These delicious, thick, and chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies are so rich, soft, and sweet. This bakery-style gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe produces cookies that are perfectly gooey on the inside with crisp caramelized edges.
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These are seriously the WORLD’S BEST gluten free chocolate chip cookies. I know that’s a really bold claim but I stand by that statement.
Not only do they have the cookie texture trifecta (soft, crisp, and chewy), but they’re incredibly easy to make. They’re not fussy, complicated, or require any ingredients a normal chocolate chip cookie wouldn’t have (except for gluten free flour, duh).
Everyone has their own opinion about what makes the best chocolate chip cookie. For me, that means a thick cookie that’s soft and even slightly soft and gooey in the middle with crisp edges that taste like caramelized sugar.
And, of course, they have to be loaded with chocolate. Chocolate chunks or chocolate discs are my top choice because larger pieces of chocolate ensure that there’s some in every bite.
Plus, they add so much to the cookie visually. There’s no question why these types of chocolate are used for cookies on Instagram!
So if your opinion on what makes a stellar cookie is similar to mine, this is the perfect gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe for you.
It’s a basic, straightforward recipe that is easy enough for beginner bakers to follow. My 10-year-old makes this on her own on a regular basis, aka why this recipe will be your everyday chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Now go pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!
Tips to Help You Make the Best Homemade Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies from a Professional Gluten Free Baker
- Do not skimp on quality ingredients. I repeat, DO NOT skimp on the quality of your ingredients here. Grass-fed butter or butter with at least 82% butter fat over a store-brand, use pure vanilla extract, and high-quality chocolate will produce the best-tasting cookies.
- The middle of these cookies may look under-baked when you take them out. Trust me – take them out! They will finish cooking through as they cool on the pan. If you keep baking them until the center looks done, they will be less soft and gooey.
- Freeze leftover cookies to maintain their freshness if not eaten within a day. Defrost them at room temperature before eating.
- Make sure your oven is the proper temperature. Bake time may vary depending on your oven! Use an oven thermometer (they are super cheap) to make sure your oven temperature is actually correct!
- You NEED to chill the gluten free cookie dough for at least 8 hours. 24 hours or up to 48 hours is best. Yes, you read that correctly. LONGER IS BETTER. Why? It really helps to develop the flavors and will give you the maximum amount of deliciousness!
How to make this Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe in 10 simple steps
What kind of gluten free flour blend is best?
I have a few recommendations that I mentioned previously.
- My Nightshade Free Gluten Free Flour Blend is the best gluten free flour blend to use in cookies. It’s very easy to make and you can store it for months in an air-tight container. Make sure that if you use this blend for my recipe (it’s in the recipe card), add xanthan gum! Xanthan gum helps to bind the ingredients together so they don’t come out super crumbly and a mess!
- Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour or King Arthur Gluten-Free Measure for Measure Flour would be my top choices for accessible store-bought flour blends that contain xanthan gum. However, both of these flours do produce cookies that are slightly grittier than my homemade blend.
- Cup4Cup is a premium store-bought blend. I love it for gluten free biscuits and gluten free scones. It’s great in cookies too.
Baker’s Note: omit the xanthan gum if the flour blend you use contains it.
Measuring your gluten free flour
I highly recommend you follow and sign up for this free guide on how to properly measure your flour. It’s so important to do it properly. It will make this recipe and all of your other recipes that you bake much more likely to come out properly. Consistency is key!
How do I make these gluten free chocolate chip cookies dairy-free?
There are only a couple of substitutions that you need to make! First, I recommend using Enjoy Life chocolate morsels or Enjoy Life chocolate chunks. These are both dairy-free, nut-free and vegan!
In place of butter, use Miyoko’s European Style Cultured Vegan Butter or a plant based butter of your choice.
Storing and Freezing
To store: Place the cookies in an air-tight container stored at room temperature for no more than 3 days. For optimal freshness, I recommend freezing any cookies that aren’t eaten the day they’re baked.
To freeze: Freeze the baked and cooled cookies in a freezer bag and pull them out to thaw at room temperature or even warm up when you’re ready.
You can also freeze the dough, which is what I do often. First, roll out each cookie into a ball, then flatten the tops slightly (to resemble a hockey puck). Freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan and then place them in a gallon-sized freezer bag.
Bake from frozen, no need to defrost first! You’ll typically have to bake the cookies for an additional two minutes. It may vary depending on your oven so keep checking on them!
