Gluten Free Chocolate Lace Cookies

these look so niceand chocolaty!! i havent ever gone for the gluten free thing cuz i dont need to! ahah i like my gluten and my body likes it too!

As someone who needs to eat gluten free, I find it interesting that someone would choose to just to try it out because its not always easy or fun. Sure I’ve learned a ton about cooking and nutrition in the process and ultimately have enjoyed having to go gluten free… but I’m not sure I would enjoy it if I didn’t have a medical reason to. But like you said… if it makes someone happier and healthier then go for it!

My mom is gluten free so i just taged along, i think it can be successful because once you take out all the things that have gluten you also take away all perservatives if you wern’t watching that before and that can make you feel a lot better. Also these cookies look amazing I’m always trying to make awesome gluten free stuff and looks like you were successful

Love these! Beautiful pictures!

I’m not gluten free but I am gluten sensitive. I can definitely tell when I’ve had too much. I think that it’s a matter of balance. If a person is happiest and healthiest on gluten free, then it’s appropriate. If they’re happiest and healthiest with gluten, then that’s appropriate. I can handle gluten in low enough quantities, in fact I feel amost as bad without any gluten as I do when I’ve had too much. I think it is, or at least should be, about figuring out what you’re body needs to function best more than what trends say it should be.

Love these! They look awesome!

The gluten thing I think is happening because of necessity. I’ve heard white processed flours and such are becoming so genetically modified, gluten content has increased dramatically and our bodies can’t handle it! Hence all the celiacs out there…. It’s sad, but I think going low gluten to gluten free is a wise choice. And it becomes an aboslute breeze when you got delicious treats like yours to eat! 🙂 Thanks for helping to make a healthy lifestyle easy!

I think being GF can be great if it makes a person feel better, yet doing it just because it is a trend or thinking it will solve weight problems seems silly. I am good with gluten 🙂 but I occasionally have GF stuff too since my mom is gluten sensitive and gets a not-so-fun skin reaction with too much of it. These cookies look great for the holidays too, like chocolate snowflakes 🙂

I have a friend who is gluten intolerant, and allergic to dairy. I might want to try this recipe on her (I would want to try it too, of course!).

Celiac’s have an autoimmune disease and ANY gluten will make them sick. Because of factory farming in this country our wheat is 80-90% gluten. In Itlay it’s only 10% gluten. We are quickly ruining our food in this country by way of growing/harvesting/storing. Sadly, it is making many people, who are not Celiac’s, gluten intolerant or gluten sensitive. It is real. When we continually feed our bodies foods that are damaging the results eventually show up in our health. Whether that be too much sugar, too much fat or too much gluten. When you realize what you eat is making you sick, you have to make a change for you health. Many of us can go decades without noticing a gluten intolerance… just as we can consume tons of sugar before we realize we’ve developed diabetes. The problem is that our food supply is contaminated… eventually a great number of people will realize gluten doesn’t make them feel well. The problem isn’t gluten, it’s too much gluten and our bodies eventually reveal the symptom’s of a too-much diet.

For me it has never been a trend but rather health reasons. Gluten-intolerance runs in my family, even back 2 or 3 generations so that is why I gave it up. Personally I did feel better and I can say for sure it was not placebo effect since I had physical symptoms that cleared up gradually after changing what I ate.
I eat a million times better than I did before so while I don’t think that people should just go gluten-free for fun or whatever, I think it is good to get out of the wheat rut and experiment with other foods, flours, and grains.

For some, going GF isn’t a choice (as you mentioned). My sister-in-law and niece both have Celiac, and both of my kids have Autism, so we’re pretty familiar with GF around here. But I also believe that if someone wants to go GF and see if s/he feels better, where’s the harm? As long as it’s not part of any disordered eating, I don’t see a problem.
I hate seeing food as a polarizing issue. IMHO, as long as a person isn’t doing any harm, their eating habits are their own business. Who am I to judge?

These look so deliciously chewy!

I was almost totally g-f for a couple of years as my boyfriend had to be for medical reasons (he’s ok now). Wheat is definitely hard for me to digest if I have it in large quantities so moderation is important. But a few slices of pizza or a sandwich is totally fine for me!

I would say don’t go gluten-free unless you’ve thoroughly researched it – it’s not easy!

I can’t tolerate gluten, so I appreciate this cookie recipe! My first year gluten-free (I’m also allergic to dairy) was a real challenge, but now it’s pretty common to find natural products that I can enjoy. Thanks for the chocolate suggestion!

We went GFCF for our son, who would not have been able to be gluten-free if there was still gluten in the house. Not only did it make a difference for him (to be able to eat breakfast for the first time in years without having to lay on the couch doubled up in pain afterward), but hubby and I both found that if we ate gluten away from home, we had problems. Not the “typical” diarrhea, but neurological symptoms, horrible back pain for hubby (actually a symptom of inflamed colon), etc. The funny thing is, DS is adopted, so he doesn’t get his gluten intolerance from either one of us! I started looking at the longer lists of celiac symptoms. Not just diarrhea and weight loss, but some of those other things I had been dealing with for years – low iron, chronic nosebleeds, unexplained infertility, migraines, seasonal depression, constipation, and on and on. Wow.

