Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

Throwback Thursday: This recipe made its debut on Collegiate Cook on July 22, 2009. It was one of our very first recipes, and it’s so good, it’s been in high demand ever since. Thank you, Danielle Kurant, for sharing it with us!

Suddenly, a lot of books and TV shows have been talking about living “g-free” or gluten-free,” without much explanation what it is and why, exactly, people are eliminating it from their diet.

Put simply, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and other grains. For people with Celiac Disease, the protein damages their small intestine and keeps them from properly receiving nutrients from the food they eat. For more information on Celiac Disease, its symptoms and diagnoses, visit this site.

While there are plenty of gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, we’ve never seen one this simple. It has just seven ingredients, and many of them can be found in your pantry. They come out soft and gooey, not crisp and Biscotti-like, like many g-free treats. We’re forever grateful to Danielle Kurant for sharing this recipe with us.

Now let’s get bakin’!

Utensils required: spoonula (or mixing spoon of some sort), spatula, cookie sheet, mixing bowl, measuring cups, plate for serving cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (creamy, unless you want peanuts in your cookies)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sugar (white, granulated — the standard, everyday stuff)

A pinch of salt (literally — less than a quarter of a teaspoon of it)

1 cup of chocolate chips

1 medium banana (optional, but it tones down the peanut taste and make the cookies moister)

Time commitment: About 15-19 minutes (5-7 minutes to prepare, 10-12 to bake)

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mash up the banana as finely as possible (opt for a fully yellow banana or one that’s beginning to brown — it’ll naturally sweeten the cookies).

3. Crack an egg in your mixing bowl, and you may notice two hard, white, stringy pieces in the egg. That’s called the chalaza, and you don’t want to bite into it while munching on your cookies, so fish it out using a fork. If you can’t get to it, don’t worry — most people bake without removing ’em — but I always do as a precaution. (They’re more important to remove in a custard or other creamy dish, where it could affect the texture of the dessert.)

4. Mix in all of your ingredients thoroughly, until the chocolate chips are spread out and a dough is formed.

5. Spoon cookies onto a baking sheet.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden brown.

7. Take out, let cool for a few minutes, then enjoy!