This recipe makes four extra large gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. For a thin, wrinkled cookie, bang the pan on the oven rack about 10 minutes into baking. This gives the cookies crisp edges and a chewy center.

There are times when you want to make a big batch of chocolate chip cookies. And then there are times when you just want a cookie, not a commitment. 

This recipe is for those times. It makes four gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. That’s it. Not a whole tray. Not enough cookies for a bake sale. Just four perfect chocolate chip cookies.

One thing you must know before baking: these are large, thin cookies with lovely crinkles and ripples on the edges. (They’re inspired by Sarah Kieffer’s genius “pan banging” chocolate chip cookie technique.) They bake up crisp on the edges with centers that are crispy-chewy. They’re really a perfect chocolate chip cookie—in a perfectly small batch.

What You’ll Need

The ingredients you’ll need for these cookies are pretty simple. I recommend dark brown sugar because it adds a nice pop of flavor. If you don’t have any on hand, light brown sugar works great too. And for my dairy-free friends, swap the butter for your favorite dairy-free buttery spread and use dairy-free chocolate chips.

• Gluten-Free Flour. Bob’s Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour gave these cookies a crispy texture.
• Butter. Melted butter adds a buttery flavor. If you’re dairy-free, use a dairy-free buttery spread. I don’t recommend coconut oil for this recipe. 
• Egg Yolk. Just the yolk from one large egg brings the dough together.
• Granulated and Brown Sugar. The granulated sugar makes the cookies crisp. The brown sugar brings the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor. You can use either dark or light brown sugar. Dark adds a little more flavor and color. So it’s my favorite for this recipe.
• Baking Soda. A tiny amount, just ⅛ of a teaspoon, gives these a little lift.
• Salt. Enhances all the other flavors. Use fine (table) salt for the dough. You can always sprinkle on flaky salt after baking if you’d like
• Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Chunks. Both chocolate chips and chocolate chunks work.

How to Make a Small Batch of Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe. You only need one small bowl to mix the dough. Here’s how to make it. And remember: mix the dough first. Heat the oven second.

1. Start by stirring together the melted butter and sugars. Since this is such a small batch, you can do this in a small bowl. 
2. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until it looks creamy. 
3. Stir in the gluten-free flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until a dough comes together.
4. Finally, add the chocolate chips. Chill the dough for 10 minutes. While the dough chills, preheat your oven. 

5. Divide the dough into four pieces. Round into large balls. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you want, press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of each dough ball. 
6. Bake the cookies until the edges are set. If you want flat, wrinkled cookies, follow the next steps. It’s totally optional. If you skip this step, the cookies won’t have the rippled appearance you see in my photos. But they’ll still taste great! Do whatever works for you. 

Pan Banging: The Key to Flat Cookies

If you love flat cookies with a wonderfully rippled texture, bake the cookies for about 10 minutes. You’ll want to use a timer for this! Open the oven. The cookies won’t be baked at this point. Carefully lift the pan up, about 4 to five inches, and drop it back onto the rack. Do this a few times. If you don’t want to do it in the oven, drop the pan onto a heat proof surface, like your stovetop or a wire rack. Then return the cookies to the oven. 

Doing this creates those lovely wrinkles and crisp edges. You’ll see the cookies deflate as you bang the pan.

Bake the cookies for an additional three minutes. Repeat the process one more time. Then bake the cookies until golden brown. 

Big cookies not your thing? No problem!

This recipe makes four large cookies. If you prefer a smaller cookie, divide the dough into six pieces instead of four. The smaller the cookie, the less wrinkles you’ll get. So you can skip the pan banging step if you’d like.

Storing Leftovers

Keep any leftover cookies wrapped on the counter. They last for about five days. 

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Small Batch Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe makes four extra large gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. If you want extra thin, crinkly cookies, bang the pan about 10 minutes into baking. See the post and recipe notes for information on how to do this.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 18 minutes

Total Time 33 minutes

Servings 4 cookies

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup granulated sugar (65 grams)
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted (56 grams)
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar, dark recommended (12 grams)
• 1 large egg yolk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (71 grams)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ cup chocolate chips, plus more for finishing (optional) (about 42 grams)

Instructions

1. Stir together granulated sugar, melted butter, and brown sugar in a small bowl until creamy. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix until blended. You don’t want to see any streaks of egg.

2. Add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until a dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined.

3. Chill the dough for about 10 minutes while the oven preheats.

4. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

5. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Round into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you want, press a few extra chocolate chips into the top of each cookie.

6. For regular cookies: Bake for about 16 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.

7. For thin cookies with a rippled appearance: Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. The cookies won’t be baked at this point.

   Carefully lift the pan up, about 4 to five inches, and drop it back onto the oven rack. Do this a few times. If you don’t want to do it in the oven, drop the pan onto a heat-proof surface, like your stovetop or a wire rack. Then return the cookies to the oven.

