Little bites of chocolate heaven

This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart's Chocolate Charm Cookies. I have tried it twice: The first time, substituting the 2 cups of flour for a pre-made mix of gluten-free flour (Nature's Choice GF Cake Flour); and the second time, I used 1.5 cups of rice flour (Entice Rice) and 0.5 cups potato flour. Both versions worked. Both tasted yummy.

If you want flatter, crisper cookies then chill the dough for less time. If you want ones that are puffier and more cake-like (similar to the pics from Martha Stewart's recipe site), then chill the dough for an hour or more. Personally, I prefer a crunchier cookie.

Funny thing about this recipe: regardless of which type you want, all you do is roll the dough in a ball and put it on the cookie sheet. The temperature of the dough BEFORE you put it in the oven determines how flat/puffy your cookie will come out. Cool, right? :-)

Born-up-a-gluten-free-tree!

Chocolate Charm Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes 36 - 40

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
  
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (2 US sticks = 226g)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees Celsius, with rack on the bottom quarter of the oven (one notch below the middle).
   
2. Sift flour, cocoa, salt in a bowl.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a seperate bowl till fluffly.
4. Add vanilla and flour to butter/sugar. Mix till just incorporated and dough sticks together.
5. Chill for 15 mins (flatter cookie) to 1 hour (puffy cookie).
6. Form balls and place on a lined baking sheet.
   
7. As soon as you put the baking sheet in the oven, put the temperature down to 150 degrees Celsius for the duration of the baking time for that baking sheet. When you take it out, turn the oven back up to 175 while you put your cookies on the cooling rack and roll more dough balls. Then turn it down again to 150 as soon as the new sheet goes in. You'll find a rhythm (Like the granny said from the movie Strictly Ballroom: "Feel da rhythm, don't be scared.")
   
8. Bake for approximately 13 minutes and then put on a wire cooling rack.
9. Dust with cocoa powder for prettiness.
10. Store in an air-tight container at room temp for 5 days.
    
11. Note: The original recipe says 20 - 25 minutes ----- this would be a bad thing unless you like your biscuits burnt! It also says to turn the cookies halfway through the baking time ---- this is not necessary. It also says you can store these for up to a week, but by day 6 they are tasting a bit stale, so I don't recommend pushing it past 5 days of storage.