Gluten Free Cookies by Heather Roycroft

Gluten Free Cookies

by Philip Thornton

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

GLUTEN FREE COOKIES by PHILIP THORNTON

© Philip Thornton 2011. All rights reserved, no part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the written permission of the author. This book may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade without the prior consent of the author.

Published by:Thorncroft Publishing P.O.Box 753, Orewa Auckland, N.Z. Edited By Heather Roycroft. www.philipthornton.co.nz.

Index

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Introduction Weights & Measures Icing Anyone? Recipes Chocolate Chip Cookies Peanut Brownies Sesame Seed Cookies Latte Cookies Pumpkin Seed & Coconut Chocolate Chip & Apricot Chocolate Chip & Peanut Coconut Rough Cinnamon Shortbread Jam Pots Luxury Chocolate Chip Cookies White Chocolate & Macadamia Chocolate & Almond Cookies Afghans M & M Cookies Rainbow Cookies Cashew & Mango Cookies Chocolate Snaps Pineapple Creams Lemon Twists Pumpkin Seed Brownies Banana Creams Coffee & Almond Cookies

Page 4 Page 9 Page 10 Page 12 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34

4 • • • • • • •

Banana Brownies Cashew & Ginger Cookies Cinnamon Snaps Vanilla Crisps Mocha Cookies Honey & Pumpkin Seed Corn Cakes About the Author

Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41

INTRODUCTION WHY GLUTEN FREE ? Gluten is a protein found in the grains, wheat, barley, oats, rye and triticale. The most common reason for avoiding gluten is coeliac disease, a condition where the lining of the intestine is damaged by the gluten, leading to all sorts of unpleasant gastrointestinal effects. In addition to this, some people have a more generalized intolerance to wheat, while others feel that modern man eats far to much of this ubiquitous grain. What ever your reason for avoiding wheat, baking with gluten free flours presents a number of challenges, so please read the introduction thoroughly before starting the recipes. THE FLOUR. There is a very good reason why wheat has become the world's most used flour for baking. It's the best. No other single flour can provide the taste, texture, elasticity and structure of wheat. Therefore, to provide all of these characteristics it is necessary to combine several different flours. My standard gluten free flour is made up as shown below. 1 part maize cornflour. ( must be maize, not wheat cornflour ) 2 parts rice flour. 3 parts potato flour. 1 to 2 parts soya flour. Mix all the flours together very thoroughly, taking care to break up the lumps that that tend to form in these flours. If you own a sifter, then sift them together. The soya flour is the only one where you have some flexibility in the amount you use. One part and you will have a lighter cookie and a dough that is a little easier to handle, two parts will give you a denser cookie and a dough that is a little more sticky to handle. Go over two parts and the distinctive taste of the soya will begin to assert itself. Store the flour in an airtight container in a dry location. This is especially important if you live in a humid climate as this flour is very fond of moisture.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

THE DOUGH. Gluten free dough cookie dough can be very sticky, especially the ones that are mixed using water. If you use the handling tips below it wont be much of a problem, but do be prepared. If you have the time, then chilling the dough will make it easier to handle. I never bother myself because once I get started on a batch of cookies I like to get them finished and into the oven. The best way to handle this dough is to use disposable, vinyl food handling gloves. The dough will not stick to these and they will allow you to scoop up the dough shape it into cookies and place it on the baking tray with ease. The alternative is a dough juggling act with two spoons, one fork and wet finger tips. You scoop up a portion of cookie dough in one spoon, then use the other spoon to scrape it onto the baking tray. Then with a wet fork and damp finger tips you shape and flatten the dough into a cookie. If the dough begins to build up on your finger tips and it will, then rinse it off, otherwise more and more dough will adhere to it in a snowball like effect. I keep a cup full of water handy so that I can dampen and rinse as necessary. This may sound like a slow process, but once you get the hang of it things move along quite quickly. However, for a stress free baking experience I recommend you buy the gloves. Another thing you may notice with the water recipes, is a peculiar smell. It's a little like peanuts and a little like mouldy vegetable peelings. Not everyone seems to notice it, but if you do don't worry about it, it's just the wet soya flour and it completely disappears during the baking. MIXING. When mixing oil into wheat flour the mixture is just right when the ingredients resemble breadcrumbs. With gluten free flours the effect more like very oily, lumpy breadcrumbs, in some cases, verging on a single, large oily breadcrumb. As the water is added however, the mixture will appear to dry out, until just the right amount has been added and it starts to form into a sticky lump in the mixing bowl. The addition of fluids is one area in gluten free baking where nothing beats experience, however if you use the above as a guide, you wont go too far wrong. GAR GUM. This vegetable gum is used in some of my recipes to give a little more structure to the cookies. It is available from most supermarkets, health food stores, or where ever baking needs are sold. ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

