(CERTIFIED) Gluten-Free Oaty Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

There's not a long story behind this cookie. I was going to movie night at Nell and Doug's house on Monday night when I realized that I had nothing to bring them. The refrigerator was bare - well, except for the gross of Peruvian asparagus that I did not buy - and I wasn't feeling inspired by the vegetable crisper. No, it was time for cookies. Gluten-free cookies. Gluten-free cookies that didn't taste sandy (no rice flour) and didn't have a weird "celiac" flavor (that's the adjective we would use at my old job to describe the slightly off finish of many gluten-free and allergy-friendly foods).

I don't use some of the more neutral tasting gluten-free flours and starches  - potato flour or corn starch - in my baked goods. I, personally, do not like the flavor of potato flour and I eat very little corn and don't like how chalky corn starch can taste. So the flours I do end up using - mostly tapioca, buckwheat, certified gluten-free oat, the occasional brown rice and, rarely, garbanzo flour - have to be balanced out to limit their flavor or texture. Alternately, they can be exploited for their flavor. I don't believe in all-purpose flour mixes - I can't control what is in them and my ratios change all the time. I don't believe any single GF mix can be a 1 for 1 substitute for wheat flour - different flours have different properties and can be mixed and matched depending on

the type of recipe you're making. I also don't like to use gums unless there's need for springiness - breads and muffins and some cakes benefit from gums, ground flax, ground salba or ground chia. They need to be used with some caution - too much can cause a gummy net that collapses when the product cools.

[And yes, doubters, for most with CD, CERTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE OATS can be tolerated. Don't believe me? Check out the findings from Health Canada, who have summarized human trials and a number of studies on this website. Their conclusion?

"...the safety/benefit evaluation for the introduction of oats in the gluten-free diet of patients with CD indicates that moderate amounts of pure oats are well tolerated by the majority of individuals with CD and dermatitis herpetiformis.The term "pure oats" is used to indicate oats uncontaminated with gluten from other closely related cereal grains, including wheat, barley and rye as detected using current test methods. Based on clinical trials in the published literature, the amount of pure oats considered within safe limits is 50 to 70 g/ day for adults and 20 to 25 g/day for children."]

Anyway, so I wanted to make cookies that would 'pass'. I mean, I wanted them to taste so good no one would think there was anything different -ahem, gluten-free - about them. So I started with a chocolate chip base recipe that I really love - from the Village Baker's Wife. I then altered it completely. I added unsweetened melted chocolate and a combination of -what else - buckwheat and tapioca flours, hydrated oats, and dry oats. And chocolate chunks. The results - a completely different cookie that is tender, chewy (if you don't overbake it) and very, very oaty. So you better like oats. A lot.

When I brought them to the party later that night, I told only a couple people the cookies were gluten free.  They were a big hit. Many had no idea the cookies were gluten-free and along with everyone else, took seconds. The next day, after they'd been sitting out all night, my mother (the diabetic) tried them. And, as she chewed on her second cookie, she smiled and said (sarcastically), "Oh, they're gluten-free? Then I guess they're good for me."

I wish.

Cake & Commerce's Gluten-free Oaty Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

• 2 sticks (8 oz) room-temperature butter
• 1-1/4 C packed dark brown sugar
• 3/4 c granulated sugar
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 2 eggs
• 2 t vanilla
• 1 cup of CERTIFIED GLUTEN-FREE hydrated oats  (combine 1 C hot water with 3/4 C + 2 T Oats)
• 1 C dry instant oats
• 2 c light buckwheat flour
• 3/4 c tapioca flour
• 1/4 c brown rice flour
• 2 t baking soda
• 1-1/4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 C chocolate chips or chunks

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream together the the sugars and 1-1/2 sticks of the butter.
Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and mix a couple more times.

Melt the other 1/2 stick of butter with the 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate. Allow it to cool.

If you haven't already, pour 1 cup of boiling hot (or instant hot) water over 3/4 + 2 T oats and allow to hydrate. Stir occasionally. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile, sift all of the dry ingredients together.

Once the chocolate/butter is cooled, add it to the batter, stirring as it is added. Follow with the hydrated oats. Once thoroughly mixed, add in the dry ingredients. Once the dry ingredients are completely incorporated, scrape the bowl and give a few more stirs. Add the chips.

Allow the dough to sit at least an hour or overnight. If you do allow it to sit overnight, you'd should pre-portion the scoops OR roll it into a cylinder.

Bake for 9-12 minutes. The less you bake them, the softer and fudgier they will be. I'm a fan of the chewy cookie, so I pull them around the 9-10 minute mark.

Some variations:

• For a softer cookie, leave out 1/4 C buckwheat and 1/4 C dry oats
• For a plain chocolate chip cookie, leave out the chocolate, but use the same amount of butter
• Add nuts of your choosing
• Replace vanilla with liqueur of your choosing
• Add in dry fruit like cranberries or dried cherries

Enjoy!

Comments

[Jennifer]

They look great!!!! My hubby would love!!

[Sophie]

They definitely don't look any different than 'regular' cookies :), great job making them gluten-free!

[na]

they are not gluten free with the oats in them.

[Cake and Commerce]

That's debatable. A lot of people feel that certified gluten-free oats are just fine to eat - the big concern has been cross-contamination from neighboring wheat fields and processing plants.

Read more about it here:

a commercial site: http://www.glutenfreeoats.com/

another explanation from Health Canada, considered an expert on things related to Oats and Celiac

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/allerg/cel-coe/oats_cd-avoine-eng.php