Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (top 14 free)
The Best gluten free chocolate chip cookie ever! Free of the top 14 food allergies, these chocolate chip cookies are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside.
Just because you have allergies doesn’t mean you should go without one of life’s true joys: A chocolate chip cookie. This recipe has been tested time and time again, each time getting closer to perfection, and I think we’ve got it. It’s free of gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, sulfites, sesame, fish (who would put fish in a cookie?), no nightshades, AND still is full of flavor.
The outside edges are crispy, the inside is chewy, and it’s filled with chocolate chips! They don’t fall apart when dunked in milk (or tea!) and they have no funky aftertaste. Even my family members without allergies couldn’t stop eating a few each time they walked past!
Free From: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, celery, corn, sesame, mustard, lupin, sulfites, and more
Best Gluten Free Flour for Cookies
Gluten free flour for cookies can be challenging. You want to look for a blend that isn’t filled with strongly flavored flours, like quinoa, as they can flavor the dough and overpower the cookie.
I personally enjoy chocolate chip cookies that are soft, chewy, and a little crunchy on the edges. Some of my favorite gluten free flours to use are:
Pamela’s Artisan Flour Blend. This one is my personal favorite for chocolate chip cookies. The flour has a small amount of potato flour in it that provides the perfect amount of chew. The cookies turn out thick, soft, and fluffy.
King Arthur Baking Mix. Another favorite of mine! These cookies turn out somewhere in between my own flour mix and Pamela’s. A good mix of chew and crispness, these cookies taste so close to a wheat flour that many won’t be able to tell the difference.
My own DIY gluten free flour blend! This is nightshade free, top 14 free, and made with rice flours for a subtly sweet cookie. Using this blend the cookies are a little thinner and make for a more crispy cookie.
Allergy Variations
First, let’s talk butter. Butter from a cow or butter from a plant work seamlessly here. Simply swap out the cow butter for something like Earth Balance (which has a soy free version), or another non-dairy butter.
If you are out of butter altogether, I suggest using shortening. In fact, even if you have butter, you might want to reach for shortening for a better tasting cookie.
Butter made in American contains on average 16% water, which turns to steam in the oven, helping the development of gluten. By using shortening, you are using something that has no water in it. Your cakes and cookies remain soft and cake-y even after cooling down when made with shortening.
Plus, the pure fat in the shortening helps with the lack of eggs in the recipe. The fat from the shortening will help develop that beautiful cookie crumb.
Next, this recipe calls for cream cheese. If you are allergic to dairy, again, use your favorite plant-based cream cheese alternative. If you don’t have one, you can omit this cream cheese and replace it with either more of your safe butter, or with a tablespoon of your safe nut/seed butter! This will change the taste of the chocolate chip cookie slightly but is so delicious.
Baking Tips
When making these at home, here are a few tips to really help your cookies shine.
Make sure you use a stand mixer if you have one. By whipping the butter or shortening, you are aerating the fat, helping the final cookie to achieve a light and fluffy texture.
The cream cheese is added to help with the gluten free flour. Traditionally, gluten free flour blends are made with rice flour, which are notorious for being gritty in texture. The cream cheese helps to keep the dough moist and adds a little extra fat and flavor to the cookie. This is useful to add in many gluten free baking!
If you are allergic to milk, you can swap out for a different cream cheese with no issues. If you can’t have milk or most cream cheeses, add in one extra tablespoon of butter alternative or shortening as well as an extra splash of vanilla and cinnamon.
Bake these cookies on parchment paper. This helps them not to stick.
When these cookies are done, they MUST rest on the cookie tray till they are cooled. This helps them hold a form. I know how tempting it is to swipe from fresh from the oven but trust me that waiting will pay off big time.
Finally, when shaping these cookies, roll them into a ball with your hands and gently press them onto the cookie tray so they flatten out ever so slightly. They will spread so I wouldn’t put more than 12 on a tray at a time.
And that’s it! This makes 24 amazingly delicious allergy friendly chocolate chip cookies for you and your family to enjoy.
How to Store Cookies
The best way to keep these cookies is in an airtight container on the countertop. They will keep there for the week.
Bonus tip! To keep cookies soft all week long, place a slice of (gluten free) bread in the same container as the cookies. Just make sure to replace the slice of bread with a new one every 2 days.
These cookies can be frozen. Either freeze un-baked cookie balls in an airtight container in the freezer and bake within 3 months, or, keep baked cookies in an airtight container and enjoy within 2 months. Make sure to allow cookies to come to room temperature before enjoying.
Want more amazing cookie recipes? Make sure to check these out!
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Equipment
- mixing spoons
- mixing bowls
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- baking trays
- parchment paper
- stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter of choice OR shortening
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp cream cheese of choice or shortening, see note
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cup gluten free flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 12oz bag of chocolate chips
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- sprinkle of flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 177°C. Prepare two bakinig sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter (or shortening) until light and fluffy. Add the brown sugar, white sugar, and cream cheese, whipping once again until fluffy. Add the remaining wet ingredients of water and vanilla. Mix well.
- Now add your dry ingredients of salt, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Start mixing slowly so flour doesn't get all over your kitchen but ramp up the speed until your ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Pour in your chocolate chips. You may need to mix by hand to make sure the chips don't fall to the bottom of the bowl.
- Using a tablespoon, measure out cookie dough into your hands and roll into a ball. Gently press them onto the prepared cookie sheets so they are flattened out slightly. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt on top for an extra pizazz (optional but I so recommend this).
- Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until a light golden color is achieved on the outside edges of the cookies. They may not look done in the middle, but they are.
- Remove from the oven and let rest and cool completely before transferring or enjoying.
Notes
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe?
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Hi Laura, I’ve made these cookies and love them. I’m having trouble with them spreading too much. I use Namaste Flour and Earth Balance soy free plant based butter. Any ideas what I’m doing wrong?
Thank you, Lynne
Hi Lynne, I’m so happy you love the cookies so let’s see what we can do to make them perfect! You mentioned that you use the EB Soy Free, are you using the tub or stick version of that butter? The tub version has more water to make it easier to spread, so you might need to add a few more tablespoons of flour to compensate. The stick version of EB has a better ratio of water:fat for baking. That’s what I personally use. Additionally, you can try freezing the cookie dough balls and placing them in the hot oven right from the freezer. Hope that these ideas work! Let me know how the next batch turns out. 🙂
These were great! I refrigerated part of the batter, to use later in the day, and it didn’t change the taste, texture, or baking requirements at all. Will absolutely make these again!
I’m so happy you love these cookies!! Thank you so much for sharing this.