Kurdish Rice Flour Cookies (Gluten Free)

I saw some fascinating rice flour cookies in Taste of Beirut some time ago and had been wanting to make them.  I, however, have the distinction of being a food blogger and not owning even one cookie cutter.  Am I slacking off?  Maybe.

Anyway, last year, Ann Low of Anncoo Journal sent me a set of Mooncake molds and I thought that I might be able to use these to cut the cookies.  In fact, when I read all the comments under the recipe, Joumana (Taste of Beirut) said that she used mooncake molds she bought at China town herself.  This was just great.

I decided to go ahead and make the beautiful cookies.

I didn't have rose water so I used orange flower water instead.  Other than that, I followed the recipe to a tee, and the cookies didn't disappoint.  They were very delicately textured and flavored and just lovely.  What a nice way to spend the afternoon!

Kurdish Rice Flour Cookies - Taste of Beirut

Ingredients

300g Rice Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
130 g Sugar
1 Egg
125g Melted Butter
2 Tsp Orange Flower Water
1 Tsp Cardamom

Step 1:  Mix the rice flour and baking powder in a medium sized bowl.

Step 2:  Beat the sugar and butter in a big bowl, then add the egg and orange flower water and beat until fluffy.

Step 3:  Add the rice flour slowly, beating it slowly and add incoporate the cardamom at the very end.

Step 4:  Wrap the dough in plastic and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

Step 5:  Flour the board with corn starch and flour your rolling pin as well as the dough can get sticky.

Step 6:  The dough should be around 5 mm in thickness.

Step 7:  Use the mooncake mold to cut the cookies and place them on oven paper.

Step 8:  Bake for 15 minutes at 160C.  The cookies should be done but still pale.

Please do go to Taste of Beirut to see the original recipe and the very interesting post about it. 

Egg-less Bibingka (Gluten Free)

Bibingka is a Filipino cake that is usually made with rice flour, which could either be glutinous rice flour or plain rice flour. The variety that is made with glutinous rice flour is called Bibingkang Malagkit. The variety made from plain rice flour is called Bibingka Galapong. There are other varieties with small tweaks in the ingredients.

This egg-less Bibingka I made was not made with an egg-less recipe in mind. I simply forgot to put the eggs in. Note to self: Do not bake when you're still half-asleep!

However, the egg-less Bibingka turned out to be quite delightfully delicious and that is why I'm posting the recipe.

The original recipe for Bibingka Galapong comes from Panlasang Pinoy. If you want to make it normally, please go here for detailed instructions.

Egg-less Bibingka

Ingredients

1 Cup Rice Flour

1/8 Tsp Sea Salt

2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

3 Tbsp (42 g) Butter + some extra

1 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Coconut Milk

1/4 Cup Whole Milk

1/2- 1 Cup Aged Irish Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)

1/2 Cup Dessicated Coconut

Step 1: Preheat oven to 190C (375F).

Step 2: Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and whisk so that they are well-combined.

Step 3: Melt the butter and put it in a big bowl.

Step 4: Whisk the butter with sugar and then add the coconut milk and milk. Whisk some more.

Step 5: Add the flour until well mixed and pour into a container lined with oven paper.

Step 6: Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with shredded cheese.

Step 6: Bake for 15 more minutes. If the cheese is starting to brown cover it lightly with aluminum foil.

Step 7: Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.

Step 8: Let the cake cool down a bit then brush it with melted butter and sprinkle dessicated coconut over it generously.

The original recipe has a salted duck egg in it. This is put into the cake at the same time as the cheese, but I have omitted it.