Seriously, THE BEST Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

As a gluten-free baker, I know from first-hand experience how hard it can be to bake really good gluten-free chocolate chips cookies. My perfect gluten-free chocolate chip cookies recipe has 4 simple tricks: use the right flour, rest the cookie dough for 30 minutes, shape the dough cylindrically, and bake the cookies at 325°F not 350°F. Recipe yields 24 bakery-style cookies with no grittiness.

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 13

resting time 30

Total Time 48

Servings

Author Melissa Erdelac

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter melted and warm
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 (see recipe notes for alternative brand notes)
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

In a large bowl or stand mixer beat together the warm melted 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.
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. Roll the cookie dough into smooth balls and then shape into a tall cylinder with flat bottom (see post for image). This helps the cookies rise instead of flatten.
Bake for 12-13 minutes, rotating pans halfway. Edges should be set, but middle is still soft. OPTIONAL TIP: When they come out of the oven, you can raise and drop the cookie sheet a few inches off the stove top to settle the cookies down into softer ridges. Cool on cookie sheets for 10 minutes before transporting to a wire rack.

Notes

Update 7/26: 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 made two small tweaks to the recipe. Add 1 tablespoon milk to the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

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.

Alternative Flours

I've done more testing with alternative flours and here are my recommendations:

King Arthur Measure-For-Measure - Use 1½ cup flour and ¼ cup cornstarch to mimic C4C's softness. Add the milk to the recipe and chill the dough for a softer, less gritty cookie.

Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 - This flour was the least successful in my experiments. It spread quite a lot and has the most gritty, ricey chew. If you have to use this flour, use 1½ cup flour and ¼ cup cornstarch. Leave out the milk, but chill the dough. Shape into smaller size cookies to prevent them spreading as much.

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.

Nutrition