Big, Crisp, Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
It's a cold day. It's a warm day. There's sunshine, or rain, it's overcast, freezing, breezy, burning. Upon waking and upon setting my head down onto my cotton pillow, there are recipes. In every weather, in most of my waking hours there's some thought of making. Happily. There's a lot of scribbling in pen in my unlined journal. Scrawls on scraps of paper while walking. Hurried note-taking in my phone while at red lights. Collecting thoughts, some of which spin into reality in my kitchen; half of which end up here on this blog.
And yet so many of these recipes are the result not of planning but of feeling. Sunday night at 9 o'clock I get the urge to make gluten free chocolate chip cookies -- chill them overnight so I can bake the next day. Not expecting much really. I have a general idea of the "rules" I use for cookie making. I know how the quality of my different flours and the flavors I want to marry. Cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, molasses-like coconut sugar.
I've always approached cookies from the perspective of balance. Two parts flour, 1 part sugar, 1/2 as much fat, activating salts, and a critical binder. In this case it's psyllium and an egg. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I never use gums (guar or xanthum) in my recipes. They cause some unpleasant effects in the gut due to their slippery-slick, sticky nature. Plus I'm not super down with putting "food-like substances" in my body.
At first, when I kicked them out of my cupboards (I used to put them in every baked good I made) I stopped baking. Or, well, I stopped baking things effectively. There were lots of cookies and cakes that crumbled in my hands.
But psyllium. It changed everything. Psyllium is a harmless fiber that gels not dissimilarly to chia. It's less visually apparent than chia, and also quite a bit lighter. In combination with an egg, gluten free baking miracles happen. (Watch this video by Gluten Free Girl for more detail on psyllium as a binder in GF treats).
But why go for these gluten free chocolate chip cookies, of all of the gf choc chip cookies out there in the world?
I'll tell you why: these cookies are magic. Crisp on the edges. Soft and chewy in the middle. Made with wholesome, simple ingredients like almond meal and oats -- no special flour required. They're low glycemic thanks to coconut sugar. They bake up in about 20 minutes, if you include a meandering prep time. Cardamom gives these cookies a Scandinavian je ne sais quoi factor. And, to be honest, you could even omit the psyllium if you don't mind a slightly crumblier cookie.
Try out these lil gems and let me know what you think!
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1 cup gluten free oat flour (blend rolled oats until fine in a food processor)
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tablespoon psyllium
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch sea salt
- 1/2 cup ghee or coconut oil, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup bitter or semisweet mini chocolate chips
- In a medium bowl combine almond meal, oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, and sea salt until evenly mixed.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the melted ghee or coconut oil, the egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add the wet mix to the dry mix, and stir using a spatula until the dough comes together. It will be sticky and totally moist.
- If you're working in a warm environment (over 75'F) cover the bowl of cookie dough with a kitchen towel and cool in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325. Line two baking sheets with natural parchment paper.
- Scoop out a tablespoon of dough at a time and drop the cookies on your baking sheet leaving at least 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake on the center rack, one tray at a time, for 12 minutes each.
- Let cool completely. If you baked your cookies without parchment paper, once the cookies have cooled carefully remove from the baking sheets.
- Dip in almond milk. Enjoy, grin wildly & share!