Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies with Raspberry Cream Filling

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Teff Flour
• 3/4 cup Brown Rice Flour
• 1 cup Tapioca Flour
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• 1/2 teaspoon Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 Stick (1/2 cup) Softened Earth Balance Butter
• 2 tablespoons Organic Apple Sauce
• 2 1/2 tablespoons Dairy Free Milk
• 1/2 cup Mollasses

Raspberry Cream Filling

• 2 1/2 tablespoons Vegan Shortening
• 1 1/2 cups Confectioners Sugar
• 4 tablespoons Raspberry Preserves (or Jam)
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Butter (room temp)
• 1 teaspoon Raspberry Extract
• Red Food Coloring (Or try using Beet Juice)

Directions

I knew that I liked gingerbread cookies- but I had no idea how much. Maybe its just because these cookies are pretty wonderful. I made a big batch for Christmas festivities oh 2 weeks ago- and there are only a few left..Whoops.  I love turning classic recipes – into something a little different. So here is my little twist..

The frosting is sweet! Feel free to tamper with it (some people prefer less sweet..) You may also experimenting using more Raspberry Preserves. I actually ran out the day I put this recipe together.  Though no fear- the recipe the way it is is a winner!

The dough is awesome to work with! I like rolling it on parchment paper- but this is optional. Its a sturdy dough that will hold together when handled. I  prefer to bake all my cookies on parchment paper- its guarantees good non-stick results. Though I think these would hold their own on almost any cookie sheet with or without parchment.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a Stand Mixer combine all the dry ingredients. Teff Flour, Rice Flour, Tapioca, Xanthan Gum, Brown Sugar, Baking Soda, Salt and Spices.
3. Then Add the wet Ingredients- Softened Earth Balance Butter, Applesauce, Milk, and Molasses- Mix into sturdy dough.
4. Roll Dough out to roughly 1/8 inch thick.  Using a small circular cookie or biscuit cutter cut the dough into circles. Place on cookie sheet. They can be placed close together as they will not change shape much doing baking (they will just puff up slightly)
5. Bake Cookies for 13 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
6. Prepare the Frosting Filling. Using a Stand or Hand Mixer combine all the ingredients and beat until it comes together. Add as little or as much Food Coloring as you would like.  Place the frosting into a piping bag- or into a zip lock bag and snip off one corner. Pipe about a TBS of frosting onto half of the cookies and then place a second cookie on top. With extra frosting you can decorate the tops of the cookies as I did. (though this is completely optional)  If you opt to use beet juice as a natural food coloring you may find it provides a more intense color (with really is better if you ask me) You can get beet juice from canned beets or by juicing beets (in a  a juicer)

I love freezing these! And I loving eating them straight out of the freezer (something about cold cookies always does me in.. not sure why) I am sorry to admit that I forgot to take an official count of how many cookies this recipe made.. Ballpark- I want to say I made 2 dozen.