Parenting can be heartbreaking. They didn’t tell me this part when we took the newborn baby class at the hospital before we adopted Cameron. I learned how to change a diaper and wrap an infant in an adorable little straight jacket using only the smallest of blankets, but I wasn’t prepared for all of the heartaches that come along with parenting. It’s tough to watch your child be left out or disappointed, and it’s equally tough to watch your child make mistakes. Anyway, I made you a plate of chocolatey-rich, and delightfully chewy, gluten free chocolate cookies. Unfortunately, I ate all of them because parenting can be heartbreaking.
They were delicious. I got this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen Gluten Free Baking magazine. A couple of things you should know when baking gluten free:
- Always add a little bit of xanthan gum. It provides the elasticity and structure that gluten free flour blends lack.
- Gluten free dough needs to rest for 30 minutes (no more, no less) to help hydrate the starches, which will produce a better textured bake.
- Gluten free baked goods have a shorter shelf life than regular baked goods.
- Find a gluten free flour blend you like, or make your own blend. For this recipe, I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. It has a bean-like aftertaste, but because of the rich chocolate flavor in this recipe that aftertaste went completely unnoticed. Thank goodness.
Let’s do it. Whisk brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, oil, melted butter, vanilla extract, and espresso powder until combined.
Mix the melted but cooled semisweet chocolate into the egg/butter mixture.
It will have a brownie dough-like consistency.
Finally, mix in the dry ingredients (gluten free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum), and then add the bittersweet chocolate chips.
Using an ice cream scoop, drop about 2 tablespoons worth of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll each cookie dough into a ball.
Bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies appear puffed up a little and cracked at the top. Also, before I baked the cookies I sprinkled a little sea salt over top of each. Sprinkling salt on desserts has become my “thing”.
- 12 oz. (340 g) Semisweet Chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup (4oz or 114 g) Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
- 1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum
- 3/4 cup (149 g) Light Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 g) Granulated Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs
- 5 TBS Vegetable Oil
- 2 TBS Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 tsp. Instant Espresso Powder
- 1 and 1/2 cups (9 oz. or 255 g) Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
- In a small bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate in 30 second increments until melted, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool slightly. In separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, eggs, vegetable oil, melted but cooled butter, vanilla extract, and espresso powder. Pour in the cooled, melted semisweet chocolate, and mix until combined. Stir in the flour mixture. Finally, fold in the bittersweet chocolate chips. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- When the 30 minutes are up, spoon or scoop out two tablespoons worth of dough at a time, roll into balls, and space them 2-inches apart. Sprinkle a tiny amount of sea salt over each one.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until cookies are puffed up a bit and cracked on top. Let cookies remain on baking sheet for 5 minutes before cooling on a wire rack.
- 2 large baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Small ice cream scoop
- Cookies will last up to 2 days in an airtight container, or 2 months if properly wrapped and frozen