   Bake for an additional three minutes. Repeat the process one more time. Then bake the cookies until golden brown, about 16 minutes total.

8. Store leftover cookies covered on the counter for up to five days.

These gluten-free pumpkin cookies are light, cakey, and full of flavor thanks to the pumpkin spice blend. If you love chocolate, add a handful of chocolate chips to the batter before baking. The recipe calls for butter but works great with a dairy-free substitute. 

Other gluten-free pumpkin recipes to try: gluten-free pumpkin muffins and my favorite gluten-free pumpkin bread.

Let’s talk about these pumpkin cookies! They’re a bit of baking magic. The cookies are very soft and cake-like but they hold their shape beautifully as they bake. I like to finish them with a simple powdered sugar glaze. Sometimes I stir a little pumpkin spice into the glaze for an added pop of flavor. Of course, if you prefer your baked goods with less sweetness, skip the glaze.

Other ways to play around with this is to add chocolate chips, dried cranberries (or raisins!) or some chopped nuts. The recipe really welcomes variations. And they’re easy to make, making them perfect for the holiday season.

Ingredients you need to make these cookies.

The nice thing about this recipe is that the ingredients are pretty simple. Gentle reminder: canned pumpkin is available all year long. This means you can make them whenever you want, not just in the fall.

The Cookies

• Canned Pumpkin Puree. Gluten-free pumpkin cookies need pumpkin. The pumpkin flavor comes from a cup of pumpkin puree. Use canned 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. The filling contains sugar and other ingredients we don’t need.
• Pumpkin Pie Spice. A blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. If you don’t keep this blend in the house, you can replace it with ground cinnamon and ginger.
• Gluten-Free Flour. Look for a blend that contains xanthan or guar gum. It helps the cookies hold their shape during baking. If your blend doesn’t include it, whisk ½ teaspoon xanthan gum into the flour blend before using.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda. The combination of baking powder and baking soda provides lift and helps the cookies to brown.
• Salt. Use fine (table) salt. It enhances the flavors of the cookies. 
• Butter. Use room temperature (softened) butter in this recipe. If you’re dairy-free use a dairy-free butter meant for baking.
• Granulated Sugar. The sweetness comes from granulated sugar and helps the cookies have a cake-like texture.
• Egg. One egg helps hold the batter together and creates a soft cookie. 
• Vanilla Extract. A teaspoon of vanilla extract adds flavor along with the pumpkin spice. 

The Vanilla Glaze

Both chocolate chips and chopped nuts are lovely additions to these cookies. 

• Powdered Sugar. If your powdered sugar is really lumpy, sift it before adding the milk
• Milk. Any milk works.
• Vanilla Extract. Gives the glaze a lovely flavor.
• Pumpkin Spice and Salt. Totally optional. A pinch of each adds a nice flavor.

Variations: Adding Chocolate Chips, Dried Fruit, or Chopped Nuts. 

These cookies are great plain and even better with something tasty stirred in.

• Chocolate chips. use up to two cups of chocolate chips or chunks. 
• Dried Fruit. Add about a cup of dried cranberries or raisins. 
• Nuts. Add up to one cup chopped nuts. For the best flavor, toast them before adding them to the batter.

How to Make Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies. 

These cookies are pretty easy to make. Think of it like a cross between a cake batter and cookie dough. You’ll need two mixing bowls to mix this dough.

1. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Do this in a small bowl. It mixes everything together. This helps the cookies to rise evenly and ensures they’re all spiced nicely. 
2. Mix the butter and sugar until it’s thick and creamy. Remember to use soft butter. You also want to scrape the bowl once or twice. This prevents the cookies from coming out greasy. 
3. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until it looks like frosting. When it does, stop the mixer and add the pumpkin. Blend until it’s nice and smooth. Again, give that bowl a scrape and then mix everything in. 
4. Stop the mixer. Add the whisked flour mixture. Turn the mixer to low and blend until combined.

5. The dough looks like a very thick cake batter. If you’re adding chocolate chips, dried fruit, or nuts, stir them in right at the end.
6. Drop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking pan. These don’t spread too much. They puff and spread a little. Give them a little space on the pan. Bake until the edges are set and lightly brown. 
7. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. When they’re cool, mix together the glaze. All you need to do is mix the ingredients together and drizzle it over the cookies. I usually glaze them on the cooled baking sheet. If you glaze them on the wire rack, it’s a pain to clean.

Got Leftovers? Freeze ‘Em!

The baked cookies freeze really well. I don’t recommend scooping the dough into balls and freezing. That works with gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough but not so much with this recipe.

1. Let the cookies cool completely. Don’t freeze warm cookies. 
2. Place in a freezer container. If you need to layer the cookies, stack them with a piece of parchment paper between the layers. 
3. Freeze for up to four months. When you’re ready to enjoy, remove the cookies from the freezer and thaw at room temperature. 

