Chocolate Chunk Cookies to Live For
I love chocolate. I also love feeling great, so it was imperative that I come up with a low FODMAP chocolate chunk cookie recipe. And not just any cookie. This one is super simply and incredibly delicious.
After owning a bakery and having developed cookie recipes for institutions as varied as famous mail-order sources, chain restaurants and high end cafés – and the fact that I have written an entire book on chocolate chip cookies – I knew I was up to the challenge.
In fact it was kind of exciting. The idea that I could develop a chocolate chunk cookie recipe that would be up to my taste standards but fit within a low FODMAP lifestyle was energizing. It would be a major gift to FODMAPers everywhere.
I Did It!
This is the one. The one that will take you back to childhood when you had your first bite or learned to make chocolate chip cookie dough. Even though these are gluten-free, they are so close to the classic Toll House version that you will be amazed. Actually they are better! And I know what I am talking about.
I had the good fortune of being invited to Nestlé’s headquarters in preparation for the 75th anniversary of the Toll House cookie. I went on to give demonstrations and talks about the beginnings of this much beloved cookie, which continues to have legions of fans world wide.
It’s All in the Chocolate. Well Mostly
You can’t have an awesome chocolate chunk cookie without great chocolate. You could use chips, aka morsels, but I prefer chunks made from really high quality dark chocolate. Once you have the best chocolate ready to go, make sure to read the recipe through and follow faithfully. The creaming technique is important.
Using the right heavy-duty baking pans is important. Baking them in a properly calibrated oven and for the right amount of time is very important and will give you cookies with perfect crispy edges and softer, chewy centers. Let’s get baking!
Here are some of my recommendations for ingredients and tools:
- Gluten Free Flour – we use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- Dark Chocolate – such as Callebaut Semi Sweet Chocolate (you can usually purchase this in your supermarket in large chunks that they cut from an 11 lb block- otherwise it is available here in the 11 lb block)
- Baking pan – make sure to use a sturdy, commercial weight aluminum “half-sheet” pan. We love this one made by Nordic Ware.
Low FODMAP Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Chocolate Chunk Cookies will be loved by FODMAPers and others alike. And they are gluten-free.
Low FODMAP Serving Size Info: Makes about 2 dozen cookies; serving size 1 cookie
Ingredients:
- 2 1/3 cups (338 g) low FODMAP, gluten-free all-purpose flour, such as Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks; 226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces
- 1 cup (213 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (99 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 12 ounces (340 g) dark chocolate, cut into approximately ½ inch (12 mm) pieces (about 2 cups); we like 60% to 70% cacao
- 1 1/3 cups (132 g) toasted walnut or pecan halves, chopped (optional)
Preparation:
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Whisk together flour blend, baking soda and salt to aerate and combine; set aside.
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Beat butter with electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamy. Add brown sugar and sugar and beat until lightened, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla, then beat in eggs one at a time allowing each one to be incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the dry mixture until a few streaks of flour remain. Add chocolate (and nuts, if using) and beat just until combined. Cover the bowl and chill for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
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Position racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Preheat oven to 375°F/190° Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
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Form golf ball sized balls and place the cookies 8 per pan, spaced evenly apart. No need to press them down.
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Bake for about 9 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned with the edges firmer than the centers, which should be soft. The cookies firm up tremendously upon cooling. Cool cookies completely on pans set on racks. (Make subsequent batches with cooled pans). Cookies are best served the same day but may be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes:
Tips
- You can vary the chocolate as you like, but we think the darker cacao mass percentage suggested complements the sweet cookie dough the best.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.
These are amazing! They feel like a real cookie in your mouth. There is a slight different taste with the flours, but they are very satisfying when you want a treat. Additionally, using my regular cookie scoop I was able to get 90 1/2 carefully measured cookies from the recipe batter- which translates into about 3 3/4 cookie per serving. Now that feels like a treat!
Stephanie, Thank you so much for writing and letting us know! What a great idea to make smaller cookies and therefore being able to eat “more”. I don’t know if you are familiar with the cookie brand “Mrs. Fields Cookies”, but there was a Debbi Fields and the confirmed story is that the reason their cookies were so large is because she would watch her intake and only allow herself 1 cookie, so she was going to make sure it was huge! Of course we know that doesn’t make any caloric/nutrition sense, but it is funny. As an aside, we are working on an article that talks about various commercial flour blends as well as DIY flour blends. One’s choice of flour can make a huge difference in results and you might be interested in reading, so keep an eye out.
