Tasty RV Eats -> Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mostly Paul and I eat very healthy stuff…lots and lots of veggies and such, but every now and then we get a craving for something sweet. Paul, in particular, has a knee-dropping weakness for chocolate chip cookies. If you ever want to see him swoon with pleasure, all you’ve got to do is pass a pan of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies in front of his nose. Then just step back and enjoy the show. The Cookie Monster ain’t got nothing on this man, I tell you.
When we went gluten-free several years back the whole cookie thing became a major dilemma. How was my man going to survive the future with nary a chocolate chip cookie in sight? So, I went on the hunt for an easy gluten-free recipe. Years of experimentation have perfected it and I can now whip up a batch of delicious home-made cookies in less than half an hour. It’s super easy, low sugar and satisfies that perfect cookie “fix”. In my humble opinion, the recipe is so tasty even gluten-eaters would be happy to partake. So, here you go…
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time ~10 mins, cooking time ~20 mins
Ingredients (makes ~8 cookies)
1 1/2 cups of almond flour*
1 large egg
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips**
* For almond flour I like “Just Almond Meal” from Trader Joe’s (when I can find it) or Almond Meal/Flour from Bob’s Red Mill
**My favorite chocolate chips are the 60% Bittersweet from Ghirardelli
Equipment Needed
The only thing I use for combining these cookies is a big mixing bowl and a wooden spoon (what can I say, I’m old style), but you can certainly use a food processor if you wish. For baking I’m a huge fan of these Nordic Ware Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Sheet
It’s a well-known problem that RV propane ovens tend to over-heat/burn the bottom of just about anything you cook in them. One way to get around this is to use a tile or pizza stone to dissipate the heat. We did this for years, but kept running into the problem that the tile would break, mostly from knocking around inside the oven while travelling (I would often forget to secure it). Since I discovered the Silipat Mats my burning problem has been completely eliminated. The Mats dissipate the heat beautifully, they take up no space at all to store, plus they provide a non-stick surface for my baking. They’re great for regular and convection ovens too. I can’t recommend them enough!
Instructions
1/ Pre-heat oven to 375-degrees
2/ Cream the sugar and softened butter together. This basically just means mixing it thoroughly & rapidly until the sugar “disappears” into the butter and it looks creamy in consistency. If you’re doing this by hand you’ll need to put a little arm muscle into it. With a food processor it’s as easy as letting it run for a minute or so.
3/ Add remainder of ingredients (except chocolate chips) and mix together well. The mix should form a nice, soft dough that can be easily rolled into balls.
4/ Once the dough is well-mixed add-in the chocolate chips. If you used a food processor for steps 2 & 3, do this final step by hand. Mixing the chips by hand ensures they stay whole and don’t break into mini-pieces. I like to have that whole, melted chip inside my cookie!
5/ Roll into palm-sized balls and distribute onto a baking tray. I usually mange 8 cookies from this recipe.
6/ Bake for 20-25 mins at 375-degrees. Remove, cool and enjoy!!!
Bob’s Red Mill headquarters is just down the street from our home! Small world, huh! I love Kerrygold butter – and I should love Tillamook butter better being an Oregon native – but there’s really no comparison. We get the unsalted kind. Love your recipe. Hope to meet you someday ‘out there’.
I have to agree. Kerrygold is the best. Butter from proper grass-fed cows tastes superior in every way. The only other commercial butter that comes close (for me) is Organic Valley Pasture Butter.
Nina
Cookies are my (Brian) weakness too! Nothing like warm chocolate chip cookies and a cold Shiner Bock …
Thanks as always for a great read!
Mmmmmm…..coooooooookies. I like to pair mine with peppermint tea, but I can see a stronger option would be nice too. Perhaps a touch of aged sipping rum, or a Bailey’s Irish Whisky? Sooo many tasty options!
Nina
They look Yummy!
They sure are. The only problem is that they beg you to be eaten in one sitting. Making these things last more than a day is a major challenge!
Nina
Wow! I didn’t know you guys were GF. I knew Cherie was. I have a gluten allergy and have been GF since 2011.
Cookies look yummy!
Jim
Yup, for years now. I’m more sensitive than Paul is…and we do sometimes “cheat” for beer, but I feel it when I do so I try to stay on-track as much as possible. It helped me immensely to go GF.