Why these are the Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
As a professional gluten free baker and recipe developer for more than a decade, I have spent years developing and tweaking this recipe to make it perfect.
If you follow this recipe, use quality ingredients, and allow the dough to chill for at least 24 hours, you will have a batch of cookies that even gluten-filled cookies and gluten-free cookies cannot hold a candle to. Yes, that’s a bold statement but this recipe can truly back it up.
We happen to be lucky enough to live close to Sift Bake Shop, a bakery owned by the Best Baker in America, Chef Adam Young.
I have put the same energy into my other gluten free cookie recipes so that you, too, can experience the joy of eating amazing cookies that just happen to be gluten free.
More delicious Gluten Free cookies to try
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Gluten Free Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten Free Brown Sugar Cookies
- Lemon Ricotta Cookies
Let’s connect!
Bakery Style Thick and Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour, see note 1
- 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter melted (see note 2)
- 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups Chocolate Chips, see note 3
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until combined. Set aside.
- Add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
- Pour in the flour and mix on low speed until completely combined. Turn off the mixer and add the chocolate chips, stirring them in by hand. Form the dough into one large ball in the bottom of the bowl then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours (24-48 hours is best).
- After the dough has chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats. Let the dough sit out at room temperature while the oven is preheating.
- Once the oven has preheated, scoop the dough out and form into 16 even-sized balls of cookie dough.
- Place 8 cookies per baking sheet (bake in 2 batches) and flatten very slightly on the top. Keep the 2nd half of the dough balls refrigerated while the first batch bakes.
- Bake for 14 minutes on the center rack. Cool the baked cookies on the baking sheet. Do not over bake.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 24 hours. After that, freeze leftover cookies to preserve optimal taste and texture.
Video
Notes
- I use my Gluten Free Nightshade-Free Flour Mix in this recipe.
- For best results, use a high quality butter such as grass-fed butter, organic butter, or European style butter.
- Use chocolate chunkss, extra large chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, or chocolate disks for that extra "wow" factor and Instagram-worthy cookie.
- To freeze the raw cookie dough, chill for 24 hours before scooping into dough balls. Once the dough has chilled, scoop in to balls, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten slightly. Then freeze solid before transferring to a freezer bag for storing.
- This recipe can be doubled.
- For flatter cookies like pictured, be sure to flatten the dough balls a little bit (like a puck). If you choose to bake rounded dough balls, cookies will be taller/puffier but will still taste equally delicious!
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Nutrition Information
Disclaimers
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Facts are estimated and aren't always accurate. Please consult a doctor or nutritionist if you have special dietary needs.
I want to make these for my son who’s coming home unexpectedly from college, but I don’t have enough time to let them refrigerate. Do you think that will ruin the recipe? Thanks!
They have the best flavor if you let the dough refrigerate for 24 hours but they need an absolute minimum of 2 hours chilling so the melted butter can set up properly.
The dough is so hard after chilling for 48 hrs that I can’t even scoop it. Any suggestions? I’d hate to throw it all away.
Just let it sit at room temperature until it’s scoopable, about 30 minutes. Then you can refrigerate the cookie dough balls until ready to bake 🙂
Shay, I just finished baking your gluten-free chocolate chip cookies with sour dough discard and I am in love with these cookies! I didn’t have any sorghum flour so I substituted it with almond flour. They still are yummy but are not the darker color one expects from a cookie. Still, they are soft, chewy and delicious! Thank you for this recipe.
Good day,
I feel I am missing something. I clicked on this recipe for a gf sourdough discard recipe, but I can’t find in the recipe where you add the sourdough discard. Please help, and sorry if I am missing something that is right in front of me!
Hi Sherry! It’s the last sentence in step 2 and you can find the recipe here: https://www.whattheforkfoodblog.com/2020/05/27/gluten-free-sourdough-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Loved the recipe! Chocolate chip cookies are extremely popular and all time favourite but this recipe looks somewhat different. I can’t wait to try them out. The only thing I would like to revise in this recipe is using organic ghee instead of butter. I think the addition of ghee oil will instantly enhance the flavor and texture of the dish.
These chocolate chip cookies look so good. I want to make these this weekend. I love cookies and this gluten free recipe is much more healthier. Thanks for sharing.
