Well, I'm only a week late with my post in honor of St. Peter Claver, whose feast day was September 9th. Sometimes it just goes that way. Anyway, I had originally thought of doing black and white cookies for his feast (he being the saint who called himself the "slave of the slaves"). But the reviews I read on black and white cookies weren't too impressive. It seems they are famous more for being a NYC/Seinfeld thing than for being delicious. So, in the end, I just made chocolate chip cookies. I find a gluten-free cookie recipe on Land O' Lakes' website (yeah for Land O'Lakes!) and it turned out really well. Here it is:
Land O'Lakes Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free):
Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies.
2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour blend
1 tsp g-f baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup Land O Lakes butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 Land O Lakes all-natural eggs
2 tsp g-f vanilla
1 (12 oz) package (2 cups) g-f semi-sweet chocolate chunks or chips (I used dark chocolate instead)
Heat oven to 375°. Combine flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum in medium bowl and set aside.
Combine butter, brown sugar, and sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.
Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour mixture, until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop dough by rounded tablespoons, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 12 minutes or until light golden brown. (Do not overbake.) Let stand 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from cookie sheets.
G-F flour blend: Combine 2 cups rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch, 1/3 cup tapioca flour, and 1 tsp xanthan gum. Store in container with tight-fitting lid. Stir before using.
For my cookies, I made my own baking blend using 1/3 rice flour, 1/3 sweet rice flour, and 1/3 tapioca. It worked just fine.
