Gluten free, dairy free "shortbread cookie" with homemade strawberry sauce

 Have you ever gone into gluten free baking thinking that you can change a regular recipe by simply substituting gluten free ingredients?  Well, I have done that a lot since my diagnosis.  I love my baked goods and I want to continue enjoying them.  I have found a lot of great websites that feature gluten free recipes, and I have enjoyed recreating a few.  I wanted to try the "chemistry" on my own, and adapt a regular recipe.
  Well...it was supposed to be Bon Appetit's sweet biscuits ( I desperately want a fluffy, Southern biscuit that's g-free, but no such luck yet).  I subbed my own g-free idea, and it didn't turn out at all like a biscuit!  HOWEVER, I discovered a wonderful type of  "shortbread" or "tea cookie".  Not sure what you'd really call it, but it's a slightly sweet, very soft cookie that was really good!  I hope you like it!  Let me know if you try it.

baking fail that turned into a new treat!

  Adapted from Bon Appetit June 2013 magazine:

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 1/8 cup of my all purpose gluten free blend *(recipe below, but you could probably use any blend)

1/2 stick Earth Balance butter,cut in cubes (you can probably sub regular butter if you wanted)

a scant tsp of grated lime zest

a scant 1/2 cup buttermilk( I used So delicious coconut milk and added 1/4 tsp. of apple cider vinegar, let rest for 5 minutes instead of using real buttermilk as to keep it dairy free)

1 egg, beaten

1 Tbl. raw sugar

*(my gluten free baking mix...if you use this, just measure out the 1 1/8 cups

1/2 cup Besan (chickpea flour)

1/2 cup Brown rice

1 cup Tapioca starch

1/2 cup Arrowroot)

this shows how much it spread, so I knew it wasn't gonna be a biscuit...lol

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. whisk together, sugar, baking powder, salt, flour in a large mixing bowl
3. add chilled butter and lime zest and blend with fingers or a fork
4. add buttermilk and mix just until combined
5. place in drops on a Silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet
6. sprinkle with coarse raw sugar
7. bake 10-12 minutes or until golden on edges

they look like sugar cookies, but they are less sweet and the lime adds a kick

I suggest topping each with strawberry jam, or make your own sauce like I did if you have fresh strawberries on hand:

1. about 2 1/2-3 cups hulled strawberries 
2. 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
3. tsp. finely grated lime zest
4. 2 tbsp lime juice

• cook strawberries and sugar over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickens like jam.12-15 minutes. 
•  stir in lime juice and zest  

  

  it smells so good as it cooks!
  
  
  

   Since the "shortbread cookies" were supposed to be biscuits that you top with jam, I decided to top these anyway.  They turned out quite yummy!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Do you have any fail to victory stories in gluten free baking?  I'd love to hear them!