Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies – Gluten and Dairy Free!

I’m missing shooting real photos with a real camera, instead of frantically with an iPad while I cook more in one day than I ever used to dream I could. Anyone have any suggestions for how to make photos from an iPad look awesome?!?!

Other than that bit of crankiness I’m pretty psyched by this Christina Tosi Milk Bar Cookbook recipe that Cassie of Bake Your Daypicked for today’s Milk Bar Mondays swap. Even before I baked these kids up, I knew that they were going to be crazy-awesome. And considering the time that goes into most Tosi recipes (the Apple Pie Layer Cake and Carrot Cake Truffles being two that spring to mind), these are relatively easy to make. And super awesome.

Being a cookie, it’s a simple matter of whipping together some fat and sugar, beating in some protein and more fatty yumminess, and then folding in gluten-free flours and starches and some chocolate crumbs.

Because, of course, a Tosi cookie has to have that little something extra. It has to have some crumb, crunch or liquidy addition to take it from “oh my dog yeah” to “save me from myself this is just too much yum in one cookie“.

Let’s just say I may have eaten a bit of batter before putting these mammoth babies in.

It makes for one really dense cookie. So much so that I think I nibbled one as I drove back out to work the other day, and one was all it took to be satisfied. It had been frozen, so was extra firm and those little crumbs in the middle were like goldmines. I’d suggest using these for whoopie pies or a crust for some sweet dairy-free ice cream!! They’re like the perfect cross between a brownie and a cookie. And all you need is one before you go into sugar-shock.

I adapted Tosi’s recipe to be gluten and dairy-free, and cut down the “butter” by a tiny tad – the non-gluten-free bakers had had problems with their cookies spreading from too much fat. Mine held perfect shape and texture. But, still, I cut down my recipe by two tablespoons. The result? I actually could have kept them in. These cookies are fudgey and brownie-like, as Tosi intended, but could have used the extra moisture and fat content of the original recipe. Maybe the higher level of starch in the gluten-free blend is more absorbent?

Other than that, I followed to a T. Head over to Cassie’s blog for our host’s original recipe, and to the other Milk Bar Mondays Ladies’ blogs for their incredible photos and experience with this recipe.

Krissy of Krissy’s Creations
Nicole of Sweet Peony Blog
Erin of Big Fat Baker
Meagen of Scarletta Bakes

And follow our sprinkle addictions on Twitter! #milkbarmondays

Up Next July 30th – Grapefruit Pie!

Happy Milk Bar Mondays, folks,

– Jacqueline

Notes: I weighed pretty much everything in this recipe, as I find weighing makes gluten-free adapting so much more accurate. I highly recommend getting a scale and following recipes when they offer weights. I’m putting both here. Also, my go-to gluten-free flours are brown and white rice, millet and arrowroot starch. I am NOT an advocate of the phrase “or substitute with your own favorite gluten-free flour blend” as I don’t believe they’re scientifically equal and will produce different results. So, totally use your own flour if you want, I’m just not guaranteeing the same results. Cookies are more adaptable to starch/flour ratios and this is definitely not the only blend that will work, I’m just sayin…

Chocolate-Chocolate Cookies

Makes 10-18 cookies, depending on how you roll em

For the Cookies

195g Earth Balance (butter flavored), at room temperature (14 tablespoons)
300g sugar (1 1/2 cups)
100g glucose (1/4 cup) OR 35g / 2 tbsp corn syrup

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1 large egg
1g vanilla extract (1/4tsp)
60g 55% – 60% chocolate, melted (2oz)

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90g arrowroot starch
125g brown rice flour
10g white rice flour
75g millet flour
100g cocoa powder
3g baking powder (3/4 tsp)
1.5g baking soda (1/2 tsp)
7g kosher salt (1 3/4 tsp)

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1/2 recipe Chocolate Crumb (recipe follows)

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Directions:

Combine butter, sugar and glucose/corn syrup in the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and cream on medium/high for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg, vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat on medium/high for 7-8 minutes until fluffy and smooth. DON’T skimp on this step. The creaming method is important to the Tosi way of baking and you’ll have wasted a lot of time if you move on from this step in haste.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda and salt. Mix until the dough just comes together, less than a minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. On low add the chocolate crumb until just incorporated.

On baking sheets fitted with Silpat or parchment, scoop dough into balls and press the tops slightly flat. Tosi suggests usings a 2 3/4 oz cookie scoop or 1/3 cup measuring spoon – but those are just too big for me. I made one sheet of eight cookies at about 1/4 cup of dough and one sheet of eight cookies slightly less. Just obviously watch your baking time if making smaller than the suggested size.

Wrap the sheet pans tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to one week. Do not bake your cookies at room temp or they’ll spread everywhere. This is especially important when using a replacement for butter, which hardens differently. You need that fat cold!

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Bake for 14-18 minutes-ish. The cookies will puff, crackle and spread. Tosi has it right that it’s hard to judge when these are done because of all the dense chocolatey-ness. If the cookies seem doughy in the center, give it another minute. Especially if they’ve been made smaller, they should take no longer than 18 minutes in a properly heated oven. If yours is convection, they’ll take less. And I’m jealous of you.

Cool the cookies completely on sheet pans before transferring to a plate or storage. They’ll keep at room temp for five days, or in the freezer for one month.

Chocolate Crumb

50g brown rice flour
30g white rice flour
25g arrowroot
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
100 g sugar (1/2 cup)
4g cornstarch (1 tsp)
65g cocoa powder (2/3 cup)
4g kosher salt (1 tsp)
85g Earth Balance (butter flavored), melted

Heat the oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with parchment or Silpat.

Combine flours, cornstarch, sugar, cocoa powder and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment and whirl to combine. On low speed add the melted butter in a stream and paddle until the mixture starts to come together into small clusters and is uniformly a gorgeous, rich dark brown.

Spread the clusters on sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, occassionaly breaking them up if needed. They’ll still be soft when done and will harden as they cool.

Cool completely before using. Save the other 1/2 recipe in your freezer to sprinkle on a dessert or bake into other cookies! Yum!