BAKING POWDER. When purchasing baking powder be sure to purchase gluten free baking powder. If it is not available in your area then you can make your own using the recipe below. 85 grams. maize cornflour. 100 grams. baking soda. 60 grams. cream of tarter. 60 grams. tartaric acid. Mix all of the ingredients together thoroughly. If you have a sifter then use it as this needs to be very well mixed. Store in an air tight container and mix again before use. THE GOOD OIL. You will see from my recipes that I use olive oil for all my cookies. All cookies require an element of fat to give a richness to their taste and texture. Traditionally, this fat was always butter in the best cookies, however olive oil, especially extra virgin olive oil can create a luxurious tasting cookie without the saturated fats of butter. So do your heart a favor and go with the olive oil. NUTS AND SEEDS. With the exception of walnuts, which I prefer to use raw, I like to use roasted nuts and seeds in my cookies. Roasted nuts provide a more intense flavor and as the temperature and baking times for cookies are insufficient to roast the nuts during baking it is necessary to use nuts that are already roasted. Most nuts and seeds are easily available in roasted form, but in case you only have raw ones on hand we're going to have a quick lesson in nut roasting. Pre-heat your oven to 400 F. or 250 C. Spread the nuts on a light steel baking dish and place in the oven. Five to ten minutes usually does it, but don't just put them in, set the timer and wander off for five minutes as nuts go from well roasted to "burnt to a crisp" in about one minute. After 3 minutes you will need to check and stir them every minute or so. You will need to experiment to find out how much roasting suites your taste, but as a rough guide, if they look roasted and they smell roasted then chances are they are roasted. Be extra careful with pumpkin seeds as they burn easily. Alternatively, you can pan roast nuts and seeds quite satisfactorily, especially sesame seeds which are best done in a pan anyway. Using a large frying pan, heat the seeds while stirring continuously until they begin to brown. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

SUGAR. Castor sugar is my favorite cooking baking sugar. It's fine ground texture means that it mixes well with other dry ingredients and unlike brown sugar and raw sugar, it has no distinctive taste to overpower the other ingredients. If you prefer to use brown or raw sugar then by all means do so as it won't seriously affect the out come. NON-STICK BAKING PAPER. I love non-stick baking paper. It has to one of the most important inventions of the twentieth century, right up there with pocket calculators and mountain bikes. Therefore it should come as no surprise that my baking instructions always say to put your cookies on non-stick baking paper. The cookies will, however, taste just as good if they are baked on an oiled baking tray, or a non-stick baking tray. OVENS. All ovens are not the same. Twenty minutes at 180 C. in my oven may not produce exactly the same results as in your oven, therefore the temperatures and times should be taken as a guide only and a close eye kept on the cookies towards the end of the baking period. STORAGE. Fresh baked cookies are of course, best eaten fresh, however cookies will keep well if kept in an air tight container in a cool place. The dough will also keep well and I find it convenient to keep a batch or two in the fridge for use at a moments notice. Wrap the dough tightly in cling wrap and it will store well in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer if you wish to store it for longer periods.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

EXPERIMENT. Yes, please do. The purpose of this book is not just to give you recipes to follow slavishly, but to show you HOW to bake gluten free cookies. To help you produce a cookie that is perfect for YOUR taste, below are a few ways to alter the recipes to fine tune your baking. Want a sweeter cookie? Add more sugar. Want a softer cookie? Add more baking powder. Want a harder cookie? Use less baking powder and/or bake longer. Want a richer tasting cooking? Add more olive oil. Want a more chewy cookie? Reduce the baking time. Want a crisper cookie? Try adding an extra dessert spoon of rice flour. SO PLEASE, EXPERIMENT, HAVE FUN AND HAVE GREAT COOKIES.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

As you will see from the recipes in this book, I measure most of my ingredients with cups and spoons. I find this to be an easy and perfectly satisfactory way to measure ingredients for baking. There are a couple of points that I should clarify however. Firstly, a CUP is a level cup and secondly, a SPOON is a rounded spoonful when using dry ingredients, unless otherwise stated. For those of you who feel more comfortable with metric or imperial measures, I have made a conversion chart for you to use. LIQUIDS. 1 tea spoon 1 dessert spoon 1 table spoon 1 cup

= 5 milliliters = 10mililiters = 15 milliliters = 250 milliliters

DRY INGREDIENTS. 1 tea spoon 1 dessert spoon 1 table spoon 1 cup

= 5 grams. = 10 grams. = 15 grams. = 250 grams.

