Chewy and puffy GLUTEN FREE chocolate chip cookies.

 

  If you have ever tried going gluten free, you know that without gluten in baked goods, they can turn out grainy and dry with an odd texture. Gluten provides chewiness in breads and goodies so its tough to find a gluten free recipe that compares.  My Mom was diagnosed with celiac disease 3 years ago (her guest post here) and since then she has put in a lot of hard work and study to find recipes that are as close to the real thing (with gluten) as possible. She drove over to my house late last night to share a few of these warm and chewy chocolate chip cookies with me. As I sat in her dark car and took a bite of this new experiment, she waited anxiously to hear what I thought of them. To my great surprise, these little delights are chewy, puffy, moist and full of great texture and flavor. These are not words that you would normally use in the same breath as a gluten free cookie. If you or someone you know is going gluten free or has celiac disease, you have got to make them a plate of these cookies. I guarantee you will get a big hug because they probably haven't had a treat like this is a while!!  

GLUTEN FREE chocolate chip cookies

Source: Emmy in her Element; a guest post by Joan Johnson

 

Flour Blend:
4 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup white rice flour
1 2/3 cups brown rice flour
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
3/4 cup tapioca starch
3 tablespoons nonfat milk powder
Mix together well before use.

 Cookie Recipe:
1 cube butter (8 tablespoons), melted, I used salted butter.
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/3/4 cups GF flour mix (as seen above)

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat butter, sugars and vanilla. Then mix in egg, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum until incorporated. Now mix in 1 3/4 cups gluten free flour mix and mix until smooth.
**Fill measuring cup and then level off with a smooth knife blade don't settle the flour in the cup by shaking or tapping the cup.
Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips, or desired amount.

 Cover bowl and let dough rest for 30 minutes, this lets the GF flour hydrate which is important in GF recipes.  Gluten free dough is sticky.  Fill a spoon and use a knife to scrape the dough onto a heavy duty cookie sheet. Don't grease the sheet.

Bake cookies for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.  Edges will be more brown.  Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack.  The trick with cookies is to remove them at the right time.  Crispy edges + chewy middle = yummy!