GLUTEN FREE FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE COOKIES - CHEWY WITH CRISP EDGES

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     These easy to make chocolate cookies have a delicious rich brownie taste.  Light and chocolatey, the centers are chewy and the edges crisp. These cookies are also a great way to use left over egg whites.  Since there is no flour or leavening they can be eaten for Passover.  The cookies have a dark shiny top and stack and keep well for over a week at room temperature.  In fact, I found a forgotten one that was stored in a baggie for well over two weeks and it tasted fresh and yummy.

     I made these by adding everything into a bowl and hand mixing it together.  You will need to use parchment paper on the baking sheet to prevent sticking.  When hot, these cookies are delicate and break easily.  Let them cool completely on the parchment paper before removing them with a spatula.  You can add 2 cups of any sort of add-ins that you like such as dried cherries, raisins, chopped nuts and chips such as chocolate, peanut butter or white chocolate.       

     I experimented and made a batch by whipping the egg whites first.  These came out like soft melt in your mouth brownie cookies with a crisp top layer. The whipped egg white cookies were perfect the first day and then the top crisp layer kept getting harder and harder each day.  The taste was always great, just the texture of the top was a bit off.  I forgot to get any photos of the whipped egg white cookies.  The tops were lighter in color and less shiny than the unbeaten egg white cookies.  I’m wondering if the whipped egg white recipe can be used to make flourless brownies if I bake the whole recipe in a square baking pan, lined with parchment paper.  I will try this and let you know.

GLUTEN FREE FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Ingredients

3 cups/340 gm./12 oz.	Confectioner’s Sugar
1/2 cup + 3 Tbs.	Cocoa Powder - unsweetened
1/4 tsp.	Sea Salt
1 cup	Chocolate Chips (optional) - or you can use other chips such as peanut butter or white chocolate - or you can use dried fruit such as cherries or raisins - or you can use chopped nuts - or you can use 1/2 cup of chips and a 1/2 cup of dried fruit or nuts.
1 cup	Walnuts - chopped (optional) - or you can use dried fruit such as cherries or raisins - or you can use chocolate (or any other flavor) chips - or you can use 1/2 cup of nuts and a 1/2 cup of dried fruit or chips.
4 large/193 gm./6.8 oz.	Egg Whites
1 tsp.	Vanilla

Directions

1. Place the oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350℉.  Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.  Set aside.
2. Sift the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa and salt into a large bowl.  Add the chips and nuts and mix well. (You can add a total of 2 cups of any combination of chips, nuts and dried fruits that you like.  You can also leave the cookies plain.)

   

   All the dry ingredients added to the bowl.

   
   

   

   Dry ingredients mixed well with the nuts and chips.

3. Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until just moistened.

   

   Starting to stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones.

   
   

   

   Batter all mixed.

4. Scoop onto the prepared baking sheets using a scoop that measures 1-inch across or use a tablespoon.  The batter will spread quite a bit so leave 2 inches between each scoop of batter.  The batter will appear too thin, but the cookies actually puff up during baking and make a cookie with a normal thickness.

   

   Raw batter 2-inches apart on the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
   The batter looks too thin, but it will puff up during baking.

5. Bake for 15 minutes.  Half way through the baking time, turn the baking sheets from front to back and rotate the sheets from the top shelf to the bottom shelf and vice versa, so that the cookies bake more evenly.
6. The cookies are done when the tops are shinny and lightly cracked.

   

   Baked cookies, right out of the oven.
   I told you they would puff up.
   You must cool them completely before trying to take them off the paper.

