How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are crispy, buttery, and really easy to make. (Dairy-free option included.)

How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Heat the Oven.

Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies bake best in a preheated oven. Before measuring the ingredients, turn the oven on. If you start cookies in a cool oven, the dough gets too soft and they can spread and flatten. Baking cookies in a preheated oven helps them to spread the right amount.

What happens if I forget to preheat the oven? 

If you forget to preheat the oven, no problem. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookie dough doesn’t need to be baked immediately after mixing. (Unlike gluten-free angel food cake which needs to be baked right away.) If your kitchen is warm, pop the mixing bowl in the refrigerator while the oven heats up. 

Make the Dough.

You’ll need two mixing bowls to make this recipe. A small bowl to whisk together the gluten-free flour with baking soda and salt. This step evenly mixes the baking soda and salt throughout the gluten-free flour for the best texture and taste. And a large bowl to mix the dough. Use either a handheld or stand mixer to make this dough.

Prepare the Pan.

I like to bake gluten-free cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This prevents the cookies from sticking to the pan and makes cleanup easy. If you don’t keep parchment paper in the house, grease the pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

Scoop the Dough.

One of my favorite kitchen tools is a cookie scoop. It makes it easy to scoop cookie dough from the bowl onto the baking sheet. The best part? All the cookies are the same size. No more pans of overbaked small cookies and underbaked large cookies.

How to scoop cookie Dough without a cookie scoop. 

If you don’t have a cookie scoop in the house, use a metal measuring spoon. I like to use a tablespoon of dough for these cookies. If your measuring spoons are soft or made of plastic, skip using them and spoon the dough from the bowl using a soup spoon.

Bake Until Brown.

A pan of these cookies takes about 12 minutes to bake. Look for the cookies to look set with an even light brown color. 

If you know that your oven bakes unevenly (one side of the pan bakes faster than the other), rotate the pan halfway through baking. 

Cool on a Wire Rack.

Gluten-free cookies are delicate right out of the oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for about three minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. If the cookies cool completely on the pan, they can overbake from the heat of the pan. (This is called carryover cooking).

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies: Ingredients.

The ingredients for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are pretty simple. Basically, all you need is sugar, gluten-free flour, butter, eggs, and chocolate chips. 

• Gluten-Free Flour. What’s the best flour to use for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies? Good question! A gluten-free flour blend with a mix of gluten-free flours, starches, and xanthan gum makes the best cookie. I tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour blend. 
• Sugar. For the classic chocolate chip cookie flavor, use a blend of granulated (white) sugar and brown sugar. If you like a more pronounced molasses flavor, use dark brown sugar. It contains more molasses than light brown sugar.
• Melted Butter. There’s no need to wait for butter to soften to make these cookies. Melt the butter and you’re ready to mix. After melting, allow the butter to cool slightly before using. If you want to bake a gluten-free/dairy-free chocolate chip cookie, replace the butter with a dairy-free butter-style spread or margarine. You can also use melted coconut oil. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies made with coconut oil tend to be a little crisper than those made with butter.
• Eggs. Two eggs help to hold the dough together and give the cookies a little lift. 
• Chocolate Chips. What’s a chocolate chip cookie without chocolate chips? Use whatever type of chocolate chips you love. Traditional “toll house”-style chocolate chip cookies use semi-sweet chocolate chips.
• Baking Soda. A little baking soda helps the cookies to rise and enhances browning. 
• Salt. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies made without salt taste flat. The half teaspoon of salt is important. Use table salt, not kosher salt. 

Ingredient Tips and Techniques.

What are the best chocolate chips for cookies?

To melt the butter on the stovetop. Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. 

Size: Chunks, Chips, and Chopped Chocolate.
Traditional chocolate chip cookie, use regular chocolate chips. These are often labeled “morsels.” But there are so many other options. If you love big pieces of chocolate, use chocolate chunks. If you like lots of chocolate dotted throughout each bite, use mini chips. And for a mix of each, chop a chocolate bar. This gives you little pieces of chocolate along with big shards.

Flavor: Semi-Sweet, Milk, and White Chocolate.
In addition to size, there are a lot of options for flavor. The classic chocolate chip recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips. (Semi-sweet and dark chocolate chips can be used interchangeably.) Milk and white chocolate chips are also lovely options.

How to melt butter.

To melt the butter in the microwave. Cut the butter into small pieces. Place into a microwave-safe bowl and heat on low heat for 30 seconds. Remove the butter from the microwave and stir. This prevents the butter from splattering. Repeat until melted. 

The answer is: it depends! There are more options than ever when it comes to chocolate chips. (Always check the ingredient label or contact the manufacturer to make sure your chocolate chips are gluten-free.)

How to Store and Freeze Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.

How to store at room temperature.

Let the cookies cool completely. Then store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to five days. 

How to freeze gluten-free cookies. 

Bake the cookies as directed. Allow them to cool completely. Layer the cookies in a freezer-safe container. Place a piece of parchment or waxed paper between the layers. Freeze for up to three months. 

How to freeze gluten-free cookie dough.

Having gluten-free cookie dough in the freezer makes it a snap to bake a batch of cookies quickly. 

1. Prepare the dough as directed. 
2. Scoop into balls. 
3. Place the dough balls onto a cookie sheet. 
4. Freeze for two hours or until the dough is firm. 
5. Transfer the dough to a freezer container.

How to Bake Frozen Gluten-Free Cookie Dough.

1. Remove the cookie dough from the freezer. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. (Heating the oven after removing the dough from the freezer allows the dough to thaw slightly.)
3. Bake cookies until set. They usually take a few more minutes when baked from frozen. Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies baked from frozen dough don’t spread as much as cookies made from room-temperature dough.

Print

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are crispy, buttery, and really easy to make. (Dairy-free option included.)

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 27 minutes

Servings 5 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups gluten-free flour 11 ¼ ounces; 318 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or dairy-free spread, melted and slightly cooled or (8 ounces; 226 grams)
• 1 cup brown sugar (7 ½ ounces; 212 grams)
• ½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ ounces; 100 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs (about 4 ounces; 113 grams out of shell)
• 1 (12-ounce) bag chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together 2 1/4 cups gluten-free flour with 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set the bowl aside.
3. Combine 1 cup melted and slightly cooled butter with 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Mix with a handheld or stand mixer on medium-low speed until smooth. Add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Blend on medium speed to combine.
4. Stop the mixer. Add the gluten-free flour mixture. Mix the dough for about 15 seconds at low speed. Then increase to speed to medium. Mix until a soft dough forms. Stop the mixer. Add chocolate chips. Blend to combine.
5. Drop dough, about one tablespoon each, onto prepared baking pan. Bake until edges are set, about 12 minutes.

6. Cool cookies on the pan for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Recipe Notes

Ingredient Notes

Gluten-free flour. This recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour blend. Using a different flour blend can result in different results. 

Dairy-Free Option. Replace the melted butter with a dairy-free spread and the chocolate chips with dairy-free chocolate chips.

Brown Sugar. Light or dark brown sugar can be used. Dark brown sugar gives the cookies a stronger molasses flavor and darker color.