So week two of the low FODMAP diet is over, I’m halfway there, yay! This week was definitely easier, partly because it’s been so cold in Wellington this week that I haven’t really felt the need to leave the office to get lunch so I’ve been quite content with bringing my lunch in from home. It definitely saves money, but it’s also a lot easier to heat up your leftovers and forgo the chicken katsu bowl when the rain is coming down sideways outside. I think it’s definitely time for some comfort food, so I’ve made you guys some that can be eaten in summer or winter… Cookies!! But not just any cookies – these are low FODMAP, gluten free dark chocolate cookies. They’re a different texture to normal, very light and crispy but they have that undeniable cookie softness and chew and the taste is pretty damn delicious. The little sprinkle of salt on the top that you can see is all you need to finish off a perfect tummy friendly treat.
I actually had to go to my parents’ house this weekend to make these as the oven broke last week at my place! Can you believe it? I was just innocently baking some gluten free chicken nuggets and chips (i.e. low FODMAP “takeaways”) and there was a big flash and bang and then a scream (from me of course…) and then everything died. I went downstairs and flicked the fuse back on but it was still making weird noises, plus ovens should not do that so I thought I should definitely call the property manager and ask them to get in an electrician. See, this is both the positive and negative sides of renting. When you rent, you don’t have to pay for anything to be fixed yourself, the property management company will just call an electrician and do everything for you and you just continue on your merry way. However, when it’s cheaper to buy a new oven than replace the part it has to go through approvals and then wait for it to be installed so takes a bit longer than doing it yourself. An unusable oven is also pretty much a life sentence for a baker and blogger so I needed a quick fix pronto – thanks mum and dad for letting me use yours! I am very lucky to live in the same city as my parents and also that they understand my obsession so I can go over and use their kitchen whenever I need. 🙂
Pretty ideal when you have cookie dough chilling in the fridge and no way of baking it! Unless you’re like that lady off Extreme Cheapskates on TLC… I’ve never actually watched it but I did see a lot of advertisements when watching Say Yes to the Dress of course, and she baked cookies on the dashboard in her car on a hot day! I’m all for saving money, but I definitely don’t have the patience to wait for cookies to bake in a car. Plus it doesn’t usually get hot enough in New Zealand and Wellington especially! Anyway, bit of a tangent there… This was my first foray into baking gluten free cookies and I think they actually worked really well, they’re crispy and a bit chewy and soft just like they should be AND they’re super easy! You don’t even need a mixer for this recipe, seriously. You just melt the butter, mix in the sugar and wet stuff, mix in the dry stuff then the chocolate, chill in the fridge for a bit and you’re good to go!
I actually ended up making these cookies for a charity that I support, Good Bitches Baking. I know, I know it’s a bit of a funny name but it is a great cause and the reasoning behind the name is actually quite cool. This is a little excerpt from their FAQs to bakers: “Actually Good Bitch is the highest praise for us – someone who sees a need and just gets on with it. And anyway, Good Bastard is a fairly common expression, so why not Good Bitch? Before we launched, we checked if places like Women’s Refuge would be concerned about the name – they roared with laughter. We think if they don’t take offence, no one else should really.” The mission of Good Bitches Baking (or GBB) is give people that are having a tough time “a moment of sweetness” during their day. It’s a way to do something kind for other people by doing something I love and ensuring that at least some of my leftover baking from all my recipe testing goes to a good place. I really love doing it and the people that I’ve met through GBB are all great, kind and friendly people all wanting to help others going through a tough time. If you live in New Zealand and think this sounds like a pretty cool idea, I would encourage you to contact your local chapter (area) and ask whether they need any more volunteers doing baking, driving or help with running the chapter. I was pretty happy to be able to make something gluten free for GBB this week so that other people who have intolerances or can’t eat certain foods like me are still able to enjoy some yummy food. 🙂
I hope that this recipe can bring a bit of joy to your day too! I’m sure once you’ve sunk your teeth in the soft, chocolately, sugary goodness that you won’t even miss the regular flour just like I didn’t. Happy baking!
NB: To keep the sugar under control for low FODMAP, you will need to keep it at one cookie per serving. But one is better than none eh? 🙂
- 3 cups all purpose gluten free flour (like [url href=”http://edmondscooking.co.nz/products/flour/gluten-free-plain-flour-750g/” target=”_blank”]Edmonds[/url] in New Zealand)
- 1 tspn baking soda
- 1 1/2 tspn cornflour (cornstarch)
- 1/2 tspn xanthan gum* (see note)
- 1 tspn salt
- 175g (1.5 sticks) butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tspn vanilla essence
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chunks
- Place the melted butter in a large bowl with the two sugars and whisk until combined. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and whisk until combined.
- Add the gf flour, cornflour, baking soda, xanthan gum* (see note) and salt to the wet mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until a few streaks of flour remain. Add the chocolate chunks and mix until just combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the cookies for at least two hours, or overnight. I do mine overnight but you [u][b]cannot[/b][/u] skip this step. Sorry but it’s crucial for great cookies rather than a pile of melted cookie dough – trust me I’ve tried it!
- Take the cookie dough out at least 10 minutes before you want to bake it to allow it to soften slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and line two baking sheets with baking paper or silicone mats.
- Either using a cookie scoop or eyeball it using your hands, roll 2 Tbspn of dough in balls and place on your baking sheet, leaving 5cm (2in) around each dough ball to allow the cookies to spread.
- Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes or until the tops are just golden. You don’t want hard brittle cookies, so make sure to check them at 10 and 12 minutes and take them out when the tops are only just golden.
- Leave the trays on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely.
- You can eat them whilst they’re still warm, but as a warning they may fall apart so maybe wait until they’ve cooled completely. 🙂
- You can keep these in an airtight container for up to a week, or alternatively you can freeze the cookies once you’ve rolled the cookies onto the baking sheets, instructions below.
- You can freeze the cookie dough once it’s on the baking sheets by covering with plastic wrap and leaving them in the freezer for around an hour. At this stage they are no longer sticky, so you can transfer the dough balls to a ziplock bag and bake straight from frozen within 3 months. You may need to bake them 1-2 minutes longer from frozen.
