Guest post from Michelle of The Willing Cook
Christmastime can affect all of our senses; the smells and tastes of baking cookies, the twinkling of simple white or brightly colored lights, the warmth of a glowing fire.
Nothing says Christmas to me like trays full of brightly decorated sugar cookies, pumpkin rolls, wedding cookies, date bars, plum pudding, gingerbread bars, and on and on. I’m sure that I’m not alone.
Just because you or a loved one has food allergies does not mean that you cannot also enjoy these yummy holiday treats. You just have to have the right recipe, the safe ingredients, and the will to make something delightful!
I’m coming along side you today to do just that. I’ve created a German Chocolate Cookie that is free of gluten, dairy, eggs, peanuts, and a few other common allergens. I promise that you’ll love every single chocolatey, icing-topped bite! {My husband ate about a dozen of these cookies in the first 24 hours. He has a lot of willpower to resist foods that make him sick. But when it comes to allergy-safe foods that are delicious too, he loses all control. That makes me happy!}
Feel free to leave off the icing if you want. My son preferred the chocolate wafers over the iced cookies {I’m not sure why any person would not like icing!}.
German Chocolate Cookies
Cookie Ingredients:
- 2 eggs or EnerG Egg Replacer (3 tsp powder + 4 Tbsp water)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup oil
- 1 Tablespoon allowed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup oat flour, certified gluten-free (Make your own homemade gf flours.)
- 3/4 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Icing Ingredients
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar (make corn-free sugar by grinding granulated sugar in a coffee bean grinder)
- 2 Tablespoon shortening or allowed butter/margarine
- 2 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoon allowed milk
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional – leave out for treenut allergy)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk egg or egg replacer in a mixing bowl until frothy. Add brown sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla; mix until well combined.
Measure dry ingredients into mixing bowl with wet ingredients; mix until combined. Batter should be thick and pliable. Drop cookie dough by tablespoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet and lightly flatten into 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick cookie shape with a rubber spatula (the shape/size will not change too much while baking).
Bake for 7-9 minutes; cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
To make icing, combine the powdered sugar, shortening/butter, maple syrup, and milk until it forms an icing consistency. Add extra milk if icing is too thick, or extra powdered sugar if icing is too thin. Mix in coconut and pecans (optional). Spread icing on top of baked cookies. Allow icing to harden a little — if you can wait that long. Enjoy!
To Freeze:
Option 1: Make the cookie batter according to the recipe. Form into a log and wrap tightly with parchment paper, then plastic wrap. Place in a freezer bag and freeze. When ready to cook, thaw out batter slightly and slice into cookies. Place on cookie sheet and follow directions above for baking and icing.
Option 2: Form cookie dough balls and flash freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet for about 30 minutes, then transfer to a freezer bag. When ready to cook, remove desired amount and allow to thaw slightly in order to flatten/form into cookie shape. Bake and ice according to recipe instructions.
I do not recommend freezing icing.
Whip up this allergy-safe recipe for your Christmas festivities and enjoy all the season has to offer!
Michelle is blessed to stay home with her three children (ages 10, 7, and 4), while her husband works to provide. When she’s not experimenting with allergy-friendly meals, she’s blogging about it at The Willing Cook. Through the Willing Cook, her hope is that you gain peace of mind in your kitchen (and your pocket book) and are able to serve those you love who suffer with food allergies.
Monica says
These look delicious! You’ve made holiday baking for my family so much better this year! Any ideas what I could sub for the oat flour maybe millet?
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Ah, thank you so much, Monica, for your kind words!
I think millet would work fine. I haven’t used millet in a lot of my cooking, but it is typically a good gf flour. I do have one concern about it’s stronger flavor. The chocolate might mask that though. A couple other options are to increase the brown rice flour or use sweet rice flour. If treenuts allowed, you could use almond flour.
I hope that helps! Please let me know how they turn out with a different flour. Merry Christmas!
Debra says
Thank you, Thank you!!!! With the holidays among us and all of the wonderful recipes going out very few that we can use, this is a diamond, a gift for sure! I really appreciate the friendly wording too, since we have allergies in the household to peanuts, tree nuts (but not coconut) , dairy, egg and oat (I can adjust for the oat easy) I really appreciate this so much! Thank you again and again!
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Ah, Debra, it’s encouragement like your words that keep me going…really! I truly hope that your family enjoys this yummy and safe little cookie. Merry Christmas!
Donna says
Whoa my goodness! German Chocolate is my fave cake ever- and now- cookies! Ewwww!
Can’t wait to try this!
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
That’s great, Donna! I hope you enjoy them!
Amy f;) says
THANK-YOU!!!
Do you recommend any specific cocoa powder?
Michelle @ Willing Cook says
Honestly, I just use the store brand, usually. You’ll want to make sure that is free of any needed allergens, like dairy, gluten, or peanut. They are typically straight cocoa, but you can never be sure. You’ll also want to check shared equipment for processing. I hope that helps!