Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is recipe is the closest I could get to the traditional Nestle's recipe, but have it be gluten free and nut free. Unfortunately, that means I couldn't use Nestle chocolate chips anymore. The good news is that there are two awesome, high-quality brands that are nut free. They are the Ghiridelli brand and Guittard brand. The Xanthan gum helps the cookies not crumble, along with the Flaxseed meal which also adds some nice nutty flavor to an otherwise bland batter. You can add a little more Flaxseed Meal for more flavor, but you would have to add a little more moisture as well (1 tbsp water), since it soaks it up. For most of my baking recipes I've found that adding an extra teaspoon of vanilla extract helps with the flavor as well, as the first teaspoon seems to disappear in a gluten free recipe.

• Ready In: 27 mins
• Serves: 15
• Yields: 36 cookies

Ingredients

• 1  cup butter
• 3⁄4 cup sugar
• 3⁄4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2  large eggs
• 2 -3  teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1⁄4 cups  unsifted  gluten-free flour (Trader Joe's brand)
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1  tablespoon flax seed meal
• 1 (12 ounce) bag  of nut-free  semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Combine GF flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flaxseed and xanthan gum in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine butter, brown sugar and sugar in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Chill the dough for 15-30 minutes in the refrigerator. This helps the gluten-free dough stay puffy and not get flattened out.
5. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes or until light golden brown. (Do not overbake.) Let stand 1-2 minutes on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack.
6. This dough works great from frozen. You just have to freeze it pre-scooped in layers separated by parchment paper. For baking from frozen, set the oven to 400°F and bake for 11-12 minutes.