Back in the day, I was gluten free for a few years exclusively. Later I healed my gut on a gut healing protocol and now I can handle properly prepared gluten-filled grains just fine. In my gluten free days, I got tired of seeing recipes requiring 2-6 kinds of gluten free flours in order to get good cookies. I’m a bit of a science nerd in the kitchen and I pay VERY close attention to textures. I developed a gluten free soy free chocolate chip cookie cake or cookies that no one would be able to detect as having no gluten or soy and if you’re dairy-free, that too! In fact, I had someone act like my previous gluten intolerance was a joke and also stated that gluten free baked goods are gross. I made him these cookies and also filled his freezer with frozen cookie rolls and he was none the wiser. (I’m going to show you how to do that as well in this post, because I have a lot of empathy for cookie lovers.) The only thing I got was compliments and a happy cookie monster of a friend.
There’s a lot of folks now that also can’t handle dairy. I’ve got you covered too because I’m going to give you an alternative for that as well. I only use truly healthy fats. I don’t use any fake butter blends. My very picky husband literally couldn’t tell the difference when he tasted that version. I continue to use this recipe as my go-to because it requires no sprouting or soaking of the flour to make it digestible. You may not believe it’s possible when you read this, but fine rice flour makes for an exceptional chocolate chip cookie. Unlike how it is in other preparations, in a fat-filled cookie, the usual grittiness of the rice flour totally disappears! It’s slightly gritty straight out of the oven, but give the cookie cake or cookies 7-10 minutes out of the oven, and you’ll be a “rice flour makes the best chocolate chip cookies” believer.
I’ve been grinding my own grains for many years now. Rice flour is available in many stores and online, but to save money, I’ve been grinding my own and smiling about all of the savings. I also love that it’s organic. I never had a life threatening allergy to gluten, so the first time I used my regular mill for exclusively gluten free baking projects, I ran several bags of the cheapest rice I could find to try to eliminate any trace of the glutenous grain residue before grinding organic rice. Now that I’m fine with gluten, I’ve never done that again. You can see the super fast mill I’ve been using, here.
For cookie cake, this recipe fits perfectly into a 14 inch round baking pan or pizza pan. I use this one here.
Ingredients:
(Makes one large cookie cake or 18 average-sized cookies)
2 1/4c fine rice flour
1t salt (here)
1t baking soda
2t xanthan gum (found at most major retailers in the gluten free baking area, this is the binder since there is no gluten)
1.5c unrefined sugar like coconut sugar (tastes like brown sugar not coconut!) or organic sucanat
1c butter ( I use pastured butter from animals that spend their lives on pasture) OR 1c sustainable palm oil like this (I’ve seen this in many major retailers lately for a better price)
1t vanilla extract
2 large or extra large eggs or average sized duck eggs (*some* folks with an egg allergy can handle duck eggs)
2c Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips (they are dairy free and soy free!) (here)(I’ve seen them at Sprouts, Whole Foods and Fresh Market)
Bake at 375F
For cookie cake, bake for 17 minutes
For cookies, bake for 7-9 minutes.
Instructions:
Mix the dry ingredients well.
Add in either the butter or palm oil, eggs, vanilla and mix well. Then mix in the chocolate chips.
For cookie cake: Grease the pan and spread the cookie dough equally. Bake for about 17 minutes. Let it cool 10 minutes before slicing with a pizza cutter. If frosting decor is desired, let it cool totally before frosting.
For cookies, place on a greased cookie sheet or lay down a piece of unbleached parchment paper and disperse the cookie dough. Bake for 7-9 minutes.
Okay cookie monsters, let’s talk about making cookie dough for your freezer. Why buy expensive junk-filled cookie dough when you can easily make this and freeze it? Defrost it for about 10 minutes on the countertop and either cut it into slices or separate with a knife and bake. It really is that easy!
Divide the dough in half. Form the dough into a log on top of some unbleached parchment paper. Tuck over the sides.
Take the first long side and roll over and tuck it under the cookie dough log. Then, just keep rolling like you would a burrito. After rolled, tape the seam closed. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
OR… For cookie break-aways:
Divide dough in half and form a square on a piece of unbleached parchment paper.
Use a chopstick to divide the dough partially into 9 pieces.
Wrap it like this on both sides.
Fold like what’s pictured. The tape will go across the area the where the chopstick is pointing. Fold over the other side. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Enjoy!!
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