This recipe is from Cookie Madness. I wanted something easy to make, quick to come together, but tasty, to bring to a potluck. I literally was taking them out of the oven and putting them on the plate as we were going out the door. The recipe is easily doubled. I liked Anna’s idea of using crystallised ginger but wanted to see what they were like plain as well, so I made some of both, half and half. I definitely preferred the ones with ginger on top and though the whole batch was not all eaten when we left, the side with crystallised ginger had only one left and the other side had six or so.

I used the smaller amount of oil, and Anna is correct, they are still good. They are chewy with plenty of flavour. I used the darkest molasses I could find and quinoa flour. Surprisingly, molasses and quinoa flour have similar tastes and went well together, each balancing the other. I think next time I would add freshly grated ginger in addition to the crystallised ginger on top. Cardamom could be interesting or mace.  Thanks again Anna for sharing another great recipe.

Vegan Molasses Cookies

145g (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) gluten-free flour blend (xanthan gum is not necessary, but won’t hurt if your blend has it. I used quinoa flour, sweet rice flour, and arrowroot starch)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

100g (1/2 cup) packed brown sugar

90 ml (6 tablespoons) oil (I used 60 ml, 4 tablespoons)

30 ml (2 tablespoons) molasses

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

30 ml (2 tablespoons) unsweetened applesauce, drain on a paper towel then measure (I did not drain my applesauce and it was fine)

sparkly sugar or crystallised ginger for flair

Preheat oven to 165C(325F). In a mixing bowl, combine flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. In a second bowl, combine brown sugar, oil, molasses, vanilla extract, and applesauce.

Add flour mixture to brown sugar mixture and stir until well mixed. Chill the dough in the fridge or freezer until stiff. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop up dough and form into nice mounds. Space the mounds evenly on an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle tops with sparkly sugar or crystallised ginger. Bake for 13-16 minutes. (Mine took 13 minutes). Let cool for 2 minutes on sheet then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling. (I got 26 from a double batch). Enjoy!

I found this recipe at Free to Eat. Lynn, who is such an admirable example of joy brimming over everywhere making the best of everything, says she found the recipe at Amanda’s Own and adapted it. I must say, though I am not casein, corn, soya, yeast, sulfite, egg, nut, seed, citrus, or chocolate-free, that these are the most delicious gluten-free chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. They even rival some glutenated varieties. I’ve made Lynn’s Lovely Loaf before (delicious as well) but I’ve been skeptical when I’ve read her recipes that they would be good. Well, after making these chocolate chip cookies, all my doubts were gone and I now understand why she says she doesn’t miss anything. These are wonderful.

I used butter instead of shortening and it may have contributed to how long the baking time was. I baked mine for 13 minutes and it took three batches to figure that out. The first batch was underdone and fell apart, the second batch was firm but overdone and too browned for my tastes, the third batch was just right. Is Goldilocks in the kitchen somewhere?

I used a gluten-free flour blend instead of all rice flour: sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, amaranth flour, and arrowroot starch. The arrowroot starch was on recommendation from Sheltie Girl at Gluten A Go Go. Thanks Sheltie Girl, it works a treat!

I didn’t remember until I went to add the sugar that I was out of caster sugar, so I used half brown sugar and half icing sugar. The texture was a bit crumbly, more like shortbread, my guess is from the icing sugar, but if you prefer crumbly then adding a different sugar is easier than changing the balance of liquid to dry ingredients. The taste is just delicious. I would definitely make these again, closer to the original recipe. Thanks again Lynn!

Amanda’s Own Chocolate Chip Cookies

280g (2 1/2 cups) white rice flour (I used gluten-free flour blend)

2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon salt

225g (1 cup) Spectrum palm shortening (I used butter. Not casein-free if you do so.)

340g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons oil

340g (2 cups, 12 oz) chocolate chips

Mix and set aside the white rice flour, xanthan gum, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. In a large bowl mix together the shortening (or butter), sugar, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the water, baking powder, and oil. It gets all nice and bubbly! Add this to the shortening/sugar/vanilla mixture. Add the dry mix, then the chocolate chips.

Form into logs and chill, or just cover and chill in the fridge for 2-4 hours. I put mine in the freezer to speed up the process. After dough is quite firm, preheat oven to 190C (375F). Cut slices of dough off the log and place on a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes. (Mine took 13. ) Cool on a rack and enjoy! Makes 3-4 dozen, if I remember correctly. If you can’t manage to wait to bake them, the dough is delicious as well.