Well, I baked macarons and ground my own almond flour from almonds, but I'd buy it already ground if I were to do it again. They were lovely and can be dyed different colors or flavored with different extracts, and filled with jam or frosting or nutella, so they are very versatile.

They were not as difficult as I thought, but several did crack.

I also like the simple "cuppa" peanut butter cookies, I often make them, they are very easy. I've also made them tiny and sandwiched them with nutella. Yeah, I like nutella, LOL, but I've also use a mini muffin cup and put a ball of dough into each cup and pressed a mini peanut butter cup into that, make it fancy by using a pastry bag and adding one dollop of chocolate frosting on top.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 Mix ingredients together in a large bowl until well-blended.

Roll peanut butter mixture into Tablespoon size balls. Bake 12 minutes for chewy cookies; Bake 15 minutes for crisp.

Annie

[Big Grin] I think French macarons might be beyond her, but the peanut butter cookies will be perfect. And the cuppa variation sounds like a hit, too. :)

I figure I need five different kinds of cookies for a good gift, and to start a binder with. Depending on the kind of party, maybe I can even make samples to share with the guests. :)

I've made a similar pb cookie and they come out really tasty...provided you use tasty pb...all natural is best. Mine uses vanilla and adds choc chips....

You can make meringue cookies too that are flourless but are real cookies.

Yeah, Annie, I am with you re grinding you own almond flour. Trader JoEs has almond meal for 4or 5 bucks per pound. Why even wash a dish no less a processor or any other equipment? Not fun to me. Grainlady may like
Washing all the equipment she uses. Nah.

Westsider, I agree, I had to wash the processor, the sieve, a spoon, measuring equipment, and that's before I started the cookies. Grind, sieve, measure. Grind some more, sieve, measure. Almonds turn to almond butter but not flour. Ugh, never again.

Pllog, there are also these flourless chocolate chip cookies. The grandkids eat them happily, but they're kids. I don't care much for chocolate chip cookies, so I'm not much of a judge, but they were ok.

Flourless Chocolate-Chip Cookies

◾3/4 cup rolled oats
◾1/4 tsp baking soda
◾1/8 tsp salt
◾2 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar (don’t sub with white!)
◾1 tbsp plus 2 tsp white sugar
◾2 tbsp chocolate chips
◾1 tbsp oil or pre-melted butter
◾1-2 tbsp milk of choice (start with 1)

Blend first 5 ingredients together in a food processor, blender, or Vita-Mix. Mix with other ingredients, form into cookie shapes, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook 6 minutes at 375 F. Makes a small batch, so feel free to double the recipe!

There are coconut macaroons, too, I like to dunk the bottoms into dark chocolate.

No flour Coconut Macaroons

Makes 30

1/2 cup egg white
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups coconut

Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Add the sugar, salt and vanilla with beater/mixer running at medium speed.

Stop mixer and fold coconut into whites by hand.

Drop by the teaspoon-full onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 325 F for 12-15 minutes.

As mentioned, there are also meringues, which can also be tinted or flavored to personal taste.

Annie

There is quite a bit of difference between almond FLOUR (even differences between commercial brands - some are coarse, some more fine, some include the skins, others are blanched and skinless) and almond MEAL (ground almonds at home), and the third choice, almond flour made from the dehydrated pulp leftover from making almond milk (the perfect 2 for 1 product). I use all of them - it just depends on the recipe and results I want.

My preference is to use almonds that I sprout and dehydrate first because they are easier to digest and it's also MUCH cheaper to make my own than to purchase commercial almond flour. But saying that, I always have a bag of Honeyville Grain Almond Flour in the house.

I also avoid white and brown sugar and high-glycemic starches and flours common to many gluten-free cookbooks. If you find recipes that use rice flour you can mill your own, but use short- or medium-grain rice (white or brown - your choice) instead of long-grain rice. Long-grain rice is fine for a thickener or dredging, but not for baking.

If you want to make cookies (or other baked goods) with almond flour, I'd suggest checking out Elana Amsterdam's web site - www.elanaspantry.com. The recipe for Pecan Shortbread Cookies linked below is a favorite recipe. Elana Amsterdam suggests using Honeyville Grain Almond Flour, and for her recipes I agree that's the best choice. Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour just doesn't cut it - it is much coarser and you'll get a grainy finished product, or you will get a lot of crumbling by using coarse almond flour. BTW, I was baking with almond flour long before we went gluten-free because it's low-glycemic. Same with coconut flour, another low-glycemic choice.

