I used to make a gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe, which had a chewier texture, and a more caramelised flavour, but they start to go soft after a few days (even in an airtight container). But I wanted the option to bake a big batch of cookies that will stay crispy all week, to go into school lunch boxes, or be handy for after school snacks.
I had to research some cookie science, and discovered that melting the butter (no creaming), leaving out any leavening agents (no bicarb or baking powder), using raw or granulated sugar (leave out any soft muscovado or brown sugar), and setting the dough in the fridge to then roll into balls, would all lead to crunchier cookies. They are quite crunchy, but they last far longer!
gluten free crunchy chocolate chip cookies
MAKES
About 30 cookies (with an 8cm diameter, about 2 teaspoons of dough)
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp coconut oil (solid or liquid)
- 125gm salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup of organic raw sugar
- 2 free range eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla powder (or extract/ paste)
- 1/2 cup of white rice flour
- 1/2 cup of tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup of maize flour
- 100gm block of Fair Trade/ Organic milk chocolate (or 1/2 cup of choc chips or choc drops)
OPTIONAL
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts, macadamias or pecans (leave out if kids are taking these to a nut-free school)
METHOD
- Prepare baking/ cookie sheets, with baking paper or by lightly oiling
- Preheat oven to 180degrees Celsius
- Chop the chocolate block into small chunks, about 1/2 cm x 1/2cm (the size of choc chips)
- In a food processor, blend the coconut oil, melted butter, egg, sugar and vanilla
- Add the flours, blend until just combined
- Add chocolate chunks (and nuts, if using) and blend very briefly until just mixed in
- Put the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm it up. (You can even leave it overnight.)
- Take out scoops of the cookie dough (about 2 teaspoons worth of dough) and roll into balls (if the dough gets sticky or soft, return it to the fridge to harden up again. Return it to the fridge in between batches too).
- Place the balls of dough on prepared baking/ cookie tray. Press down lightly to flatten cookie dough. Allow enough space (3 to 4 cm on all sides) between balls, to allow for spreading out when cooking
- Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 8 to 12 minutes
- Allow to cool on the tray, then move the cookies to a baking rack to finish cooling
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
NOTES
- If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to the mix.
- You can find vanilla powder here or here.
- I find white rice flour that you can buy in baking aisles to be gritty, so prefer to use the glutinous rice flour found in the Asian food grocery stores or aisle. No, it does not contain gluten.
- You can freeze the unbaked balls of cookie dough, and easily defrost them to quickly bake a batch of cookies
