I got for you the perfect Gluten free peanut butter cookies. Crispy from the outside, chewy and gooey in the inside. Moreover, the cookies are vegan, and refined sugar free too.
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This series of healthy cookie will start with this easy recipe of chocolate chip gluten free peanut butter cookies. Since this recipe is vegan and gluten free, and refined sugar free, there is a lot to talk about. I’ll try to explain little by little each post and recipe. Today’s recipe is easy, affordable, and yummy and has no xanathan gum. Say what?
What is xanthan gum
If you ever baked a gluten free cake or cookie, you will find xanthan gum listed in the ingredients. Or it will be already added to the gluten free flour mix you are using. Xanthan gum, is a type of sugar called polysaccharide, (think cornstarch) means long chains of monosaccharides like simple sugars, glucose. It is made by bacteria called Xanthomonas campestris by fermentation. The manufactures pull the sugar they need without the bacteria. It’s a soluble fiber that binds with water, and form like gel substances, then it’s dehydrated into powder.
While I personally like to use xanthan gum, because it gives elasticity, also, it binds the well the grain flour and/or starches with other ingredients. It works well, but sometimes makes the baked products gummy. You can can add it yourself . The ratio is not easy to master. They give you an estimate, like add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum per 1 cup of flour. Sometimes you need less, sometimes more, when you add multiple flours and starch in the same recipe. So experiment is the key! However, I will not use for most of the series, to make it easier for you , and to buy less ingredients!
Side effects of xanthan gum
Xanthan gum is soluble fiber that is not digestible, but it helps the intestine to get rid of unwanted stuff from the body. But some people may react differently. So xanthan gum may cause gas, diarrhea, and bloating. however, no real harmful effects is discovered yet. And it seems that xanthan can lower cholesterol in the body , and also stabilize blood sugar level. Try yourself to bake with it, and see if you experience any bad effects, and then decide if you want to use it or not.
Gluten free peanut butter cookies
Why I didn’t use gluten free ready mix:
In the last post, the introduction to healthy cookie series I explained why I want to experiment with gluten free cookies. Well, it’s not easy to stock a pantry with multiple gluten free flours and starches. You need to read and search , and know what do you want to bake , and what is your goal. Crispy cookies, or fudgy brownies, or bread? You have to understand how each flour work depends on the source. Whether it is grain like rice, or bean like chickpeas, or nut like almond or root vegetable like tapioca.
Yes , you can use ready mixes of gluten free flour for recipes. However, I’ve really found they are not great for cookies, especially when they are vegan. If you are using butte or eggs, like I did with this gluten free red velvet cake. It would be great. But without butter and eggs, the ready mix will give gummy textures. Still not all bands created equal, and some are better than others. However, in cookies, they gives soft and not crispy at all.
There are tens of gluten free flour options these day. However, even when I’m a dietitian, I didn’t use heavy flour, that are high in protein like teff, or buckwheat for the nutrition value. Because they affect taste, texture, and color drastically. I wanted to keep the shape, color, and the feel of regular chocolate chip cookies. I used almond flour, it gives crispness , richness, and nice flavor. Oat flour holds well the texture. And finally tapioca, that gives crispness we are looking for in cookies.
Tapioca flour can be hard sometimes to find. When I find it, I get at least tow bags or three. Bob’s red mills is my favorite brand. They are changing now their packaging too for most products, and I love that. Get tapioca flour here
This version, the first of the healthy cookies is easy, delicious, and has peanut butter, I found it easier and much tastier, to use a kind of nut butter. Not all of them equal, so I chose for this recipe peanut butter, which is affordable and accessible. You can make it at home which I prefer, it’s easy, cost effective, very healthy.
Peanut butter vs real butter
Dairy butter is 80% fat and the rest is milk solids and water. Peanut butter has only 50% fat ratio and the rest is protein mixed with carbs and fibers. So it’s advised not to swap one to one. It is better to add extra source of fat, when you want to substitute butter, which I add coconut oil in this recipe.
How to make peanut butter
In the food processor or strong powerful blender like Vitmaix . You can use the traditional ones from the market. However, It will affect the sweetness of the recipes and the texture too. I found that it makes the baked products drier, because it made to be spreadable and have long shelf life. It’s does not feel oily, like the one you make form scratch. So for this recipe, please make it yourself, even coffee grinder will work, but you need to work in batches.
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Vegan & Gluten Free Peanut butter Cookies
Ingredients
- Rolled oats 5 Tb
- Oat flour 6Tb*
- Almond flour 3 Tb
- Tapioca flour 3Tb
- Corn starch 1Tb
- Coconut sugar 3Tb
- Baking soda 3/4 tsp
- Chocolate chips 3 Tb or upon desire, any kind you prefer**
- Salt 1/4 tsp
- ***Peanut Butter, homemade 3Tb
- Real maple syrup 2 Tb
- Coconut oil 2 Tb
- ****Soy milk 1 Tb
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 165C, and line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream peanut butter, using electrical beater or a whisk with coconut oil together, until creamy and fluffy. Then add coconut sugar, and maple syrup, and beat for extra 3 minutes.
- Add all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and give them a good stir.
- Add the dry ingredients to the mix of wet ingredients, and start mixing
- Fold chocolate chips in the cookie dough and freeze or chill the dough for easier shaping,and to minimize spreading.
- Get out the cookie dough from the refrigerator and start shaping the cookie, you need to press then a bit.
- bake for 6-8min , depend on your oven. Check hen if they are started to brown from the bottom.
- You need to get them out of the oven while they are still soft, and harden just a bit from the edges.
- Leave then 5 minutes in the cookie sheet, then transfer them to cool completely on rack.
- Then store them in an air tight container in nth refrigerator o even better in the freezer. Don't leave them on the counter, they will become soft quickly.
Notes
* You can easily make you own oat flour, using instant oats or rolled oat. use coffee grinder or food processor, whatever works best, and gives you a fine texture.
** I used regular dark chocolate chips, you can use any vegan ones. I have not used vegan chocolate chips, but they don't affect the texture of cookies, so I didn't experiment with them.
***I prefer you make your own peanut butter, even natural one may has added salt or oil, and it may affect the texture of cookies.
****I have not used any other plant milk. But cashew milk, and almond milk, should work too, but I have NOT tested it .
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
9Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
