
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
- In a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars till fluffy at a low speed for 2-3 minutes.
- 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.
- While the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla are beating, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- When you’re ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350°F, then and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.)
- Remove from the oven. Let them rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes to set, and transfer to racks to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen

Oh, Karen, I’m so sorry to hear of the layoffs. I hope you and your family are doing all right during this tumultuous time of shelter in place. Here in the mid peninsula, things are very quiet – I worry so much about our local food and beverage outlets. My favorite boba place (Boba Guys in San Carlos) has closed and the situation sounds so dire for all of our local businesses. Sending you a big socially distanced hug!
I’m so sorry. I know a lot of folks are struggling. There is concern the circus gym may not make it. I’m lucky right now because I’m still working my job remotely.
These cookies look good!
We have a very deep love of cookies in my house and my fave are just as you described..chewy on the inside, crunchy along the outer rim. So, we’re doing a TJ run this afternoon and will have to pick up some ingredients (along with other faves that we’ve eaten through this week) and will get to baking tomorrow! Cookies, banana bread and pumpkin muffins. I’ll letcha know how the cookies turn out!
I am so sorry, Karen. That is so darned sad! Is the bakery going to be able to reopen when all of this is over, or have they gone out of business? I loved hearing all your fun bakery stories and seeing all the yummy things you made. I think it is hard for all of us to wrap our heads around what is happening. I don’t think the world will ever be quite the same, but maybe a lot of good can come out of this, like people realizing that spending time with family and friends is really important, and maybe we will all learn how to slow down a little bit, and not take things like being able to go to the store and buy food, and go to the library and the movies for granted. And always be sure to stock up on toilet paper!
I’m so sorry Karen! This is all so incredibly sad! I feel terrible for all the folks that are getting laid off and wondering how they’re going to pay their bills. I feel fortunate that I have a city job I am not likely to lose. Keeping up routines and doing things to stay busy will be very helpful in these anxiety-ridden times!
I’m sorry for what you’re going through, Karen. All of us are somehow affected by this pandemic which is happening SO rapidly. Friends, can we all believe how completely different the world was just barely month ago?
At times like this, I’m grateful for everything I have. Yes, im stuck at home too like the rest of the world, but it’s a small price to pay compared to those losing their job or risking their health as frontliners. I’m trying the best I could to support small, local businesses.
Stay safe everyone.
Wait- Regular vanilla extract has gluten in it?!? This is just what I need right now. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my family last night and it was killing me. Since going gluten-free over a year ago I have hardly baked any gluten-free desserts. Most of them call for 3 or 4 different flours.
So sorry to hear about your job! ? Hang in there- hopefully this will be a wild memory soon. Sending you ((hugs))- virtual of course. ?
It typically doesn’t, but if since El Hub has a wheat allergy (and not doing gluten-free just for fun), I think it’s worth double checking the ingredient lists. I’ve been using the one by McCormick, which is gluten-free:
https://www.mccormick.com/puretastesbetter/vanilla
Hi Karen!! So sorry to hear about the lay off from the bakery. Things are crazy, right? The situation will get better, but it’s going to take some time. Trying to stay positive…I’m a glass half full kind of girl. Thank you so much for the chocolate chip cookie recipe!! I need a distraction like that. Now I really want some cookies…oh dear!! Praying that everyone is safe and well. Hugs!!
Karen so sorry for all of this confusion and your lay-off . My daughter is s a dance teacher . She will get paid for two weeks then after that nada .
And,,, speaking of my daughter not only is she gluten free she can’t tolerate sugar or dairy .
Any suggestions for alternative ingredients?
Have a great weekend !
Oh you are an ANGEL for sharing! ? I am so excited to try these! I hace from C4C in the pantry, I just need some chocolate chips and I’m good to go. Already drooling… Haha.
I went to the store yesterday and there was only one container of baking powder left. No flour, no yeast. I couldn’t make brownies, cookies, bread or pasta if I wanted to. This is insanity.
But there was chicken. Finally.
I feel like the next time I find TP or paper towels or cleaning supplies I should just be like everyone else and scoop up as much as possible.
It’s a good thing I’m married to a saint otherwise I’d end up divorced because my emotions are all over the place.
I’m so sorry about the layoffs! Hopefully, the bakery will survive and hire people back on when this is over. ((((HUGS)))))
Those cookies look deliciously!
I’m so sorry that you were laid off. I am speechless watching the economy disintegrate before our eyes. Praying for us all. XO