MAKE THE DOUGH:  In a large mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer), prepare the flax egg by mixing the ground flaxseed and water, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Add the softened butter, molasses, tahini, brown sugar, salt, spices, and baking soda, and beat on low.

Add 1 cup of the GF flour and stir until well combined.  Your dough should hold its shape when pressed, but not feel dry.  Add more as needed...I found that about 1 1/3 cups works best for me, but it depends on your flour blend.

CHILL:  Cover and chill dough for at least one hour (preferably overnight).  PRO TIP:  Rather than just cover the bowl with plastic wrap, I put all the dough on the plastic wrap and shaped it into a square, then chilled, which made rolling it out a cinch.

BAKE:  Once chilled, preheat your oven to 350 F (176 C). 

Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper.  Carefully roll out the dough to a little thicker than 1/8 inch.  If it starts to stick, sprinkle with some rice flour or a tiny bit of cornstarch. You don’t want it too thin or they’ll be too crisp.

Remove the top sheet and cut out shapes. Next, lift the parchment paper (with all of the dough) onto a baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes, to firm up. This makes it easier to transfer the dough to the baking sheet, and helps them keep their shape while baking.

Next, use a lightly floured (I used arrowroot) spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Work as quickly as possible and leave a bit of room for spreading.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they appear only slightly browned on the edges. They’ll continue firming up as they sit on the pan. Let them rest on the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.  Or, pro tip, just transfer the entire parchment paper to a cooling rack right away.

DECORATE/FILL:  You can mix up a quick stiff powdered sugar icing if you want, and pipe or spread (I did the poor man's piping bag, with a ziploc sandwich bag).  These are also AMAZING sandwiched with apricot jam. 

To make the icing, mix the ingredients together and start with just 1 tablespoon of milk.  Add a tiny bit more if needed.  You can add a flavoring as well, like orange zest.  You want it on the thicker side, so it doesn't run.