You'll Crack Your Head Open!

Okay, actually they’re not goldfish crackers.  They’re goldfish cookies.  But stick with me here.

I have tried a bunch of recipes for gluten-free crackers and various ways to add cheese in order to make something that tastes like cheese crackers.  No luck.  Not even close.  I had given up on the idea that my kids would ever have anything resembling a goldfish cracker or even anything tasting remotely like any kind of cheese cracker.

But, I’ve got a theory about trying to create a gluten-free version of regular food that will come into play in the next paragraph.  Sometimes you have to choose – Do you want it to taste like what you remember or do you want to look like what you remember?  Most of the time, I just want the taste.  But with young kids, sometimes all they really want is something that looks the same as all of the other kids have.   It’s important for kids to feel included, especially with a condition that sometimes separates them from their friends.

So, one day I was making some cut-out cookies, using my snazzy gluten-free dough rollout method, and it occurred to me that I could probably make cookies that look like goldfish crackers.

I used a package of gluten-free cookie dough mix from 123 Gluten Free .  You can use any kind of gluten-free roll and cut cookie mix or recipe, but you’ll want to make sure it works (maybe with basic circle cut-outs) before you take the time to try making the goldfish cookies.

I made the cookies according to the package directions and put the dough in a gallon-sized ziploc bag.  I started adding orange and yellow food coloring a bit at a time and squooshed it together in the bag until I got that goldfish cracker color.  I think I might have added just a tiny bit of red to make it a bit brighter.

Then I transferred some of the dough to a new bag and rolled it out, using the SGFDRM (snazzy gluten-free dough rollout method), mentioned above.   Since the goldfish cookies aren’t square, I don’t work the dough into the corners.  I just do a roundish shape like you do with regular cookies.  I roll it out to about 1/8 inch or so.

After you refrigerate the dough for a bit, take the dough out of the bag by gently peeling the dough out of the bag.

Now take a paring knife and make the goldfish shape.   It’s not as hard as it sounds.  Just think about the shape.  It’s very basic.  With just a bit of practice, you can totally do this.  And the ones that don’t turn out quite right?  Mommy Snack!

I just use the tip of the paring knife and just kind of tap the tip up and down and move it slowly rather than trying to slice the dough in a fluid motion.  Tapping allows me to have a lot more control.

When I bake them, I set the temperature about 25 degrees or so less than the package directions.  This allows me to keep an eye on them and allows them to bake a little slower.  After all the work of cutting them out, I don’t want to burn them.

This is time-consuming, but my son’s reaction to finding goldfish crackers (just like all the other kids) when he opens up his snack bag at church makes it all worth it to me.   He gets so excited, and he’s so proud that he gets to eat the same thing as everyone else.

I’ve been contemplating figuring out a way to make some sort of cookie cutter for this, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

Well, making my own GF Goldfish crackers Works for Me.  For more Works For Me Wednesday tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 9:16 pm and is filed under Recipes, or... Necessity is the Mother of.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.