I actually know 2 people with Celiac disease and several who are gluten intolerant. They are constantly asking me for gluten free recipes that work.
So what is gluten? Gluten is the protein found in wheat, barley, rye or spelt flour that binds everything together. Oats do not have gluten, but they are often processed on equipment that processes flours that contain gluten, so double check with the manufacturer.
In baking, knowing how to develop gluten is especially important. For example when making bread you want to develop the gluten so the bread is strong. Try ripping a baguette in half. It takes some strength. Gluten is formed when a liquid is introduced to the flour and kneaded. Whereas if you are making a cake you want a tender texture, so all you do is gently mix together the batter and bake.
I have done lots of experimenting with gluten free recipes, substituting rice flour or oat flour for wheat flour. Some times using combinations of amaranth flour, tapioca flour, sorghum flour, potato starch and xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is very expensive and is the crucial element that binds everything together.
A costly mistake I once made was when I was making some muffins and I didn’t have any xanthan gum. The recipe only required a small amount. I didn’t have any time to go to a store or several different stores as not everyone carries this, so I figured it wasn’t that necessary. Wrong. Without it the recipe completely fell apart into small crumbles the minute I took the muffin out of the muffin paper.
This recipe doesn’t require a pantry full of expensive non gluten flours or xanthan gum. There is no flour or gum in it at all.
What no flour at all? Then how does it work? I haven’t got a clue!
I made a mistake. Yes even pastry chefs can make mistakes. I was tired and forgot to add the flour to a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies I was making. I didn’t even realize the mistake until I went to measure out ingredients for my next recipe and noticed there was a whole bunch of flour left on the scale. I already had the cookies in the oven. So when they came out I handed them out to my staff to enjoy my mistake, since we don’t waste anything, and instead of a failure we had a hit. They loved them. I hope you do too.
Enjoy!
Avec Amour, Victoria and Alexander
Gluten Free Awesome Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield – 42 cookies
2 Cups Light Brown Sugar, packed tightly
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips
1. Mix light brown sugar and eggs together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Make sure there are no lumps of sugar left. Mix in baking soda and peanut butter.
Mix in chocolate chips.
(Don’t over mix the dough. Stop mixing the minute the dough comes together.)
2. Chill the dough for a minimum of 1 hour up to 3 hours. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Scoop cookies onto a silpat or parchment lined half sheet baking pan.
I used a 3/4 oz purple handled ice cream scoop and pushed them down slightly with the palm of my hand. Bake 12 – 14 minutes. At 12 minutes the cookies were still moist in the center and at 14 minutes they were crisp.
I do not recommend freezing the batter or storing it in the refrigerator for several days. Bake all of the cookie dough at the same time and then if you have too many freeze the baked cookies.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Light Brown Sugar, packed tightly
- 2 Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Cups Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Mix light brown sugar and eggs together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Make sure there are no lumps of sugar left. Mix in baking soda and peanut butter. Mix in chocolate chips. (Don't over mix dough. Stop mixing the minute the dough comes together.)
- Chill the dough for a minimum of 1 hour up to 3 hours. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees. Scoop cookies onto a silpat or parchment lined half sheet baking pan. I used a 3/4 oz purple handled ice cream scoop and pushed them down slightly with the palm of my hand. Bake 12 - 14 minutes. At 12 minutes the cookies were still moist in the center and at 14 minutes they were crisp.
