Puffy Sugar Cookies

I made these for my Sunday school class a couple weeks ago and the kids all loved them (of course all of the sprinkles on top helped that!).  I gave my gluten free buddy at church the cookies that were left from Sunday school and her non-gluten free husband ate most of them so they were obviously a hit!

I am going to try to write out my recipes in a very simple format...post in the comment section if you have questions or need further clarification as to how to do something but generally all cookies are the same--cream the sugar and fat, add eggs and vanilla, and then mix in the dry ingredients.  The only difference with this cookie recipe is the milk as most cookies do not contain milk.  

Cream:
1 1/4 cups shortening
2 cups sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Mix in:
1/2 cup buttermilk

Add and mix:
6 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix (one that contains xanthan gum)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

After everything is mixed well add another 1/2 cup buttermilk and combine well.
Scoop out with a cookie scoop onto ungreased cookie sheets or roll into 1 inch balls and flatten slightly.  (You can sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles at this point if desired but I actually preferred the taste of the plain ones....the sprinkled ones just looked prettier.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Note:  If you cannot have dairy (like me) then use coconut, rice, or almond milk with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice added to each 1/2 cup of "milk" instead of the buttermilk.  Also, if you don't have buttermilk you can just add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice to each 1/2 cup of regular milk.