You have absolutely nailed this recipe! The first batch of cookies disappeared as quickly as they came out of the oven (and had no clue they were gluten-free). This is definitely a five-star keeper! Thank you for your diligence in bringing us such tasty treats.
Thank you so much Pam. I’m glad you enjoyed them!!
Hi Shay!
Thank you so much for all your recipes! I’ve been following a gluten free diet my whole life and it is only with your recipes that I was first able to bake delicious good that even my non gf friends really like!
I have a question. I just moved to a new place and I only have a deep roasting pan so far and now with that whole mandatory self-isolation thing I really don’t want to go out and search for a cookie sheet. Do you think it is possible to bake cookies in a roasting pan, or not really? Thank you so much in advance!
I think a deep roasting pan won’t work as well for cookies, the air won’t be able to circulate around them properly.
These are my favorite pans: https://amzn.to/2WUkQG7
I was wondering if this recipe will work as a cookie cake. I just bought an 11 1/2 “ pan for making cookie cakes and I’m excited to try it with this recipe!
Can I ask how big these cookies are that you only get 16 from a batch? I prefer smaller cookies so just wondering if i will get as many as i do from other recipes that I have used for normal cookies. ie i like mine to be about 2-3″ round as apposed to bigger so just wondering approximately how many you think i would get of that size? Thanks in advance!
I use an OXO large scoop to scoop these cookies so they’re good sized. Probably almost 2 1/2 – 3 inches in diameter.
These cookies look delicious, but I’m a little surprised to see you use volume measurements instead of weights. I’ve found measuring by weight to be essential to success in GF baking.
Hi Linda, I provide measurements by volume because after doing a reader poll, I realized everybody is using different flour blends. No two gluten free flour blends weigh the same so if I listed my flour blend by weight and you used something different, the amount of flour in your recipe will be off. Properly measuring your flour when using cups is what will make or break the recipe.
Just made these for the first time for a gluten free friend and they’re very good! I followed the recipe exactly with cup4cup flour except I mixed it all by hand. Great crispy chewy texture. Really can’t tell they’re gluten free.
Thanks Jessica, glad to year you enjoyed them!
If I freeze the dough to use at a later date, do I take them out and defrost completely in fridge, then bake or do I just keep them frozen and bake while still frozen?
You can freeze the dough balls and then bake them right from frozen. They take a minute or 2 longer but I do this all the time with my cookie dough so I don’t have to bake all the cookies at once.
Way too much flour. They cracked and tasted dry and not very sweet
Hi Jenny, it sounds like you over measured your flour. These shouldn’t be dry and crumbly at all.
I don’t like the gritty texture of white rice flour. Do you think sweet rice flour would alter the texture much?
I too can’t eat nightshades so I have developed my own blend which is like yours, only using sweet rice flour instead of white. It has worked well in pie crusts and sugar cookies.
I haven’t tried baking with sweet rice flour but if you try, please let me know how it turns out for you 🙂
Can I use almond flour??? ( they sound delicious btw 😋)
Hi Kassandra, I haven’t tried this recipe using almond flour, just typical gluten free flour blends made with rice flours and starch.
I’m making this recipe for my gluten free sister-in-law , but I’m going to attempt to turn it into a cookie cake. Do you think it’s still necessary to refrigerate it for the 8+ hours and then let it come to room temperature again?
Hi Kimberly, letting the dough chill for an extended amount of time does wonders for the flavor 🙂
Hi, in your video it shows you whisk the wet ingredients and then mix the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, and then incorporate all with that same wooden spoon.
Yet in your written recipe you say to use a mixer and beat the ingredients.
Which method works better? Thanks!
Using the stand mixer is way easier. I only used the spoon for the video because I had a hard time getting a good shot inside the mixer. Doing it by hand was A LOT of work so if you have a stand mixer or hand mixer, use that for sure!
Thanks!!! Im literally making these right now!
My family needs egg and dairy free. What suggestions do you have for any substitutions?
I haven’t tried this with egg subs. You could use Nutiva shortening to replace the butter, it just won’t taste quite the same.
Sharon:
Can you use Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour or GF 1 to 1 Baking Flour for these? I am new to gluten free baking and have never made a flour blend before. Your recipes look so amazing and your blog is great. Thanks.
You could, just omit the xanthan gum I called for in the recipe. Be sure to stir your flour first and measure it with the spoon and level method so you don’t ever measure it 🙂