Healthier Rolled Sugar Cookies

These cookies are similar to their traditional counterpart, but personally I think the taste is even better!  Wholemeal spelt flour enhances the flavour, while brown rice flour and coconut palm sugar gives them extra crunch. Someday I'd like to be able to perfect this recipe using raw honey, but as that's not affordably available to me at the moment, I'll stick with butterscotch-flavoured coconut palm sugar for now!

ROLLED SUGAR COOKIES

• 1 1/4 cups wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/4 tsp salt 

Stir flours and salt together. Set aside.

• 1 cup coconut palm sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp almond extract

Beat butter with sugar; add egg and flavour extracts and beat well.  Stir in flour mixture until dough is well-mixed.  Roll into a large ball and wrap in baking paper; leave the wrapped dough in the fridge for an hour before rolling out.

When the dough is firm, roll out between two pieces of baking paper to a quarter-of-an-inch thickness.  Cut out with shaped cutters and use a palette knife to place the cookie shapes onto baking paper-lined cookie trays.  

Bake 350F/180C/gas mark 4 for ten minutes.  Remove carefully from baking trays and allow to fully cool on a wire rack.  Store in air-tight tins to stay fresh.  These cookies freeze well!