Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been thinking about cookies recently. Warm, with gooey chocolate chips, dark chocolate. The smell of them baking. Savouring them with a warm, bitter, creamy cup of coffee. The cookies are the sugar.

Gluten-free living has turned me into a baker. I have had to start from scratch. Find and try new recipes because my old ones will no longer work with the new flours. Yes, you can substitute GF flour mixes cup-for-cup for wheat flour in recipes. It is possible but the results are not always the same or good. Gluten flour reacts differently to moisture than all my various gluten-free flours.

Secretly, I admire gluten. He does something special to food. He was versatile, forgiving, and allowed for great creativity. I am left in a void, a vacuum without him in my life. I have to relearn everything it seems- it's fun but also frustrating. This is sounding a little like a break-up spiel. I think of gluten fondly, with a little longing. I am happy he is gone from my life. I feel well again without him, but he did do some wonderful things for food.

I actually do not eat cookies often, homemade or store-bought. They are not something that I make frequently or that I am tempted into buying at coffee shops. I have had my favourite recipe since I was 15- two of them actually. An oatmeal raisin and a soft chocolate chip recipe. I very rarely try new cookie recipes. My old standards are amazing and completely satisfying. Every time.

Since making this lifestyle swap I have tried a few GF chocolate cookie recipes and I have come to this conclusion. I am sticking with my old standby recipe. Amazingly, it does work for the cup-for-cup swap. I keep my flour mixes heavy on the starches and I add a 1/4 tsp cream of tartar. And, interestingly, to achieve that rounded cookie I crave, it works best when I cover the dough and allow it to sit over night in the fridge.

I have followed this advice of numerous blogs in this though: I bake them for precisely 12 minutes for thawed and 14 minutes for frozen; and then I allow them to sit on the warm pan for two to three minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yes, they will look under done but resist the urge to leave them in the oven for longer. If you try to put them on the rack right away, they may try to fall apart on you. Let them sit briefly. I don't know why this method works, but it does.

I personally am a huge fan of the warm chocolate chip cookie. When I decide to make a batch of cookies I will mix them up, bake a few to eat right away, and then the rest are rolled into slightly flat balls and frozen. This way I can bake up two or three cookies anytime I crave a dessert or a late night treat- or if I need a dessert for company. They will keep well in an air-tight container in the freezer for months. And this way, being single and the only one to empty the cookie jar, I am not forced to consume thousands of calories worth of cookies within a few days. It's win-win.

If you do choose to bake them all, they are just as good the next day. I have tested this out, just so I can report it to you. Cookies for breakfast- not healthy, but they did taste great. As long as you don't over bake them, they do not turn into those brittle, grainy disks that I am sure most gluten-free people know about.

You want my recipe? Someone is going to have to post a request for it...

GF Raspberry Coffee Cake

Never have been so proud of something I baked! I had raspberries that desperately needed to be eaten and no clue what to make. The recipe I wanted to try called for scale, which I don’t have. I considered pound cakes and loaf recipes before stumbling onto a rhubarb strawberry coffee cake recipe by Nicole Hunn that looked promising. Promising, because it accounted somewhat for the moisture in the fruit so it was a solid place to start. And wow! The results were amazing. (Picture just doesn't do it justice!)

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I ate 3 large pieces the first night. Sometimes your baking is best fresh, but this cake was just as good, if not better, the following afternoon! I took it into work to share with my GF colleague and my two coffee break buddies. They loved it too. They only knew it was gluten-free because I made it. 

This recipe is what all gluten-free baking should be. It was awesome, and not just “good, for gluten-free.” It was moist without being soggy.

Gluten-free Raspberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• CRUMBLE TOPPING
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (or dairy-free spread), softened
• 1/2 cup fine white rice flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• FRUIT RIBBON
• About 2 cups fresh raspberries, washed and dried
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup white rice flour
• BATTER
• 2 cups gluten-free flour mix
• 3/4 cup white rice flour
• 3/4 cup tapioca starch or cornstarch
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1-1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup margarine, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup plain yogurt, buttermilk, or sour milk
• 6 extra-large eggs

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9”X13” pan.

Combine all of the Crumble topping ingredients. Blend with a fork until well-combined. It will have the consistency of cookie dough. Place in the refrigerator until directed to use.

Wash fruit gently and set aside to dry on a paper towel. Do this well in advance so that your berries have minimal moisture on them. I used about 2 cups of raspberries. I didn’t measure because they were fresh and very soft. I didn’t want to crush them more than necessary. You need enough for a single layer in your cake pan, occasionally touching but not thick from edge to edge. You can also measure and set aside the 6 Tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 cup of flour at this time if desired. I don’t use commercial flour mixes, but you could.

To make the cake batter: In the bowl of a counter top mixer, combine the 2 cups flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. I highly recommend the using the mix ratio suggested. Potato starch is my new favorite baking friend- it makes everything turn out moist and more like gluten-filled cakes and breads.  *Potato flour and starch is not the same thing, and they are NOT interchangeable.