GRAMS TO OUNCES. 28 grams 100 grams 250 grams

= 1 ounce. = 3.5 ounces. = 9 ounces.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

ICING ANYONE ? I'm not a big fan of iced cookies myself, however there are people out there, even some members of my own family, who believe that there hasn't been a cookie made that can't be improved by the addition of chocolate icing. The following are some simple icing recipes that will increase both the visual appeal and taste of your cookies. Keep in mind that the amount of water required to make icing of the right consistency will vary a little depending on the amount of starch in your brand of icing sugar, so add the water a little at a time, until you are familiar with the particular icing sugar that you are using. Also, if you over do the water you can always add more icing sugar. You will need to allow 20 to 30 minutes for the icing to set. Remember to check that the icing sugar you are using is gluten free as some do contain wheat products. PLAIN ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1 dessert spoon water. Add the water to the icing sugar and mix until you have a smooth, spreadable paste. CHOCOLATE ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1 tea spoon cocoa powder. 1 dessert spoon water. Add the cocoa powder to the icing sugar and mix thoroughly. Add the water and mix until you have a smooth, spreadable paste. COFFEE ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1 level tea spoon of finely ground coffee. ( instant will do as a last resort ). 1 dessert spoon water. Add the coffee to the icing sugar and mix thoroughly. Add the water and mix until you have a smooth spreadable paste.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

VANILLA ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1/2 tea spoon natural vanilla essence. 1 dessert spoon water. Add the water to the icing sugar and mix until you have a smooth, spreadable paste. Add the vanilla essence to the paste and mix thoroughly. LEMON ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1 dessert spoon lemon juice Add the lemon juice to the icing sugar and mix until you have a smooth, spreadable paste. CARDAMON ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1/4 tea spoon ground cardamon. 1 dessert spoon water. Add the cardamon to the icing sugar and mix well. Add the water and mix until you have a smooth, spreadable paste. GINGER ICING. 1/2 cup icing sugar. 1/2 tea spoon ground ginger. 1 dessert water. Add the ginger to the icing sugar and mix well. Add the water and mix until you have a smooth spreadable paste. COLORED ICING. To make colored icing, prepare your icing as above and then add the food coloring of your choice a couple of drops at a time, mixing well between each addition, until you have achieved the shade that you want. If you don't have an eye dropper handy to use for the food coloring, a drinking straw makes an ideal pipette. Insert the straw into the bottle of coloring and place your thumb over the end of the straw. When you remove the straw a small amount of coloring will remain in the straw. You can now release the coloring a drop at a time by carefully shifting you thumb to allow air into the straw. If you haven't done this before it might be wise to practice with water before attempting it with food coloring.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder ½ teaspoon gar gum 1/3 cup caster sugar 1/3 cup chocolate chips (dairy free if you are dairy intolerant) ½ teaspoon natural vanilla essence (optional) ¼ cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180° C. Mix the flour, baking powder,gar gum and sugar together in a bowl. Add the chocolate chips and mix again. Add Vanilla Essence to the olive oil, then add the oil to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add water, a dessert spoon full at a time, mixing well between each addition, until the mixture forms a sticky dough. ( 4 to 5 dessert spoons of water usually does the job) I hope you read the introduction page about how to get your cookies on to the baking paper, because if you haven't you're in big trouble now! Assuming that you have read the introduction, place the cookies on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, pop into the oven and ... Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling. When cool carefully place into an air tight container. These cookies will keep about 2 weeks in perfect conditions. (If you don't eat them all first!)

