By popular request, I’m finally sharing my tried and true recipe for the best chewy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!
I don’t like to throw the term “Best Recipe” around casually. But when I want to really get across that I’ve tested and tried and adapted a recipe a bunch until I got it PERFECT, then I feel justified in calling it the Best! I have notes and slips of paper from over 3 dozen attempts at making really good, chewy chocolate chip cookies over the past 5 years of baking gluten-free before coming up with this perfect version!
Back when I used to be able to eat gluten, I worked for years to find a homemade chocolate chip cookie recipe that I loved. I grew up loving the old Mrs. Field’s chocolate chip cookies. My favorite thing to get at the mall was one of the huge cookies that they sold back in the 1980s. They were the perfect chewy cookie and were about as big as my head as a child! Over the years, the cookie size and quality has gone down, but I did still love those cookies. I also liked the famed New York Times cookie recipe that was going around about 8-10 years ago pretty well. Just when I finally had a recipe for cookies that I loved, I got diagnosed with celiac and had to start all over with my recipe testing.
Here’s what I wanted in a chocolate chip cookie:
- Crispy edged, chewy cookies with a bit of a gooey center.
- Lots of chocolate – no chance of having a bite without chocolate in it.
- No gritty texture or weird feeling in mouth from too many starches or gums.
- No odd smells from alternative flours.
- Ability to make the dough ahead and bake a few cookies daily, or to freeze the dough balls to bake later.
#3 and #4 were by far the biggest challenge and the reason it took over 3 dozen attempts to get a perfect recipe. The rice flour in gluten-free flour mixes adds some grittiness that is unnoticeable in most gluten-free baked goods, but tends to be noticeable in cookies. For some reason, it was most noticeable in my chocolate cookie attempts. I tried using different proportions of a bunch of different flours and starches, but would end up with odd/off smells from the alternative flours or a weird mouth feel from the different starches. I didn’t want any of that. I wanted people to LOVE this cookie, not just think it was good for a gluten-free cookie.
I’ve finally made one that gluten eaters and gluten-free eaters will all enjoy! It is as close as I can get to the Mrs. Field’s style/New York Times famed cookie style that I used to make before my celiac diagnosis.
There are 5 keys to this recipe being free of gritty texture or a weird mouth feel, and being perfectly chewy:
- First is the addition of cream cheese. I found this tip in this recipe from Just a Taste and thought it was worth a try. That small 2 ounces of cream cheese is just enough to cover any grit that would have been in these cookies otherwise. I wish I had thought of this many years ago!
- Melting the butter is another key to this perfect cookie, as it adds to the chewiness and overall flavor profile. I have not tried making these dairy-free, as the cream cheese and melted butter are essential to these turning out perfect for me. Feel free to make some adaptations to suit you though, and come back and let me know how they work!
- Using just egg yolks, no egg whites to help with the chewiness of the cookie. This is an old trick I learned from Alton Brown. I like to use an egg separator so that I don’t end up with any stray shells or break the yolks in the process. This is the egg separator I have and like because it sits flat over a small bowl or glass.
- Using a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. Stay away from the blends that are primarily rice flour or that have any bean flours. I’ve had best results making this with Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Blend, and recently tried with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour with great results too. (Note, usually gfJules is one of my go-to blends, but it is a little too starchy to get the right chewy texture with gooey center in this recipe. It still makes a very good cookie, just won’t be as chewy or gooey.) I will update this as I try it with other flour blends as well.
- Chill the dough at least 4 hours before baking any cookies. These will not come out like my photos or with best texture if you bake these without chilling thoroughly. You can also chill for 3 days, or you can scoop immediately and freeze the balls of dough to bake later. Depending on how much cookie dough you eat, you’ll have about 20-22 cookies from this recipe!
For successful results, make sure you use room temperature ingredients, measure properly (the only ingredient you ever pack in is brown sugar), use a cookie scoop to make cookies all the same size, use a preheated oven that you have checked temperature on, and use parchment paper or silicone liners for your baking pans.
If you don’t have the time for chilling dough but still want your chocolate chip cookie fix, I suggest you head over to my gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars recipe instead! I’ve altered the recipe a bit for those and you just mix and bake!
I hope you’ll try and love these chocolate chip cookies just as much as I do!
