Brownzena, a Gluten Free Chocolate Cornstarch Cookie
A gluten free chocolate cookie named Brownzena? I bet you never heard of that before. Guess what, you’re right. Brownzena is the name that my nephew Tim gave these delicious chocolate cookies. Brown, because of the obvious brown colour and “zena” cause they’re made with maizena which is Dutch for cornstarch. I liked the name so I’m sticking with it :). The cornstarch turns this recipe into a gluten free chocolate cornstarch cookie recipe.
Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Cornstarch Cookie Recipe
This gluten free chocolate cornstarch cookie recipe is super easy. It’s based on my cornstarch cookie recipe with just some cocoa powder added to give it it’s nice chocolate flavour. My first try making these they already came out delicious, didn’t have to tweak a thing!
If you’re baking gluten free for someone make sure you always check if the cocoa powder and cornstarch you use are indeed gluten free. I know there are some cornstarch versions on the market that do contain gluten.
Let’s get started with the recipe.
You’ll need cornstarch, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, vanilla extract an egg and hundreds and thousands for decoration. You’ll also need a pinch of salt which isn’t pictured here.
In a bowl, add butter.
Sugar.
And vanilla extract.
Mix until creamy.
Add the egg and pinch of salt and mix until well combined and creamy.
Make sure the egg has fully incorporated with the butter.
Now it’s time to add the cocoa powder for that delicious chocolate flavour.
Add in the cornstarch and mix until combined and it starts to clump together.
It will look something like this.
Scrape the cookie dough out of the bowl and form into a ball. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky.
Next, you can either take part of your dough and put it into a cookie press or you can shape the dough into little balls. Put each ball onto a lined baking sheet and using a fork, which has been lightly dipped into some cornstarch, flatten the ball. Dip the fork into the cornstarch again and press into the cookie again at another angle. This will form little pockets your sprinkles can fall into later.
I used a cookie press this time. A little tip when using a cookie press I would recommend using a silicon baking sheet, the cookies will stick to it better, which will help them release from the cookie press more easily.
Finish off the cookies with some hundreds and thousands. Just sprinkle them on top. If you want to make a fully gluten free cookie, make sure to use gluten free hundreds and thousands.
Now all you need to do is pop them in the oven till you see they start to lightly brown. Yes, you can still see a little change in colour even though the cookie is brown already.
Theses gluten free chocolate cornstarch cookies were a big hit with the family. The cookies were gone before I knew it. I would suggest you try it yourself and let me know how they turned out. Tag me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or use the hashtag #bakecakies
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 12 minutes |
| Servings |
cookies |
- 125 g butter
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- pinch of salt
- 50 g cocoa powder
- 200 g cornstarch
- hundreds and thousands optional
Ingredients
| |
- Preheat the oven to 175 ºC / 350 ºF.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet (recommended) and set aside.
- Add butter, sugar and vanilla into a bowl and mix until creamy.
- Add the egg and a pinch of salt and mix until well combined. The egg has to be fully incorporated into the butter.
- Add the cocoa and the cornstarch and mix until combined. You should be able to shape the dough into a ball and it should be soft and flexible enough to be able to be used in a cookie press. The dough shouldn't stick to your hands.
- Use a cookie press to press the cookies onto the baking sheet or shape the dough into little balls which you put on your baking sheet and flatten with a fork dipped in cornstarch. Keep dipping the fork into the cornstarch as needed.
- Sprinkle all cookies with hundreds and thousands.
- Put the cookies into the oven and bake for approximately 12 minutes. Be careful not to brown them too much.
- If you lightly dip the tip of your finger in some water you can easily pick up and press hundreds and thousands onto the cookies.
- If you want to make a fully gluten free cookie, make sure to use gluten free hundreds and thousands. If you can't find gluten free sprinkles you can make the cookies without the sprinkles as decoration.