This post is part of the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally, a group of gluten-free bloggers inspired and empowered by Ruhlman‘s Ratio and started by Shauna at Gluten-Free Girl. We get together each month and post many different takes on the same theme. This month that theme is Gluten-Free Shortbread and the rally is being hosted by Meaghan from Wicked Good Vegan.
Come along, Pond.
It has been a while since my last contribution to the Ratio Rally, and I can’t be happier to be back. With a pot of coffee, twelve jammie dodgers and a fez.
I might be excited because I am letting my nerd flag fly just a little bit. I can’t begin to tell you how long I have been planning to make these – it has been since I found out that the rally this month was for shortbread. Because shortbread meant an excuse to make a gluten-free “jammie dodger”. A british sandwich cookie that has a jam filling. They are buttery, just the right about of crumbly and crunchy.
A cookie for a grown up who likes the charm of a sandwich cookie but with the simple sophistication of a shortbread. Ok, and a cookie for your next gluten-free Doctor Who marathon.
For those of you who are not as awesomely nerdy as I am, the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who has featured these cookies as the current incarnation of the Doctor’s favorite cookie, they even stood in for a self destruct button for the Tardis, his time machine/space ship, in one episode.
So clearly, I, as a proud nerd, had to make some. Having never had the real ones, and not being to able to ever have them, all I know is that these cookies seem to fit the descriptions of Jammie Dodgers that I could find. A shortbread cookie with a jam filling.
Done.
Shortbread is easy: 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, 3 parts flour. And you can experiment from there. My ratio is a little different, but only because I bumped up or down amounts to get them to be even with the way butter is sold and to have an even cup of sugar (just in case you are still using your old fashioned measuring cups…shame on you!)
You can find the full list of this month’s participants at Wicked Good Vegan.
- 460 grams (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 680 grams (5 cups) gluten-free all purpose flour blend*
- 2 1/2 teapsoons xantham gum**
- Strawberry or rasperry jam
- Cream together the butter, sugar, salt and vanilla bean paste until it is just blended.
- Add the flour in 2 batches, scraping down the sides of your mixer after each addition.
- Stir in the vanilla bean paste.
- Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes. About halfway through this time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly flour a surface and roll the dough out and cut into 2.5″ circles. On half of them, cut out a small circle or heart.
- Pop the cut out cookies on cookie sheets into the freezer for 5 minutes before baking.
- Arrange about a half inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack.
- Spread the half the cookies with a scant teaspoon of jam and then top with a cookie with a hole cut out of it to make a sandwich.
Oh my gosh these are so cute and awesome. Immediatly getting pinned…
Thanks!
yay for letting your geek flag fly!! Fly it high and proud, my friend!
😀
With cookies involved, I now have a very good reason to watch Dr. Who now.
These look adorable and delish, m’dear. You’ve most certainly kept true to the GFRR spirit, and the story you told along with the recipe was heartwarming.
Don’t forget to enjoy them with a spot of tea. 😉
Beautiful, Maryfran! I’ll have one … or four, please. =)
Cheers,
Pete
Thanks!
Do I get to see your smiling face at the Chicago GFAF Expo by any chance?
O my goodness! Seriously, these look scrumptious. And so adorable. I know what I’m doing now with my next incarnation of shortbread (including an inaugural episode of the Doctor—or maybe just his episode of Top Gear again (that counts, right?)).
I probably gushing too much, but it will honestly be a while before I get over the adorableness of these dodgers.
Nerd, schmerd! I took my daughter to a Dr. Who costume party (she was Ood Sigma, I was a black clad, eye patched River Song). We were the only ones who refused to try fish fingers and custard (being vegan can be reeeeeeeeally convenient sometimes), but I’ll definitely be making these jammie dodgers for the 50th Anniversary party we’re co-hosting!
Also – your idea is genius. If I had found time to participate in this month’s rally, I probably would have made the same thing.
Great minds think alike! I was actually Amy Pond for Halloween this year 🙂
And I don’t think there is enough money in the world that could convince me to try fish fingers & custard…
Where do you buy vanilla bean paste??
I use Nielsen Massey Vanilla Bean Paste, I buy it at Williams Sonoma, but you can get it on Amazon. You could also just use vanilla extract in its place – but I find the flavor is just a wee bit richer from the paste. And I like the specs 🙂
Yay for gluten-free baking nerds! Unite! Ha – these look simply stunning, Mary Fran. I can only imagine how delicious they are. Yum.
Jammie Dodgers are cool.
Yay! I’ve bookmarked this, my 8 month old’s first birthday theme is going to be Doctor Who (what? I’m a geek, and she is going to be one, she won’t care :P), and now I can make jammie dodgers of doom for favors! 😉 thank you! I will also be doing a gf TARDIS sheet cake, and her smash cake is going to be a watermelon and various fruits cut to shape like a Dalek.
Love The Doctor! Looking forward to trying your recipe.
Can I make the dough and keep it in the fridge overnight before baking it?
My oldest daughter is both gluten free AND a huge Dr. Who fan! I’m making these to go in her stocking!!
Can I use the bronski artisanal blend in this recipe?
Rebekah –
Their blend should work just fine. I would just make sure that I was substituting by weight and not by volume.
Let me know how they turn out!