A couple of years of being GF, and my dad decided that he needed to try it. He did have the weight loss, he was skin and bones. He had the migraines worst of all. He had a lot of other issues as well. He had been trying to sort out food sensitivities for years, and had never thought that wheat was a problem. The first month that he went GF, he gained 10 lbs. Looking back over his lifetime, he could see a lot of those issues that I saw in myself – the chronic nosebleeds, low energy, migraines, environmental and food sensitivities, and as a baby failure to thrive and as a little’un, “dysentery” that almost killed him. Lots of low-immunity issues as well.

Looking over our family history, he realized that his mother had it as well, and his grandmother (who had, in fact, said that she was “allergic to bread”.) Probably my brother has it as well, but he refuses to be tested. On my mother’s side, one first cousin has been diagnosed, and her brothers probably both have it as well.

Thank you for posting all of the great recipes that you do. I made the peanut butter and chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cookies for Canadian Thanksgiving, and they went over really well. These lace cookies are out for me, as I am allergic to the base ingredients, but I am always watching for the new things that come out of your kitchen!

[I am vegetarian, dairy free, grain-free (yes, all grains, not just gluten), with allergies to some nuts, dates, raw pineapple, and more! Also no alcohol, coffee, tea, or caffeine . . .

I’d never complain about my coeliac diease because it’s helped me find so many other things to eat which are nice for themselves and naturally GF, like these which sound great 🙂
But having said that, there are a lot of times when it’s awkward and I do miss proper bread sometimes… like you say though, if cutting out gluten/dairy/whatever, makes someone feel better for any reason, it’s got to be a good thing!

Great looking gluten-free cookies! I love it when experiments work out.

Just made the flourless chocolate chip cookies. they are delish. i think i will try them again omitting the white sugar, chocolate chips and adding coconut. OMG they are so yum. i have my 5 year old frantically cleaning his room so he can hurry up and get one 🙂 thanks!

I agree with you that it isn’t our place to judge. Each person needs to decide what makes them feel their best. I have been grain free for about 6 months, and I feel really good. I was falling asleep on my way home from work (while driving- never a good thing), and I just had no energy. In reading different blogs, I came across one that talks about no grains. Being a carb-addict, I wanted to see if it would make a difference (I have no medical reason to do this). My stomach bloat is gone, I sleep better, I have more energy, and recovering from long runs is much quicker. I’m not 100% committed- I bake too much for that to ever happen. However, I plan my week, and cheat, so that I don’t feel deprived.
Bottom line though, I would never push this on anyone, or think this is the best way to eat…again, each person must make that decision for themselves.

I don’t have Celiac, but there’s also another group of people like me who have to be gluten-free. I am gluten-intolerant. While it may not be doing horrific damage to the villi in my intestines, it still wrecks havoc on my system. “Intestinal distress” is how I’ll nicely put it, lol. The problem is that so many people are gluten-intolerant and don’t even know it. They think feeling bloated occasionally, having random bouts of constipation or diarrhea is normal. I even have a friend who gets headaches from gluten. It affects people in different ways, so it continues to be a hot topic. Among those who feel the effects and those who think we’re making it up.

Those cookies look awesome! While chewy/crispy isn’t my favorite, neither is soft/non-chewy. Soft/chewy all the way! 🙂

1. I’m gluten-free. If I eat gluten, my sinuses fill up with gunk and that starts me on a path off mouth breathing, no sense of smell, and sinus infections. My brain and guts feel fine on gluten, and those are areas where most people feel different.

2. I made your Choc-Pumpkin cookies gluten-free a few days ago! I had trouble getting the dough to stick together to make a ball around the pumpkin filling (my flour is rice based). They were cracking and falling apart, but tasted GREAT in the end. Two thumbs up!

LOve it!! My younger sis (who gluten free) is going to love this recipe 🙂

I made this today and it was delicious! We all enjoyed it! And I posted it to my blog. Thank you!!! http://www.mummies-yummies.com/2011/10/chocolate-chip-cookie-dip.html

I am very sensitive to gluten and white sugar so I have to really be careful about what I eat. But I don’t mind at all because I feel so much better on a whole food based diet and don’t have a desire to eat those things anymore. It isn’t a bad thing or limiting to me either because of all your wonderful recipes! 🙂
I’m not sure about someone choosing to go GF for weight loss or to just “experiment”. Everyone is different. its a personal preference and about what works for you. But if it comes down to restricting yourself from things you really enjoy or causes a disruption in everyday life then maybe it should reconsidered.

