Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Hklbrries

How things have changed.

Six years ago, I was diagnosed with celiac disease. Both treatment and cure were to purge my diet of all gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and contaminated oats, and many foods in which these grains are present as thickeners and binders. It was a harrowing renegotiation of the food world.

At the time, supermarkets either carried no gluten-free products, or mixed the few they had with regular products, making finding them difficult and time-consuming. Baking required hand-blending flour ingredients to make mixes. Eating out was dicey.

Today, it’s a whole new world for gluten-free eating, which has even become popular with those wanting to eat more healthfully.

In America, approximately one in 133 people have celiac disease, with 97 percent as yet undiagnosed, according to the Living Gluten-Free Answer Book by Suzanne Bowland. This number doesn’t include those with a gluten sensitivity. With physicians and the public becoming more informed, the rates of diagnosis in the U.S., and here in the Inland Northwest, are accelerating, but not fast enough.

For those who are newly diagnosed, there’s help readily available. Our local support group, Celiac Disease Foundation, North Idaho/Eastern Washington Chapter (see box), meets monthly at the Argonne Library in Spokane Valley, with a roundtable forum; there are quarterly meetings in North Idaho. The group provides information, resources, recipes, nutritional and lifestyle information and mentoring. I serve as a resource adviser for the group, providing information on shopping, restaurants, recipes, bread machine tips and other tricks I’ve learned since I was diagnosed.

Several supermarkets and specialty stores now have dedicated shelves and freezer sections for great-tasting gluten-free items such as pasta, soups, bagels, pizza crusts, entrees, baking mixes and desserts. Huckleberry’s Natural Markets (including their sections in some Rosauers), Fresh Abundance, Yoke’s Foods with Nature’s Corner sections, Pilgrim’s Nutrition in Spokane Valley and Pilgrim’s Market in Coeur d’Alene have excellent selections.

While wheat is now listed as an allergen on foods, gluten information has yet to be mandated, so the gluten-intolerant must still carefully read ingredients. Some manufacturers now label their products as gluten-free; others provide information by phone or online. A few companies now offer certified gluten-free oats as well.

There are fantastic prepared baking mixes such as Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix, Gluten Free Mama, and Bob’s Red Mill (all have additional recipes online) to easily turn out delicious baked goods, which even my wheat-eating friends adore. One enthused, “It’s enough to make you want to have to eat gluten-free.”

With my Breadman Ultimate Plus bread machine, I have learned to make moist, tasty breads which turn out perfect every time after making some adjustments for our area. Other members of the celiac support group create shaped breads and rolls.

Gluten-free cookbooks abound, including a new one from BabycakesNYC, the famous cupcake bakery.

Eating out is much easier; some local restaurants can provide a gluten-free meal. The Mustard Seed at Northtown Mall and Bonsai Bistro in Coeur d’Alene have gluten-free sauces and preparation. Twig’s Bistro and Ivano’s Ristorante and Café in Sandpoint, have gluten-free menus, and so do chain restaurants Red Robin, Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang’s, Chili’s, and Garlic Jim’s in Coeur d’Alene.

Click on “local resources” under “files” on the Web site for the local chapter of the Celiac Disease Foundation for comprehensive lists of stores carrying gluten-free items, gluten-free-friendly restaurants, and bread machine information and recipes.

In June, I visited two wonderful gluten-free bakeries on the West Side (of WA state) – Haley’s Corner Bakery in Kent and Sunny Valley Wheat-Free in Maple Valley. We returned loaded down with goodies from both. I’m still hoping for something like that in this area.

It’s never been easier to be gluten-free and I’m sure there will be more products and resources for us as time goes by. I’m looking forward to it.

Ingredients

• Here is the original recipe for Pamela’s Chocolate Chip cookies, using Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix. The adaptations Deborah Chan has discovered for perfect cookies for our altitude and climate (Spokane, WA) are in the notes that follow.
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (don’t use margarine, see note)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (see note)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• Notes: Chan uses 7 tablespoons of butter or the cookies spread too much. Also, she likes to add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips. Sometimes, she leaves the chocolate chips at 1 cup and adds 1/2 cup golden raisins or dried sweetened cranberries to the batter.

Details

Servings 24

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 F. In stand mixer, cream butter and sugar; add egg and vanilla and beat together. Add baking mix, chips and nuts and mix thoroughly. Place tablespoon-sized scoops (use a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop) dough on parchment-lined or lightly greased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with dampened fingers. Bake at 350 F for 13-15 minutes. Let cookies cool slightly and remove to rack.