With crisp edges and tender middles, these easy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies get a flavor boost from a blend of oat flour, sweet white rice flour, and tapioca flour, plus brown butter, loads of bittersweet chocolate, and flaky salt.
It's no secret that I'm a fan of gluten-free cookies of all stripes (including and especially these gluten-free ginger molasses cookies and gluten-free matcha chocolate chip cookies). 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 made these over the years 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're like me and love 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.
Flours
A trio of GF flours creates dreamy flavor and texture here.
- Gluten-Free Oat flour (I use Bob's Red Mill brand) 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.
Other Ingredients
- 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. For a refined sugar-free cookie, swap both sugars for coconut sugar, measured by weight.
- 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. For refined sugar-free, use chocolate that's been sweetened with maple (such as Raaka) or coconut sugar (such as Hu).
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!
*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.*
Soft & Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 8 tablespoons butter (115 g) unsalted butter
- ½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste, added with the egg)
- ½ cup (100 g) packed organic dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) organic granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (2 ounces by weight out of shell)
- ½ cup (78 g) sweet white rice flour (such as Koda Farms Mochiko)
- ½ cup (50 g) gluten-free oat flour (such as Bob's Red Mill)
- 2 tablespoons (15 g) tapioca flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum (optional, for chewier cookies)
- 7 ounces (200 g) bittersweet chocolate (around 70% cacao mass), coarsely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
- ½ 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
- 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
My original photos from 2012!
Allegracita says
I think I recognize these... are they the same ones you brought over last week? I had no idea they were gluten free! They were freaking delicious. The pecans were an especially good choice as they added flavor without the usual nutty texture. YUM.
Alanna says
Thanks, Allegra! They are indeed the very ones. : )
j0zzzz says
These are ridiculously tasty! I especially love the salty top and the rich vanilla buttery goodness!
Alanna says
Thanks, Jozz! There's a batch with your name on 'em, should you choose to accept. ; )
Monique @Ambitious Kitchen says
I'm in love.
Alanna says
Aw!
Anonymous says
I tried these this weedend. Two thumbs up!
Kirk
Alanna says
So glad to hear it!
Steph says
Would there be a way to make these without the oat flour?
Alanna says
I do like the flavor and texture of oat flour, but you could certainly try an all-purpose gf flour blend, sorghum flour, or all sweet rice flour i place of the oat. If you swap flours, I'd recommend weighing them (see post above for reason ;)).
Anonymous says
Thank you for all of the extra tips! I sooo appreciate anyone who teaches me anything in my life! You have been a blessing!
Alanna says
Aw, thanks for the kind words - it's my pleasure!
Anonymous says
So good! I don't put nuts or the flaky salt because I am too cheap. I have even used chopped up Hersheys chocolate bar. I did try to triple the recipe once. Bad idea! I think I lost count of my sugar and did not beat the dough enough.
Alanna says
I'm SO glad you like the cookies, and thank you very much for commenting! Sorry to hear that the recipe tripling didn't work. I doubled it successfully, so hopefully it isn't a problem with the recipe. Happy baking. :)
Anonymous says
This recipe was AMAZING. I have been searching far and wide for a good chocolate chip cookie, and this is it. I was skeptical of the dough, but it thickens after 1-2 hrs thanks to the oat flour. The cookies spread out, browned beautifully, and even got slightly crispy at the edges while staying gooey at the center.
Alanna says
I'm so glad you like the cookies - thank you for the testimonial!
Anonymous says
Alanna, what if I were to add oats to make oatmeal choc chip cookies, what would you think the proportions would be?
Alanna says
Hi there,
Oatmeal chocolate chippers are my favorite! I haven't tried this recipe with oats yet, and it may take a bit of experimentation to get the proper spreadage.
As a rough starting point (based on this recipe with similar proportions: https://bojongourmet.com/2010/12/nibby-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies.html) I'd reduce the total flour mixture to 3/4 cup and add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats.
Please let us know if you give it a go, and I'll let you know if I do the same. Happy baking.
Sara says
I just started eliminating wheat from my diet and can't wait to try these out. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Alanna says
You're welcome! Please let me know how you like them. :)
Debbie Feely says
Sara, buy Alanna’s book. It’s the best I’ve found being a compulsive baker and gluten free for a year and a half. I’m also gum free and there’s not much out there gum free. Debbie
Alanna says
Aw, thanks for the endorsement Debbie! <3
XL @ 6 Bittersweets says
I just tried this recipe and it is AMAZING! None of my coworkers could tell it was GF and I am still in awe of how much the dough behaved like wheat flour cookie dough as it was baking! I posted about this recipe including a few minor tweaks for personal taste: http://www.6bittersweets.com/2013/02/gluten-free-perfection-big-fat-chewy.html Thanks so much for sharing this with the world!
