First, the cookie talk. And maybe some singing with Harry Nilsson. “I say, Doctor, ain’t there nothin’ I can take?
Then, a meditation on from-scratch cooking. Oooooommmmmm….
Cookie Talk
In my ongoing quest to knock my children’s socks off with what comes out of my kitchen, lest they fall prey to our American obsession with overly processed foods, I have set a goal for myself. It’s a lofty one:
I have set about making my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies into health food.
Health food?
Well, extra-virgin coconut oil does have health benefits. And it’s getting a lot of good press. Lookey here, extra-virgin coconut oil. You’re in the New York Times. Next, you’ll have paparazzi stalking you in Whole Foods. Becoming a diva is right around the corner.
We are wise to catch the coconut wave before Coconut Oil starts becoming a prima donna, expecting us to get rid of all of our butter and bacon fat and stuff. *gasp*
For now, I love thee. Let me count the ways:
1. You are solid at room temperature (I may be flaunting my age here, but I distinctly remember learning that any fat that is solid at room temperature will kill you in a hurry, no questions asked — not anymore….), so in my pantry I may keep you.
2. You bring the faint whiff of coconuts to something ordinary, instantly making it extra-ordinary.
3. You are so potent. A little of you goes a long way.
4. You make my cookies vegetarian, without batting an eyelash.
5. You bring me good health, the promise of a long life.
Did I go overboard on that last one?
I think not.
Be sure to use extra-virgin coconut oil, which you can find in any health food store, on amazon.com, in Whole Foods, you get the idea. The extra-virgin stuff is the one getting all that fancy schmancy good press about its health benefits. The other stuff — not so much.
Unlike a daily diet of highly processed foods, I believe that a homemade chocolate chip cookie is NOT going to kill my children. Wasn’t it Julia Child (by way of Oscar Wilde) who said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.”
Leading us to the ooooommmmm…
Meditation on Scratch Cooking
I flip flop on health & nutrition. And effort in the kitchen. Most of the time, I believe that if I stick to basics & classics, and twists on basics & classics, we’ll be pretty healthy, & I’m a pretty good Mom. And I think it’s so important not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Good enough is …. good enough.
But sometimes I’m tired.
And cranky.
And I want to use a shortcut or two for dinner. You won’t judge me harshly. Will you? I mean, we’re tight, & that won’t change, right?
There are so many more conventional brands that offer gluten-free products today. And I’ve been thinking lately about scratch cooking. And how it’s wonderful and romantic and ideal. But it’s not always possible.
And that’s okay. I always say that I want you to have options. That means that you should be able to buy ready-made, and you should be able to make your own. But there is also a middle ground … between from scratch & store-bought.
From-scratch chocolate chip cookies are always possible, though. They’re easy peasy.
These cookies are keepers. Anyway, remember that they’re health food. Ooooommmmmm…..
| Coconut Chip Cookies |
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin coconut oil
- 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar (light or dark)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons xanthan gum (omit if using Better Batter)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 12 ounces chips (I used a combination of white chocolate & semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the coconut oil and sugars until well combined. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla until well-blended. Add the flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the wet ingredients, reserving a few tablespoons of dry ingredients. Beat the batter well until it becomes thicker and a bit more elastic.
- In a small bowl, mix those few reserved tablespoons of dry ingredients with the chips and toss to coat. Stir the chips and remaining dry ingredients into the cookie dough until they are evenly distributed. The dough will be thick, and a bit shinier than you would otherwise expect from cookie dough.
- Drop balls of dough about 1 1/4 inches in diameter about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Place the baking sheets with the dough on them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 20 minutes, or until firm. Once the dough has chilled, place the rimmed baking sheets in the preheated oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until they are beginning to brown around the edges and are lightly tan on top.
- Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the baking sheets until they become firm. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
See? They’re clearly health food.
And they’re easy.
So I’m a good Mom.
Right?
Stay tuned. Coming next to a blog near you: a de-lovely recipe for biscuits that are decidedly not health food. That’s really the best way to achieve balance, don’t you think? The yin … and the yang.
Warmly,
Nicole
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Okay, I can’t get the Lime in the Coconut song out of my head.
Thanks, now I have that song in my head!
You’re welcome, Melissa. :)
oh how i wish hubby liked coconut.. i’m not allowed to use coconut anything :(
My husband isn’t much of a fan of coconut either, Heather, but he still eats them! You can sub in any sort of fat you like, though.
I wanted to try coconut oil but the smell & even slight taste makes him ill. I can’t even use beauty products with it in it, not even cocoa butter (does it even come from coconuts? lol)
My usual go to fat is butter, peanut oil/olive oil or rendered lard. Sometimes in savory biscuits or corn bread I’ll use bacon grease and/or grease my pan with drippings.
Wow, Heather. That’s strict! Cocoa butter is derived from pressed cocoa beans but I’m kinda with him. It does have some vaguely coconut-ty smell. You can make these cookies with any of those fats. Cornbread with bacon grease is too good to even talk about in polite company such as this.
Nicole, your recipes are all a life saver! I refer many of my ‘new to the GF world’ friends to your blog. Plus I love the way you write. Makes me feel like I’m sitting in your kitchen and we’re chatting over coffee. Thanks for all of your hard work. It is very appreciated. and yes, that song is now stuck in my head too ! :-)
Hi, Michelle,
Now you went and did it. You made me all happy & made my day.
You couldn’t have said a better thing to me than that it seems like we’re chillin’ over coffee in my kitchen. That’s pretty much what I wish, and what I imagine as I’m baking. I get up before the sunrise, happy to hang out with you. I post a recipe, and there we are, chatting again. It’s such good fun – except when you feel like you’re talking into a vacuum. That is not fun. This is fun! You commented, and you made my day. It helps me more than you know.
Now go put the lime in the coconut. I have listened to that youtube clip like, a million times. I love it too much.
xoxo
Nicole
Does xanthan gum “expire?”
Hi, Christine, It generally does have an expiration date. From what I have heard, it keeps ‘forever’ in the freezer, and if it does go bad it will be obvious.
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