Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: A Chewy and Buttery Recipe

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have baked a lot of gluten free cookies over the years, and most of them were polite. A little sandy. The kind of cookie you eat because it is there, not because you are excited about it.

This recipe is not that cookie. These gluten free chocolate chip cookies are buttery, sweet, chewy, and everything a cookie should be. Trust me, if you did a blind taste test, you would never know the difference.

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The recipe comes from Claire Cary at Eat With Clarity, and I love how honest it is about what it is. Claire’s blog often leans toward lighter baking, but this one is deliberately a classic, indulgent version.

It uses real butter and refined sugar, and it does not apologize for either. That is exactly why it works. The cookies taste like the chocolate chip cookies you grew up with, just without the gluten.

A few things make this recipe friendly for real life:

• It is gluten free, and it can be made dairy free and nut free with easy swaps.
• It is built on basic pantry staples, so you probably already have most of what you need.
• The dough is freezer friendly, which means you can keep a stash ready for whenever a craving hits.
• It makes about 20 cookies, a nice small batch that disappears fast without taking over your whole afternoon.

One note before you start. This is a soft dough, and it needs a real chill in the fridge before it bakes. If you skip that step, you will end up with flat puddles instead of chewy cookies. I have done it. I do not recommend it.

The payoff is a cookie with crisp edges, a soft and chewy middle, and melted chocolate in every bite. Serve them warm with a glass of cold milk, or pack them in a lunchbox for a treat that nobody will question.

How to make gluten free chocolate chip cookies

The method is straightforward, and the ingredients are the kind you can find in any grocery store. Here is everything you need for one batch of about 20 cookies.

Now for the fun part. Follow these steps in order, and the dough comes together in about 30 minutes of hands on time, plus 2 hours of chilling.

1. Add 1/2 cup of softened butter to a large mixing bowl. If your butter was in the fridge, microwave it for about 20 to 30 seconds. You want it soft enough that a gentle press leaves an indent, but not melted. Melted butter makes the cookies spread too much later.
2. Add all three sugars to the bowl with the butter. Beat with an electric mixer until the mixture looks fluffy, creamy, and well combined.
3. Beat in the egg and the vanilla. Stop as soon as they are incorporated, so you do not push extra air into the batter.
4. Add all of the dry ingredients. Spoon and level the flour to measure it instead of scooping straight from the bag, since a packed cup of flour will throw off the texture.
5. Beat everything together until it is just combined.
6. Fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop the dough using 2 tablespoons per cookie and roll each portion into a ball.
7. Place the dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and put the whole sheet in the fridge for 2 hours. Do not skip this step. When you have about 15 minutes of chilling time left, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
8. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, depending on how you like your cookies. For gooey centers, pull them out while the middle still looks slightly undercooked. Bake one cookie sheet at a time, with only 5 or 6 cookies per sheet, because these spread.
9. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, run a round cookie cutter around each one to nudge it into a neat circle, then sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top while they are still hot.
10. Let the cookies cool, then move them to a wire rack and store them in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.

The chill is not optional. Two hours in the fridge firms up the dough and gives you a thicker, chewier cookie with deeper flavor.

A quick word on timing. The source lists about 30 minutes of prep, 2 hours of chill time, and 10 minutes of baking. The bake window is 10 to 14 minutes, so set your timer for 10 and check from there.

Ovens run hot or cool, and the difference between a chewy cookie and a crispy one is often just a minute or two.

If you want a little extra insurance, sprinkle finely chopped chocolate or a few chocolate chips over the hot cookies right out of the oven. They melt into glossy pools and make the tops look bakery worthy.

The source also lists nutrition per serving, which is 1 cookie, as 242 calories, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 4.9 grams of protein, 9.6 grams of fat, 2.1 grams of fiber, and 18.1 grams of sugar. That comes straight from the original recipe card, so treat it as an estimate.

