Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Soft, Chewy, and Easy to Make

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you have been searching for a gluten free chocolate chip cookie that tastes like the real thing, this is the recipe to keep in your back pocket.

It comes from Claire Cary, and it is the one I bake when I want a cookie with crisp edges, a soft chewy center, and that buttery, sweet flavor that makes a plate disappear before it cools. Trust me on this one. Nobody at the table will guess these are gluten free.

The cookies are gluten free and nut free, and they turn dairy free with one easy swap. Use dairy free butter and dairy free chocolate chips and you have a cookie that works for a dairy free eater too.

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Everything else comes from basic pantry staples: butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, an egg, vanilla, gluten free baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and chocolate chips.

This is a classic version of the cookie rather than a health food version. Claire notes that her blog has plenty of lighter almond flour and oat based treats, but this recipe uses butter and refined sugar on purpose, because that is what makes it taste like a traditional chocolate chip cookie.

It is also freezer friendly, which means you can scoop the dough, chill it, and stash a batch for a rainy day.

If you are new to gluten free baking, start right here. The ingredient list is short, the method is forgiving, and the results are consistent as long as you follow the chilling step. I promise this is one of those recipes you will make often enough to memorize.

Two things make this recipe work: spoon the flour into the cup and level it off instead of scooping from the bag, and chill the scooped dough for the full 2 hours. Do not skip either one.

How to make gluten free chocolate chip cookies

You will need a large mixing bowl, an electric mixer, a medium cookie scoop or two spoons, and a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Measure the flour by spooning it into the cup and leveling it off. Scooping straight from the bag packs the flour down and gives you dry, crumbly cookies.

Wet ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, regular or dairy free
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour, blue bag
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Step by step

1. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl. Unless it was already at room temperature, microwave it for about 20 to 30 seconds. You want it soft but not melted. Press a finger lightly on top: it should leave an indent without the butter falling apart.
2. Add all of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and beat with an electric mixer until the mixture is fluffy, creamy, and well combined.
3. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Stop as soon as everything is incorporated so you do not beat extra air into the dough.
4. Add all of the dry ingredients. Spoon and level the flour to measure it, and do not scoop from the bag.
5. Beat the mixture together until it is just combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop 2 tablespoons of dough at a time and roll it into balls.
7. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 2 hours. When about 15 minutes of chilling time remain, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, depending on the texture you like. For gooey cookies, take them out while the centers still look slightly undercooked. Bake only one cookie sheet at a time and place just 5 to 6 cookies on each sheet, since the dough spreads as it bakes.
9. When the cookies come out of the oven, run a round cookie cutter around each one to nudge it into a perfect circle. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top while the cookies are still hot so they melt into the surface.
10. Once the cookies are cool, transfer them to a wire rack and then to an airtight container.

A few notes that make a real difference. The blend of granulated, light brown, and dark brown sugar is what gives these cookies their deep flavor and their chew, so use all three if you can.

If you do not have both brown sugars on hand, use 1/2 cup of white sugar plus 1/2 cup of whichever brown sugar you have.

Chilling is doing two jobs at once. It firms the dough so the cookies hold a thicker shape in the oven, and it gives the flour time to hydrate so the flavor deepens. That is why the first cookie from a well chilled batch tastes better than the last cookie from a rushed one.

Also, do not judge these cookies straight from the oven. They harden as they cool, so a cookie that looks a little too soft at minute 12 is usually perfect 20 minutes later.

Here is the nutrition information from the source recipe, per cookie.

Oil vs. butter for cookies

Short answer: use butter. Oil is not recommended in this recipe, because butter gives the best flavor and the best baking results. Even dairy free butter keeps that rich, buttery taste, while oil changes how the dough spreads and how the finished cookie feels in your hand.

If oil is your only option, refined coconut oil is the closest substitute. It behaves more like butter in the oven than a liquid oil does, and unlike unrefined coconut oil it will not push a coconut flavor into the cookies. Even so, for the cookie you are picturing, butter is the way to go.

Why do they spread so much?

If your cookies came out thin and flat, do not panic. There are three usual causes, and all three are easy to fix the next time.

