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Well, it’s official. I, and all of my former coworkers, have been laid off from the bakery, and I’m filing for unemployment for the first time since the dot-com bust. ?

So much is changing so quickly around the world right now, and I find myself constantly shaking my head in utter disbelief all the time. ? I just… I can’t… Words can’t… It’s surreal, isn’t it? Does not compute.

I know that millions of people are in a similar situation. I’ve been reminding myself to be grateful for what I have, and in this case, grateful for the extra time to spend with El Hub and Connor.

Still, I can’t pretend that my heart doesn’t feel heavy. It does.

To keep my spirit up, I’ve been baking, like, A LOT.

In the midst of all the whisking, weighing and rolling, I finally found a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe I don’t totally hate (hey, man, it’s harder than you think). After many, many failed attempts, I think I found a winner! ???

These are slightly crunchy around the edge but soft and chewy inside. Mmm… You know Mrs. Fields cookies? These are a lot like them. The only downside is how good they are…because I can’t stop eating them. I’m eating them so fast I could give Cookie Monster a run for his money.

A few baking tips before you start:

• Room temperature butter: If you have time, take your butter out of the fridge a couple hours ahead of time and leave it on the counter to reach room temperature. How long this will take depends on the temperature of your kitchen, but you’ll know the butter is ready when you can gently press your fingertip into the side.

  If you don’t have time to wait, slightly melt the butter in a microwave on low heat in 15-second increments.

• Room temperature eggs: I also like to take my eggs out and leave them on the counter with the butter, since room temperature eggs incorporate faster than cold eggs do, but you can also use cold eggs straight from the fridge. They’ll just take longer to combine with your dough.
• Chill that dough: I know it’s tempting to scoop the cookies right after you make the dough, but it’s worth waiting to pop it into the fridge for at least an hour. You want that dough to be cold, homie! Cold dough won’t stick to your hands as much, so it’s easier to roll. Plus, the cold butter in the dough will give more lift to your cookie.
• Speaking of lift: This recipe calls for a gluten-free flour that already has xantham gum in it, so look for anything that says “1-to-1” on the package. At the bakery we use Cup4Cup, which I like. I also like the King Arthur 1-to-1 as well.
• Weigh it out: If you can, weigh out your ingredients using a kitchen scale. Accuracy is your ally when it comes to baking.
• Get to know your oven: An oven thermometer is REALLY helpful, because most ovens aren’t perfectly accurate when it comes to temp… My oven is consistently 25 degrees under the temperature it says on the screen, so if I want to bake something at 350 degrees, I set it for 375.
• Do a test cookie: Bake one test cookie at a time to figure out the best timing and cookie size.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

DESCRIPTION
Slightly crispy around the edge with a soft, chewy middle, these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are reminiscent of Mrs. Fields at the mall! WARNING: Once you start eating them, you might not be able to stop.

• Prep Time: 20 minutes to measure and make the dough; however, you’ll want to have enough time to bring your butter to room temperature, as well as time to chill the dough for at least an hour in the fridge (and ideally overnight!) before baking, so plan accordingly
• Bake Time: 9-11 minutes
• Total-ish Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
• Yield: 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (227g) room temperature butter (if you don’t have time to do this, then soften it in the microwave on low in 15-second increments until you can gently press your fingertips into the sides)
• 1 cup (213g) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/3 cups (361g) gluten-free 1-to-1 flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (340g) chocolate chips
• Optional mix ins, like nuts or butterscotch chips, potato chips, pretzels or sprinkles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars till fluffy at a low speed for 2-3 minutes.
2. Beat in the first egg until well incorporated; you’ll know it’s combined when the dough no longer looks shiny. Beat in the second egg along with the vanilla until combined. Continue to beat at a medium speed, and scrape down the paddle and sides of the bowl halfway through to make sure everything is fully incorporated. This step takes between 7-9 minutes, so don’t rush it.
3. While the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla are beating, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Separate the dry ingredients into thirds (you can eyeball this; it doesn’t have to be precise), and add each third, one at a time, into your butter and sugar mixture and mix until each is fully incorporated.
5. Add the chocolate chips, and then beat on low speed. Again, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to be sure everything is well blended.
6. Cover the bowl, and stick it in the fridge for at least one hour to chill the dough. Ideally, though, you’d leave it there overnight. It can stay in there for up to 2 days.
7. When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F, then and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
8. Line a scale with parchment paper too, and measure out each cookie to 30g (this is about two tablespoons). Roll them into balls, and place them on the baking sheets with room to spread.
9. At this point, I like to also mix in different ingredients by hand into each ball for variety. For the batch above, I added some crushed potato chips to some of the cookies.
10. Bake the cookies for 7 minutes; they’ll be very puffy at this point, since gluten-free baked goods tends to rise higher than gluten-ful ones (it’s the baking soda and baking powder, both of which control the height and spread of the cookies.) Pull out the sheet, noting which side is closest to you (you’ll need this in the next step), and press down gently on each cookie with an oven mitt to flatten them slightly.
11. When you return the baking sheet to the oven, rotate the pan so the side that was closest to you is now on the opposite side. Bake for an additional 4 minutes, but this depends on how soft you want the center of your cookies. If you want a softer middle, try 2-3 minutes. (Side note: This is where baking your test cookie comes in handy.)
12. Remove from the oven. Let them rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes to set, and transfer to racks to cool completely.
13. Enjoy!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen