafaba and vanilla and beat again. Scrape down the bowl.
  3. Add flour blend, xantham gum, baking powder, and salt, and mix on low until just combined.
  4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Do not try to roll out the dough at room temperature, it will be too soft. Remove half of dough from refrigerator and roll between flour-sprinkled sheets of parchment paper, until about 1/4-inch thickness.
  5. Cut cookie shapes with 1 1/2-inch-diameter round cookie cutter, leaving dough on the parchment. Slide parchment with the dough onto one of your baking sheets; place in freezer until firm, about 20 minutes.
  6. Repeat with remaining dough. Remove pans from freezer and pull away excess dough around cut-outs. Return sheets to freezer for another 20 minutes, until cut-outs are very firm. Gather up and roll excess dough if desired.
  7. Bake cold cookies from freezer for 11 minutes, or until they are lightly golden around edges. Remove pan to a wire rack and allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet.
  8. To assemble, when cookies are completely cool, place 1 teaspoon of jam on underside of half of one cookie and top with a second cookie to create a sandwich. Repeat with other cookie halves. Sandwich cookies are best served “crisp” within 2 hours of assembly. They will soften, but still be delicious, for 2 days more.
Egg Replacer Note

For aquafaba: You’ll need 1 15-ounce can of chickpeas for this recipe. Drain can’s liquid into a bowl, and measure out 4 tablespoons. Reserve can ingredients for another use.

Cat Ruehle’s Gluten-Free Flour Blend

Makes: 4 cups
Ingredients

  • 2 cups sweet sorghum flour
  • 1 cup white rice flour
  • 1 cup potato starch (not potato flour)
Method
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the flours and potato starch together until well combined.
  2. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place up to 1 month. For longer storage, keep in the refrigerator up to 6 months or in the freezer up to 1 year. Before using, bring to room temperature. Just before measuring, whisk the flour blend to aerate. Sifting is not necessary if you whisk.

is a pastry chef and the author of the best-selling Let Us All Eat cake: Gluten-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Cakes (Ten Speed Press). Find more recipes from Catherine Ruehle at http://www.catruehle.com