7. Cool completely on the parchment paper before gently removing the cookies.  When the cookies are warm they are very delicate and can easily break, so be patient and let them cool all the way.
8. Store the cookies for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

GLUTEN FREE FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE COOKIES Ingredients 3 cups/340 gm./12 oz. Confectioner’s Sugar 1/2 cup + 3 Tbs. Cocoa Powder - unsweetened 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt 1 cup Chocolate Chips (optional) - or you can use other chips such as peanut butter or white chocolate - or you can use dried fruit such as cherries or raisins - or you can use chopped nuts - or you can use 1/2 cup of chips and a 1/2 cup of dried fruit or nuts. 1 cup Walnuts - chopped (optional) - or you can use dried fruit such as cherries or raisins - or you can use chocolate (or any other flavor) chips - or you can use 1/2 cup of nuts and a 1/2 cup of dried fruit or chips. 4 large/193 gm./6.8 oz. Egg Whites 1 tsp. Vanilla Directions Place the oven racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper. Set aside. Sift the confectioner’s sugar, cocoa and salt into a large bowl. Add the chips and nuts and mix well. (You can add a total of 2 cups of any combination of chips, nuts and dried fruits that you like. You can also leave the cookies plain.) Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until just moistened. Scoop onto the prepared baking sheets using a scoop that measures 1-inch across or use a tablespoon. The batter will spread quite a bit so leave 2 inches between each scoop of batter. The batter will appear too thin, but the cookies actually puff up during baking and make a cookie with a normal thickness. Bake for 15 minutes. Half way through the baking time, turn the baking sheets from front to back and rotate the sheets from the top shelf to the bottom shelf and vice versa, so that the cookies bake more evenly. The cookies are done when the tops are shinny and lightly cracked. Cool completely on the parchment paper before gently removing the cookies. When the cookies are warm they are very delicate and can easily break, so be patient and let them cool all the way. Store the cookies for about a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

GLUTEN FREE SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD RECIPE

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

      My wife loves shortbread.  I have been buying her the Walker brand that is made with lots of gluten.  I decided to make some gluten free ones so that we could save some money and so that I could also have some cookies. I looked on line and found a comment that said ‘this recipe was just like Walker’s shortbread’, so I picked that one.
     Evidently,  there is somewhat of a controversy about whether or not to use vanilla in shortbread.  Some say it is not real shortbread with it and others say shortbread is better with it.  I decided to look at the Walker box and there was no vanilla so I left it out.  There was also some contention about what kind of sugar to use, brown, white or confectioner’s.  Again, I looked to the Walker box for guidance.  Regular sugar it is.  Then some recipes urged the use of corn starch and or rice flour for authentic Scottish shortbread.  I figured that with GF baking I would be using tapioca flour anyway which is  equal in texture to cornstarch and then decided to use some sweet rice flour in the blend with sorghum flour as well. 
     Usually GF dough is wetter and harder to work with than wheat dough, but this recipe was easy to form and roll.  The instructions called for kneading the dough for ten minutes.  I could not figure out why this was necessary so I kneaded it just enough to get it to together.  I rolled the dough out between two sheets of wax paper.  Some other recipes called for pressing the dough into the pan by hand.
     My only worries were how long to bake the shortbread.  The time varied so much in the various recipes from 40 minutes to an hour.  The instructions were to bake them until hard in the center and just golden brown on the edges.  I was afraid to go by the color as GF dough is not the same color as wheat flour dough and it is tricky to tell if it is just brown enough before you really go too far and it is overdone.  I watched it like a hawk after the first 30 minutes of baking.  I peeked at least every 5 minutes.  At 40 minutes I pulled it out of the oven.  It looked golden enough for me.  Though the center was not completely hard, I knew from my baking experience that often a butter cookie will harden more after cooling.
     The cookies smell wonderful and taste as good as they smell.  The warm cookies are  crisp yet tender and a bit crumbly.  Once cooled completely they remain tender and hold together well.  I am told that the Walker cookies are much harder in texture and require a firm bite to eat them.  These cookies require only a gentle bite.

     *Just wanted to add that it does make a difference what type of butter you use.  I made it with regular unsalted butter and it was good, but with a good quality butter (I used Organic Valley brand) these cookies are absolutely amazing.

