Friday, August 4th, is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so we called on WGN’s resident baker, Johnnie Putman, to share her recipe. In the audio clip below, Johnnie tells Steve Alexander about how she started baking Toll House cookies when she was eight years old, and some 20 years ago when her husband and on-air partner Steve King was diagnosed with celiac disease, she modified the recipe to be gluten-free. The choices of GF flour, and even recipes, were slim pickings back then, but she landed on one flour she prefers: King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour, available at local stores like Jewel, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods. The complete recipe is below.

This recipe makes 2 doz large, thin GF cookies or 2 1/2 dozen smaller.

Pre-heat oven to 350

1 cup & 2 TB of King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt (if salted butter is used, skip this)

1 stick of softened unsalted butter

6 TB sugar 

6 TB brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 large or extra large egg

1 cup of mini chocolate chips

**Many GF cookie recipes call for xanthan gum. I don’t use it.

Mix butter and sugars well. Add salt, soda and flour. Gradually mix into butter/sugar. Add vanilla. Add egg. And finally mini chips.

Scoop heaping rounded TB full onto cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. For the crispiest cookie (the snappiest!) flatten each mound with the bottom of a dampened glass dipped in sugar or gently pa the mounds to flatten for a crisp but thicker cookie.

Bake 13-15 minutes & let cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet. Carefully lift the large cookies off to a cooling rack. 

Enjoy the snap!