Gluten isn’t an issue with me, but I really enjoy gluten-free bread because it’s dense yet fluffy.
I know some of my friends are just going GF because they think it’s less calories. I wish people would become educated about this stuff

I don’t have a problem, but i have tried a few GF recipes; it’s a different taste to my family, unlike even whole wheat, so at best it’s generally an acquired taste. Recently I’ve started eating more rice, but wheat pasta is still my favorite. I also don’t mind konnyaku/yam noodle, if only b/c it tastes like whatever your put it it. To me it’s no different than vegetarianism or veganism; i currently feel no reason to change my habits so drastically, although cutting back on dairy, eggs, and some meat is probably doing some good (although i can’t rely on soy or other legumes; my body has an even harder time handling those, lol). i already get an excess of soy in the form of miso and various asian sauces i use/make. Thanks for the recipe. if i wasn’t so caught up with apples, i’d probably give it a try.

I have actually wanted to try gluten-free bread, but I never know which one to pick!

Such pretty pics! Reminds me of Christmas time!

Hey Katie I’ve noticed in your recent recipes you’ve been using dates. Any particular reason why and have you ever cooked with date sugar?

I’m not gluten intolerant, but I do like making gluten-free recipes. Not just because all my GF friends go crazy over them, but because I like to get as wide a variety of grains (well, everything, really) in my diet as possible and it’s so so easy to just have wheat in everything. ;p

PS- I am not gluten-free or vegan, but we eat with mostly whole foods, so our diet is pretty similar to both!

We try to be GF (and casein free) for our son, who is on the autism spectrum. It really does help his symptoms and his behavior.

The cookies look nice, but one thing stands out: chocolate chips are not necessarily GF – you have to read the labels REALLY well to make sure that there is no gluten of any kind in them. My nephew (who doesn’t have celiac, but IS allergic to gluten) has to have specific kinds because most store brands have either milk (which he is ALSO allergic to), or some form of gluten in them. It sucks. I feel so bad for him. Fortunately, he can have chocolate! He’s not allergic to that 🙂

Katie,
These look amazing! They must be sturdy to be stacked like that!
I feel so much better eating gluten free and more recently grain free.
By the way, these qualify for that! 🙂

Mmm they look so good!
I don’t really have much of an opinion on the gluten-free diet, I personally feel that you should avoid cutting out whole food groups. Instead of cutting out something like gluten I feel that sticking to whole grains makes me feel much better 🙂
I don’t think gluten is the key to most people’s digestive problems, I think it’s much more to do with the sugar content in most glutenous foods!

These were awesome. You are a genius. I used almond flour instead of processing the almonds because I didn’t have enough raw almonds and used 3 medjool dates. YUM!!! Ate the entire batch for dinner.

Hi Katie,
First of all I recently discovered your blog and I love it.
I just made those cookies and the are amazing. Thank you for this recipe. I am gluten sensitive so I am cutting it off from my diet as much as possible so these is definitely a great sweet treat for me.
PS. Do you have any recipe for a gluten free Bday cake? My Bday is coming up and I want to make something on my own that will not kill my stomach after the next day?

I just love these cookies! And, by the way, the dough is delicious raw too, sooo…I can’t tell you how many they make either ☺

Read ‘Wheat Belly’ by William Davis, MD. The wheat grown nowadays has been so modified to increase yield and resistance to disease that it’s molecular structure actually makes it addictive. it’s why we’ve got such high percentages of diabetic, obese, insulin resistant population. Quite dangerous, actually, as these conditions lead to other serious health issues and shorten lifespan. Many who cut out wheat have clearer thinking, more energy, lots less gas and bloating, and more.

The gluten free diet has defininetly helped me. It wasn’t that I would get stomach pain after eating wheat, I would get after eating the meal after, sort of like the wheat ruined my stomach and then my stomach freaked out and thought it was my salad or whatever. I got tested and I do have an inflammatory reaction. I think everyone would be better off not eating wheat! Did you know that eating a slice of whole wheat toast raises your blood sugar more than a tablespoon of sugar? There’s a load of reasons to not eat wheat, including the fact that heirloom wheat has less than half the chromosomes of traditional gm wheat. There is also some sort of reason why wheat makes you age faster. If you’re really interested you should read the book wheat belly, it’s really dense though so I don’t understand everything lol

Hey! I just wanted to let you know, that my friend made these for me and hers weren’t crispy or chewy. They were nice and soft and delicious. She made hers a bit thicker than yours in the picture, so that might have been the secret to getting them more like you like them. These are one of the best cookies I have had in a LONG time! Thank you SOOO much!!!

These cookies are so delicious!!! We are addicted to them.Can you tell me how many calories they have per cookie?
Tks, Patricia

Does anyone know what the equivalent of 1 cup of whole almonds are after pulverization? I have almond flour on hand and would like to use it. Thanks!

My mom went gluten free about a year ago, just because of the fact that wheat that we have now isn’t the same wheat in history. It’s a GMO version. Since coming off of it her arthritis has disappeared. She’s 70 and has more energy than people half her age.