Hello, friends! A lot’s been going on over here.
Firstly, I got contacts. For my eyes. I’d been avoiding it for awhile, but the necessity of fixing my terrible vision made itself clear last week when, during a game of pick up field hockey on some multi-purpose turf fields, I yelled over to a guy on the sidelines, ostensibly waiting his turn to join the game — “Oh, hey, do you want to sub in?”
Which really would have been fine and rather accommodating, except for the fact that, upon closer inspection, the guy turned out to be a 14-year-old boy in a baseball uniform waiting for his mother to come pick him up, looking at me like I’d just sprouted another head. Oops.
Contacts! Fine.
The second thing that happened this week was the official one-year anniversary of my cross-country move to SF. One whole year! A year ago, I was packing up all of my things and eating oreo cake and taking a nervous flight, and then unpacking all of my things in a new and small and lovely apartment. With a boy! I mean, whoa. The whole living-with-a-boy reality was hard to grasp at first, but it set in firmly that first morning in our new place, when I abruptly discovered that we were out of toilet paper. Who doesn’t buy extra rolls of toilet paper?!?
Boys, that’s who.
I learned that lesson quickly, and Ben and I haven’t had any (fine, many) issues (toilet paper-related or otherwise) since. It turns out that this boy is an expert pasta maker, a skilled note-leaver/cartoon draw-er, the dapperest of dance partners, and an enthusiastic helper in the effort to ration our newly acquired boxes of Girl Scout cookies. A good man, clearly.
Thirdly, this week was K.Gro’s birthday! For those that don’t know her, K.Gro is special. She is a bff/cousin extraordinaire and a recent inductee into the ranks of the gluten-intolerant. Happy gluten-free birthday, K.Gro! Naturally, I thought some cookies were in order. They’re my first foray into gluten-free baking and I have to say, all gluten aside, these are good. Their texture is perfection: crispy-shelled and soft-and-chewy-crumbed. Flavor-wise, these are deep and full of chocolate – not quite as peanut buttery as I’d prefer, but I’m the kind of person who’d prefer everything to taste more like peanut butter, so that should come with a grain of (sea) salt. Which is also essential to the recipe.
So tell me — have you tried gluten-free baking yet? What are the tricks of the gluten-free trade? Leave word in the comments — inquiring (and cookie/cake/bread-loving) minds want to know!
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Averie Cooks
I love how short the ingredient list is for these bad boys. But no butter? No flour? What’s happening to the world?
…I know. Just go with it. The world is a crazy place.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup peanut butter (I tried the recipe with both smooth and chunky — I prefer the texture of smooth in these cookies)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, roughly chopped
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth and no longer grainy, 2-3 minutes. Next, beat in the baking soda. Then mix in the chopped chocolate, just until combined. The dough should be clumpy but also crumbly in the bottom of the bowl. It will feel quite oily to the touch.
Scoop the dough into well-packed balls (about 2 tablespoons large – I used a 1.5-inch ice cream scoop), and place them on the baking sheet about 2-inches apart (you’ll get about 8 balls on one baking sheet – we’ll need to bake them in batches). If the dough balls start to crumble, just use your fingers to pack them back together. Press the tops of the unbaked dough balls to gently flatten.
Bake cookies 8-10 minutes, until the bottom edges have browned but the cookies still feel quite soft on top. Allow to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
Enjoy cookies warm or at room temperature with a very tall glass of cold milk (or almond milk, if you’re feeling vegan).
Makes 18-20 cookies.
Thanks for trying my recipe and yes, I strongly prefer smooth to chunky PB as well (in these, and in general!) 🙂
Thanks for the inspiration!
Excited to try these flourless creations! Notes on gluten free baking– mixing different flours helps, I like mixing my own not buying premade– a lot of them have garbanzo bean flour in them which I just don’t like. Sorghum, superfine brown rice, and tapioca starch are usually a good bet, coconut flour can be good but does impart a coconut flavor. Don’t make things with all rice flour, the texture is almost never good. Xanthan gum does help, but use sparingly, it can make things a little slimy. Amazing bloggers who are all gluten free-
Aran at http://www.cannellevanille.com/
Karina at http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/
Shauna at http://glutenfreegirl.com/
Thank you!!
If there’s one thing that can improve on a chocolate chip cookie, it’s peanut butter. And they’re gluten free – bonus!
I heard these were delicious but didnt get any because they were gobbled up 🙁
Hey there! Just wanted to thank you for this recipe – I work with Nancy, and she posted a link to these cookies on Facebook. I looked at the recipe (I LOVE LOVE LOVE peanut butter AND am sadly currently eating dairy-free) and within 5 minutes was making them. I made a half batch in an attempt at restraint and was planning to bring Nancy a cookie to thank her for posting the recipe. Well. My husband and I ate the entire half batch in a few hours. I just bought a tub of smooth PB to make these again – a full batch next time! (So maybe Nancy can actually get one.)
Hello, Kate! I heard this story from Nancy first — SO GOOD. Glad you (and the hubs) enjoyed!!
I was searching peanut butter and stumbled across your site. It’s amazing by the way. It’s a beautiful outlook on all things food and life. I’m fourteen and I’ve had a passion for cooking and baking for so many years already, and your site just confirmed for me that I had to go to culinary school in the future.
Thanks 🙂 by the way I’ll try these cookies after making World Peace ones (I bought the Dorie Greenspan book, it’s so amazing) ^^
Thanks, Tessa! World Peace cookies are a-ma-zing — good choice.