Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
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!
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. Kind of like my M&M cookies!
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. Try my white chocolate macadamia cookies, small batch chocolate chip cookies or chocolate chip snickerdoodles next!
How to make gluten free chocolate chip cookies
First, add the butter to a large mixing bowl. Unless it was already at room temperature, add it to the microwave for about 20 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 beat until combined.
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 10-14 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. Try my gluten free blondies next!
Oil vs. butter for cookies
For this recipe, I don’t recommend using oil. Butter generally works best for cookies, especially chocolate chip.
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.
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If you must use oil instead of butter, I suggest refined coconut oil which has the most similar flavor and baking characteristics as butter.
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 teaspoon 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 teaspoon 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! This one is my personal favorite!
How to store and freeze
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.
To freeze, you’ll still want to chill the dough for the 2 hours in the fridge, then transfer to a freezer safe bag and store for up to 2 months.
To bake from frozen, decrease the oven temperature to 325 and bake for a few extra minutes to account for the frozen dough.
Can I make them vegan?
You can likely sub the egg for apple sauce or a flax egg, but for best results, I suggest following the recipe as written. I have tons of vegan and gluten free cookie recipes on the blog, including these classic chocolate chip!
You can, however, use dairy free butter and chocolate chips for a dairy free option! I like Earth Balance butter sticks.
You’ll also love…
- Almond Flour Blondies
- Avocado Chocolate Mousse
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chewy Snickerdoodles
- Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Gluten Free Cookie Roundup
Lastly, if you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list. If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below so I can see your creation!
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet:
- ½ cup butter regular or dairy free
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Dry:
- 1 ½ cups Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour Blue Bag
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- 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.
- Once the butter is softened, add all sugars to the bowl with the butter and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy, creamy and well combined.
- Beat in the egg and the vanilla.
- Add in all of the dry ingredients. Be sure to spoon and level the flour to measure, do not scoop from the bag.
- Beat together until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop using 2 tbsp of dough (I used the medium cookie scoop) and form into balls.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the fridge to set for 2 hours. (don’t skip this!) When you have about 15 minutes left, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on preferred texture. For gooey cookies, take them out when the centers still look slightly undercooked. Be sure to only place one cookie sheet in the oven at a time, with only 5-6 cookies on each sheet as these will spread.
- When they come out of the oven, take a round cookie cutter and shuffle it around each cookie to encourage a perfect circle shape. Sprinkle on a few extra chocolate chips when they’re still hot.
- Once cool, transfer to a wire rack and then an air tight container for 3-5 days.
Notes
Comments
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I doubled, but otherwise followed this recipe as written. they look nothing like the picture, did not spread, did not brown at all, and are crumbly rather than soft. I had to flatten them with a spatula upon removing them from the oven. Additionally, they taste like gluten-free cookies and not wheat flour cookies. I will not make again.
PSA: please do not rate a recipe you have not made it. It is not helpful.
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I’m sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you! Which brand of flour did you use? I have made these dozens of times and they are not crumbly at all.
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I am not rating this bc i have not tried this yet but I want to but I do have a question. Can we leave the cookie dough in the fridge overnight or does it have to only be 2 hours because I want to do this recipe but when the 2 hours will be done I will have to go to bed so can we leave the cookie dough in the fridge overnight?
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You can leave it in the fridge overnight, just then let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking.
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This is the second time I’ve made these. The first time I did exactly as the recipe stated. This time I wanted to try with white chocolate and macadamia nuts. For whatever reason they just weren’t as good way more crumbly not holding together as well. I think I will need to use metric to make sure I’m getting it accurate all the time. Great recipe though!
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I have a different recipe for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies that I suggest instead!
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These are by far one of the best gluten-free chocolate cookies I ever make, but I skipped the fridge process. Who has two hours to wait around. Lol I follow directions pretty good. I don’t add as much butter as it says and I don’t add as much sugar either I use dark brown sugar. I put them in the oven for nine minutes take them out and once they’re cooled, they’re chewy chocolaty on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Totally amazing.
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These are excellent!
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Thank you, Joy!
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Whenever I make your confetti cookies they do not spread like yours and the same happened with these. They are very tasty but I don’t get that big flat cookie I am looking for. I use vegan Mykonos butter and Bob’s Red Mill flour. I always use the metric measurements because from what I understand that is the most accurate but perhaps it is off and that is what is going wrong. I noticed when making these that if I used 236 grams of chocolate chips it would have been at least 2 cups and the recipe calls for one. Is it possible the metric measurements are off and that is the issue?
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The metric measurements are an automatic conversion, these are not numbers I calculate myself. Yes, metric is the most accurate, but most of my audience is US based and mostly new bakers, so keeping things in cups is most accessible for both. So yes, I would guess the metric measurements are off and I would follow the cups and se if that helps!
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Always get so many compliments when I make these!!!
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Love to hear that! Thanks, Kelsey!
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So soft and airy. Can’t even tell these are gluten free! Thanks for the little tip about the cookie cutter.
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Love that! Thank you, Stephannie!
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They taste good but what did I do wrong to make them look so different from yours! ?
Mine looked taller and pretty much did not spread that much.. should I let them sit on counter after the chilling then bake maybe?-
Did you measure the flour properly? They should definitely spread! if you’re having that issue, you can reduce the chill time or let them sit out before baking.
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I made these for my daughter’s birthday party since we have a friend who is both gluten free and dairy free (so I used vegan butter and chocolate chips). GF desserts have a bad reputation, but everyone loved these cookies, and my friend said they’re now her favorite dessert!
Chilling the scooped dough is important, FYI. The first time I made these, I tried to “cheat” and just chill the bowl of dough, but scooping the dough made a huge difference!
I’m currently making these for Christmas! Thanks for a great recipe!
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Thanks Nicole! Definitely helps to chill it in the smaller scoops than the whole bowl. So glad you loved these!
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I make these for my gf best friend and they are amazing. You can’t even tell they are gf. Everyone is always shocked when we tell them.
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Thank you, Jasmine!
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Hey im just wondering how long do they last in the fridge?
How do i cook them if i freeze the dough? Let the balls unthae in fridge then bake?
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About a week! And no need to thaw, just bake at 325 and add a few extra minutes to account for the frozen dough.
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Made these and even non gf people were impressed!! Making them again less than 2 weeks later
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Love it! Thanks, Michaela!
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Could I switch the gluten free flour with all purpose flour?
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This recipe is designed to be gluten free, but if can try regular AP flour if you prefer.
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Can I use King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour? Or does it need to be strictly baking flour?
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That one should be fine!
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