Gluten-free Chocolate Chunk Cookies

January 20, 2011

gluten free chocolate chunk cookies | une gamine dans la cuisine

I know you may be thinking "Where am I? Why am I here...I don't visit this blog for healthy recipes. This is my dark little happy place where I come to escape all that is green, leafy and not 'free' of anything except vital nutrients...and what is up with the fickle backgrounds?" But before you click away dramatically, feeling betrayed and alone, please just let me explain. I have and always will, worship at the alter of butter, sugar and dark imported beer. There just happened to be a bit of leftover almond flour from this month's Daring Bakers recipe (coming soon!). As for my blog's schizophrenic appearance lately, I've been toying with some new templates.

This may come as a shock, but I actually like gluten-free desserts. If made properly, you can't tell they're missing all the beautiful white stuff. I've always wanted to try making one of my favourite things in the world, chocolate chip cookies, in gluten-free form. The final verdict? They are so blithe, you practically inhale them. I throw around the word 'addicting' a lot, so much so that it may have lost its merit, but I mean it, truly.

Because the cookies are made with almond flour/meal, they have a rich, nutty...je ne sais quoi quality. The flavour is heartier than the traditional cookies yet you don't feel as though you need to take a nap after eating a few. Most people found the cookies bewitching, a tiny fistful lost the enchantment after hearing the mercurial phrase *gluten-free* (their loss!).

gluten free chocolate chunk cookies | une gamine dans la cuisine


Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Cookies (recipe adapted from Elana's Pantry)

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of almond flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking Soda
10 Tablespoons of butter (melted and cooled)
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of real maple syrup (you may use agave nectar)
1 cup of chopped dark chocolate

Method
In a medium bowl, stir together the almond flour, salt, and baking soda.
In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla, and maple syrup. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix until combined. Stir in the chunks of chopped chocolate.
Note: At this point, due to habit, I covered the bowl and let it chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours. I don't think it's necessary...
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
I used a 1/2 Tablespoon per cookie (this made about 20 cookies.) If you prefer, you can make yours larger.
Bake for 7-10 minutes. They won't spread very much, or change colour but mine were perfect after 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the sheets before removing.

more gluten free love:
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies
Blueberry Coconut Macaroons 
Pistachio Almond Cake  

46 comments:

  1. I can't wait to try these! I, too, love really good gluten-free desserts. And I have extra hazelnut flour I need to use up...

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  2. Valerie, if it was anyone but you, I wouldn't go near a gluten-free cookie. But if it has your seal of approval I'll give it a try!

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  3. Looks great & delicious! Is the cookies chewy or crunchy?

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  4. Hi DG,
    These are definitely on the soft side! :-)

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  5. I would never suspect those cookies are gluten free. They look as tasty as regular cookies. I'm starting a new linky on my blog this Saturday called "Sweets for a Saturday." If you have a chance, I invite you to stop by and link these up.

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  6. These sound (and look) amazing. I love anything with almonds, and I bet the texture of these is fantastic.
    :)

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  7. A cookie is a cookie, a healthy cookie is even better.Great recipe and superb pictures!

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  8. Oh, these sound great! I have to go buy some almond flour now!

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  9. These look terrific! I'll have to send this to my GF sister!

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  10. These must be very delicate and soft after a day or so. Am I right? That is how my cookies are with only almond flour. I love how these look so crunchy and perfect.
    Kudos to you for creating such a gorgeous recipe!
    :)
    valerie

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  11. those sound really good, and with big chunks of chocolate, they look delicious! i also like gluten-free desserts that are made with nut and interesting flours(the kind made from bizarre gums and things, i'm not so into) and i like the maple syrup in there, too.

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  12. I've never cooked or baked gluten free, but I intend to in the future. These cookies are calling me!

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  13. I just made this recipe after staring at it for a few days, and even figured out how to make almond flour for it. In my blond moments, I added two eggs to the recipe and made them into bar cookies. It came out great! I am definitely going to make this my go to cookie recipe.

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  14. Hi, Sam!
    lol! Even though I'm not a blond, I've had my share of those moments myself. I bet these were great as bar cookies...so much more to sink your teeth into.
    Thanks for visiting! :-)

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  15. Valerie, thanks so much for this. I have two bags of almond meal begging to be used. Will definitely try these.

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  16. Wowzers! I love this recipe, Valerie. You do not need to apologize to me for a gluten free cookie either. I love vegan and glute-free-both can be excellent when done well. Sad that both these styles of baking are so underestimated really...
    p.s. I love beer and white flour too, but don't tell anyone;)

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  17. Hi Valerie

    What type of maple syrup did you use in this recipe. Grade A, Grade B etc.

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  18. Hi Jackie,
    I just used regular Aunt Jemima's syrup. :-)

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  19. These cookies were amazing! Since I am gluten intolerant I am always looking for recipes I don't have to modify myself. I am thinking about using the base to make a blueberry, lemon, white chocolate cookie next! Thanks again for the great recipe!!

