Chewy, chocolatey, sweet, easy to make, buttery but completely gluten free chocolate chip cookies! This is the perfect recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth and I promise you’d never know they’re gluten free!

Overhead shot of cookies arranged on a white backdrop with chocolate sprinkled on top.

When I first started this blog, I was all about making healthier recipes of timeless classics.

We have my paleo brownies and healthier chocolate chip cookies, but sometimes you just need a very classic (gluten free) chocolate chip cookie recipe filled with butter, refined sugar and all that good stuff.

Everyone needs a tried and tested chocolate chip cookie in their repertoire, and this is mine! It just happens to be both dairy free and gluten free. But trust me, if you did a blind taste test, you would NEVER know the difference.

They’re buttery, sweet, chewy and everything a cookie should be. Plus, they’re totally freezer friendly, nut free and require BASIC pantry staple ingredients, so let’s start, shall we?

One gluten free chocolate chip cookie with the chocolate melting out of the middle.

How to make this recipe

These cookies are made just like regular cookies, only with a few tweaks to keep them both gluten and dairy free. Of course, if you aren’t dairy free, just swap the dairy free butter for regular butter.

First, add the butter to a large mixing bowl. Unless it was already at room temperature, add it to the microwave for about 20-30 seconds. You want it to be soft, but not melted.

If you press your finger on the top slightly, it should leave an indent, but not completely fall apart. If your butter had previously been in the fridge, about 20 seconds in the microwave should soften it to this point.

Once the butter is softened, add both the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the bowl with the butter and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy and creamy.

Beat in the egg and the vanilla. At this point, beat just until everything is well incorporated, you don’t want to force too much air into the batter. Add in the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Process of making the recipe with step by step photos.

Fold in the chocolate chips. Use a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop and scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the fridge to chill for 2 hours. I know chilling cookie dough is annoying, but I promise it will be well worth it!

When there is about 20 minutes left of chilling, preheat the oven to 350. bake for 10-12 minutes. If you want them to stay chewy, take them out of the oven when they still look a little raw in the middle (for my oven it’s 12 minutes, but all ovens are different).

As soon as the cookies come out, I like to sprinkle on some finely chopped chocolate from a chocolate bar, but you can also just sprinkle on the chocolate chips. They’ll melt quickly if the cookies are still hot (which is good)!

Be sure to only place one cookie sheet in the oven at a time, and leave enough space between each cookie for them to spread. The cookies will continue to harden as they cool.

Once cool, transfer to a wire rack and then an air tight container for 5 days.

Three photos showing how to make the recipe.

Can you sub oil for butter?

For this recipe, I don’t recommend. Not only will you miss out on all of the delicious buttery flavor (even with dairy free butter), but it will change the way the cookies bake.

If you must use oil instead of butter, I suggest refined coconut oil which has the most similar flavor and baking characteristics as butter.

Stack of gluten free chocolate chip cookies with melted chocoalte.

Why do they spread so much?

Several things can cause cookies to spread too much while baking, making them flat and probably crispier than you would like.

The first is that there is too much baking soda in the recipe. Baking soda causes things to spread, whereas baking powder causes things to rise.

This recipe uses only 1/2 tsp baking soda to prevent the cookings from spreading too much. They will be thin, but still very chewy. If you prefer thicker cookies, use 1/4 tsp baking soda instead of 1/2.

The second issue is that the dough was too wet or hadn’t been chilled before baking. You MUST chill the dough before baking! At least two hours is ideal for both flavor and texture.

A final issue is the thickness of your baking sheet. A thicker baking sheet is going to heat the cookies differently than a thinner one. I suggest one somewhere in the middle, but make sure it is not too thin unless you want thin cookies!

How to get wrinkly edges

The “pan banging method” has become hugely popular thanks to Sarah Kieffer. Essentially, it’s a method that requires you to literally bang your cookie sheet against a hard surface every few minutes (I just keep it in the oven and slam it down on the rack), to encourage the cookies to spread properly and get wrinkly edges.

Essentially, this causes crisp wrinkled edges with a soft and gooey center. For this recipe, I slam down the cookie sheet every 3-4 minutes as they bake and then one final time when they come out of the oven.

You don’t have to do this with these cookies, they’ll be just as delicious but will have a smoother looking top.

Cookies layered on each other with chocolate chips in the middle.

Do they keep?

Once prepared, these gluten free chocolate chip cookies will store in an air tight container for about 5 days. Allow them to cool completely and then put a lit on a container so they don’t dry out prematurely.

If you want them to taste like they’re fresh from the oven, pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds and they’ll be good as new.

You can freeze this cookie dough! Since this makes a big batch you can make some now and save the rest for later.

I suggest rolling them into balls before freezing to make life easier. Make sure they are in a freezer safe container and they’ll be good for about 2-3 months.

One cookie ripped in half with melted chocolate chips.

You might also like…