Recipe: Gluten-Free M&M Cookies That No One Will Know Are Gluten-Free

Even holiday Grinches will love 'em!

A lot of things suck about having dietary restrictions.

One of them is living in Italy, land of pizza, pasta, and vino, and discovering a fun new gluten intolerance that makes it impossible to enjoy at least two of these foods.

My favorite thing in the whole wide world, a Roman specialty called supplì, which is both fried and breaded, is out of the question. I don’t like the taste of wine, drink cappuccini at scandalously late hours (no right-thinking Italian would dream of having a cappuccino after 11AM), and find myself wildly frustrated by the amount of time it takes to shop for food, drag the food home, unpack the food, cook the food, and then clean up after eating the food.

I would much rather grab a canister of Pringles, except, oh wait, Pringles have wheat starch, so I guess I can forget those, too.

Do you see how annoying I am to have around? If I were Italian, I’d deport me.

BUT … I know a few workarounds when it comes to having a gluten problem, and one of them is this cookie recipe. M&M cookies are perfect for the holidays, and even your non-gluten-problem-having friends and family won’t know they’re gluten-free. Win/win!

In terms of performing Christmas miracles, more than this I cannot do.

One thing, though. In theory, any kind of gluten-free flour should work, but in fact, there’s only one I know of that delivers truly consistent results: Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour. The link for it is here. I’m not getting paid to recommend it, by the way. And if you try this recipe with a different kind of gluten-free flour, and it works for you, by all means let me know.

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten-free flour (10 ounces; 285 grams)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate M&Ms
Extra M&Ms for decoration

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Set aside.

2. Using medium speed on a stand mixer or medium-high on a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until it becomes a smooth paste, about 45 seconds.

3. Stop the mixer and take a minute to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer back on and add one egg, making sure it is thoroughly mixed into the batter before adding the second egg, which must also be thoroughly mixed. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl again. Then add vanilla extract and mix for an additional 20 seconds.

4. Stop the mixer and add your whisked flour mixture. Turn the mixer back on, but at a low speed. Mix until dough forms. Stop the mixer and add the M&Ms. Mix at a low speed until just combined. Don’t overmix! Chill dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven. 

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

6. Scoop dough, about two tablespoons each, and round into balls. Place dough onto prepared baking sheet, 2-inches apart, as the cookies tend to spread during baking. Be sure to press a few additional M&Ms onto each cookie, as the M&Ms disappear into the dough.

7. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for about three minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Your house is going to smell delicious! If you’d like to fax over some of that delicious, baking-cookies smell, I’ll stand by, ready to receive it.

Buon appetito!

I’m dying to know how this recipe works out for you, so if you make these cookies, report back!