Go Back

Connie’s Original Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie

WINNER OF THE BLIND TASTE TEST During Covid19 “Stay at Home” Mandate, Including numbered baking tips
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 with a small scoop of dough

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ¼ cups gluten free flour (I use Cup4Cup) (1)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • "smidge" of cinnamon (which is less than a pinch! LOL! )  (2)
  • 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, slightly melted & cooled or 1 ½ sticks softened butter  (3)
  • 2 ounces cream cheese, room temp  (4)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • ¾ cup + 1 ½ tsps.  granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract (good quality) 
  • 2 egg yolks, room temp   (5)
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips    (6)
  • ½ cup chopped high quality 75% or higher dark chocolate (I used Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt – for a pop)   (7)
  • ½ cup chopped toasted pecans, opt. 

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  
  • If using softened butter, place in mixing bowl with the softened cream cheese.  Beat several minutes until light & fluffy.
  • If you’re using melted butter: slightly melt the butter in the microwave, set aside to cool. (Slightly means not all the way melted; while cooling, the rest of the butter will melt). Put the room temp cream cheese in a mixing bowl & poor the cooled butter over it.   Mix until smooth & creamy.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon; set aside.  See notes on measuring flour. (1)
  • To the butter & cream cheese mixture, add the brown sugar & granulated sugar.   Beat on medium speed for 2 – 3 minutes until well combined & fluffy.  If you’re using softened butter, mix until creamy & well combined.
  • Add the egg yolks, one a time, beating on low for one minute & then add the vanilla until blended.
  • Add the flour mixture 1/3 at a time, mixing on low until combined.   Scrape down the sides and up from the bottom of the bowl.  Repeat until the flour has been well combined.   (8)
  • Stir in the chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate & pecans until well combined.
  • Cover the mixture & refrigerate for at least 4 -24 hours. Super important!    Why:  (9)
  • Remove from frig & bake by dropping small ice cream scoops on the lined cookie sheet; approximately 2 inches apart.   My favorite cookie sheet is light in color & measures 17 ½ x 13;  12 mounds of tough fit perfectly.  (10)
  • Sprinkle with chopped Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt & give a quick turn of a sea salt grinder on top, opt.
  • Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes (oven vary!) until the edges are just starting to brown.   Remember cookies continue to bake while cooling. (11)
  • Let cool for 2-4 minutes & then remove to a wire rack.   

Notes

I HOPE THESE BAKING TIPS WILL BE USEFUL
(1) Spoon the flour into the measuring cup & then scrape the excess off with a knife.  Dipping the measuring cup into the bag of flour can result in more flour than the recipe calls for. 
(2) “Smidge” aka “Smidgen vs. Pinch.  Did you know there are actually measuring spoons for smidge, pinch & dash? 
A SMIDGE is 1/32nd teaspoon (that’s not much!)   A PINCH is 1/16 teaspoon & a DASH is 1/8 tsp.
(3) Melted vs. softened butter?  I love doing both!  If you like chewier cookies, melt the butter & make sure it’s had time to cool off.   Softened butter will make a “higher” cookie.   Keep in mind, chilling the dough first will bond the melted butter dough well & hopefully keep the cookies from spreading too much during the baking process. 
(4) Did I say Cream Cheese?  YEP!  I love cream cheese!  I guess that’s why I love baking cheesecakes!   I’ve been experimenting with cream cheese in my cookie dough & LOVE the combo of cream cheese & butter!  My original recipe calls for 2 sticks of unsalted butter.   With the addition of cream cheese, cut the butter to 1 ½ sticks or 12 tbsps.   The 2 ounces of softened cream cheese will make up the difference & give a rich flavor!    Try it!  I think you’ll LOVE it! 
(5) I’ve always used 2 whole eggs in my cookie dough recipes, but recently tried egg yolks only!  Why?  Please don’t judge me, the yokes are where the fast is in an egg.  And, the yoke “fat” will make your cookies richer & more moist & chewier.   DELISH!
(6) I love chocolate chips, but as Bill told me in Sept 1970, he likes some dough with his chocolate chips.  I go easy on the chips when folding them in.  I can always add more, but can’t take the ones in the dough out!   (Kind of like toothpaste) LOL!    
(7) Adding high quality dark chocolate takes these chocolate chip cookies to the next level.   One of my favorite dark chocolate bars is Lindt Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt.  The pop of sea salt reminds me of eating one of my dark chocolate truffles.   The combo of dark chocolate & sea salt is divine.
(8) Don’t over mix your cookie dough, which can result in flatter, crispier cookies.  
(9) As tempting as it is to bake the cookies immediately, set dough in frig from 2 – 24 hours!   Why?  The ingredients have time to hang out & bond!  The colder the dough before heading to the oven, the less spreading during cooking, especially if using melted butter.  
(10) Too many cookies on your cookie sheet is a big no no!   They won’t bake evenly (they’re sharing the heat) & may “run into each other”.   What a visual! 
(11) If you want to make the cookies look perfectly round, now’s the time to fix ‘em.   Straight out of the oven, take a metal spatula & gentle “push” the warm cookie to make a nice round shape.
Keyword gluten free