Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are many great cookies out there in the world. When I think of the quintessential comfort cookie, nothing compares to the original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe. Crispy golden brown on the outside, warm and chewy on the inside....mmm! mmm! mmm! These cookies are so easy to make gluten free. My wife and I have shared them with many people that could not tell that they were gf. Stop by the glutenfreehomemaker for other cookie and meal ideas. Let's get started.
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies:
inspired by the Original Nestle Toll House recipe
2-1/4 cups gf flour mix
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (softened)
3/4 granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/8 cup milk
2 cups (12 ounces) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (I use Guittard)
Baking Directions:
Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 9-11 minutes In a small bowl; combine gf flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer; add butter, both sugars, and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Note: I usually reduce the amount of butter by 3-4 tablespoons. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each one. Beat in the flour mix, about a 1/3 of the mix at a time. Next, beat in the milk. Note: The milk is an addition my wife found online. It is not part of the original recipe but it adds to the texture of the cookie quite nicely. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place rounded tablespoons of dough on a well greased or parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.
Despite my mothers repeated warnings that I may die from Salmonella poisoning in the raw eggs, I can't resist raw cookie dough. Sorry mom.
There is nothing more satisfying than a warm, fresh chocolate chip cookie and a glass of cold milk. Well, except for maybe the cookie dough. Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Chocolate Cookie Wafers

I have been writing this blog for just about a year now. I have seen the trends across the blogoshpere as the seasons change. Summer brings fresh fruit and vegetables recipes. As the cold creeps in, hearty, rustic dishes are profiled. Now in the throws of the holidays, desserts and comfort food appear. This can only bring me to one conclusion. After the holidays, the recipes that come next are going to be light and fresh to help shed all the holiday indulgence. This means you have exactly 16 days left in which to stuff yourself with rich, decadent, not so good for you food.
Gluten Free Chocolate Cookie Wafers:
inspired by Smitten Kitchen modified to be GF.
1-1/2 cups gluten free flour mix
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 TBS whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Baking Directions:
Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes

So today I bring you a little story. It is the story of Chocolate, Butter, and Sugar.
Once upon a time in a land far far away lived Chocolate and Sugar. Chocolate and Sugar were the best of friends. Chocolate had a bitter disposition but his sweet little friend Sugar always complimented him and made him feel special. Together, Chocolate and Sugar felt like they could take on the world. One day Chocolate and Sugar decided to hop in to a whirlpool to relax with a few friends. GF flour went in first followed by Xanthan Gum. Chocolate or "Cocoa" as some of his friends called him went in next. Sugar, Salt, and Baking Soda all joined the gang in the whirlpool. They took a spin around a couple times just until they were all dizzy and mixed up. They were having fun playing in the whirlpool but something just seemed to be missing.Everything got very quiet. Out of the corner of his eye, Chocolate saw this figure with the sun glistening off of her skin. "Whhoo...whoo are you?" Chocolate stammered. "My name is Butter," replied the mysterious figure. " I just moved here." "Can I join you in the whirlpool?" asked Butter. Before Chocolate could say a word, Sugar yelled out; "Sure, there's room for everyone!" Butter was very tall, about 14 tablespoons tall to be exact. She made her way over to the whirlpool. As the whirlpool swirled around, butter eased herself into the swirling mix 1 tablespoon at a time until she was all the way in. Milk and Vanilla were always running late. They showed up and jumped in at the last minute.

It was getting a bit late. Butter said that she should hurry back home before her family starts to worry. As Butter tried to get out of the whirlpool, she realized that she was stuck to all her new friends. All that spinning in the whirlpool had mixed them together. "It's OK." said Sugar. "Tell you what, we'll all just come back to your house to meet your family." So the whole gang got out of the whirlpool together and formed into a log about 12-14 inches long. They wrapped themselves in a parchment paper beach towel and went to Butter's house located in the Refrigerator District. The new friends stayed at Butter's house for about 1-2 hours. They lost track of time because they were having such fun.
It came time for everyone to go home but they were still stuck together. What a dilemma. "What if we slice this log into 1/8" - 1/4" pieces?" asked Sugar. "Great idea!" said Butter. "But I'm so cold" exclaimed Chocolate. "Here, let's lay down on a parchment lined pan and cruise into a 350 degree F oven for 12-15 minutes to warm up." said Sugar. So all the friends warmed up in the oven before going their separate ways. Something magical had happened that day. Butter, Sugar, and Chocolate realized that they would be best friends forever. Little did they know, they were about to meet some more new friends who would transform them into something even more special. To be continued..............

Yes, I know I'm a dork.

Delicious Disaster

Before I get started, let's get one thing straightened out. I can make others things besides dessert. Really, I can. But dessert is so fun! Butter and sugar dance in my head as I drift off to sleep at night. Unfortunately, butter and sugar also want to jiggle around my midsection during the day. It's a love/hate thing; I know you understand. Anyway, Cathy, over at Noble Pig has been tempting me with one snickerdoodle based concoction after another. I think it started with snickerdoodle muffins, then snickerdoodle ice cream, and finally, banana snickerdoodle cookies. Enough!!!! I surrender!!!! I set off to find a relatively easy recipe to convert to gluten free. The one I used had a great flavor, but tasted a bit more like a sugar cookie with cinnamon than a true snickerdoodle. Oh well, I'll just have to try another snickerdoodle recipe. In the meantime, these cookies are nothing to complain about. I did have a bit of an issue getting the cookies off the cookie sheet since I ran out of parchment paper.
Snickerdoodles (kind of):
4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 stick-softened)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 cup gluten free flour mix
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Cinnamon Sugar Mix:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
Bake at 350 degrees F for 7-9 minutes
Makes about 12 cookies
Start by creaming together butter, sugars, and salt. Mix in the egg. In a separate bowl, sift together gf flour, cornstarch, and baking soda. Add 1/3 of the flour mix at a time until thoroughly mixed in.
In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Scoop about a tablespoon of dough into your hand, roll in to a ball and roll through the cinnamon-sugar mix. The dough is very soft.

Lightly press on to a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet and bake.

Here's my disaster! I ran out of parchment paper so I liberally greased my non stick cookie sheet. Despite this, every single cookie stuck to the pan and had to be scraped off.

When life hands you crumbled, gluten free snickerdoodles, make a snickerdoodle blizzard. We just mixed broken cookie pieces into vanilla ice cream. Crisis averted. Enjoy!!!