Soft and Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

With crisp edges and tender middles, these easy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies get a flavor boost from oat flour, brown butter, brown sugar, loads of bittersweet chocolate, and flaky salt. Originally published in 2012; updated Dec. 7th 2020. 

It's no secret that I'm a fan of chocolate cookies of all stripes. I originally shared the recipe for these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies back in 2012 and they've continued to be a favorite in my kitchen and that of many readers. Thanks to everyone who's tried these out and left sweet comments below!

I recently gave these gf chocolate chip cookies another test, leaving out the xanthan gum I had originally called for due to popular demand. And I also took some fresh photos. I added gram measurements for my dear readers who prefer to weigh their ingredients (recommended for accuracy!)

If you like to experiment with alternative flours, I also developed a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe featuring buckwheat flour, mesquite flour, and teff flour for Food52 using a similar base recipe. And you'll also love the chestnut flour chocolate chip cookie recipe in my book Alternative Baker. 

In Search of the Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

It had been years since I braved the gluten-free chocolate chip cookie. My only excuse was that my first try was such a spectacular failure. A senior at UC Santa Cruz, I decided to follow the lead of my crunchy housemates who read astrological charts, experienced past lives, and eschewed wheat in all its forms. I mixed up a batch of gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, substituting brown rice flour for the wheat flour one for one.

The gluten-free cookies spread nicely, and when they had cooled, I scooped them off the cookie sheet with a spatula and set them in a container to bring to a party. They looked like normal cookies.

At the party, the hostess's face lit up when she saw them, and she immediately reached down to pick one up. But the cookies were like a hologram: seemingly 3-dimensional, but eluding every attempted grasp. They crumbled at the slightest touch, slipping though our fingertips as we persisted, until all that remained were crumbs. (Which we still ate, obv.)

Gluten-Free Cookie Success

I learned from my mistakes, and I now know to add something sticky, like tapioca flour, to crumbly rice flour, and that sweet rice flour is naturally stickier and smoother than the regular stuff. But despite such successes as gluten free blondies, gluten free brownies, and gluten free double chocolate cookies over the years, all of which get help sticking together from melted chocolate, coconut, or plenty of egg, I still put off tackling the gluten-free chocolate chip cookie.

Then Alice Medrich gave me renewed hope in her book Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, which contains plenty of gluten-free cookie recipes. Her gluten-free chocolate chip cookies call for brown rice flour, oat flour, and xanthan gum in addition to the usual suspects.

These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies were good, but they didn't spread as much as I would have liked, and the texture was a bit sandier than I was hoping for. I wanted a little more depth of flavor and (always!) more chocolate. I used walnuts, but their bitter flavor exaggerated the bitterness in the flours and wasn't a happy pairing with the bittersweet chocolate.

But I loved the basis of the recipe, and especially loved that the butter gets melted and stirred with the other ingredients, rather than spending an hour softening and then getting whipped in a stand mixer.

Alice claims that stirring the dough vigorously for 30 seconds activates the stickiness of the xanthan gum, making for chewier cookies, which is brilliant. Finally, she lets the dough sit for at least an hour post-mixing, which allows the starches to absorb more moisture, smoothing the rough edges of the rice flour. This leads to thicker, chewier cookies.

Brown Butter = Cookie Magic

As I melted the butter for trial 2, I thought, "Why NOT brown the butter?" I wanted more depth of flavor, and butter caramelized with vanilla bean is nothing if not flavorful. I also used super-molasses-y organic dark brown sugar, and increased the chocolate, hand-chopped bittersweet chunks, by 50%. I used sweet, toasted pecans in place of the walnuts. As for the texture, I decreased the flours a bit to allow for more spreading, and I swapped in some tapioca flour, hoping it would make the cookies chewier. Finally, I added a few flakes of Malden salt to the top of each cookie prior to baking.

My Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

I couldn't ask for more in a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie. They melt into rippled puddles in the heat of the oven. Each bite is redolent with the flavor of salted butterscotch dough encasing deep, dark chocolate chunks. The occasional nip of flaky salt is addicting. When properly baked, the texture is indistinguishable from a wheaty chocolate chip cookie. Fresh from the oven, the cookies are crisp outside, soft and gooey inside, with big pockets of melting dark chocolate and toothsome nuts.

But I find that these gluten-free cookies actually improve on the second day. The butterscotch flavor of the cookie blossoms, and the cooled chocolate tastes softer and less sharp, blending more readily with the vanilla, nuts and toasty butter. I've made four batches this past month; I want to share them with everyone.

To put these cookies to the test, I mixed up a batch of my heretofore favorite chocolate chip cookies: the Thick and Chewy ones from Baking Illustrated. (Actually, I made 5 batches for a bakesale at my dance collective's annual charity showcase.) I was happy to find that my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies had double the flavor, and the texture was on par. No one will ever guess that these are gluten-free.

Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions

Flavorful cookies start with flavorful ingredients. Be sure your flours, butter, sugar, eggs, and chocolate are fresh and have been properly stored.

