Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe for gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies is a great place to start. If you're new there is a lot to learn about cookies! Once you know a few things about the properties of gluten free flour, you can skip the frustration and bake your way to success.

If you've got cookie tasters lined up doing a head-to-head comparison of gluten free cookies is a fun way to learn. I'd make this recipe and compare it to my Chocolate Chip Cookies with teff flour or this exact recipe using my cookie flour blend instead of the one listed. You'll soon see how different flours change a recipe.

Ingredients

Simply substituting an everyday gluten free flour blend doesn't always work in old recipes and no where is that more true than in cookie recipes. I've learned a lot in the years I've been making gluten free cookies. I always say salad is my favourite category of food, but cookies are a close second. Really close!

• EGFG gluten free flour blend - I used this blend here and it worked! The results aren't the same as my old wheat flour chocolate chip cookie but I liked them.

• Baking soda - Some gluten free recipes use two leaveners, in this one I just used soda from my original wheat filled cookie recipe.

• Xanthan gum - This is the glue that adds structure to gluten free baking. It seems expensive but is used in tiny amounts so just buy it. If you can't tolerate binders or want to bake without them you will want to learn about the options for substitutions.

• Butter - My original recipe used butter only. As I learned about the challenges with gluten free flour some ideas were to melt the butter, or combine butter and shortening. This helps the gluten free flours absorb the fat.

• Brown sugar & white sugar - The ratio changes but the best cookies have a combination of both.

• Egg - Egg does add structure to cookies which we want in gluten free baking.

• Milk - Can add richness in some instances where the fat has been decreased. The higher the fat content the more richness you'll be adding.

• Vanilla - As prices increase artificial vanilla is an option and I'd use that rather than skip it.

• Chocolate chips - Standard fare for chocolate chip cookies.

See recipe card for complete ingredient list and exact amounts.

Instructions for Gluten Free Cookies

The high fat content and short cooking time for cookies present new challenges for gluten free cooks. There are exceptions to every rule so think of these as guidelines, not rules. Use this information as you taste your baking and learn to apply some of these tips as you try new recipes.

• Resting cookie dough gives gluten free flours and starches more time to absorb liquid. This can prevent the gritty mouth feel you get from some flour blends. (Although I think it's because your flour blend has too much white rice flour.)
• Melting the butter helps the flours absorb the fat more fully. If you've ever found a mass of greasy cookie dough when you opened the oven, thinking you'd find cooked cookies, you know what this means.
• Add extra liquid, milk in this recipe, to make up for the decreased fat and helps hydrate the flours.
• Let cookies cool completely to finish the cooking process. This improves structure.

Substitutions

EGFG gluten free flour blend - Substitute America's Test Kitchen flour blend in this recipe (see 11 Gluten Free Flour Recipes for their blend recipe). If you want to try another blend pay attention to the ingredients in the blend and record your results. If you make cookies once a week for a month or two, you'd be surprised how much you can learn. Bake. Eat. Repeat.

EGFG Cookie flour blend - Substitute the flour in this recipe (my EGFG flour blend) with this cookie flour blend. It includes almond flour and brown rice flour which give cookies a rich taste and crisp texture. As I worked to improve my favourite holiday cookies, I found this blend worked well in several of them.

Variations

These are chocolate chip cookies. You can add your favourite nuts or dried fruit, use any kind of chocolate, and even dip your cookies into melted chocolate. Focus on perfecting the taste and texture first, then vary and decorate to your hearts content.

Get The Tools

Baking pans may last for ten or twenty years so collect good quality pans over time. Pay attention to what you like and what works well for you. This is what I recommend for cookie baking.

• Two cookie sheets, like a baking sheet without edges.
• Two jellyroll pans, also known as baking sheets. They have ¼-inch sides all around and are used more for cooking but helpful for a cookie baking spree.
• Metal scoops in various sizes for cookies, muffins, meatballs and more.
• Cookbooks are also an excellent resource. America's Test Kitchen published two cookbooks, followed by a third which is a compilation of the first two. I highly recommend any of them for yourself or as a gift.
• How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook and Volume 2 The How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook.

Storage

Gluten free baked goods go stale more quickly than baking with wheat flour. Store cookies in air tight containers as soon as they have cooled completely. You can also freeze the dough balls and bake them in small amounts, just enough to eat in a few days. Cook from frozen as directed in the recipe.