Gluten-Free Shortbread Cut-Out Cookies

• Preheat oven to 350f. Line baking sheet with a silicone baking pad or parchment paper.
• In small bowl whisk together 2 cups of your gluten-free flour, the salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and xanthan gum (if needed).
• Using an electric mixer or whisk, combine melted butter with the sweetener, egg, vanilla, and apple sauce until thoroughly blended.
• Gradually stir-in the dry ingredients using a spatula or wooden spoon. Soft dough should form. Add a couple Tablespoons of the cold water. Dough should be slightly sticky.
• Dust clean work suface with about 1/4 cup of the additional flour. Transfer dough to work surface and dust the top of the dough with an additional 1/4 cup of flour. Flatten the dough using your hands to about a 1" disk, lightly dusting the flattened dough with a little more flour if it is at all sticky.
• Using a lightly floured rolling pin, begin to roll dough into a thin oblong rectangle shape about 1/4" thick. If dough begins to stick, just dust the dough and pin with a tiny bit more flour. However, be careful to not add too much flour! (read the troubleshooting tips at the end of this post).
• Cut dough into preferred shapes using cookie cutters, pizza cutter, or a small knife. I used a rippled pizza cutter for the edges of the shortbread and a small knife to cut-out small hearts in the middle.

Fresh Strawberry Filling:

• Using a small food processor, pulse chopped strawberries. Strawberries should quickly become a thin strawberry "juice". Add a pinch of salt, the honey, and a pinch of chia seeds if desired. If strawberries are ripe and juicy you should not need to add liquid, but you can add a tsp of water or apple juice if needed.

Dark Chocolate Glaze:

• Melt equal amounts of dark chocolate chips and almond milk (about 2 Tbsp each) in microwave on medium heat or on the stovetop, stirring often with a whisk to avoid any sticking or burning. Remove from heat after chocolate sauce develops. Reheat for just a few seconds on low heat and/or add a little more milk if the chocolate sauce becomes too thick to drizzle. Bake cookies before drizzling (or dipping) with chocolate.

Making The Cookie Layers:

• For layering your cut-out cookies to create exposed filled centers, just spread about a tsp of your strawberry filling in the middle of a solid cookie and top with a cut-out cookie on top before baking (the baking will help the fresh strawberry spread to absorb into the cookie while still being exposed through the top cut-out cookie layer).
• Bake your layered or single layer cut-out cookies at 350 for 8-10 minutes until the edges are slightly golden. Allow cookies to cool completely before transferring or decorating! 🙂 Drizzle or dip with chocolate and garnish with unsweetened coconut flakes or toasted nuts if desired!