Gluten Free Valentine's Cookies!

These cookies are grain free and gluten free, made with cassava root flour and potato starch. We added a tablespoon of gelatin powder for extra stability as we wanted to cut them out in shapes. There is no need to prebloom the gelatin, we simply add it to the eggs. These cookies are still a bit more fragile than gluten cookies before baking, so when we cut them we pick off in between dough parts first and then use thin pancake flipping tool to tease them off the counter surface. If you dough gets a bit too dry, add some butter. The amounts are always aproximate as ingredients and environment might not have the same amount of moisture. It is not hard though to adjust as you go.
Cassava Cookie recipe
1.5 cups cassava flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs (or 3 small ones)
1 tablespoon gelatin powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar (or other sweetener)
1 stick (120g) butter, melted (might need a bit more if dough is too dry)
1 teaspoon or more nutmeg powder
1. Mix cassava flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, and baking soda with a hand whisk in a bowl, and set aside.
2. In another bowl start whisking eggs with a hand whisk. Add gelatin and whisk more. Add sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract while whisking. Whisk well.
3. Add dry ingredient mix into egg mix bowl and mix well. At first with a spatula or wooden spoon, and then with hands. Now you have a cookie dough ready. If it looks very dry, add more butter and knead it in. From our experience though, you probably will not see if dough is too dry until it is out of the fridge.
4. Place the dough in covered bowl into the fridge for couple hours or into the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up so it would be easier to cut. This step is not strictly needed, but it does make it easier to do the next step.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).Take out the dough. If it is too dry, add more butter. Roll out the dough. We decided not to use any starch or flour as to not make it dryer, and it was ok. Cut the shape, but do not lift it out yet. When you are done with all shapes on that sheet, lift off in between pieces first. Then use thin pancake flipper to left the future cookies out.
6. Place the cookies on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Let it cool completely before applying the icing. Or you can eat them as they are.
Optional Sugar and Hibiscus Icing
Since we prefer our food to be synthetic dye free, we used hibiscus tea to color the icing. To make the tea simmer 2 tablespoons of dried hibiscus pieces in 1 cup water with lid on for 15-20 minutes. Then shut the heat off and let it steep for another few hours. Strain. You should now have about 1/3 cup of concentrated tea. Hibiscus colors are not as bright after they dry as food dye colors, but they are still fun, and depending on the taste, some might actually prefer them.
To make colors used powdered sugar, and small amounts of either hibiscus concentrate for darker pinkish red, or mix some water and some hibiscus concentrate to make pink. Play around to make colors you like.
Use squeeze bottles for finer drawing. Place frosted cookies to the freezer for 1-2 hours to prevent lighter spots on the icing forming. Then allow to air dry.
Have fun!
Music credits:
Music by JuliusH from Pixabay

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Goodbye gluten, hello icing