Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

February 24, 2020 by Jenna 40 Comments

If you’re trying to convince someone that gluten free desserts can be just as good, this is the one to make! These gluten free chocolate chip cookies are everything a cookie should be – golden and crisp on the outside, melty and chewy on the inside, and loaded with chocolate chips with a sprinkling of sea salt on top. They’re bursting with the flavor and texture of a regular chocolate chip cookie…only better!

close up on the inside of a chocolate chip cookie

What makes this the best gluten free chocolate chip recipe?

For starters, just look at that texture! These cookies are definitely up to par with regular gluten-filled chocolate chip cookies. They have all the right chewiness and gooiness that can sometimes be lacking in gluten free cookies.

This recipe also only calls for 2 types of gluten free flours – all purpose gluten free flour blend and oat flour. Both are very easy to get ahold of and helps makes this recipe super simple.

The dough also only needs to chill for 2 hours. Many of my cookie recipes require the dough to chill overnight, but not these! Just prep the dough in the morning and you can have freshly baked chocolate chip cookies by noon.

Last but not least, these cookies are NOT cakey. Gluten free cookies tend to be on the puffy and cakey side because it’s tough to achieve that chewy texture without the cookie falling apart. But with the use of brown sugar and an extra egg yolk, these cookies are dense and chewy perfection.

a bowl of sugar and butter creamed together

a bowl of gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough

How to make the cookie dough

The cookie dough is made just like any other, by creaming together the butter and sugar, mixing in the vanilla and eggs, then finishing it off with the dry ingredients and chocolate.

For this recipe, there are a few things to keep in mind when making the dough:

Completely cream together the butter and sugar. And by that, I mean it should look like a thin paste when it’s ready. Run the mixer on medium high speed until the two blend together, just like the mixture above.
Make sure to spoon and level your flours to ensure you don’t use too much, otherwise the cookies won’t spread properly. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a straight edge. Don’t pack it into the cup, otherwise it will be too much.
You can choose to use vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract, but vanilla bean paste creates a deeper vanilla flavor that’s so delicious in this recipe!
The extra egg yolk helps add that chewiness factor to create a much richer cookie. Don’t leave it out!
Using a blend of semi sweet chocolate and bittersweet chocolate helps create an interesting depth of flavor in these cookies. You can choose whichever chocolate you like best, but I recommend this combo for the best results.

Chilling the cookie dough

This is another important step that you can’t skip! Chilling the dough allows the dry ingredients to fully absorb the wet ingredients, creating a more robust dough that will spread more evenly when baked.

Pre-scoop the cookie dough using a large cookie scoop. Dot the tops with a few extra chocolate chips and transfer the uncovered dough to the fridge. They must chill for at least 2 hours, but it’s OK if they chill for longer.

If you need to let them chill overnight, allow them to sit in the fridge uncovered for 2-4 hours, then wrap the tray in plastic wrap and continue to let them chill overnight. This prevents the dough from drying out.

How to bake chewy gluten free cookies

This is the trick that makes these the BEST gluten free chocolate chip cookies…although it may seem kind of odd!

When the cookies come straight out of the oven, they’ll spread quite a bit. The center will still be soft and doughy while the edges will be a light golden brown.

Right when you take them out, use the inside curve of a fork to push in the sides. Work fast because as the cookies cool, the sides will firm up which makes it much for difficult to round out your cookies. See the picture above for how this works.

This creates a perfectly round cookie with those crispy and chewy wrinkly edges without over-baking the center. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and transfer to a cooling rack while you bake the second batch.

gluten free chocolate chip cookies on a cooling rack

What is the best gluten free flour to use?

My go-to for gluten free baking is always the Bob’s Red Mill gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour. It already has xanthan gum mixed in (the ingredient that mimics gluten), and it just never fails. It’s the perfect blend of gluten free flours that is as close to regular flour that you can get!

The other flour in this recipe is oat flour. This flour is very absorbent, so it works really well to create that doughy but sturdy texture.

Can I make my own oat flour?

Yes! This is actually how I typically work with oat flour as I always have oats on hand. Simply add some gluten free oats to a food processor and blend them up into a flour..or as close as you can get. It’s OK if it’s not perfectly powder-like.

Just make sure to use gluten free oats, whether they’re quick minute oats or old fashioned. Either will work!

What can I use instead of oat flour?

If you can’t use oats, another great option is almond flour. These two are a great swap for one another in most instances. Although, almond flour isn’t as absorbent as oat flour.

Try to use super-fine almond flour for best results. Just make sure the cookie dough is easily scoopable and holds its shape. If the dough is too thin, add a couple extra tablespoons of the all purpose gluten free flour blend.

For more delicious gluten free dessert recipes, check out my:

Make sure to tag me @butternutbakery on Instagram and comment below if you make these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies. To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can use the button on the recipe card, the buttons above or below this post, or on any of the photos above. Happy baking!