The Best Chewy Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Plan ahead as these are best served chilled!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (~282 grams) good all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum omit if gluten-free flour blend has xanthan or guar gum already)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temp
- 3/4 cups (12 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks (room temp)
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, xanthan (unless flour blend already has xanthan or guar gum), baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, place the cream cheese, then pour melted butter over it. Add brown sugar and sugar and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. (I use the paddle attachment on my mixer.)
- Add vanilla extract and egg yolks (one at a time) mixing on low-medium speed until well mixed.
- Add the flour mixture that you set aside earlier, beating on low until just combined.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix on low or by hand, just until mixed thoroughly.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours and up to 4 days.
- When you are ready to bake, remove from refrigerator and let sit for about 15 minutes to soften enough for easier scooping.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Line cookie sheets with sheets of parchment paper or silicone liners. Do not spray!
- Use a#20 cookie scoop to scoop even mounds of cookie dough spaced several inches apart. I can get 12 per cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes at 375°. Remove when edges are set and just browning. The centers will look undercooked, but will continue cooking as they cool. To ensure you don't over bake, I suggest you bake a few test cookies so you can determine the right baking time for your oven. If you like gooey centers, cook less, if you like crunchier cookies, cook longer.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for just 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Here are some items I recommend using for this recipe, that you can buy from Amazon easily:
Dorothy says
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.
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Thanks Dorothy for your commend and review!
Sara says
I used 1/3 gf flour and 1 c almond flour, 3/4 c coconut oil and 3 egg yolks in this recipe. Did not refrigerate dough and my results are chewey and crunchy on outside. Lower carb as well. Awesome recipe as my guide. Thank you!
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
So glad you used this as inspiration and made it work for you!
Charity says
I found that Bob’s Red Mill Paleo flour works beautifully as well! So excited as I cannot eat grains . Dairy is fine for me so this recipe with the Paleo flour is divine!!! Thank you!
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Thanks so much for letting us know Charity! So glad you get to enjoy these!
Emily Seemar says
Dear Michelle Palin,
Can I use just almond flour with the xanthan gum and the rest of the ingredients as stated?
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
No, almond flour isn’t a straight substitute for all-purpose flour and wouldn’t turn out well. Use a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Mira says
You said almond flour is not a straight substitute, but I have to use nut flours with occasional addition of coconut flour for various family members with allergies and one who cannot eat any rice products at the present time. How can the recipe be adjusted to use only nut flours … Use one less egg yolk and omit zanthan gum?
Empress says
Amazing! Best does not do this cookie justice. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Stu says
Hi,
This is a big ask, but is there any chance you might be able to convert your recipe to grams please? Cooking with cups is pretty alien for us Europeans and I don’t want to risk messing it up with unreliable online converters.
Thank you!
Amy says
Lakeland Ltd has the right sort of measuring cups to use with American recipes.
Maggie says
This looks great! How big do the cookies turn out?
Haya says
Mine didnt turn as good as yours idk why , i used coconut flour cause the one you used not available in my country 🙁
Michelle Palin ~ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
I’m sorry. Coconut flour is not a good substitution for gluten-free all-purpose flour blends. It doesn’t work well as it absorbs fluids. It’s okay to use it sometimes to replace a very small amount of the flour, alongside other flours and starches, but not alone. Hopefully you can order a good gluten-free all-purpose flour blend to try in this next time.
Victor says
These cookies look fabulous. I bought xantham gum for another recipe and was looking for something else to make use of it – and I found this great recipe.
Suzi says
I have made these with tofutti’s cream cheese and Earth Balance butter and they always come out amazing. I have also used peppermint extract instead of vanilla for the holidays and they are awesome. I’ve even swapped out (or just added) a few candy cane pieces….
Sandy says
I just made a half batch of these because I wanted to try them I’m very picky about my chocolate chip cookies and I was skeptical. I was so eager to try them, though, that I baked just one in my toaster oven without leaving it sit. I must say, it’s pretty good! Not quite like the regular ones I make, but definitely a close second! Thanks for sharing!
Scott ucman says
Is there a way to make these “chocolate flavored“ chocolate chip cookies? Thanks ahead of time for this recipe!
