Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: 2 new yummy recipes

Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies...held by mom

Gluten-free Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today: two new recipes - Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies and (certified!) Gluten-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. And they are tasty.

(And the video from my friends at How2Heroes.com is there for all you A/V learners. It is embedded just past the recipe for the first cookie).

A few years ago I developed a recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that had a distinctly beany flavor. That's probably because I used a flour that I now generally avoid - garbanzo. The flavor is too overpowering and 'green' tasting. Great in hummus, not so great in chocolate chip cookies.

I've learned a lot in the last few years about gluten-free flours. As I've explained before, I don't use potato starch (nutritionally useless) or corn starch (I avoid using corn as much as possible) or sorghum (it makes me sick) or most rice flours (the texture is wrong). I've fallen in love with teff, the 'smallest grain in the world' that has a neutral flavor and a similar composition to wheat flour and a flavor similar to whole wheat. I also love light buckwheat flour because it has a slightly lighter flavor than regular buckwheat and the color is more attractive in baked gooods. I also use tapioca because it adds sponginess and crispness. And finely milled sweet brown rice flour absorbs moisture, adds a bit of starch and tastes more neutral than other flours.

I also wanted to improve the quality of sweetener I was using. Instead of using white sugar and brown sugar, I used a combination of maple syrup and Rapadura, which is granulated unrefined evaporated cane juice. Considered 'healthier' because it is high in dietary non-heme iron, it still spikes blood sugar.

I decided to keep butter and eggs in the recipe. I don't have an issue with casein, but if you do, you can substitute your favorite non-animal based shortening (margarine etc). You cannot substitute oil one-for-one or the recipe will come out very oily. Reduce oil by 1/3. Eggs can be substituted with 1 t ground flax combined with 2T water.

The key to success with this recipe is to make the dough and allow it to rest, in your refrigerator, for at least 24 hours. This isn't an option. This is a requirement. When allowed to absorb the liquid ingredients, the dough becomes firmer and drier and bakes up like a dream. The edges are crisp and the centers are soft and chewy. Apparently, according to this New York Times article, that's the chocolate chip cookie ideal.

I don't use gums in this recipe, but if you like using guar or xanthan, you can add a 1/2 teaspoon to the recipe.

You'll need a scale to execute this recipe properly. I use My Weigh KD-7000 Digital Stainless Steel Kitchen Scale.

I use certified gluten-free oats in my baking. To read more on oats and celiac, check out this great reference from Health Canada. Oats ARE gluten-free and are tolerated by most, but not all.

Here's what Health Canada says:

"...the safety/benefit evaluation for the introduction of oats in the gluten-free diet of patients with CD indicates that moderate amounts of pure oats are well tolerated by the majority of individuals with CD and dermatitis herpetiformis.The term "pure oats" is used to indicate oats uncontaminated with gluten from other closely related cereal grains, including wheat, barley and rye as detected using current test methods. Based on clinical trials in the published literature, the amount of pure oats considered within safe limits is 50 to 70 g/ day for adults and 20 to 25 g/day for children."

Enjoy!

Cake and Commerce's Gluten-Free Ooey Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies
(recipe based on ratios from the New York Times recipe, 7-9-2008)

Combine dry ingredients and set aside:

• 3.5 oz Teff Flour
• 2 oz Light Buckwheat Flour
• 2 oz Sweet Brown Rice Flour
• 1 oz  Tapioca Flour
• 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

In bowl of stand mixer or, if you don't have one, in a bowl combine:

• 5 oz butter (1-1/4 sticks) (substitute vegetable shortening)
• 7 oz Rapadura (you can substitute 5 oz brown sugar and 3 oz white sugar for the Rap & Maple)
• 1 oz Maple Syrup

Mix until uniform. Add:

• 1 egg (substitute 1-1/2 t egg replacer + 3 T water)
• 1 t vanilla

Mix until egg is completely incorporated. All at once, add the dry mixture.

When flours are incorporated, mix in:

• 12 oz chocolate chips or 1 bag of chocolate chips of your choosing

Once the chips are mixed in, spread dough out in roughly a straight line on a sheet of parchment and roll it into a cylinder.Alternately, individually scoop the dough into 1.25 ounce portions and refrigerate inside a plastic bag. Refrigerate it for at least 24 hours.

Once the dough has been refrigerated for 24 hours (it can spend up to 3 days in the fridge or be frozen for up to a month if wrapped in plastic) you can bake it off.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Place cookies (cut from the cylinder or whole 1.25 ounce scoops) on cookie sheet with about 3 inches of space between each cookie. Press each cookie down and flatten a bit for better baking.

If you are feeling trendy, you can lightly sprinkle the cookies with coarse sea salt (such as Maldon).

Place in center rack in oven and bake for about 10 minutes for a chewy, soft cookie up to 15 minutes for a crisper cookie. Allow to cool completely before handling.

Eat immediately, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze cookies.

And then there's the video, courtesy of my friends at How2Heroes.

Here they are, working in the house:

And here's the video:

So let's just say you don't want to eat a plain old chocolate chip cookies. You want something with texture. For you, I have gluten-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, made with certified gluten-free oats.

Cake and Commerce's Gluten-free Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the bowl of a mixer, combine:

• 5 oz butter (substitute vegetable shortening)
• 7 oz rapadura
• 1 oz maple (substitute 5 oz brown sugar and 3 oz white sugar for Rap and Maple)

When evenly mixed, add in:

• 1 egg (substitute 1-1/2 t egg replacer + 3 T water)
• 1 t vanilla

Add the following to the bowl and stir until evenly mixed:

• 1.5 oz Light Buckwheat Flour
• 1 oz dried unsweetened coconut
• 8 oz CERTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE rolled oats (NOT instant)
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt

Once mixed, stir in:

• 1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips (10 oz bag fine too)

Portion out the cookies using a 1.25 oz scoop (small-sized scoop) and place each scoop on a parchment-lined sheetpan. Chill in a refrigerator until hardened. Place scoops in an airtight container and allow to chill for at least 24 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Press down and flatten the tops of each cookie. Place on a baking sheet leaving about 3 inches between each cookie. Sprinkle flat sea salt (like Maldon) sparingly on each cookie. Bake 10 minutes for a soft, gooey cookie. Bake up to 15 minutes for a crisper cookie.

Eat immediately or store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.'

Here's my 'scratch' pad. No disrespect intended, Edible Boston.