Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I don't think I've yet to be disappointment with an Alton Brown recipe.  I saw this gluten-free cookie recipe a while ago on Food Network but couldn't find tapioca flour in my one grocery store here on base and they certainly don't have it in one of the Japanese stores so I had to order it from Amazon and wait patiently until it arrived.  Seems slightly silly since you only use about 2 tbsp. of it, but I'm not use to not using flour in recipes so wasn't sure how important that one ingredient really was.  I did make some adjustments to the original recipe to make it not just gluten-free but dairy-free as well.  I substitute non-hydrogenated shortening for the butter, used soy milk for the whole milk, and used a 72% good quality dark chocolate that contained no dairy.  Most good quality dark chocolates don't contain dairy you just have to read the labels.  I wasn't sure what to expect with these cookies.  I certainly didn't expect to eat the entire pan of them myself, but I did, oops.   

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free)

8 ounces non-hydrogenated shortening
11 ounces brown rice flour (or white rice flour), approximately 2 cups
1 1/4 ounces cornstarch, approximately 1/4 cup
1/2-ounce tapioca flour, approximately 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
10 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 1/4 cups
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 ounces 72% dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.  Cream the shortening and sugar together in your standing mixer.  Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating the pans after 5 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.