comfort food

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today for my 12 days of Homemade Christmas I want to talk about a classic cookie, the chocolate chip cookie. We love chocolate chip cookies in our house they are something I knew I needed to figure out how to make once I became gluten free.  They are comfort food for my family.

I have been making chocolate chip cookies since I was a little girl. I remember making them in Home Ec for our group project and fighting with my partner about how to make them. Those were probably the worst cookies I ever made. Chocolate chip cookies were the first cookie I taught Shortie to make. Chocolate chip cookies and I go way back!Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies | Country Girl Gourmet

I was the girl that would bring chocolate chip cookies into work that my coworkers would gobble up in minutes. My cookies became must haves for deployment care packages. A world without chocolate chip cookies was not a world I wanted to be in. I had my work cut out for myself. I knew if anyone could do it, I could. I have had random people come up to me at the commissary and ask me for cookie baking tips. Oh and yes, it was random and odd but hey if I can help someone else perfect a chewy cookie, i’ll help. I was ready for my gluten free chocolate chip cookie challenge.

It took a little time but I soon figured out how to make an awesome gluten free chocolate chip cookie.  Some gluten free  all purpose flour blend, xanthan gum and tweaking my recipe I soon had the perfect cookie. The tips I have included in my recipe came long before Pinterest. They are tried and taste tested by many over 15 years.

Check out my recipe and make them for your family and you will fall in love with them too!

 

 

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies | Country Girl Gourmet

 

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
 
Author:
 
A classic gluten free chocolate chip cookie
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter or margarine
  • ½ cup shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups gluten free all purpose flour blend
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 bag or 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter,shortening, brown sugar and white sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, and vanilla until light and creamy.
  3. Stir in in gluten free flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt and stir until well combined, forming cookie dough. Last, fold in the chocolate chips.
  4. Cover cookie dough and refrigerate the dough. The longer you refrigerate the dough better. 24-48 hours is perfect but if you are low on time an hour or two will work.
  5. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls (I use a cookie scoop) onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper.
  6. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until cookies have spread and the edges have turned golden brown.
  7. Try to allow cookies to cool on a cooling rack otherwise they will fall apart and you could burn your mouth 😉 Be patient! They are worth the wait!

 

Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf

I don’t know about you but my family and I love classic comfort foods but when I became gluten free almost a year ago I thought that would mean I would have to give up many of my favorite foods.  I slowly learned that I didn’t have to and started to recreate many of my favorite comfort foods. Meatloaf was high up on that list, well, Turkey Meatloaf was since we do not usually eat beef. It took some trail and error but I was able to create a Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf and all was a little bit better in my world.

Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf | Country Girl Gourmet

Meatloaf is one of those foods that you either love or hate. I like to think that those that hate it just have not had good meatloaf. Too many bad experiences with overcooked meatloafs, maybe it is  a dislike of onion soup mix or maybe they just have texture issues. Who knows, maybe it is all in the name? Most foods that end with loaf are not my favorites unless they are type of bread. I’m just not a huge fan of congealed salads.  All of the meatloaf haters out there remind me of A Christmas Story.

Whatever it may be some people outgrow their dislike or learn it wasn’t a dislike but a bad recipe. They welcome meatloaf to the world of comfort food. That is where meatloaf lives for me. I just needed to figure out the best way to make it gluten free since there is some sort of gluten/bread element in meatloaf. I grew up with my mom making meatloaf with crushed saltines and I always used bread crumbs. Then there are others that used bread soaked in milk. Gluten free bread is expensive so I went with oatmeal, yes oatmeal. Oatmeal is a bit more economical than using gluten free bread and is a great binder. With the oatmeal it mixes up beautifully and then you are left to top it your favorite way (ketchup or tomato sauce, bbq sauce or even wrapped in bacon!) and bake for about an hour and voila you have an awesome meatloaf. Just add some mashed potatoes and a veggie like corn or green beans and you have a classic comfort food dish.

Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf | Country Girl Gourmet

So what do you think? Ready to give this simple gluten free turkey meatloaf a try?

 

 

Gluten Free Turkey Meatloaf
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
 
Meatloaf made without any of the usual gluten suspects!
Ingredients
  • 2lbs Ground Turkey
  • 1 cup Gluten Free Quick Oats
  • 1 Egg
  • 1tsp Onion Powder
  • 2-4 Cloves Garlic, minced (equal to a rounded teaspoon)
  • 1TB Parsley
  • ½tsp Ground Thyme
  • Salt and and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
  • Optional- Your favorite meatloaf topping, ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Bacon etc.
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In large bowl combine ground turkey,egg,oats,parsley,onion powder, ground thyme and garlic and mix well.
  3. Form into a loaf and place into a loaf pan that has been coated with non-stick cooking spray. If desired top your meatloaf with your favorite meatloaf toppings
  4. Cover and bake for 50-60minutes.