The recipe for these gluten free Italian Dunking Cookies was made specifically for… well, dunking. Let’s be honest, cookies are good plain, but they get even better when they have soaked up the creamy deliciousness of (plant based) milk and they melt in your mouth!
Italians have really mastered the art of creating the perfect dunking cookies, since – as you might know – dipping cookies in milk, tea or caffelatte is the most popular type of breakfast people eat when they are home.
Because you I know I am all about recreating healthier, allergy free versions of the most beloved Italian dishes I grew up with… it only made sense that I’d share with you a dairy, egg and gluten free version of my favorite rustic dunking cookies!
I created this recipe with my parents over Skype (they are in Italy – I am in the US). We tested it a few times before coming up with the perfect texture and consistency for these Italian dunking cookies.
As always, I would recommend you to follow the instructions in grams rather than in cups and tablespoons as it’s much more precise. However, to make your life easier, I listed both versions in the recipe card below.
All you need to know about these Gluten Free Italian Dunking Cookies:
Dunking cookies means to submerge baked treats into a cup of warm tea, coffee or milk as this process releases more flavor from the cookies (by dissolving the sugars) and it also softens their texture. Dunking cookies is a popular way of enjoying hard cookies or biscuits in many countries, but it’s particularly popular in Italy, where an entire isle of the supermarkets is dedicated to dunking cookies.
Tradition says you should dunk your cookies in hot milk with honey, but the options are quite many. You can either:
- dunk your cookies in caffelatte (or, if you don’t drink coffee, in a dandelion coffee latte)
- in freshly squeezed orange juice
- in a cup of English Breakfast tea with a little squeeze of lemon
- in sweet dessert wine (like Moscato or Von Santo) poured in a grappa glass shot. This option is commonly preferred as a dessert to serve after dinner.
If you eat them within 4 to 5 days after baking them, you don’t need to refrigerate them and can simply store them in an air tight container. If you plan to make them last longer than that, you can definitely store them in the fridge. Just make sure to allow your gluten free Italian Dunking Cookies to come to room temperature before serving them.
To enjoy them whit the best, friable texture, I suggest you to consume them within 3 to 4 days. But they definitely last for up to 10 days (if that’s your intention, read the question above this and store them in the fridge).
Other Gluten Free Italian Cookies that are Good for Dunking:
If you are looking for other delicious gluten free Italian Dunking Cookies, make sure you try these as well!
- Tuscan Style Gluten Free Cantucci
- Grain Free Chocolate-Coffee Cookies
- AIP Paleo Digestive Cookies
- AIP Grain Free Breakfast Cookies
- AIP Grain Free Tea Cookies
Can’t wait for you to try them and share your feedback with me!
Italian Dipping Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Rice Flour
- 5/8 cup Corn Starch or Arrowroot Starch
- 1 cup Almond Meal
- 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar
- 1/3 cup Mashed Banana (about 1 small banana)
- 3 tbsp Sunflower Oil
- ¼ cup Raisins
- Juice and grated peel of 1/2 Lemon
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
For glazing:
- 1/2 cup sugar free Orange or Apricot Jam
Instructions
- Soak the raisins in a cup of lukewarm water for a few minutes and preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Cut the banana in pieces, put it in a blender together with the oil, coconut sugar, lemon juice and blend until smooth.
- Combine rice flour, corn starch, almond meal, baking powder, lemon zest and raisins in a bowl, mix well and add in the banana mixture you just prepared. Knead by hand until you have a nice ball of dough.
- Helping yourself with a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a floured surface (or a sheet of parchment paper) until 1/3 of an inch thick.
- In a small saucepan, heat up the jam with a teaspoon of water and leave it on the stove for a minute, until it thins out and becomes a bit more liquidy.
- Cut your dipping cookies in rectangles (2” by 1.4”) and, using a kitchen brush, spread a thin layer of jam on top.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on your oven) until a golden crust forms on top of your cookies.
- Enjoy your dipping cookies with a nice cup of hot coconut or almond milk with a few drops of vanilla extract.
Nutrition
I am excited to see your recreations of these gluten free Italian Dunking Cookies! Make sure to take a photo and tag me when you share it on Instagram!! Don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends on Facebook, save it on your favorite Pinterest board and subscribe to my weekly newsletter so that you never miss a post!!
Happy dunking… and ciao!
Ambra
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