Gluten free chocolate chip cookies. Small batch cookie recipe makes 6 cookies.
My mom is coming to visit this week to help stock the freezer with meals for after the baby arrives. That means clearing out the odd bits and extras tucked into my freezer to make room for casseroles, soups, and other meal-prep dishes. I can’t think of anything better than a freezer full of home-cooked food made with love.
To make space I dug out a bag of almond meal on the bottom shelf — I’m pretty sure it’s at least a year old. I couldn’t even remember why I bought it in the first place. Around the same time I read a restaurant critic note that surprised me: sometimes a gluten free cookie can actually be better than the original. He argued that chewy cookies can be chewier without gluten, and I had to agree. That sent me straight to my favorite kind of cookie — chewy and intensely chocolatey — and I decided to make it with almond meal for the texture.
I’m not avoiding any food groups; these days nothing is off-limits. I’m just chasing the best chew. While my mom makes a quadruple batch of meatballs, two pans of King Ranch chicken, and a few dishes of baked spaghetti to help during those first hectic weeks, I’ll be happily nibbling these cookies. If sleep is in short supply, we should at least eat well.
Want some gluten free chocolate chip cookies too?
Note: almond meal is not the same as almond flour. Almond meal is unsifted ground almonds, so you’ll see little brown flecks of almond skin. It works wonderfully in this recipe for a tender, chewy cookie.
Chewiest Chocolate Cookies
These chocolate cookies are wonderfully chewy and intensely chocolaty — one is definitely not enough.
5 minutes
11 minutes
16 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 cup almond meal (unsifted)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch)
- 1/3 cup (heaping) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the salt, baking powder, almond meal, and cocoa powder.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Because there’s no gluten, you can mix without worrying about developing toughness.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into six mounds, lightly shape into balls, and gently press each ball flat. (Cookies spread less on a silicone mat.)
- Bake for 11–12 minutes, until fragrant and the tops look dry.
- Remove the cookies from the baking sheet immediately and transfer to a cooling rack or serve warm.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 6 | Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 234
- Total Fat: 17 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 82 mg
- Sodium: 133 mg
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Sugar: 10 g
- Protein: 6 g