The Best Chewy Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
By popular request, I’m sharing my tried and true recipe for the best chewy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies! If you’re looking for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that have crispy edges, are chewy with a bit of a gooey center, and full of chocolate, then these are the cookies for you!
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 gluten-free chocolate chip cookies ever!
I have notes and slips of paper from over 3 dozen attempts at making really good, chewy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies over the past 5 years of baking gluten-free before coming up with this perfect version!
That’s a whole lot of gluten-free cookies eaten for testing purposes so that I could share the best gluten-free cookies!
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 that reminded me of my favorite mall cookies.
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.
Ugh, how am I going to make gf chocolate chip cookies? I had to get trying!
Here’s what I wanted in a gluten-free 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 gluten-free chocolate chip cookie 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 more noticeable in gluten-free cookies.
For some reason, that rice flour grittiness was most noticeable in my chocolate chip cookie attempts.
I also tried using different proportions of a bunch of different flours and starches so that I could avoid rice flour or use less of it, 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 combination that I used to make before my celiac diagnosis. I’ve succeeded!
There are 5 keys to this gluten-free chocolate chip cookie 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. My friend Celeste says she likes to brown the butter and use browned butter to make these even more amazing.
- 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.
- Using a good quality all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. See my notes below in the ingredients section.
- 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 up to 3 days. After chilling the dough, allow it to come closer to room temperature so you can scoop the cookies easily before baking.
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!
Depending on how much cookie dough you eat, you’ll have about 20-22 cookies from this recipe!
I have had many ask if you can freeze this dough. Yes you can freeze this cookie dough! I suggest that after you finish mixing ingredients, then scoop immediately and freeze the balls of dough to bake later.
When you are ready to bake, pull out the desired number of cookie dough balls you want to bake, let them sit on parchment paper lined sheet while you pre-heat your oven, then bake them from their still frozen state. Your cooking time will be longer than I have listed in my recipe, so keep an eye on them!
Here’s a look at the ingredients for this gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe:
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Gluten-free Flour Blend: I’ve had best results making this with Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Flour or BakeGood Almond Flour Blend or Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Blend. I tried with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour with good results. (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.) These were good but not great with King Arthur Measure for Measure or Bob’s Red Mill. I do not recommend using Maninis, Namaste or Pillsbury gluten-free flour for these. I will update this as I try it with other flour blends as well. Stay away from the blends that have any bean flours.
- If the gluten-free flour blend you choose to use already has xanthan or guar gum already in it, then omit the xanthan gum called for in my recipe.
- Sugar and Brown Sugar: I don’t recommend swapping these out, but some people prefer to use coconut sugar for some of the sugar called for in the recipe, just know that it will affect the texture.
- Butter: You can use a non-dairy butter alternative like Melt or Earth Balance if you would prefer. I would still melt it to use in the recipe. Results will vary and will not likely look the same as my cookies, because mine are made with real butter.
- Cream cheese: I have used Kite Hill plain cream cheese alternative and it worked very well. Use equivalent amount.
- Baking soda: This is NOT the same as baking powder. DO not substitute the baking soda with anything else.
- Chocolate: These are loaded with chocolate so choose your favorite chocolate! Sometimes I do semi-sweet chocolate chips like you see here (usually Guittard or Trader Joe’s), sometimes I do a mix of semi-sweet chunks and mini chips. If you prefer milk chocolate, then use milk chocolate chips in yours.
- Vanilla: I always recommend using pure vanilla extract, not an imitation vanilla extract. I usually buy this Nielsen-Massey pure vanilla extract or these large bottles sold at Costco.
There have been a few people out of the hundreds that have tried this recipe that felt there was too much chocolate in these cookies. I can’t fathom that, since in my opinion you can never have too much chocolate. But if you want more cookie and less chocolate, feel free to cut back the amount of chocolate chips you add.
Also, if you would like to use chunks, you can chop up semi-sweet chocolate bars or use Trader Joe’s chocolate chunks.
How to make gluten-free chocolate chip cookies:
My recipe card below and also the video will show you step by step how to make these cookies. The important thing to remember is that you need to let the dough chill for at least 4 hours. Then let it come to a scoop-able temperature before you proceed.
For successful results, make sure you use room temperature ingredients, measure properly (the only ingredient you ever pack in is brown sugar), use a large #20 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.
I also like to give my cookies plenty of space around them so the edges can get a little crisp and no cookies spread into each other. This is what my they look like on my cookie sheet usually, using that large cookie scoop and spacing out on the parchment paper:
When they come out of the oven, I sprinkle the hot gluten-free chocolate chip cookies with more of the chocolate chips so that my cookies will have that melty chocolate chip look to the top. This step is totally optional though!
Can you make these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies dairy-free?
I’m working on that! I have tried dairy-free cream cheese from Kite Hill and it worked perfectly as a replacement for the cream cheese in this recipe. So I know you can make that dairy-free swap and have the same results.
