Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Step 1

Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer with the double beaters attachment, cream the butter and both sugars together until pale and fluffy.

Step 2

Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla bean paste, and mix until fully incorporated.

Step 3

Sift together the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two batches, mixing well after each addition.

Step 4

Add the desiccated coconut and mix well until combined and evenly distributed. The final cookie dough will be soft and slightly sticky to the touch.

Step 5

Stir in most of the chocolate of choice, reserving a handful for later.

Step 6

Chill the dough in the fridge for about 1 hour (in a bowl covered tightly with cling film) until firmed up and easily scoopable.

Step 7

Using a "2 tablespoon" ice cream or cookie scoop, scoop individual portions of cookie dough. Place them snugly next to each other onto a baking sheet lined with baking/greaseproof paper, cover tightly with cling film and chill in the fridge for a further 30 minutes.

Step 8

While the cookie dough is chilling for the second time, adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 355 ºF (180 ºC) and line a separate baking sheet with baking/greaseproof paper.

Step 9

Arrange the chilled cookie dough balls on the lined baking sheet so that they have enough space (about 2 inches/5 cm) around them for spreading out during baking – I usually bake 6 to 8 cookies at a time.

Step 10

Bake the cookies at 355 ºF (180 ºC) for 15 – 17 minutes, depending on your preferred cookie texture and consistency. They should be light golden on top and golden brown around the edges when done.At the 8 - 9 minute mark, take the baking sheet out of the oven, tap/bang it 5 – 7 times onto the kitchen counter, and place the reserved chocolate on top of each cookie, then return to the oven. (Tapping the cookie sheet on the kitchen counter helps the cookies to flatten, thus giving them their characteristic shape and appearance. Omit the tapping if you want thicker cookies.)Return the cookies to the oven and bake until done. You can repeat the tapping/banging step once or twice more until the cookies are done.

Step 11

Immediately out of the oven, you can correct the shape of the cookies into a more evenly round one. To do this, use a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie diameter to nudge the cookies into shape.

Step 12

Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 2 – 3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Step 13

Storage:The coconut chocolate chip cookies keep well for about one week in a closed container in a cool dry place.You can also store the raw/unbaked cookie dough balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. You can then bake the cookies directly out the fridge/freezer (no need to thaw them), but you'll need to prolong the baking time by about 3 - 4 minutes.