The Best Pareve Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

My friend Lea just had a beautiful baby girl, and I am bringing over a couple of meals for her tomorrow. The challenge, however, is that she can't eat gluten, so I had to come up with something yummy, classic and comforting for her to enjoy for dessert. I didn't want to just cut up some fresh fruit and be done with it, and I really hope she can take some time to enjoy a meal made just for her. It turns out that everyone in the house will like these cookies, because you simply don't miss the flour.

I tried out a recipe I found from the Bob's Red Mill website; the Bob's Red Mill flours all have an underlined K, which after a little research, indicated that it is an excellent hechsher. All of Bob's Red Mill products are under the supervision of Rabbi Avrohom Teichman of Igud Hakashrus/Kehilla Kosher of Los Angeles, CA. Kehilla Kashrus is also known by a K inside a heart symbol.

I altered the recipe, originally by Carol Fenster, to make it non-dairy, without butter, and without sea salt. I also found I needed to alter the cooking time so the cookies weren't raw inside.

1-2/3 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Bob's Red Mill Xanthan Gum (often available in organic sections of grocery stores)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Smart Balance margarine
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 jumbo egg
1 cup chocolate chips


Stir together the gluten-free baking flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt; set aside.

In your mixer, beat margarine (room temperature, not melted) with the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and egg. Beat in flour mixture on low speed, mixing thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips. It gets very glue-ey.

Empty the bowl onto plastic wrap, wrap up and refrigerate for two or more hours. Roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees on a greased or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet 15-17 minutes or until browned. Cool 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheet. Makes 24 deliciously gluten-free cookies.