The "Classic" Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

Growing up the chocolate chip cookies that were baked at home were hard and crunchy. My mom always over baked them and they always ended up hard. I never realized that cookies could be anything different. That is until I was in high school. The cafeteria during first period always had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Cookies that were more than undercooked, gooey in the center and sweet. These are the cookies I now crave and missed when I first went gluten free. There are many store bought cookies that taste perfectly fine, but they are hard, crunchy and or crispy. Not the soft baked, chewy, gooey ones that I was looking for. Then I found the perfect recipe.

This recipe debuted on the Food Netwook show Good Eats, episode Sub Standards. They looked so good I immediately went online and printed the recipe. I have been in love with these cookies since then. I did make one adjustment to the recipe in that I do not cook them as long as the recipe says. I usually only cook for 10 - 11 minutes. This makes the perfect gooey center cookie.

The Chewy Gluten Free
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2007

8 ounces unsalted butter, approximately 1 cup

11 ounces brown rice flour, approximately 2 cups

1 1/4 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/4 cup

1/2-ounce tapioca flour, approximately 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup

10 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 1/4 cups

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, approximately 1 1/2 cups (I substitute a dark chocolate bar chopped into small pieces for the chocolate chips. Just measure the chopped pieces to make a cup and half.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.

As a huge time saver I will often make a double batch, and once I have shaped them into balls I freeze them on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer until the cookie craving hits. I then bake just as many cookies as I need straight from the freezer for 11 minutes, turning once. This way I always have fresh baked cookies in the house.