Gluten-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (dairy-free)
These small two-bite cookies are super fun to share! Everyone loved these gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so it is a good thing it makes a large batch of 7 dozen cookies, so there are plenty for everyone to grab and go with!
I was recently browsing through all of the gluten-free cookie recipes that I have on my site and was surprised to realize I hadn’t yet posted a great gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe. I knew I had to remedy that!
Lately, I’ve had more events to attend where I need to bring along a dessert with many servings. I thought I’d make these cookies 2-bite sized so there’s plenty for everyone to share.
My husband brought a container full of these gluten-free oatmeal cookies into his office, since we had so many. A co-worker of his, that I’ve never met, sent him an email and asked him to forward it to me.
She said, “I just wanted to tell you that these are the best cookies I think I have ever eaten! They make my taste buds SING! Thank you so much for sharing with us.” If that isn’t a ringing endorsement from a gluten-eater, I don’t know what is! It made me heart happy! I want gluten eaters to love my cookies!
One batch of this dough made 7 dozen little cookies, each about 2 bites! It’s definitely nice to have multiple cookie sheets so you can have one pan ready to go in the oven right when another pan comes out. I use parchment paper on my cookie sheets, so after the cookies cool for about 2-3 minutes on the sheet, I just slide the whole sheet of parchment with cookies onto a cooling rack. Grab a new sheet of parchment, and scoop the next batch up. Parchment paper is so cheap, and this makes for easy clean-up, no burned crumbs on the pan as you reuse it, and helps prevent burned cookie bottoms too.
I used my smallest cookie scoop to scoop these up. It’s a number 60 scoop, or just called a “small cookie scoop”.
Since I was making small, two-bite cookies, I didn’t want to use big chocolate chunks in these. Instead I opted for semi-sweet mini-chips. Anytime I want mini chips, my go-to is Enjoy Life semi-sweet mini chips. They’re 1) delicious, 2) good and chocolatey, 3) certified gluten-free, and 4) dairy-free too!
More and more stores in my area are carrying these, so I can just add them to my cart while shopping locally.
I gave a range for the amount of chocolate chips in this recipe. If you want yours extra chocolatey, use the full 1 1/2 cups. If you want your cookie more focused on oatmeal, then use 1 cup.
TIP: If you want your cookies to look like mine do in the photos, keep some of the chocolate chips aside to sprinkle on the hot cookies right when you take them out of the oven!
Notes on ingredients for these gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies:
- Flour: Use your favorite, quality gluten-free flour blend. I always recommend avoiding flour blends with bean flours. Many blends will work successfully in this recipe. If your flour blend contains a binder like xanthan gum or guar gum already, then omit the additional xanthan gum called for in my recipe. I have made these with gfJules, King Arthur Measure for Measure Flour and with Gluten-free Mama’s Almond Flour all with great success.
- Butter Alternative: I used a stick butter alternative called Melt, but you should be able to use others like Earth Balance, or coconut oil. If you can have dairy, feel free to use the same amount of butter.
- Oats: Be sure to use only certified gluten-free oats. You want to use old-fashioned or rolled oats that are certified gluten-free.
This recipe doesn’t use an entire bag of Enjoy Life semisweet mini chips. Of course, I’ve got ideas for the rest of those mini chocolate chips! You can use them in these gluten-free chocolate chip bundt cakes.
You can also use the mini chips and the oats in these gluten-free banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I’ve made them several times now and they’re always a hit.
If you’d prefer to make regular sized cookies instead of these mini cookies, you can use a medium scoop (#40 scoop) instead. You’ll bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes and will get 3 dozen cookies.
Tip: If your cookies are spreading too much, be sure your pans aren’t hot, you’re using parchment paper instead of greasing the pans, and chill the dough longer.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! My boys just polished off the last of them in their lunches today!
Gluten-free Dairy-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe:
Gluten-free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (dairy-free)
Everyone loved these gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so it is a good thing it makes a large batch of 7 dozen cookies, so there are plenty for everyone to grab and go with!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum*
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp.) non-dairy butter alternative or butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate mini chips
Instructions
- Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum (if needed), baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat together the non-dairy butter alternative and the brown sugar on medium speed until light in color and well-mixed, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, on medium speed until mixed.
