A Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie That Tastes Anything But GF

If you hadn’t read the headline and had only seen the above picture of these chocolate chip cookies, would you dare claim they look gluten-free? With the crinkled top and gooey interior, the baked goods could fool even the most avid pastry connoisseur.

We have even better news — they don’t taste gluten-free either. How is it possible?! We’re not really sure, but we think it has everything to do with the recipe from Cup4Cup, a line of gluten-free flours and mixes developed by chef Thomas Keller.

The recipe deviates from the original Toll House version, and the changes are pretty clever. Toll House calls for a one-to-one ratio of plain granulated and brown sugar. However, Cup4Cup’s uses mostly dark brown sugar. The additional molasses found in dark brown sugar yields a chewier, more golden cookie. This GF option also contains twice the amount of vanilla extract. TBH, who doesn’t already double up on the floral, bourbon-y vanilla when making a batch of cookies, anyway?

Since we used Cup4Cup’s recipe, we opted to use its flour, which markets itself as a product that can be substituted one-for-one in recipes that call for all-purpose wheat flour. The blend of cornstarch, white and brown rice flours, milk powder, tapioca, potato starch, and xanthan gum acts, looks, and tastes undistinguishable from wheat flour. The dough binds effortlessly just like your conventional recipe. The raw dough, dare we admit, is yummy in its raw form (a rarity for gluten-free cookie doughs that have a tendency to be sandy). Though we haven’t tested this, you could probably use this recipe with another one-for-one gluten-free flour of your choice like Bob’s Red Mill One-to-One or cassava flour, though results may vary.

We only made two adjustments to Cup4Cup’s recipe. We salted the tops of the dough with Maldon sea salt (any flake sea salt will do), because it makes the molasses-y and vanilla-y flavors pop. We also used slightly less chocolate than is recommended. One package of chips or chunks should sufficiently dot each cookie without overwhelming it.

Lastly, we highly encourage you to use a spring ice cream scoop to divide the dough into perfectly portioned rounds. This way, all of your cookies look the same and more importantly bake up evenly. Now, are you ready to play the biggest prank on your non-GF friends?

Recipe: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 18-24 cookies

Recipe Notes: We used salted butter in this recipe, because we like how it enhances the taste of the chocolate and vanilla, however you can always go with unsalted if you prefer. The key is to leave it out overnight so it has time to sufficiently thaw out.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups dark muscovado sugar or dark brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups (12-ounce package) high quality chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
• Flaky salt, for topping
• Milk, for serving (optional)

Directions: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until fully incorporated.

4. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and then add to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed until just combined.

5. Stir in chocolate chunks or chips.

6. Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle tops generously with Maldon sea salt (optional).

7. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

8. Cool chocolate chip cookies for 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Serve with milk for dunking, optional.