There’s nothing like a classic chocolate chip cookie to make life taste good again. In this post, I share a classic gluten-free chocolate chip recipe. This recipe has been updated. If you’re looking for the old-fashioned gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe, it’s been changed as it wasn’t working as well as this new and improved recipe. Please note this post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Learning how to make a classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie is essential baking for anyone with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
A classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie must have the following characteristics (at least in my opinion):
- It must be chewy and soft in the middle and slightly crispy on the ends.
- It must be gooey inside. The more chocolate chips, the better.
- It must be easy to make. I don’t have time to go to the store to collect tons of ingredients and spend hours making a simple cookie. I want a quick and easy recipe reminiscent of my childhood.
Awhile back, when I first started this gluten-free journey, I found a recipe online that purported itself as a gluten-free Mrs. Field’s cookie.
If you’ve visited this post in the past, you may have seen me recreate this cookie, too. The cookie looked pretty, however, after making it a few more times and after some feedback from readers, I decided it wasn’t the “classic” cookie for me.
The original recipe in this post was adapted from another blogger. It contained cream cheese, which I rarely kept in my fridge, and it was just a lot of work. Too much work.
So I tested a few gluten-free chocolate chip recipes of my own, and have come to the conclusion that the best classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie is the recipe on the back of my bag of chocolate chips.
Yep, I had to go through a lot of trial and error to figure out that a delicious cookie recipe was right in front of me the whole time… and I was too blind to realize it.
So skip all the random gluten-free chocolate chip cookies online and just stick with the classic one you find here!
It Starts with a Good Flour
The most important thing to remember about these cookies is you need a good one-to-one gluten-free flour blend to make it.
You can’t just swap rice flour for wheat flour, but you can swap a gluten-free flour blend for wheat flour and get stellar results.
In this recipe, I used my trusty Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, which contains a blend of flours, starches and xanthan gum, all which work together to give gluten-free baked goods their gluten-like texture and taste.
How to Make ‘Em
It’s so easy to make these cookies. They whip up just like you remember chocolate chip cookies coming together when you made them in your pre-GF days.
Step #1: Cream together butter and sugars. Combine your softened butter with the white and brown sugars in your mixer. Cream them together well.
Step #2: Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Mix everything together until well combined.
Step #3: Add the flour. Slowly and gradually add your flour to the mixture and mix until well combined. It’ll look and feel exactly like a cookie dough even with the gluten-free flour.
Step #4: Fold in chocolate chips. Fold in two cups of chocolate chips by hand. I like my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies stuffed with chocolate chips because it makes them taste extra-chocolate-y and amazing!
Step #5: Get ready to bake ’em. Add spoonfuls of your dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet. You’ll need two large baking trays to fit all the cookies. Be sure to space the cookies a couple of inches apart because they will spread.
Step #6: Bake those cookies! Bake the cookies at 375º F for about 10 minutes so they are just slightly underbaked, then allow them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Bake cookies in batches.
I Love These Cookies
The result is a beautiful cookie that tastes just like the classic cookies you knew and loved growing up.
And I promise, you won’t find an easier or better tasting classic gluten-free chocolate chip cookie than this one.
While the cookies have a slightly brown, crisp edges, don’t be fooled. They are soft and chewy on the inside. I recommend slightly underbaking them for maximum chewy result.
Enjoy these delicious cookies, my friends. Your taste-testers will have no clue they’re free from gluten. They’ll only taste a delicious soft and chewy gluten-free cookie that they are sure to love.
FAQs and Troubleshooting
Can I use another 1:1 flour? Yes, you can definitely try making it with another 1:1 flour blend. Make sure your blend contains xanthan gum, otherwise add 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum to your mix. Remember, a 1:1 blend (also known as a cup for cup or measure for measure blend) is required.
Can I make this dairy free? Yes, just use dairy-free butter (like sticks of butter from Earth Balance) and dairy-free chocolate chips.
