Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

I almost always have cocoa powder in my pantry. It's a sad day when I run out and don't have an extra can ready to be opened. I used to always have baking chocolate too, but after our pantry moth infestation and subsequent pantry purge, I quit having extra bars lying around. The other day I was in desperate need of some chocolate, but the girls wanted chocolate chip cookies. I thought of making a mug cake, but I really wanted brownies. That's where these came in. I didn't have any chocolate bars, but I certainly had cocoa powder. And honestly, I think these are way better and much more chocolatey than the normal brownies I make. I think my go to brownie recipe has changed. Now I'll just have to wait until Uncle Eck comes back. He's the ultimate brownie taster, but he's in Mongolia until next summer.


The girls protested me making these because they ONLY wanted cookies, however after they tasted them, they were in heaven. All three girls love dark chocolate the best and of course they always want to eat all the cookie dough when we make chocolate chip cookies. These were the perfect meld of the two.


Cocoa Powder Brownies

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4c butter
1/4c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp espresso powder (optional)
3 large eggs
3/4c gluten free flour blend
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1c chocolate chips (optional, but awesome)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9" square pan or a 9x13" pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang to easily remove brownies from pan. Grease parchment paper or foil.

Melt butter and add sugar, salt and applesauce. Mix until sugar is mostly dissolved. Stir in cocoa and add eggs one at a time until mixture becomes glossy. Stir in flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Once incorporated, stir in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 32-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Let cool 15 minutes before cutting or cool completely before topping with cookie dough. I then keep them in the freezer.

Cookie Dough Topping

1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon
1c gluten free flour blend
1/8-1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips (mini ones work best, but aren't necessary. Mini M&Ms would be fun too)

Cream butter and sugars. Mix in vanilla and salt. Blend in flour and slowly add milk until a spreadable consistency is reached. Stir in chocolate chips. Chill for a few minutes before spreading on top of completely cooled brownies. Chill before cutting. Once again, they're best kept in the freezer.

*This eggless cookie dough also works well for homemade chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and for just eating with a spoon. I think it tastes best chilled or slightly frozen, but it's good all the time.

Shhh... Secret Recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes

Shh, don't tell, but there are my specialty. They are by far my winning chocolate cupcakes. No, they haven't won any actual awards, but they're always asked for at family gatherings and everyone is always surprised when I tell them that they're gluten, dairy, egg and peanut free. Amazing huh?


I made them the first time because we have friends who have a child with a severe peanut allergy and Miss A wanted chocolate cake for her birthday. These were perfect and amazingly delicious. Best part, you can eat the batter without fearing salmonella. It's just a little perk.

These cupcakes are considered a "Wacky Cake" because of their lack of dairy and eggs. They're a cinch to whip up and will knock your socks off.


Chocolate cupcakes

1 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend
1/2c cocoa powder
3/4tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm coffee or 2 tsp espresso powder dissolved in 1c warm water
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
6 Tablespoons oil
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan or mini cupcake pan with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, sugar, baking soda and salt until thoroughly combined. In a separate container, mix together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until mixed.

Spoon batter into prepared cupcake pans. Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes and mini cupcakes for 12-15 minutes. Makes 12 cupcakes or 24-27 mini cupcakes.

Eat plain, sprinkled with powdered sugar or top with your favorite frosting.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

To say that the girls like pancakes would by an understatement. They are true pancake fanatics. They have a favorite diner in town and want to eat there all the time because they serve gluten free pancakes. At least once a week they ask for pancakes for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The most requested type: chocolate chip (pumpkin pie is a close second). I always have to make sure I have a never ending supply of mini chocolate chips.
Chocolate Chip Pancakes

2 cups gluten free flour blend
1 T + 2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
5T brown sugar (or white sugar, but brown sugar makes them taste more like cookies)
1 1/3 - 1 1/2 cups milk (depends on the consistency you want & I swear it's different every time I make them)
4T melted butter or oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
about 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Whisk together dry ingredients until completely mixed. Add in wet ingredients until only small lumps remain. Let sit a few minutes while griddle heats. Pour 1/8-1/4c batter on griddle. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and let cook until bubbles come to surface and pop. Flip pancakes and cook until just set. Do not over cook or you'll burn your chocolate chips.

Serve as is or with whipped cream or ice cream.

 *The sooner you sprinkle the chocolate chips, the more incorporated they'll be in the pancake. I usually do 2 pancakes, sprinkle them with chocolate chips and then do more.