Gluten Free Peanut Brownie Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon gar gum 1/3 cup caster sugar 1 dessert spoon cocoa ½ cup roasted peanuts (chopped, whole or a mixture of both) ¼ cup olive oil water as needed Directions: pre-heat oven to 180°C Mix flour, baking powder, gar gum,sugar and cocoa together in a bowl. Add the peanuts and mix again. Add olive oil and mix thoroughly, being careful not to leave any large lumps. Add the water, a dessert spoon full at a time, mixing between each spoonful, until a sticky ball of dough forms. If you have your vinyl gloves, put them on, pick up the balls of dough and shape it into the cookies. If you don't have gloves, then use 2 spoons to transfer the cookie sized portions of dough onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, then with wet fingertips and a wet fork, flatten and shape the cookies. It gets easier with practise...honest! Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they start to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling. When cool store in airtight container.

Gluten Free Sesame Seed Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder ½ cup castor sugar ½ cup roasted Sesame Seeds 1 tea spoon natural vanilla essence ¼ cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 C Mix flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Add the Sesame Seeds and mix again. Mix vanilla essence into the olive oil, then add the oil to the bowl and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any large lumps. Add the water, a dessert spoon at a time, mixing between each spoonful, until mixture forms a sticky ball of dough. If you have your vinyl gloves, and if this is not your first batch of gluten free cookies, I am sure you will have some by now, put them on. Pick up cookie sized portions of dough, shape them into cookies and place them on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. If you do not have the gloves, use 2 spoons to shape and place your cookies on to the baking tray (still using non-stick baking paper) and flatten with a wet fork. Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to Brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling. Store in air tight container. © Philip Thornton 2011

Latte Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1 dessert spoon fine ground coffee. ( 2 if you dare!) 1/3 cup castor sugar ¼ cup olive oil ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk. Directions: Pre- heat oven to 170C Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and coffee together in a bowl. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, being careful not to leave any large lumps. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix until you have worked it evenly thorough the mixture. And I do mean work! This mixture is like wet concrete! The up-side however is that this is a non sticky, easy to handle dough. Scoop up cookie sized portions of dough, compact and shape them into cookies with your hands, then place on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper. Be sure to leave lots of room between the cookies as these tend to spread out as they bake. Place in Oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they begin to darken. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling

Pumpkin Seed & Coconut (contains dairy) Ingredients: 1 Cup gluten free flour 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar ½ cup roasted pumpkin seeds ½ cup desiccated coconut ¼ cup olive oil 1/3 to ½ cup sweetened condensed milk Notes: 1/3 cup of condensed milk will give you a firmer. More compact cookie, while ½ cup will see the cookie spread out to form a thinner, chewy cookie If you prefer a chewy cookie, use the higher amount of Condensed milk and a shorter cooking time. Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170º C Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Add the pumpkin seeds and coconut and mix again. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care that no large lumps remain. Pour in the condensed milk and work this through the mixture. This will be very hard work, but keep at it as it is important to have the milk spread evenly through the dough. This is a non-sticky easy to handle dough, so just scoop up cookie sized portions of dough, form them into cookies with your hands and place them on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Be sure to leave enough room for the cookies to spread, especially if you have used ½ cup of condensed milk. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling!

Chocolate Chip & Apricot (contains dairy) Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe instructions) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chocolate chips 1/3 cup chopped, dried apricots ¼ cup olive oil 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170º C Place the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and apricots and mix again. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly. Add condensed milk and blend this evenly throughout the mixture. The resulting dough will be both hard to mix and crumbly at the same time. It is however, a non sticky, easy to handle dough. Pick up cookie sized portions of dough, compact them firmly into cookie shapes and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown. If you like chewy cookies, then try these baked for a shorter time. Remove from oven and allow to cook before handling!

Chocolate Chip & Peanut (Non dairy- contains nuts) Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see notes) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder ½ tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chocolate chips 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped ¼ cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180º C Mix the flour, baking powder, gar gum and sugar together in a bowl. Add the chocolate chips and peanuts and mix again. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any large lumps. Add water, one dessert spoon at a time, mixing well between each addition, until the mixture forms a sticky ball of dough. This dough will require vinyl gloves (see notes) for easy handling! Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, shape them into cookies with your hands and place on baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown. Remove from tray and allow to cool before handling!

Coconut Rough Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see instructions) 1 tea spoon gluten free backing powder ½ tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1 dessert spoon cocoa ¼ cup chocolate chips ½ cup desiccated coconut ¼ cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180º C Place the flour, baking powder, gar gum and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Mix in the cocoa powder. Use a sifter if you have one otherwise be sure that no large lumps of cocoa remain. Add the chocolate chips and coconut, then mix again add the olive oil and mix thoroughly. This is one of those recipes, where, at this point you have one large lump of oily dough! Don't worry, it all comes right when you add the water! Add the water one spoonful at a time, mixing between each addition until a ball of sticky dough forms in the bowl. Scoop up cookie sized portions of dough and form them into cookies with your hands. (Which are of course covered by your vinyl gloves mentioned in the instructions!) Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and allow to cool before handling.

