Cream Cheese Cookies

When I was a kid, my Mom always had homemade cookies or bars in the house for us to eat. My brother's favorite were her blondies, my Dad loved her pecan pie and I craved her peanut butter sauce pan cookies. Mom was always making sure that she rotated her baking so that each of us got something we loved to eat.

For Christmas, Mom would do her baking and always made sure that there was a pecan pie. So that Santa could have a piece of pie. My brother and I, thought Santa would prefer cookies. Mom said, she had it on good authority that Santa preferred pecan pie and a nice hot cup of coffee.

Sometimes she would make these delightful little treats called cream cheese cookies. Slightly crisp on the outside, they are soft and chewy on the inside. My husband thinks these are some of the best cookies he's ever eaten. So, converting her recipe into a gluten free version had become a necessity.

This gluten free version has the crisp exterior, soft interior and all the fabulous flavor of the original wheat version. When my husband realized I had made these cookies for him, he was thrilled. All he could do was smile and reach for a handful of cookies as he made his way to the kitchen table. My daughter thought they were really good, although my son isn't all that keen on the flavor of cream cheese. I thought they were fabulous. Thanks Mom for a terrific recipe.

Recipe

4 Tb vegetable shortening, softened
2 oz cream or Neufchatel cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cane sugar
3 Tb brown rice flour
3 Tb chestnut flour
2 Tb sweet rice flour
1 tsp chia seed meal
1/4 tsp + pinch cream of tartar
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 Tb chopped pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie pan with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, dump in the butter and cream cheese. Cream on medium speed and then pour in the sugar. Continue to cream until the sugar is thoroughly incorporated. Then dump in the vanilla extract and continue beating.

3. In a small bowl, pour in the flours, chia seed meal, cream of tartar and baking soda. Stir together, making sure the chia seed is mixed into the flour very well.

4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and beating on low speed. When the flour is mixed thoroughly mixed with the cream cheese dump in the pecans. Continue to mix until the pecans spread through out the dough.

5. Drop by spoonfuls on the parchment paper and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Makes 21 cookies.

Substitutions

1. You can substitute the Neufchatel cheese with cream cheese. You can also substitute all the cheese with Tofutti cream cheese.

2. You may substitute 1/2 tsp xanthan or guar gum for the chia seed meal.

3. You can substitute the millet flour or more brown rice flour for the chestnut flour.