what happened to my cookies??

[gonnatry]

I bought some chocolate chips and followed the recipe on the back substituting my gluten free flour mixture for regular flour. I cut it in half because it would make to many. The dough came out very good but when I put them in to bake them the turned almost liquid and ran instead of rising. What did I do wrong?

[cruelshoes]

Is there any Xanthan gunm in your flour mix?
_________________
-Colleen
Dx 8/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
10-YO son Dx 11/05 via bloodwork/biopsy
Daughters (12 and 2) have neg. bloodwork

A woman is like a tea bag-you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. - Eleanor Roosevelt

[gonnatry]

guar gum Is that a problem?

[mrsppmrxky]

Possibly you didn't chill the dough enough after working the butter in the recipe?

Could your baking powder that you used be out of date?
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[gonnatry]

I will check the baking powder. My wife said I need to just give it all up and eat fruits. lol I told her ok if she eats only the things I can eat then I will be ok with it. That was the end of the conversation lol

[jim]

I haven't tried with the flour cookies yet(haven't found potato starch flour yet) so I have no advice there. However, My two year old and I made a simple peanut butter cookie with a chocolate kiss on top that was pretty good considering I haven't had a cookie in three months .

1 cup gf peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup of sugar

mix together in medium bowl until completely blended

preheat oven to 350 f

roll in small balls(1 tbl spoon) and put on a ungreased cookie sheet(makes 48 cookies-it says)

press a gf chocolate kiss or stars into the center of each cookie

bake 10-12 minutes

let cool on cookie sheet 3 minutes and move to wire rack
to cool. ( I skipped this and worked fine)


receipe from Wheat free, Gluten free cookbook for kids and busy adults by Connie Sarros


My wife and two year old liked them a lot. I noticed a lack of something(flour-maybe?), but enjoyed them anyhow



Jim
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[The Edifying Conscience]

Gonnatry,
I like to think of myself as a bit of a GF cookie expert--maybe I should right a book with gorgeous pictures.

The problem you are describing is not related to xantham gum, guar gum, or baking soda. The dough spread so drastically simply because it needs or needed more GF flour. Once the dough has the right amount of flour it won't spread. I've found when converting a gluten cookie recipe to GF I often need to increase the dough by at least half. If the original recipe called for 1 cup AP flour I would add 1 cup plus 1/2 cup. If you still have the dough I would suggest adding more flour to it.

TEC's 3 Steps to Great Cookies!
There are three things that I do for each batch of cookies I make even if I've made the recipe 15 times. Rainy humid days or dry days will wreak havoc on GF baked goods and impact the outcome of your cookies.

First, after I mix the dough I briefly chill it for 10-15 minutes.

Second, after the first chill I ALWAYS bake a test batch of 3-4 cookies. I put 3-4 raw cookies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. I place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes and then I put it directly into the preheated oven. If the cookies spread too much I add more flour. I will normally add about 1/4 cup additional flour or so. After adding more flour, I chill the dough again and do another test batch. If the next test batch spreads too much I add more flour and repeat the process. This does take more time, but I know the cookies will be how I want them in the end.

Third, after I've got the correct amount of flour in the dough I either wrap the dough to freeze, refrigerate it overnight or so or I bake them. I prepare the cookies for baking (roll into balls, cut them out, etc.) and place them on a parchment paper* lined baking sheet. They go back into the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes and then straight to the oven. In the past, when I've skipped the second chill I’ve had problems with spreading, etc.

*Gluten-free cookies do MUCH better when baked on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

I think making gluten-free cookies is much easier than making gluten-free bread or cakes. You just need to get the hang of it. Don't give up on great cookies just yet!
TEC

[gonnatry]

Ok I will try that. I used some of Pamela's Mix and made a very good batch of cookies following her recipe. I tried this one on my on and it kind of went south. I will try again. Oh and by the way, what is the difference between potato flour and potato starch flour and would it make a difference in the cookies?
David

[jim]

Tec has informed me in the past that there is a big difference in the two flours and not to interchange them. I believe the potato starch flour is a lot finer grained then the potato flour, but tec could give you better information on this .

take care,

Jim
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[dkad]

[aklap]

[The Edifying Conscience]

Donna,
I'm wondering if the recipes we've converted may or may not have needed additional flour due to location or the different mix or blend of flours we use. Generally, I use the R.Reilly mix which is composed of 2 cups brown rice flour, 2/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. I store it in the refriegerator and never let it come to room temperature. I also tend to like a crunchy rather than chewy cookies.

David,
I didn't read the link that Al posted...but as Jim said potato starch flour/potato starch and potato flour are 2 totally different things. Potato starch is the white residue that is left in a pot after boiling potatoes. Potato flour is ground dried potatoes--I think.

Jim,
Have you tried any of the cookie recipes I sent?

TEC

[dkad]

TEC, I am sure the flour mixure and region has something to do with it. I do personally like my cookie soft and chewy. I tried a new recipe recently and was disappointed because it was so crunchy and lacy texture that it wouldn't even break without crumbs all over the place. It made a wonderful pie crust for my coconut pie. Although I have baked only in Puerto Rico, California, Neb., Kansas, Texas, Okla, La. The one place I had to make changes was Colorado. I have only baked GF in Kan and Tex.
You had some very good suggestion for all of us, thanks
_________________
Donna
When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you please get that for me?"
4-21 and still living

[gonnatry]

I never knew cookies would get so many replies lol. I can't wait until I try one of the bread recipes I have lol
Here is the recipe I followed
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg well beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
6oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot water
1 cup flour (i substituted my gluten free flour)
cream butter and sugars add egg and beat well. Add flour to cream mixture. Add hot water and vanilla and mix until bleanded. Add chocolate chips.Drop one teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10 minutes.
There it is.
David

[The Edifying Conscience]

David,
I always use the recipe on the back of the package of Toll House morsels. I increase the flour as I mentined above and add a 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum. I normally only make a 1/2 batch though.

The recipe you posted calls for a lot of wet or could be wet ingredients. I would substantially increase the flour to 1 1/2 cups and then start test baking.

Donna,
I'm in IL. The difference in the amount of flour we use probably comes from liking cookies of different textures.

TEC