Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies use sweet rice flour, also known as glutinous rice flour. Don’t be fooled by the name; there’s no gluten in glutinous rice flour (or any rice flour, for that matter). This flour, like most gluten-free flours, is easy to find if an Asian grocery can be located. It can also be found in many boutique grocery stores, such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. Other gluten-free flours may be substituted, but be prepared to adjust the amount of flour needed to compensate for variations in starchiness.
It should go without saying, for any household coping with celiac disease, that it is imperative to make sure all your ingredients, work surfaces, and utensils are free of gluten contamination. Special care should be taken with compound ingredients such as baking powder; make sure its ingredients list does not include gluten-containing items such as modified food starch.
Prep Time: ~10 minutes
Baking Time: ~25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Equipment
Large mixing bowl
Stand mixer and bowl (or a hand-held mixer and a medium mixing bowl)
Wooden spoon
Cookie sheet
Non-stick silicone baking sheet liner (Silpat, etc.)
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) (120ml) butter
½ cup (120ml) sugar
½ cup (120ml) brown sugar
2 eggs
½ tsp vanilla extract
1¼ cup (300ml) (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) sweet rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
¾ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
Chocolate chips (as many as you like)
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
1. Mix the sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
2. In a smaller mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Don’t worry about over-mixing; since there is no gluten in the flour, there is no danger of overworking it.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Line cookie sheet with silicone mat and spoon on balls of dough, about 1½” (4cm) in diameter.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes.
Notes
This will likely take longer to bake than a gluten-containing cookie recipe. Baking time will depend on the flour you use, since the protein content of the flour will determine the rate of browning from the Maillard reaction.
The silicone baking sheet liner is important, as these cookies tend to stick to the pan more than most. If you don’t have one, parchment paper might also work.
