Preheat your oven to 350°F
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer cream together butter and sugar.
In the same bowl add eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined.
Measure out the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, and baking powder into another bowl and whisk to combine. I use my own gluten free flour mix, I find it works better than most ready made blends.
Add the dry ingredients to the sugar and egg mixture and mix until a dough is formed, don't forget to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
If the cookie dough is too soft to roll out cover dough and place in the fridge until it hardens up which usually takes 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Roll out the dough onto parchment paper, I use cling wrap to cover the top of the dough as I roll it out so that it does not stick to the rolling pin. Do not use extra flour to roll the dough.
Bake cookies for 12 - 14 minutes at 350°F on a parchment lined baking sheet. (do not use wax paper)
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet, the cookies will firm up more when cooled.
When they are fully cooled they are ready for decorating with royal icing.
Weigh your ingredients - I bake by weight using a digital kitchen scale as I find that gives the most consistent results especially when baking gluten free. Cup measures are approximate as not all gluten free flours are weigh the same cup for cup.
Gluten Free Flour - One cup of your gluten free flour blend may not weigh the same as my flour blend, all commercially available blends have different mixes and ratios of flour. I’ve weighed cups of different blends of flour, a cup of gluten free flour can vary in weight from 125g up to as much as 170g depending on how you scoop it, and what type of mix you use. You can see how this could drastically alter the outcome of a recipe. I have based my cup measures assuming that a cup of gluten free flour would be an average of 130g per cup. You cannot substitute a gluten free flour blend for either almond, coconut or other nut flours, they will not work in this recipe.
Cookie dough - can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen and used as needed, defrost it in the fridge.
Storage - cookies can be kept in an airtight container for a couple of days, gluten free baked goods do not usually last as long as regular baking. You can freeze the cookies in an airtight container or ziplock bag, they will defrost in minutes at room temperature.
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