Oat Flour Cookies recipe makes chewy, soft chocolate chip cookies using homemade oat flour. These naturally gluten-free, flourless treats use oatmeal blended quickly into flour for an easy, affordable cookie that tastes just like the ones mom made!
Gluten-free oat flour cookies
After experimenting with oat flour recipes I am thoroughly sold! Sure, there are many ways to make a delicious gluten free chocolate chip cookies, but I particularly love oat flour chocolate chip cookies because…
- It’s always available in my pantry. Just grab some old fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking oats and you can make homemade oat flour in minutes!
- Oat flour is affordable. When writing my gluten-free cookbook, I experimented with many affordable gluten-free baking recipes. Making your own oat flour (please do), is cheaper than other gluten-free flours, such an all-purpose 1-to-1 blend, almond flour, or coconut flour.
- The flavor is neutral and homogenizes seamlessly, like in oat flour bread. Some gluten-free flours can be very strong tasting, such as sorghum, teff, or buckwheat, which are commonly used in blends. Oatmeal has a light, nutty taste that makes baked goods even more delicious!
- Flourless cookie recipes consistently turn out fabulous because there are no unpredictable ingredients involved.
Ingredients notes and Substitutions
No need to run out to buy any special ingredients for these cookies! I bet everything you need is right in your kitchen…
- Oats – Use quick oats blended into flour. For gluten-free cookies, be sure to use gluten-free certified oats.
- Unsalted Butter – For a dairy-free recipe, substitute a vegan butter stick
- Sugar – A combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar helps with structure, texture, and a caramel taste. If desired, coconut sugar may also be used.
- Chocolate Chips – Use milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips. Alternatively, leave out or substitute raisins.
How To Make oat flour cookies recipe
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
- First, make your oat flour. Use an equal amount of (certified gluten-free) old fashioned or quick-cooking oatmeal and blend in a food processor or high-powered blender until fine. (See picture below)
- To make the cookies, first cream together the softened butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and combine well.
- On low speed mix in the dry ingredients – oatmeal ground into oat flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
- Divide spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. Bake at 350°F for 12-13 minutes.
making homemade oat flour for cookies
To make the best texture of cookie, you’ll want to use equipment that grinds the oats down as fine as possible. This depends on the quality of your equipment. Use a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, or a food processor for best results.
Place the same amount of quick oats as flour needed into the processor. Steel cut oats will take longer to process and will yield more than a 1-to-1 conversion.
Blend the oats until it turns into a fine, powdery flour (about 1 minute). Check to make sure you don’t have any larger flecks of oats, and if so, blend again.
Use in cookies, oat flour banana bread, or in oat flour brownies!
Note about gluten-free oats
Oats and oat flour are gluten free if made with certified gluten free oats. Although oats are naturally gluten free, they are typically processed on equipment shared with wheat products. Certified gluten free means it’s guaranteed to not be cross-contaminated.
Some people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, though, are still sensitive to oats, whether they are certified GF or not. If making these for a friend or family member, you may want to double check first.
substituting store bought oat flour
If you’d like to use ready-made oat flour instead of grinding your own, you will need 2 2/3 cups or 240 grams.
Do I have to chill the dough?
When making this recipe, I tested chilling the dough and not chilling the dough before baking. There was no measurable difference with spreading, taste, or texture, so save yourself an extra step and time.
If you don’t wish to bake the cookies right away, you can chill the dough up to 24 hours before baking.
expert tips and tricks
- If the cookies spread too much the butter could have been too soft or warm. If that is the case, you can always chill the dough before scooping and baking.
- Another spreading issue could arise from too little or too much oat flour. You will need 240 grams or 2 ⅔ cup measured oat flour.
- Also be sure the homemade oat flour is very fine and powdery. If it is not ground fine enough, the cookies will still taste good, but will be more round than flat.
storing and freezing Cookies
Oat flour cookies are best within a day or two of baking. They loss moisture faster than traditional chocolate chip cookies, so do not make them too far in advance.
Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. For storing longer than two days I recommend freezing cooled cookies up to 3 months.
You may also portion out the cookie dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer the frozen cookie dough into an airtight container, or freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, take your frozen cookies directly from the freezer to bake on ungreased cookie sheets. You may need to add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
dairy free / vegan adaptation
Although I personally haven’t tried it with this recipe, readers have had success replacing the egg with a flax egg. Based on that, I believe it would work with these cookies as well, especially since it’s only one egg.
The butter can also be replaced with an equal amount of vegan / dairy free substitute, such as Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks.
Click here to see the
step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
More gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipes
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies
- Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
SAVE THis recipe for OAT FLOUR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!
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Chocolate Chip Oat Flour Cookies (Soft & Chewy!)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups quick oats (certified GF) see recipe notes for using ready-made oat flour
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- First, make your oat flour if you don't have some on hand. Place 2 ½ cups old fashioned or quick-cooking oats into a food processor or high-powered blender. Blend until the oats until it turns into a fine, powdery flour (about 1 minute). Check to make sure you don't have any larger flecks of oats, and if so, blend again. Set aside.2 ½ cups quick oats (certified GF)
- In a large mixing bowl or stand-mixer, mix together on medium high speed the softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and combine well.8 tablespoons unsalted butter,½ cup light brown sugar,½ cup sugar,1 egg,1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- On low speed mix in the oat flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.¾ teaspoon baking soda,½ teaspoon salt,1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Drop the cookie dough onto ungreased or parchment-lined baking sheets. Use a medium cookie scoop or drop 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons onto the sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes, turning and rotating pans halfway through. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.
- DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?? DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE FEEDBACK AND RATE BELOW!
Equipment Needed
Recipe Notes
Substituting store-bought oat flour
If you’d like to use ready-made oat flour instead of grinding your own, you will need 2 2/3 cups or 240 grams.Issues with spreading
If the cookies spread too much the butter could have been too soft or warm. If that is the case, you can always chill the dough before scooping and baking. Another reason could be there was too little or too much oat flour. You will need 240 grams or 2 2/3 cup measured oat flour. Also be sure the homemade oat flour is very fine and powdery. If it is not ground fine enough, the cookies will still taste good, but will be more round than flat.storing / freezing
These are best within a day or two of baking. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. For storing longer than two days I recommend freezing cooled cookies up to 3 months. You may also portion out the cookie dough on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. Transfer the frozen cookie dough into an airtight container, or freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months. When ready to bake, take your frozen oat flour cookies directly from the freezer to bake on ungreased cookie sheets. You may need to add 1-2 minutes to the baking time. Recipe adapted from Kitchen BelleciousNutrition
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Anonymous says
My gf baking is hit or miss with the different flours. These were fabulous and super easy and I had all items on hand! Saved and definitely will make again!!
Melissa Erdelac says
So glad to hear! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
Jennifer Mckenzie says
I made these tonight and these cookies turned out amazing! Thank you for the recipe.
Melissa Erdelac says
Thank you so much, Jennifer! I appreciate you taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
Bee says
I froze the dough to help free up time and they turned out amazingly. Everyone commented how scrumptious they were. Thank you so very much for sharing. 🥰
Melissa Erdelac says
I’m so glad to hear, Bee! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
Beth says
Simple and delicious. My new go-to!
Melissa Erdelac says
So glad to hear. Thanks for sharing, Beth!
Melissa
Danu says
easy to make, simple ingredients that are easy to substitute to dietary preferences (I’ve used coconut oil instead of butter and coconut sugar instead of the two colors of cane sugar) and they always turn out chewy and delicious.
Melissa says
Glad to hear the modifications work out. Thank you so much for writing. I appreciate it!
Best,
Melissa
Sarah says
So so so good!!!!! Super easy and I can put it in my kids lunch box because there’s no nut’s. Being new to being gluten-free with a little one has been easy. But these recipes have been a game changer!
Melissa Erdelac says
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know, Sarah! I appreciate it!