Nina
WOW. I had no idea the Silpat dissipates heat like a stone does. I may or may not have melted plastic onto my stone 😉 so it’s out of commission right now. I’m glad I don’t have to replace it! I already own a 1/4 sheet size Silpat which will fit in the RV oven, just never thought to use it!
Give it a try. It totally worked for me. I always used to burn the bottom of these cookies. With the Silipat on top of the NordicWare baking sheet I didn’t get any burning at all.
Nina
Can’t wait to try out this recipe. I’ve tried several different ones but always return to one from Elana’s Pantry but I have a feeling I’ll like yours even more…. butter, yum!
You know I tried to remember where I originally got this recipe from (so I could attribute it on the blog), but it’s been so many years (and I make it entirely from memory now) that I just can’t recall. It’s very possible my original inspiration was Elena’s Pantry. Practically all my GF baking ideas come from her. Hope you enjoy it!
Nina
Thanks for this-now we know why we keep getting burnt food in our oven! We use all kinds of tricks but that may is what we need!
We’re still learning!
Yup. It’s a common problem. The RV propane ovens are just too hot on the bottom and don’t distribute the heat properly. Using a tile or stone will work, but I’ve been very impressed with my little silicon sheets too.
Nina
Wow, those cookies are so thick they are almost four-dimensional!
Haha! Nice one. Would that be 3 visual dimensions and 1 taste dimension? It was hard not to eat them before I could photograph them, I tell you. That taste dimension is a powerful one.
Nina
Fourth dimensional in the respect that for all t > 0, x = y = z = 0, In layman’s terms: the cookie is so good, it is likely eaten in the same instant it is created.
Cookie time warp factor. I hadn’t considered that LOL!!
Nina
I got turned ono these this winter, minus the sugar and butter, adding ghee and maple syrup…like a dream come true. Try this truffle like dreams….gotta have that cocoa fix for sure!! Fun you added a cooking segment…#foodielv !!
http://healthyrecipesblogs.com/2013/12/16/chocolate-balls-recipe/
Yum!! I have a **killer** recipe for real truffles too. If I get in the mood I’ll photograph that one as well.
Nina
Those look great. Can’t wait to try them.
Thanks for the recipe.
Cool! Enjoy!
Nina
Sounds (and looks) like a wonderful recipe. I imagine the almond flour would add flavor, too. Thanks for sharing:)
Yeah it adds good flavor and gives it a nice fullness too. It’s a substantial cookie, if you get my flow.
Nina
This looks like a great recipe! Thank you for posting it! I don’t know if we’ll actually use it, but I will keep it around, just “in case.”
🙂
Also, we’ve had the full sheet-sized Silpat baking sheet, for years. That thing is awesome! I’m glad to see it comes in “RV sizes” now!
Yup, you can get sizes that fit 1/2 and 1/4 sized baking sheets. Just perfect. I didn’t discover Silipat myself until last year. Can’t believe I survived this long without them.
Nina
Thanks for the recipe, Nina. Gotta keep our cookie monsters happy, eh? I, too, have been ‘almost’ gluten-free, low carb, high fats for 4 years and feel amazing because of it. However, Bill still likes (and I do too) those ‘forbidden’ foods once in a while. I’m stricter with what goes in my mouth than he is! I have purged so many useless, and duplicated recipes but still try to replace the sugary ones with this healthier kind when they are offered. I’ve never heard of the Silpat baking mats but may have to look into it. I have a convection oven only in our fiver. Thanks again!
Going GF improved so many issues I’d had for years and years -> joint pain, digestive pain, period pain. I had no idea it could affect so many things. I’ve “tested” it many times too by re-introducing stuff back into my diet and the pains always come back within a few days. I definitely feel better without it.
Nina
enjoyed this post Nina.
Had been reading about those commercial cooking pans on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, so went ahead and ordered them on Amazon:)
I was little confused about all the sz. choices …so guess we’ll see what comes in the little brown truck.
Also learned there was more to butter than Land’oLakes and Tollhouse chips !! all good to learn and try new things. Thanks !
