Just before Christmas a friend brought over some delicious gluten free chocolate cookies she’d made with my gfJules Flour. I loved the unusual flavor and begged for the recipe. She couldn’t remember where she had first seen this recipe, or what it was called, but she said she’d make a copy of it for me.
I can never leave a recipe alone, and as good as those gluten free chocolate cookies were, I had to just make a few minor tweaks. Of course, I also had to come up with a name! I posted my quandary on the Gluten-Free Cookie Swap and got some super creative names for these gluten free chocolate cookies with a slight spicy kick:
Chocolate Surprise, SpiceCo, Chocoliente, Chocolate Spice Drops, Chocolate Zings, Cocoa Kicks, Chocolate Snaps, Sugar & Spice, Chocolate Sugar Cookies, Choco-Nips, Hot Cocoa Cookies …
Whatever you choose to call them, I hope you find them to be as delicious as we do! They’re also great dipped in hot cocoa or even crushed up for a gluten free chocolate cookie crust!
Chocolate Cookies (aka Zing Cookies)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter or non-dairy butter alternative (e.g. Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated cane sugar
- 2 eggs (or egg substitute of choice like Ener-G egg replacer)
- 2 1/4 cups gfJules™ All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. coarse salt
topping ingredients:
- 1/4 cup granulated cane sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
Instructions
Cream butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add eggs/sub and beat until integrated.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then slowly stir into the sugar mixture.
Cover and refrigerate dough until cold and not sticky – at least 2 hours, if possible.
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Stir together cane sugar, cinnamon and chili powder toppings in a small bowl. Form balls of dough by the tablespoonful by rolling gently between your palms. Roll in the cinnamon-sugar-chili powder mixture until coated all over. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets 2 inches apart.
Bake for 13 minutes or until the cookies have flattened somewhat and have cracked tops, but are still soft. Remove to cool on wire racks before transferring.
Yield: 36 cookies, depending on size.
Notes
Photographed on ThinkGlass™
Nutrition Information
Yield 36 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 98Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 20mgSodium 109mgCarbohydrates 11gFiber 0gSugar 10gProtein 1g
Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
I’m looking for a recipe for a chocolate wafer that would be hard & I can crumble in my blender to make chocolate crumbs for a dessert. I am wondering if these cookies are hard or are they soft. Thank you
Hi Carolyn, these cookies are crunchy on the outside and softer on the inside — almost like the texture of a good snickerdoodle. They will work for cookie crumbs if you just cook them a bit longer and make the cookies small. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
~jules
Can I use coconut oil instead of shortening?
Thanks!
These cookies were no where sweet enough to call them a cookie. I was really disappointed. I feel like I wasted my precious flour. What can be done to remedy this? Most cookies call for brown sugar also but no brown sugar in the ingredients.
Hi Lisa, I’m sorry this recipe wasn’t sweet enough for you. Did you roll the dough in cinnamon and sugar? If it’s still not sweet enough, why don’t you top them with an easy cookie icing? Would be so yum!
~jules
Hi Jules, Is there a way you could position your recipes to be more printable without having to print all of the comments in- between ingredients, directions, etc.? Thanks for your reply.
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for your note. I am DEFINITELY working on that! Where you see my recipes right now is on my transitional website. We’re working on a great new one behind the scenes and when it’s live, all the recipes will have functional print options like that. In the meantime, I’m posting all my new recipes with a recipe card format that is print-able. Check out my new recipe for Limoncello Pound Cake and you’ll see what I mean. Thanks for your patience in the meantime!
~jules
Thanks for the quick response to my question about cocoa! I didn’t get a chance to make the cookies this past weekend, but the recipe is definitely calling my name!
In place of the shortening, can the non dairy butter be substituted? I do not do well with Earth Balance shortening.
Hi Mickey, yes, you can use the non-dairy butter sub (I don’t recommend “spreads” though) like Earth Balance Buttery Sticks in place of the shortening. If you find that the cookies spread too much due to the extra moisture from the butter/non-dairy butter, add a bit more flour and be sure to refrigerate or freeze the dough before baking. The flavor should be wonderful, though!
I have thoroughly enjoyed making a number of the recipes on your website with your wonderful flour and hope to make these cookies this weekend. Did you use natural or Dutch-process cocoa? Would the choice make a difference in the cookies?
Patricia – I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my recipes and flour!! In this recipe, you could actually use either natural or Dutch-processed cocoa, as I’ve used both baking soda and baking powder. The flavor shouldn’t be affected in these cookies either way (great question, though!!). Enjoy!
how about more low sugar recipes? i eat gluten free, and love your recipes, but there is way too much sugar for a body to bear! Remember, sugar is the killer, the disease provoker, not fat. thanks for all your great work and awesome products!!!
Hi Rose – I have plenty of lower sugar recipes in all kinds of recipe categories on my site – why don’t you poke around and see if you can find some that might work for you? Otherwise, feel free to sub in another granulated unrefined sugar substitute like coconut palm sugar or use baking stevia.
What a yummy idea — I will definitely be trying these!
I hope you do, Colette – they’re shockingly good!
Wow! That’s the name I submitted! Cool! So happy you liked it! = )
Rhonda – I loved all the names submitted. It was really hard to choose! But I thought your name was one most people would understand when they read it. There is a little “zing” in the finish of the cookie, so it’s a perfect description! Thanks for your imaginative naming!!