Question About Cookies And Brownies.. Please Help If You Can..

[Jamie]

I have this book called "the cookie bible"... of course I bought it a couple of months ago... before I was diagnosed.. I noticed that many of the ingredients for the cookies are gluten free except for the flour...

can I substitute gluten free flour in there and the cookies will come out almost the same?

Or will they probably be too piecy to stay together... a lot of faults in them... ect?

Same goes for brownies... can I just substitute the all purpose gluten-free flour in the brownie recipie if they other ingredients are gluten-free?

[candrews]

Yes! I use Jules' Nearly Normal flour and it works as a replacement in any recipe, so it'll work for those cookies. Possibly add an extra teaspoon of xanthan gum to the cookies if the seem too thin, but I haven't had any problem. This flour tastes GREAT and the texture isn't crumbly like other gluten free cookies. My family orders it online at www.nearlynormalkitchen.com. I have tried almost every flour out there and this is by far the best. Cookies are my favorite food, so I use this flour for tollhouse chocolate chip cookies all the time.

Happy baking!!

[Jamie]

Do they really taste like the real thing?

And can I use this all purpose flour to make breads too? If so... how do those come out with this flour?

[lobita]

Do they really taste like the real thing?

And can I use this all purpose flour to make breads too? If so... how do those come out with this flour?

Hi Jamie,

I've found in gluten-free baking that the easiest thing to mimic wheat products is cookies. Using different types of gluten-free flour might change the texture a bit (like putting a percentage of sorghum flour into a cookie will make it chewier), but I've found the taste holds up really well...sometimes even better.

Bread is, in my opinion, the hardest thing to make gluten-free. I've found the gluten-free flours make a very dense bread that doesn't rise very well, and falls very easily. gluten-free bread also requires something to hold it together, usually xantham gum and eggs. I think this is because the gluten in wheat is what makes the dough stretch and is hardy enough to stay risen. And in my opinion, I think this is also the reason why wheat is hard for a lot of people to digest (not just celiacs). Using different gluten-free flours will help in making bread because they add different qualities to the final product.

[RiceGuy]

I've found that practically any flour or blend can work in cookies. It seems to be as much a matter of preference as anything else. One basic rule for gluten-free baking is to include something to bind it together - usually xanthan gum. As was stated, breads are trickier to get right, so starting with cookies is probably a good idea. However, I wouldn't ever expect a single blend to work in every recipe of every sort. Plus, not every wheat-based recipe can turn out right gluten-free, just by exchanging the flour. But when it doubt, just post the recipe, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of good suggestions on how to adjust it.

There was a thread or two with a peanut butter cookie recipe, which had only peanut butter, sugar, and an egg. Many have had good results with it.

Here's a list of gluten-free recipes:

https://www.celiac.com/categories/Gluten%252dFree-Recipes/

[SevenWishes]

I swear by the recipe Land O' Lakes published for gluten free chocolate chip cookies. They're every bit as good as "normal" ones, or, as someone wrote above, maybe even better. That recipe is easily found with a little Googling, so take a look!

Brownies use very little flour compared to the ratio of their other ingredients, so they don't get affected as much by alternate flours as breads or cakes. There are several quite good gluten free brownie mixes out there on the market that are pretty much indistinguishable from wheat flour mixes.

As far as looking for a general rule replacement flour substitute, there is no 100% steadfast rule you can go by. Certain recipes work better with certain flours or binders, so you can't always just assume you can throw in equal amounts of x flour and some xanthan gum to replace the wheat flour. The most common replacement for wheat flour tends to be white rice flour and some xanthan, but not in every case.

It's best to search this site or Google recipes for whatever individual dish you are looking to make, or find a good gluten free cookbook that you trust and follow the recipe. I have winged it with some recipes and had fantastic results, but also have had some failures that became utterly inedible. Even the "all purpose" blends you can buy can be iffy in some cases, so don't expect things to come out completely the same or as expected...there is usually some small element of risk with baking this way.