Honeyville Almond Flour is one of the finer grinds you can find commercially. When you make your own almond flour using whole almonds, you chance making almond butter by the time you get the fine grind similar to Honeyville Grain Almond Flour. You may need to add sugar to the almonds while grinding.

I get a much finer grind using pulp from almond milk made in the Vitamix compared to pulp from almond milk made in the Ninja blender. When completely dehydrated, I give the pulp a whirr in a small Ninja food chopper to break up the clumps - or run a rolling pin over it. I also get less pulp using a Vitamix. It's not a one-size-fits-all when it comes to texture provided by the different almond flour/meal products.

When it comes to cookies, this one\-bowl recipe is by far the easiest. I often make this recipe when I have one ripe banana and bake them in my solar oven or in the convection/microwave oven on a pizza pan. SUPER\-SIMPLE BANANA COOKIES 2\-3 mashed bananas (2 large bananas or 3 small) 2 c. gluten\-free oatmeal 1 c. chopped dates (can use any dried fruit, or a mixture of dried fruit and mini\-chocolate chips, cacao nibs, finely chopped nuts, etc.) 1/3 c. coconut oil 1 t. vanilla 1/8 t. of salt (can omit) Preheat oven to 350\-degrees F. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper, or use ungreased baking sheets. Mix all ingredients well and drop by teaspoonful (I use a \#50 portion scoop) onto baking sheets. Lightly press the dough until it is about 1/4\-inch thick and form into rounds. Bake 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. You can bake these cookies until soft or lightly crunchy \- your choice \- depending on how long you bake them. I like to use dried blueberries or dried apricots snipped into 1/4\-inch cubes using kitchen scissors. Dried cherries (snipped into smaller pieces) and mini chocolate chips makes a nice combination. Using one banana: 1 mashed banana 1 c. gluten\-free oatmeal 1/3\-1/2 c. dried fruit or mini chocolate chips (or combination) 2 T. coconut oil pinch of salt

PEANUT BUTTER CRUNCH COOKIES

Melt together:
1 stick butter
3/4 c. peanut butter

In a large bowl add butter/peanut butter mixture and the remaining ingredients. Mix with an electric hand-held mixer.

1 t. baking soda
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 c. unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 c. raw or roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 c. almond flour
1/2 c. palm sugar
1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut
1/2 c. cacao nibs (optional)

Cover two baking sheets with parchment. Use a #50 scoop for dough portions (note: make small cookies as this dough spreads). Bake in a 375-degree oven for 12 minutes.

BLUEBERRY COCONUT PECAN BREAKFAST COOKIES These cookies are similar to Super\-Simple Banana Cookies. http://www.kumquatblog.com/2012/03/blueberry-coconut-pecan-breakfast.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIE BARS (which are cookies, not bars) (Source: The Everything Coconut Diet Cookbook) Makes 24 1/2 c. coconut flour 1/2 c. coconut sugar 1/2 c. rolled oats 1/2 c. unsweetened shredded coconut 1/2 c. coconut oil 1 egg 1 t. baking soda Preheat oven to 350\-degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine coconut flour, sugar, oats and shredded coconut. Melt coconut oil; add egg and baking soda. Mix well into dry ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet; bake for about 10\-12 minutes, or until lightly browned at the edges. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack. \[Grainlady Note: I generally double the recipe. Use a \#50 portion scoop and press the cookies down before baking.\] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These are my original recipes I developed for a local sorghum mill..... NUTELLA WHITE SORGHUM FLOUR COOKIES 1/2 c. Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread 1/2 c. butter (softened) 1/4 c. white sugar 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. white sorghum flour 1/2 c. dried potato flakes 1/4 c. flaxmeal 1/2 T. cornstarch 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt Preheat oven to 325\-degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl beat Nutella and butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg just until mixed. In a medium bowl, combine the white sorghum flour, dried potato flakes, flaxmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix by hand, only until ingredients are incorporated. Using a portion scoop, make dough into 1\-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12\-minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven and allow the cookies to rest on the sheets for 2\-minutes, then remove to a wire rack to completely cool. Makes 65, 2\-1/2" cookies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHOCOLATE CHIP/COCONUT SORGHUM FLOUR COOKIES 1/2 c. butter (softened) 1/4 c. white sugar 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1/4 c. sour cream 2/3 c. white sorghum flour 1/3 c. dried potato flakes 1/3 c. flaxmeal 1/3 c. unsweetened coconut 1 t. cornstarch 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips Preheat oven to 325\-degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl beat butter until light and creamy. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg and sour cream just until mixed. In a medium bowl, combine the sorghum flour, dried potato flakes, flaxmeal, coconut, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix only until ingredients are incorporated. Using a small portion scoop, make dough into 1\-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake about 10\-12 minutes. remove cookie sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the sheets 2\-inutes, then remove to a wire rack to completely cool makes 44 two\-inch cookies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHITE SORGHUM PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES 1/2 c. natural peanut butter 1/2 c. butter (softened) 1/4 c. white sugar 1/4 c. brown sugar 1 egg 1/2 c. white sorghum flour 1/2 c. dried potato flakes 1/2 c. flaxmeal 1/2 T. cornstarch 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda 1/2 t. salt Preheat oven to 350\-degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl beat softened butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg just until mixed. In a medium bowl, combine the white sorghum flour, dried potato flakes, flaxmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. By hand, mix into peanut butter mixture, only until ingredients are incorporated. Refrigerate dough for 20\-minutes. Using a portion scoop, make dough into 1\-inch balls. Place on prepared cookie sheets and press with a fork dipped into coarse sugar. Bake 8\-10 minutes in a pre\-heated 350\-degree F. oven. Remove cookie sheets from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the sheet for 1\-2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to completely cool. \-Grainlady This post was edited by grainlady on Tue, May 27, 14 at 8:43

