Where Them Wheat At?

It's time to improvise! I wanted cookies but I didn’t want to go out to buy a bag of flour. Initially, I was skeptical when it came to gluten-free desserts. They are either too dry because some recipes call for rice flour or it would have too much coconut that it overwhelms the entire cookie.

Well, that all changed after baking with my friend who is an even bigger foodie than myself. She was the one that actually introduced me to gluten-free baking. One night, we basically turned her kitchen into a makeshift bakery: quinoa chocolate cupcakes, gluten-free banana, and meat pies. This pretty much got my curiosity for gluten-free baking running.

So back to this recipe, I knew oatmeal was a good binder as I usually incorporate it in meatballs and meatloaf. But I knew if I only used oatmeal flour, these cookies would have a soft and cakey texture. No crunch whatsoever. That was when I thought of the ground coconuts my friend would use to get her cookies nice and crisp. Then I started thinking about macarons and how crispy they are on the outside but insanely chewy on the inside. Lightbulb! Oatmeal flour and almond flour are this recipe’s secret weapons! The result? The best gluten-free cookie I ever had. It did not have that gritty texture that I usually associate with gluten-free cookies. Encased within its crisp exterior is a chewy centre with a slight hint nutty flavour. It tasted like a regular chewy choco chip cookie. It's like a hybrid between soft toffee and macaron.

Here are some quick tips:

• Use a spatula to mix not a whisk.

• Melt that butter.

• The longer you bake it, the crispier and less chewy the cookies will be.

---

Gluten-Free Choco Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

The gluten-free foundation:

• 1 cup and 3 tbsp oat flour (tip: grind oatmeal in a blender)

• 1/3 cup and 2 tbsp of almond flour

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

The flavour foundation:

• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

---

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 80°C.

2. Let’s start with the dry ingredients. Mix the oat flour, almond flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon powder. Make sure there are no lumps. Set this aside.

3. Now let’s get on with the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, add in the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Mix until well combined.

4. Mix in the vanilla extract and egg. The consistency should look almost like caramel.

5. Add in your dry ingredients into the bowl and use the spatula to mix the ingredients until it is just blended. Don’t over mix as you will have to add in your chocolate chips.

6. Mix in your chocolate chips to the mixture and place it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

7. Scoop the chilled cookie dough unto the baking sheet.

8. Top off with more chocolate chips. You can even add some flaked sea salt.

9. Bake for 10-12 minutes and let it cool on the tray for 3 minutes before placing the cookies on a cooling rack. Enjoy!