Danielle says
Just made these. Been baking gluten free for a year now but these really are a perfect cookie. Would like to try reducing the sugar but kept to the recipe for a first try. Only refrigerated for 2 hours (too impatient) still came out with a soft center.
Thanks 🙂
Lindy says
Do you know how many gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipes I’ve tried? I’ve lost count, probably 30. This is The One. Holy moly. My search for the grail has ended! Thank you! Followed the recipe to a T, only added 5 minutes in the freezer before popping them in the oven. Literal perfection.
Maria B Rugolo says
Wow. What a fantastic recipe. I made the dough and kept it refrigerated for two days. It was a little hard to scoop the dough but don’t let that deter you. These cookies came out wonderfully crisp edges with soft middles. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. Even my husband loved them (and he refuses to eat gluten free….HA HA)
Bee says
These cookies were delicious!! I followed the recipe exactly as written, although it wasn’t fun waiting for the dough to chill for 4 hours, lol! It was totally worth it! My non gluten free family couldn’t get enough of these!!
Eirini says
I made these cookies yesterday. My hubby was diagnosed 2 weeks ago with Celiac, and he thought tasty food was gone for good. I made it my goal to prove him differently. With cooking i am very creative and it goes very good. But baking is another story. I made your cookies yesterday and oh my, they are amazing. They are so tasty and you can’t even tell they are gluten free!!!! The kids also loved them and didn’t realize that they were different. Thank you so much for this recipe, you make Celiac people happy 🙂
Sharon says
UNBELIEVABLE…Oh my goodness! My first gluten free baking experience. They look gorgeous and taste as good as any non-gluten free cookie..better!…THANK YOU SO MUCH. Followed your recipe pretty much exactly using Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour…first ingredient was a bean flour. When the batter was mixed it tasted funky (my husband said “metallic”, I thought “raw beany”) BUT, once baked, they were just terrific. Kept mine in for 12 minutes…perfect. One other issue was that after chilling the dough overnight it was a large brick of cement, I waited 15 minutes..no use so I put a soaking wet hot dish towel around the metal stand mixing bowl and then dumped it onto a board and cut it into four squarish pieces…was ready to use in about 30 minutes. I hand rolled (didn’t own a small scoop) and the yield was 29 large cookies.
We can’t thank you enough!!!
Mara says
Hello! I’ve made these cookies for a second time in two weeks bc they are AMAZING! Thank you so much! I have 2 dozen in my freezer too. Quick question, can I bake the frozen pre-scooped cookie dough or do I need to thaw it first? Thanks again for a fantastic recipe!
Mara says
Amazing and delicious! I pre-scooped and froze some cookie dough. Can I bake it from frozen or do I need to thaw first?
Mary Lou Nadeau says
I made these using Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 gluten free flour. I also used gluten free chocolate chips and gluten free vanilla. I did refrigerate the dough for 4 hours. The dough was very difficult to scoop after 15 minutes at room temperature. I had better results if I let the dough balls return to room temperature prior to baking. The batch I baked with cold dough balls stayed too gooey in the center. I found I only needed to bake the cookies for about 9 minutes in my convection oven. They were cooked but still chewy. Everyone loved them – both those people with celiac’s disease and those without.
Just a reminder that some leavening agents, chocolate chips and vanilla extracts are not gluten free – always check before using.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I got about 3 dozen using a 1 1/4 inch scoop.
Maria Del Carmen says
This recipe is amazing especially for someone who is gluten-free. I keep using it several times and I thought it was time to finally leave a review!
Mari says
My sister-in-law made these since I have a Gluten allergy and they are the absolute BEST GF chocolate chip cookies I’ve EVER had!!! And I’ve had a lot in the 13 yrs my allergy manifested. This will now be my go-to recipe. Gotta make them myself soon for my other GF friends! My sister-in-law is a baker (GF & not) & she says they are the BEST GF or non-GF cookies she’s ever made! Enjoy!
Eden says
Great recipe! Used a blend of almond, potato and rice flour with flaxseed meal instead of xanthan gum and some brewer’s yeast to make lactation cookies. Very tasty!
Kendra says
THESE COOKIES ARE THE BEST COOKIES IVE EVER HAD- Perfect crunch on the outside with a chewy inside! Omg.. I’ve made these every weekend for the last 4 weeks because they get eaten so fast! Definitely recommend!!
