Oatmeal Coconut-Cardamom Cookies with White Chocolate Chips

A few months ago, someone contacted me and asked if I wanted to receive a care package of sorghum-related products. I carefully consider these kinds of offers; I don't do sponsored posts. So if I include a product here on my blog, it's because I really like it, and I think you, my dear readers, will benefit from seeing how I use it and learning about it. And maybe like it, too. But I make no promises when people send me things. 

So, sorghum, or "sweet white" sorghum, as some call it, is naturally gluten-free, non-GMO and is high in antioxidants, fiber, potassium and protein. You can also find vitamin B-6, iron and zinc in there. It also happens to grow fairly widely in the United States, and it's used to make various other products such as syrup (popular in the South); you can also pop seeds or cook it whole, like grains such as farro or freekeh. For bakers, the key thing to know is that it makes for a fairly fine flour and that it doesn't impart a gritty mouth feel the way rice flours can. The product I ended up using for this was Nu-Life Market's All-Purpose Flour, a mix of sorghum, tapioca and potato starches, along with some xanthan gum. (They also make a pizza blend!) I liked the flour and it performed to my expectations; I combined it with oat flour, too. If you don't have this product, I'd suggest using another 1-to-1 type All-Purpose gluten-free blend, but be prepared for a little bit of grit if it contains rice flour. Or mix up your own.

Sorghum, tapioca and potato starch blend, gluten free. 

Now, about these cookies. My love of coconut is well-documented at this point. And I had aspired to post this yesterday, which was apparently national oatmeal day; hey, I'll be ready for next year, right? If you don't have coconut extract, don't worry about it. I usually use Let's Do Organic's unsweetened, finely shredded stuff; the package will often say "for baking." These cookies are a subtle, nutty blend of coconut, white chocolate chips, cardamom and a hint of citrus. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 T. coconut oil
• Zest of one orange
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. coconut extract (or omit, if you don't have it)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose gluten free blend
• 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 T. ground flax meal
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda 
• 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
• 2-3 T. orange juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease or line two rimless baking sheets with parchment or Silpat.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the butter, sugar, oil and zest until it's creamy and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the egg, the extracts and combine. 

Whisk together the flours through baking soda in a medium bowl and slowly add to the stand mixer. Mix in the coconut and chips—no worries about overmixing, as you can't toughen up gluten-free flours. Add the juice as necessary. You may need a little more or less depending on how soft your butter was before mixing it up, and the ambient temperature of your room. You want the dough to be scoopable. 

Scoop by rounded teaspoons onto the prepared sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the trays halfway. You want the edges to be a little browned and the tops to have little cracks. They won't spread too too much. 

Yield: About 3 dozen.

Oatmeal Coconut-Cardamom Cookies with White Chocolate Chips