Gluten Free Baking Part 2: Brownie Bites and Chocolate Chip Cookies

After my gluten-free baking doughnut fail, I figured I'd try to redeem myself before moving on. I ended up making some really delicious chocolate chip cookies and some pretty decent brownie bites.

The consistency of the chocolate chip cookie was similar to the gluten-free double chocolate chip cookies I had already attempted...thick, but kind of oily. I resisted the urge to add extra flour though, until the first batch came out of the oven and I could see what they turned out like. After the first batch came out, I decided to leave the recipe alone, since the cookies looked delicious!

Yum! Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!

I don't have a good stand-by chocolate chip cookie recipe yet, but these might fit the bill. They were crunchy on the outside, and still chewy on the inside, and were delicious both right out of the oven and a little later once they had cooled. Scott gave them two thumbs up, and he is definitely the cookie connoisseur in our house (I'm more of a cake fan).

In Part 1 of my gluten-free baking blog posts, I mentioned my failed attempt at making vegan vanilla icing. It never quite set up to the thickness of regular icing, despite multiple days in the fridge. I'm not one to waste anything that can be used up (even if it's a slightly unconventional way of using whatever the item is), so I decided to make ice cream cookie sandwiches using the icing as a sub for ice cream. Because the chocolate chip cookies hardened into perfect little discs, they worked great! It took a few rounds of icing then freezing, but overall they turned out delicious.

I do think though that the lucky taste-testers of the cookie sandwiches and just the cookies preferred the cookies on their own. The icing had a pretty strong coconut flavor that distracted from the deliciousness of the cookies.

The second gluten-free dessert that became a vessel for the vanilla icing were agave-sweetened brownie bites. These were a breeze to mix up, and the recipe made enough for exactly 24 mini brownies (baked in a mini-muffin tin). The batter was a very similar consistency to other brownies that I've made, and they baked quickly with no mess (or overflow!). Once they cooled, and before removing them from the pan, I made a little thumbprint in the middle of each brownie and poured in some vanilla icing. I figured the coconut flavor of the icing would go nicely with the chocolate in the brownies (which it did!).

Gluten-free brownie bites with vanilla icing

I think they turned out a bit dry, but that is probably due mostly to a little bit of overcooking. When I tested the brownies for doneness after the specified cooking time, the knife still came very gooey, so I let them cook a little longer. I should have taken them out once the cooking time was up, because I'm sure they continued to cook in their little tins and probably would have been the perfect doneness. My sister has since tried making these, and I recommended that she take the brownies out after the elapsed cooking time, whether they looked one or not, and she said they turned out perfect! So I'm sure it was just my mistake. Now I know for next time, as I will definitely be making these little things again!