Cookie Dough Help Needed

[SensitiveMe]

I haven't yet attempted making cookies but I want to start. I have to make my own dough as I can't have any mixes I saw that don't have xantham gum in them. I use guar gum. And I can't have corn or soy in addition to wheat.

I am looking for a dough that I can shape into a small ball and then press with a cookie stamp and make a design on the top. Is this possible to do with glutenfree dough...I know it behaves quite differently from wheat dough and I am worried about it taking the imprinted design on it. Any comments or dough recipes from you cookie bakers who make you own glutenfree cookie dough will be appreciated.

[Takala]

Oh, it will take the imprinted design on the raw dough.... but you could do a comedy routine on you tube with what happens afterwards in the oven.   I say this as a biscuit maker who puts a deliberate imprint on my doughballs so they will bake all the way through, and the dough rises up enough that it almost disappears. Sometimes I use my thumb and sometimes I use a fork or a spoon to make the dent.  Othertimes I cut a cross shape with a knife.  And I don't use xanthan gum, nor guar gum, but tapioca, buckwheat, and chia seed in the mixture.  I leaven it with vinegar and baking soda.

 

Of course, this is not a cookie recipe. Most of us are just thrilled if the homemade gluten free cookie is 1. edible and 2. not ugly. and 3. worked with the recipe substitutions we made because we couldn't eat half the ingredients, and didn't burn on the bottom.  

[RiceGuy]

All my successful cookies have been without any gum whatsoever. Otherwise they turn out sorta gel-like. I'd suggest starting with peanut butter cookies. That's about the easiest, and it doesn't even require any flour if you don't want to use any. Just peanut butter, sugar, and I believe there's an egg in it. Although I use a completely different recipe since I generally bake without sugar, and I can't eat eggs. I'm sure a search of this site will turn up recipes.

 

Soft cookies might need a gum, and guar gum will work there, but crispy cookies are better without. At least the ones I make without sugar. But since sugar can add crispness, you may need a gum to get a soft cookie if there's going to be a bunch of sugar in it.

 

Oh, and if you intend on using a bunch of fat, then you'll probably need sugar to get a crispy cookie that holds together. Otherwise they may crumble, since fat tends to interfere with the adhesive properties of a dough, especially gluten-free dough.

 

As for pressing a pattern into the top of the cookies, yes it can work fine. However, like wheat-based cookies, a lot of sugar can cause the cookies to spread out while baking. So keep that in mind too.

[SensitiveMe]

Thank you for the tips. Yes, I will be adding butter and sugar.

I found a recipe I will attempt to use and then in which you shape the dough into a 1 inch high disc and wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. The flour blend is 1 and 1/2 sorghum flour, 1 and 1/2 cup potato starch and 1 cup tapica flour. I will be using the guar gum instead of recipe requirement for xanthan gum.

I want to use the guar gum because I once attempted using chia instead and had a absolute disaster and big mess to clean up. So I have come to believe gums are needed for structure in certain things. As for peanut butter cookies...for some reason I have never liked them. I love peanut butter and will eat it right out of the jar or on gluten free toast but just don't like peanut butter or even chocolate cookies. My favorite cookies were always shortbread cookies or sugar cookies or pecan sandies or madeleines.