Gluten-free Chocolate Chunk Cookies
DIETARY - Vegetarian, Gluten-free
Browned butter, also called beurre noisette, is a classic French technique used for accelerating the flavour of butter. By gently cooking it you can add a nutty flavour to a whole range of foods, and it works exceptionally well with dark chocolate in this recipe.
I started experimenting with this recipe for my husband and his best friend, who coincidentally were both diagnosed with celiac disease in the last year, just six months apart. They both have a sweet tooth and once enjoyed a gluten-filled diet, so I wanted to create an indulgent soft cookie that shared a similar taste and, importantly, texture to regular cookies for them. Neither has been especially enamoured with what’s available on the supermarket shelves - they find most of the cookies to be on the dry, crumbly side and quite hard.
I really had my work cut out for me, but when I gave them this batch to try they devoured it pretty quickly, so I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as these boys did!
Gluten-free Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients:
- 1 + 1/3 cups gluten-free plain flour (I use supermarket’s own brand)
- ½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if the flour blend already contains it)
- ¼ cup almond meal
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp milk
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk or dark chocolate chips
- Sea salt for sprinkling (optional)
Method:
- In a medium bowl, mix together the gluten-free flour, xanthan gum (if using), almond meal, bicarbonate of soda and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once melted, start whisking continuously. First the butter will begin to foam, then it will start to brown on the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat as soon as you see this happening and the butter begins to give off a nutty aroma. Pour into a glass bowl to stop any further cooking.
- Add the milk, brown sugar and caster sugar to the melted butter and whisk well to combine. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- Using a spatula, mix the dry ingredients in with the wet until combined. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and set aside for half an hour. The mixture will seem quite sticky at first, but when you come back to your mix you’ll see it’s firmed up nicely.
- Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan)/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
- Scoop the cookie dough into your hand (about 2 tbsp of dough per cookie) and roll into a ball. Place a few inches apart on the baking sheets and flatten slightly with your palm. Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes, until golden. Allow them to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack and sprinkling with sea salt flakes.