Because gluten-free baking can be expensive (for instance, you have to buy an $8 bag of potato starch, $5 bag of tapioca starch, $6 bag of rice starch, $14 box of xanthum gum) etc. and use 1/2 cup of each and a quarter teaspoon of the xanthum gum....so you end up with about $35 in ingredients for about 24 cookies -- ingredients you will never use again. I would suggest you look for a good box mix for gluten-free products. I like both the Glutino and Bob's Red Mill brands of pre-mixed items such as brownies, etc. You will need to check the ingredients boxes for soy/lecithins.
It is kind of you to try to do this because gluten-free cooking is challenging for folks who do not have to live it as a permanent lifestyle. And a warning: Sometimes, GF people will not eat items made by others because the kitchen can have contamination issues (such as wheat flour residues on pans, cutting boards, spatulas, etc., not germs!). So even if you go the extra mile effort, the food may not be eaten. This can be very disappointing to the person who did the baking.
If you have access to a popular, trusted gluten-free bakery, you may be better off buying some gluten-free items for your guests who need that rather than home-baking them. As a person who needs to eat gluten-free, I am sometimes embarrassed by the extra efforts people go through to accommodate me, although I do appreciate those efforts. Sometimes I feel like I then HAVE to eat the item, even though I might not really want to eat it because I'm not hungry or whatever. Also, because I'm an adult, I feel like it is my responsibility to find my own food and not the responsibility of the host/hostess to accommodate my weird food needs.
You are extra kind to accommodate your friends, and I commend you for your efforts.
