Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Cookies

Since my first Double Chocolate Cookie blog I've had a few requests for a gluten-free version.  All the bought gluten-free biscuits I've had in the past have been very dry with a slightly unpleasant grainy texture....but these double chocolate cookies need to be gooey....challenge!!
There are quite a lot of wheat flour substitutes out there and I had stoically decided to try several different ones to see which was the most suitable.  Thankfully, after some good advice,  I discovered that Doves Farm do a gluten and wheat free plain flour...which uses 5 different flours in the blend.  The recipe needed a bit of tweaking because the gluten-free flour is a bit different to work with, also baking powder needs to be added.  My usual baking powder contains wheat, however the Doves Farm baking powder doesn't....hurray!  Here goes....


I know it sounds a bit odd but they only really seem to work when the dough has been in the fridge for quite a while to firm up.  I think they naturally firm up because of the butter hardening but also the flour absorbs some of the liquid, improving the texture and flavour.

Ingredients

110g Butter (spreadable is easier)

175g Caster Sugar

1 Large Egg

3 tbsp Golden Syrup

1 tspn Vanilla Extract

160g Gluten-Free Plain Flour Blend 

4 level tspn Gluten-Free Baking Powder

25g Cocoa

3 tbsp Milk

200g Chocolate (milk, white or dark)

• Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the egg, syrup and vanilla extract.
• Sieve in the flour, baking powder, cocoa and milk and mix together to make a rather sloppy cookie dough.
• Chop the chocolate up, leaving some chunky bits and mix it into the dough.
• Cover the bowl and put into the fridge for at least 2 hours or until the dough has stiffened up considerably (I leave it overnight).
• Pre-heat the oven to 160C or gas 3 and line a baking sheet with greaseproof/baking paper.  With a spoon, scoop out golf ball sized balls of dough and put them on the lined baking sheet allowing enough space in between for spreading.  If you want to make them all at once you will need more than one baking sheet.  The dough keeps for a few days in the fridge or longer in the freezer so, unless you want a lot of cookies, it makes sense to bake it in two batches.
• Bake in the oven for 12-14 minutes until puffed and wobbly but feeling firm at the edges.
• Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes then carefully transfer to a plate or rack to cool.