Snickerdoodle Cookies - gluten free

I want to start out by saying I am NOT trying out a gluten free diet for fun or to be trendy. I've been having stomach pain since September and I've seen a few doctors already. I've been putting this experiment off for a long time because I love food too much to want to change my diet just for fun.

My symptoms include migraines a few times a month and stomach pain EVERY day. Gluten can take several weeks to get out of your system, so if you try to go gluten free for real results give yourself 1-2 months. 

Feeling depressed about this decision and how hard it's going to be, I decided to make a delicious dessert that's gluten free. Snickerdoodle cookies!!! I was skeptical and thought there was no way these would taste as good as the real deal. The cookies turned out so perfect that my husband says "whose to say what the real deal is?? These cookies ARE the real deal!" He also asked if they are considered healthy because they are gluten free. Which a lot of people think is true. Let me clarify what gluten is. Gluten is a protein found naturally in wheat, rye and barley. It helps food have structure to rise. When baking a gluten free recipe you need to add xanthan gum (found at whole foods market) I found a gluten free flour blend that already has xanthan gum in it. Which is awesome because it's going to make baking so much easier than I thought. 

But, anyway back to my husbands question about gluten free bring healthy. These are cookies made out of real butter and sugar. Of course it's not healthy! But it's sooooo yummy! So, just because it doesn't have gluten doesn't mean it's healthy people!  Ok enough with the gluten free educational lecture, here's the recipe. I hope you love it! 

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups gluten free all purpose flour (I used gluten free flour that already had xanthan gum in it) 

3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 2 tablespoon (mix together set aside) 

1/2 cup soft butter 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400

Whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, cream or tartar and salt. 

Cream sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. 

Slowing add in dry mix. It will be very thick when finished. 

Chill covered in fridge for at least an hour. 

Take 1" cookie balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mix

Bake for 10 minutes. 

NOTE: What is cream if tartar anyway?? It's an acid called potassium hydrogen tartrate used in the fermentation process in wine making. The white powder is used in baking alongside of baking soda. It help makes the cookie rise and soft.