Christmas baking traditionally involves Christmas cake, gingerbread men and shortbread, all of which include regular flour, which contains gluten.
Gluten intolerance symptoms can include bloating,
wind, constipation and/or diarrhoea, pain after consumption, fatigue and,
over time, nutritional deficiencies.
There are many alternatives available, so choosing foods with the least human intervention possible, is ideal. Almond flour is often used in gluten-free recipes. It is made by simply grinding almonds.
A nut-free substitute would be sunflower meal, made by grinding sunflower seeds.
Gluten-free, grain-free Christmas shortbread
Makes 12
1 cup almond flour
2½ Tbsp coconut sugar
2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp lemon rind
⅛ tsp salt
Method
Heat oven to 175degC. Line a tray with baking paper.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine all of the ingredients, stirring well to combine.
Shape dough into balls. Space balls about 6cm apart on the prepared baking sheet. Flatten halfway using a fork or cookie stamp.
Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until golden (the shortbread will seem very soft while hot but will set once cooled).
Remove from oven and cool on the sheet for 20 minutes.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Deanna Copland
