Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have to admit, cookies are something I would say I miss the most after cleaning up my diet. Delicious gluten free cookies are few and far between, and the cookies that are tasty tend to be laden with dairy, refined sugars and who knows what else. So, even if they taste good, the repercussions of eating them (bloating, acne, upset tummy) just aren’t worth it. You can imagine my excitement when I came across a recipe that was free of gunk and ACTUALLY tasted good. Good enough to bring to a party for people who eat ‘normally.’

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients:

Serves: 15

Ingredients

• Wet Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup apple sauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
• Dry Ingredients:
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour (option to sub GF oats)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup dairy free choc chips (I used Camino brand 71% dark _ bittersweet)
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. Begin to melt coconut oil on the stove.
3. Mix flours and baking soda in a bowl.
4. Mix all wet ingredients, except coconut oil, in another bowl.
5. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
6. Stir in chocolate chips and blueberries, gently.
7. Slowly mix in coconut oil to batter until it’s fully mixed.
8. Place 1-2 TBSP of batter on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake for 18-20 minutes _ careful not to overcook as they might be dry.

Option 1: Oatmeal or Quinoa Flour

For the first gluten free cookies, I used 1/2 cup quinoa flour. For the second version, instead of the quinoa flour, I put 1/2 cup of gluten free oats. I pulsed the oats in the food processor to make them not quite as large. The only difference is that the oatmeal ones turn out more like oatmeal cookies (obviously haha), and the quinoa cookies turn out with a bit more of a muffin-y texture. Both were delicious.

Option 2: The additions

For these gluten free cookies, I put in chocolate chips and blueberries. However, the sky’s the limit. You could add pecans, walnuts, cacao nibs, raisins, or whatever you’re heart desires!

Some Reminders:

There are a few things about these cookies that I think are important to note:

• Bake them at a low temperature (300F)
• Gently mix in the melted coconut oil at the VERY end. I think that for some reason it keeps them more moist. Also, for the coconut oil, I measured 1/3 cup while it was solid, which ends up being a bit more in liquid form.
• If you use oats, they may be crumbly, so I found if you press them down before cooking, they become more crumbly, so just leave them as a ball on the sheet.