Gluten Free Caramelized White Chocolate Ginger Cookies

I'm partnering with Paradise Fruit Co today to bring you these AMAZING gluten free caramelized white chocolate ginger cookies. They're thick, toasty, and chewy and you're sure to love them!

Have you ever had caramelized white chocolate? I'm telling ya, if you haven't, you NEED this in your life!! If you think you don't like white chocolate, I urge you to give caramelized white chocolate a try and you'll get it. You'll understand the hype. It's gonna BLOW.YOUR.MIND!

As if that's not enough, though, add chopped crystallized ginger to these cookies and you'll be doing a happy dance with every bite! I love a great ginger cookie, but crystallized ginger takes it to another level entirely. Of course the flavor is spicy and sweet, but that chew is what always gets me. It's very addictive and satisfying!

The Ingredients in Gluten Free Caramelized White Chocolate Ginger Cookies

• Kim's gluten free four blend--you should be able to substitute with another high quality flour blend that contains xanthan gum, such as Cup4Cup.
• Butter
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Caramelized white chocolate--see below for how to caramelize it in the microwave or oven
• Crystallized ginger--I get my crystalized ginger from Paradise Fruit Co. It's affordable and delicious!
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground ginger
• Eggs

How to Caramelize White Chocolate

You could add just plain white chocolate to these cookies if you don't feel like caramelizing, but I'm telling ya, when you go caramelized, you'll never go back. Caramelized white chocolate is absolutely incredible. It actually cuts that sickeningly sweet vibe down and adds a toasty, caramel-y flavor to the cookies.

To caramelize in the oven, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place chopped white chocolate on a small baking sheet in one layer. Heat it in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove and stir. Continue this at 10-minute intervals until the chocolate is a golden brown color. It'll look lumpy and chalky, but keep stirring and heating and it will smooth out. This can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes, depending on the amount of cocoa butter that's in your white chocolate. Higher quality brands take less time because they have more cocoa butter.

For caramelized white chocolate in the microwave, put the chocolate in a microwave-proof bowl and heat initially for one minute on high power. Stir. Continue heating in 15-second intervals and stirring after each until caramelized. It can take numerous intervals to finally caramelize, again depending on the cocoa butter percentage.

Pour the caramelized white chocolate onto a small platter or baking sheet covered in parchment and spread it slightly into one layer that's roughly ½ inch thick. It doesn't need to be precise because you'll be chopping it up. Set it in the freezer until solid, about 10 minutes. When solid, cut into irregular chunks.

The Unusual Method for Making These Cookies

I found this to be an unusual method for making cookies because cold butter is used and there is no creaming of the butter and sugar. This is how it goes:

• Beat cold butter just to soften it slightly.
• Add sugars and mix together just until large crumbs or pieces form.
• Add the chopped crystallized ginger and caramelized white chocolate chunks and mix just for 15 seconds or so, until large chunks remain.
• Incorporate the dry ingredients until crumbly and then add the eggs, just to bind it all together, mixing for no more than 30 seconds. It'll look very crumby.
• Dump the dough out onto the counter and press it together with your hands. Then take large scoops of it and gently form it into rough balls. You can weigh each dough ball if you'd like, but I just estimated on mine. They're about the size of a very large golf ball, but you can make them smaller or larger (adjusting the baking time as necessary).
• Place the dough balls in the freezer to firm up until solid, at least 2 hours.
• Put a baking sheet lined with parchment into the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees F.
• Place the frozen dough balls at least 2 inches apart on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until lightly browned.

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Make Ahead Options for Caramelized White Chocolate Ginger Cookies

Because these cookies already begin by freezing the dough, they're definitely make ahead friendly. Just keep the dough balls in the freezer in a ziptop bag and whenever you're ready to bake, follow the instructions for baking (from frozen).

Can the Cookies be Made Bigger or Smaller?

These cookies are pretty large as they are so I'm not sure about making them bigger. But smaller is definitely an option! Pack them into smaller balls and freeze them as directed. Bake them for only 10-12 minutes, but check at the 10-minute mark. You may have to adjust that baking time, depending on the size of your cookies.

I hope these cookies make it on your Christmas cookie baking list. They're easy to make, can be made ahead and frozen, and are BLOW.YOUR.MIND delicious!

Adapted from Cupcake Jemma