Alanna says
Hi, XL! Thank you for the super sweet comment and write-up. I'm thrilled that you like the cookies, and your photos are stunning!
Anonymous says
AMAZING Cookies! I didin't have oat flour that was gf so I substituted with Almond flour and they came out great! My 11 year old who recently went gf, said they were 'perfect" cookies! Thank you!!!!!
Carmen
Alanna says
Hi Carmen, I'm so glad to know that almond flour can be subbed for the oat flour. Glad you two like the cookies - thanks for commenting!
Anonymous says
I'm new to the gluten-free world so I didn't have all the right ingredients but I had great success nevertheless!
I substituted coconut flour for the oat flour (same weight) and potato starch for the tapioca starch (same weight). I've heard that coconut flour needs more eggs in general so I used two eggs instead of one. Finally, I only had regular rice flour (not the sweet rice flour that is recommended) so I doubled the xanthan gum to 1/2t total.
The dough looked great but didn't spread as much as I had hoped while baking. Despite that the final product is fantastic - ever so slightly crispy on the edges and moist and chewy towards the center. No one will ever have a clue that these are gluten-free.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I'm definitely making them again.
Alanna says
Thank you so much for sharing your modifications - I'm thrilled that you liked the cookies! I bet coconut flour tastes amazing in these - I'll have to try that myself sometime soon. Thanks!
Anonymous says
Be careful labelling these as gluten free. They are certainly wheat free, and look delicious. But someone with a severe gluten allergy would have a reaction to the oat flour.
Alanna says
Thanks for your concern. Oats are actually gluten-free, but they are sometimes processed on machines also used to process wheat, and can pick up gluten that way. However, there are plenty of certified gluten-free oat flours on the market, such as this one: http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-oat-flour.html
Anonymous says
you can mill gluten free oats in a blender until you get flour. real easy. You have a great recipe here! SJ
Jessy Ross says
Hello,
I've recently been on a quest for moist vegan/gluten-free choco chip cookies (seems to be all about finding the right mix of ingredients) so I was excited to find your recipe. A flax egg worked lovely in these. The dough was soaking with oil from the warmed margarine once mixed in...which was mostly just messy for my hands trying to make the cookie balls, but they cooked absolutely beautifully!!
I'm going to have to take these to work and see if anyone detects my egg, dairy and gluten free-ness in them. ;)
Alanna says
Hi Jessy! I'm thrilled to hear that these worked out with flax eggs and margarine! If you let me know the proportions of flax and water, and the kind of margarine you used, I'd love to add that info into my headnote for other readers. Thanks a lot for stopping by!
gluten allergy says
Oh!! delicious! I will definitely try out this recipe this weekend.. Thank you for sharing!
Alanna says
It's very much my pleasure! Thanks for the sweet note!
Henna Wallace says
I used your advice for an ~oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and made it vegan because I had all the ingredients to do it that way, no eggs here today....:
3/4 total flour (I did 1/4 cup brown rice flour since the original recipe had brown, 1/2 cup oat flour)
1 cup of oats.
1 flax egg was 1 tablespoon of freshly ground brown flax and 3 tablespoons water
I also used coconut oil for the fat..did 7 tablespoons instead of 8 becaues they seemed too oily last time. This time I also added a tablespoon packed of coconut butter too...
WHOA! so good
Blessins!
Henna Wallace says
oh aaand I only had coconut sugar so I only used a lil more than a 1/2 cup cause my chocolate chips were semi-sweet. fantastic.
Alanna says
Hi Henna, That variation sounds fantastic! Thank you thank you thank you for sharing it! I can't wait to try it. Gluten-free vegan baked goods can be challenging, so kudos to you!
jun says
I'd love to try this recipe, but would like to use some all purpose gluten-free flour which I have on hand. If I substitute all the flour for this flour, would I still need to use the xanthan gum? Would I go by the cup measurements for the flour substitution? I'd also like to try using coconut oil and coconut sugar as Henna did in the previous post.. so I appreciate her feedback on how it worked for her.
I've been looking for a gluten-free cookie recipe that equaled those that aren't, and having it be chocolate chip on top of that is more than I could have dreamed! I'm so looking forward to trying it.. thanks so much!
