Equally loved by both children and adults, this cookie is a classic. The saltiness balances the sweetness nicely here and gives these treats a more refined character. Using both salted butter and kosher salt in the actual cookie contributes two levels of flavour – more of a background saltiness from the butter, and a forward saltiness from the kosher salt. Adding the salt in this way gives the finished cookies a well-seasoned, rounded flavour that makes it hard to eat just one. Use your favourite chocolate, bittersweet or semisweet. –Heather Hardcastle

What makes these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies chewy?

Heather’s method calls for chilling the cookie dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. This helps control how much the cookies spread in the oven, resulting in thicker, chewier cookies with soft centres. Brown rice flour and a small amount of xanthan gum provide the structure without wheat flour.

A silver baking sheet with chocolate chip cookies

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Heather Hardcastle

Chewy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies made with brown rice flour, salted butter and plenty of chocolate chips.

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Equipment

1 1.5 oz cookie scoop

Ingredients

4 sticks salted butter softened
2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups brown rice flour
1 tbsp kosher salt
½ tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1½ cups chocolate chips

Instructions

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl twice during creaming.
With the mixer running on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Mix batter on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed to incorporate.
Add brown rice flour, salt, xanthan gum and baking soda. Mix dough until smooth, making sure to scrape the bowl to incorporate bits of unmixed sugar lingering on the bottom. Add chocolate chips and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
Using a 1.5-oz cookie scoop (#24, or about 3 tbsp), scoop out dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between cookies. Each cookie ball should be about 2 inches in diameter; you should be able to fit about 8 cookies on each sheet. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight before baking. Chilling the dough will help control the spread of the cookies while baking. If your dough is too soft, the dough will spread out and the cookie will be thinner and crispier. Chilled dough will spread less during baking, maintaining a thicker, chewier cookie with an even shape.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for about 8 minutes, rotate the sheets between upper and lower racks and bake for another 7 minutes, until cookies are a light golden brown around the edges and still soft in the centre. Cool on the baking sheet completely before transferring to a serving platter or enjoying; the warm cookies are very fragile and can break easily. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Notes

Make-ahead tips: Scoop the dough balls and place them very close together on a baking sheet; freeze overnight until very hard. Bake your desired cookie quantity per the instructions above, straight from the freezer, adding 1 to 2 extra minutes to the baking time. Place the rest of the frozen dough balls in a zip-top plastic bag and keep in your freezer until needed, up to 3 months.

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