5 from 1 vote

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Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies

Gluten-free pumpkin cookies are light and cakey with a lovely pumpkin flavor. Finish them with a drizzle of vanilla icing.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 36 cookies

Calories 85 kcal

Ingredients

For the Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies

• 2 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (12 ½ ounces; 370 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (8 ¾ ounces; 248 grams)
• ½ cup butter, softened (4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin) (8 ounces; 226 grams)

For the Vanilla Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar (4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 1 ½ tablespoons milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice, optional, see note 3

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt in a small bowl. Set the bowl aside.

3. Mix together butter and sugar in a large bowl until it's thick and creamy. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. Mix for an additional 30 seconds.

   Add the egg and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until light, about one minute.

4. Stop mixer. Add pumpkin puree and mix until creamy. You don't want to see any streaks of pumpkin in the batter.

   Add the gluten-free flour mixture and blend on medium-low speed until a thick batter forms. If you're adding chocolate chops, dried fruit, or nuts, add them now. See note 2.

5. Drop dough, about a tablespoon each, onto prepared baking sheets.

   Bake the cookies until set and golden brown, about 15 minutes.

   Allow cookies to cool on the pan for about three minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.

6. Once cookies are cool, make the glaze.

   Stir together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a small bowl. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle over cookies, add ½ teaspoon additional milk. If the glaze is too thin (runny), add 1 tablespoon additional powdered sugar. Drizzle glaze over cookies. If you're making a spiced glaze, mix the spice into the powdered sugar. See note 3.

7. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to four days or place in a freezer container and freeze for up to four months.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Ingredient Notes and Substitutions.

Gluten-free All-Purpose Flour. This recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Gluten-free flours vary by brand. For best results, use one that contains xanthan gum or whisk in ½ teaspoon to the flour blend. Coconut and almond flours don’t work in this recipe.

Pumpkin Spice. Replace the pumpkin spice blend with 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon of ground ginger. For the best flavor, be sure your spices are fresh.

Salt. I bake with table salt. It dissolves best in batters and gives an even flavor. If using kosher or a flaky salt, increase the salt to 1 teaspoon.

Granulated Sugar. I recommended using granulated (white) sugar in this recipe. Sugar replacements give very different results. If you decide to use one, know that the cookies might not turn out.

Butter. Dairy-free butter can be used in place of unsalted butter. 

Egg. This recipe hasn’t been tested with an egg-replacer.

Vanilla extract. If you don’t have vanilla extract, simply omit it from the recipe.

Pumpkin Puree. Use canned pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling. 

Milk. The glaze calls for a little milk. Replace this with a dairy-free milk or water.

Note 2. How to add chocolate chips, dried fruit or chopped nuts.

You can stir in two cups of chocolate chips or chopped nuts. Or 1 cup of dried fruit, like dried cranberries or raisins. 

Note 3. Adding Spice to the Glaze.

About a ½ teaspoon of pumpkin spice adds a nice flavor to the glaze.

Big, bakery-style gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are easier to make at home than you’d think. The recipe makes cookies that are chewy at the center and filled with chocolate chips. These come out of the oven golden and gooey. They’re perfect for splitting (or not) while still warm.

Over the past few years, cookie bakeries have been popping up all over the country. They’re known for their ever-changing lineup of oversized cookies. Since they rarely offer safe gluten-free options, I’ve gotten lots of requests for a gluten-free recipe that delivers the same “cookie bakery” magic.

It took several rounds of testing to get this one just right. These cookies are not only giant, but gluten-free. So they need to be sturdy enough to hold together without crumbling (ahem), while still staying soft and tender. The right gluten-free flour blend, plus a quick chill before baking, makes all the difference.

It took several rounds of testing to get the recipe just right. Because these cookies are both giant and gluten-free, they need to hold together without crumbling (ahem). Since they’re meant to be soft, it’s a delicate balance. Happily this recipe does all those things and makes some of the best gluten-free cookies I’ve ever had.

Ingredients

As with every gluten-free recipe, the ingredients play an important role. Substitutions can affect the final texture of the cookies. Here’s what you need to make these cookies and the role each ingredient plays.