Yeah, the sizing on those pans can be confusing if you aren’t familiar with full, 1/2 and 1/4 bakers sizes (which I wasn’t either). In the end the 1/4 worked our perfectly for the RV oven and the 11-3/4 x 8-1/4 Silipat was the one that fit it.
Nina
Hey Nina–in your photo there is a can of baking powder but the recipe states “baking soda?” Those look really, really good! I have my go to recipe for chocolate chip cookies which Nat and the cowboy devour but of course they contain the usual culprits–flour, sugar, etc. Might have to give these a try–have a gluten free friend coming to visit next week! CONGRATULATIONS also for having one of your photos in the most recent Escapees magazine–might not be so recent, we just got our mail yesterday!! :))
Duh! Total mistake on my part. I use the Baking Powder that’s in the picture. For some reason I had it in my head that that was baking soda, but you are correct! I’ll update the recipe.
Nina
Sounds delish… When using almond flour, does it give a almond flavor? Tom usually does not like almond flavored foods…
It does give some almond flavor to the cookie. So yeah, if he’s not an almond fan he may not like them.
Nina
Yum! I just realized that I have all the ingredients to make these right now. I see cookies in our future 🙂 I especially appreciate that this recipe only makes 8 cookies. Perfect for our two person household.
Tee hee….yeah, more than 8 in our home would be dangerous.
Nina
YUM! The DH and I are on a low carb high fat way of eating – keeps the weight off and is good for our “numbers”! I love this recipe, and will try to modify it a little bit by using Swerve in place of the sugar and unsweetened dark chocolate chips to see how it turns out. (We also crave sweets from time to time too!). I use Bob’s Almond flour and meal, as well as coconut flour in place of regular flour too. Have made some great desserts for the holidays so we can feel like we are getting to enjoy some of the yummyness without all the carbs. On our countdown to fulltime!
I cook with coconut flour too, on occasion, although I do find it trickier to use. It just absorbs so much water! I use it inside of GF bread recipes when we get the urge for that.
Nina
I am never disappointed in your recipes Nina so will be trying this one. Hubby has quite the sweet tooth, if you remember, and this one sounds like a winner.
Most of the sugar in here is from the chocolate chips. I often use even less than 1/8 cup of added sugar since I feel it really doesn’t need much. If you (or hubby) like things sweeter you can always use more too. Most of the cookie recipes you find online will use way more sugar than I do.
Nina
Yummy.:-)Thanks for the tip about the Silipat baking sheets. I use the recipe for Rosemary Almond crackers from Elena’s site; the baking sheets will help keep them from burning.
Ooooo I love the idea of Rosemary crackers. I’ll go look them up.
Nina
The Ajo Fiddlers Weekend is coming up. Here’s the website…
http://www.ajochamber.com/ai1ec_event/annual-fiddlers-weekend/
The event is allied with a group in Yuma. Here’s their website…
http://www.yumaoldtimefiddlers.com/
Of course! We attended the event last year. Thanks for reminding me. It’s a fun event.
Nina
Just a mention.. I’m also GF and will also do just about anything for a cookie. Ya know, in case the opportunity should arise. 😉
You don’t say….hmmmmmm 😉
Nina
You either have really small hands or those are really big cookies. Looks delicious! 😉
I like my cookies substantial in size 🙂
Nina
I tried the cookies and was very impressed. I will be making them again. This is my year of trying new things every month. Reading your blog I got a twofer. I have one of those mats that’s a Christmas gift years ago and never used. So tried it out when I made the cookies. Wish I would have tried it years ago when I it was given too me. Thanks for getting me on the right track.
I LOVE the challenge of trying something new every month. So happy the recipe worked out well for you.
Nina
PLEASE continue to expand on your tasty rv eats. I, too, am gluten free (and currently a lot of other foods free) so I am always looking for recipes. Look forward to trying the pickled onions and the laras.
Donna
I’m way behind on my recipe section although I have a few lined up waiting for an article to get published. I hope to post more soon.
Nina
i have a recipe like this. it’s one box of cake mix, one tub of cool whip {i use the light} and one egg. mix it tegtehor and drop onto the pan like you did. you can roll them in powdered sugar or sprinkle them then bake at 350 for about ten minutes until the tops crack . sooooooo yummy and {kind of} good for you. 🙂