Triple Chocolate Gluten-Free Cookies Recipe

Who knew gluten-free cookies could be so rich and delicious? Catherine Brookes, chef and recipe developer behind Blue Sky Eating did, to name one person, and she's the only person that matters at the moment, because she's the brains behind this ridiculously chocolatey recipe. As in three kinds of chocolate chips, not to mention a heaping dose of cocoa powder, among a host of other sweet stuff.

Did we say "ridiculously chocolatey" there? Actually, let's revise that to "amazingly chocolatey," because as Brookes herself says, "for that amazing triple chocolate hit, why have one type of chocolate when you can have all three?" Those three types of chocolate chips not only lend lots of flavor and complexity to these cookies, they also look great. And frankly, they make these cookies look like they were much more of a challenge to bake than they actually are. If you can follow some pretty standard baking steps, you can make these cookies, which are, as Brookes says, "super soft and chewy and loaded with chocolate — you'd never guess they were gluten-free!"

There are quite a few ingredients that go into these cookies when you compare them to, say, a sugar cookie, but again, the process is quite manageable — just go step-by-step. All in, you'll need some gluten-free all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda, butter (melted), cream cheese, light brown sugar, white granulated sugar, vanilla extract, a large egg plus one large egg yolk, milk chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and dark chocolate chips.

Make sure you use a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend for this recipe. Brookes explains, "Using a flour blend that's been designed to replicate standard all-purpose flour is essential. You'll get very different results if you use a single-source flour such as almond or coconut." While she recommends staying away from those kinds of flours, Brookes tells us that it's okay to use a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour that might already contain xanthan gum. If that's the case, you don't need to add xanthan gum to your cookies. If you're not sure, check the ingredients list on the flour package to see if it lists "xanthan gum" as an ingredient.

Start by whisking together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Next, in a separate large mixing bowl, mix the melted butter, cream cheese, sugars, and the vanilla extract. Then add the egg and extra egg yolk and mix to combine those in with the wet ingredients.

Now sieve the flour mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until everything has combined into a sticky dough.

Add in the three types of chocolate chips and mix to distribute them evenly throughout the dough. Don't overmix, though — stop once they look well distributed.

And now for the only "hard" part of this recipe: the waiting. Cover the bowl (with foil, plastic wrap, or a lid, if you have one) and chill it in the fridge for at least four hours before baking.

When that time is almost up, preheat the oven to 350 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Take spoonfuls of the chilled cookie dough and roll them into balls. "Mine weighed around 2.2 ounces each," Brookes says — think a bit smaller than a golf ball. Next, place the cookie balls on the lined baking sheets, allowing enough space between each for them to spread while they are cooking. And now bake the cookies for 11 to 13 minutes, keeping a close eye lest they start to burn.

Retrieve the cookies from the oven but leave them on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before carefully using a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool. They will be very soft when fresh out of the oven but will firm up as they cool. And they'll be amazing — a perfect companion to a tall, cold glass of milk, perhaps!