Easy recipe for gluten-free chocolate cookies. To make a batch: mix the dough, drop it onto a baking sheet, and bake. If you love chocolate, add chocolate chips to the batter.
These gluten-free chocolate cookies taste like a cross between a brownie and a chocolate chip cookie. They’re crisp on the edges and tender in the middle. For an extra burst of chocolate, add some chocolate chips. Dairy-free options are included.
(And if you love the sound of that, put my gluten-free brownie recipe and gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe on your “to-do” list.)
Ingredients You Need to Make These Cookies.
Gluten-Free Flour. Makes the cookies soft and tender. Use a blend that contains xanthan gum.
Cocoa Powder. For dark, rich cookies, use Dutch-processed cocoa powder. If you can’t find it, natural cocoa powder works but the cookies won’t be as dark.
Baking soda. gives the cookies a light texture
Salt. A little salt enhances all the other flavors.
Butter. Melted butter makes the cookie dough easy to mix together. For a dairy-free version, use your favorite dairy-free butter for baking.
Brown and Granulated Sugar. Combining brown and granulated sugar gives these cookies a hint of molasses that goes great with the chocolate.
Egg. Helps bring the dough together
Vanilla extract. Adds a nice homemade flavor
Chocolate Chips. For an added chocolate flavor, stir a cup of chocolate chips into the dough.
How to Make the Cookies.
Think of this dough as a “stir and drop”. You simply stir the dough together and then drop it onto a baking sheet. It’s that easy. Here’s what to do.
Step One: Make the Dough.
Start by whisking together the gluten-free flour with the other dry ingredients. (Except for the sugars!) Doing this ensures that the baking soda and salt are evenly mixed throughout the dough.
In a large bowl, mix together the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract until it’s smooth and creamy. The mixture almost looks like caramel sauce at this step.
Add the dry ingredients and stir until a dough forms. At this point, I like to stop and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Gluten-free flour loves to stick to the bowl and we want to mix it in completely.
If you’re adding chocolate chips or nuts, stir them in now.
This dough is much softer than many gluten-free cookie doughs. It’s almost as soft as brownie batter but not quite. After mixing, I like to let it sit for about five minutes. It sets up a little and makes it easier to scoop into balls.
If you want to make the dough in advance, you can. Make it as directed, cover the bowl, and then refrigerate. This really gives the flavors time to develop. Cookies made with premade dough don’t spread as much as cookies baked right away.
Step Two: Shape and Bake.
Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or lightly grease it with nonstick spray. Scoop the dough into balls and drop it onto the baking sheet. There’s no need to roll the dough into balls. In fact, it’s too soft to roll.
I love to use a cookie scoop for this step. Not only is it fast, all the cookies come out the same size. Win-win.
If you’re using chocolate chips or nuts, you can always press a few extra into the top of the cookies. It gives them a really pretty appearance when baked.
Bake until the cookies look set and puffed. A pan of these cookies takes about 10 minutes.
Step Three: Cool and Enjoy.
The cookies are really delicate when they come out of the oven. If you move them right away, they can break. Let them cool on the pan for about three minutes before transferring them.
Variations
Inside-Out Chocolate Chip Cookies: Stir a cup of white chocolate chips into the batter.
Spicy Chocolate Cookies: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne along with the gluten-free flour.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free flour, see note (7 ½ ounces; 212 grams)
- ¼ cup cocoa powder, Dutch-process suggested (¾ ounce; 20 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter, melted (1 stick) (4 ounces; 113 grams)
- ½ cup dark brown sugar (3 ¾ ounces; 106 grams)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (2 ⅓ ounces; 66 ounces)
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cups chocolate chips, optional (6 ounces; 170 grams)
- 1 cup chopped nuts, optional (4 ounces; 113 grams)
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
Whisk together gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
-
Add the dry ingredients. Mix until a thick soft dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using.
-
Drop dough by the tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the edges are set, about 12 minutes.
-
Let cookies cool on the pan for about three minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
-
Store cooled in an airtight container for up to four days or place cookies into a freezer container and freeze for up to two months.
Recipe Notes
Gluten-Free Flour: Cookies were tested with Bob’s 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour. You might get a different result (texture and flour) if you use a different flour.
Butter: For dairy-free cookies, use a dairy-free butter spread.
Chocolate Chips: Use regular or mini chocolate chips. Milk, semi-sweet, and white chocolate chips all work. Use what you love.
Leave a Reply