Snowflakes In July

There was this lemonade....

They look naughty, don't they? They probably are…but who cares?

Well, really, there was this can of frozen lemonade concentrate. It sat in the back of the freezer, calling out my name. But the weather has been surprisingly cool, for July, so I haven't felt justified in taking up space in the refrigerator with a half-gallon jug of a beverage we'd all just sip at for the next week, so I needed another excuse.

Plus, I hadn't tried anything new in the kitchen since the old fogeys got back from their early summer gadabout, almost two weeks ago.

Needless to say, I needed to bake some lemonade. It was as simple as that.

I found this recipe, not too long ago, and it cried out for a little gluten-free treatment.

The recipe refers to them as moist, and I will give them that, but in using gluten-free flour, no matter what you do, the nature of the cookie is likely to change slightly. There is probably a way to make them gooey and gluten-free at the same time, but today was not the day to spend an extra six hours and five bags of flour trying to find it. We had family coming for supper, and I didn't need to have the kitchen in chaos right before they arrived.

I worked with Pamela's All-Purpose Artisan Blend (bought via the famous largest internet retailer), this time, and it created lovely, tender treats which melted in my mouth. As I work things out, I find I like their flour almost as much as I like King Arthur's Gluten Free…actually, I think I like it more because I don't have to add xanthan gum to make it hold together the way a regular wheat-based flour will. It's already in Pamela's blend. 

Also, slightly less money.

At any rate, these were a lovely, light dessert for the crowd.

Seriously.

Like snowflakes. In July.

They look like dirty little snowballs, but melt like snowflakes. 

Lemonade Snowflakes

Ingredients:

For the cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed and strained

Fresh zest of one lemon, finely grated (optional)

For the glaze: 

1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

fresh zest of 1/2 lemon, finely grated (optional)

sugar for dusting (you can use powdered, colored, or other decorative sugar if you like. I just enjoy the look of frost on the cookie tops, with the plain granulated sugar)

Directions:

Arrange oven racks near center  of oven.

Preheat oven to 400º F

In a medium or large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and soda.

With mixer at low speed, alternate adding in the flour mixture and the lemonade concentrate, until it is all completely mixed together. You may need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times in the process.

Scoop by approximate teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. (I used a #60 portioner – a 2 tsp scoop. If you do the same, be prepared with a bowl of hot water to dip it occasionally, to help the dough release. It will not adversely affect the flavor or texture of the GF cookies.)

Bake for 8 minutes. 

While the cookies are baking, arrange parchment, foil, or other "dribble-catcher" layer beneath your cooling racks.

Remove cookies from oven. Using spatula, transfer cookies from baking sheets to cooling rack.

While they are still warm, brush cookies generously with remaining lemonade concentrate, then dust with sugar. 

May be served warm, or refrigerated for maximum summer lemonade chill effect.

Makes about 70 bite-sized cookies.

I can't imagine who stole that cookie from the back row…she said all innocently.