Rosewater Shortbread & Chocolate Madeleines

I bet you all think I have tons of gluten-free cookbooks.  With all the baking I do, you would think so. But alas, this is not true.  I really wish there were more gourmet GF cookbooks out there.  All I find when I go to the book stores are textbook like big books filled with black and white typed out recipes. Pictures made with pen and ink as a diagram.  Blech!  These kinds of cookbooks are not inspiring at all.  Looking at these makes you NOT want to cook gluten-free.  Where are the gourmet cookbooks filled with colorful pictures and luxe ingredients?

No one wants to read a cookbook in textbook form.  I certainly don't.  I really wish that publishers would get a bit more creative with the idea of gluten-free.  If I go to Borders or Barnes and Noble I am directed to the medical health section to rummage through shelves of textbooks? Ugh.  I wish there would be more cook books that have colorful pictures and glossy pages with a selection of mouth watering recipes.  I never find this.  If you go to any baking section of a bookstore you will find gorgeous cookbooks for Macrobiotic, Dairy-Free, Lactose-Free, Casein-Free, Vegan and others.  But when it comes to gluten-free you are lead to a whole other section.  So I stick to regular gluten filled cookbooks and bake books and I convert the recipes myself.  It's so much better.  The more attune you are to your gluten-free lifestyle the more you will become comfortable converting recipes on your own.

During one of my adventures to the bookstores, I luckily found this gorgeous cookbook called Gluten-Free and Easy by Robyn Russel.  A book filled with 90 recipes divided by category.  Chapters like My GF Kitchen, Breakfast and Brunch, Salad, Soups and Snacks, Main Dishes and other categories.  Each page consists of a easy and amazing recipe and the other page has a full page colorful photograph.  It really makes you want to make these recipes.  And isn't that the point?  Robyn starts her book with all the GF essentials: what you should have in your kitchen, then she ventures to different flour blends and baking tips.

This is the ONLY GF cookbook I own.  You can purchase Robyn's cookbook at Barnes and Noble.
Online or in-store.

My favorite recipe from this book are the Madelines and the Rosewater Shortbread. Yum!  This recipe calls for Rosewater Extract, but I have never used that with these cookies.  I have tried Cocoa Extract, Orange Extract, Mint Extract and Vanilla Extract, often mixing two at the same time.  Playing with different extracts can be an fun, experimental and creative if you let it.

CHOCOLATE MADELEINES

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Rice Flour Blend
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 Tsp xanthan gum
pinch of salt
3 eggs
1/3 cup superfine sugar
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (can be mixed or sub'd in with another extract)
1 tsp. plain yogurt (can be low fat, fat free, or greek)
3 1/2 oz ( 7 Tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled (unsweetened butter)
confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
2. Grease a madeleine tin or cupcake pan
3. In a bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, ground almonds, xanthan gum, and salt.  In a seperate bowl beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and yogurt until thick and pale.  Stir in the dry ingredients, then add the melted butter and beat only until all the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole half full, and bake for 7-8 minutes until just cooked through.  Allow the madeleines to set in the tin for a few minutes then carefully remove to a wire rack to cool, shell side up.
5. Dust with confectioners' sugar to serve

Makes about 20


ROSEWATER SHORTBREAD

Ingredients:
4 1/2 oz (9 Tablespoons) butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 egg
1 tsp. Rosewater
 1 1/2 cups white rice flour, sifted
confectioners (icing) sugar, extra

Method:
1. Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar until pale, then add the egg and rosewater and beat well.  Add the sifted flour and beat until the mixture is smooth.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
3. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll the mixture into little balls and flatten slightly, or place into a frosting bag and pipe small shapes onto the prepared sheets, allowing room for the cookies to spread.  Bake for 8 minutes or until just starting to color.
5. Leave the shortbread to set on the trays for a few minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool.
6. Dust with extra confectioners' sugar to serve.

Makes about 30

Some of my other favorite titles from this book are:
Curried Sweet Potato Cakes with Raita
Cheddar Shortbread
Mellow Beef and Red Wine Casserole
Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce
Soy Sauce and Honey Glazed Chicken

and more...

Enjoy!

xoxo Julie

www.goodiegoodiegluten-free.blogspot.com