The holy grail of (gluten-free) chocolate chip cookies

Whenever Mom sees me getting ready to make cookies, she always asks the same two questions:

1. Are you making cookies?
2. Are they gluten free?

It's so predictable that I don't make cookies any more unless they're gluten free because I can't handle the guilt. And lately I've been wanting to make chocolate chip cookies, but I couldn't make Katherine Redford's and all the gluten-free ones I've tried spread too much. So today I tinkered just a smidge with Katherine Redford's and they came out great (the time in the fridge is key, I think). Can you tell which ones are regular and which ones are gluten free?

Katherine Redford’s Chocolate Chip Cookies (sans gluten)

Adapted from Katherine Redford via The Washington Post

You can substitute 135 grams of a gluten-free flour blend for the rice and tapioca flours, but this mix worked well for me, and it's two-thirds whole grain. I've never used the pecans to make these cookies before, but I did this time because I thought they would help hold the cookies together. Brad wasn't a huge fan, but it didn't stop him from eating his allotment of six cookies. Everyone else liked the pecans just fine. I used Trader Joe's Unsalted Dry Toasted Pecan Pieces.

45 grams (½ cup) quick oats

90 grams brown rice flour (see note)

30 grams glutinous white rice flour or potato starch

15 grams tapioca starch/flour

½ teaspoon baking soda 

¼ teaspoon salt 

⅜ teaspoon xanthan gum

113 grams (4 ounces/1 stick) unsalted butter, at cool room temperature

75 grams (⅜ cup) light brown sugar

60 grams (scant ⅓ cup) granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

170 grams (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chunks

57 grams (⅓ cup) milk chocolate chips or chunks

57 grams (½ cup) toasted pecan pieces, optional (see note)

    1. Place the oven racks in the middle two positions. Heat the oven to 325°F. Line two 18-by-13-inch baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. 

    2. Place the oats in a small, light-colored pan (I use an old toaster oven rack) and toast them in the warming oven until they just begin to change color, 5 to 10 minutes. Watch closely as they burn easily; once you smell them, it's probably time to take them out. Transfer the oats to a small plate to cool.

    3. Whisk the flours, baking soda, salt, and xanthan gum together in a small bowl. Stir in the oats when they are cool.

    4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars together on medium speed (4 on our KitchenAid stand mixer) until light, fluffy, and almost white in color, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. If the mixture looks curdled, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat again; it will smooth out.

    5. Add the dry ingredients and stir into the batter by hand or on the lowest speed of the mixer. Fold in both chocolates and the pecans, if using. Scoop onto one of the baking sheets. If you use a #40 scoop (1½ tablespoons) like I do, you should get about two dozen cookies. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and up to 2 days.

    6. When ready to bake, distribute the cookies evenly between the two baking sheets. Bake until an even light golden color, about 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets, top to bottom and front to back, halfway through baking. If the edges of the cookies start to brown before the centers, the oven is too hot. Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for a few minutes in the pans, then transfer to wire racks to cool.