Recipe: Flourless Fudge Cookies (dairy & gluten free - but really good!) - The Food Hussy (2024)

FAQs

What happens to cookies with not enough flour? ›

As a bonus, I did a little research to find out just what role each ingredient plays in chocolate chip cookies, so you can adjust your recipe however you feel like experimenting. Flour adds fluff and texture to the cookies. Adding too little flour can cause cookies to be flat, greasy, and crispy.

“Historically, gluten-free flour alternatives come from rice, pea, corn, tapioca, and potato. Even when finely milled, these flours are very gritty and/or rubbery in texture, making products taste substandard.”

Gluten-free batters need a longer bake time.

Because gluten-free batters contain more liquid than traditional versions, they typically take longer to bake. If you remove them from the oven too soon, you may develop a gummy, mushy texture.

You need a binding agent in your gluten-free cookies recipe; otherwise, your cookies will fall apart. Some flour blends may already contain a binding agent, so double-check the list of ingredients. If it doesn't, you can add flaxseeds, xanthan gum, or guar gum.

All-Purpose Flour: The Versatile Choice

This balanced protein level makes it versatile enough to produce both soft and chewy cookies as well as slightly crisp ones. If you're looking for a safe bet or are new to cookie baking, all-purpose flour is your go-to option.

Oat flour is best for cookies and quick breads, though you can use it for other things in combination with other gluten free flours. When making yeast bread, you'll need extra yeast to make the dough rise, and other recipes need about 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder per cup of oat flour.

Use a Binder. Binders like xanthan gum and guar gum provide structure in gluten-free baking to make up for the missing gluten. This prevents cookies from being too crumbly plus it also helps with freshness.

It's also key not to rely on processed gluten-free foods that may be high in calories, sugar, saturated fat, and sodium and low in nutrients, such as gluten-free cookies, chips, and other snack foods. Often, these foods are made with processed unfortified rice, tapioca, corn, or potato flours.

Gluten-free baked goods often benefit from extra liquid to hydrate the flour blends, eliminate grittiness, and achieve a less dense or dry texture.

What does baking soda do in gluten free baking? ›

Texture and Rise: Gluten-free baking often requires a bit of finesse to achieve the desired rise and texture. Baking soda's reaction with an acid can help achieve that necessary lift, while baking powder provides an extra boost when the batter or dough is exposed to heat.

Gluten-free baked goods have earned the reputation of being dry and gritty. That grit—that evil grit! —is the result of gluten-free flours that are often high in starches and rice flour, which take longer to absorb moisture than regular “gluten” flour.

Chilling the dough for at least several hours results in cookies that are extra-thick and chonky because it allows the flours to absorb more moisture. Here's how to do it: What is this? Make the dough as directed, then let sit until firm enough to scoop (or chill for a few minutes to speed this up).

Binding agents (such as xanthan gum, guar gum, or flax) help give gluten-free baked goods the elasticity needed to create structure — so if your favorite gluten-free flour mix doesn't contain one, you'll probably want to add one.

Flour is a stabilizer and thickener and controls how much the cookie rises. It holds the cookie together, providing it with its structure. If you use too little flour your cookie won't keep its shape but if you use too much you'll end up with a thick tasteless cookie.

If you're not sure how much or how little your recipe needs, Sugar Kissed suggests using the tackiness of the dough as an indicator. When it's still tacky but not sticky, you'll want to stop adding flour. Add flour beyond this point and your cookie won't cook properly.

OVEN IS TOO HOT

If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.

Butter contributes milk solids and water to a cookie, both of which soften it. Brown sugar contributes molasses – again, a softener. Using lower-moisture sugar (granulated) and fat (vegetable shortening), plus a longer, slower bake than normal, produces light, crunchy cookies.