d’Arte Board

I wanted some Girl Scout cookies–the thin, crispy chocolate mint ones–but with my ridiculous dietary restrictions, that was an impossibility. So I made these. They’re wheat-free dairy-free, sugar-free and shockingly ick-free, too! I modified a chocolate shortbread recipe I found online here, and I’m happy to report that the results, though not as thin or as crispy as I’d desired, are nonetheless pretty yummy!

Alternate Ingredients:

* 8 ounces Earth Balance, room temperature
* 1/2 cup xylitol
* 1/3 cups all-purpose almond meal
* 1/2 cup garbanzo/fava bean flour
* 1 cup white rice flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 teaspoons mint extract

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients. Roll out to about 1/2-inch on a floured board and cut into shapes. Bake at 325° for about 20 minutes.

I don’t have a rolling pin so I pressed the dough out by hand to cut the hearts. I do have cookie cutters. In fact, I have a set of the same exact cookie cutters we always used at Christmas time when I was a little kid! I found them at the freaking awesome hardware store just around the corner–joy of joys! They looked like they’d been there since my childhood, too. Along with the heart, there’s a diamond, a club, a spade, a sorta flower-looking thing, a star and a bell. Anyone else grow up making sugar cookies with these? Good memories. The flower thing was always my favorite. Once the cookies were baked and cooled, I dipped them in a simple xylitol glaze made with random amounts of xylitol, hot water, vanilla extract and a tiny bit of earth balance.

Sweet chocolate hearts to you all!
-Steph