We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving, with oodles of leftovers (and family and friends, of course). As we segue into the next leg of the holiday season, our attention turns more to baking. This means cookies. *insert angel song here* Cookies can be a challenge when baking gluten free, to say the least. Results can be inconsistent and frustrating. Trust us, we feel you.
All purpose gluten free flour is a bit of a misnomer. While it can yield good results with some recipes, depending on the proportions of your other recipe ingredients—particularly the butter—your finished cookies can meld into one ginormous uber-cookie, or end up gritty and crumbly, or be so dry and hard that the your only practical option is to repurpose them as drink coasters. Not ideal. A little research yielded a not-so-surprising source for the perfect all purpose gluten free cookie flour: Alton Brown (Do we hear the angel song again?) We used the proportions of flours in his Chewy Gluten Free Cookie recipe to create a cookie flour mix that is, quite frankly, the bomb. We recommend sifting together a large batch to have on hand for all of your cookie baking needs, whether for the holidays or any other time of year. By weight, mix together the following:
33oz. Brown Rice Flour
3.75oz Gluten Free Corn Starch
1.5oz Tapioca Starch
This will give you an ample supply for the coming weeks. Store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
This flour blend really is a revelation for cookie enthusiasts. It magically (well, scientifically) solves all of those disastrous gluten free baking conundrums. To put it to the test, we turned to our favorite Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from the experts over at Cook’s Illustrated. This recipe is near and dear to our hearts for one specific reason: Brown butter. It’s easy to make and makes a world of difference. Along with that, there is dark brown sugar and a higher than normal proportion of salt, which imparts the cookies with richer caramel and toffee notes.
Once it’s mixed, let the dough rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before portioning and baking, so the flavors will have a chance to develop and the xanthan gum will be able to hydrate properly and work its magic. These are a more sophisticated version of the traditional treat, so they’ll be a hit no matter the crowd. Not that “regular” chocolate chip cookies are a hard sell, but these will practically evaporate from the plate.
While these cookies are best the day they are baked (Duh), should any survive beyond the 24-hour mark you can pop them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and they’ll return to their chewy, warm, freshly-baked glorious perfection. Enjoy!
Flour blend adapted from Alton Brown
Cookie recipe adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
- 8.75 ounces Gluten-Free Cookie Flour
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3.5 ounces (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 5.25 ounces (¾ cup) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 7.5 ounces (1¼ cups) semisweet chocolate chips
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.
- Whisk flour, xanthan gum, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
- Heat butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl.
- Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny.
- Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips, giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
- Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
- Working with 2 tablespoons (to make 2 dozen cookies) or 3 tablespoons (to yield 16, larger cookies) of dough at a time, roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
- Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10-12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.
- Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; let cookies cool to room temperature.
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