My first try turned out pretty good, and chocolate is a wonderful way to cover up the taste of some of the healthier gluten free flours. So while you can't call this a "health food" because of the sheer amount of butter, you can rest assured that you're still getting good fiber, protein, and a few nutrients like Vitamin C and Iron. Combine that with chocolate, and I think you've got a win-win situation. =)
Like any experiment, you can tweak this to your heart's desire and see what works best for your own family.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. Tapioca Flour
Scant 1/2 c. Buckwheat Flour
1/3 c. Amaranth Flour
1/3 c. Millet Flour
1/3 c. Sorghum Flour
2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1/3 c. Cocoa
1 c. Butter
1 c. Brown Sugar (I bet you could lessen this a bit.)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs, beaten with a fork
1 T. EVOO
2 T. Milk
2 c. Chocolate Chips (I used mini ones.)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. (The Gluten Free Goddess has you line your cookie sheets with a Silpat or parchment paper for her recipes because she says the GF cookies have a tendency to scorch. So to be on the safe side, I used parchment paper for this experiment.)
2. Mix flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and cocoa together in a medium bowl. Set aside
3. Cream butter and sugar in mixer.
4. Add in vanilla, eggs, olive oil, and milk to creamed mixture and mix well on medium speed.
5. Slowly add in small amounts of flour mixture and mix well until fully combined and a smooth dough has formed. (I cover my stand mixer with a towel during this part so I don't get flying flour everywhere.)
6. Stir in chocolate chips until evenly incorporated into the dough.
7. Using a cookie scoop, drop balls of dough onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Gently flatten a bit with a spatula or your fingers. (If the fact that the dough likes to stick is driving you crazy, just moisten your fingers or the spatula a bit with some cold water.)
8. Bake at 375 for 9-10 minutes. (It's really important to know the temperature of your oven when you're dealing with GF baking, so it's a good idea to keep an inexpensive oven thermometer hanging on the top rack at the back of your oven.) Leave the cookies on the tray for 3-4 minutes to finish setting up, and then gently remove them to a cooling rack. You'll be tempted to leave them in the oven longer because they will look like they need more time, but trust me. If you just let them rest on the pan for 3-4 minutes, they will finish setting up while still remaining chewy and delectable inside.
***My cookie scoop is fairly big, so this made exactly 24 cookies. As soon as the first batch cooled, I wrapped them in foil and put them inside a gallon ziploc freezer bag. Gluten free cookies are known for drying out more quickly than ones made with wheat. So we only keep what we'll eat in 1-2 days out, and freeze the rest to take out as needed.
***My second experiment will include quinoa flour, and I'll probably increase the amount of amaranth flour. Coconut flour is one of our favorites to bake with too, though not as nutritious as amaranth.