Could these be made with shortening or coconut oil for a dairy-free option?
I have not tested the recipe with these ingredients and cannot vouch for the results. They will definitely change. That said, you will end up with a cookie. It might be to your liking! I would say, give it a go, and then show us so we can share with others who might be looking for a dairy-free option as well. Make sure you are using dark chocolate that is dairy free. The FDA allows dairy products in dark chocolate.
Hi there! I made these dairy free by using Melt Buttery Sticks, and EnjoyLife chocolate chips. Awesome recipe!! They are delicious – I want to eat a thousand of them in one sitting! Thank you!
Maybe stick with 999 ?. In all seriousness, thank you for letting us know your alterations and that they worked so well! It is for people like you that we were hard in the Test Kitchen!
These are FAN TAS TIC! Fair warning though, I originally did not have access to the flour you used at my local grocery store and substituted it for another gluten free baking flour. BIG MISTAKE. The cookies were absolutely terrible. they completely melted in the oven (even after trying to freeze the dough) into essentially a full cookie sheet of 1/4 inch of goo. They were truly disgusting. Then I found the Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking flour (GF) at a Whole Foods down the street. What a world of difference. So to anyone who’s tried this recipe with a different flour only to be hugely disappointed, it is NOT the recipe – it’s your flour! Give it another try with the BRM 1 to 1 GF baking flour, it will be worth it!
Allison, thank you so much for this – TRULY. So many people think they cannot bake – or think a recipe is “wrong”, when more often than not a substitution has been made or some technique not followed. There is no getting around the fact that baking is about exact ratios. In “the biz” we have a saying – that a recipe either has a lot, or a little tolerance. A recipe with a lot of tolerance can stand wiggle room with ingredients and/or technique. And then there are recipes that REALLY need to be followed in every way. I am such a huge fan of the Bob’s 1 to 1. So happy to hear you are enjoying some home-baked low FODMAP cookies!
What kind of gluten free flower did you use exactly? We went to Whole Foods, they have the BRM beet, rice, almond etc.
Hi Rahul, as stated as use Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Gluten Free Baking Flour. We find this blend, which does contain low FODMAP xanthan gum, creates the best result.
hi there! Is it a bad idea to cool the batter in the fridge for around 20 hours? You said overnight, but if I leave them overnight I won’t have until the next evening to put them in the oven!
The batter will be fine! Enjoy
they have the consistency of sand and they break apart in the same way, tried 2 batches at different times as mentioned above, don’t waste your time with this recipe
Hi Nia, so sorry you had a bad experience, which surprised us. This recipe has been made literally hundreds of times to great success. If you would like to PM me I would be happy to trouble-shoot with you. Something as simple as an oven that is 25 degrees off or the amount of beating that the dough receives can change the outcome, but we think the recipe is so great that it should be a very simple tweak and we would love to help you end up with a great cookie. Here is a video for you and you can see the texture at the end: https://www.facebook.com/getepicured/videos/994121600787064/
Is this cookie dough “freezeable” like regular cookie dough? I’m considering making a batch of dough, baking half and saving the rest in the freezer to bake another time. Thanks!
YES it is.
Update: I refrigerated the dough for about 4 hours, baked half of it and froze the other half. Holy moly! They turned out delicious! My fiancé ate 4 of them immediately, until I shushed him away before he ate it all. Lol. Best cookies I’ve ever made 🙂
!!! WOW Stephanie, what a fabulous note to begin my day. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. BTW the batch doubles well, so next time you know what to do! Then sharing will be even easier!
I found the dough a bit too sweet so the next time I made them I used half the sugar. Used fresh raspberries instead of nuts and it turned out great. Just make sure you use the right flour!
Raspberries and chocolate – MMMMmmm. Just always check your FODMAP load with any changes, as they may change. We only guarantee the recipe is low FODMAP as written. Sounds delicious though.
Excited to try this recipe! How long can I freeze the dough for? I’m having a dinner party in 3 days and was hoping to get some of the prep work done ahead of time.
Thanks!!
If you want to freeze the dough I recommend freezing chilled balls for easy baking when you need them. You could freeze the dough for a month.
