You guuysss. These cookies…These. cookies. are. A-MA-ZING.
Finally, a food allergy friendly cookie that looks and taste like a regular one. Dare I say, even better? 😀
That’s a sure sign you need an emulsifier to help hold the fat IN where it should be. An easy solution would be to just decrease the amount of fat. The ideal change should probably be 18% less shortening instead of butter, right? But then the whole moisture/taste/texture gets screwed up. Even more so if you need to remove eggs… So remove 18% moisture from the butter when you substitute shortening and then 1/4 cup more with each egg… and what would that be exactly???
A SAD copy of how the cookies were. *sigh*
But maybe I can help change that…
Don’t forget the other big factor affecting emulsion= Sugar
I don’t fully understand it, so I can’t really explain it yet… But I know too much sugar throws the 1:2 balance out the window without any real warning. And it’s not just plain sugar. In this case, molasses. I struggled to figure this out for a long time. I knew I had emulsion problems with this recipe and in the past I’d simply substitute applesauce (contains pectin, a natural emulsifier). And it worked… but the texture wasn’t what I wanted. It was too soft and didn’t have that crisp bite I was looking for. I’m still figuring out the best sugar to fat/flour ratio which you can guess varies for each type of recipe like a muffin, cookie, cake etc.
So I played around with gingerbread. A lot. Like really, A LOT. The whole gingerbread house and these cookies were my reward.
That’s why this recipe took so long… and why it looks a little strange. The sugar content for these are a bit higher than I typical bake with but the sugar actually helps hold things together and gives that dense chewy bite that won’t fall apart or feel like sand on your tongue.
- 3 cups my gluten free flour basic white blend
- 1½ cups sugar
- ⅔ cup vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup + 2 T molasses
- ¼ cup + 2 T milk of choice or water
- 2 tsp guar gum
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1¾ tsp ground ginger
- ¾ tsp cloves
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- Sugar for coating
- Combine shortening, molasses, sugar, milk, and spices in bowl. Mix by hand or with a mixer until ingredients are well combined and sugar is dissolved.
- Add baking soda, guar gum and gradually add all of the flour while constantly mixing. Continue to stir/mix until all the flour is incorporated.
- Dough will be sticky. Use a cookie scoop to form balls. Roll in sugar and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Slightly flatten. Leave 1-2 inches of space between, cookies will spread slightly.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 11-12 minutes. Look for the edges to turn golden brown. The center will appear wet and cracked. Allow to fully cool before moving or else the cookies will fall apart. (For an extra crisp outside with a soft center, turn the oven off and open door allowing the cookies to sit another 1-2 minutes )
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Hello, I’m Laura! Thanks for stopping by… I hope this blog will help you or someone you know and love. 
Hi 🙂 these look great,but do i need the guar gum if I use regular flour?
Hi Nicole, great question! You won’t need any gums (xantham, guar, pectin, psyllium etc) when using regular wheat flour.
What is guar gum and where can I buy it online?
Hi Carol, guar gum is an alternative to xantham gum. If you can tolerate xantham simply substitute it for a 1:1 replacement. Amazon has just about anything you need these day so I’d check there first.
Hi there! Firth of all – a huge thank you from the UK! My partner has been recently diagnosed and your website has been a godsend for him and me!!!!
One question though – because we are in the UK out measures are different. I understand cups but what measure is a “T”? Tablespoon? Teaspoon? Help!! I want to make
These as a Christmas treat …..
Hi Tanya, I am so happy my recipes are helping you adjust. Yes, a capital ‘T’ or ‘Tbsp’ are the abbreviations for our Tablespoon. Not to be confused with ‘tsp’ or teaspoon. Silly American measurements… Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much!!! Merry Christmas!!!
Just made these and while they don’t look at all like the ones in the picture, they have delicious flavor and great texture. I used coconut oil and almond/coconut milk… mine are not as dark brown and did not get that wet/crackled look. Not sure why, but again, they taste so good no one will ever know they’re gluten/dairy/egg free! 🙂
What kind of shortening did you use? Just made these and they were a flop sadly 🙁 Taste good but spread so much it was a cookie sheet of cookie.
Sorry to hear you had problems. I use organic non-hydrogenated Palm shortening (environmentally friendly too). I have ever had a spreading issue. You could try your shortening again just decrease by 1-2Tbsp. Hope that helps!