Add the butter, vegetable shortening, and sour milk, and mix. My margarine is GF and casein free; and I used lactose free milk with about a tablespoon of lemon juice in it. Adjust to suit your dietary needs.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Turn up the mixer and let it run for a few minutes. The batter should spread easily- be thick but workable.

Scrape the about 2/3 of the batter into the bottom of the prepared pan, and spread evenly. Dust half the reserved flour over the batter. This is to help keep the fruit from sinking to the bottom of the pan. Layer the raspberries on top the cake batter. Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the berries and dust with the remaining flour. Pour the reserved batter over the fruit evenly and use a spatula to ensure it is all covered. Make sure you save enough batter to cover from edge to edge! (I don’t recommend using less than 2/3 on the bottom because the fruit will sink quite a bit.)

Immediately place the pan in the center of the preheated oven, and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cake should be no more than lightly browned on top at the end of this baking period. Remove the crumble topping from the refrigerator, and fluff with a fork. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle with the crumble topping in an even layer. My crumble resembled cookie dough so I used a spoon and my finger to drop small lumps evenly over the top of the cake. Cake should be firm enough that it doesn’t collapse from the weight at this stage.

Return the pan to the oven, and bake for another 20 minutes, until the topping is cooked and a little crisp.

Remove from the oven, and allow it to cool completely in the pan before removing the cake from the pan. Slice into squares with a serrated knife.

Christmas Squares

This recipe isn't actually mine. A very dear friend shared it with me years ago. I have never been  fruit cake lover, but these squares converted me. My family agrees, even people who hate those dry Christmas fruit cakes will enjoy these squares.

Christmas Squares

This is a double batch suitable for a large cookie sheet.

1-1/2 c. unsifted flour (for GF 1/2 c. each Tapioca, White Bean, White Rice plus 1-1/2 tsp xanthan gum)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ c. butter

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

4 eggs

2 c. chopped pecans or walnuts

2 c. chopped dates

1-1/2 c. mixed candied fruit

Glaze:  1-1/2 c. sifted icing sugar

             2 tbsp. milk

             ¼ tsp. almond flavouring

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.

Grease pan, put waxed paper on it , and grease this. (Parchment paper also works.)

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs.

Stir in nuts, dates, fruit.

Stir in dry ingredients.

Spread mixture in pan.

Bake 35 min. or until golden brown.

Put on wire rack, cool a bit, remove from pan and peel off waxed paper.

Drizzle with glaze.

Cool and enjoy!

Heavenly Brownies (and Gluten Free)

First the unadulterated recipe.

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup cocoa plus 2 Tbsp

1 cup sugar

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla (optional)


Mix well and spread in an 8X8 inch greased pan. Bake at 350F for 25 to 30 minutes.

For this recipe, I used Earth Balance Margarine- so no soy or milk either. I always melt the butter and cream in the cocoa before adding the sugar. I think it helps make it smooth and fudgy. I dont really keep eggs in the house, but I do have a carton of egg whites. Since an egg is about a 1/4 cup- I used just under 1/2 a cup to replace the 2 eggs.

I made my own All Purpose Flour mix. I am not fond of chick pea flour in my desserts and rice flour in great quantities leaves a metalic taste in my mouth for some reason. (If you have a coffee grinder you can make your own coconut flour.)

My AP Gluten Free Mix:

3 Tbsp coconut flour

1 Tbsp brown rice flour

2 Tbsp sorghum flour

1 Tbsp quinoa flour

1 Tbsp arrowroot starch

8 Tbsp = 1/2 cup

I really liked the coconut flour. I cant really taste it but the end result is a brownie that tastes EXACTLY like it used to before I went Gluten Free/Lactose Free. A brownie should be very chocolatey, gooey and a little bit fudgy. Never dry and never cake like. I like to use almond extract instead of vanilla. These, to me, are the perfect brownie.

Last but not least, I added 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum. This is especially important for binding the end result. Nothing worse than a brownie that tastes and feels like sand in your mouth! The Xanthan gum made the batter really sticky and I had trouble spreading it in the pan and getting it off the spatula but this is normal.

I had to bake it for the full 30 minutes, my old gluten version was usually done at 25 minutes. I dont know if this is the oven in my new place, or normal for GF baking.

Let me know what you think!

 



GF Blueberry Cake Cups

Preheat oven to 375F.

Grease one small 6" baking dish or 2 personal sized ramekins.
Measure 1 cup blueberries and pour half into the bottom of the dish(es). Frozen or thawed work.
Set aside.

Mix the dry ingredients in a small bowl:
1/4 cup GF flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
dash of salt

Add:
1 Tbsp melted butter or Margarine
1/4 cup milk
(I use lactose free products)

Mix until just moistened. Pour over the blueberries and top with remaining berries.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

This is my first attempt at making this recipe gluten-free. Results were good. I think next time I will try to create my own AP Flour mix. The prepackaged one is a bit heavy on the chickpea flour for a breakfast or dessert recipe. Maybe I'll add some coconut flour for a twist.

I didnt add any Xanthan gum to this recipe as there was some in the AP mix that I have. Even without it, I think that the cake cup would come out okay as it is generally eaten hot and with a spoon. Plus the amount would be so small you are more at risk of using too much!