29 July 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten-Free or Not, Your Choice

Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten-Free or Not, Your Choice / www.delightfulrepast.com

Ultimate Gluten-Free (or Not) Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chocolate chip cookies are the most popular homemade cookies, but that's where the agreement ends. People tend to feel pretty strongly about the texture, with some of us favoring soft and some, crispy. Fortunately, some of that is just a matter of baking time; so you can sometimes please both types with just one batch of dough. Just remember to store crispy cookies and soft cookies in separate airtight containers.

We prefer the soft (but not too soft) texture, but we have someone coming over who is adamantly in the crispy camp. So I'll be baking one pan a couple extra minutes for him. You have to be really careful, though, as they can go from crispy to burnt in a matter of seconds.

If I'm going to eat cookies, especially CCC, I have to make them myself. Every store-bought one and every recipe out there is waaaaaay too sweet for my taste. You can always add more sugar next time around, but do try it my less sweet way at least once. I think you'll be surprised. You'll wonder why you've been using so much sugar all these years!

I don't remember what year someone came up with the brilliant idea to make mini chocolate chips, but I remember trying them when they first came out and never looking back! The mini chips give a much better distribution of chocolate, making a vastly superior cookie, IMHO.

In a bit of a hurry when I was buying the chocolate chips, turns out the ones I selected, Enjoy Life semi-sweet chocolate mini chips, did not meet my #1 requirement: Fair Trade Certified. However, they might be just what you are looking for: dairy, nut and soy free; pareve; certified gluten-free; made in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free facility.

Though I love oatmeal cookies, even more than chocolate chip, I don't like a lot of oats in my CCC. But I've found that adding just that little 1/4 cup of oats, ground to a coarse meal, gives the cookie "a certain something."

If you are one of those people who has a nut allergy or simply doesn't like nuts in their chocolate chip cookies, feel free to leave out the nuts in my recipe. You can replace them with sunflower seeds, an extra cup of mini chocolate chips or anything else you prefer. So, tell me, how do you feel about chocolate chip cookies?

Ch0colate Chip Cookies (with directions for making them gluten-free, if you like) / www.delightfulrepast.com
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Chocolate Chip Cookies


(Makes 40 3-inch cookies)

3/4 cup sorghum flour
3/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum

OR replace those first four ingredients with
2 dip-and-sweep cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup oats (1 ounce/28 grams), ground to coarse meal in food processor
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces/227 grams) unsalted butter, cool room temperature
3/4 firmly packed cup (5.25 ounces/149 grams) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3.5 ounces/99 grams) sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 In small bowl, whisk together sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, ground oats, soda and salt. If you are not making gluten-free cookies, whisk together 2 dip-and-sweep cups (10 ounces/283 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour, ground oats, soda and salt. Note: Measure the oats before grinding.

2 In large bowl of electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, vanilla and vinegar. By hand, stir in flour mixture, chocolate chips and walnuts. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

3 Preheat oven to 375F/190C/Gas5. Drop #40 scoops (0.8 ounces or approximately 1.5 tablespoons) of dough 3 inches apart onto ungreased parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. For crisp cookies, bake a bit longer, watching carefully so that they don't burn. Cool on baking sheet for 1 minute, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: The cookies in the photo above were baked on a heavy-duty half-sheet pan. The ones I baked on a lighter duty baking sheet did not spread as much and came out domed. And I baked the crispy batch for 16 minutes, which may not be exactly right for your oven and your baking sheet.

Jean

20 comments:

Cranberry Morning said...

Thanks Jean for a GF recipe. It's hard to find a good chocolate chip cookie when we're going for GF. I'll have to try this.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Judy. I love experimenting with a wide-range of gluten-free products. I served these to a group yesterday and nobody could tell they were gluten-free. When I told them, some said things like, "I've had gluten-free cookies before, but they weren't like this! You can't even tell!"

TONY said...

Jean,is there any way of sending me a packet?
I'd definitely write review for you!!!!!!!

Tony

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Would that I could, Tony! 'Fraid you'll just have to make them yourself. Quite easy, especially since I have a page of British Conversions (see navbar).

Unknown said...

I'm sorry.. were you saying something? I sort of got lost in the cookies :) YUM!!!!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

:D Thanks, Jenn! They're going fast ...

Prathima Rao said...

Gorgeous cookies Jean!!!! Loved the recipe :)
Prathima Rao
Prats Corner

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Prathima, thank you! I love experimenting with gluten-free products.

Sanjeeta kk said...

The cookies look so cute and crisp..love the various grains you have used. And with such a nutritious ingredients to go in..these cookies are a real health treat.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks, Sanjeeta! I've always tried to make my desserts as "healthy" as possible, using less sugar, different grains, etc.

mike said...

When we were kids, we used to put store bought chocolate cookies in the toaster to soften them up. So whenever I read a delicious cookie recipe (like this one), it re-affirms that nothing beats homemade!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thank you, Mike! I've never cared for many store-bought cookies. Only kids would think of softening up their cookies in a toaster!

Angie's Recipes said...

I always want to try sorghum flour!! Those cookies look so tasty and inviting.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Angie, thank you! I think you'll be pleased with sorghum flour. When I first decided to try it (I love to experiment with all the different gluten-free flours), I was not expecting to like it, but now it's one of my favorites (used in combination with other GF flours, of course).

Life Happens said...

Yummy! I love oatmeal chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin.

Your peach cobbler looks delish too!

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much! I hate having cookies in the house, though; it's just too easy to grab one every time I walk through the kitchen!

Sippity Sup said...

This looks great as I said in my email, whatever glitch I was having yesterday has now passed. Thanks for the response. GREG

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Greg! I always love hearing from you!

thistlewoodfarm said...

Jean,

Thank you SO much for the recipe! I'm going to have to try it. You make it seem so easy. :)

Happy day friend!
karianne

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Thanks so much, Karianne! Do let me know how it turns out for you!