Thanks, Grainlady!

We have a local kosher almond flour that's the finest I've seen, but it still needs to be processed and sieved. I've done my own in the FP, and it's worked, but it's not the easiest thing to do.

From your list, I'm guessing that white sorghum flour is the secret to GF cookies? :)

These three are my go to cookie recipes. The Turtle Brownie Bites are especially tasty with a sprinkling of Maldon flakes and get better with age.

Turtle Brownie Bites:
http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2014/04/pecan-turtle-brownie-bites-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html

Almond Thumbprint Cookies (scroll down):
http://carbwars.blogspot.com/2011/12/cookies-for-christmas.html

Frosted Ricotta Almond Cookies:
http://www.sugarfreelowcarbrecipes.com/?p=2893

Thanks, Ovenbird! Those look downright impressive. :) And a great alternative if they need to go very low sugar, whereas so many GF recipes are just pure sugar.

plllog-

(LOL) There was no "secret" to the sorghum flour cookies. I was developing recipes FOR the sorghum mill using their flour. :-) Those recipes, and a number of others, were served at the mill during a Kansas Grain Tour.

At the same time, I was developing recipes using "heavy bran" for another mill in the area. Heavy bran is steamed (tempered) hard white winter wheat that is run through a roller mill and similar to oatmeal. It's a product that is more commonly used in flaked cereal products.

FYI - Sorghum flour is quite coarse and gritty in texture, and I was restricted to using ingredients commonly found in most homes. No "fancy" starches or gums, so that's why I included dried potato flakes.

One word of caution using sorghum..... Do NOT sprout the grain as the young shoots are poisonous.

-Grainlady

Well, that certainly makes sense. :) Sorghum flour for the sorghum mill. :)

Thanks for the warning. I'm still not ready to sprout. I have to figure an out to the mold issue. Thanks for the warning, though. I'll try to keep that in mind. I keep toying with the idea of buying a "beverage center" to be a cheese cave. Is 50° F. too cool for sprouting?

I came across a bread recipe that sounded great until it insisted that the first rise be at 60°!! Where the heck am I supposed to find 60°!! I have devices that'll warm it up to 85°, but the only time I think my kitchen has been down to 60° was during the remodel, when it went into Winter without any heat.

So, I found this recipe for rolled sugar cookies that one of the commenters said she made with gluten free flour. I can't tell if she meant something like Bob's Red Mill AP GF, a custom mix, or a single flour like the white sorghum. Any suggestions?

plllog, I'm sure the comment on the sugar cookies was meant to mean they used an all-purpose gluten-free flour mix. Bob's AP GF mix should work, or you can create a custom mix. I like the recipe for the AP GF mix from the King Arthur Flour website.

Thanks, Party Music. It's not clear from what she said about it. The only GF flour thing I've baked was Bob's pie mix. It had almost no resemblance to pastry, and I won't do it again, but it was cookie-ish enough to think that GF flour cookies could be quite good. In fact, I bet it's possible to make a good GF cookie crust along the lines of a graham cracker crust. That pie mix stuff was awful.