• European-style butter (such as Vermont Creamery, Straus, or Plugra) has a higher fat content and is better for browning. You can use plant butter such as Miyoko's to make these dairy-free.
• Granulated sugar adds sweetness. I use organic granulated sugar, such as Florida Crystals, but regular white sugar will work too. 
• Brown sugar should be fresh, soft, and full of molasses. I use organic brown sugar, which is more flavorful and slightly coarser. Try subbing coconut sugar if you're avoiding refined sugars.
• The flours I use here are oat flour, sweet rice flour, and tapioca flour.
  • Oat flour gives the cookies earthy flavor, tenderness, and crispy edges. By weight, you can substitute teff, buckwheat, or chestnut flour (all of which have stronger flavors). Or try subbing sorghum flour, which will have a slightly sandier texture. 
  • Sweet rice flour helps the cookies hold together and creates a smooth texture, like all-purpose flour would. You can substitute Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour, which is made with sweet rice flour, or try cassava flour. 
  • Tapioca flour adds chew and keeps the cookie middles soft. You can try subbing arrowroot starch. 
• One large egg helps the cookies puff as they bake and the proteins help the cookies hold together. For an eggless option, try using a flax egg (3 tablespoons water mixed with 4 teaspoons ground flax). 
• A small amount of baking soda helps the cookies spread and brown.
• A handful of toasted pecans add flavor, but you can leave them out if you prefer.
• A sprinkle of flaky salt makes these completely addictive. I prefer Maldon salt for its thin, crisp flakes.

Bittersweet Chocolate

...deserves its own section; after all, there is nearly half a pound in this recipe. Buy a couple bars of the good stuff and chop it by hand; the dust that flakes off is important to the texture of the cookies, and the uneven chunks look pretty, too.

Since cookie dough needs to be sweet to stay moist and chewy, I like to pair it with a bittersweet chocolate with around 70% cacao mass. Some of my favorite brands are Tcho and Guittard, but use any chocolate that you like the flavor of.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Without Xanthan Gum

My original recipe called for xanthan gum, which presumably helps the cookies retain their chewy, gooey texture. But I've also made this recipe many times leaving out the xanthan gum and I honestly can't detect a difference. So if xanthan gum weirds you out, or if you just don't have any on hand, go ahead and leave it out. Cookies pictured here were made without it.

How to Make Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Step 1: Brown the butter by simmering it with a vanilla bean (optional) until golden and nutty-smelling. (You can skip this step and just use melted butter if you prefer!) 
• Step 2: Whisk together the hot butter with the sugars to partially dissolve the sugar, then whisk in the egg. 
• Step 3: Sift together the dry ingredients, stir them into the butter mixture, then stir in the chopped chocolate and nuts. 
• Step 4: Scoop into balls, top with flaky salt, and bake. 

Tips for the Best Gluten-Free Cookies

Cookies are at once one of the simplest treats to bake and one of the most sensitive. Here are a few tips to ensure gluten-free chocolate chip cookie nirvana.

Measure for measure

Accurate measuring is crucial for cookies. Too much flour will lead to thick, dry cookies, and not enough will lead to thin, greasy ones. For best results, weigh your ingredients with a food scale.

Lacking a scale, stick to the flours listed here, as rice flour weighs substantially more than oat flour, and both weigh in differently than wheat flour. When measuring by volume, use the dip and sweep method for flours: fluff up your flour, dip in your dry measuring cup, and use a flat butter knife or small offset spatula to sweep away the excess so that the flour is level with the cup. For brown sugar, pack it well into the cup; it should mostly hold the shape of the cup when turned out into the mixing bowl.

Temperature

If your oven is too cold, your cookies will spread too thin, and will overbake in the centers before the edges show signs of doneness. Too hot, and the cookies' outsides will firm up before they have a chance to spread; the outside will be overdone before the innards get a chance to cook. Since most ovens don't run true to temperature (mine runs 50 degrees cold, for instance) spend the 5 or 10 bucks on an oven thermometer. Your cookies are worth it.

Timing is everything

An extra minute in the oven can mean the difference between soft and hard cookies. Set the timer, and know the signs. Pull the cookies when they look underbaked. The edges should be just starting to color, while the tops should be puffed and soft, collapsing when you touch them gently with a fingertip.

Use rimless cookie sheets and parchment paper so you can effortlessly whisk all the cookies off the sheet and onto a cooling rack to stop the cooking. The cookies' residual heat will bake them fully. Much of the softness of hot cookies comes from the melted butter and chocolate, both of which become solid at room temperature. The properly baked cookie will stay soft in the center when cooled.

Hopefully you won't wait as long as I did to brave these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. If you give them a try, please let me know what you think in the comments section below. Happy baking!

More Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes:

• Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies
• Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten-free, paleo, vegan)
• Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with Tahini
• Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (Paleo)
• Crunchy Gluten Free Biscotti with Hazelnuts & Chocolate
• Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• GF Ginger Molasses Cookies
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Ginger Cookies
• Vegan & Gluten Free Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe, I’d love to see. Tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*

4.91 from 11 votes

Soft & Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies get loads of flavor from oat flour, vanilla bean brown butter, bittersweet chocolate, and flaky salt. Xanthan gum is an optional ingredient here; adding it will make the cookies chewier and less delicate, but I usually leave it out and my cookies are still delicious! This makes a relatively small batch of cookies, as far as batches of cookies go, so feel free to double it. The dough keeps beautifully in ready-to-bake balls in an airtight container in the fridge, or longer in the freezer. Let the dough balls soften to room temperature before baking. See more cookie-baking tips in the above post. You can find more gluten free cookie recipes in my book Alternative Baker!

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Resting Time: 1 hour

Total: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 15 -20 cookies (3 inches each)

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons butter (115 g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste, added with the egg)
• 1/2 cup (100 g) packed organic dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50 g) organic granulated sugar
• 1 large egg (2 ounces by weight out of shell)
• 1/2 cup (80 g) sweet white rice flour (such as Koda Farms Mochiko)
• 1/2 cup (60 g) gluten-free oat flour (such as Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 tablespoons (15 g) tapioca flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, for chewier cookies)
• 7 ounces (200 g) bittersweet chocolate (around 70% cacao mass), coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup (60 g) toasted pecans, cooled completely and coarsely chopped
• flaky salt such as Maldon, for sprinkling

Instructions

Make the dough:

• Brown the butter: Melt the butter and vanilla bean and scrapings (if using) together in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. (If using vanilla extract or paste, just brown the butter by itself and add the vanilla along with the egg.) Continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until the butter turns golden and smells absolutely amazing, 3-5 minutes. There should be dark brown bits (not black) on the bottom of the pan. When the butter starts to foam up, watch it very closely as it can go from brown to burnt in moments.
• Place the sugars in a large bowl and when the butter has browned, scrape it and the browned bits into the sugar immediately to stop the cooking. Let cool, stirring occasionally, for 10-20 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean if using (you can rinse and dry it and use it to make vanilla extract or to flavor a small jar of sugar or liqueur).
• Meanwhile, sift together the flours, baking soda, salt and optional xanthan gum into a medium bowl to unclump the oat flour.
• Whisk the egg into the cooled sugar mixture until well-combined and emulsified. Use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture, stir until well combined, then continue to stir vigorously for 45 seconds; the mixture will firm up slightly. This increases the stickiness of the flours and xanthan gum (if using) helping the cookies hold together and be more chewy. Stir in the nuts and chocolate until evenly distributed.
• Cover the dough and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours to allow the butter to firm and the starches to absorb moisture, leading to thicker, chewier cookies. Alternatively, if baking the cookies later, scoop the dough into individual balls, place close together on a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover tightly, and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to bake.

Bake the cookies:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 375º. Line two rimless cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• Scoop the dough into 1 1/2" diameter balls (about 3 tablespoons each; a size 24 or 30 spring-loaded ice cream scoop works wonderfully) and place on the prepared cookie sheets, spaced 2-3 inches apart. Flick a few flecks of flaky salt over the top of each cookie.
• Bake the cookies about 7-10 minutes, rotating back to front and top to bottom after 5 minutes. When the cookies are ready, they will seem underbaked. The edges should be just starting to color, and the tops should be puffed all over with soft centers that collapse when gently touched with a fingertip (note: there will be less collapsing if you didn't use xanthan gum). The centers will look wet under a thin surface of dry, cracked-looking dough.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and pull them, parchment and all, onto cooling racks. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before devouring. Or cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature; the butterscotch flavor comes through better when the cookies are cool.
• The cookies are best within 2 days of being baked.

Notes

Make-ahead:

Make the dough as directed, then let sit until firm enough to scoop (or chill for a few minutes). Scoop into balls, place the dough balls on a small baking sheet lined with parchment, and chill until firm, about 1 hour. Transfer the cold dough balls into a container and chill for up to a week or so. When you’re ready to bake, just plop the dough balls on a cookie sheet as directed, top with flaky salt, and bake. You can also freeze dough balls for up to several months.

Tips for better cookies:

Since cookies are sensitive to slight changes in moisture and temperature, here are some ways to get foolproof cookies:

• measure by weight, not volume
• if measuring by volume, use the dip and sweep (aka scoop and swoop) method
• make sure your oven is the correct temperature by using an external oven thermometer
• bake off a single test cookie to make sure your cookies spread the right amount
• if your cookies spread too much, add more flour or increase the oven temperature
• if they don't spread enough, flatten the dough balls or decrease the oven temperature

Nutrition facts are for 1 of 15 cookies. 

Nutrition

Calories: 238kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 2gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 120mgPotassium: 121mgFiber: 2gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 209IUCalcium: 22mgIron: 1mg

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

My original photos from 2012!