Enjoy cookie goodness without the gluten

I’ve been doing some research on baking gluten-free cookies, following in the footsteps of many brave adventurers brandishing xanthan gum and alternative flours.

A world of recipes awaits through cookbooks or a simple Google search. The question is: How hard do you want to try?

The most ambitious will stock up on wheat-free flours — tapioca, potato, sorghum, rice — combining them with xanthan gum for texture. The least will seek out the best in commercially made cookies (some really good ones are out there), and pay the price.

For the purposes of reality cooking, my approach falls in between.

My standards were:

1. Delicious.

2. No special flours.

I figured this would give most home bakers a good start without having to invest in extra bags of starch.

I got into this hunt following a request from Aileen Kisaba: “My daughter can’t consume wheat products so I try recipes without wheat, but they don’t turn out very well.”

To begin, I read dozens of recipes and baked a few, settling on two that used no starch of any kind. Eggs serve as the binder and the base ingredients combine in some magical way that gives the cookies form and chew.

The first is today’s chewy chocolate cookie; next week I’ll have one with peanut butter.

These chocolate babies exceed my first standard (delicious). And they’re easy — the only trick is to use an extra-large mixing bowl. The powdered sugar and cocoa tend to fly around when stirred, so you need a big bowl to keep everything contained. I speak from experience here.

Baking parchment is also a must, as the cookies are delicate. You’ll need to peel them off the parchment. And don’t over-bake. They’ll still be soft when you take them out of the oven, firming up some as they cool.

A final note: Because these cookies use no starch, they’ve got fewer carbohydrates than your average cookie, and with no butter or shortening, they’re also lower in fat. They’re full of sugar, though, so don’t get carried away.

FLOURLESS DOUBLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

By Betty Shimabukuro

• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa power
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (or substitute vanilla)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with baking parchment.

Sift together cocoa powder, powdered sugar and salt.

Whisk eggs in large mixing bowl until well blended and lemony yellow. Whisk in extract. Slowly add cocoa mixture, stirring until all the dry mixture is absorbed. Mixture will get stiff and hard to stir, but will form a smooth batter. Fold in chocolate chips. Let batter sit 10 minutes (don’t rush this step or cookies will spread too much).

Scoop batter 2 tablespoons at a time onto cookie sheet, spacing cookies 1-1/2 inches apart. Bake 10-15 minutes. Cookies will still be soft, but set around the edges and starting to form cracks on top. Cool on cookie sheet.

Cookies will be delicate and will need to be peeled off the parchment. Makes about 2 dozen.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Write By Request, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813; or email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.