Chocolate Chip Cookies

Taking a 1960’s vintage inspired recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies from “Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book” cookbook and baking it modern using our simple Gluten-Free Cookie Baking Mix. Whip up a batch of America's favorite cookie, no-one will even notice they are gluten-free! Our simple recipe for Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip cookies are rich and buttery, loaded with chocolate chips and toasted pecans, with crispy edges and a chewy center. 

BITE OF HISTORY

...Did you know?

• The Chocolate Chip Cookie was created by Ruth Wakefield in 1939 from the New England Toll House, Whitman, Mass. More history can be found at Nestle
• General Mills created “Betty Crocker” identity in 1921 and started one of the longest running radio shows in U.S. History in 1924 called, “The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air.”
• Betty Crocker named the Chocolate Chip Cookie as “The Best Cooky of 1935-1940” and introduced it to homemakers in 1939 on their radio series "Famous Foods from Famous Places," which they turned into a cookbook in 1964.

I’ve taken this 1960’s (actually 1939) recipe and baked it modern:

• convert options for specialty diets like gluten free, vegan or dairy free
• added more salt, to suit our modern palettes
• added more vanilla to boost flavor
• swapped out the shortening, used all butter instead
• toasted the nuts before adding to the batter to bring out more of their flavor

BAKER'S TIPS:  How to make these retro Chocolate Chip Cookies Modern

Butter makes better cookies:

Most vintage recipes call for shortening or a combination of butter and shortening which was popular in that era. However, I only use good quality butter instead of shortening, which has a waxy texture and lacks flavor. My favorite brands are Challenge or Land O’ Lakes which yield a higher percentage of fat (81%) to water (19%) ratio thus yielding a lighter texture in your baked goods. Be sure to cream together the butter and sugar for a good 2-3 minutes before adding the eggs, then mix another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.

For more flavor, toast nuts first:

To incorporate more flavor, toast your pecans in the oven at 350 for 7-8 minutes. Then for a fast, easy way to chop nuts I like to use a Cuisinart Mini-Food Chopper.

Thick vs. thin cookies:

If you like your cookies to be thicker in the middle, chill the scooped batter for 10 minutes to ensure less spread. However, if you like your cookies thin and crispy, omit the baking powder and scoop cookie dough and put them right into the oven.

Use aluminum baking sheets:

Always use a light-colored, aluminum cookie sheet. I use Nordic Ware aluminum, 18×13 half-sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Aluminum is best for distributing and reflecting even heat during the baking process. Dark cookie sheets conduct more heat across the surface, which could cause your baked goods to burn or darken on the edges before they are fully cooked.

Convert these Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies to meet your speciality diet needs:

To make VEGAN or DAIRY FREE

• Swap out buttermilk with unsweetened oat, coconut or almond milk
• Swap out butter with canola oil.
• In place of the eggs, add 1 tsp. soda to the batter with 1 T. vinegar on top of it
• Swap out chocolate chips with Nestle Allergen-Free Chocolate Chips