A little bit of chocolate goes a long way

I don’t know about you, but when I found out I had a gluten intolerance in August of 2010 I went into shock. My mom describes the time after the diagnosis as a time of grieving. Apparently I would walk into the kitchen, open the cupboard doors, stare at the contents, quietly close the doors and walk away, usually shaking my head and letting out a little sigh.

You see, I love to cook. I love to bake. A little bit of this mixed with some of that and - VOILA – yumminess. How was I going to do that? Figuring out when to use which flour or starch, checking ingredient labels, contacting companies for allergen info. It all just seemed so… overwhelming.

In our little family of four, three of us have food allergies. My 7-year-old daughter has a white potato intolerance (ever heard of that one?), my almost-3-year-old has a peanut allergy and I have the gluten intolerance. I want you to take a moment to imagine making dinner for my family. Understand now why I was at a loss?

It was my sweet husband, Tim, who snapped me out of the funk. After weeks of eating apples and cheese (because I didn’t know what else to do) I was grumbling and complaining of missing the complex flavors I loved. I missed taking a bite of something and tasting different layers of flavor and spice. Tim took it upon himself to research and find a recipe he could make that would be safe for his food allergy-stricken family.

He’s a saint, I tell you.

It was that delicious dinner that made me think I just might be able to cook again. Maybe. And so began the mind scrambling game of researching information on a gluten free life. Wow.

(FYI… my advice for newly diagnosed gluten allergy folks who aren’t sure where to start… meet with someone who is in the same boat, bring a notebook and write down every word they say. Trust me.)

I decided that above all – I needed to come up with one recipe that would be my “coping” recipe… the thing that would make me say, “I can live a gluten free life.”

And so – I found a recipe for the one thing that I knew would have that impact. I tweaked it. Then I tweaked it again. And probably another four or five times. A little excessive, I know.

I give you – the best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie I have ever had. Actually, it might be the best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had, period. Gluten or no gluten.

No need to thank me. I understand the importance of a little chocolate now and again. ;o)

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes about 2 dozen big cookies)

2 sticks butter

2 cups brown rice flour

¼ cup + 2 Tbsp tapioca starch

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

¼ cup white sugar

1 ¼ cups light brown sugar

1 whole egg

1 egg yolk

2 Tbsp milk

1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract

12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer (w/ paddle attachment).

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flours, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt and baking soda.

Add both sugars to the butter and cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla until well combined. Add flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Cover and chill the dough until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Shape the dough into large balls (approx 2-3 Tbsp, I use the largest scoop from Pampered Chef) and place on Silpats or parchment paper, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes on the middle rack, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking.

Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the baking sheets for about 2 minutes. Move to wire racks and cool completely.