When someone is initially diagnosed with a gluten problem, the first thing that rushes to their head is, “Oh my goodness! What am I going to eat?” The next thing is, “Oh no! I’m never going to have (fill in the blank) ever again!” For me it would be McVitie’s Digestives. From what people have told me, something that a lot of people really miss is their favorite Girl Scout cookie. David’s favorite is Thin Mints and he would be devastated if he had to give them up. He keeps a secret stash hidden in the back of the freezer because, not only are they amazing frozen, it keeps our boys from finding them (at least for now). While David doesn’t have a gluten problem, he loves trying all of my gluten-free concoctions. He gave these a big thumbs up, even saying that he would take mine over the originals any day (don’t tell the Girl Scouts). Because anything minty has a definite Christmas feel, I thought I would kick off the month of December with a quick cookie recipe. With some red, white and green sprinkles, these become super festive. They’re the perfect accompaniment for an afternoon cup of tea (just watch out for little hands… they tend to steal cookies).

Gluten-Free Minty Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from an old Martha Stewart recipe

Ingredients:
Chocolate Wafer:

• 1 cup gluten-free multi-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate coating:

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract
• Pinch of salt

Sprinkles for decorating

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together gluten-free flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and butter. When fully incorporated, mix in the egg and then vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated. It will seem as though you need more wet ingredients and then it will suddenly come together.
5. Form dough into teaspoon sized balls (you should get about 48) and place on parchment lined baking sheets.
6. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the balls into ¼” thick discs. Dipping the glass into water will help keep it from sticking to the dough.
7. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool until they can be easily handled.
9. While cookies are cooling, melt the chocolate chips, peppermint extract and salt in a double boiler over medium heat.
10. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or if you’re lazy like me, just reuse the ones that you the cookies on).
11. Using a fork, dip each cookie into the chocolate mixture and then place on parchment paper and decorate with sprinkles if desired (I like them best without, but my boys are big time sprinkles fans).
12. After all of the cookies have been dipped, refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour to allow chocolate to set.

Just like Thin Mints, these cookies are really good frozen.