I have not found the perfect swap for the butter yet but get good results with swapping with Melt or Earth Balance sticks. Feel free to make some adaptations to suit you though, and come back and let me know how they work!
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Well that depends on the size and how much cookie dough you eat! This recipe makes about 20-22 large cookies. I use a #20 size cookie scoop for those and those are the cookies you see in most all the photos on this post.
But I know some of you want to make smaller cookies. So recently, I grabbed my other size scoops and did some testing and made notes along the way!
I used my large #20 scoop for the biggest ones. I used a medium scoop which is a #40 scoop for medium sized cookies. For the smallest, bite size cookies, I used a small #60 scoop. Yes, if you didn’t know, as the numbers get bigger, the scoops get smaller.
Here’s a look at making these various sizes:
You can always use other sized scoops, I just went with the three sizes I have on hand.
Here’s a look at them after baking and I’ve included the approximate baking times for each as well.
Factors like pan thickness and quality, temperature of your dough, accurate temperature of your oven, whether you use parchment or not, and the type of flour blend you use all will influence when your cookies are done.
From my testing, cookies made using a #20 scoop will take about 11-12 minutes to be baked perfectly, and you’ll get 20-22 cookies. Cookies made using a #40 scoop will take anywhere from 7-9 minutes to be perfect. And cookies made using a #60 scoop will take about 6-7 minutes to be perfect.
Using the #60 scoop yields dozens and dozens of cookies – I lost count of how many little cookies! You can see here:
Note: You CAN double this recipe as long as you’re using a good stand mixer that can mix that amount of dough.
After you make these, the next thing you should make is my recipe for the best gluten-free peanut butter cookies! I know you’ll love them too!
I make this gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe a couple times a month, and have been for many years now! I hope these become a family favorite for you too!
I hope you’ll try and love these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies just as much as I do!
If you make these and love them, please come back and give this recipe a 5 star rating in the recipe card! Feel free to comment with tips or to share any successful substitutions you made.
The Best Chewy Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Plan ahead so the dough can chill prior to baking for the best gluten-free chocolate chip cookies!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (~282 grams) good all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum* (see note)
- 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. pure vanilla extract
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 cups (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- 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 allow it to come closer to room temperature so you can scoop the cookies easily before baking.
- 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.
- If you'd like, you can sprinkle more chocolate chips on them once you remove from oven.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for just 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Notes
*omit xanthan gum if your gluten-free flour blend has xanthan or guar gum already
Please note that these brown faster/more if the flour blend you are using has any almond flour in it. Your cookies might be done a minute sooner.
Please see blog post for information on ingredients used and substitution options.
Pin these to your gluten-free cookies Pinterest board:
gluten-free chocolate chip cookie bars (no chilling required!)
Gluten-free Monster Cookies (uses chocolate chips and M&Ms!)
Enjoy!
Hi,, I would love to try this recipe but I live in Lake Tahoe, Ca which is at 6500 ft. Do you have a recommendation for high altitude baking?
Disappointed-refrigerated for a day because the day I needed to bake I wouldn’t have had time to mix them up. And now I can’t scoop-I’m chiseling pieces off and rolling it in a ball and they are not flattening out on their own and they look dry even baked.
I’m sorry for this frustration. It sounds like your dough needs to sit longer to come to closer to room temperature to make scooping easy. I’m sorry that wasn’t clear and I will clarify that in my recipe.
As far as why the dough is very dry, I would have to know what flour blend you used and if you made any substitutions. Possibly your flour blend absorbed more of the fluid in the recipe. Possibly it wasn’t covered tightly in the fridge so it dried out. Possibly a substitution caused that. If you can let the dough come to room temp before you bake the rest, see if that improves it. You definitely shouldn’t need to chisel anything. Let me know what substitutions you might have made, and I’m happy to try to help you troubleshoot so you’ll have better success next time.
I experienced the same thing after one day in the refrigerator. I placed the bowl in the microwave and set it on defrost by weight for 2# and watched it closely. I tested it after 2 minutes and it was soft enough to scoop. They turned out great !!
I entered these chocolate chip cookies in a GF category at the County Fair. The judge said they were the best GF cookies she had ever tasted and she could not tell that they were gluten free. I got a blue ribbon!
Is xantham gum necessary if using the Cup4Cup flour blend, which already contains xantham gum? I noticed that your pan version I clicked on states that the xantham isn’t necessary if it’s already contained in the flour, but this cookie version doesn’t. Thanks!
Good catch! I missed adding that to the post and the recipe card. Will do that now! Thanks for spotting that!
Knowing I could not wait 4 hours to chill, I made these with room temperature butter, and chilled cream cheese and eggs. I use Better Batter flour which I purchased online and increased salt to 1.5 t. . I baked them at 375 for 12 minutes, turning after six minutes. These cookies turned out gorgeous, with crispy edges and soft centers. Not a single bit of graininess. Thank you for a great recipe!!!!