Alanna says
Hi Jun, I feel that the secret to success in these cookies is in the specific flour blend, so I don't know how they will work with another blend. If you have a kitchen scale, using the weight measurement should get you closer to the correct amount. Ditto for subbing the coconut sugar, which weighs less than refined sugar of the same volume. Since coconut oil contains more fat than butter (which contains some protein and water), a direct substitution may or may not work. If your AP mix already has xanthan gum, you can probably leave it out. Pretty please let me know which flour blend you use and how you like the resulting cookies. :)
Peg Lewis says
I've been excited since I discovered your recipes about an hour ago, and now am completely off track with my day as planned! I got hooked originally with your chard saag …
Now I have found these cookies. They look great, and I am very GF and they seem excellent - except that I find a great many GF people are highly sensitive to xanthan gum. It's a nasty beast of a man-made additive found in so many GF recipes now that the gov has ok'd it and declared it a food. Which by my definition it is not, in that it doesn't derive from anything that ever grew in nature and still doesn't.
I'll try these without. I know they won't hold together as well, but they look so good!
I hope all great chefs will realize how hard this gluten substitute xanthan gum is on sensitive people. I can tell it's in something within a few hours of eating it, so now I have to refuse all GF products if I can't read a label. An intestinal bleed is not worth the taste sensations however wonderful!
Alanna says
Hi Peg! Thanks so much for the note - I'm glad you're enjoying the site, though I'm sorry you have such a bad reaction to xanthan gum. Definitely not worth it. I would trade it here for 1 tablespoon ground chia seed and see how that goes, or trade a tablespoon of rice flour for one of tapioca. You might also like these chocolate chippers, which are GF, vegan, and crazy good: https://bojongourmet.com/2014/04/chocolate-chip-almond-butter-cookies.html Let me know how it goes. :)
Suzanne Holt says
Pretty sure these are not the cookies that your Grandma used to bake. Love the abundance of REAL chocolate. And the fact that they are Gluten Free. Pinned to my "Christmas Cravings" board.
Alanna says
We love these, and I hope you do too!
Anonymous says
THESE ARE AMAAAAAAAZING!!!!! THANK YOU BUNCHES!!!!
Alanna says
You're welcome - so glad you like 'em!
Jenna says
I've had these marked to make for my GF husband for a while now, and I finally got around to doing so. They are delicious!!! And you're right, no one would ever know these are gluten-free.
Alanna says
Woohoo! I'm so glad to hear it. Thanks for the great feedback!
Lauren says
I have made these a few times and they are by far the best GF cookies I've ever tasted. I've become sensitive to dairy and wondered if it would work to make these with ghee instead of butter. Do you think I could substitute with the same proportions? Thanks for the input!
Alanna says
Yay! I'm so glad you like 'em! So butter is usually about 80% fat, and 20% water and milk solids, whereas ghee has had all of the water and milk solids removed leaving it nearly 100% fat. For this reason, you might need to tweak things a bit to make these work with ghee. Also, the ghee won't brown since the solids have all been removed and it is these that caramelize in the browning process. If you experiment, please come back and let me know how it goes!
Lauren says
So I ended up deciding to go with half ghee and half coconut oil (I doubled the recipe and used roughly 7 tbsp. coconut oil and 7 tbsp ghee). The results were absolutely fantastic!! I had once tried making this recipe with Earth Balance baking sticks in lieu of butter and was very disappointed; they had an artificial flavour to them. But with the coconut oil and ghee, they tasted heavenly (and still had the wonderful chewy texture that I love about this recipe). Mmmmm!
Alanna says
Yayyyyyy! I'm so glad they worked out and I am totally trying your variation. Thank you for sharing! Oh and if you haven't tried them already, you might like these GF DF bad boys, too: https://bojongourmet.com/2014/04/chocolate-chip-almond-butter-cookies/
Lauren says
I have indeed made those ones before too, and found them to be delicious!
Sarah says
Can I make and freeze these for my upcoming wedding or do you recommend baking fresh? Thank you! Always inspired coming here ; )
Tara says
Hi Alanna,
Do you think I would be able to use a gluten free flour blend (like Bob's Red Mill brand) in place of all the flours in this recipe? I am new to wheat free baking.
Thanks.
Tara
Alanna says
Great question! I think that would probably work. The trouble that I've run into with GF AP blends is that I haven't found one that I love the taste and texture of. But I think if you used Bob's 1 to 1 blend (not their classic blend, which has chickpea flour in it and tastes like beans) that would work pretty well! If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Tara says
I tried the recipe using a gluten free flour blend and they turned out great! I couldn't find Bob's Red Mill brand, so I used Arrowhead Mills all purpose gluten free flour instead. I plan on investing in some of the ingredients in your gluten free recipes though because I am sure they turn out best that way. I'm looking forward to trying more wheat free recipes! Thanks again for all of your helpful advice and the details you include in your recipes. They always turn out wonderful!