Cinnamon Shortbread Ingredients: 1/3 cup maize flour 2/3 cup rice flour 1 tea spoon cinnamon 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup olive oil Directions: Pre- heat oven to 180Âş C Place the maize cornflour and the rice flour in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add the cinnamon and sugar to the dry ingredients and mix again. Add in the olive oil and mix till a smooth ball of dough forms in the bowl. Pick up the ball of dough and compress it firmly several times. Place the ball of dough on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and press or roll it out into a square about 1cm thick Using a wet knife, cut the square into suitable sized pieces. Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the shortbread shows the first signs of browning. Remove from oven, re-cut while still warm, then allow to cool before handling. A delicious addition to these shortbreads, is to coat them in real chocolate! Chocolate Coating: Select a sauce pan and a heat proof bowl that will fit inside the saucepan without touching the bottom. Heat a little water in the saucepan, then place the bowl, with the required amount of broken up chocolate in it, in the saucepan of water. (the water does not need to touch the bottom of the bowl) As the chocolate begins to melt, gently stir it around until it has liquefied. Dip the now cooled shortbread into the chocolate, or spread it over them and allow the chocolate to harden. ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Jam Pots Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour ( see recipe) 1 teaspoon gluten free backing powder 1 tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor Sugar ¼ cup olive oil water as needed jam of your choice Directions: Pre- heat oven to 180 º C Mix the flour, baking powder,gar gum and sugar together in a bowl. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, trying not to leave any large lumps. Add the water a dessert spoon at a time, mixing well between each addition until mixture forms a rough ball of sticky dough. Scoop us cookie sized portions of the dough and shape into balls. Place on to a tray lined with non-stick baking paper and press your thumb into the ball to form a hollow. Depending on the size of your thumb you may need to enlarge the hollows. Do not be too concerned about making the shapes too perfect as a rustic, hand made look is more suited to this type of cookie. Fill the hollow with your favourite jam.

Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from Oven and allow to cool before handling!

Luxury Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour ( see recipe) 1 teaspoon gluten free backing powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chocolate chips ½ cup desiccated coconut ¼ cup olive oil 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170º C Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl Add the Chocolate Chips and coconut and mix again. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care that no large lumps remain. Pour in the condensed milk and work this through the mixture, making sure that it is evenly spread throughout the dough. This is a non sticky, easy to handle dough. Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, compress them firmly into balls, then shape into cookies with your hands. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling!

White Chocolate and Macadamia Gluten free Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar ½ cup chopped, roasted, Macadamia nuts 1/3 cup white chocolate chips ¼ cup olive oil 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk. Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170º C Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar in bowl. Add Macadamia nuts and chocolate chips and mix again Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly so that there are no large oily lumps. Pour in the condensed milk and work this evenly through the mixture. You are in luck here as this is another non-sticky dough. Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, squeeze them into balls and then shape them in to cookies. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving plenty of room between each cookie as these tend to spread out a bit, especially if you have been generous with the condensed milk. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling!

Chocolate and Almond Gluten Free Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar ½ cup chopped, roasted almonds 1/3 cup chocolate chips ¼ cup olive oil 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170º C Mix flour, baking powder and sugar in bowl Add chopped almonds and chocolate chips and mix again Add olive oil and mix thoroughly, making sure to break up any large lumps that may form. Pour in condensed milk and work this evenly through the mixture This is another easy to handle dough, so scoop up cookie sized portions and squeeze in to balls. Shape the cookies with your hands and place on baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Leave plenty of room between the cookies as they can spread out a bit, especially if you have overdone the condensed milk. Place in oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling!

