What you’ll need:  Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough, gluten-free flour (I use rice flour), rolling pin, heart shaped cookie cutters, parchment paper, baking pan.

Step 1 – Thaw the cookie dough by taking it out of the freezer and putting it in the refrigerator for several hours, or putting it on the counter until soft enough to handle (generally about an hour).

Step 2 – Spread some rice flour onto a flat surface and roll the cookie dough in the flour.  I use a large cutting board.  Add a little more flour at a time as needed to prevent sticking. Don’t overdo the flour or the cookie dough will become too dry and hard to handle.

Step 3 – Roll out the cookie dough to your desired thickness.  I usually make it about 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick.

Step 4 – Take your cookie cutters and cut out your favorite shapes.

Step 5 – Place the cut out cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking pan.

Step 6 – Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies and how soft or crispy you would like them to be.  Less cooking time will result in softer cookies.

Step 7 – Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.  Eat them plain for a delicious shortbread taste or decorate with your favorite (homemade) frosting and other edible decorations.

Notes:  There are so many creative ways to make your own cookies.  Here are a few ideas:

• add food coloring to the dough itself before baking or to the frosting.
• frost and decorate with sprinkles, colored sugar, etc.
• melt chocolate and dip the cookies in chocolate.  refrigerate and eat.
• make sandwich cookies – just put frosting on one cookie and top it with another cookie.  refrigerate and eat.
• make ice cream sandwich cookies – scoop ice cream on one cookie and top it with another cookie. freeze and eat.

Create your own special cookies and send us your recipes so that we can share them with others!

Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough

Baked Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies

Yesterday I made this pizza using a brown rice pizza crust made by Nature’s Highlights.  I like that there are only 2 ingredients in their crust: “whole grain brown rice and potato”!  It’s a thin crust, which I like, but it’s more like a very large cracker vs a pizza crust.  I put a lot of ingredients onto my pizzas and this crust doesn’t hold up as well as Sami’s Bakery crust.  Both crusts are purchased frozen.  Nature’s Highlights gives directions on cooking the crust; Sami’s does not.  I have tried Glutino’s crusts too, but they have soy in them, which I am allergic to, and they don’t taste good to me.  Sami’s crusts are very large so I usually cut them in half and bake a half at a time.

My recipe for pizza is:

• pure tomato paste
• spreadable goat cheese
• onions
• broccoli
• oregano

I start by baking the crust for approximately  3-5 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then I take it out and spread a thin layer of tomato paste on the crust.  I scoop out a couple tablespoons of soft goat cheese and mix it into the tomato paste.  In the meantime I lightly steam the broccoli and cut up a red onion.  I spread the onion onto the tomato/goat cheese mixture and then put the broccoli on top of the onion.  I finish it by sprinkling oregano on the pizza.  I bake it for 8-10 minutes and it’s ready to eat.

I love eating a pizza that has veggies on it and like all of my recipes this one is very flexible.  You can substitute the broccoli, leave it off, whatever you like.  My family is not gluten-free, however whenever I make myself one of these pizzas they always help themselves to it too. They still like their regular pizzas, but they see mine as healthier, less oily and good tasting.

I’d love to hear your pizza experiences and suggestions too!

GF Goat Cheese Broccoli Pizza

Please send us an email and let us know where you see and buy the cookies (which stores – Home Goods, Marshalls, TJ Maxx and which locations)!

Thanks and enjoy!

I will be one of the guest vendors/speakers.  I am going to showcase my three flavors of cookie dough and will have samples of cookies, a cookie cake and cut out star cookies all made using the cookie dough.  I am looking forward to this event and I hope to see many people there!

For more information on the meeting please contact Michelle Mattia at 860-745-1621.

Our gift baskets and other goodies make it easy for your to order your Hanukkah, Christmas and Holiday goodies for the special people in your life, and for yourself too!

Please check out all of our goodies and gift baskets by going to our website at:  http://www.gilbertsgourmetgoodies.com/gift-baskets.html

Thank you and happy holidays!

Liz

We will be there with samples of our 5 tasty flavors of cookies along with our best selling pouches of cookies, brownies, pumpkin bread and an apple pie.  We hope you will stop by and pick up some of  our delicious gluten-free, allergy-free cookies and treats, enter our raffle and order your Thanksgiving pies !

Bethel Municipal Center – Thursdays from 3-6
Danbury Fair Maill – Wednesday and Saturdays from 10-3
Monroe Town Center – Fridays from 3-6
CitySeed Wooster Street, New Haven – Saturdays from 9-1

We hope you will come see us.  We now offer loose cookies by the bag.  You can buy all of one type or mix and match individual, bite sized cookies, which seems to be everyone’s favorite.  You get to tell us which cookies you want, like being “a kid in a candy store”! These are a great way to taste all of the flavors of cookies and are for immediate gratifying snacking!

You can still buy the cookies in the resealable pouches, which is the best way to purchase them for freshness, travelling and shipping.  You can also find our new brownies and our delicious, easy-to-use cookie dough at the markets.

Our tea breads and pound cakes are a farmer’s market exclusive and are selling out weekly.  They include:

Zucchini Bread made with lots of fresh zucchini.

Banana Bread made with fresh bananas.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with delicious dark chocolate chips.

Blueberry Pound Cake full of delicious, plump blueberries.

Chocolate Marble Pound Cake full of dark chocolate.

Come check out these markets and please stop by!

For others, they were delighted by the taste of the cookies, tea breads and fruit pies – that’s what they told us as they returned multiple times to buy more.  We too are delighted by everyone’s feedback and comments and thank you for your support!

I am referring to the many customers we met recently at Clearwater Festival, Wooster Street Farmer’s Markets, Danbury Fair Mall Farmer’s Markets and Monroe’s Farmer’s Markets.  We love meeting you and we thank you for your support and your purchases!  Pictures to follow!

We are now going to offer this option at the farmer’s markets.  You will be able purchase 10 or 20 individual bite-sized cookies for immediate munching – it’s such fun to pick and choose.  You can, of course, still purchase each cookie flavor in a resealable pouch which will retain freshness and is great for shipping, sharing and such.  We will also continue to have our giant, single serve cookies, cookie dough and unique, delicious pound cakes and tea breads available.  Look for our new special drink too!

We look forward to seeing you at farmer’s markets on Saturday at the Danbury Fair Mall,  Wooster Street in New Haven and on Friday afternoons at the Monroe Town Green!