Hi Dede! I did a hybrid between these and your Mocha Peppermint chocolate chip cookies–used the sugar ratio/espresso from that recipe and otherwise followed this recipe, used the Bob’s 1-to-1 flour as instructed. I used regular unsalted butter and refrigerated the dough for 6 hours before baking. But my cookies didn’t spread like yours, they are more raised/cake-like. Tasty, but not the look of your pictures. Any thoughts?
OK, went to watch the video of your recipe, and it shows using melted butter, though the recipe says room temperature butter cut into chunks then beaten in the mixer. Would that have made a difference?
The video you probably watched was for a one-bowl variation that does use melted butter; it is not THIS recipe.
My guess is that the dough was just really cold. Next time, if it is as chilled, then just press down with fingers and palm to flatten first. I also answered your other question.
I just made these and they are terrific. Was nervous because I used just a GF flour vs what was recommended. Mine didn’t include Xanthan Gum. But they turned out great.
Thank you for the report! I am so happy they worked for you with what you had on hand. Enjoy! Also, if you haven’t already, would you mind rating our recipe? Thanks!
I think I did rate it – 5 stars. It’s above my comment?
THANK YOU!!!!
SAying that the recipe takes 22 minutes and sneaking a 4-hour ‘chill time’ for the mixture. Not cool
We will look into adding a Chilling Time, which is separate from the Prep time. Sorry for any inconvenience.
Mine did not come out very good. They were really puffy and didn’t have a normal cookie shape or texture. They were super crumbly and dry.
Total bummer.
Sorry to hear that Jenn. As you can see from the images, they can work very well. This recipe does require that you use the ingredients suggested, measured as suggested, and the preparation and baking techniques followed. As with all baking, it is as much a science as an art. I would suggest trying again and paying attention to detail.
Just made these for the first time. My wife’s in the very early phases of FODMAP for IBS, we’re still wrapping our heads around how much this restrictive diet sucks. Happily, the cookies turned out fantastic and she’s just cheerfully destroyed a small plate of them to start her Sunday. It’s a welcome relief to have a good FODMAP friendly treat. Thank you!
– I bought the wrong flour; I had Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free (NOT 1 for 1) in the red bag, but I also picked up Xantham gum and added as directed on the bag. It worked fine
-I used 70% dark chocolate chips, just what we had on hand. Turned out fine.
– Cooking time at 375 was around 11 minutes, using the hyper-scientific “crack the oven door and poke them with a spoon” method.
Hi Brina, the flour you bought contains chickpea flour, which would not be recommended from a FODMAP perspective (or taste!). I am glad they worked and hope there are no digestive repercussions, but definitely suggest trying again with the 1 to 1! Thank you for writing. How nice of you to be baking for your wife.
Damn! I had no idea garbanzo bean = chickpea til you caused me to look again and do some more googling. Thank you! Fortunately it looks like she survived my cookies without any notable ill effects. Go GOS is hopefully not a major sensitivity.
LOL live and learn – and no harm done! 🙂
Just tried this. Was too impatient to wait for the 4 hour freeze time and still yum! Will let the remaining batter sit overnight. Can’t wait !
By the way is the 321 cal per cookie? Thanks.
Hi there! Yes the calorie count is per serving, which is in this case 1 BIG cookie.
Thanks!
By the way, have you ever tried baking with lakanto? It’s 0 calories and is 1:1 substitute for sugar. I’ve tried it and it really is like sugar in taste (unlike stevia which tastes horrible).
I’d like to substitute Lakanto for the sugar in this recipe but am unsure about the white/brown sugar split. Would you know anything about this?
Hi there Elle. This product is mostly Erythritol and also contains monk fruit. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol, which we generally avoid in this diet, but it has been found to be tolerated better than the others (sorbitol, maltitol, etc.) Monk fruit is within a few lab tested and certified products, but we do not know its FODMAP levels on its own. I prefer to not use alt sweeteners, so our recipes have not been tested in that manner. Here is a quote from one of our Monash trained RDs: “Artificial Sweeteners & Gut Health – Even though non-nutritive sweeteners like monk fruit, sucralose and stevia are considered to be low FODMAP, they could potentially change the composition of the gut microbiota. Therefore, it is preferable to consume them in moderation. Please read our Explore An Ingredient: Sugar for more information.”