Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies

I'm not sure where the summer has gone, but now we're already well into fall, and I haven't updated this poor, neglected blog in over 3 months. That's pretty abysmal even for a total slacker like me! Well, I'm going to rectify that with a bribe giveaway to try to win back some readers. But not today. You'll have to come back for the details on that one. (See what I did there?)

No, today I'm going to talk about some gluten-free chocolate cookies I made. Quite a while ago, actually, because I've since made them again and even experimented with spreading the batter into a loose-bottom tart pan to try and make a chocolaty pie crust out of it. Sadly, that didn't last long enough for me to even get a photo of it, much less get some ganache made to fill it, but more on that later.

Here is a photo of the first batch of cookies, but they actually came out much better the second time around. Sorry to be a Henrietta Half-a-job, but I'm going through a phase of not being able to take decent pictures. When I actually remember to take pictures, that is, so I don't have very many for this recipe. But I'll show you what I got.

First though, let me give you the recipe I used. It's one I tweaked from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam, based on the Chewy Chocolate Cookies recipe on page 102. I subbed coconut oil for the grapeseed oil, and I used maple syrup instead of agave nectar.

For the cookies:
3 cups blanched almond flour (I used Honeyville)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, arrowroot, and cocoa in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil (may need to warm slightly if solid), maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until well combined.

Scoop the dough onto prepared baking sheets--I like to use a little disher for this. Leave a couple of inches between cookies because they will spread while they bake. The second time I made these, I chilled the batter in the refrigerator before baking, and they came out much better.

Bake 10-15 minutes, depending on cookie size. They're done when the tops of the cookies start to crack. You can frost these, enjoy them plain, or sandwich two together with filling to make whoopie pies. Just make sure you wait until just before serving to put any icing on them so they don't lose their consistency.

Here is a photo of the raw cookie dough, which looks a lot like brownie batter. Apologies for the poor lighting. I freely admit my photography skills need work.

I made cookies with half of the batter, and then I spread the other half into a tart pan. I underestimated the amount of batter I had left, and it ended up being a bit too thick to use as a pie crust. So, we just cut it into wedges and ate it plain. Which was very yummy. Sorry, I don't have a photo of the finished failed pie crust, but here's a bird's eye view of what it looked like raw:

I may update this post the next time I make these--because there definitely will be a next time--with photos of them with icing or made as a pie with filling or something. Heck, I may even have some half-way decent pictures next time! But I'm not making any promises.