I am amazed how many people I meet every month who are avoiding gluten, whether by choice or out of necessity. I often ask them what they miss most now that they’ve cut gluten out of their lives and to my surprise, many people name cookies rather than bread as their biggest craving. Thankfully, it’s super easy to made delicious flourless cookies. I’ve got a fantastic gluten-free chocolate-walnut cookie recipe that’s frequently requested by a friend’s son and now I can’t wait to deliver him a batch of these peanut butter beauties. In addition to being gluten-free, they’re also dairy free yet thanks to the peanut butter, they have a rich, delicious flavour that doesn’t leave you with the feeling that something is missing. Note that it’s best to use regular ‘grocery store’ peanut butter rather than natural or homemade as these products don’t yield consistent results like the conventional kind does. Also be sure to measure carefully as it is essential for success with flourless recipes. If you’re like me and think that the scent of freshly-baked cookies is the greatest thing ever, you’ll be glad to know that you can freeze the dough balls and just bake up a few at a time so your house can smell awesome every single day.
Ingredients
Directions
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend well with a sturdy spoon until evenly combined. The mixture will be very soft but will firm up as it refrigerates.
Using two small spoons, your hands or a small cookie scoop, shape the dough into balls about an inch or inch and a quarter in diameter.
Place the dough balls on a platter or small cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 – 24 hours. If storing longer before baking, transfer to an airtight container and freeze.
When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 350F. If using frozen dough, remove from freezer to partially thaw while oven heats up.
Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Flatten the tops with the palm of your hand so the dough balls are less than 1/2" high. Using the tines of a fork dipped in white sugar, press down twice on the top of each disc of dough to make cross-hatched marks.
Bake for 8 minutes, or until edges are looking dry and tops are barely set. The cookies will firm up as they cool so don’t be tempted to overbake them.
Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 10 – 15 minutes before serving. Don’t transfer them to a rack as they may break; these cookies are definitely more delicate than flour-based cookies but oh, the flavour!
Store cookies (if you don’t eat then all right away) in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Makes approximately 18 – 20 cookies
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