Liberty's Animal Crackers

This is a recipe I came up with on my own using Agave syrup which has a low glycemic index. These are a lot like animal crackers, we just happen to use a small animal shaped cookie cutters.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the following:

3/4 cup Spectrum non-hydrogenated palm oil (comes in a tub like Crisco)

1/2 cup amber agave syrup

1/4 cup brown sugar (for a no-sugar version, omit the brown sugar and increase the agave syrup to 3/4 cup. If it's not sweet enough, add a little stevia powder).

2 tsp vanilla

Mix together and add to the above in parts:

2 3/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum

If it is too stiff, add a little water. If it is too "wet" add a little tapioca flour.

Put a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet without sides (jelly roll pan). Divide the dough into equal parts and roll out. I usually put a little tapioca flour on my rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Remove the excess around the cookies using a toothpick or knife.

Bake for around 10 minutes until golden.

I try to roll them as thinly as possible without losing my mind.

Extras

Homemade Italian Breadcrumbs

12 slices gluten-free bread (more or less, whatever you have)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil

Run bread through a food processor until fine crumbs. Mix in rest of ingredients. Store in airtight bags and freeze. Makes great breading for chicken fingers.

Gluten Free Links

This one below used to have their recipes laid out like a cookbook, where you could just print them all out and put them in a small notebook. They have taken their excellent recipes and listed them by an index. Looks like they still have the pictures up, too. An excellent site for gluten free recipes.

http://www.gluten.net/recipes/index.php?catid=17

The official site for the this diet that offers lots of information, links and recipes.

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/

Some good gluten free bloggers who offer recipes:

http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/

http://wogglebug.com/

http://glutenfreebay.blogspot.com/search/label/holiday%20recipes

http://www.jgourmet.ca/index.htm

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

The Shabtai Gourmet is a find by my friend Shanon who says the ring tings taste just like ring dings and the 7 layer cake was fabulous. Check them out. Free shipping, too!!

http://www.shabtai-gourmet.com/