My friend and neighbor Marsha made these cookies to share at our annual homeowners meeting. I had been on the board for 6 years serving as president the last year. And Marsha was on the board for my last year serving as a director-at-large. She is a most delightful woman, with a sterling intellect, logical mind, and a terrific sense of humor. In other words, an absolute delight! And, BTW, a fabulous addition to our homeowners board of directors, as well as being a great baker. And speaking of delightful – these cookies definitely fit that category. They are crisp, light, and full of flavor. You would never guess they were GF.
So if you or someone you know needs to stay away from gluten, then these are the oatmeal cookies for you or them. And a wonderful addition to a dessert table when you have no idea whether or not some of your guests might be gluten intolerant. Your only trouble is going to be keeping your non gluten challenged guests from keeping them all to themselves! A bit of hand slapping might be necessary. Or maybe baking a double batch would be the more politically correct course of action. I’m not sure. I used to have a pretty good idea what was and wasn’t politically correct. But this year’s presidential election has thrown everything I felt defined common decency or political correctness right out the window. (I know, I promised no more commentary on politics, but I set myself up without any intention of going politically postal on all of you again!)
I’m OK now, but I think I need a cookie. And since I just happen to have baked a batch of these cookies for Mr. C. and the other members of the seven piece jazz group (Seabreeze Jazz Band) that are, as I write, rehearsing in our living room, I’m going to leave you now and grant myself an attitude adjustment. You’re on your own. But if you too need your attitude adjusted, these little darlings just might be the ticket. And no, I’m not going to say anything about tickets, political or otherwise! I’m simply going to stop now while I’m ahead.
Thanks again Marsha for this wonderful recipe.
- 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 c. GF flour (see note about GF flours below)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. nutmeg
- 2 c. GF oats* (some of them aren’t!)
Cream butter and sugar until pale yellow. Add the vanilla. Whisk the flour, soda, salt, and nutmeg together. Add to the butter mixture and beat just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly blended. Mix in the oats. Drop by small ice cream scoop or rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased cookie sheet two inches apart. Flatten slightly with your fingers.
Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are golden and middle is mostly set. (I found that it helped to turn on the convection option on my oven for the last 3-4 minutes to help brown the center of the cookies.)
Please note: For this recipe, Marsha uses what she calls her “Cookie Flour Blend”. (See recipe below.) It has a sweeter taste overall and is not as dry as other gluten free mixes. For all other cooking she uses GF Cup 4 Cup flour. It is the closest to wheat flour she has ever found. In place of her cookie flour and for easy baking she would have no qualms about using Cup 4 Cup in this or any other cookie recipe. GF flour can usually be found among the other flour varieties, or if not there, the grocery store might have a separate area dedicated to GF products. At least, the GF area is where I found my bag of Cup 4 Cup flour at our local Haggen.
COOKIE FLOUR BLEND (recipe found in a Washington Post article)
Equal parts:
- mochiko flour
- sorghum flour
- tapioca flour
- cornstarch
- almond flour
Whisk all together and store in an airtight container. Use in any of your favorite cookie recipes.
*According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, “oats are technically gluten-free since they aren’t a type of wheat, barley, or rye grain, the three groups of whole grains that naturally contain the protein gluten”.
So pure oats themselves are GF and safe for most people with gluten-intolerance. The problem with oats in gluten-free eating is contamination. Most commercial oats are processed in facilities that also process wheat, barley, and rye. So unless the packaging specifically states “GF”, you might not be safe eating just any old oats if you truly suffer from celiac disease. However, many people with just an intolerance to gluten are fine eating oats that are not specifically rated as being “GF”.