Several months ago my husband brought home a box of frozen peanut butter cookies that he had bought from a co-worker selling cookies for his son’s school fundraiser. My husband and kids (non-celiac’s) tried them and loved the fact that they could take the cookies out of the freezer (a few at a time) and pop them in the oven for a quick yummy treat. I thought, why can’t it be that easy for Celiacs? The answer, I’ve since discovered, is — it can!

This month we have two great cookies that can be prepared in advance and baked as needed.

Perfect Peanut Butter Cookies — these cookies taste no different from the wheat-flour variety. Even my finicky husband could not tell that they were gluten-free.

• 1 cup gf flour*
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (warm not hot)
• 1-1/2 cups creamy gf peanut butter
• 2 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped

*We used The Gluten Free Pantry’s Country French bread flour mix for the gluten-free flour in this recipe. (www.glutenfree.com)

In a medium bowl, combine the gf flour and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, peanut butter and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in the roasted hazelnuts.

Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with plastic wrap or wax paper. Using a spring loaded ice cream scoop, form the dough into balls and drop onto the wax paper (in one layer). Lay a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the first layer and repeat process with the remaining batter. Transfer to the freezer and let freeze until solid, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a cookies sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking pad. Place 9 frozen cookies on the cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are golden but not dark brown. Remove from the oven and let stand on cookie sheet for 5 minutes. (The cookies will be pretty fragile at this point.) Transfer to a wire rack and let cook completely. Repeat process with remaining cookies or see tips below for freezing them for later. Baked cookies can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

If you want to save some of these cookies for later — an emergency snack or dessert for the kids — for example, you can transfer the frozen cookie "balls" to a freezer safe plastic bag. Freeze until you are ready to bake. When that cookie craving strikes, remove as many cookies as you’d like and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake, direct from the freezer, for 12-15 minutes at 375°F. Let cool 5 minutes and devour!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

These are similar to Perfect ‘Peanut Butter Cookies’ except that they are also very chocolaty. Just like the other cookies, they can be baked immediately or refrigerated for a week and then baked or frozen and then baked. The cookie turns out perfectly in every case. We used the Gluten Free Pantry’s Country French Bread Mix as a straight substitution for flour. Your results may differ with other gluten-free flours.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups gf flour
• 1/2 cup gf Dutch process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
• 1 cup gf chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup gf dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 350 degrees F. Line a jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa and baking soda and blend well. In a separate large bowl, combine butter and peanut butter and beat on low speed with an electric mixer. Increase speed to medium and beat in both sugars. Continue to beat until mixture becomes light. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and then each piece into 10 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the jelly-roll pan. Press each cookie with the back of a fork and then again across the first marking. Bake for 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool for about 10-15 minutes before moving to a rack or plate.

If you want to bake later, transfer the balls to a freezer safe plastic bag and freeze or refrigerate.

- Glutenfreeda