GLUTEN FREE SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

Ingredients

1/2 cup	Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup	Sugar - I used evaporated cane juice crystals
1/2 cup	Sorghum Flour
3/4 cup	Tapioca Flour
1/4 cup	Sweet Rice Flour
1/4 tsp.	Sea Salt
1/2 tsp.	Xanthan Gum

Directions
     Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Prepare a 7” square baking pan by lining it with a 7” wide strip of parchment paper that hangs over 2 sides of the pan.  This paper will make it easy to remove the cookies without breaking them.  It will also protect the bottom of the pan from marks when you cut the cookies into shapes with a knife. 

7" Square pan lined with a strip of parchment paper.

     In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle blade, or by hand, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. 
     In a separate bowl add the flours, salt and xanthan gum and mix until well blended.  Add the flour mixture, all at once, to the butter mixture and mix with a fork or with the paddle blade of the mixer until just mixed.

Flour mixture just mixed into the butter mixture with an electric mixer.

     Gather the dough into a ball and knead until it comes together well.  

Dough kneaded until it holds together.

     Place the dough on a piece of wax paper and shape it into a flattened square of sorts.  Top with another piece of wax paper and, with a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 7” square that is 1/2” thick.  You can also press the dough into the bottom of the pan and flatten it with your hand.

Dough rolled out between wax paper.
Using a ruler to slide the dough edges into a square. 

Dough formed into a square about 1/2 inch thick & ready to be put into the pan.

     With a sharp knife cut the dough into the desired sized cookies.  I made 3 equal rows with 8 bar shaped cookies in each row.  

Raw dough in the pan, patted down evenly and cut into 24 bars.
There are 3 rows, each with 8 bar-shaped cookies.

     Using a skewer make holes  in the cookies.  Be sure to push the skewer through until it hits the bottom of the pan.  You can also use a fork to make the holes.  I used the skewer so that the bars would look like the Walker cookies.

Making lots of holes with a wooden skewer.
Make sure you push the skewer to the bottom of the pan each time.

Raw dough with all the holes and all the bar shapes cut.

     Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cookies get golden brown on the edges.  When done, remove from oven.  While still quite warm recut the lines with a sharp knife to separate the cookies.  Use the parchment paper to lift the cut cookies out of the pan and place on a rack to cool completely.

Baked cookies in pan.  The lines are all cut again with a sharp knife
while the cookies are still pretty warm.  

     Each cookie is 2 Weight Watcher points if you cut the entire recipe into 24 equally sized cookies.

GLUTEN FREE SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD Ingredients 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter 1/4 cup Sugar - I used evaporated cane juice crystals 1/2 cup Sorghum Flour 3/4 cup Tapioca Flour 1/4 cup Sweet Rice Flour 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a 7” square baking pan by lining it with a 7” wide strip of parchment paper that hangs over 2 sides of the pan. This paper will make it easy to remove the cookies without breaking them. It will also protect the bottom of the pan from marks when you cut the cookies into shapes with a knife. In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle blade, or by hand, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. In a separate bowl add the flours, salt and xanthan gum and mix until well blended. Add the flour mixture, all at once, to the butter mixture and mix with a fork or with the paddle blade of the mixer until just mixed. Gather the dough into a ball and knead until it comes together well. Place the dough on a piece of wax paper and shape it into a flattened square of sorts. Top with another piece of wax paper and, with a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 7” square that is 1/2” thick. You can also press the dough into the bottom of the pan and flatten it with your hand. With a sharp knife cut the dough into the desired sized cookies. I made 3 equal rows with 8 bar shaped cookies in each row. Using a skewer make holes in the cookies. Be sure to push the skewer through until it hits the bottom of the pan. You can also use a fork to make the holes. I used the skewer so that the bars would look like the Walker cookies. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cookies get golden brown on the edges. When done, remove from oven. While still quite warm recut the lines with a sharp knife to separate the cookies. Use the parchment paper to lift the cut cookies out of the pan and place on a rack to cool completely. Each cookie is 2 Weight Watcher points if you cut the entire recipe into 24 equally sized cookies.

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