280ggluten free flourI used 170g brown rice flour & 110g tapioca flour/starch
40gcocoa
1teaspoonxanthan gum
1/4teaspoonbaking powder
pinchof salt
125gunsalted butterat room temperature
175gsugar
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
1eggat room temperature
Instructions
Sift together the flour, cocoa, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine thoroughly.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl if using a hand beater) beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy. Beat in the egg until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Turn out onto a clean benchtop and knead just until the dough comes together and is smooth. Flatten into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for half an hour or so until firm. Roll the dough out between two pieces of baking paper until approximately 5mm thick. I used two wooden dowels, placed on either side of the dough as I rolled it out to keep the thickness even. Slide the rolled dough (on the baking paper) onto a baking sheet and refrigerate until firm.
Remove the top sheet of baking paper, and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the dough. Place them onto baking paper lined baking sheets, re-rolling the dough as necessary. Chill the dough on the baking sheets for 20 minutes before baking. (Alternately, after kneading the dough roll it into a log shape and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill until firm, and then cut into 5mm thick rounds. Place the rounds on a baking sheet and chill as above.) While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 180° Celsius.
Bake the biscuits for 12-17 minutes, depending on the size of the biscuit. Medium sized biscuits take around 14 minutes. The y should be just darkening very slightly at the edges. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
Use a good quality cocoa for the tastiest biscuits. I used a natural cocoa, but you could also use Dutched cocoa. Chilling the dough before baking helps to stop the biscuits from spreading.If you find that your biscuits are a little gritty, please don't give up! You may need to try swapping one of your flours (often rice flours) for another brand that is ground finer, or try a different flour altogether. If you're using a store-bought gluten free flour blend, sometimes these can be a bit on the gritty side, so you could try another brand. It's definitely worth persevering to perfect great basic recipes that you can use as a base for so many things.