Chocolate Mug Cake(s)

Sometimes you just need a chocolate fix. And often times you don't want that chocolate to break the calorie bank or in our case, to leave us with a dozen cupcakes that we shouldn't be eating. While I could freeze them so we'd have them for emergencies (i.e. unexpected school party), they always end up getting eaten before I have a chance to freeze them.

Enter the mug cake. I've made mug cakes in the past and was completely unimpressed. Too eggy. Not chocolatey enough. Just plain funky. These are amazing. They're fudgy, egg free, easily dairy free and around 200 calories a pop (without ice cream). The girls love them too. They can't eat a whole one so I usually double the recipe and then split it into 3 smaller tea cups. That's still almost too much for them, but they're not ones to turn down chocolate.


Chocolate Mug Cake

2 tablespoons gluten free flour blend (or just rice flour)
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar (we like ours less sweet)
2t - 1T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon instant coffee crystals – optional, but brings out the chocolatey YUM!
Pinch salt
1T Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon + 1 tsp milk (I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk when I have it)
3/4 teaspoon oil
Drop of vanilla extract
1/2T mini chocolate chips (optional)

In a coffee cup combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, coffee crystals and salt until no lumps remain. Stir in the yogurt, milk, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Stir in chips. Bake in the microwave on high for 30-35 seconds. Add 5 seconds if needed, but watch closely. Do not over cook. Serve with ice cream.

You can also omit the yogurt and use 1 tsp oil and 2T milk.

Oatmeal Cookies

My dad ate oatmeal for breakfast every morning when I was growing up. It always made sense that he would love oatmeal cookies too & my mom made them the best. She always added raisins for him & sometimes nuts, but would have to leave some separate without for me. I still don't like raisins & neither does Tink. I often make them with chocolate chips instead, which Tink enjoys, but craisins are good too. Make sure you buy gluten free oats & don't add too many mix-ins or you risk your cookies falling apart. Sometimes baking without gluten does suck, but at least the cookies taste the way they should.

Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup shortening or butter
1 ½ cups brown sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp gluten free vanilla
½ cup buttermilk
1 ¾ cup gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
3 cups gluten free oats
1 cup raisins, nuts, chocolate chips or craisins or mixture thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Cream sugar, shortening, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in buttermilk. In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir in oats and any optional ingredients. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly before moving to wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for 4 days or longer in the refrigerator. * For puffier cookies, chill dough before baking

M&M Cookies

When Tink was first diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, I mourned chocolate chip cookies. How can you be a kid and not have chocolate chip cookies? It just didn't seem fair. I tried adapting my old chocolate chip cookie recipe, but the cookies were a disaster. They spread across the cookie sheet, were wafer thin and horribly crunchy. I don't even think we ate them, but just tossed them in the trash. I was so frustrated and upset. Tink HAD to have chocolate chip cookies. Then my mom gave me "Gluten Free Baking Classics" by Annalise Roberts. (I highly recommend that cookbook for any one who bakes gluten free. Her recipes are super easy and they taste good and work.) The first recipe I tried in it was the chocolate chip cookie recipe. It tasted delicious, but the cookies were still somewhat flat and crispy. I'm a fan of soft, cakier cookies so I made a few adjustments so they were the right texture and tasted more like my normal cookies. I also needed to adjust the baking time and temperature. I use a oven thermometer, but the original temperature just seemed too hot. I altered the sugar amounts, added some cinnamon, adjusted the amount of flour and went for M&Ms over chocolate chips.

Tink loves M&Ms. They were one of the first candies she ever had and they have a special place in her heart. It helps that her Grandpa always has some to share since he can't share his oreo cookies. I love changing the M&M colors to go with the season. Halloween M&Ms for October, red and green for Christmas, pink for Valentine's day. It's pretty easy to grab a bag in the seasonal department. Tink has fun with it too. She's also a total chocoholic so she likes the chocolate chocolate M&M version as well. After making the cookies multiple times, I soon learned that if you refrigerate the dough, your cookies come out puffier. I now always refrigerate before baking. Most gluten free cookie recipes work better than way. It's also essential that you use shortening and not butter. I'm sure you could use butter flavored shortening if you'd like to, but no butter.

M&M Cookies
1 cup vegetable shortening (Do NOT use butter or margarine) 
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 T gluten free vanilla
2 ½ cups gluten free flour mixture
1 ¼ tsp xanthan gum
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
12oz chocolate chips or M&Ms (about 1 ½ cups)

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. 2. Cream sugar and shortening in large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. 3. Add flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Mix until well blended. Stir in M&Ms. Refrigerate 30min. 4. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake in center of oven for 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container for up to 3 days on the counter or 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Variation: add 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa