It's cookie season! Whether you're looking to switch up the traditional chocolate cookie for a cookie exchange or a festive sweet treat to gift friends and family, Gluten Free Peppermint Chocolate Coconut Cookies are sure to be an instant classic.
Is there anything better than holiday cookies such as Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies? Cookie season is almost as festive as the twinkling lights and glittering ornaments decorating Christmas trees. These ooey and gooey chocolate cookies are bursting with familiar seasonal flavors and texture in every bite.
Ingredients
Pop open the bag if mini chocolate chips and invite your family into the kitchen. Gluten Free Peppermint Chocolate Coconut Cookies combine pantry staples with easily accessible ingredients. These are sure to get you on the nice list this season!
- Gluten Free Flour - Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour is my go-to flour for both sweet and savory recipes. It makes it easy to recreate recipes that aren't Gluten Free without having to add any additional ingredients.
- Baking Soda
- Baking Powder
- Dairy Free Butter - Adds richness to these cookies while also keeping them tender and moist.
- Kosher Salt - Enhances all of the flavors of the ingredients.
- Cocoa Powder - Adds rich, deep, and complex chocolate flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips - Gives texture and even more chocolate flavor to every bite.
- Brown Sugar - Brown sugar creates a chewier, softer cookie because of the molasses in the sugar.
- Sugar
- Vanilla Extract - The higher the quality of the vanilla, the more depth of flavor it provides.
- Coconut Extract - Gives the sweet nutty flavor of coconut in every bite.
- RIND Dark Cocoa Sea Salt Coconut Crisps - This nutrient rich snack is low in carbs and sugar. It's sweet, salty, and will have you eating straight from the bag before they even make the cookies.
- Dairy Free Chocolate Frosting - Take the help of the grocery store and pick up your favorite frosting making these cookies a quadruple chocolate explosion.
- Peppermint - The perfect festive topper that pairs perfectly with both chocolate and also coconut.
How to Make Gluten Free Peppermint Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Skip the store-bought cookies and get out your mixing bowl. These cookies are as much fun to make as they are to devour. With their bright and cheery crown of crushed candy canes they're also a great cookie to have your kids help decorate.
Time needed: 40 minutes.
Quadruple chocolate cookies are bursting with the texture of coconut and cheery peppermint candies.
- Pregame
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream
Add your Dairy Free butter and sugars to a mixing bowl and mix on high for 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Mix
Add the eggs and extracts to the bowl and mix to combine. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined, careful not to overmix.
- Scoop
Use a 1 ½" scoop to portion out cookies between the two baking sheets.
- Bake
Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.
- Finishing Touch
Frost the top of each cookie with chocolate frosting. Sprinkle crushed peppermint over the top. Enjoy!
Variations
These cookies are completely Gluten Free and Dairy Free. The same cookies can be made with full dairy ingredients including butter and chocolate.
Storage
These cookies will keep their tender texture for up to a week. Keep them stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the unbaked dough for several months in the freezer and allow it to defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Types of Gluten Free Flour
My go to for baking is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. It is a blend of several different gluten free ingredients and I find it just works consistently well for what I need. I could blend flour myself but I choose to spend my time other ways and the 1:1 is a really good product.
Oat Flour can give you a chewier, more moist product. It can lend a nice sweet flavor to baked foods and is a flour I tend to mix with others if I want a lighter or fluffy result. I am always very careful to buy organic gluten free oats because they can be sprayed with nasty stuff and be processed in a way that they are no longer gluten free.
Almond Flour has a nice nutty flavor but can tend to dry out what you are preparing. I like to balance it with an extra egg if I am adding it to meatloaf for example and add banana or egg if it is in a sweet treat. Your end product could be a bit denser if you are using straight almond flour as well. I do like using almond flour as bread crumbs or a crunchy topping on savory dishes.
Arrowroot is my normal choice for a thickener in sauce or gravy. It is great for things you want a good crunch on that would normally be dredged in flour. Arrowroot can also be used to temper other gluten free flours for sweets and baked goods.
Brown Rice Flour can also be used in combination with other gluten free flours for baked goods. I like to use it when making a roux and brown rice noodles are a favorite.
More Flours
Amaranth is another gluten free flour that works well when blended. It has a nice nutty flavor that makes it good for crusts, tortillas and breads.
Coconut Flour has a bit of a sweet coconut flavor. It tends to absorb liquid so you will need to adjust your recipe but it does give a nice light texture.
Corn Flour is a great thickener, makes delicious tortillas and one of my favorites, corn bread. Just make sure the corn flour you are buying was proceed in a gluten free environment and from a clean source.
Cassava Flour is the most similar to white or all purpose flour but can be expensive if you are using it often and is high in carbohydrates.
Tapioca is a great thickener as well for soups, pies and sauces and works well when combined with other flours.
Chickpea or garbanzo is used often in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine… Think hummus, falafel, flatbreads. It has lots of healthy benefits and a mild nutty flavor. You can also use the water from the beans, called aquafaba, as an egg replacer or instead of cream for whipped cream. Crazy, I know, but it works so stop dumping it down the drain.
Gluten Free Grains
The gluten free grains we grab for most often are…
Quinoa- easy to make and flavor and is high in fiber and protein. It is actually one of the plant proteins that is a complete protein.
Oats are also good for fiber and a bit of protein but make sure they are clean and gluten free.
Buckwheat actually has no wheat in it but does have fiber, protein and trace minerals. I love buckwheat noodles. I also add them to salads and soups for texture and a bit of “chew”.
Top Tip for Gluten Free Peppermint Chocolate Coconut Cookies
There is nothing like biting into a soft, tender, and chewy cookie straight from the oven. To ensure that your cookies have the best texture, make sure that your Dairy Free butter and eggs are at room temperature before mixing. When adding your flour, be careful not to overmix the dough, mixing just to combine.
Gluten Free Peppermint Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl/mixer
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups Gluten Free flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 cup Dairy Free butter, room temperature
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup Dairy Free mini chocolate chips
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 3.5 oz RIND Dark Cocoa Sea Salt Coconut Crisps
Topping
- Dairy Free chocolate frosting
- ½ cup peppermint, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add the room temperature butter and sugars to a mixing bowl and mix on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and extracts and mix to combine.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Use a 1 ½" scoop to portion out the cookie dough between the two baking sheets.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes.
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Frost the cookies with chocolate frosting.
- Sprinkle crushed peppermint over the top.
- Enjoy!
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