One of my recipients self-identified as gluten-free, so I needed to find a recipe was either already gluten-free, or could be altered to accommodate this allergy. Happily, cookies are quite forgiving when using alternate baking flours, and there are some pretty good commercial GF flours on the market now, so it is no longer strictly necessary to spend an entire paycheque on buying various bags of GF flours and playing mix-and-match. Not that there's anything wrong with that, not at all! In fact, I'll be doing some more research on making my own GF flour for any future commissions.
However, I felt it was important that this cookie recipe be as accessible as possible for anyone who wanted to recreate it, and so I went with a well-trusted GF flour that seems to be available in at least the large grocery stores and health food stores in the mid-to-major cities across North America.
I looked through a LOT of cookie recipes, both mine and others', to research ideas and techniques for an awesome cookie that would fit the bill. In fact, I developed a couple of different recipes before I decided that the recipe below was my favourite. I've made changes so it can be either GF or not, depending on your preference/needs; just sub out the gluten free flour 1:1 with all-purpose flour.
Gluten Free White Chocolate Cranberry Macadamia Cookies
Yield: about 36 small cookie, 24 medium cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 8 minutes
Note: all ingredients are presumed to be at room temperature
- 1¼ cups gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
-
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (Tahitian vanilla is best if you have it)
- ½ cup white chocolate chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- ½ cup macadamia nuts, finely chopped
Assemble your ingredients mise en place style.
Prepare two baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Prepare two baking pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk GF flour, baking soda, and salt.
With mixer at medium speed, beat butter and both sugars
until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
Reduce
speed to low and stir in flour mixture until just combined.
With a wooden
spoon, stir in white chocolate baking chips, cranberries and macadamia nuts.
Chill dough in fridge, covered, for a minimum of 20 minutes.
At this time,
start the preheat of your oven to 375˚F.
Scoop teaspoon-sized quantities of chilled dough and gently
roll into balls; place on prepared baking pans about 2” apart. Lightly press
each dough ball down with the smooth, flat bottom of a clean glass that has been dipped in white sugar.
Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the
pans and switching them between the upper and lower oven racks halfway through
baking.
Remove and let cool on pans for a few minutes before transferring
cookies to wire racks to cool completely; store tightly covered. Keeps for 5-7 days.
These cookies tend to taste better the next day after baking. Like they'll last that long!
Good luck, and please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this recipe, or any cool tips for gluten free baking!
