I don’t do too much wheat free/gluten free baking because I don’t have much call to do so. None of my close friends or family members have a gluten intolerance and only a few avoid carbs, so I tend to bake ordinary, wheat-filled breads, cookies and cakes almost exclusively.
Note the word “almost”.
These cookies are wheat free, made especially for a friend whose new dietary regimen calls for the elimination of carbs. I can’t quite remember if it was a specific diet (possibly the New Millenium diet) or one of her own design, but whatever the reason behind it, let’s just say that she was disappointed to miss out on so many of my regular cookies. Throwing caution – and no doubt her diet – to the wind, she accepted a big plate of Wheat Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies happily.
Because they have no gluten, these cookies are slightly more crumbly than ordinary oatmeal cookies and have something of a melt-in-your-mouth quality to them. They have a nice oaty flavor and are neither cakey nor dense. The chocolate chips are the finishing touch and will win over even dubious critics. I used an egg replacer to make this recipe entirely vegan, but you can substitute a whole egg if you choose.
Incidentally, there is a difference between wheat free and gluten free. Gluten free things are suitable for celiacs (those with a gluten intolerance) as they contain neither wheat nor gluten. Wheat free things contain no wheat, but may still contain gluten. These cookies, for example, are wheat free but main contain some gluten as oats can contain trace amounts. For the vast majority of people the distinction isn’t a crucial one, but these cookies would be better suited for those with no dietary restrictions or those to stick to a low-carb diet, than to those with health problems associated with gluten. (Note: I have heard that some companies sell rolled oats that are certified gf. If you can find and use those, these cookies will also be gluten free.)
Wheat Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup rice flour (brown or white)
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg or equivalent egg-replacer
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats (the “1 minute” variety)
1/4 cup (sweetened) shredded coconut
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, salt, spices and sugars.
In a small bowl, whisk together egg/egg-replacer, vegetable oil, water and vanilla extract. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until no streaks of flour(s) remain. Stir in oats, coconut and chocolate chips (can reduce chocolate chips to 1/2 cup if you like your cookies a bit less chocolaty, or simply substitute raisins).
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto prepared cookie sheet. Flatten slightly.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until light gold at the edges.
Cool completely on a wire rack
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
nat
April 27, 2007mmm those may not be totally vegan unless you use VEGAN chocolate chips/ carob chips!
this is because chocolate chips probably contain COWS MILK therefore making it non vegan!
oh btw, how many cookies does this recipe make?
Nicole
April 28, 2007Nat – Most semisweet chocolate chips actually do not contain milk, nor do dark chocolate. My chocolate chips did not, in fact, contain any dairy. Certainly it is important to read the labels, but I think we can safely agree on the fact that if you’re vegan and bake at home, you have vegan chocolate chips in your cupboard already.
Heidi
April 28, 2007Can you sub out regular oats here? I don’t use the quick cook ones because they don’t have the nutritional punch that the regular ones do. Thanks in advance!
Nicole
April 28, 2007Heidi – You can definitely substitute regular oats. The only thing about using them is that the cookies might be a tough lumpier because of the size of the oats. Just don’t forget to flatten them and they’ll be equally delicious!
SR
October 10, 2008Actually, to make the recipie Gluten Free you need to use Irish Oats. Unfortunately Oats in the US are processed in the same facility as gluten containing products. This results in contamination.
Irish Oats are processed by themselves.
WebSite Builder
October 23, 2008Thank you for posting this recipie. It can be hard to find good Wheat Free recipies.
Lisa
September 20, 2009I love this recipe! I have used it many times with ingredient variations such as cranberry orange, banana walnut and a carrot cake like cookie with carrots, raisins and walnuts. Depending on which cookie I bake I either use apple sauce or banana as the egg substitute. No one ever suspects these cookies have been modified to meet my dietary needs. Thanks!
FYI I cut the sugar a little bit because they can get sweet.
Chezstacey Catering
October 30, 2009I’m going off wheat per my doc, so thanks for this recipe. However, nothing about this recipe is low-carb, and I’m wondering why you’d think that? Carbs are starch/sugar-based fuel. The oats, oat flour, rice flour, both sugars and the sugar in the choc chips make this an extremely high-carb, high glycemic index diabetic nightmare. These are probably pretty tasty carb-bombs, but you should consider entering your recipes into a free nutrition analysis site before you publish something as low carb, as you’ve clearly never done any low carb cooking.
Nikki
December 17, 2009Thanks for posting the recipe. Do you know what substitutions I would need to make for baking at High Altitude?
Thanks!