Too much baking soda. Baking soda encourages spreading, while baking powder encourages rising. This recipe uses only 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, which produces a thin, very chewy cookie on purpose. For a thicker cookie, reduce the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon and leave the baking powder at 1/4 teaspoon.

Dough that is too wet or was not chilled. Soft, warm dough spreads before it has a chance to set. The 2 hour chill is not a suggestion. It holds the shape and builds flavor at the same time. If your kitchen runs warm, chill the scooped dough a little longer and keep the dough in the fridge between batches.

A baking sheet that is too thin. Very thin sheets heat up fast and unevenly, which makes the cookies spread and the bottoms darken before the centers are set. Use a medium thickness sheet and line it with parchment paper.

The flour matters too. This recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour in the blue bag. A different gluten free blend can have a different ratio of starches, so it may hold more or less moisture and spread differently. If you swap flours, expect a slightly different result the first time and adjust from there.

One last reassurance: a slightly thin cookie is still a great cookie. These are meant to be crisp at the edges and soft and chewy in the middle, so a little spread is exactly what you want.

How to store and freeze

Let the cookies cool completely, then store them in an airtight container. They keep for 3 to 5 days at room temperature. Sealing them while they are still warm traps steam and turns the texture soft and damp, so give them time on the wire rack first.

To bring back that fresh from the oven feel, microwave a cookie for about 10 seconds. The chocolate softens and the middle turns warm and chewy again, which is a small but wonderful thing on a Tuesday afternoon.

Freezing the dough is just as easy. Chill the dough in the fridge for the full 2 hours first, then move the dough balls into a freezer safe bag and label it with the date. They keep for up to 2 months.

When you are ready to bake, drop the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and add a few extra minutes to the baking time. The lower heat lets the frozen centers bake through without drying out the edges.

This is my favorite way to keep cookies on hand. I keep a bag of dough balls in the freezer and bake three or four at a time whenever the craving hits.

Can I make them vegan?

You can try. The egg can likely be replaced with applesauce or a flax egg, and both work for many bakers. That said, the recipe was developed with the egg, and the results are best when you follow it as written.

If you want a fully vegan cookie, a recipe built for it from the start will give you a better result than an adaptation.

Dairy free is a much easier path. Simply use dairy free butter and dairy free chocolate chips and you are set. Earth Balance butter sticks are the brand Claire recommends, and they cream into the sugars just like regular butter does.

You’ll also love…

If these cookies vanish as quickly in your kitchen as they do in mine, here are more treats worth baking next: almond flour blondies, avocado chocolate mousse, chocolate chip banana bread, mini chocolate chip muffins, chewy snickerdoodles, single serve chocolate chip cookies, and a roundup of vegan gluten free cookies.

Start with the single serve chocolate chip cookies if you want one warm cookie tonight without chilling a whole batch, and save the blondies for the next time you need something to bring to a gathering.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies If you have been searching for a gluten free chocolate chip cookie that tastes like the real thing, this is the recipe to keep in your back pocket. It comes from Claire Cary, and it is the one I bake when I want a cookie with crisp edges, a soft chewy center, and that buttery, sweet flavor that makes a plate disappear before it cools.

• Total Time: 160 min
• Yield: 12 cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Wet
1/2 cup butter, regular or dairy free
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry
1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour Blue Bag
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips

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Instructions

1-Add the butter to a large mixing: 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.
2-Once the butter is softened, add all: 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.
3-Beat in the egg and the vanilla: Beat in the egg and the vanilla.
4-Add in all of the dry ingredients: Add in all of the dry ingredients. Be sure to spoon and level the flour to measure, do not scoop from the bag.
5-Beat together until combined: Beat together until combined.
6-Fold in the chocolate chips: Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop using 2 tbsp of dough (I used the medium cookie scoop) and form into balls.
7-Place on a baking sheet lined with: 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.
8-Bake for 10-14 minutes, depending on preferred: 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.
9-When they come out of the oven,: 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.
10-Once cool, transfer to a wire rack: Once cool, transfer to a wire rack and then an air tight container for 3-5 days.

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• Prep Time: 30 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1cookie
• Calories: 242
• Sugar: 18.1g
• Fat: 9.6g
• Carbohydrates: 29g
• Fiber: 2.1g
• Protein: 4.9g