Think of it this way...cooking is an art where a little more or less of this or that is up to personal taste and craftsmanship. With baking, however, you're pretty literally trying to make an edible chemistry experiment where heat, moisture levels, acidity, structure, and so much more have to be just so for the results to come out the way you want them to. Even with the magical structural protein of gluten, there is a fair chance things won't come out right; remove that constant and throw in other variables like flours from different plants, the hope that xanthan gum or guar gum might or might not mimic gluten the way you want it to, etc., and you have a volitile situation that might work or might not.

Good luck with the search...and when you find recipes you like, save them and guard them at all costs!

[Mtndog]

I just substitute gluten-free Pantry's all-purpose flour mix. For chocolate chip cookies, I use the recipe on Pamela's pancake and baking mix and I swear by it! I'm about to make some in a few minutes. People who aren't gluten-free can't tell! The key is to soften the butter, not melt it. Yum!

The best gluten-free brownie mix I have found is gluten-free pantry's chocolate truffle brownies- even my hubby likes them and he is a brownie connosieur!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Darn210]

Don't throw out your new cookbook . . . you definitely can salvage most of those recipes.

Most people find a blend that they like to work with . . . I like Annalise Roberts' with fine ground brown rice flour/tapioca flour/potato starch. You'll see quite a few opinions on this website. I recommend trying one at a time and just use a process of elimination. The ones that I tried (and passed on) weren't horrible, I just lliked this one best. The key in baking something like cookies or brownies or bread is to have a combination of flours/starches. Gluten free recipes besides the xanathan gum also usually add extra baking powder and baking soda.

Here is how I convert one of my old recipes . . .

I google the gluten free version of what I'm making (or look it up in one of gluten free cookbooks) and see how much xanthan gum/baking soda/baking powder they use. Also check that you are using about the same amount of flour. . . if your recipe calls for twice as much flour as the googled recipe, then double their recommendation. Then I use my old faithful recipe and use the amounts of xanthan gum/baking soda/baking powder recommended by the recipe. Sometimes my cookies will spread a bit too much and I want to add a little more flour so I just do a "test bake" with a couple of cookies before I send a couple of pans into the oven and end up with a bunch of flat cookies.

[Ahorsesoul]

Janet, thanks for the advice to add more flour to flat cookies. I'd never thought of that and figured the cookie recipe just wouldn't work. I'll try a few of my recipes again.

When I first went gluten-free I didn't have all this great information at my finger tips. I just found a flour blend I liked and tried my old recipes. I use Pamela's pancake and baking mix. Haven't tried the others since I like the taste of Pamela's.

I think the hardest part is figuring out what's gluten free and what isn't. This board has helped a lot. Thanks to everyone on here!

[Darn210]

Janet, thanks for the advice to add more flour to flat cookies. I'd never thought of that and figured the cookie recipe just wouldn't work. I'll try a few of my recipes again.

When I first went gluten-free I didn't have all this great information at my finger tips. I just found a flour blend I liked and tried my old recipes. I use Pamela's pancake and baking mix. Haven't tried the others since I like the taste of Pamela's.

I think the hardest part is figuring out what's gluten free and what isn't. This board has helped a lot. Thanks to everyone on here!

Ooooooh . . . a couple more things:

First, some people will refrigerate their dough instead of adding more flour . . . I've had success with adding more flour so that's what I do.

Second, I love Pamela's also and do use it but usually not exclusively as my substitution in a recipe . . . However, plenty of people do. The nice thing is - it already has baking powder, baking soda and xanthan gum in it. It also has the almond flour . . . the almond flour (ground almonds) will add additional "fat" to the recipe . . . this causes the cookies to spread also. It says on the bottom of the bag that if you have too much spread, try cutting the fat component of your recipe (butter or shortening) by 1/2.

[lobita]

Think of it this way...cooking is an art where a little more or less of this or that is up to personal taste and craftsmanship. With baking, however, you're pretty literally trying to make an edible chemistry experiment where heat, moisture levels, acidity, structure, and so much more have to be just so for the results to come out the way you want them to. Even with the magical structural protein of gluten, there is a fair chance things won't come out right; remove that constant and throw in other variables like flours from different plants, the hope that xanthan gum or guar gum might or might not mimic gluten the way you want it to, etc., and you have a volitile situation that might work or might not.

