Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Step 1 — Preheat and prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and position the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a large light-colored aluminum baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set aside. Do not use a dark non-stick pan — gluten-free flour blends brown faster than conventional flour and dark pans will overbrown the bottoms before the centers are set.
- Step 2 — Combine sugars and butter: Add the ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar and ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl. Pour the ½ cup (113g) melted and cooled butter over the sugars and stir vigorously with a silicone spatula for 60–90 seconds until the mixture looks smooth, glossy, and uniform with no dry sugar pockets at the bottom of the bowl.
- Step 3 — Add eggs and vanilla: Add the 1 large room-temperature egg, 1 room-temperature egg yolk, and 1½ tsp pure vanilla extract to the butter-sugar mixture. Stir for 45–60 seconds until fully emulsified — smooth, slightly lighter in color, and no streaks of egg white visible.
- Step 4 — Add dry ingredients: Combine the 1¾ cups (210g) GF flour blend, ¾ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp fine sea salt in a small bowl and stir once with a fork to distribute evenly. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using 15–20 slow folds with the spatula — stop the moment no dry flour streaks are visible. Do not overfold.
- Step 5 — Fold in chocolate: Reserve approximately 2 tablespoons (30g) of the dark chocolate chunks. Fold the remaining chocolate chunks (approximately 225g / 1⅓ cups) into the dough using 8–10 slow strokes. The dough should look thick and heavily studded with chocolate.
- Step 6 — Portion dough: Scoop 2 tablespoons (45g) of dough per cookie — weigh the first one to calibrate, then portion the remaining 12 to match for 13 cookies total. Space at least 2 inches (5cm) apart on the parchment-lined pan. Press 3–5 reserved chocolate chunks onto the top of each dough ball.
- Step 7 — Bake: Slide the pan into the preheated 350°F (175°C) oven on the middle rack. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The cookies are ready when the edges look set and lightly golden, the surface shows visible crackle, and the centers still look slightly underdone and puffy. Do not wait for the centers to look fully set in the oven — they will be overbaked and dry when cooled.
- Step 8 — Salt and rest: The moment the pan comes out of the oven, immediately pinch flaked sea salt across the surface of each cookie — 4–6 large flakes per cookie. Leave the cookies on the hot pan for exactly 5 minutes — carryover heat from the pan finishes setting the centers during this window. After 5 minutes, transfer to a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
GF flour blend: must contain xanthan gum — Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, King Arthur Measure for Measure, or Cup4Cup recommended. Without xanthan gum, cookies will spread flat and crumble.
Chocolate: chopped bar chocolate at 60–70% cacao only — chips contain stabilizers that prevent full melting and the molten interior will not form.
Butter: melt and cool before mixing — butter that is still warm causes excessive spread. Test with your finger — it should feel barely warm, not hot.
Eggs: both the whole egg and yolk must be room temperature — cold eggs cause the dough to look broken or separated.
Baking soda freshness: drop ½ tsp into hot water with a splash of vinegar — it must bubble aggressively within 2 seconds or replace the box.
Flaked salt: apply immediately post-bake within 30–60 seconds while the surface is still tacky — waiting causes the salt to slide off once the cookie cools.
No chilling required: dough goes straight from the bowl to the pan.
No mixer required: one bowl and a silicone spatula only.
Storage: hard-sided lidded container with parchment between layers, room temperature up to 3 days.
Freeze unbaked: flash-freeze dough balls 1 hour, bag and freeze up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 350°F (175°C) for 13–15 minutes.
Freeze baked: individually wrap cooled cookies in plastic wrap, freeze up to 2 months. Microwave from frozen 20–25 seconds.
Scaling: to double the recipe, multiply all ingredients by 2 except the baking soda — use only 1¼ tsp (1.5x), not 1½ tsp (2x), or the cookies will taste soapy. Bake in two separate batches.
High altitude bakers: reduce baking soda to ½ tsp, increase flour blend by 2 tablespoons, reduce each sugar by 1 tablespoon, increase oven to 365°F (185°C). See FAQ for full guidance.
Allergens: contains eggs, dairy (butter). Gluten-free when made with a certified GF flour blend. Dairy-free if vegan butter (Miyoko's or Earth Balance Buttery Sticks) is substituted 1:1 by weight.
Vegan butter substitution: Miyoko's or Earth Balance Buttery Sticks work 1:1 by weight — tested and confirmed.