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These gluten free New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies taste exactly like the famous crispy-outside-chewy-inside cookies published by the New York Times in 2009. You just won't believe how good they are!
I have many recipes for chocolate chip cookies on this site, most notably our classic thick and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies. But this is the only recipe I have that is quite literally the stuff of legends. Like the time (just yesterday) that I gave my husband half of one cookie—and then he took out his wallet and offered me $1 for another cookie.
I talked him up to 2 bucks, and took his money. Our children looked on in total confusion, and then offered up their own piggybanks. I turned them down. I'm not that crazy.
This recipe for gluten free New York Times chocolate chip cookies is precisely the sort of recipe that would have been solidly off-limits before writing Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread.
Before Bakes Bread, there was no gluten free bread flour. Now, we have gluten free bread flour. A whole new world of possibilities has opened up. To be fair, though, my gluten free bread flour does require the addition of dairy in the form of whey protein isolate.
Of course, you could also avoid a rice flour-based blend and avoid dairy completely with these Paleo chocolate chip cookies. Paleo is dairy free by definition.
These are the cookies to scale, in the hands of my then 8-year-old daughter. They are not for the faint of heart.
You can, of course, make them smaller. Just divide the dough into whatever size pieces you like best, and bake them as directed. You'll just have to watch the baking time, as they will be done baking faster if they're smaller.
What makes these cookies different?
What makes these cookies different is the flour used to make them, mostly. Are you familiar with the Famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies? They're made with a combination of bread flour and cake flour.
We make bread flour like we do with our newer-style gluten free breads. We make cake flour the way everyone does: with a combination of about 80% all purpose (gluten free) flour + 20% cornstarch.
All that means is that, if you have 1 cup (or 140 grams) of flour, 80% (or 112 grams) will be an all purpose gluten free flour blend, and 20% (or 28 grams) will be cornstarch. Here, I've done the math for you in the recipe below by including all purpose gluten free flour (my mock Better Batter or Better Batter itself work best here) and cornstarch separately in the ingredients.
If you can't have cornstarch, try using potato starch or arrowroot. It should work just fine. If you can't have dairy, you can try using rice protein isolate or pea protein in place of whey protein isolate, along with Expandex, in the bread flour. I haven't tried it, though, so you'll be experimenting!
Why chill the dough?
The dough really does benefit from being chilled for 24 to 72 hours. I've tried baking the dough right away, and baking it after chilling it for at least a full day. The texture of the baked cookies is really amazing after the wait.
In fact, even the color of the dough seems to change color a bit as the dough rests. It goes from being quite light in color to a deeper brown, a bit more like the cookies as baked. I could make up some sort of smartypants science reason for that, but I like you too much. :)
If you think you won't be able to wait without even a taste, try chilling half the dough and baking off half the dough. Then, you can judge whether it was worth the wait.
One way or another, you're gonna need to make these. They're the perfect combination of chewy (in the center) and crispy (on the edges).
Be sure to sprinkle that little bit of coarse salt on top.That salty-sweet combination of tastes, along with all that texture magic, is something you won't soon forget.
Gluten Free New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (105 g) all purpose gluten free flour, (I used Better Batter; please click thru for appropriate blends)
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum, (omit if your blend already contains it)
- 1 ½ tablespoons (14 g) cornstarch
- ⅞ cup (122 g) gluten free bread flour, (you must use my gf bread flour blend; click thru for full details)
- ⅝ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅝ cup (120 g) granulated sugar
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) packed light brown sugar
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg, at room temperature, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate disks
- Coarse salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a large bowl, place the all purpose flour, xanthan gum, cornstarch, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar, and whisk to combine well.
- Add the light brown sugar, and whisk again to combine, working to break up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the butter, egg and vanilla, mixing to combine after each addition. The dough will be thick.
- Add the chocolate disks, and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout. Wrap the cookie dough tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate ideally for 24 to 72 hours.
- On baking day, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line three large rimmed baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 9 balls, each about 3 1/2 ounces (the size of generous golf balls), and place them at least 6 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheets.
- Sprinkle the tops lightly with coarse salt, and place in the preheated oven. Bake until golden brown all over but still soft toward the center (18 to 20 minutes).
- The cookies will spread to about 5-inches in diameter. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes, or until set before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
