I love chocolate cookies. I know a lot of people out there with egg allergies love a good, fudgy chocolate cookie too.
Most egg replacers don't go quite the distance - they'll bind but they don't provide body. Using my tapioca gel (recipe and explanation here) I developed a gluten-free, vegan cookie that's just like the original except for one thing: these won't make you ill if you are allergic to the Big 8.
I made four versions of these cookies until I came up with a taste and texture I liked. All of the versions worked, there was just something a little off about each one of them until one of my colleagues helped me identify what it was: in my gluten-free baking mix, which is made entirely from whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat and millet, finely ground and purchased here), I had neglected to toast the quinoa. A quick toasting in the oven remedied that flavor issue (note: even if quinoa is washed before milling, it still needs a little time in the oven).
These cookies are pretty easy to make and are very fudgy. You can make them cakier by adding about 1/4 C more flour to my basic recipe, outlined below. You'll want to press them down a bit if you go the cakey route - otherwise they'll be very tall).
If you have time to refrigerate them overnight, it will allow the dough to absorb moisture and make it a little easier to handle.
If you don't want to use grapeseed or sunflower/safflower oil, use coconut oil - but melt it first. The dough will be a little different, a little easier to handle, but the texture will change from what I have in the pictures above and below. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature and behaves differently in baked goods from liquid fats. This is not a problem, just a choice!
Cake and Commerce's Gluten-free and allergy-friendly Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Yield: 24-32 cookies
- 1-1/4 cups natural cocoa powder (not alkalized or 'Dutched')
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup grapeseed, sunflower, or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Tapioca Gel: 1 cup cold water + 2 teaspoons tapioca starch/flour
- 1-3/4 cups PLUS 3 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend***
- 1/2 C chocolate chips (optional)
- 2 cups organic, corn-free confectioners sugar (or make your own in a food processor or spice grinder)
***Gluten-free flour blend: I used 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons TOASTED QUINOA FLOUR, 1/4 cup millet flour, 1/2 cup brown rice flour and 1/2 cup light buckwheat flour. You can use anything you like, but keep in mind that not all flours are created equal. You may need to add a few T of flour to this mix if your mix has a lot of starch in it.
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or use 2 non-stick baking trays.
Make tapioca gel: in a sauce pan combine tapioca starch with cold water and stir until dissolved. Over high heat, stir gel until it goes from thin and cloudy to thick and translucent. Remove from heat immediately - don't boil. Cool (you can speed this up by whisking it or pouring it into a glass baking pan with lots of surface area and putting it in the refrigerator).
Combine sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Mix until combined. Add the oil and vanilla and the cooled tapioca gel. It will look a little spongy. Mix until evenly combined. Stir in all the flour at once and mix. Add chocolate chips, if desired. Mix until dough is uniform.
If the dough is very soft and pourable, add a little bit of extra baking mix to the bowl, one tablespoon at a time. It should be sticky but pliable, not hard and not too wet.
If possible, allow to sit overnight. Flours will absorb some of the water and it will become a little easier to handle. It is not necessary to do so, however. The dough will still be sticky either way. Just a little less so if you can let it sit overnight.
Here's where it helps if you have a small ice cream scoop - it'll make forming cookies easier.
With that small, .25 oz ice cream scoop (or with a tablespoon) drop small scoops of dough into the confectioner's sugar. Roll in sugar (this is sticky work, okay?) and place on sheet pan, about 12 per pan.
Bake in oven for 12-14 minutes, or until surface is crackled and does not look wet.
Allow to cool. Enjoy or store in an airtight container up to 3 days.
For a more 'cakey' cookie, add in up to 1/4 C extra of gluten-free baking mix. It will not spread as much.
