last cookie from our gathering
Yesterday I attended a lovely potluck picnic that was organized by my pal Jess Thompson for several food bloggers who were in town for the BlogHerFood conference. It was a magical June day in Seattle–close to 70 degrees, sunny, and clear as a bell. After the downpour a few days earlier that that all of the bloggers had arrived during, I was glad to have them experience a little bit of the exquisiteness of a Seattle summer day. We met on a lawn next to a lake. It couldn’t have been a better setting.
More importantly, I got to see old friends and meet some new friends. Even though not everyone knew each other, we all chatted together as if we had known each other for years. That’s what happens when you bring together people who share a passion. For us, that passion is food–writing about food and sharing food. It was balm for the soul to be with these extraordinarily talented women on a lovely afternoon.
The picnic was in honor of my pal Cheryl Sternman Rule whose beautiful new cookbook, Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables, just came out. We all made things from the book. I made her Roasted Garlic White Bean Dip–which is delicious and is going to be my go-to dip of the summer! It is so easy and so yum. I paired it with freshly baked gluten-free baguettes that I had brushed with homemade rosemary oil (the oil recipe is also from Ripe)–and it was a match made in heaven. I have a rosemary bush that doesn’t nearly get as much use as it should and this recipe is perfect for it.
Being me, I also brought some cookies. I feel a bit naked if I don’t bring at least a couple of baked goods to a picnic. And you can’t ever go wrong with cookies, really. What I like about cookies is that you can bake them right before you leave, put them into a tin and bring them warm and gooey to the potluck. The gooey factor sends them right over the top on the popularity scale and everyone can’t get enough. I rarely come home with cookies from a potluck–so I always leave a few for dAhub and Girlfriend to enjoy at home.
This recipe can be adapted in several ways. You can use chocolate chunks instead of chips. You can use white chocolate (make sure it’s gluten-free) or milk chocolate chips. You can add nuts if you’d like. Play with them and make them your own.
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
1 cup (145 g) Jeanne’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour mix
1/3 cup (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (1 stick; 115 g) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (105 g) packed dark brown sugar (you can also use light brown if desired)
1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large or extra-large egg, at room temperature
2 cups (12 oz; 340 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans (120 g) , toasted and chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl mix together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Stir together with a large spoon until smooth. Add vanilla, mix until combined. Add egg, mix until smooth. Add flour mixture, stir until smooth. Add chocolate chips and nuts, mix until smooth.
Drop by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet, leaving at least 1 1/2 inches between each blob.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 16 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer cookies to a cooling rack.
Once completely cool, store in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Note: If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.
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Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 Jeanne Sauvage
Jeanne,
I couldn’t agree more with you. Going to a potluck or even dinner at a friend’s house without taking a sweet treat is like showing up naked. Ah, the horror! Thanks for sharing your adaptation of this wonderful cookie. I add a bit of almond flour to my mix to convince myself they are “healthy”.
Donna
Donna: Right? And yum on the almond flour–I bet that adds a nice crunch to the cookies!
Hi there,
Getting ready to give these a try. I don’t see mentioned whether you prefer regular or dutch process cocoa for your recipes. Could you clarify for us? Thanks for all your GF experimenting and sharing with us!
Scott: I use non-Dutch process. Dutch process has had the acidity processed out of it, so it isn’t appropriate for a recipe like this that uses baking soda–which reacts to the acidity in the cocoa. Thanks for pointing that out–I should be more clear in my recipes!
Hi Jeanne! It was great to meet and chat today. I loved these cookies (I’m assuming these are the cookies I ate today). I’d love to talk more in the future. Best for now, Erica
Erica: It was so fun to meet and chat with you today! I look forward to more conversation in the future!
It really was a wonderful afternoon, and I’m so glad that we were able to have sometime together in the glorious Seattle sun. I should tell your readers that when you stood up to leave the picnic, and you reached for the cookie tin to take it home, about 10 eager hands made a mad swoop to grab the last few cookies. We almost went all Hunger Games on each other to get our fill.
And now I have the recipe!
Can’t wait until we can all celebrate YOUR book. Soon, soon.
c.
Cheryl: Aw, you are so nice! I had so much fun at the picnic. And the best part was seeing you again. I’ve really enjoyed going through your book and making the recipes. It really is a lovely cookbook–brava, my friend! And I am very excited to share my book this fall! Yay!
I love adding cocoa to cookie dough!
These sound delicious indeed!
I love chocolate chip cookies and this sounds like a great recipe to me!