I’ve been making some gluten-free baked goods lately. No, I haven’t turned gluten-free. And no particular reason other than just wanting to master the art and to do some experimenting. Today I’m sharing one of the results with you: Perfect Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies! And they really are perfect.
These chocolate chip cookies aren’t just good in spite of being gluten-free. They’re amazing in their own right. You’ve got to try them!
Gluten-free baking is unlike any other baking. You have far less leeway in grabbing handfuls of whatever you want without carefully measuring everything. Gluten-free is much exacting: Just the right combinations in just the right precise measurements or the whole thing falls apart. Literally.
You already know I love to bake with coconut oil. It has such a great flavor without being too overpowering. Plus, it’s one of the healthiest oils there is. Coconut oil is wonderful for so many reasons. (Did you know it also assists with weight loss? Now how about that! While chomping down on a cookie, what if one of the main ingredients in it is actually helping to offset some of the calories? Now wouldn’t that be awesome!) The coconut oil in these cookies not only adds a nice dimension of flavor, it also contributes to a wonderfully smooth texture.
For this recipe we’re using brown rice flour. Rice flour has one of the mildest, most neutral flavors of the gluten-free flours, so it’s a popular flour of choice for baking. We’re using brown as opposed to white rice flour because it’s much healthier. A common complaint of gluten-free cookies is that they’re too gritty/sandy. We offset the grittiness in these Perfect Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies by using coconut oil which almost seems to have a lubricating effect on the otherwise gritty brown rice flour, plus we also run the rice flour through a food processor first to achieve even greater smoothness.
Everyone in my family loves these cookies. They have a terrific flavor and are wonderfully chewy.
Put it to the test and see if you can tell they’re gluten-free. My bet is you never would have guessed!
Let’s get started!
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Combine the brown rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda in a food processor. Blend on high speed for about 15 seconds. Set aside.
Beat the sugars and coconut oil in a large bowl for 2 minutes.
Add the whole egg and egg yolk and the vanilla and beat until combined and the cookie dough is smooth.
Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and beat until combined.
Stir in the chocolate chips (the dough will be very stiff).
Just look at that smooth, luscious dough!
Place 1 1/2 inch cookie dough balls on a lined cookie sheet. I use and recommend a Silpat for best results.
Do not refrigerate the dough first or it will become very hard because of the coconut oil.
Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.
Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
And there they are: Perfect Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- *Carefully measure all ingredients*
- 2 cups brown rice flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup melted and cooled pure coconut oil
- 1 large whole egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine the brown rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda in a food processor. Blend on high speed for about 15 seconds. Set aside.
- Beat the sugars and coconut oil in a large bowl for 2 minutes. Add the whole egg and egg yolk and the vanilla and beat until combined and the cookie dough is smooth.
- Gradually add the flour mixture into the wet mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips (the dough will be very stiff).
- Place 1½ inch cookie dough balls on a lined cookie sheet. (Recommended: [url:1]Silpat[/url]) Do not refrigerate the dough first or it will become very hard because of the coconut oil.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Adapted from Alton Brown’s “The Chewy Gluten Free” – changes made to the ingredients and method
Amna says
Hello! Can we substitute coconut oil with regular cooking oil or butter?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Amna, you can use the same amount of regular oil or butter (if using butter, melt it and let it cool a little before adding).
Maria says
Hi, just wondering whether I can substitute, or omit, the tapioca flour?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Maria, starches are all a bit different in texture (eg, potato starch is denser than tapioca starch), but if you don’t have tapioca starch you can substitute with either potato starch or corn starch (be careful not to confuse potato starch with potato flour).
BigJillie says
The xantham gum is missing from your instructions.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks for catching that! It’s added in step 2.
Justine says
Made these today and they are fantastic! Thank you so much.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m thrilled to hear that, Justine, thank you!
Angie Lino says
Hello Kimberly, I’m assuming I can use the prepared gluten free multi-murpose flour that has all the ingredients you ask for but I am wondering the correct measurement?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Angie, I haven’t tried making these with the already prepared gluten-free mix so if you were to simply add up the various flours in this recipe and then use that same amount of the mix, I don’t know how it would turn out. Gluten-free baking can be very challenging and this recipe is very carefully put together.
Angie Lino says
Thank you so much for your quick response, I am making them as we speak!
Teesha Gupta says
Hi, I have been following your blog from a while, I must say its a good initiative.
I am from India and thus would request you to reply on my few queries
-Can we use butter or some other oil (Sunflower Oil / Soya bean Oil) instead of Coconut Oil.
-Can we skip xanthan gum or please provide an alternate to it.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Teesha, thank you very much! Yes, you may use butter or any other form of oil. Unfortunately there is no substitute for xanthan gum. There are gluten-free recipes that omit it, but the texture of the cookies/baked goods just isn’t nearly as good.
Sandra says
Look delicious Kimberley, where do you buy the xanthan gum?? I live in Canada, and have not seen it in the stores here.
Sandra
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sandra! I’ve added a few links in the recipe box to where the ingredients can be conveniently found online. But you should be able to find xanthan gum in any health food store. Most chain grocery stores here in the U.S. carry it as well and I would imagine that’s also true of Canada. Just ask a grocery clerk and they should be able to lead you right to it. Happy baking!