Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

You, my dear readers, are quite the lucky ducks today!

I really did NOT want to share this recipe. I'm sorry. I hate to admit this, but I am selfish. I wanted to keep this little secret all to myself. You have recipes like this. The ones that are SO good, SO tasty, and usually SO easy, and SO requested by your fans that you don't want to share your perfect little secret. These are the recipes that make you seem like a kitchen genius! Why would you want to share them? When really, you just learned a little trick or two that makes the dish signature. Completely Julia Child!

Julia could not have made a better cookie than this little. humble. chocolate. chip.




Michael and I try to eat healthy foods. We use a little too much cheese, but usually our foods tend to be on the healthier side, with less sugar, less saturated fats, and lots of chicken and veggies. I throw all of that out the window when it comes to cookies. Some things you just can't mess with. It's all or nothing baby!

Actually, I rarely make cookies, mainly because I know Michael and I will eat ALL of them in about 2 days... and it's just the two of us. (I guess if we had kids all the cookies would all be gone in about 45 seconds!) We're definitely cookie-aholics. So rather than have the temptation, I save them for a special Saturday, birthdays, holidays, or when Michael needs a serious pick me up. These cookies will do the trick. Every. Time.



It's funny how we food bloggers seem to get similar ideas at the same time (especially around the holidays!) I promise we are not sending each other memos... it's just a funny, but cool coincidence! Sea, over at Book of Yum, just posted an excellent essay that shares some WONDERFUL hints on how to make great gluten-free cookies at home, and she also gives a review of some new frozen cookie dough on the market! If I had a bigger home freezer, I'd be trotting it over to Whole Foods right now!

One of the best things about this particular homemade dough is that it DOES freeze well. You can separate the dough into individual little cookie balls, freeze them first on a cookie sheet, then toss them into a plastic container and pull out the amount of cookies you need whenever you need them. That's usually too handy for me though, we never make enough to freeze extra!

So if you're making Thanksgiving dinner this week: Make a batch of these cookies the day before! You can entertain your guests with a sweet little snack before the big meal. Trust me... by serving these babies before the bird, if the meal somehow doesn't come off as a big hit, your guests will never even notice... they will be so in love with you over your amazing chocolate chip cookies ("ARE you SURE these are gluten free? They can't be! These are better than any cookie I have ever had!" -- This was Michael's reaction when I first made them! Seriously!), that they will still think you are a kitchen genius! Julia Child, baby!

I mean, after all...who cares about the bird when you can have a PERFECT and Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie? Or two... or three... or...





** UPDATE: For a Step By Step Guide on making these cookies, please click here. **


The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Before or After going Gluten-Free!)

• *1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (or butter)

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup tapioca flour

• 1/2 cup sorghum flour

• 1/4 cup brown rice flour

• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

• 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (optional)

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. baking soda

• 6 oz. GF chocolate chips

Directions:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl: cream butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix together flours, salt, xanthan gum (opt.), baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture. Last, mix in chocolate chips. Place golf-ball sized dough portions 2 inches apart on an UNGREASED cookie sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes or JUST UNTIL edges are light brown.

(The cookies WILL NOT look completely cooked when you pull them out of the oven! That's what you want! That's part of the secret to these awesome cookies! DO NOT overbake them!)

Let cookies cool on a wire baking rack or the cookie sheet for 5-10 minutes. This will allow cookies to retain their shape for eating!


This recipe doubles easily.


*Note: Normally, I do NOT like using shortening for baking because it is a trans-fat, and therefore really not good for you. BUT since we only make these cookies occasionally, and since shortening really seems to make a better gluten-free cookie than butter (for reasons why visit Sea's cookie review), we stick to using a butter flavored shortening.

Also, xanthan gum is completely optional in this recipe, but I think adding just a tiny bit makes for a chewier gluten-free cookie!


UPDATE: These cookies WILL RUN if you choose to use all butter, or margarine, and leave out the shortening completely! If you choose NOT to use shortening, make sure to refrigerate your dough for several hours before baking, this will help to alleviate the cookies spreading too much. Also, the size of the dough placed on the cookie sheet needs to be about 2 tablespoons worth of dough, not necessarily the size of a golf ball, as stated originally in the recipe! Make them as large or small as you desire -- you will have to cook them longer if they are larger!! It also helps to bake these cookies on a silpat mat or parchment paper to prevent spreading.

(For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here)

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I did not do a menu plan this week since we will be traveling beginning on Wednesday and we'll just eating leftovers for the next two nights! (Sorry Michael!!)


So you'll just have to fend for yourselves or head over to Sea's to see this weeks Menu Swap Roundup!! The ingredient of the week is mushrooms! (Sorry Sea... not garlic!) Yum!! Looks like our fellow GF bloggers have some yummy recipes coming up!


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Check back on Wednesday for a wonderful twist on a classic pumpkin pie!