Gluten-free cookies. Right away there is a strike against the cookies when those words are involved. I hate to admit that, because I am all for people being gluten-free, but there are some things that just need gluten to taste delicious, and in my opinion, cookies are one of them. I thought I had made the one and only delicious gluten-free cookie already, and that there would be no others that could even compare. Boy was I wrong, just WRONG.
I am sure someone has already thought of this – but one of the reasons why gluten-free cookies scare me is because there is notoriously some special ingredient or flour (made without gluten) that you have to use. I walk down the baking isle in our market, and I see all those special flours – there are tons of them, but they don’t exist in my house. That means I would actually have to plan to make them and buy the ingredients in the house, which would also require me to plan. Seriously – do you know my life these days? Planning is just not part of the routine. “Just in time” is my new mantra. So back to where I started this paragraph – I am sure someone has thought of a gluten-free cookbook, where you use only regular ingredients. Because seriously – you can make a delicious gluten-free meal without even thinking about it – we had one tonight. Just fresh vegetables, some nice potatoes, and delicious meat smoked on the egg. Magic. No tapioca flour, sorghum, or arrowroot starch.
So, when I saw the title of these cookies in Cooking Light, I almost turned the page – but then my eyes wandered to the ingredients, and I couldn’t believe it. Just like those chocolate brownie cookies, these also just used regular ingredients. I thought it was too good to be true. Well, that’s exactly what these cookies were. You seriously would never know they lacked flour. They were soft and chewy, yet crunchy on the outside. I washed them down with some chocolate milk, and it was like eating a Reese Peanut Butter Cup – except a delicious one, since they are way too sweet for me.
I think the tides may be changing, and I may start taking that strike away when I see the words gluten-free. Or maybe I should just write my own cookbook – gluten-free baking without the fancy ingredients. Just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it. I will put that on my list…let’s see, number 1,729.
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg white
- 1 cup reduced-fat chunky peanut butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate minichips
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.
Place salt and egg white in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until white is frothy. Add peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and chocolate chips, stirring to combine.
Divide dough into 20 equal portions (about 1 tablespoon each); arrange dough 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently press the top of each cookie with a fork; press the top of each cookie again to form a crisscross pattern, and flatten to a 2-inch diameter. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
First Look, Then Cook 
These sound very good! Just through my own research and what I’ve learned about being gluten-free, it’s never a dietary lifestyle I would choose unless I developed celiac disease; however, much like with vegan food, I think it can be very delicious and isn’t something I mind experimenting with a day or two out of the week- plus, I’m always willing to try a new cookie, haha!
I made these a little while back after seeing it in Cooking Light — my husband’s new favorite cookie! And super fast and easy. :)
Looks delicious! I have even experimented making peanut butter cookies without eggs and that is a challenge to get them the right texture and consistency you think of when your craving cookies…