Baking with a Baker (and Blogger, Writer, & Photographer)

My cousin, Shuna, from http://eggbeater.typepad.com/, is a Baker (and Blogger, Writer, & Photographer). My recipes would probably horrify her... but today I got to bake with her. First, she made me Gluten Free Flour! Mixed and matched and viola, my own Gluten-Free All Purpose flour. Her recipe was inspired by glutenfreegirl.com. This flour can be used for all kinds of cooking. 

Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour:

200 grams Super Fine Brown Rice 

150 grams Sorghum

50 grams Potato Flour

250 grams Sweet Rice Flour/"Mochi" Flour

150 grams Potato Starch

100 grams Arrow Root

50 grams Coconut Flour

Then, I got to watch her make chocolate chip cookies. I must admit, every time I try and bake cookies from scratch they look and taste like scones. I can't even share the exact recipe she made because there was a lot of tasting and adding and I lost track. It was a variation of the recipe on the back of the Kirkland Chocolate Chips.

Chocolate Chip Cookies,  Egg-free + Gluten-free:

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1.5 teaspoon of Ener-G egg replacer + 2 tbsp warm water

3 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp Kosher Salt

1 1/3 cup Gluten-free All Purpose Flour

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Mash the butter in a bowl until it looks whipped. Then add the sugars and mix. Then add the egg replacer, vanilla, and salt. Once mixed, add the flour. Do not mix until the flour is fully mixed in. When there is still a flour coating on the butter mixture add the chocolate chips and finish mixing. Taste and if you are as talented as Shuna, add what you think is missing. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes. 

I learned lots of lessons today which will hopefully affect my cookies forever. First, I learned not to melt the butter but get it to room temperature and mash it until it is a whipped consistency. Second, I learned not to over mix, it creates too much air which could have caused my scone like cookies for so many years. Third, I learned that gluten-free baking is inconsistent and trust yourself, if you think it needs more of something despite the "recipe", then go for it. In baking-for-dummies terms, the gluten-free flours absorb the liquids differently and longer than a gluten based flour and there is no consistency among them. After the cookie dough appeared and tasted done to me, Shuna added more salt, vanilla, and butter. End result, they were insane!