Chocolate cookies

There is a secret place, deep inside of me that is satisfied only by chocolate. Well...maybe it's not exactly that way... But don't we all kind of have those kinds of places? Ok, no, seriously now. Who doesn't love a chocolate cookie every once in a while? Especially when that cookie is crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside, with melted chocolate chunks in between. What more could you want from a cookie?

These cookies remind me of the taste of brownies, but are not as heavy. They are a cinch to make if you have the right ingredients on hand. For those of you who are not regular gluten-free bakers and don't have all the special flours, I'm genuinely sorry! But not to worry, there are recipes out there for good chocolate cookies made out of *gasp!*- wheat flour. You do what works though. Each to his own! My own just happens to have to be gluten-free, which I actually love now. It's an adventure, it's challenging, and I know it's better for my body.

Chocolate cookies 
(Thanks to Karina Alrich at glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com for her wonderful recipe! I just changed a couple of small things to fit what I had on hand, but the credit goes to her!)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line one or two baking sheets with an Exopat or Silpat liner.

Whisk together the dry ingredients:

1/2 cup buckwheat flour or certified gluten-free oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour!)
1/3 cup organic cocoa
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar

Add in:

1/4 cup agave or pure maple syrup 
1/2 cup light grapeseed oil or butter, if you can tolerate it
1 tablespoon bourbon vanilla extract
1/2 cup vanilla rice milk, coconut milk, or almond milk- more as needed

As you beat the dough pay close attention to the consistency. Add more rice milk a tablespoon at a time, and beat to combine, until you achieve a smooth but sturdy cookie dough. I added two more tablespoons of rice milk to my dough.

Add in:

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Stir as best you can to combine (the dough is stiff).

Roll a golf ball sized wad of dough between your palms, and place the ball on the lined baking sheet about two inches apart. Repeat this process to make 18 balls. Use your palm to press down on the dough and flatten slightly- not too much- unless you like your cookies thin. Press a few extra chocolate chips into the tops of the cookies, if you like.

Bake in the center of a preheated oven for about 15 minutes until the cookies are set. They will still be slightly soft in the center. If you bake two pans at once, rotate the pans half way through baking.

Remove the pans from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool and "set" for a few minutes; then use a thin spatula to move the cookies to a wire rack. The cookies will get crisper as they cool.

Cook time: 15 min

Yield: 18 cookies

Claire's notes: 

- These are great for those of you who can't tolerate eggs, or are vegan! They're also great for those of us who like to eat cookie dough! Heehee...

 

 

- I feel like these are even better the next day! You can also freeze them and then pop them in the microwave for 15 seconds. They'll taste like they're just out of the oven!