Gluten Free Cookie Making Tips

To make your baking efforts a success, here are some tips to help you.

Tip #1

Make sure you read the entire recipe before you begin. You want to make sure you have everything you need. Emergency trips to the store when you are in the middle of cookie making are annoying.

Tip #2

Go ahead and preheat the oven, unless your dough needs to chill. 10 minutes before you pull the dough out of the freezer or refrigerator is plenty of time to get the oven up to temperature.

Tip #3

You really need two cookie/baking sheets. That way, you can rotate them in and out of the oven as each batch bakes. It allows the pans to cool enough for the next batch and makes your cookie baking go a lot faster.

Tip #4

I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer to make my cookie dough’s. It leaves my hands free and I can walk away from it while it creams my butter and sugars together. I still have the one I received as a wedding gift. I’m not sure I should tell you how long ago that was.

If you use a stand mixer, make sure to stop it once to scrape down the sides of the bowl every time you add something new to the mix.

Tip #4

Make sure to aerate your gluten free flour blend before you measure. I keep mine in a large food grade plastic container. I just flip it upside down a few times to loosen the flour before I measure. The tried and true “dip and sweep” method works the best. Dip a spoon into your flour container and then fill the measuring cup.  Sweep off to level the top.

Tip #5

If you forgot to place your butter on the counter to soften, go ahead and use the microwave. I place my stick of butter into a silicone measuring cup which then goes into the microwave. Use high power in 5 second intervals until you can push your finger into the butter. Make sure you don’t melt it!

Tip #6

It is easier to whisk ALL of your dry ingredients together before you add it to your wet ingredients. Whisking allows the baking powder, soda, xanthum gum, spices (all the small stuff) to become thoroughly incorporated into the flour. It keeps you from having baking powder lumps in your cookies. Not very appetizing.

Tip #7 

You can use ANY gluten free flour for these recipes. I encourage you to start grinding your own flours. There is nothing that compares to freshly ground flour.

I use coconut flour in most of the cookie recipes. It imparts a nice flavor and has many added nutrients that help to increase the nutritional punch of the flour blend.

Cornstarch is used to help lighten up the texture of the more nutritious brown rice, bean and coconut flours. It gives the cookies that melt-in-your mouth appeal.