Big, Fat, Chewy, Perfect: The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I rarely use the word "perfect", and never in reference to my own baking (being my own worst critic and all...). It's a term too often used to describe the generic and mundane rather than the extraordinary. But it's also incredibly subjective with meaning that varies as much as the individuals that use it. So when I tell you that the GIF below is 100% how I reacted to my first bite of these thick and chewy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, I want you to understand that I'm not using the word frivolously =D. And lest you think this an exercise in self-congratulations, I openly admit to making only minor tweaks to an already incredible recipe by Alanna of Bojon Gourmet. 

While I'm aware on some level that multiple types exist, the only CC cookies that my brain registers are crisp around the edges, chewy in the center, oozing with melted chocolate chunks, and bursting with a flavor akin to butterscotch. All of us who share this concept of Cookie Nirvana as well as an interest in gluten-free baking owe Alanna a huge debt of gratitude. With some slight tweaking of the types/proportions of grains, she's created a GF cookie that stays chewy in the center, spreads like a wheat cookie, and is equal or superior to any CC cookie I've ever tasted (conventional OR GF)! For you skeptics out there, know that all my guinea pigs coworkers loved these, and not one could tell they were gluten-free. 

In this day and age I'm willing to bet that most of you have had reason to contemplate gluten-free cooking. Whether you're baking for a friend with celiac disease or just experimenting with alternative grains, I'm confident your search for The Best (Gluten-Free) Chocolate Chip Cookie will be over as soon as you whip up a batch of these. And being a gift that keeps on giving, I wouldn't be surprised to see other GF cookie posts popping up soon using this base as the starting point...I truly hope you enjoy this "perfect" recipe as much as I have and would love to hear about your results if you try it!

P.S. - I didn't use any ole pecans for these cookies, but Jumbo Raw Georgia Pecans I received from Oh! Nuts. Although I did receive these for free for my holiday baking, I can honestly say (and have said before on this blog) that I loved and paid for their products long before they ever offered me free samples. There's so much to love about Oh! Nuts that it's hard to know where to start. First, there's the incredible taste and freshness. These pecans are huge, fresh, and have a hint of natural sweetness that makes them addictive right outta the bag. Speaking of the bag, I love that all Oh! Nuts products come in a sturdy bags that stand upright, are resealable, and have a window in the front so you can easily identify the right product in your pantry later. Anyway, I'll stop gushing as you surely get the point by now. Oh! Nuts is a wonderful supplier of bulk nuts and candy, and I can't recommend them and their products enough! =D

Perfect Big, Fat, Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Browned Butter, Sea Salt, and Pecans
[Printable Recipe]
Adapted from Bojon Gourmet and Alice Medrich
Makes sixteen 3-inch cookies

XIAOLU'S NOTES: This dough needs to rest for at least 3 hours before baking, so please plan accordingly! It also scales up very well (I made a double batch my first time). Sweet/glutinous rice flour, such as Mochiko brand, is stickier and more finely ground than other rice flours. These qualities are important to the texture of these cookies, so do NOT substitute sweet rice flour with regular rice flour. You'll find it in any Asian grocery as well as in the Asian or gluten-free sections of many supermarkets. If all else fails, you can also order it in bulk online. I wasn't actually baking these cookies for anyone with a severe gluten allergy, but if you are, you'll want to purchase oats/oat flour that's specifically labeled gluten-free. While the current consensus seems to be that oats themselves don't contain gluten, regular supermarket oats are usually processed on the same machinery as gluten-containing foods and thus are NOT truly gluten-free.  I ground my own oat "flour" using my coffee/spice grinder. It took about 15 seconds and couldn't have been simpler. Don't give in to the urge to use chocolate chips for these -- chocolate chips have ingredients added to help them keep their shape at warmer temperatures. Chopped chocolate gets wonderfully melty and is more likely to stay that way as the cookies cool. Chopping your own chocolate will also create large chunks, thinner flakes, and even some chocolate dust that will mix into your dough wonderfully to enhance the flavor and texture even more.

1/2 cup (1 stick; 4 oz.) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (3.5 oz.) packed dark brown sugar
6 Tbsp (2.7 oz.) granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste OR pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 oz. (about 6 Tbsp) sweet white rice flour
*NOTE: Sweet white rice flour is also known as “glutinous” white rice flour. For these cookies to be “perfect”, you MUST use an Asian brand (such as Mochiko) OR at least a brand known to be ground super finely (such as Authentic Foods). But please note that Asian brands are much more affordable 8p.
2 oz. (about scant 1/2 cup) gluten-free oat flour
1/2 oz. (about scant 2 Tbsp) tapioca flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp xanthan gum

5 to 6.5 oz. semisweet OR bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (2 oz.) toasted pecans, cooled and coarsely chopped (optional)
Flaky sea salt, to garnish

To prepare the cookie dough, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a small saucepan (preferably with a light-colored bottom) over medium heat. Continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until the butter turns golden and smells incredibly fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes. When the butter starts to foam up, watch it very closely. There should be brown bits (NOT black) on the bottom of the pan when it's ready. Brown butter turns to burnt in what feels like a millisecond, so remove the pan from heat as soon as it looks ready. Immediately put the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter into the pan and swirl gently until it's completely melted.

Place the sugars in a large heat-safe mixing bowl, then pour the browned butter mixture in while it’s still hot and stir thoroughly. Let cool, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sift together the flours, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum (oat flour tends to be clumpy). Set aside.

Whisk the egg and vanilla into the sugar mixture until well-combined and emulsified. Use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture until well combined. Next, continue to stir vigorously for 45 seconds. (The dough should firm up during this time, and the additional mixing activates the sticky power of the xanthan gum to produce chewier cookies.) Stir in the nuts and chocolate until evenly distributed.

Cover the dough, and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours and up to 2 days until ready to bake (dough can be safely frozen for even longer).

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and take the prepared dough out of the fridge/freezer. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or non-stick silicone mats.

As soon as the dough has warmed enough to scoop (it should still be quite firm), scoop it into 1 1/2-inch wide balls (just under 3 tablespoons; this scoop in size large works well for me). Place the balls onto the prepared cookie sheets, spaced 2 inches apart. Crumble a little bit of flaky salt over the top of each cookie.

Bake the cookies about 9 to 12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. When the cookies are ready, the edges should be just starting to brown, and the tops should be puffed all over with soft centers that collapse when gently touched with a fingertip. The centers will look wet under a thin surface of dry, cracked-looking dough. They will still look underbaked at this point, but they're not. This IS how they should look -- the cookies will firm up after leaving the oven from being cooked by residual heat and then from cooling down.

Remove the cookies from the oven. If they look too puffy, slam the pan straight down on the counter 2 to 3 times to deflate them a bit. Let cookies cool on the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer them to cooling racks. Enjoy right away OR cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature for later. The cookies are best within 2 days of being baked.