One ingredient and two non-negotiable tricks transforms my soft-batch gluten-free brown butter chocolate chip cookies into something you won’t be able to stop thinking about. That rich, caramelly, slightly smoky brown butter is what takes these classic cookies to sophisticated, posh bakery level. My method to eliminate grittiness? A proper dough rest and drop your oven temp. There’s no going back.
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The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Brown Butter
There’s a reason why brown butter desserts have stood the test of time. When I first made my gluten-free brown butter chocolate chip cookies I knew they were glorious enough to join my collection of no-fail gluten-free cookie recipes.
Using brown butter in gluten-free cookies does a lot more than add a boost flavor. When creating my soft batch GF peanut butter cookie I learned warm, melted butter coats GF starches better to eliminate grittiness. Say goodbye to a typical downfall of cookies made with GF flour. 🙌
Since we are already melting the butter and mixing it in warm, browning butter for chocolate chip cookies seemed like a no brainer. I love how it tones down the sweetness in gooey brown butter gluten-free rice krispie treats and gives a nice elevated, gourmet twist on a classic. When swirled into gooey chocolate chip cookies I guarantee you’ll be a goner!
Perfect Brown Butter Every Time
Even though making brown butter seems like some fancy pants stuff, it’s quite simple and will make you feel like a baking boss. There’s standard phases the butter goes through. You just need to know what to look for.
After the butter melts over medium-lowish heat it will be foamy on top. Then the milk solids (tiny little white balls) will separate and start to settle at the bottom of the pan. Watch for those to turn from white to turn golden brown.
This is when you shouldn’t walk away. It goes from brown to burnt pretty quick. Once they are brown, immediately remove from heat. You may even want to pour it in a separate bowl to stop the cooking.
Free Guide! 5 easy tips for baking like a gluten-free pro!
Simple hacks for fail-proof gluten-free dishes every time!
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Warm brown butter magic
I’m a big fan of using warm butter in GF cookie recipes to tone down the grittiness GF flours typically have. Since we are already melting it, why not get a nice caramely flavor bonus?
Start your chocolate chip cookie dough by melting the butter in a pan over medium-low heat. It will go from melted, to foamy, to this 👇 with golden milk solids settling at the bottom of the pan.
Soft, glorious brown butter cookie dough
While the butter is still warm mix it with the brown sugar, sugar, then eggs, milk and vanilla. Add in the gluten-free flour, baking soda, and salt. The dough will be a little softer than what you may be used to, which is totally fine because of our next GF baking hack below.
Rest is best
Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is long enough to stiffen the dough a bit, but more importantly, remove that grittiness gluten-free cookies tend to have.
If you’d like to bake the cookies later on, you can always chill the dough at this point too. I do find letting it come back to room temp before baking softens the texture.
Shape and bake (with one last GF cookie tip!)
To divide up the dough quickly and evenly I reach for one of my favorite kitchen tools – a medium cookie scoop (I have them in all sizes for every task). You can roll them into round balls, just plop down the dough on baking sheets, or shape them into tall cylinders, like shown below.
My last hack? For a softer chew, without stickiness in the bite, bake in a lower oven, 325°F for 12-14 minutes, rotating pans halfway. Pull out a glass of milk and start dunking.
Leveled-Up Bakery Style
Okay, you have the basic recipe, now how are you going to go the extra mile? First of all, nuts. Love them? Add about 1/2 cup chopped nuts with the chocolate chips. I usually do pecans or walnuts.
For brown butter cookies a little sprinkle of flaky sea salt is pretty much perfection. You’ll want to use something that doesn’t melt into the dough. I really like Maldon sea salt flakes.
My mom always adds sweetened dried cranberries to chocolate chip cookies, but dried blueberries or cherries work as well.
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Gooey Gluten-Free Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (176 g) packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk or non-dairy milk, (optional – see recipe notes)
- 1 ¾ cup (262 g) gluten free all purpose flour, Cup4Cup gluten-free flour highly recommended
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup (213 g) semisweet chocolate chips, I use 1 cup semi-sweet, ¼ cup miniature chips
Instructions
- Begin by browning the butter. Melt it in a skillet over medium heat. Once the butter is fully melted watch carefully and stir occasionally so butter doesn't burn. First the butter will foam, then the milk solids will start to settle at the bottom. Watch for the milk solids to turn from white to brown. Once that happens, immediately remove from heat.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer beat together the warm brown butter, brown sugar, sugar, egg, optional milk, and vanilla until well combined.8 tablespoons unsalted butter, ¾ cup packed light brown sugar, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon milk or non-dairy milk
- Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until combined and no flour pockets remain. Stir in chocolate chips or mix in on low speed. The dough will be slightly sticky and soft.1 ¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes. This helps saturate the GF starches, preventing a gritty cookie. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Tip: The cookies can go on ungreased baking sheets as well, but they release better from parchment or silicone)
- Use a medium cookie scoop (or 2 tbsp per cookie) to drop dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 12-13 minutes, rotating pans halfway. Edges should be set, but middle is still soft. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transporting to a wire rack.
Notes
Adding Milk and Resting At Room Temp
Since Cup4Cup has changed their formula I have find the cookies to be a little drier and not spread as well. To fix this, I now add 1 tablespoon milk to the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temp. Chilling made the dough stiffer, harder to spread during baking, and gave a slight sticky, unpleasant texture. A room temp rest still allows time for the GF starches to soften and maintains a nice cookie shape and texture. If using a flour besides C4C you can omit the milk, but still rest at room temp.Dairy Free adaptations
If you are looking for a dairy free recipe, use Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips and substitute regular unsalted butter for vegan butter sticks. Since dairy free, vegan butter is a little saltier, reduce the salt in the recipe by half. If adding milk to the recipe, opt for non-dairy.storing / freezing
If you don’t plan on eating these treats within a day or two, wrap stacks of 2-3 cookies in plastic wrap, transfer to a ziplock freezer bag, and freeze up to 3 months. For storing at room temperature, make sure the cookies have cooled completely first before stacking and storing in an airtight container. To freeze unbaked cookies, drop portioned cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once the cookies are hard, transfer to a ziplock freezer bag and freeze up to 3 months. When ready to bake, place on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake from frozen, adding an additional 1-2 minutes baking time.This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
