Tonight I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies (pic of cookie dough next to the text), only this time I made them gluten-free. The gluten-free low-carb bake mix if subbed cup-for-cup for flour in a recipe will require lots of eggs and moisture to get the right consistency due to the coconut flour in it. I'm only just beginning to experiment with this bake mix, so I apologize for any mishaps someone may have had in the kitchen with it. The coconut flour definitely cuts the sweetness and Splenda does not quite do the job as effectively as it should (therefore, I reduced the salt to 1/4 tsp but could probably have used 1/8 tsp). Some erythritol or xylitol (careful it is very toxic to dogs!) with the Splenda or maybe Truvia would help or even the Splenda packets versus the granular sweetener may give more sweetening power.
First of all, let me say the gluten-free bake mix is not very low-carb, in fact, it falls under the moderate carb category when used cup-for-cup for flour in recipes. My chocolate chip cookie recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of Splendid Low-Carb Bake Mix. I used 1 cup of gluten-free bake mix and the rest almond flour (or almonds, ground finely) - so 1 1/2 cups of almond flour. The cookies needed to bake longer - between 12 and 15 minutes as opposed to between 8 and 10 minutes. The were a bit fragile when hot, so I left them on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before transferring, using a spatula, to a cake rack to cool further. Then they get refrigerated. They are much more robust kept in the fridge - perfect!
I needed to add 1 more egg to get a cookie dough consistency (thanks to the coconut flour which absorbs moisture like crazy).
Here is the best part: The cookies were about the same number of carbs, if one subbed 1/2 cup erythritol for part of the Splenda Granular, plus they tasted great - take no back seat to the original recipe with gluten in it.
This mixing of the gluten-free bake mix and almond flour leads me to think I either have to come up with a more "watered down" gluten-free bake mix (i.e. less oat flour and possibly less coconut flour and more ground almonds, or we could just use the bake mix as is and sub a little extra almond flour or mix almond flour and a bit of whey protein for half the flour ingredients in a recipe. Hmmm, I will have to experiment some more and see what makes the most sense, and more importantly, what works nicely.
Stay tuned.... I will also post the gluten-free chocolate chip cookies shortly. They were my very first gluten-free choc chip cookie experiment and they are really tasty. I'm keen on providing gluten-free low-carb options for folks because I realize it is a niche that has not been properly filled. I doubt I will write a cookbook, but I'll post my recipes on my blog as a way of paying it forward. I'm so thankful for the support that people have shown through the years - buying my cookbooks, frequenting my blog and just being real nice and supportive on forums, etc. I do appreciate you all! Thanks!
