Koko's Kitchen: Gluten Free Testing: Lemon & Lemon Raspberry Cookies

Most of the time I love testing recipes. The only downside to them is when they don't work out. It's a great learning experience, but it's tough because it can end up hurting your wallet when you have to test a recipe multiple times. But it's a necessary part of working in the food business or even being a home cook or baker. And I am thankful to work with and around people that are interested in health, even if they are not particularly interested in or fond of gluten free, because they are much more willing to sample the goodies I make, even when it may not be the best test I've done.

I know this is a strange recipe for this time of the year. After all it is in the middle of winter, but I feel tired of everything being spiced and pumpkin-y. I'm in the mood for some spring tasting goodies. Maybe if I eat enough spring flavored goodies, spring will hurry up and get here!! So I did some testing the other day with gf cookies. I was in the mood for lemony goodness. I absolutely love lemon in baked goods: lemon blueberry cake, lemon creme, lemon pie, lemon cookies, lemon bars, the list goes on and on! So I have a base recipe I have been playing around with for gf cookies that is good, although a little sweet. I have tried changing around the sweetener, but the cookie changes texture drastically, so that means I have to play around with other elements in the cookie, which I have been a little too lazy to do. ;) For this test, I changed the sweetener from organic can to maple syrup, and it wasn't as sweet, but a little puffy, so perhaps a little more adjusting next time, but it certainly hit the spot.

So once I made the lemon cookie which was super tasty, I wanted to add some raspberries to the mix as well. Frozen, obviously. But I was concerned that adding frozen fruit to the batter would result in a mushy or too wet cookie, so I tried a couple different ways to add the raspberries. And each test was a fun experiment in seeing what would happen in different scenarios. You can check out the pictures below. And see the recipe I am currently working on too.

Raspberry Lemon Cookies Test:

I Think these should be called
"Lemon Raspberry Swirl Cookies"

Yields 10-12 Cookies

1 1/4 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon canola oil

2 tablespoons flax eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract

zest of 1 lemon

1/3 cup frozen raspberries
organic cane sugar as garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and set aside until ready to use.

2. In a small mixing bowl add all of the dry ingredients: the sorghum flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and xanthan gum. Whisk together until well combined.

3. In a separate small mixing bowl add all the wet ingredients: the maple syrup, canola oil, flax eggs, vanilla extract, lemon extract and lemon zest. Whisk together well.

4. Carefully pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix together with a spatula until a thick cookie batter forms. Add the berries and very carefully mix into the batter.
5. Use a small portion scoop and scoop out the cookie dough onto the prepared baking tray.
6. Sprinkle each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon organic sugar.
7. Using a slightly moistened palm, flatten each cookie slightly.

8. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly golden around the edges, but still soft in the center.

9. Allow to cool completely before sampling.