Gluten free cookie breakup makes the crispiest cookies you've ever had—ready in 20 minutes flat. Butter, sugar, flour and chocolate chips are all you'll need!
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Why I love this gluten free cookie breakup
Sometimes, you need a gluten free cookie, like, right now. These are the crispiest, crunchiest gluten free chocolate chip cookies you'll ever make, and the ones I turn to when I'm in need.
They're a variation on a recipe in my very first cookbook. They have served me well time and again, and I've even given the recipe to a gluten-eating friend because she just had to have it.
Maybe you got a last-minute invitation to a friend's house and you don't want to show up empty-handed. Maybe you really need a cookie, and ran out of eggs. It happens!
How to make these easy chocolate chip cookies
The dough comes together in minutes. And since you press it into a rimmed baking sheet and bake it as one, there's no cutting out shapes just to make crispy cookies. Hooray!
All you really need is some soft butter, the right flour blend (you can use another of my all purpose gluten free flour blends, but the xanthan gum-free one I specify makes the very crispiest cookies), sugar, salt, vanilla and some mini chips. That's it!
These are perfect cookies for making into cookie crumbs for a cheesecake or a no-bake pie. All you do is give the cookies a spin through a blender or food processor.
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy
I've made this recipe dairy-free by substituting Spectrum non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening for the butter, by weight. The edges don't brown the way they do with butter, and the taste is plainer, but the recipe works.
I think the recipe would be even better with vegan butter. My favorite brands are Miyoko's Kitchen and Melt. In a real pinch, Earth Balance buttery sticks might work, but they're salty so eliminate the salt as an ingredient.
Chocolate chips
I like this recipe best with miniature chocolate chips, since just a few of them cover more cookie surface area. You can make this recipe with standard chocolate chips (or any other type of chip you prefer), but I recommend using 4 ounces.
You can also leave out the chips entirely and make what essentially amount to crispy, sheet pan shortbread cookies.
Sugar
Since these cookies have so few ingredients, I'm hesitant to suggest that you should be able to make them without granulated sugar. But if you're willing to experiment, try using an erythritol-based granulated sugar replacement. My favorite is Lankato brand.
Gluten Free Cookie Break Up
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (168 g) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ⅛ cups (225 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (315 g) Basic Gum-Free Gluten Free Flour Blend (208 g superfine white rice flour + 69 g potato starch + 38 g tapioca starch/flour)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 ounces miniature chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a half sheet pan (13 x 18 inches) with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the butter, sugar and vanilla, and mix vigorously to combine well.
- Add the flour and salt, and mix to combine. The dough will come together and be thick and almost crumbly.
- Add the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, and press it into an even layer (about the thickness of the miniature chocolate chips).
- Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges and set.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the baking sheet before breaking into irregular pieces.
- Store in a sealed glass container at room temperature to maintain crispness.
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Thanks for stopping by!
Hi, I’m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that aren’t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, “good, for gluten free” just isn’t good enough! Come visit my bio!
Mary N says
Could super fine sorghum flour be used instead? Thank you for your time.
Nicole Hunn says
Definitely not, Mary! There is no substitute for rice flour, at all.
Cora Regina says
Are the chips three ounces by weight or by volume? All the other weights are given in grams, none of the other volumes are given in ounces, so I’m not sure which to go with.
Nicole Hunn says
Cora, “ounces” always refers to weight. “Fluid ounces” refers to liquid. If you’d like to convert to grams, 1 ounce = 28 grams.
Michelle Lackey Maselli says
Hi Nicole,
I like to make your recipes and freeze them so they are on hand when I need them. How will these cookies freeze?
thank you
Michelle
JeanAnn Patricia says
Oh YUM! These are like shortbread cookies . . with the bonus of chocolate chips!! Perfect! Thank you!
Linda Murray says
Nicole, I have recently gone on a gluten-free, low FODMAP diet, and your recipes and cookbooks are a life-saver! Since I also have to avoid sugar, will this recipe work with Splenda?
ljd007 says
Im wondeirng about cookie bowls with this recipe
Nicole Hunn says
Definitely not, ljd! There are no eggs in the recipe, so the bowls would not hold together at all. I have a recipe for cookie ice cream bowls here on the blog. Please use the search function!
ljd007 says
Thanks Nicole
Your quick and direct response are much appreciated
I was hoping it would have worked….Egg free things can be a bit of a pain. Thanks for all you do for us
Lesley
suzeyg3 says
Fantastic, thanks for the video it’s great.
