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

P's Birthday Treats (Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars)

My boyfriend P's attitude towards food is often, in his own words, "Yea well...it's a food...you can eat it..." -_-... So when he praises (or even remembers) any food past the day he consumes it, I take notice and usually try to recreate it. For years now P's expressed a fondness for a rice krispies bar he used to buy in college. But he wasn't referring to just any plain rice cereal bar...

Lexington, Virginia -- where P and I grew up and eventually met

The rice krispies layer was just one of 3 essential components in the treat P described -- the others being almighty chocolate and peanut butter ;p. It wasn't hard to see that a light, crunchy cereal base would be the perfect foil for rich layers of peanut butter and chocolate. If you love the combination of chocolate + PB as much as we do, you'll now understand our interest in recreating this heavenly slice.

Speaking of recreating this bar of lore, I actually made one previous attempt over 3 years ago. Let's just say there was some yelling and a pan full of sweetened bricks where there should've been bars =X. Despite that, um, incident...I gave it another shot for P's birthday this year and they turned out much better this time. In fact P kept threatening to eat the entire tray, which is his special way of telling me I done good =).

I bet you guys have some beloved schoolgirl/boy treats of your own that you've been dying to bring back. I'd love to hear about them in the comments below!

Guest Post: Chirashi Sushi Cake and Temari Sushi

I love guest posts because they allow me to share a wide variety of cuisines with you guys that I'm not personally knowledgeable about as well as to introduce a wonderful array bloggers to you. Japanese cuisine is high on my list of favorites for its fresh ingredients, pure flavors, the elegance of its presentation. I'm especially fond of it because P adores it. After spending a year in Hokkaido teaching English to Japanese students, he simply couldn't get enough of Japanese dishes ranging from ramen noodles (the real kind!) to curry to sushi. I've given the other dishes a stab but haven't yet found the courage to try homemade sushi.

Luckily I was able to enlist my sweet friend and Japanese food blogger, Nami of Just One Cookbook, to show us how it's done. If you ever seen her work, you already know that her posts are bound to tantalize your senses, from vibrant photos to carefully detailed instructions to help you replicate the mouth-watering results. She's truly outdone herself with this knockout Chirashi Sushi Cake. I gasped when I first saw it and I bet you'll follow suit. Please read on for all the delectable details from Nami!

Hello everyone! My name is Nami and I share quick and easy Japanese home cook meals at Just One Cookbook. I was really honored when Xiaolu invited me to guest post because I’ve been a big fan of her beautiful blog ever since I found it.

This past Saturday was a special day for young girls in Japan. Every March 3rd the Japanese celebrate The Doll Festival called Hinamatsuri. For the festival many families with daughters display colorful Hina Ningyo, a set of the traditional Emperor and Empress dolls dressed in kimono, and celebrate this day to pray for the girls’ growth and happiness. Chirashi Sushi is often cooked on this day as a part of feast.

Chirashi Sushi literally means “scattered sushi” and is served in Japanese restaurants. Each region in Japan serves a slightly different version of Chirashi Sushi with different ingredients and toppings, with most having various types of sashimi over sushi rice in a bowl. Since it’s very easy to make, it’s also the most common sushi made at home. Today I used Chirashi Sushi Mix (see below), which contains precooked lotus root, carrot, dried gourd strip, bamboo shoot, and shiitake mushroom seasoned with sweet vinegar.

I usually serve Chirashi Sushi in a bowl (see above), but this year I made it a little more special for my soon-to-be 4 year old daughter who loves anything pretty (who doesn’t?). I made a sushi cake out of Chirashi Sushi thanks to my Japanese mommy friend who gave me this idea, and with leftover ingredients I made Temari Sushi using thin egg crepes (see my other examples of Temari Sushi here).

I am not much of a baker but this sushi cake was very easy to make. My daughter and I had a wonderful time making it and it was delicious! Thank you Xiaolu for inviting me today. Now everyone, let’s get ready to cook!

Guest Post: Coconut Rice

You may have noticed that I'm not posting recipes as frequently these days. With both final exams and GREs descending on me in less than 2 weeks, I've simply had to shelf my planned posts until winter recess (with one exception this weekend ^-^). Luckily my dear friend Sala of Veggie Belly has kindly stepped in with an absolutely delicious and doable recipe for her fragrant coconut rice! You may recall that I shared a chocolate chestnut cake roll on her blog back in June. We lived not too far from each other then and I've really missed her company since she moved to the West Coast. While I've never tasted this specific dish of hers, I've sampled enough of her cooking to have confidence that all her recipes are dynamite! Please give your warmest welcome to the exceedingly sweet and talented Sala!

What I enjoy the most about blogging is the fact that I’ve met some amazing, like-minded people through blogging. And that’s how I met Xiaolu; through my blog. After weeks of emailing back and forth, we met up for a meal. It was the start of a great friendship, and exchange of ideas. I’ve come to admire Xiaolu for her passion for baking and blogging, and her meticulous food styling. I’m delighted to guest post today and share with you a simple, flavorful, childhood recipe.

Coconut rice was a staple school lunch. I’d take it to school in a little tiffin box, and it always tasted great, hot or cold. Now, coconut rice has become a standard weeknight meal for me. It’s easy to put together and served with a steamed or curried vegetable like my cauliflower broccoli poriyal or some spinach dal and some yogurt, makes a complete meal.

