Chocolate, Almond & Ginger Cookies

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There are times in life when you just want a nice crunchy cookie. I have these moments. It's usually around 11am when I'm indulging in the occasional second cup of coffee or maybe a cupp-o-tea. I usually want something crunchy that makes that lovely nom nom soundas you're eating them, so that the person sitting next to you (whose usually eying off you and your morning cookies) wishing that they too, had had the foresight to not only bring in cookies to go with their morning cuppa, but to bake them in the first place!

Why bake and not buy? Well, I'll give you a few reasons...

Firstly, do you have gluten free cookies at your local supermarket? If yes, are they actually any good or are they only used for gluten free cheesecake bases as you just can't stand the taste of them and that little bit of brown sugar and butter makes them better? If no, then you clearly need to get baking! 

Secondly. Um... hello! Home baked cookies equals fresh-cookie-dough people!

I don't think I need to say more on that subject.

Thirdly. The smell of a batch of homemade cookies...mmm.... it's just delightful. You know you'll want to grab one when it's just that little bit too warm, but oh! So good!

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Lastly... well, you don't like the ginger I put in these cookies? You're making them yourself - fabulous! Just substitute the crystalised ginger for some more chocolate, or whatever you wish!

They're homemade - by YOU, so you can do what you want - use white chocolate, remove a tablespoon of flour and add cocoa instead, add dried cranberries or use hazelnuts, hey, you could eat the whole lot raw if you want (although I really, truly, don't suggest this unless you've a bunch of friends to help you out, as you WILL feel ill people! Plus you know, cookies, let alone raw cookie dough, really ain't healthy enough to be made into a main meal)

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Also, my dinner was due on the table at the time when the dough was just together so I took the quicker (and less dishes) option of rolling the dough into balls between my hands and squashing them, rather than rolling the dough out and cutting it into pretty shapes. So, dependant on your own time constraints and how you want these little gems to look you can either roll or erm...roll em!?!

Gluten Free Chocolate, Almond & Ginger Cookies

Makes approximately 45cookies Adapted fromSouvlaki for the Soul

80g butter, softened to room temperature

60g castor sugar (I used raw castor sugar)

1egg, beaten

170g gluten free plain flour

1/2tsp gluten free baking powder

1 1/2tsp vanilla essence

2tsp milk

80g dark chocolate, finely chopped

45g raw almonds, chopped

40g crystalised ginger, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180Celcius and line a few trays with baking paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and beat to combine. Add the flour, vanilla and milk and mix to combine. Add in the chocolate, almonds and ginger and mix in.

Roll a large teaspoon of mixture into a ball in your hands and place on the prepared baking trays. Continue with the remaining dough, placing the cookie balls apprixmately 4cm apart. sqish the balls down slightly with two fingers or a fork.

Bake for 20minutes. Rmeove from oven and allow to cool on trays.

These moreish gluten free cookies will keep in an airtight container for approximately 1-2weeks (if you can keep your morning-tea-itis fingers off them - but I'll bet you can't!)