I totally love this summary! It's the gluten-free bread that's killing me. EVERY time it comes out different, whether I change the recipe or not.

And Darn210, I do the refrigerating thing to my chocolate chip cookie dough, I've found that it does, indeed, make a cakeier cookie. But my mom did it to her molasses cookies and the process made them very thin and crispy. Weird, huh? That's a good idea about doing a sample run with the batter first, though.

[SevenWishes]

I totally love this summary! It's the gluten-free bread that's killing me. EVERY time it comes out different, whether I change the recipe or not.

My mental approach to baking is pretty much based on the philosophy and science of Alton Brown's show and books. And I do think it really is true, and why some people happen to be great cooks, but don't necessarily become good at baking, or even vice versa. Yes, both situations involve food, but cooking is harder to mess up and more open to interpretation. Baking involves a lot more actual chemistry where proportions and ingredients and moisture and all the rest pretty much need to be just so for things to come out right.

[ang1e0251]

I confess I haven't baked chocolate chip cookies since going gluten-free. Weird 'cause they're one of my all time faves. Actually I've exclusively eaten the PB cookies someone else mentioned. Very easy to make and satisfying. I never really liked PB cookies before this recipe which I tried for my celiac friend. I've been making them ever since. They use PB, baking soda, salt, vanilla and sugar. The recipe I found in a cookbook for picky eaters and it's called "The Best Peanut Butter Cookies, I Swear!"

With that recipe I would suggest you sprinkle a little sugar over the top of each cookie before baking. Leave them sitting on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes after you remove them from the oven or they will fall apart. They freeze well too.

Back to chocolate chip, even though I haven't made them this year, I can tell you the tips I learned from before. I found the recipe that tasted the best was from my Betty Crocker cookbook. It had a note after the recipe that said "for a cakier cookie, add 1/3 cup flour to the recipe." I always made them this way and had many compliments. The other trick to cookies is to divide the amount of butter. I was always taught to never use more than 1/2 butter in the recipe. Always use the other half as shortening. Many cooking sites have questions from bakers that ask why their cookies brown too fast or come out flat. Butter has a lower melting temp than shortening and will brown quickly. Using 1/2 butter-1/2 shortening will help this problem. Also cream your shortening/butter into the sugar very well. I read once this has something to do with the chemical reaction in the baking. I don't remember exactly what it said, but it does make a great cookie!

Hope this helps. Happy baking!!

[Darn210]

The other trick to cookies is to divide the amount of butter. I was always taught to never use more than 1/2 butter in the recipe. Always use the other half as shortening. Many cooking sites have questions from bakers that ask why their cookies brown too fast or come out flat. Butter has a lower melting temp than shortening and will brown quickly. Using 1/2 butter-1/2 shortening will help this problem.

That's a great tip to share . . . I've always done that (although I use 3/4 butter, 1/4 shortening) and I do/did it because otherwise my cookies spread too much (even before gluten-free baking). Funny how you do somethings without even thinking anymore about why you are doing them.

[Maddie's mom]

Yes! I use Jules' Nearly Normal flour and it works as a replacement in any recipe, so it'll work for those cookies. Possibly add an extra teaspoon of xanthan gum to the cookies if the seem too thin, but I haven't had any problem. This flour tastes GREAT and the texture isn't crumbly like other gluten free cookies. My family orders it online at www.nearlynormalkitchen.com. I have tried almost every flour out there and this is by far the best. Cookies are my favorite food, so I use this flour for tollhouse chocolate chip cookies all the time.

Happy baking!!

I agree that this is the best all-purpose flour mix I have used so far! I have made many "regular" recipes (bananna bread, sugar cookies, Christmas cookies, breading for chicken nuggets, ect.) using this flour - cup for cup - and it has worked great! I used to be so frustrated trying to get the ratio of all the different flours correct and it is so nice to have 1 flour mix that I can use! The Nearly Normal graham cracker mix is also very good!