Does it not seem that more and more people seem to have wheat and/or gluten intolerances? After years of struggling with various health issues, several of my friends have gone wheat or gluten free in hopes of alleviating their symptoms. For a few, abstaining from wheat or gluten has lessened their chronic allergies, fatigue, or gastrointestinal distress. (Kudos to Jen, Missy, and Amy for their dedication to their health.)
I’ll be honest–as a prolific baker, the mere thought of going without wheat flour is horrifying. Truly. However, I know what it is like to go without other beloved foods due to food allergies. So when my friends asked me to whip up some tasty treats without flour, my reaction was obvious:
Are you out of your mind?! How in the world would I go about baking something without flour?
Only kidding! What I really did was forward links to a great gluten-free food blogger or two. Then I went about my merry baking-with-wheat-flour business.
Honestly, up to that point I had never tried to bake gluten or wheat free because most of the flours and mixes at the store contain almond or other nut ingredients. That’s a no-go in my nut-free house. I filed the idea under It Can’t Be Done. But I was still curious…
Then one afternoon at a soccer game, my BFF Jen’s mom brought us wheat free cookies. Actually, the cookies were for Jen, but she was nice enough to share. And they were delicious! They had peanut butter in them, so they couldn’t be made at my house, but I promised Jen that if she sent me the recipe, I’d share it here on the blog. With recipe in hand, I got to thinking that if Jen’s mom can make cookies without flour by way of peanut butter, surely I could replicate the cookies using soy or sun butters.
So I tweaked Jen’s mom’s recipe a bit, and came up with a version of Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies that would be safe for my family. They were also delicious! These are probably the easiest cookies that you’ll ever make. Seriously. Start to finish, I was eating piping hot cookies in under 30 minutes.
All that stands between you and cookie bliss is 30 minutes and: creamy sunbutter, salt, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, an egg, and chocolate chips.
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats, or parchment paper and set them aside.
Place the brown sugar and sunbutter in a large mixing bowl. I chose sunbutter because to us, it tastes the most like peanut butter and is safe for Son #2 to eat. You could also use creamy soybutter for another nut free option, or creamy peanut butter if nut allergies are not a concern in your house.
Toss in the salt, baking powder, and baking soda. The original recipe didn’t call for the baking powder, but for some reason I felt that it should be in there. I’m quirky like that–throwing in extra ingredients whenever I feel like it. Actually, I wanted to add a bit more leavening so that the cookies would sufficiently rise.
Cream it all together until everything is well blended, then add an egg. Continue to mix until the egg has been fully incorporated.
Fold a cup of chocolate chips into the cookie dough. Eat the cookie dough with a spoon and call it a day. Or is that just me? It is? Alright, scratch that and carry on then.
Use a small scoop and drop rounded teaspoonfuls of dough, 2-inches apart, onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until cookies are set.
Allow cookies to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Assuming that there are any cookies left to store! 😉
Note: For gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy free cookies, use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. Enjoy Life brand products are guaranteed free of gluten, peanut, tree nut, soy, egg, and casein.
Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
http://comfortablydomestic.com
Makes 2 dozen
1 cup creamy sun butter
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Cream together brown sugar, sun butter, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
- Add the egg, and continue mixing until thoroughly incorporated.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Use a small scoop to drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, 2 inches apart, onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes, or until cookies are set.
- Cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheets before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes: I chose sunbutter because to us, it tastes the most like peanut butter but is safe for Son #2 to eat. You could also use creamy soybutter for another nut free option, or creamy peanut butter if nut allergies are not a concern in your house. For gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy free cookies, use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. Enjoy Life brand products are guaranteed free of gluten, peanut, tree nut, soy, egg, and casein.
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