Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Make these simple Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies that are crispy on the edges, full of chocolate chips and have a deliciously soft centre – everyone will love them. They have very quickly become firm favourites here with just one complaint ….. they’re not big enough! The joys of feeding boys!

One of the tricks to get these cookies perfect is to have your butter cold. I know most cookie recipes ask for melted or soft butter but these work best using cold butter. So that’s cold, not rock solid 😉 Using cornflour in the recipe helps to give the cookies a bit of bulk and the addition of an egg yolk along with the egg help to keep them together and avoid crumbling.

You will need to let them sit in the fridge for about an hour so you can plan this when making them..

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Crunchy Oat Biscuits – Gluten Free

These oat biscuits should probably come with a warning as they are deliciously crunchy and one is never enough! I thought I had made enough but they disappeared pretty quickly!

You can of course make these biscuits non gluten free by using plain flour, oats, baking powder and omit the xanthan gum.

You can make them dairy free by using a plant based butter in place of the butter needed in the recipe.

If you wanted, you could add in some chocolate chips (GF) but I left them as they were to shine in their simplicity. I replaced the light brown sugar in the recipe with organic coconut sugar for a less refined result but you don’t have to.

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Caramel Florentines – Gluten Free option included

The original recipe for these delicious florentines was from the lovely Laura of Bake Off fame. She made her version during the series competition and they were very well received and I think she may even have got rare “Hollywood Handshake” for them.

I used a slightly bigger cutter than recomended and changed one or two ingredients plus quantities. When I made a second batch, I decided to convert them to Gluten Free and they worked equally as well so a big bonus with these!

You could make them smaller as they really spread out hugely; I mean really spread out so leave tons of space between them and you will still probably have some spreading into each other but don’t worry, you can do a bit of adjusting once they’re out of the oven and still hot.

So let’s get on with making these perfect mouthfuls of delight …

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White Chocolate & Cranberry Fudge

A totally delicious fudge that’s so easy to make. You don’t need a sugar thermometer, just some good strong arm muscles and a bit of preparation to help the process go smoothly as possible.

I added the zest of half an orange just to give an extra dimension to this fudge but equally you could add some ground ginger or ground cinnamon. It depends on what you like personally.

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White Chocolate & Ginger Nut Fudge

This is one of the easiest fudge recipes so you don’t need thermometers but you do need a good strong arm to give the fudge a mix. I used a combination of white chocolate chips from Dr Oetker and some good quality white chocolate bars. Don’t use cooking chocolate for this recipe.

I added crushed ginger nut biscuits as my own ginger biscuits are soft in the centre and chewy and I wanted a crispy, crunchy bite to the fudge instead. If you can find small Gingerbread men, they will look really great!

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Coffee and Walnut Fudge

This fudge recipe is made in the traditional way so there’s no fear of any crumbly bits. It’s so smooth and so delicious but does take a little time when you’re bringing it to boil but this is what gives you that smooth, professional and really beautiful finish so for special occasions, it’s definitely worth it.

The flavour is gorgeous, full of rich coffee which cuts through the sweetness perfectly! Homemade fudge is so different than more commercial versions. It’s full of flavour and doesn’t get lost in an overly sweet taste.

The recipe is perfect to give as gifts. I put 3 pieces into cellophane bags, wrapped with pretty ribbon and gave them as gifts. People raved about the flavour and even though it doesn’t sound like much, 3 pieces of this fudge is more than enough for most people!

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Banana and Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip Cookies – Gluten Free Option included

I think these should be called Cakies! They are the perfect combination of a cake and a cookie. They are thick and loaded with chocolate chips; they are very satisfying and filling and full of good stuff like bananas and oats.

I’ve adapted some of the ingredients so you can choose to go with the original or make the recipe a little healthier with less refined products. Either way, they are perfect as an afternoon or mid morning snack to keep you going till lunch or dinner time.

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Mixed Berries & White Chocolate Traybake

I’m very partial to a traybake recipe. They are always quick and easy to make, simple to transport and feed a good few people so lots of boxes ticked right there.

This lovely traybake is on the lines of the nostalgic Pineapple Upside Down Cake where the fruit is at the bottom of the tin and ends up on top when you invert it after baking. Using a selection of mixed berries instead gives this cake such a burst of colour and it’s all natural! There’s white chocolate both in the cake batter and drizzled over the top which works nicely to offset the slight sharpness of the fruit.

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Oatmeal Raisin Cookies – Gluten Free

These are your classic oatmeal raisin cookie – crispy around the edges and soft and chewy in the middle – basically heavenly perfect!

Oats don’t contain gluten but they would regularly be contaminated with gluten in their processing or storing stages so it’s important to use certified gluten free oats in the recipe.

I love this recipe for it’s simplicity. Just a bowl and a good spoon are needed.  In order to prevent them spreading, I pop them in the fridge for 15-30 minutes before baking.

 

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Raspberry Almond Bakewell Squares

I’m such a fan of almond flavours which of course lead into bakewell. Any version of a Bakewell is a winner with me. I absolutely love the flavours but I do understand that sometimes, you don’t want to make the different elements needed for a traditional Bakewell Tart so thanks to Lakeland UK, these gorgeous little Bakewell Squares are a very simple yet delicious way to get that hit.

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Edible Flower & Lavender Shortbread Cookies – Gluten Free

I adapted this shortbread recipe from another one which had chocolate and raspberries. Sounds pretty good and I definitely might try it later but I wanted to try something I had seen on Pinterest and couldn’t wait!

So I decided to try and bake with edible flowers and the lavender that grows in my garden. I used a shortbread recipe but I think a plain, vanilla biscuit recipe would probably also work. The reason I chose the shortbread is because it comes out of the oven really soft which allows you to VERY gently press in the flowers and then return to the oven for the last 5 minutes of baking.

As I was using violas and also the lavender from the garden, I decided to add lemon flavour to the shortbread also as I felt they would work well together.

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