If you know me, you know I bake for you if I love you. It's my love language. Seeing as how I have several friends who are gluten-free, I'm having to learn to bake in a whole new way. And learning to bake gluten-free is kicking my trash. I'm not going to lie. So. Many. Failures. But here's a recipe that's fool-proof. And you'd never know it was gluten-free if someone didn't tell you. Seriously. It's also dairy-free and egg-free.
Courtesy of Torie Sue Jacobson. (Modified slightly).
1 tablespoon flax meal
1/4 cup soy milk (or regular milk if you don't need to be dairy-free)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-3/4 cups oat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
chopped pecans, optional (but if not using, increase the quantity of chocolate chips to create sufficient volume)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flax meal and milk. Add both kinds of sugar and stir. Add oil and vanilla and beat with a hand-mixer (or vigorously by hand, with a whisk) until all ingredients are emulsified (about a minute). Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the oat flour, baking soda, and salt.
Mix the wet ingredients in to the dry.
Fold in chocolate chips and chopped pecans, if using.
Drop batter by the tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between cookies. (When I make them, I use a 3-tablespoon scoop for a 'giant' cookie, leaving more space between them to allow for spreading).
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
If you overbake, the cookie will be quite crispy, but as long as it's not burned, it's still pretty yummy. But the cookies are especially good when baked just until they're soft and chewy.
