Allow me to offer some greetings to all of you! I am Ashley, and I'm not diagnosed with Celiacs, but I don't have the insurance to go to the doctor and get the tests done. What I do know is the symptoms are right and I've been feeling better since I cut gluten out of my diet, so I'm sticking to it!

I tried the Land o' Lakes GF Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe tonight, and these some of the discoveries I made:

  • It's amazing what lacking gluten does for the overall consistency and durability of the cookie. I cooked them for the specified amount of time and at the specified temperature, but I ended up with brown outsides (partially because I insist on greasing the pan) and gooey centers that don't stick to the rest of the cookie.
  • The aftertaste of the GF all-purpose flour takes some getting used to. The dough is just not good for snacking on at all, which I suppose is a good thing considering the raw egg. The cooked aftertaste is mild, and I'm assuming after a while I won't even notice. The aftertaste reminds me most of soy, so I think next time I might look for a recipe that doesn't call for all-purpose, but uses a combo of flours.
  • Not all ovens are created equal, especially mine. I think the temp is a bit high. For the last sheet of cookies I turned it down and cooked them a little longer. They're crispy, but cooked evenly. I'm thinking 375º by my oven is too much.

    --

    Stuff to try differently next time:
  • Use butter instead of shortening. I hadn't baked with shortening in a while and I was curious what it would do for the texture. Next time I'll try real butter.
  • As mentioned above, turn the temp down and cook them longer; I think my over thermometer is off.
  • find a silicone cover; I think that'll really help me to stop greasing the pan; I hate scraping the cookies off.


    If anyone has any suggestions, I'm totally open to them. If you'd had similar problems and were able to solve them easily, share with the class!