Art of Gluten-Free Baking
-makes about 50 cookies
Special Equipment Needed-a food processor is nice, but isn’t absolutely necessary
-plastic wrap
or
-waxed paper and 2″ round cookie cutter
Note: this recipe uses my gf flour mix,
Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix (mix together and store in a cool, dark place):
1 1/4 C (170g) brown rice flour
1 1/4 C (205g) white rice flour
1 C (120g) tapioca flour
1 C (165g) sweet rice flour (also known as Mochiko or glutinous rice flour)
2 scant tsp. xanthan gum
(you
can also use the gluten-free flour mixture (not baking mix) of your
choice–just be sure it contains xanthan gum. Or, you can add 1/4 tsp.
xanthan gum per cup of gluten-free flour. If you use bean flour, it will
add a bean taste to the cookies)
IngredientsFor the cookies:1 1/2 C (210g)
Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour Mix3/4 C (65g) unsweetened cocoa powder (not the Dutch process kind)
1 C (200g) granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
14 TBL (1 3/4 sticks; 7oz; 200g) unsalted butter (or butter substitute), slightly softened, cut into 14 pieces
3 TBL milk or milk substitute
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the coating2 C (12 oz; 340g) semisweet chocolate chips
pure peppermint extract to taste
Make the cookie doughMethod 1
In the bowl of a food processor, place flour, cocoa powder, sugar,
baking soda, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix. Add butter pieces,
pulse until the mixture looks like sand mixed with pebbles. Add the
milk and the vanilla. Run until everything is combined and the mixture
looks like clumpy, wet sand (a few seconds).
Method 2 If not using a food processor, do this by
hand. Place dry ingredients in a bowl, mix to combine. Add butter
pieces and rub/squish into the dry mixture until the mixture looks like
sand mixed with pebbles. Add the milk and the vanilla and mix by hand
until everything is combined and looks like clumpy wet, sand.
With either method, now gather the dough together in your hands and
knead until it holds together. This should only take a few kneads.
Don’t work with it so long that the butter in the dough begins to melt
and gets super-soft. You want the dough to stay cool. If you’re using
the food processor method, you may want to dump your dough into a large
bowl for this part of the process.
To shape your cookiesMethod A In
this method you will be making two cylinders of cookie dough that you
later cut into disks. Once the dough is together, divide the dough into
two similarly-sized pieces. With your hands, shape the first blob of
dough into a rough cyliner shape. Press on the ends to make the ends
flat. Place on a piece of plastic and wrap dough completely. Now roll
your cylinder of dough (in the plastic wrap) like you would Play Doh
until it is a uniformly shaped cylinder and is about 2″ in diameter.
Wrap the ends of the plastic wrap over themselves so they are sealed and
place in the refrigerator to chill. Repeat with the second blob of
dough.
Method B In this method you will roll out the dough
like you would for cut-out cookies. Divide the dough into two similarly
sized blobs. Shape that blob into a roughly round ball and place
between two large pieces of waxed paper. With a rolling pin, roll the
dough until it is about 1/4″ in thickness. Place the rolled dough into
the refrigerator to chill. Repeat with second piece of dough.
Both methods: Chill the dough for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.
Cutting and Baking the CookiesFor both methods, line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Method A Remove one of the cylinders from the
refrigerator and remove it from the plastic wrap. Using a ruler or a
measuring tape, carefully measure and mark the cylinder into 1/4″
sections. Using a sharp knife, cut the cylinder along these lines and
place the 1/4″ thick disks on your prepared cookie sheets, leaving
1/2″-1″ in between each cookie. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes. I have
been routinely baking mine for 15 minutes to make the cookies crisp.
Remove from oven and cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before
removing a wire rack to cool completely.
Method B Remove one of your rolled portions of dough
from the refrigerator. With a 2″ round cookie cutter, cut out as many
rounds as you can and place them on prepared cookie sheets, with 1/2″-1″
between each disk. I use a fluted-edge cookie cutter, but the cookies
don’t really retain that amount of detail during the baking process.
You can see from the photo that the edges are faintly fluted. Bake at
350 degrees for 13-15 minutes–I have routinely been baking mine for 15
minutes to make the cookies crisp. Remove from oven and let cool on
cookie sheet for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cook
completely.
Coating the cookiesOnce the cookies are cool,
they are ready to coat with the mint-flavored chocolate. In a heavy
saucepan, melt the semi-sweet chocolate over very low heat (watch
carefully so it doesn’t burn). Once the chocolate is melted, remove
from heat and add a few drops of peppermint extract to taste. I use
about 1/2-1 tsp. Whisk to combine.
Cover two cookie sheets with waxed paper. Carefully place each
cookie in the melted chocolate and turn over to coat completely. Remove
with a fork. Tap the fork once or twice on the side of the pan to make
sure that any extra coating goes back into the pan. Don’t tap too
hard, though–the cookies are delicate and will break. Carefully place
the coated cookie on the waxed paper to harden. Repeat with the
remainder of the cookies. You may place the cookie sheets in the fridge
or the freezer to speed up the hardening process (and cold Thin Mints
are really good!).
Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in fridge.
Enjoy!