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  20. Hi Anon,
    That's brilliant, a blueberry lemon and white chocolate version of this would be delicious! :)

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  21. You know, whenever I see GF or any other healthy sounding words in the title, I usually close the post immediately! Only for you did I end up reading it!

    The cookies sound amazing, maybe they'll be my first foray into gluten free baking?

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  22. Avanika, I'm the exact same way when it comes to 'healthy' recipes.

    Thanks for giving this post a chance. :D

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  23. Just made these and woah! Did they spread. They really did. Not sure if I did something wrong (followed the directions exactly), but they are huge and taking forever to cook. Just wanted to post in case you had suggestions? Thanks!

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  24. Hi Layla,
    I'm so sorry the cookies spread...hopefully they still tasted great.
    I almost always refrigerate cookie dough (even if it's not included in the original recipe). Chilled cookie dough usually spreads less. The only other thing that I can think of is outdated baking soda. I used to never check the dates on soda and powder, but it really does make a difference in the baking process.

    I hope that helps! I barely ever bake GF, but I'll try and revisit this recipe sometime so I can see how the cookies turn out. :)

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  25. these look great!

    can you tell me how many they yield? I need to bring a desert to a "paleo potluck" and am wondering if I need to double the recipe.

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  26. Hi Kendra,
    I made these cookies a long time ago, but I think the recipe makes about 20-24 cookies. Enjoy! :-)

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  27. These were so incredibly DELICIOUS. I have to be VERY careful because I can eat a whole batch in two days by myself! Thank you sooo much!!!

    ~m

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  28. @M, I've consumed entire batches of cookies in less than 2 days...it's okay. :D

    Glad to hear the cookies were enjoyed!!

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  29. Thank you, THANK YOU for posting a GF cookie recipe that doesn't call for rice flour!! I very much dislike the grainy texture of rice flour, and with my daughter on a new GF diet, the rice-free recipes are rare!!

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  30. I made these tonight and made sure to place the batter in the fridge for at least 3 hours. After 7-10 minutes they spread out really flat and were extremely greasy. I left them cooling on the counter. They are still really soft and fall apart when I pick them up. I ground up my own almonds to make the almond flour. All ingredients are very fresh. Perhaps they need less butter and the addition of an egg or two?

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  31. @Elements of Wellness, I'm so sorry that the cookies didn't turn out well. I made this recipe quite a while ago but if I revisit them, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for what went wrong. Even though they feel apart, I hope they're still edible...

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  32. Thanks, Valerie! The cookies were not edible and had to be thrown out. Next time I plan to use way less butter or substitute coconut oil and add an egg. The recipe needs something to help the cookies rise.

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  33. These were AMAZING! I had a huge craving for real, baked chocolate chip cookies, and my Raw cookie dough just wasn't going to cut it this time. I cam across this recipe that had most of what I have in my Raw kitchen. I ground the almonds for the flour, substituted 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 Raw cacoa butter for the regular butter (I didn't want it too coconutty). Next time I'll use less than 5tbs each, cuz they were a bit oily. I also used Cacoa nibs. Despite the extra oil, they were amazing! Thank you for this recipe!!!

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  34. These are a hit at our house! I use the Enjiy Life choc chips. The kids ask for me to make them. BE SURE TI USE BLANCHED ALMOND FLOUR ONLY!

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  35. This looks fantastic! Right now I am overseas where neither maple syrup nor agave are readily available. Do you think honey would be an acceptable substitute? Thank you for your time!

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  36. @Anon: Honey's consistency is close enough to syrup - so it should be okay to swap...

    Please let me know how they turn out! :)

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  37. I tried this recipe today. I made these changes:
    1/4 t. baking powder
    1 egg
    1 lemon zest
    1/2 juice from a lemon
    Did not add chocolate.
    They were great! A good basic cookie to be creative with.
    Thank you for sharing all your wonder ideas.

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  38. What are the nutritional facts on these? Would like to know carbs.

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  39. @Melany: I'm sorry but I don't know any nutrition stats for this recipe...almond flour is healthier than all-purpose but as far as carbs go, I have no idea. :(

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  40. How many carbs are there per cookie? My newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic daughter has made her summer goal: finding a fantastic low carb cookie.

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  41. @holly; I don't have any nutritional information on this recipe. Sorry. :(

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  42. Lovely! Definitely on my bucket-list to try.

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  43. Hi, Valerie!

    Since maple syrup is fairly high in sugar and in carbs, do you think using light or diet syrup would be alright?

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    Replies
    1. I have never worked with diet syrups so I can't say if it will work in this recipe. If the syrup you plan on using has the same consistency as maple, it wouldn't hurt to try. Sorry I can't be more helpful. :(

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  44. Yeah. Maple syrup is way too much for a diabetic. Have to find a substitute

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  45. I wanted to know the net carbs too. There's a sugar-free honey substitute I'm going to try. Honey Tree. It's maltitol, so I'll have to watch portions afterward, but I'm curious to see how it goes.

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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