Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

by Camela Thompson

I realize that the content on my blog is pretty random. I talk about writing, marketing, my dogs, my book, and the list goes on. It's not a best practice. I should be more consistent. But life is random. I like a lot of different things, and one of them happens to be food.

I have a bunch of gluten free chocolate chip recipes because there are so many different kinds - crunchy, gooey, soft, etc. The easy recipe delivers a crunchy cookie with a gooey center, but it's not vegan - I'm actually allergic to it, but it's my husband's favorite. The second recipe is vegan, a lot of work, and delivers the key fundamentals I look for in a cookie. I like some crunch with a decadent texture in the middle.

Must Have Gluten Free Knowledge

Gluten free baking is not at all like normal baking. Here are some handy things I learned the hard way:

• Let your baked goods cool completely before touching them. The cracks in the picture below would not have happened if I let them sit another 5 minutes (they hardened that way and were splendid).
• Use baking/parchment paper when baking. Because you have to let the baked goods sit and cool, this will remove the frustration of trying to chip the cookies off the pan with a spatula. I like the If You Care brand because it isn't bleached.
• For a percentage of the population, amaranth tastes like freshly mowed grass. The rest of us can't tell the difference between amaranth and rice flour. Odds that you can taste the difference go up if you smoke. (I don't know why this is, just that it's consistent through the taste testings I've held.)
• If you make it vegan, you can eat the batter without risk of dying. How cool is that?
• Most vanilla extract has gluten because of the alcohol used with the vanilla bean. The Costco vanilla extract I have is labeled gluten free.
• Be cautious about which brand of baking powder you buy if you are allergic to corn.

Easy Gluten Free Cookies

1 c palm oil (white shortening)
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c white rice flour
1 c brown rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 package Enjoy Life chocolate chips

If the palm oil is brick hard, you can add a couple teaspoons of hot water (if you can get it out of the container easily, you don't need the water). With a hand mixer, soften the palm oil, then add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, salt). Slowly add in the flour until combined. Once the batter is smooth and there aren't pockets of dry flour, use a spoon to fold in the chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.

Difficult Vegan Gluten Free Cookies

12 oz palm oil (white shortening)
1 c sugar
9 dates, pitted (Medjool works well)
1/2 c water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 T chia, ground
3.6 oz arrowroot powder or tapioca starch
7.4 oz brown rice flour
2.4 oz white rice flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 package Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Soak the pitted dates in water for at least 30 minutes. Once they have softened, put them in the blender with the soak water and blend until smooth. If the palm oil is very difficult to get out of its container, you can add a couple teaspoons of hot water to get it pliable. Otherwise, use a hand mixer to soften the oil. Add the sugar, vanilla root, and date paste. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, and slowly add to the palm oil mixture. Once the batter has been combined, use a spoon to fold in the chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.

Enjoy!