Nicole Hunn says
Glad you liked it, Suzey!
suzeyg3 says
It is so helpful for when you make it first time x
youngbaker2002 says
Great video Nicole! So FAST! Looks like the kind of cookie that would be great to use for those cookie crumbs in cheesecake crust and such. So EASY! Can’t wait to try and tell you how it goes! I HAVE made your Nilla Wafer Cookies from Classic Snacks and made cheesecake with those crumbs and it was divine!
Ps. Congrats on your newest book! It looks beautiful :)
Nicole Hunn says
Thanks, Mena! Yes, these are super fast. I mean, the video is at 250% speed, but it’s still fast in 100% speed. :)
youngbaker2oo2 says
Ya, I’m sure. Can’t wait for your book!
Valerie says
Thanks for this recipe! Made them using soya butter and chopped a bar of dark chocolate. It was very crumbly so couldn’t roll it as a proper dough rather places it on the baking tray and used hands ;) they came out very yummy! Thanks Nicole!
Crystal says
Yea! An egg-free, crispy cookie. My son is going to be so excited!!! Thank you!
Alexis Salerno says
Nicole, do you mean a 9×13 pan? That’s what I used and it’s in the oven now! :-)
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Alexis, Nope! I meant 13 x 18 inches. That is the size of a half sheet pan, and the pan that this recipe is intended for. You can certainly make it in a smaller pan, but your cookies will likely not be as crispy, and you might need to bake a bit longer.
xoxo Nicole
Alexis says
Wow, thanks! I don’t even have a pan that big. I have a 9×13 and other larger USA pans that are a little short of 13×18. I’ll use one of those next time! They didn’t get super crispy, but they were wonderful right out of the freezer. Thanks for a great recipe!
Sherry L says
I made these this morning. They were as quick and easy as you said they would be! We are a Dairy free household, so I did substitute Spectrum organic shortening for the butter, and they turned out beautifully! I would suggest scoring with a pizza cutter right out of the oven, or using a very sharp nice once cooled if you want even(ish) pieces. It would be great to make a pan of these for a party and give every one there own square to decorate with frosting and various candies, or fruits! Thank you for another wonderful recipe Nicole! By the way, they are very crispy, and very tasty!
Nicole Hunn says
That sounds fun, Sherry, to give everyone their own piece to decorate! Thanks so much for reporting back that you were pleased with the results using shortening. I thought it would work quite well. I love having this recipe in my back pocket, for when the need arises, unbidden! So glad you liked them!
xoxo Nicole
Stacey says
oooohhh, nice!!! And, it’s *egg-free*. Cannot wait to try it once I get some stick butter.
dana says
Is it possible to score the dough before baking…just to, you know, make uniform shapes for us (ahem) A-types :))
Nicole Hunn says
Really, Dana? That is really funny, because I honestly didn’t even think about the fact that some might like the pieces to be more, well, regular. I will have to ponder what that means about my personality! I think if you scored the dough before baking, it would break a bit more evenly. But the butter does expand during baking, so the lines would not be perfect. ;)
xoxo Nicole
Jennifer Sasse says
This is awesome – heat snap or not, I may just whip some of these up right now!
Nicole Hunn says
Do it, Jennifer! They’re just a few minutes in the oven, right?
xoxo Nicole
Jennifer Sasse says
Made ’em – loved ’em!
Teri P. says
Do you think this would work for just a sugar cookie recipe without the chocolate chips?
Nicole Hunn says
It wouldn’t be a sugar cookie, Teri, it would really be a butter cookie (much, much more crumbly than a sugar cookie, no egg, no chemical leavener like baking powder or baking soda), but I think it would work fine without the chips!
xoxo Nicole
Sherry L says
Ooh, and if you switched out almond extract for the vanilla, then they would be like Almond cookies! You could even top with sliced almonds in even intervals. I foresee another pan of these cookies in my near future :) Thanks for the inspiration!