- Add the pure vanilla extract and beat just until mixed.
- With mixer on low speed, add half of the flour mixture. Once mixed in, add the other half. Mix just until combined.
- Add the oats, and mix on low until combined, or stir in by hand.
- Stir in the semi-sweet chocolate mini chips.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, or up to 2 days. Remove from fridge, and scoop using a small #60 cookie scoop, scoop balls of dough and place 2 inches apart on your parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350° for 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned. If you'd like them to be crispier, bake a few minutes longer.
Notes
If your flour blend contains xanthan gum or guar gum already, omit the xanthan gum called for in this recipe.
See blog post for questions about products or substitutions.
Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats -either old fashioned or rolled.
You can use 1 cup of mini chocolate chips or up to 1 1/2 cups if you want yours extra chocolatey. You can also save some for sprinkling on top of the cookies after baking if you want them to look like mine do in the photos.
If you can have dairy, free free to use butter in this recipe. I've made them with butter as well and they're equally delicious. They do spread more when using butter.
If you'd prefer to make regular sized cookies instead of these mini cookies, you can use a medium scoop (#40 scoop) instead. You'll bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes and will get 3 dozen cookies.
If your cookies are spreading too much, be sure your pans aren't hot, you're using parchment paper instead of greasing the pans, and chill the dough longer.
Pin these gluten-free oatmeal cookies to your Gluten-free Desserts board on Pinterest:
I hope you and your family enjoy these gf oatmeal cookies as much as my family does!
These cookies literally turned into soup.
So good! 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤
These were SO good. I decided to half the recipe which ended up being a good idea because this recipe makes quite a lot of cookies. A few other notes — I used almond flour, doubled the vanilla (aka I didn’t half it), and I used dark chocolate chips (I prefer my cookies a little less sweet so this helped balance out the sugar). I also found they needed a little longer in the oven and that the parchment paper is a must!! These cookies really thin and out and spread (which I love). They ended up being so chewy and moist and delicious
What can I use successfully to substitute the sugar. I usually use honey.
I don’t do any sugar substitutions so your guess is as good as mine!
Can you use quick oats instead of old fashioned?
Yes – the texture will be a bit different but still good!
If I use coconut oil instead of butter. Do I still use 1 cup of oil?
yes
I made these as written, amazing! I will be making them again.
Thanks for sharing
These are delicious. I made them with my son last night. We used regular butter. We cut the whole recipe in half except the vanilla. Thanks!! Just what we were craving.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for coming back to comment and rate them!
Any suggestions on reducing sugar or replacing the sugar? I am also on low low low sugar diet.
No I’m sorry I don’t. Any substitutions I can think of like applesauce, honey, maple syrup, etc are all still high in sugar, and of course the chocolate chips are too. You might try looking for keto cookies instead on another website.
@Cecilia, coconut sugar has a lower glycemic value and that’s a better substitute to white refined sugar. Someone else had success using it in place of the deadly white sugar
Can you freeze the dough and save it for later?
Yes, that should work fine. I prefer to pre-scoop and freeze it in cookie ball shapes, then can pull out just what I want to bake – baking time will be longer, of course!
This is my new go-to cookie recipe. I wasn’t reading carefully (too busy eating chocolate chips) and didn’t put the first batch in the fridge, but they turned out great still! They spread a ton, but they were crispy and delicious. I also subbed half the brown sugar for coconut sugar and it worked well.
we did not use the chocolate chips and these were still amazing, PS I’m not gluten or dairy free and I still love them,
These are delicious!! Thank you for sharing! Will definitely be making these again 🙂
Can you make these with an egg substitute?
Eggs are produced by chickens not cows.
These have eggs, how can they be dairy free?
Hi – you’ll find your answer here: http://www.celiacandthebeast.com/2018/03/are-eggs-dairy/
Eggs aren’t dairy, Sue.
How many teaspoons does a #60 ice cream scoop hold? The small one I purchased (hold 2 tsp) made the cookies too big.
Can I use a cup of butter instead of a non-dairy butter alternative?
Yes you sure can!