01 Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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What you’ll learn

Practice the ultimate classic cookie in gluten-free style—Chocolate Chunk! These cookies are easy to make, and the dough is freezable, so you can bake up 1–2 cookies at a time instead of an entire batch.

The objectives for this module:

Practice patience with the chilling technique for delicious results
Try the binder variations of the recipes in this module (one uses aquafaba and the other psyllium husk) and document differences and preferences in your baking journal
Have fun

Practice Recipe & Recap

Required: watch the Practice Recipe lesson and complete the recap by sharing a Practice Recipe photo and your thoughts about the creation process.

1: Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Related Recipes

Recommended: Your Practice Recipe is listed here again, along with an alternate cookie recipe that you can try to see how different binders like aquafaba (“bean water”) work. Document your discoveries and preferences in your baking journal.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate Chunk Cookies [Aquafaba]

Resources

Recommended: Read all of this helpful and inspiring know how (and support) for gluten-free cookie baking.

Cookie Course Baking Tips

We talk a lot about how freeing and rewarding breaking rules can be when cooking, but when it comes to baking (especially gluten-free), there are some things that you gotta do to make sure that your ingredients, money, and time don’t go to waste.

There’s no doubt about it, baking is an absolute science (and an art!), and when we remove keystone ingredients like gluten and eggs, new challenges arise, but it’s not something to be intimidated about. You simply need to become familiar with all the newness. Let’s break down a few simple rules for success:

1. Follow the Recipe—No Substitutions Unless Specified Otherwise

Of course, you can substitute any ingredients you like in these recipes, but we can’t guarantee the results if you do. It’s simple: if you stray from a recipe—you’re accountable for the outcome. At the very least, please, please, please follow recipes and steps exactly as listed the first time you make a recipe. We can’t help you trouble shoot if you “followed the recipe but swapped out quinoa flour for almond and used honey instead of Sucanat.” That’s not following the recipe.

Each and every gluten-free flour has different properties, each natural sweetener reacts differently with that flour, and even the type of your oven and temperature of your kitchen can affect results. So, keep a baking journal near you for each bake, writing down everything.

2. Welcome Texture & Flavor Again

Modern baked goods have trained palates all over to respond positively to processed flours, but ancient tradition provided us with a variety of grains, flavor, texture, and nutrition that we’ve lost—these recipes will take us back to more of it all. These recipes make more flavorful cookies than conventional—they’re loaded with beneficial fiber and introduce a variety of alternative sweeteners to highly processed sugar, too. In our recipes, the nutritious bran in the flour hasn’t been stripped away by processing, and the flours aren’t bleached, so expect darker color, more moisture, and more nuanced flavor than you may be used to. We think you’ll be pleased with how diverse and delicious whole-grain cookies can taste. Make them for anyone who could use a smile. No more FOMO. No more cardboard cookies. No more going without these cornerstones of treat time, tradition, and holiday indulgence.

3. Open Our Mind to New Ingredients

To replicate the gluten and eggs used in conventional cookies, we’ll use ingredients like psyllium husk, either ground or whole, and alternatives like fruit purée. Many gluten-free, egg-free cookie recipes use flours like potato or tapioca, or gums like guar and xanthan, but since we’re going for “as whole food as possible,” we’ll use less processed options.

4. Let it Cool/No Peeking

Unlike conventional baked goods that use highly processed flours, gluten-free baked goods and the ingredients they contain need to set. So, unless otherwise specified in a recipe’s steps, when you remove baked goods from the oven, let them cool completely before enjoying—no matter how tempting the smell of your kitchen. Once cooled, everything is good to go. Each recipe will specify whether you cool on the pan or not, and do your best to NOT open the oven to peek while baking—in many recipes this subtle change in temperature could flatten your cookies or throw off baking time.

5. Measuring Ingredients Properly

Baking is as much science as it is an art, and precise measurements are a must. We provide measurements by weight and volume for each recipe but we recommend using a scale for precision and the most reliable outcome.

Here are some tips for consistent measuring so you can use the tools you have.

6. Chilling the Dough

In many of these recipes, we call for chilling cookie dough before baking for the best results. This step solidifies the fat so when it’s time to bake, the cookies don’t spread out as much— they hold a nice shape. Chilling can also help sugars incorporate into the dough—it enhances browning and flavor as well. If you’re the impatient type, you can skip chilling the dough just set expectations that your cookies may be flatter and paler than if you had chilled them for the specified time. You can also make the dough in advance and keep it chilled in the fridge overnight (or for a few days) until ready to bake. Chilling the dough is a game-changing step.

7. Have Fun

Baking is a rare opportunity to slow down, be creative and pour your love and care into something special. Please don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself, criticize yourself, or indulge in meltdown when things don’t go as planned. Instead of running from mistakes or throwing your hands up, curiously look at what didn’t go as planned and you’ll likely discover a whole new technique, flavor combo, or guideline you can use in the future. Imperfect cookies can be mashed or sprinkled into vanilla ice cream, or rolled into cookie truffles, or used to make a cheesecake crust or parfait—look at the mistake as a potential opportunity. Baking time should be a perfection-free time—we have enough pressure in this life. So, put on your favorite tunes, an apron (aka a superhero cape), and enjoy your sweet self in the kitchen. If you need to drop a swear here and there—hey, it happens— but do it with a smile on your face—laugh it off. It makes a big difference.