Christmas Greetings... a little late!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sure, I’m a few weeks behind schedule… but better late than never, right? We had a season of sickness in the house… and then all of a sudden it was the Christmas season. Our days quickly became filled with choir practices, shopping, wrapping and general busyness. Homeschooling stopped, my photography classes stopped… and yes, even the blogging stopped. It’s just been this week that I have felt like things have fallen back into their normal routine… and I thought it was about time I post on my blog!

So, I hope your Christmas and New Year’s celebrations were full of joy, family, friends and fun… and now, on to my post!

As I was doing my usual grocery shopping this past week, I happened to discover that my Wegmans now carries Baker’s Chocolate Chunks… which just happens to be both gluten and peanut free!

Oh joy! Oh glorious day! (Too excited?)

I was overwhelmed with an idea that came upon me all at once. Double Chocolate Chunk cookies. Holy mackerel… this is going to be a good one. So the next day… I got down to business. I looked over other cookie recipes… I calculated… I tweaked… I baked.

I fell in love.

They are chewy, they are deeply chocolaty… and then all throughout are chunks of dark chocolate. Um, can there BE anything better? Well, there is one thing that tops it. Knowing I can give my “allergic to peanuts” son some really yummy treats really sends me over the moon.

By the way… be sure to have milk around. A tall, cold glass of milk. Trust me on this one.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

1 cup Gluten Free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur brand)

½ teaspoon xanthan gum

½ cup Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

8 oz Baker’s Chocolate Chunks, divided

½ cup unsalted butter

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

Melt 4 ounces of chocolate chunks with the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

Put the slightly cooled chocolate/butter mixture, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Gradually mix in the flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chunks.

Using a 1 ½-inch ice cream scoop, drop the dough onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are flat and surfaces crack, about 15 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE.