Paleo Iced Sugar Cookie Cutouts (AIP Friendly)

Sugar cookies, the ultimate Christmas treat, have been one that my brothers, mother, and I, have made ever since we were little.  Getting together with friends, we would bake multiple batches of an age-old recipe that I am not quite sure where it came from.   Unlike any other sugar cookie out there, everyone who has ever tried this old family recipe continues to rave about them.

Regardless of how sick I have been, baking and decorating sugar cookies has always been enjoyable.  It doesn't matter that I cannot eat them, I see cutting cookies into shapes and topping them with colorful icing just as much as an art, as it is a tasty baked good.  
I remember one Christmas a couple years ago, as deteriorated as my body was, I mustered the strength to prop myself up at the kitchen counter and perfectly decorate a few dozen sugar cookies all by myself.  This folks, is pain therapy at its finest, as I used (and still do) the distraction of creating a design with icing until it came out like someone had practically drawn it with a marker.  I have always been a fan of art, whether painting, drawing, or sculpting, and therefore food has become just another way to express this.  

Through the years of Chronic Lyme, and the various allergies that have followed, I have always looked for a sugar cookie that one could roll out, cut, and bake like any regular recipe.  Though I have found some that use nut flours, there has yet to be one that is free of eggs, nuts, and coconut.  Therefore, after scouring the internet for a recipe free of all these ingredients, I decided it was time I came up with a recipe on my own.  If you have been following my recent dessert recipes, you will notice how much of a fan I am of water chestnut flour.  Seriously, it is one of the most under-utilized grain free flour I have yet to come across.  Not only that, but it is completely nut free, while still giving a sturdy texture to all of its recipes.  With Amazon officially stocking 28 oz bags, I am armed and ready to create many of these sugar cookies to give away to many of my friends, family, and doctors.  Just like any recipe that I post on my blog, these cookies have been taste tested by a variety of people, all of which ave differing taste buds.  However, even after the first bite, everyone always ends up telling me the same exact thing, "the texture of these cookies is amazing!"  That, my friends, is the wonderfulness of water chestnut flour.  Not only have there been various people to taste them, but I have slaved over making the recipe as identical to a regular sugar cookie that I can.  Of course, they are not overly-sweet, as any healing protocol tries to exclude as much extra sugar as possible.  Therefore, if you are used to sweeter baked goods and are not following AIP (Autoimmune Paleo), you may find them a bit different to your taste buds.  That being said, everyone in my family (even those who love real sugar), find the taste to be quite perfect! You can get the icing recipe by clicking the link at the bottom of my recipe, or here.  

Iced Sugar Cookie Cutouts 
Print Recipe
Yields 16-20 Cookies 
Ingredients

• 3/4 cup tapioca flour
• 3/4 cup water chestnut flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp maple sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated palm shortening 

Process

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
• In a food processor, pulse together the first 5 ingredients.
• Add maple syrup, vanilla, and palm shortening, letting the processor run until a ball of dough has formed.

• Sprinkle tapioca flour onto a clean surface, and roll out the dough until 1/4-1/8th inch thick.

• Cut into desired shapes, and place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

• Put the sheet into the oven and allow to bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown on top.

• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack. 

• Repeat with remaining cookie dough, and ice with my naturally colored icing.

Recipe Notes

Yes, a half recipe works perfectly, as I have done it may times. 

If you do not want to roll out, simply form the dough into balls, flattening with the palm of your hand.

A standard, KitchenAid baking mixer also works in place of a food processor. 

(Pin Recipe For Later)

1 Corinthians 1:4-5 "I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge"