Gluten-Free Cookies

I don’t have coeliac disease, nor am I gluten intolerant, but my friend is and as I’m a keen baker I thought I would have a go at baking something tasty for her. She explained that gluten-free foods aren’t as tempting as “ordinary” foods so I set to work finding something for her… and these were the result! Even Mr Travelstodge loved them. His comments were “these are the best biscuits you’ve ever baked” … and believe me, I’ve baked many; much to his waistline’s disapproval!

The ingredients you will need are:

180g Rice Flour (I use Doves Farm)
100g Caster Sugar
100g Milk Chocolate Chips
90g Light Brown Sugar
70g Unsalted Peanuts, Chopped (or use mixed nuts or any combination you want)
60g Unsalted Butter, Softened
2 Large Eggs, Beaten
1/2 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Always make sure you measure out the ingredients before you start, otherwise you will be back and forth across the kitchen… believe me, I’ve been there!

Start by mixing together the rice flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, or a free-standing mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, caster sugar and vanilla extract until light. Next, add the egg bit by bit, making sure it’s mixed in well each time (you don’t want it to split at this point). It will now look rather runny, which is perfectly fine, as you will now add the dry ingredients from the other bowl in to this mix. Put it in one tablespoon at a time otherwise it will end up all over the place! Once combined, add the chocolate chips and peanuts.

Now, depending on how you want the cookies will depend on how long you leave the
mixture in the fridge. For round, crunchy cookies, leave the mixture in the fridge for an hour so it is solid. If you want large soft, floppy cookies (like the ones you get a Millies Cookies) then leave it in the fridge for about half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 190˚C (170˚C Fan) Gas Mark 5. Line three baking sheets with baking paper. If they move about, dab a little butter on each corner of the tray to anchor the baking paper down.

Use a teaspoon amount for little biscuits, or a dessertspoon for larger ones. If you are leaving them in the fridge for the hour then leave a gap of around 5cm between them. If you are leaving them for only half an hour then double the gap, if not triple… they will spread out considerably and end up joining together! You can always break them apart so not the end of the world if they did.

Bake them for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Leave them to cool… but you all know that!

If you want to leave the nuts out,  just add the same amount of chocolate chips to the mix so it becomes a nut-free recipe too.