Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am not gluten intolerant...(that I know of)...let's just start out by saying that, but it seems like more and more people out there are these days!  I feel that gluten in general is probably a bad thing for most people, and for that reason, I try to keep it out of our diets whenever I can.  Baking GF is really tricky...I had no idea what gluten actually did for recipes...um, pretty much everything!  I found a recipe for some GF cookies that I had tried once before, but they just didn't hold together, and were kind of crumbly...(great because when you just eat the crumbs of cookies, you have no idea how many you're really eating!)  But for the sake of self-control, and if we're being honest, wanting to tackle this successfully, I came up with a recipe that not only holds together, but tastes amazing too!  There are a few more steps than "normal" cookies, but it's been my experience that if you want things done healthy, it's typically not the easy route that gets you there!  Give these a try..they're amazing!  Oh, and one more thing, I got rid of most of the oil, so they're a lot lower in fat than your typical cookie!

Preheat oven to 375



In a bowl cream together:

1 medium to large banana (weird I know!  Replacing some of the oil with this!)
1/6 c. coconut oil (or vegan butter)
3/4 c. coconut palm sugar (very low glycemic)
1/2 c. Ideal Xylitol Sugar (if you can't find this, you can use more palm sugar.  I like to use it because it brings the sugar content really far down, and it's good for your teeth)

Once there are no chunks in the mixture, and the sugar has dissolved, add:

1/3 c. warm water
1 T. vanilla
2 t. ener-g egg replacer
1 t. xanthan gum
1/4 c. tapioca starch
1 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. coconut flour
1 c. amaranth flour (I made both of my flours, so that's what I had on hand, feel free to try using your favorite GF flours, but I can't guarantee you'll get the same results!)
1 c. chocolate chips (I like the Enjoy Life mini chips best! However, their chocolate chunks are awesome too!)

Mix until everything is incorporated, and let set for about 5 minutes before scooping.

Scoop onto greased baking sheet using a tablespoon, and slightly flatten.

Bake for 8-10 minutes (mine were done in 8)...let cool before you take them off the pan...they don't hold together until they've cooled for a little bit (about 10 mins).

Done...amazing...and they look appealing too!  These are a hearty, lower fat cooking, packed with grains and low glycemic sweeteners!  Can't go wrong!