• Gluten-Free Flour: I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, which currently comes in a blue bag. If you use a different blend, it might change the texture and flavor of the cookies. Grain-free flour isn’t recommended for this recipe.
• Tapioca Starch: A little tapioca starch makes the cookies soft and chewy. If you don’t have any, don’t worry—you can omit it or replace it with an equal amount of corn starch or gluten-free baking flour.
• Brown and Granulated Sugar: The combination of brown sugar and a bit of granulated sugar adds sweetness and helps achieve the perfect texture. Brown sugar makes the cookies chewy, while granulated sugar helps them spread slightly. Using all brown sugar will result in cookies that don’t spread as much.
• Egg: You only need one whole egg to bring the dough together. I haven’t tried these cookies with an egg replacer, but if you do, I’d recommend trying a flax egg.
• Chocolate Chips: Use whatever you love. The popular cookie bakery adds milk chocolate chips, which is what I used, but dark chips, chunks, or mini chips all work well too.
• Vanilla Extract: Two teaspoons of vanilla really boost the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor we all love.
• Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Baking soda reacts with the acidic brown sugar to give the cookies a nice lift and enhance their chewiness. A little baking powder also helps add lift.
• Salt: Salt enhances the flavor and balances the sweetness. Yes, I use both salt and salted butter.

How to Make Bakery-Style Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies at Home

Let me say this right away: this recipe makes big cookies. Really big cookies. In fact, during testing, I hesitated to make them as large as bakeries do—but that’s part of the fun. If you prefer smaller cookies, I’ve included a note on how to adjust the size with the recipe.

Combine the dry ingredients: Stir together the gluten-free flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, and baking powder in a small bowl.

Mix the butter and sugar: Blend softened butter with the brown and granulated sugar. When it forms a thick paste, add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. There’s no need to beat this light and fluffy like a gluten-free white cake batter. A thick butter-sugar paste helps give the cookies a dense texture.

Make the dough: Stop the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed at first, then increase to medium and blend until a dough forms.

Stir in the chocolate chips: I prefer to do this with a wooden spoon because sometimes the electric mixer breaks up the chips.

Chill the dough: Cover the dough and pop it in the fridge. If you plan to bake right away, preheat the oven while the dough chills for at least 20 minutes—or chill overnight.

Scoop the dough: These cookies are really big. Use a ⅓-cup measuring spoon or weigh each piece of dough to about 85 grams. Roll the dough into large balls and place six dough balls per parchment-lined baking sheet. Don’t put more than six per pan, as the cookies will spread during baking.

Bake and cool: Bake until puffy and golden. Bakeries like Crumbl tend to slightly underbake their cookies. As soon as the edges are set and the cookies look brown across the top, they’re done. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 15 minutes. Moving them too soon can cause them to break apart.

Three Tips to Remember

1. Size Matters. Use a measuring cup or scale for evenly sized cookies. The cookies bake more evenly and look just like ones from the bakery.
2. Chill Out (Literally!). Let the dough rest in the fridge for a bit. It sets the dough, deepens flavor and keeps the cookies from spreading too much. 
3. Underdone Is the New Perfect. Bake until the edges are set but the centers still look a little soft. They’ll finish on the pan and stay delightfully chewy.

5 from 1 vote

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Bakery Style Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe makes extra-large gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. The combination of gluten-free flour and a little tapioca starch makes them soft and chewy. If you prefer your cookies a little smaller, see the note at the bottom of this recipe. As written, the recipe makes 10 perfect cookies.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Servings 10 large cookies

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups gluten free flour, see note 1 (250 grams; 8 ¾ ounces)
• ¼ cup tapioca starch, see note 2 (31 grams; 1 ounce)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup salted butter, softened (170 grams; 6 ounces)
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar (155 grams; 5 ½ ounces)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams; 1 ¾ ounces)
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips (255 grams; 9 ounces)

Instructions

1. Whisk together gluten-free flour, tapioca starch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
2. Mix together softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until thick. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until smooth. It won’t look light and fluffy. More like a paste.
3. Stop the mixer. Add the whisked gluten-free flour mixture. Turn the mixer to low to incorporate the flour. Then increase to medium and mix until a dough forms. Stop the mixer at least once to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl.
4. Add the chocolate chips. I like to stir them into the dough with a silicone spatula because the mixer can break them up a little.
5. Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least 20 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a baking sheet (two if you've got them!) with parchment paper.

7. Scoop the dough into ⅓ cup (85 grams each) portions. Round into balls. Place 6 dough balls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (For smaller cookies, see note 3.)

8. Bake until the edges are set and the cookies are a light golden brown, about 16 minutes.

9. Remove the pan from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 15 minutes. They settle as they cool. This is normal. Wait 15 minutes to move them or the cookies can break.

   Repeat with remaining dough. You’ll get 10 cookies total.

10. Let the cookies cool completely before placing them into a container to store. These keep four to five days on the counter or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Gluten-Free Flour. This recipe was developed and tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour (Blue Bag). Using a different flour might change the texture of the cookies. 

Note 2: Tapioca Starch. The tapioca starch gives the cookies a chewy texture. You can replace it with the same amount of cornstarch or gluten-free flour. The cookies won’t be as chewy but the recipe works. 

Note 3: Making Smaller Cookies. If you don’t want oversize cookies, scoop the dough into two tablespoon portions and reduce baking time to about 11 minutes.