The Bojon Gourmet says
Aw thank you Tara! <3
Aysegul Sanford says
You the baking magician. How gorgeous do these look? Not to mention how delicious.
😉
Alanna says
Aw thank you friend! <3
dana says
holy ca-rap these look AMAZING! Want!
Alanna says
Come to SF and I'll feed you all the cookies!
Jonna says
Hi Alanna! I've owned your cookbook for a long time and LOVE it. I've made these (and the other flour versions) literally 100s of times. I have a question though. Most of the time, my cookies come out flatter than I would like. I use an oven thermometer, follow the directions exactly, weigh my ingredients, use fresh ingredients, etc. Of the following, which would you suggest I try to make thicker cookies:
1. Use just an egg yolk or 1 whole egg + 1 yolk (ATK glutinous version)
2. Increase the flour by 10%?
3. Increase the xanthan gum to 1/2 tsp?
4. Reduce oven temp to 325?
5. Refrigerate the dough?
Any advice is appreciated!
Alanna says
Thanks so much for the sweet note - I'm so glad you're loving all the cookies! For thicker cookies, I'd recommend either adding more flour (1-2 tablespoons should do the trick!) or refrigerating the dough. Let me know what you try!
Christina says
Utterly stunning post - both your words and the exquisite photos. So glad I’ve found your blog!
Alanna says
Aw me too! Thanks a bunch for the kind words!
Meghan says
An amazing recipe, as always! My kids and husband gobbled these up right off the cooling rack and I had to get on them before the whole batch was gone in less than a day.
Alanna says
So glad they were well-loved (and that you got to try some too!)
Trish says
Another terrific recipe! I was unable to bake these until six days after mixing them up. My oven malfunctioned and it took that long for a serviceman to get here. Your instructions not to overtake are spot on. I baked the second sheet a bit longer and they were too done - still delicious though! I appreciate all of the detailed instructions you give as it makes for a great result. Thank you!
Alanna says
Aw I'm glad your oven is back up and running and that you loved the cookies!
Trish says
Forgot to rate it!
Alanna says
Thank you so much for doing so!
Hali says
These are absolutely the yummiest!! Didn't have pecans on hadn't and went ahead and made them anyway, DELISH!! Now I can't wait to try them with pecans... likely later on today! Thanks for sharing!
Alanna says
I'm so glad you love the cookies! Let me know if you try them with pecans which you prefer. Bojon appetit!
Monica D says
Third time making this awesome recipe. Test cookie is in the oven as I sweat watching it bake. Thank you for this! It's so nice to finally have a gluten free cookie go to that is actually better than any other cookie I can remember eating:)
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw this makes me so happy! I'm so glad you love this recipe, it's one of my all-time favorites too :)
cc says
hi there~ when making flour substitutions, do we substitute by grams or cups? this applies to all recipes, esp for those where you provide some alternative flours to use.
thanks!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi! It's most accurate to sub by weight if you have a scale.
Alene says
Hi. This cookie is not in your book, correct? I looked to see because sometimes I write notes to myself on how to eliminate rice flour. Can I, in this recipe? It doesn't seem like I can. Mainly because it won't be the same cookie. Thank you!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Alene,
This recipe is similar to the chestnut flour one in my book (which only uses chestnut and tapioca flours – no rice!) Here, you could try swapping 15 g more tapioca starch and 65 g of a different flour (could try all oat, or using teff, chestnut, buckwheat, almond, cassava, tiger nut, etc.) Please let me know if you experiment!
Noel says
Hello! I am super stoked to try these since I've started eliminate wheat from my diet. I'm not a fan of cookies that are super sweet - do you think I can eliminate the white cane sugar all together, and use coconut sugar instead? Thanks again for this FANTASTIC recipe!!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Noel!
Great question! I've actually been wondering the same thing, so I tested the cookies using the same weight of coconut sugar (150 g) in place of the granulated and brown sugar. The dough was a little thicker but the cookies baked up beautifully! They were a little thin and spready made with unchilled dough. The cookies with chilled dough baked up thick and luscious. Both were delicious! I added in a note about subbing coconut sugar.
If you want to take down the sugar even more, you may need to add more liquid to the batter (maybe plant milk?) so the cookies have the right spread. Or you could flatten out the dough balls before baking. Will you let me know if you give it a try?