Baking with gluten-free flour can be tricky. I have spent a lot of time perfecting the right combination that delivers a chewy and tasty cookie without the grittiness that gluten-free flours often produce. The key to successful gluten-free baking is the perfect combination of an all-purpose gluten-free flour and almond flour. While my preference would be to replicate a traditional recipe using a grain-free/almond flour, it is sometimes difficult to get a similar taste and texture that rivals a traditional recipe.
For gluten-free baking, I like the 1 to 1 Baking Flour by Bob’s Red Mill. As with this recipe, I use a combination of this flour and almond flour. I have found that when I use only the gluten-free baking flour, my cookies or baked goods have a gritty texture to them. Using a combination of the gluten-free with some almond flour eliminates the grittiness. If you can find Mama’s Almond Blend (combination of gluten-free flours and almond flour), you can use this in place of the all-purpose flour and the almond flours in this recipe.
Ingredients:
- ¾ cup vegan butter (favorite brand is Miyoko’s)
- 4 Tablespoons vegan cream cheese (favorite brand is Kite Hill)
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup packed granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 vegan eggs (I like Bob’s Red Mill, or you can make 2 flax eggs)
- 1 ¼ cup gluten-free flour (favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour)
- 1 cup of almond flour
- 1 cup of freeze-dried strawberries (smashed into a coarse powder)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cups of vegan white chocolate chips
- Optional: ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- For best results, make sure your butter and cream cheese are brought to room temperature.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and vegan eggs. On medium speed, use a mixer (or hand mixer) and cream together the ingredients until smooth.
- In a small bowl, mix the flours, dried strawberry powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth and well blended. Be careful not to overwork the dough. Just mix until it is well combined.
- Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts if using.
- Line a cookie tin with parchment paper.
- Using a small scooper or a teaspoon, place even rounds of dough onto the cookie tin. The dough expands when cooking, so don’t do more than two columns of cookies (8 per cookie tin).
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes; or until the edges start to brown slightly.
- Once you remove the cookies, the option to sprinkle a few extra white chocolate chips on top.
- Let cool and enjoy!