Just made these, love the recipe! I reduced the sugar and used only Muscovardo sugar.
I cannot wait to try this! Best written, well explained, detailed GF cookie recipe I’ve read! I love the details of using the paddle to blend the wet ingredients and flours. Thank you! Can’t wait to try.
Where can I find the nutritional values?
Many calorie counting websites/apps have recipe calculators (or you can just google “recipe calculator” and find one). The exact nutritional values will depend on many things, including which flour, cream cheese and chocolate chips you use.
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!
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!
Hi, HCL!
I’m not a pro chef by any means, but I do have experience with egg substitutes. 🙂 You can try subbing flaxseed for the egg: https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-a-flax-egg/, or you can try Ener-G Egg Replacer: https://www.egglesscooking.com/ener-g-egg-replacer/ .
Either of this is great to use in a from scratch recipe, like this amazeballs choc chip cookie recipe. We recently had a potluck at work, and a coworker brought these cookies in. NO ONE out of 120 folks even questioned that this might be a specialized recipe!! I begged for this recipe from them as I have a grandbaby with a gluten-intolerance, and just like you with your son, I wanted my grandchild to be able to have fun memories with his KeeKee, making incredible chocolate chip cookies, and eating them warm from the oven! Best of luck!!
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?!
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
Hi. I just made the dough for the cookies but came out really dry. How do I save it?? Help pleaseee!
That shouldn’t have happened. I would triple check all of your ingredient measurements. What flour blend did you use? If it wasn’t one of the ones I recommend, that could be the factor. If your flour blend has any coconut flours, that really sucks the liquid.
If you triple check and are sure all ingredients were measured correctly,my only idea for salvaging would be to go ahead and add more melted butter and mix until you have a softer cookie dough.
I refrigerated overnight and the dough was so dry that I couldn’t even get a spoon into it. I followed the recipe to a T. Don’t know what went wrong!
I love the flavor and non-gritty texture of these, but find they dry out literally overnight even in airtight storage. By day 3, they are dry and crumbly – do you have any suggestions for that problem?
Spoon the flour or weigh it for best results. GF flour absorbs soooo much liquid. Too much and you have a dry crumbly mess.
These cookies are delicious! My tips:
Roll the batter into balls before you put in the fridge as the batter goes quite hard so difficult to roll into balls after being in the fridge.
Before you bake them, allow the dough to come to room temperature for 30-60 mins, then push them down on the cookie sheet to flatten them as I find they don’t spread much when cooking.
Hi I made this cookies and they came out so ugly but they taste amazing and so chewy just like non gluten free, thank so much from Panamá!!
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?
If her 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.” doesn’t help you bake for your family, then this is not the recipe for you. This is not a keto or low carb recipe. It is simply gluten free. If its not “that hard” to convert the recipe, try doing it yourself. Or ultimately, move on from this recipe, as it will not work for yours written. Try googling “almond flour chocolate chip cookies” or “low carb chocolate chip cookies” and maybe you will find a recipe that WILL work for your family
Aloha, thank you for sharing the sugar spike fact. I didn’t realize that. I bake cookies for a living but standard cookies. I try and expierment with GF Almond flour cookies and bars for my family. One trick I have learned is to toast the almond flour for about 3/4 min at 350 brings out a toasty aroma. Learned from another blog site.
Love the added Cream Cheese that is just genius. Wonderful website great job.
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!!
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!
My sister-in-law made these since I can’t have gluten 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!
Calm down. Saying she has a gluten allergy is a simpler way of explaining the situation instead of bestowing a lengthy description that nobody needs to know.
Dear A.
Please use correct grammar if you are going to be so bold and correct others.
Wow!! These really are fantastic. I am like you, I work on a recipe till it is the best, pizza dough, pastas, etc. But thanks to you doing the work, i dont have to work on a chocolate chip recipe. These are perfect!! Thank you. 🙂
Sheesh, yah cause I came here to get your opinion on a stranger’s health issues. If you don’t have a comment on this amazing RECIPE then why say anything at all? No one is interested in having to read your opinions on allergies versus disease. For anyone who lives with an allergy or an intolerance on a daily basis, or worse, isn’t keen on having others try to play doctor or ‘correct’ them. It only adds to what they’re already trying to juggle. BUT that nonsense aside…. this recipe is THE BOMB! I make it exactly as specified and have success every stinking time. I’ve even alternated different gf flour mixes with success (Cup 4 Cup works, Bob’s Red Mill GF 1 to 1 Baking Flour also works for me). I bake in a very small camper size oven for anyone who’s in a similar situation. Thanks for sharing the recipe & your tips – Rachel
Hi Rachel,
When you use the Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 baking flour do the cookies still come out like in the picture? That is the only flour I use and I’ve had problems with cookies in the past coming out dry and crumbly. Would love your input thank you!