Mira says
Your earlier comment “No, almond flour isn’t a straight substitute for all-purpose flour and wouldn’t turn out well. Use a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.” won’t help me bake for my family members who are following a Keto diet for diabetes. Rice flour is a HUGE no no, it spikes blood sugar abnormally high. Ditto for potato flour.
If I have made other cookies with almond flour, how hard can it be to convert this recipe … less egg, less flour? I realize the consistency won’t be the same as it would with your flour blend, but my family is already used to the change. Thoughts?
Marcia rivas says
Hi I made this cookies and they came out so ugly butttt…. they taste amazing and so chewy just like non gluten free, thank so much from Panamá!!
Debra says
I made these before reading all the reviews. I just used almond flour. The taste was wonderful just flat and buttery on bottom. Next time I used GF flour looked more like a cookie but the reviews by my husband an son weren’t near as good. Do you think if I mix the almond flour an GF flour I might have a winner.
Joy Johnston says
this was my first attempt at gf baking (other than from a mix that I added eggs and oil to). I rarely even make cookies from scratch as I usually make cake mix cookies. The only flour i had was GF i had bought to try to help out my restricted diet (not gf but for other reason) friends. Anyway these taste pretty good; i think i would have like a bit more vanilla but mine may have lost some potency. the texture is a bit crumbly and the dough was very difficult to scoop after refrigeration. i mushed the scoops together by hand after seeing my test cookie come apart a good bit. the texture may have been due to my not incredibly high quality flour as well as the fact i added some nuts. the additional add ins of course can make any cookie difficult to hold together. thanks for the experimentation you did to help us get a great cookie.
Amy says
Do you have a gluten free flour blend you recommend? I am just starting to eliminate gluten and would appreciate any guidance. Thank you!
Stay at Home Baker says
I just made a batch of these last night for a friend who has celiac. I have never made anything gluten free before. They are AMAZING! I couldn’t even tell they were gluten free. I used King Arthur’s Gluten Free flour and I was worried about the results because the first ingredient listed is rice flour (which she said to avoid). I also didn’t have time to chill mine. I did, however, scoop it onto the tray then I put the tray in the freezer until my oven preheated. They came out just perfect. I tried the cooked ones warm and chilled (since she said they are better served chilled). They are delicious both ways. Just a little chewier cold. Thank you for providing such a great recipe!
Rebecca says
I made these at the weekend for my birthday. I’ve recently discovered that it was gluten that makes me so unwell. These cookies were the best thing ever! I used a gluten free flour mix that I bought at the supermarket and a mix of Cadburys Dairy Milk chocolate and dark chocolate. I just made one big square and used Dr Oetker cup cake icing round the edges. I can’t stop eating them! Thank you so much for the best recipe ever!
Christan says
I was a little thrown off also with the batter tasting and smelling metalic. First batch I ended up with one huge thin cookie..the sough spread way to much lol…but it tasted delicious and we picked and ate all of it! I didn’t allow the full 4 hrs of chill time. 2nd attempt I chilled for 4 hrs, shaped and chilled over night, popped them right into the oven. They came out super thin…not like your picture…but are still delicious! I’m wondering if I should take a smidge of butter out or add a touch more flour?? Maybe go up on my temperature, I live in southern VA. Thank you!
heather says
hi question?! i just finished making it and i accidentally used the whole two eggs will that make a difference. i exactly followed the ingredients step by step and used same products as you. at the end they were very liquidy was that supposed to happen? i put them in the fridge to chill so i hoping that when i take them out it turns into dough?!
HCL says
My son is also allergic to eggs. Wondering if you would recommend a decent substitute for eggs in your recipe. It doesn’t have to turn out to be “the best”, “decent” will do as he’s never had a cake or a cookie hot out of the oven. He would be thrilled if we could make it together. Thank you!
Laura says
I was diagnosed with celiac about 10 years ago and have been trying various gluten-free baking recipes ever since. Most of them have been pretty meh. This recipe, without a doubt, is outstanding! I followed the recipe exactly and the cookies came out amazingly good. In fact, my kids, who think almost all GF baking is pretty bad, couldn’t even tell and thought the cookies were delicious. Am going to try more of your recipes. Thank you!