Oil vs. butter for cookies

You might wonder if you can swap the butter for oil to save a step. I would not. Butter brings flavor, structure, and the browning that makes a chocolate chip cookie taste like a chocolate chip cookie.

Oil gives you a flatter tasting cookie that bakes differently, and the difference is noticeable even when you use dairy free butter instead of the regular kind.

If you truly cannot use butter, refined coconut oil is the closest substitute in both flavor and baking behavior. Refined coconut oil does not carry a strong coconut taste, so it stays out of the way of the chocolate. Use the same amount, and keep everything else in the recipe the same.

Why do they spread so much?

Flat cookies are the number one complaint in gluten free baking, so let us troubleshoot. In this recipe, spreading usually comes down to three things.

• Too much baking soda. Baking soda encourages spreading while baking powder encourages lift. This recipe calls for just 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda for that reason, which gives you a cookie that is thin but chewy rather than puffy. If you want thicker cookies, drop the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon.
• Dough that is too wet or not chilled. If the dough went into the oven at room temperature, or if the butter was melted instead of softened, the cookies spread out fast. The 2 hour chill is what keeps them from running. It also improves the flavor and the texture, so it earns its place.
• Baking sheet thickness. A very thin sheet heats up too quickly and pushes that heat straight into the dough, which gives you thinner cookies. A sheet of medium thickness is the better choice here.

A few small habits help too. Bake one sheet at a time so the oven heat stays steady, and leave plenty of space between the dough balls since they will spread. Let the cookies rest on the sheet for a few minutes before moving them, because they firm up as they cool and a hot cookie tears easily.

If your first batch still spreads more than you like, do not panic. Note what you changed, chill the next batch a little longer, and try 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. Cookies are forgiving, and the second batch is usually the best one.

How to store and freeze

Cooled cookies keep well in an airtight container for about 5 days. Let them cool completely before you seal the container, otherwise the trapped steam makes them soft and soggy. A quick 10 seconds in the microwave brings back that fresh from the oven feeling, which is my favorite trick for day three cookies.

The dough freezes beautifully too. Chill it in the fridge for the full 2 hours first, then move the dough balls into a freezer safe bag. They keep for up to 2 months.

When you are ready to bake, there is no need to thaw. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and add a few extra minutes to the bake time.

• Room temperature: airtight container, about 5 days.
• Refresh: 10 seconds in the microwave.
• Freezer: chilled dough in a freezer safe bag, up to 2 months.
• From frozen: bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit with a few extra minutes.

Rolling the dough into balls before freezing is the move. Then you can pull out exactly as many cookies as you need, bake them on a whim, and have warm cookies on a Tuesday night without making a whole batch.

Can I make them vegan?

You can get close. The egg can likely be replaced with applesauce or a flax egg, though the author recommends following the recipe as written for the best results, and there are dedicated vegan gluten free cookie recipes on the blog if you want a tested version.

The dairy free route is easy and confirmed. Use dairy free butter and dairy free chocolate chips and the cookies stay just as good. The author likes Earth Balance butter sticks for this. Just remember that the butter still needs to be softened, not melted, and the dough still needs its 2 hours in the fridge.

You’ll also love…

If these cookies disappear as fast as they do at my house, here are a few more recipes worth trying: Almond Flour Blondies, Avocado Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins, Chewy Snickerdoodles, Single Serve Chocolate Chip Cookies, and a Vegan Gluten Free Cookie Roundup.

The single serve option is perfect when you want one warm cookie and no leftovers, and the blondies are a great next step if you already keep almond flour in the pantry.

Start with the chocolate chip cookies, though. Make them once, and I promise you will keep a bag of gluten free flour in the pantry just for this recipe.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies I have baked a lot of gluten free cookies over the years, and most of them were polite. A little sandy.

• Total Time: 160 min
• Yield: 20 cookies 1x

Ingredients

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Wet
1/2 cup butter, regular or dairy free, softened
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

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