Can I make this egg free? I have not tried making this without egg. If you do, please leave a comment to share if it worked and what you used.
Can I use other add-ins besides chocolate chips? Yes, M&Ms, dried fruits and nuts will all work. Enjoy!
Help! My cookies bleed together. When the cookies spread, it means you placed them too close together. Make sure to leave plenty of room between dough balls on your tray and bake cookies in batches. You can also chill your dough for 30-60 minutes before baking to deter spreading.
Classic Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour blend or other measure-for-measure, cup-for-cup, or 1:1 gluten-free flour blend
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In your standing mixer, cream together butter, brown sugar and sugar until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix on medium speed until well combined.
- Add baking soda, salt and then gradually the flour and continue to mix on low speed until dough is thoroughly blended.
- Fold in chocolate chips by hand.
- Scoop spoonfuls of the dough onto your parchment lined baking sheet, leaving a few inches between the cookies so they have room to spread.
- Bake one baking sheet at time (working in batches) for 10 minutes until bottoms begin to brown and the cookies are slightly undercooked.
- Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on baking sheet until transfering them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
I find that chilling the dough for a little bit before baking really helps minimize cookies over-spreading.
Followed this recipe to the letter and used 1.5 cups of choc chips and 1/2 cup of chopped pecans and they were fantastic! Awesome recipe 🙂
It makes me really sad to see comments like this. It is a well tested recipe and doesn’t spread if directions are followed. Please see my notes about troubleshooting spreading. Different flours, chilling, melted vs soft butter, etc can all impact spread.
They’re spreading into one cookie. 😪
I made these chocolate chip cookies and they were amazing!! I used Namaste GF Flour (was skeptical because this flour hasn’t been great for pancakes) but they turned out perfect. The directions were helpful in instructing to take them out of the oven “early”. My gluten eating husband thought they were one of the best chocolate chip cookies he’s ever had! They have also stored well. Still soft in the center a few days later. Two thumbs up!
Nicely done Jim!!
Made these today for my wife (with a few necessary and unnecessary adjustments). Our marriage continues to be solidified! j/k I used Earth Balance for the butter, monk fruit sweetener for the sugar, dark brown instead of light brown sugar (my wife prefers dark), and a mixture of Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips and Pascha 100% dark chocolate cacao chips. Aside from that, I followed your instructions closely and they turned out fabulously delicious! Thank you!
The measurements would be different. I do have an almond flour chocolate chip cookie on this site though.
Could you use almond flour to make these?
It was based off this recipe: https://mygluten-freekitchen.com/the-best-chewy-gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Do you still have the previous recipe that used cream cheese? I made it and it turned out perfectly; I’d love to use it again!
Oh no. I’m not sure what went wrong. I’ve made these so many times and they’ve been fine. Try my gooey chocolate chunk cookies instead https://www.goodforyouglutenfree.com/perfect-gluten-free-chocolate-chunk-cookies/
I followed the recipe to the letter but they turned out terrible. The dough was so stiff that only about half the chocolate chips could be worked in. The baked cookies are dry and brittle. Not sure where I went wrong! I’m going to pick another recipe and start over.
OMG AMAZING!!! I even impovised and didn’t follow the directions (chill the dough). I was making these on Christmas Eve for Santa. So… No time! But, I was pretty sceptical and they we’re so pale/white in the oven. Even when I decided they were done, the end still looked pale to me. BUT they browned right up. I left mine on the sheets to cool. These are hands down the best gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe. Great work!!
Yay that’s great to hear Margaret. I love this recipe.
These turned out perfect!!
I used the vegan Trader Joe’s cream cheese and subbed coconut oil for butter and they are amazing. No one can tell they are gluten (and dairy) free
I think so but can’t know for sure until you try it. Will you let me know if you do it? Thanks Becky.
I’m wondering if you think these would work with Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese? They really do look perfect, but cream cheese doesn’t love me.