Good quality, fresh coconut is essential for this recipe. You can find fresh-frozen grated or shredded coconut at Indian and Asian stores. Just break off a chunk and let it thaw on your counter top.

If you like some fruity sweetness in your coconut rice, throw in 2 tablespoons of raisins or dried cranberries or dried apricots.

Coconut Mung Bean Kaffir Lime Popsicles for MLLA Anniversary!

I've long been a fan of my friend Susan and her gorgeous blog, The Well-Seasoned Cook, especially her elegant photography and her blog event, My Legume Love Affair (MLLA), which has done a great deal to popularize nutritious and delicious beans/legumes. MLLA recently had its 3rd anniversary, and I was honored to accept Susan's invitation to help celebrate this momentous occasion as well as help kick-start what's sure to be a fabulous 4th year! Inspired by Chinese mung bean popsicles as well as our Southeast Asian neighbors, I'm sharing these flavorful Coconut Mung Bean and Kaffir Lime Popsicles over on Susan's site. I'd love if you'd stop on by to check out my full guest post. But if you're in a hurry and just wanna grab the printable recipe, you'll find it right here.

A Lotta Chocolate Part 4: Cherry Pistachio Orange Cocoa Couscous Salad

UPDATE: In case anyone's interested in trying the fantastic dried fruit or other products from Payson Fruit Growers, including the dried cherries I used for this salad, they're offering $3 off any order of $15 or more. The coupon code is 3off15 and will be valid for the next couple of months. Enjoy!

Does anyone still remember my chocolate series? I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't. What else could I expect when I'm the one who put it on the back-burner for over a month in favor of other festivities? Well fret not because we're getting this show back on the road for 2 more posts in this series. And I promise it's gonna end with a bang!

At the beginning of this series I promised to show you some "less common ways" for using chocolate. And there was no doubt in my mind already that at least one savory recipe would need to be included to truly fulfill that promise. A great idea I immediately came across was to add a little of the dark stuff to your chili. I did this with a pumpkin black bean chili I made last fall, and all I have to say about it is try it! You'll love the depth of flavor it adds.

But who wants to stew chili in the dead of summer? I chose instead to try this couscous salad with an exciting blend of fruits, nuts, herbs, and -- you guessed it -- chocolate! Between the orange zest, toasted pistachios, chopped mint, dried cherries, and cocoa, this salad had a lot going on...but in a good way. Fragrant and fresh, each ingredient held its own in every bite of this salad. Together they became nothing short of a beautiful harmony.

And I love the role that chocolate played in this composition. Rather than the bold starlet it's accustomed to being in desserts, chocolate stepped back to play subtle but steady support in this dish. Almost acting as a spice here, the addition of cocoa powder produced a warm nutty backdrop that worked superbly to balance the brightness of orange and mint.

I was lucky to get my hands on some great quality tart dried cherries for this salad. Payson Fruit Growers sent them to me for free to review, and I've honestly been very impressed. Their dried cherries are fresh, juicy, and not a bit too sweet -- great for cooking, baking, or just for eating out of hand. I also got some tart cherry juice concentrate from them that I'll tell you more about soon. But for now, let me just encourage you to play with chocolate in this or another savory dish =D.

Cherry Pistachio Orange Cocoa Couscous Salad [Printable Recipe]
Slightly adapted from Batter Licker
Serves 2 to 4, but easily doubled or tripled

1 1/2 cups water
1 Tbsp PLUS 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
2 tsp freshly grated OR frozen orange zest
Pinch of salt, plus more to taste
1 cup dry couscous
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, toasted and chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened dried cherries, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp natural cocoa powder
1/8 tsp chili powder (optional)
2 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1/2 Tbsp honey

Combine water, 1 teaspoon of oil, zest, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir couscous in, cover the pot, and remove from the heat. Let stand covered for about 5 minutes, then remove the lid and fluff couscous lightly with a fork.

Stir in chopped pistachios, cherries, cocoa powder, chili powder, mint, and remaining tablespoon of oil. Add salt to taste. Taste and stir in honey if you'd prefer a sweeter taste.

PREVIOUSLY: Chocolate Chunk Challah Bread French Toast, Snickers Macarons, and Chocolate Cake Roll with Chestnut Cream

Black Sesame Sweet Rice Dumplings 2 Ways (Guest Post on Fork Spoon Knife)

Just as starting a food blog 2 years ago introduced me to friends around the globe, joining Twitter this year has enriched my life with even more talented, caring, and equally food-obsessed pals. Asha of Fork Spoon Knife was one of the first among these new friends. Her warm and cheerful spirit, exciting recipes, and wonderful photography were irresistible from the start. When she then invited me to contribute to the celebration of her 3-year blog anniversary, of course I said yes right away! Though the party's theme was Street Food, Asha let me share a Chinese dessert that is traditionally a soup, but which I made more "street-savvy" by borrowing an idea from our Japanese neighbors. Please stop by Asha's site to wish her a happy anniversary and read all about my Black Sesame Sweet Rice Dumplings. If you're in a rush and just want to grab the recipe, you can also find it here.

I'm also submitting these skewers to Get Grillin’ with Family Fresh Cooking and Cookin’ Canuck, sponsored by Ile de France Cheese, Rösle, Emile Henry, ManPans and Rouxbe.