Gluten Free Afghans Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon of gluten free baking powder ½ tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1 dessert spoon cocoa powder ½ cup chopped walnuts ¼ cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180º C Mix flour, baking powder, gar gum, sugar and cocoa together in a bowl Add the walnuts and mix again Add olive oil and mix thoroughly, being careful not to leave any large oily lumps Add the water, a dessert spoonful at a time, mixing between each spoonful, until a sticky dough forms. This time you will need your vinyl food handling gloves. Scoop up cookies sized portions of dough, form into cookies with your hands and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling! Use the Chocolate Icing recipe in the Icing Section of the Book and ice the Afghans once they are cool, making sure to top off each one with a whole ½ walnut (Use Vanilla Icing as an alternative, as the colour creates a nice contrast ) © Philip Thornton 2011

M&M Gluten free Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar ½ cup M&M's ½ cup desiccated coconut ¼ cup olive oil 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170º C Mix Flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl Add the M&M's and mix again Add olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any large lumps in the mixture Pour in condensed milk and work this evenly through the mixture to create a nonsticky easy to handle dough Scoop up cookies sized portions of the dough, form it firmly in to cookies and place on baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling!

Gluten Free Rainbow Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 2 dessert spoons of 100s & 1000s ( check that the ones you purchase are gluten free as some brands are not!) 1 tea spoon natural vanilla essence 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre- heat oven to 180 C. Mix flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl. Add the 100s & 1000s and mix again. Mix the vanilla essence into the olive oil, then add this mixture to the bowl and mix thoroughly, being careful not to leave any large lumps. Add the water a dessert spoonful at a time, mixing between each spoonful until the mixture forms a sticky ball of dough. Put on your vinyl food handling gloves, because you are going to need them as this is one of the very sticky doughs! Pick up cookie sized portions of dough, form into cookies and place them on a baking tray lined with non stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until starting to brown. Remove from Oven and allow to cool before handling. Icing: Ice with vanilla icing and while icing is still soft sprinkle with extra 100s & 1000s for decoration.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Cashew and Mango Cookies Ingredients: 1 Cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/2 tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chopped, roasted, cashew nuts 1/3 cup chopped, dried mango 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre heat oven to 108 C. Mix flour, baking powder, gar gum and sugar together in a bowl. Add the cashews and mango and mix again. Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any lumps in the mixture. Add water, a dessert spoonful at a time, mixing between each spoonful until a sticky ball of dough forms. Now is the time to put on your vinyl gloves as this is another one of those sticky mixtures. Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, form in to cookies and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Chocolate Snaps Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1 dessert spoon cocoa 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre heat oven to 180 C. Half fill a medium sized saucepan with boiling water and set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa in a bowl. Add the chocolate chips and mix again. Add olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any large lumps. Add WARM water, a dessert spoon full at a time, mixing well between each spoonful, until the mixture has formed a smooth, firm paste. Empty out the hot water and put the cookie mixture in to the warm saucepan and mix until the chocolate chips begin to melt and spread through the dough. Spoon cookie sized dollops of mixture onto a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, leaving plenty of space for them to spread. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Pineapple Creams Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup desiccated coconut 1/3 cup chopped, dried pineapple 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Pre heat oven to 170 C. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl Add the coconut and pineapple and mix again Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, being careful not to leave any large lumps. Add the condensed milk and blend this evenly throughout the mixture Scoop up cookie sized portions of dough, compact them firmly in to cookies shapes and place them on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Lemon Twists Ingredients: 1 Cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/2 tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor oil grated rind of 1/2 Lemon juice of 1/2 Lemon 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 C Mix flour, baking powder, gar gum and sugar together in a bowl Add the lemon rind and mix again Add the lemon juice to the olive oil and stir, then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well, taking care not to leave any large lumps Add water, one dessert spoon at a time, mixing between each spoonful, until a sticky ball of dough forms. You will need your vinyl food handling gloves to handle this sticky dough! Scoop up cookie sized portions of dough, form in to cookies and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they start to brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling. Icing Lemon icing is the obvious choice for this, but do try Ginger as well! ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Pumpkin Seed Brownies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/2 tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1 dessert spoon cocoa 1/3 cup roasted pumpkin seeds 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 C Mix flour, baking powder,gar gum, sugar and cocoa together in a bowl Add the roasted pumpkin seeds and mix again Add Olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any large oily lumps Add the water a dessert spoon at a time, mixing well between each spoonful, until the mixture forms a sticky ball of dough I'm afraid that this is another sticky dough, so on with those vinyl gloves! Scoop up cookie sized portions of dough, shape into cookies and place on a baking tray lines with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Banana Creams Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chopped dried banana 1/3 cup desiccated coconut 1/3 cup condensed milk 1 tea spoon natural vanilla essence 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170 C Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl Add the banana and coconut and mix dry ingredients again Mix the vanilla essence and the olive oil together then add to the dry ingredients mixing well and taking care not to leave any large lumps Blend in the condensed milk, making sure it is spread evenly throughout the mixture. This is an "easy to handle" dough, so just scoop up cookie sized portions of the mixture, press firmly in to cookie shapes and place on a baking tray lined with nonstick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Coffee and Almond Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1 dessert spoon finely ground coffee 1/2 cup chopped, roasted almonds 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Re-Heat oven to 170 C Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and coffee together in a bowl Add the almonds and mix again Add the olive oil to the dry ingredients and mix well, taking care not to leave any large lumps in the mixture Blend the condensed milk evenly throughout the mixture. Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, compress them firmly into cookie shapes and place on a baking tray lines with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Banana Brownies (Gluten Free) Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder 1/2 tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1 dessert spoon cocoa 1/3 cup chopped, dried banana 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 C Mix the flour, baking powder, gar gum, sugar and cocoa together in a bowl Add dried banana and mix again Add the olive oil and mix well, being careful not to leave any large lumps Add the water a dessert spoon at a time, mixing between each spoonful until the mixture forms a sticky ball of dough On with the vinyl gloves as you are going to need them! Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, shape them in to cookies and place them on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling or icing. Icing: If you feel the need, ice with chocolate or vanilla (or place stripes of each on the cookie then run a fork across the icing to create a zigzag effect!) ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Cashew and Ginger Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/2 tea spoon gar gum 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chopped, roasted cashews 1/3 cup chopped, glacĂŠ ginger (preserved ginger will do) 1/4 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 C Mix the flour, baking powder, gar gum,and sugar together in a bowl Add cashews and ginger and mix again Add the olive oil and mix wee, taking care not to leave any large lumps Add water one dessert spoon at a time, mixing well between spoonfuls, until the mixture forms a sticky ball of dough Put on your vinyl gloves as this is another sticky one! Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, form into cookies and place on baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Cinnamon Snaps Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tea spoon cinnamon 1/4 cup sweetened, condensed milk 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170 C Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl Add olive oil and mix well, taking care no to leave any large lumps Blend condensed milk evenly throughout the mixture Scoop up small cookie sized portions of the dough, compress firmly into cookie shapes and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper Sprinkle cookies with a little sugar and cinnamon, then place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to brown Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Vanilla Crisps Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/2 cup desiccated coconut 2 tea spoons natural vanilla essence 1/3 cup sweetened, condensed milk 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170 C Mix flour, baking powder and sugar together in a bowl Add coconut and mix again Stir the vanilla essence in to the olive oil, then add this mix to the dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly and taking care not to leave any large lumps Add the condensed milk and blend it evenly throughout the mixture Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, press them firmly in to cookie shapes and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until they begin to brown The more Brown (but not burned) they are, the crisper they will be. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before handling

