Baking is just more fun in the Fall and Winter. You get to stand near the oven to stay warm, make something delicious, and wear oversized sweaters to hide how much you’ve been eating. What’s not to love?

My favorite things to bake on the weekend is anything I can have for breakfast or take to work and eat with a cup of coffee. Put this next to a cup of coffee and a spoon of almond butter and you won’t be disappointed.

Pumpkin spice is just a mix of a bunch of other spices, so if you don’t have it on hand just use cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and/or cloves. This recipe doesn’t actually have any pumpkin in it but neither do pumpkin spice lattes and that’s never bothered anyone.

I really liked this more like a crumb cake with chopped pecans and raisins to add some texture, but it’d also be great without any mix-ins and covered with a cream cheese frosting.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Loaf Cake

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 12 squares):

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans(optional)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the sugar, flour, and baking soda.
3. Add in the milk, butter, eggs, extract, and spice and mix well until it forms a batter.
4. Mix in the chopped nuts if using.
5. Grease an 8 x 8 baking pan thoroughly.
6. Pour the batter into the baking tray.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is cooked through.
8. Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting.

Chocolate chip cookies can be as polarizing as politics. Some like chewy while others like crisp. Should they have nuts in them? Are raisins even a question? Everyone has an opinion.

After Pinterest did a Q&A with me my coworkers were interested to try something gluten-free. One of them asked me if I knew any good cookie recipes for his cousin and it seemed like as good a place to start as any. 

Lucky for me, when I brought them into work they didn’t stir up any chewy vs. crispy debates and they were all gone by lunch time–a success! They’re more chewy than crispy, not too sweet, and just rich enough to hit all the right notes. It’s hard to argue with chocolate chips and shredded coconut.

Probably the best thing to keep on hand for gluten-free baking is a bag of gluten-free all purpose flour you can use in recipes without having to mix ten different flours you’re not familiar with. I like Bob’s Red Mill’s but there are tons of different brands out there; try them out and find your favorite.

Gluten-Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 2 dozen cookies):

• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix together your flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
2. Add in the eggs, vanilla, peanut butter and melted butter and mix.
3. Add in the shredded coconut and chocolate chips and continue mixing until it forms a thick dough. If your dough is too dry add milk by the tablespoon until it’s just wet enough to stick together.
4. Put the dough in your refrigerator and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. After 15 minutes of chilling, roll the dough into 1-inch balls.
6. Put the doughballs onto a non-stick baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges brown.
7. Remove from the oven and let sit for 20 minutes before trying to move.
8. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Everyone has a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe but not many have a go-to oatmeal cookie recipe.

As soon as I pulled these out of the oven and tasted them these became mine.

Chex is launching this month a line of oatmeal including flavored oatmeal packets and sent me some to try. I’m glad gluten-free oats aren’t a “specialty” food anymore and it’s easier to get classics like packaged oatmeal. The maple brown sugar flavor was by far the best breakfast I’ve had in a while.

Instead of loose oatmeal this recipe uses quick-cooking packaged oatmeal. It’s an easy way to add a lot of flavor. When you’re baking it’s better to use quick-cooking oats than rolled oats because they’ll bake faster and softer. 

I made mine with chocolate chips, but if you wanted to make these healthier you could add chopped walnuts, pecans, or even dried blueberries! Basically, if you’d have it with a bowl of oatmeal, it’s going to go great with these cookies. 

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 14 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 24 cookies):

• 3 packets Chex gluten-free maple brown sugar oatmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free or regular flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oatmeal packets, flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and baking powder.
3. Add in the vanilla extract, butter, and eggs and mix thoroughly until it makes a soft dough.
4. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten them out just a bit before putting them on a nonstick baking tray. 
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown. 
6. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week. 

Bananas get a worse rap than any other fruit. You never hear of people who refuse to eat blueberries or mangoes; what makes the banana so loathable?

If you do love bananas then this is the right cookie recipe. They aren’t overly cakey or fruity–they’re just right.

The flour I used was Betty Crocker’s gluten free baking flour. It’s mostly rice based which keeps the cookies light and airy. If you use wheat flour I’d suggest all-purpose or cake flour.

I made mine with coconut oil and the flavor was even better. If you don’t have coconut oil, try adding shredded coconut.

Banana White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 18 cookies):

• 1 banana, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup oil(coconut oil works well here)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup white chocolate chips 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
2. In a large bowl, mix together the banana, eggs, oil, and vanilla. 
3. Add in the baking powder, sugar, flour, and salt and mix well until it makes a soft dough.
4. Fold in the white chocolate chips evenly. 
5. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and flatten them to about 1/2 inch thickness before putting them on a nonstick baking tray. 
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms begin to brown and the top is crispy. 
7. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.