MOMMY, I NEED SOME GLUTEN COOKIES!

Dark and White Chocolate Chunk Nirvana Cookies

Guilty as charged.



I'm baking with wheat flour.  GF friends, avert your eyes!   My (almost) 10 year old approached me the other day and buttered me up with the statement that she really likes my baking and wished I would bake more often.  I asked her what she wanted me to make and she said "something with gluten!"

Well, yah. About that.  As you've noticed my food blog dedicated to my love for cake has morphed a tad over the last couple of years to include mostly Gluten Free baked goods recipes since my Hashi's diagnosis.  I'm the only one in the family who's gluten intolerant.  I figured that the kids wouldn't really mind if I didn't bake gluteny ever again.  Wrong.  Obviously they miss it.

So here I am making a huge batch of my favourite Dark and White Chocolate Chunk Nirvana Cookies (based on Jacques Torres' recipe) and dumping in the real thing: wheat flour. Yikes.  I know I won't be able to eat the cookies.  So I decided to refrigerate the rest of the batch and bake one sheet at a time because I hate to see good cookies go stale.   A sheet will last the two kids about 2 days I figure.

Also, I was intending to bake a fresh sheet of cookies for company during the summer.  You know, to accompany that tall glass o' lemonade while chatting with friends about how fast summer's passing while sitting on your deck.

Here's the recipe BELOW if you're inclined to make it (it's a winner!)


chocolate chunk nirvana cookies from Ms K on Vimeo.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Nirvana

makes 3 dozen ridiculously large cookies

adapted from Jacques Torres' A Year in Chocolate

4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour [I used organic, unbleached]

2 t salt

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar

1 1/4 cups plus 2 1/2 T granulated sugar [I used organic evaporated cane sugar]

3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 2/3 pounds bittersweet chocolate, chopped into bite-sized pieces [I used Lindt Dark(85%) chocolate bars and broke along the lines]

1 cup white chocolate pieces [I used Callebaut]

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Have ready 2 nonstick cookie sheets, or line 2 regular cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Set aside.
• In a bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat until well blended. Add the eggs and beat just until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture a little at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated. When all of the flour mixture has been incorporated, remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate.
• To shape the cookies, using a tablespoon, scoop out a heaping spoonful of the dough and, using the palms of your hands, form it into a 3-inch ball. Place the balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 1 inch apart.
• Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven, transfer the cookies to wire racks, and let cool completely.
• Store, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.
• [cakebrained note: I keep prepared dough in their 3-inch ball shapes, refrigerated in a ziploc bag for a few days and bake as I need them. I only ever bake 6 cookies on a sheet at one time. This way you have a constant supply of fresh cookies. They're so good hot from the oven! Alternately, you can freeze the cookie balls too and keep them longer, but you may have to add a few minutes to the baking time]

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