Don't panic, I'm not about to go on some crazy gluten-free diet. I strongly believe that such things should be left to those who actually have a gluten intolerance.
But my housemate is one of those people. So, having planned to follow a recipe that doesn't use much flour anyway, I thought "why don't I try making this gluten free?"
I did this by substitung the flour with oats, which I ground to a flour-like consistency. The recipe used oats anyway, so I didn't have to buy any extra ingredients and the result was indistinguishable from when I've used wheat flour - still buttery, rich and delicious.
Now for the science. Apparently a great deal of coeliacs think they cannot eat oats. This is because oats contain a protein similar to gluten, known as avenin.
But my research indicates the actual percentage of coeliacs who cannot tolerate avenin is between about 1-5%. When I say "my research" I mean that I asked Google, rather than giving 100 coliacs a bowl of porridge and seeing how many puked.
If you or anyone you are baking for has a severe intolerance or allergy to gluten, you may want to check that the oats you are using were grown and processed in a way that ensures they did not come into contact with wheat. I understand the Nairns brand is pretty good for this. The same goes for the chocolate chips - make sure they were manufactured in a gluten-free environment.
This recipe makes around 20 cookies, which will keep for a couple of days if stored in an airtight tin. I seriously don't expect them to hang around that long though.
You will need:
130g porridge oats
75g oats, ground to a flour-like consistency using a blender or coffee grinder
125g butter, softened
100g light brown soft sugar
35g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and beat together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy in consistency.
2. Add the egg and beat well to combine.
3. Fold in the ground oats and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Fold in the whole oats and chocolate chips.
5. Drop heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart to prevent them from sticking together.
6. Bake for 12 minutes until golden and leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Best cookies ever and a recipe where gluten-free need not mean awesome-free.
Ciao,
Ellie
xxx
But my housemate is one of those people. So, having planned to follow a recipe that doesn't use much flour anyway, I thought "why don't I try making this gluten free?"
I did this by substitung the flour with oats, which I ground to a flour-like consistency. The recipe used oats anyway, so I didn't have to buy any extra ingredients and the result was indistinguishable from when I've used wheat flour - still buttery, rich and delicious.
But my research indicates the actual percentage of coeliacs who cannot tolerate avenin is between about 1-5%. When I say "my research" I mean that I asked Google, rather than giving 100 coliacs a bowl of porridge and seeing how many puked.
If you or anyone you are baking for has a severe intolerance or allergy to gluten, you may want to check that the oats you are using were grown and processed in a way that ensures they did not come into contact with wheat. I understand the Nairns brand is pretty good for this. The same goes for the chocolate chips - make sure they were manufactured in a gluten-free environment.
This recipe makes around 20 cookies, which will keep for a couple of days if stored in an airtight tin. I seriously don't expect them to hang around that long though.
You will need:
130g porridge oats
75g oats, ground to a flour-like consistency using a blender or coffee grinder
125g butter, softened
100g light brown soft sugar
35g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g dark chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and beat together the sugars and butter until light and fluffy in consistency.
2. Add the egg and beat well to combine.
3. Fold in the ground oats and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Fold in the whole oats and chocolate chips.
5. Drop heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto a lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart to prevent them from sticking together.
6. Bake for 12 minutes until golden and leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes.
7. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Best cookies ever and a recipe where gluten-free need not mean awesome-free.
Ciao,
Ellie
xxx
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