Let me start out by saying that I am not a big Halloween fan. I don’t like horror movies, I don’t like feeling scared, I don’t like corn mazes, and I don’t like candy corn.
That being said, I do like some of our family traditions for Halloween. One of my favorite memories is while growing up we would go to my grandparents’ houses to trick or treat. My Grandma and Grandpa B would ALWAYS dress up. Even after us kids were older and had stopped dressing up ourselves, they were still dressing up. I just have to share these pictures.
A recent tradition is when the family gets together we have for a ‘themed’ dinner. We have Pumpkin Guts (pumpkin chili…recipe to follow soon), Salad with Juicy Bugs (cranberries), Goblin Eyes (Olives or grapes), Witches Brew (homemade root beer), etc.
We typically get pumpkin pies for dessert, but there are those in the family that don’t like it, or can’t have it because of eggs, dairy, and gluten. I usually do a cookie, and this year, I decided to make some gingerbread cookies and decorate them in a way befitting of the season.
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup potato starch
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- 3/4 cup teff flour
- 1 teaspoon xanthum gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine (e.g. Earth Balance)
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- Powdered sugar
- Additional sorghum flour
- Favorite dairy-free buttercream frosting (I just use a Wilton recipe and substitute non-hydrongenated shortening for the butter)
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a medium bowl sift together dry ingredients (tapioca starch through nutmeg). Set aside.
- In a larger bowl, cream margarine, sugar, and molasses together until combined. Divide into two portions and wrap each portion with plastic wrap, flatten slightly, and refrigerate for about an hour.
- Mix together 1/4 cup of sorghum flour and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Sprinkle a portion of this mixture on a piece of parchment paper. Unwrap one of the dough portions and place on the parchment paper, sprinkle with additional flour, and top with another piece of parchment paper. Roll out to about 1/8" thick, remove top sheet of parchment paper and cut with a gingerbread man cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet and bake for 7-9 minutes, or until set. Let cool on pan for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Place the frosting in a piping bag (or a ziploc bag) with a #4 tip. Pipe the bones on the gingerbread men (this isn't an anatomy class, have some fun with it!).
- Best part about gluten-free dough? It's not a big deal to re-roll the dough. With 'regular' dough if you roll it and re-roll it, the cookies get tough because of the gluten developing. No issue with gluten-free dough!
