Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: gluten-free white chocolate cream cheese cookies

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Gluten-free White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies from author @DarylWoodGerber + #giveaway

Hey, I'm offering a giveaway below, for no reason whatsoever other than

it's October and we're getting near Halloween.

From Daryl aka Avery:

Remember back when we were simply talking about posting on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter?

Nowadays, you have to ask all sorts of other questions. Do you Snapchat? Tumblr? Pinterest?

I do like to Pinterest (is it a verb)? It's so visual. I can get lost searching the huge boards of others. I have lots of boards on my Pinterest page, about my books, food, animals, favorite places, etc. If you haven't visited, go take a look. There's a link at the end of this post.

Anyway, while I was posting pictures for something new that I'm working on, I saw a picture of cookies that I absolutely had to have. Had to! Yum! There was a link with the picture, so I went to the blog site and discovered AVERIECOOKS.COM.

Wow, wow, wow. This woman can bake, and she takes fabulous photographs. I learned so much.

Of course, I needed to make these cookies gluten-free. Immediately! I didn't find any of those kinds of foods on AverieCooks. So maybe she'll come take a look at mine and consider serving them to her gluten-free friends???

I served them at a dinner party recently (people who can eat regular cookies) and they were a huge hit.

Note, they are really BIG cookies, so they can serve as the entire dessert! Maybe offer a glass of milk?

Gluten-free White Chocolate Cream Cheese Cookies

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 ounces (1/4 cup) cream cheese, softened (*Use only the cream cheese in a block; less water)

34 cup light brown sugar, packed

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

1 cup sweet rice flour

1 cup tapioca starch

1 tablespoon whey powder (for moisture)

1 3.5-ounce packet instant vanilla pudding mix (I used Jell-O, which uses cornstarch)

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

pinch of salt

10 ounces white chocolate chips

(*Note: bags are usually 11 ounces – reserve the last ounce for topping; you’ll see in directions below)

(*Note: if you wish to make these using regular flour – check out Averie’s recipe or… substitute regular flour for gluten-free flour and omit the xanthan gum. PSS: I would still include the whey flour. It really makes a difference for moisture. But they can be made without it. And of course, vanilla extract can be regular at this point.)

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, combine the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, granulated sugar and egg and gluten-free vanilla extract, for about 1-2 minutes.

Add the sweet rice flour, tapioca starch, whey powder, vanilla pudding mix, baking soda, salt. Mix on medium for 1 minutes.

Add the white chocolate chips and mix for 30 seconds.

Using a large cookie scoop (which I did not have) or a 1/4-cup measure cup, form 13 to 14 equal-sized mounds of dough, roll into balls, and flatten slightly. {My mixture made 13}

Note: Remember those extra white chocolate chips I mentioned? Deliberately place three to four chips on top of each mound of dough.

Place cookies on a large plate or tray, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, up to 5 days. (I just did 3 hours.) Note from Averie: Do not bake with warm dough because the cookies will bake thinner.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place cookies on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I baked 6-7 cookies per sheet) and bake for about 11 minutes, or until edges have set, cookies are a golden brown; don't overbake. These cookies will firm up as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes.

Note: these cookies will keep at room temperature for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I like to wrap each one individually in a tight saran-style wrap so they stay moist.

GIVEAWAY

I'm giving away a copy of STIRRING THE PLOT, the halloween-themed
Cookbook Nook Mystery (#3). To enter, leave a comment about what you plan
to do for Halloween or whether you serve any
fun treats on Halloween.
Leave your email, too, just in case you win
so I can contact you! Boo!