Best,
Melissa
Amy Murphy says
I cannot believe how good these are! These are amazing! Finally found a perfect recipe. Thanks!
Melissa says
Thank you so much, Amy! I hope you find the other oat flour recipes on the website helpful too!
Best,
Melissa
Neha says
My cookies didn’t spread at all. I’m a somewhat regular baker but new to baking with oat flour. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Melissa says
Hi Neha,
Did you grind your own oat flour or buy it? I notice if I grind my oat flour in a food processor it’s more grainy than doing it with a Vitamix. Both taste great, the consistency of the cookies change, one holds their shape more and more round. Also, did you use butter or something else?
Best,
Melissa
Neha says
I ground my oats in the Vitamix. I did use the weight measurements. I just googled oat flour weight. It comes up as 88 g per cup so based on that there was too much oat flour.
Carolyn Rede says
These came out very flat and sticking to the parchment paper. I did everything exactly like recipe! So disappointed!
Melissa says
Hi Carolyn,
I’m sorry to hear that. I wish I had a little more info to try to troubleshoot what went wrong. Did you substitute any of the ingredients?
Best,
Melissa
Carolyn says
Melissa,
I made them again and they came out great! The first time I softened the butter in the
Microwave. I guess you should not do that. We love them!
Carolyn
Melissa says
So glad to hear, Carolyn! Thank you for taking the time to let me know!
Best,
Melissa
McKell says
Mine turned out flat and a little crispy as well, however I’ve eaten 4 so they’re obviously still delicious 😂
Melissa says
Lol, never waste a good cookie, right?! Thanks for letting me know. I will decrease the baking time on the recipe to accommodate the variance in home bakers’ ovens to see if we can avoid that in the future!
Best,
Melissa
Carolyn says
This is a fantastic gluten free recipe. All ingredients I had in my pantry. No expensive flour. The cookies came out like real cookies. I substituted butterscotch chips for the chocolate…😋
Melissa says
Amen, Carolyn! Anytime you get to use “real,” “cheap” ingredients for a gluten free recipe, it’s a win. If you like like recipe, you should try the Oat Flour Bread on the site! I’m also adding an Oat Flour Banana Bread recipe soon too. 🙂
Best,
Melissa
Joe K says
These cookies are incredible! I make batches of 12 at a time and my family usually devours them in 1 day.
I substitute allulose for the white sugar, erythritol/monk fruit for the brown sugar, and lakanto chocolate chips, so my version is low carb and sugar free. The cookies come out after baking still in a ball (maybe because of the fake sugars?) so I give them a quick smoosh with the spatula while they are still hot to flatten them out.
I recommend using the metric measurements with a kitchen scale for accuracy. The US/cups measurements seem a bit off to me. If people are getting inconsistent results that may be the reason.
Love this recipe!
Melissa says
Hi Joe!
I’m glad to hear you are able to enjoy a tasty sugar free / low carb cookie with this recipe. Thank you so much for providing the substitions!
Best,
Melissa
Alexander says
You are correct. Metric measurements are use in all scientific labs for accuracy.
Anna says
Any recommendation to make them chewy? I made them and they turned out delicious, just cruncher than my personal preference.
Melissa says
Hi Anna, Perhaps cooking them a couple minutes less? I find them pretty soft and chewy, but sometimes ovens are calibrated differently and operate a little hotter.
Best,
Melissa
Heather Stirn says
I am absolutely obsessed with these cookies 🍪 I use refined coconut oil instead of butter. They don’t last long in this house… mostly because of me.
Melissa says
Thanks, Heather! I was just telling my sister about these cookies today and how she HAS to try them!
Best,
Melissa
Heather Stirn says
Yes… she MUST! ✨
Patricia says
Why would they turn out flat?
Melissa says
Hi Patricia,
You cooked them and they turned out flat? It could be the oats weren’t ground fine enough, the baking soda was omitted or expired, the butter was melted instead of softened, or the amount of oats was accidently under measured. Wish I could have been there to see what exactly happened!
Best,
Melissa