Thursday, June 11, 2009

GF S'More Cookies

When I got this month's issue of Everyday Food, I couldn't wait to try the cookie recipe. I love graham crackers, and even attempted to make my own gluten free version a few months ago, with disastrous results. Then I was glad to find some packaged ones in one of my local stores, but they were very expensive. I thought this was a great way to try and get the great taste of S'mores, in a little cookie. It was easier to modify than I thought, and did well gluten free. I'm not 100% satisfied with the recipe, but wanted to share it nonetheless.
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Rolled Oats
1 cup GF flour mix
1 cup dark Teff flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup margarine, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
chocolate squares (I used Hershey's Special Dark 100 calorie packs, and cut each individual package of chocolate into fourths and put them on the cookies)
large marshmallows (I use the Wal-mart brand that says they're gluten free), halved horizontally

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, pulse oats until finely ground. Add flours, xanthan gum, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; pulse to combine. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down side of bow. With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients just until combined.

I tried to form small balls, about 1 teaspoon, and then drop them onto a cookie sheet. I lined one cookie sheet with parchment paper, and just sprayed the other with pam. The one with parchment paper just stayed a little softer and browned less. These cookies are very dense and nutty, and so I tried to make a smaller cookie, pushing it down flat, and then placing the square of chocolate on each cookie before placing it in the oven. The cookies will puff up a bit during baking, and don't spread much. I set the timer for five minutes, and then turned the pan to brown evenly, and set it for another five minutes. Then I cooked the second pan's worth the same way. If you're making the cookies small, then you'll be able to get at least 3 dozen. After all of the cookies were baked, I turned the broiler on. I took the halved marshmallows and placed them on the center of each cookie, and put one pan under the broiler. This doesn't take long , so I left the oven door slightly open and watched. To evenly brown, I also turned the pan around at least once while broiling.The cookie part is still a bit larger than I would like, and I think I'll try baking it with the butter after all to create a crisper cookie, but all in all this is a fun little cookie to add to a gluten-free repertoire.