Gluten Free, Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies evoke memories of lazy childhood days, baking cookies and gobbling them up the minute they came out of the oven.  Hot and gooey and just right with a glass of milk.  Gluten free chocolate chip cookies can be a bit of a challenge, that is until you discover the secret to perfect, just like wheat, chocolate chip cookies.  Coconut Flour!  The great thing about coconut flour is that you don't have to use xanthan gum, that ingredient that newbie GF bakers seldom have and for others, the nemesis ingredient that causes stomach problems almost equal to a gluten attack.  Here is our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, courtesy of Let's Do...Organic Coconut Flour.  We have made only a few little changes.

Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup + 2 T brown rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
8 T butter or non-dairy alternative (we sometimes use coconut oil)
1 cup organic sugar (or 1/2 cup white + 1/2 cup brown)
1 egg or egg substitute
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup walnuts or pecan pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Blend together butter and sugar until fluffy and well mixed.  Beat in egg and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix the flours, baking soda and salt.  Add this to the butter/egg mixture until smooth and well blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts.  Drop the dough by spoonful onto pre-greased cookie sheets spaced about 2 inches apart.  Bake 8-12 minutes or until brown around the edges.  Remove from oven and allow to cool 2 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.  Makes 24 cookies.

*The cookies pictured above were made with coconut oil.  They do bake up a little differently but are just as good!  Enjoyed them with a glass of unsweetened, original almond milk for a dairy-free delight!

The original recipe does not include salt.  These just aren't the same without it.  Also, we don't use as much sugar as the recipe calls for.  These are still plenty sweet with 3/4 cup of sugar.  We also use about 1/2 the chocolate chips, more like 1/2 cup, sometimes a little more, depending on your chocolate craving that day!

Printable recipe here: Printable Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies