PERFECT Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Nut Butter Cookies

Sorry for the potato of a picture...I was too busy gobbling up these delicious cookies (for dinner, no less!) to reach for the SLR. I've been on my Endo Diet for about a 5 weeks now, and I've done pretty well sticking to it. No gluten, dairy, soy, chocolate, sugar, caffeine, or alcohol. I typically eat fruit if I get a sweet tooth, but tonight...fruit just wasn't cutting it! So I whipped up these tasty treats with what I had in my pantry, expecting them to be pretty boring and unsatisfying. Low and behold...they're amazing! Here's the recipe. 

Perfect Organic Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Nut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups gluten-free oatmeal

3 tbs gluten-free flour (almond, coconut)

1 cup nut butter of your choosing (watch out for soy if you have endo!)

1 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup raw honey

1-2 tbs agave nectar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375*. Prepare two baking sheets with non-stick spray, or a thin layer of coconut oil. Run the oatmeal through your food processor for about 2 minutes, pulsing occasionally to ensure all oats are processed. This should look like a rough powder, not as fine as flour, but as fine as you can get it. Toss in the flour, salt, and baking soda. Pulse to combine evenly. Set aside. 

Combine the coconut oil, nut butter, and honey in a large bowl, and mix on medium speed until creamy and well incorporated. Add the egg, agave, and vanilla, and mix on medium until smooth.  

Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches, mixing on low-medium speed. When finished, the dough should be soft, but moldable. Use an ice cream scoop to portion out 12 cookies, evenly spaced on two baking sheets. Bake for 13 minutes, rotating for even cooking. 

Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before devouring! 

My Mom's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies Tutorial

I think I've been lacking in quality blog material, because I haven't had any new sewing projects. So I decided to highlight my mom's famous chocolate chip cookies....well, and fudge cicles were not satisfying my chocolate craving. So my boyfriend and I made a late night Shaw's run, just as they were closing, and stayed up late documenting the process just for you! These are the BEST chocolate chip cookies I've ever had...and I've been eating and making them since before I can remember. A grade school friend used to steal my lunch box before school so she could have her own...I won't name names, but she knows who she is. ;)

Anyhow, the trick to getting these the way my mom makes them is taking them out just before they're done...so they have a gooey, slightly uncooked middle. Mmmm! I like mine best kept in the refrigerator.

Mom's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Nestle Toll House

Begin by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and gathering your ingredients:

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt (I use kosher)

1 cup butter (2 sticks) at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (I use dark)

1 tsp vanilla extract (I add a splash extra)

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups chocolate chips (1 bag)

I have tried using butter substitutes, sugar substitutes, and other "diet" changes, but they never, EVER taste the same, and it always ruins the texture. If you are going to make these, go all out.

After your butter has softened in your large mixing bowl, use butter knives to lightly chop it up for easier mixing.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter.

Add your granulated sugar and packed brown sugar. I've used both light and dark, and I find dark gives a more rich flavor, though light will still taste amazing. On a side note, does anyone know a good way to keep your brown sugar from drying out? I've tried air tight containers (which seem to actually work against you if there is any moisture and makes it a huge hard block) and zipper bags, but neither keep it first-day fresh.

 Add the vanilla extract while you mixing this sugar and butter.

Once the sugar, butter and vanilla are well incorporated, beat the eggs in one at a time. My boyfriend caught this great mid-crack photo...hehehe.

In a smaller bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. I use a sifter to incorporate the ingredients evenly.

I personally don't notice the difference, and it is a lot of work. However, I still do it because it makes me feel fancy and domestic. :)

Add the dry ingredients to the wet gradually.

Here's the dough after everything is incorporated. Thick, creamy, delicious!

Add your chocolate chips. I'm pretty limited because of my peanut allergy, so I usually get stuck with semi-sweet. We found some milk chocolate at the store this time...woohoo! Now if only I could find some butterscotch chips that aren't processed with peanuts.

Mix well on med-high speed until the chips are evenly dispersed.

Size DOES matter. Most people make small to medium cookies. Not my mom! And not me either. I use my largest spoon, heap on lots of dough and round it out.

Drop on a greased cookie sheet. I use pam. Don't worry too much about a perfect shape...these are drop cookies, and will even out fine during baking.

Pop them in the oven on the middle rack for 9-11 minutes, depending on your oven, until they are JUST getting golden around the edges.

These should be perfect!

Let your cookies cool on the pan for a couple minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. I find this transition time keeps them from conforming to the cooling rack shape and falling apart. As they cool, the middle of the cookies will deflate slightly, leaving an ooey, gooey center and just the right amount of crispness on the edges.

There you have it! The perfect chocolate chip cookies, just like my mom always makes. While they're awesome warm, I love mine chilled! I'm thinking of making some ice cream sandwiches with them tomorrow. Yum! Let me know if you try this recipe, and feel free to share your own!