Cheer Kicks and Chocolate Chips

Gluten free, Dairy free Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies! 

This is not a cooking blog. Trust me.  That would be the meanest prank on sweet, innocent, trusting people who need a decent recipe.  
I cook. But I am not a cook. I try new recipes. But I follow them verbatim because I just need to feed people, rather than impress them with my skills.  

However, I have always loved whipping up a batch of cookies and I have been known to make a pretty darn good one!  Baking is more my style.  I actually take a lot of pride in how a batch of cookies turns out.  I have a handful of friends who very predictably walk in and immediately ask if I've baked cookies that day. THAT my friends, does this girl's heart some good.  

Until last November. When I was diagnosed w/ Celiac Disease. Which happens to be Latin for "you can never just whip up another anything ever again".  Everything is more complicated.  

I've experimented with numerous gluten free cookie recipes for my family to enjoy.  I can always count on my sweet Ben to yell, "These are better than gluten Mom!"  That kid is the "pleaser" in the family though and I know he's actually dying inside.  The rest of my family is just quiet.  Jerks.

Things got really fun a couple of weeks ago when I had to eliminate dairy from my diet as well.  Don't ask.   I don't want to talk about it.  

What I DO want to share is that I came up with a DELICIOUS Chocolate Chip Cookie that is gluten free, dairy free and includes a little ingredient I like to call... Vanilla Pudding.  Trust me.  These cookies are "Better than gluten!" 

They are so good that yes, I did a few cheer kicks in my kitchen.  I may have swung a dish towel around my head like a helicopter too.  Old habits die hard. 

It's your call whether you tell people that they are gluten free before they taste them.  If you do wait, then you could jump up and down and point your finger at them yelling, "Gotcha fools!  They're gluten free!" ...I mean, if that's your thing.

Your happy dance is also completely up to you.  Do give yourself some room though... just in case you have the impulse to throw your leg up over your head and then point your fingers to the sky.  Anyway... 

A few tips before you start:  
1. The gluten free all purpose flour mixture is up to you.  I preferred the batch I made with the flour mixture recipe by Gluten-Free-Girl but my family preferred the batch made with Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Flour.  (Which is a heck of a lot easier if you're new to baking gluten-free.)  Whatever you do, use one that doesn't already contain xanthum gum OR omit the xanthum gum in this recipe.  
2. Use parchment paper on top of your baking sheet.  
3. The consistency of the dough is weird.  It looks gross like play dough.  
4.  Do not attempt a double batch in your Kitchen-Aid mixer.  It won't be able to handle the consistency and stiffness.  You could burn out your motor and/or not get it all mixed well enough.  
5. Here's the bummer.  And it's a huge bummer for me.  The dough tastes awful.  It really does.  Don't bother.  But the cookies are WORTH IT!  

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups of all-purpose gluten free flour.
1 tsp. xanthum gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1tsp. salt

3/4 cup canola oil  (If you don't need it to be dairy free use 1 cup of butter for heaven's sake!!)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1-5.1oz. Instant Vanilla Pudding (Or whatever flavor you want!  Butterscotch is great too!)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Chocolate chips (I use dairy free)

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Line your baking sheets w/ parchment paper.
-Mix the flour, xanthum gum, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl.
-"Cream" the canola oil and sugars together in your standing mixer.
-Add the box of pudding and mix well.
-Add the eggs and vanilla.
-Mix well and remember not to expect it to look like regular cookie batter.
-Scoop out spoonfuls onto the lined baking sheet.  I add chocolate chips to each individual cookie because I like to control how much chocolate is in each cookie.  (Add this to the list of reasons I should be on medication.)
-Bake for about 10 minutes depending on your oven.  Check them @ 8 minutes.
-I let them sit for a bit on the baking sheet before I remove them.

Please tell me if you try this recipe and what the honest response is.  I have a lot of very loving people in my life who may just like to see me dance in the kitchen.