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Gluten Free Mocha Cookies Ingredients: 1 cup gluten free flour (see recipe in the introduction) 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1 dessert spoon finely ground coffee 1/3 cup castor sugar 1/3 cup chocolate chips 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk 1/4 cup olive oil Directions: Pre-heat oven to 170 C Mix flour, baking powder, coffee and sugar together in a bowl Add chocolate chips and mix again Add the olive oil and mix thoroughly, taking care not to leave any large lumps in the mixture. Add condensed milk and blend evenly throughout the mixture Scoop up cookie sized portions of the dough, compress them firmly in to cookie shapes and place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper Place in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

Honey & Pumpkin Seed Corn Cakes Ingredients: 1 cup fine ground corn meal 1 tea spoon gluten free baking powder 1/2 cup chopped, roasted pumpkin seeds 1/2 cup runny honey 1/3 cup olive oil water as needed Directions: Pre-heat oven to 180 C Mix together the corn meal and the baking powder Add the chopped pumpkin seeds and mix again Add olive oil and mix well Pour in the honey and mix thoroughly. This will take some serious stirring! Add water, one dessert spoon at a time, mixing ingredients carefully until mixture comes away from the side of the bowl. Spoon cookies sized pieces of dough in to your free hand and squeezed in to balls. Place the balls on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and flatten with a fork. Put in to oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes Remove and allow to cool before handling.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Philip Thornton ran a bakery business specializing in health related cookies, including a wide range of gluten free cookies. Although retired from the baked goods business and now earning his living as an artist, painting and making jewelery, he still keeps friends and family supplied with delicious cookies.

ÂŠ Philip Thornton 2011