This simple recipe for thick and chewy gluten free oatmeal cookies is crispy around the edges, soft and chewy the rest of the way through. In other words, perfect.
A classic oatmeal cookie is a beautiful thing, and drop cookies are the perfect way to begin gluten free baking since they’re so foolproof. Before we begin, though, are you worried that oats aren’t gluten free? Worry not!
If you haven’t seen my Ultimate Guide To Eating Gluten Free, you really should. In it, I discuss which foods are naturally gluten free, and oats are among them.
Oats are not a gluten-containing grain. They are frequently contaminated with gluten, though, because of the way they are typically grown and stored.
But, in the United States, there are certified gluten free oats and they’re grown on dedicated fields, and processed to carefully avoid any contamination. I even buy certified gluten free oats at my local Trader Joe’s. You can’t beat it! For a complete discussion of how oats are a gluten free grain, please see this post.
This recipe for thick and chewy gluten free oatmeal cookies has been a family favorite of mine, in one form or another, for about 15 years. Since we’ve only been gluten free for the past 12 years (!), I started out making this recipe with gluten.
It was one of the first recipes that I converted to gluten free by changing the ingredient proportions and trying and trying again. I’ve been making this recipe for so long that I even started out making it with the dreaded bean flour blend (insert incidental music here)! Thank goodness, though, I’ve left bean flour far behind.
The cookie dough is rather thick, and I prefer to chill it before baking the cookies. It ensures a thick and chewy cookie, that is crisp only around the very edges.
You can make it without chilling the dough, though. The cookies will simply spread a bit more, so they won’t be quite as thick. But they’ll still be delicious.
For an even quicker, and (sigh) healthier take on oatmeal cookies, you’ll want to check out my recipe for 3-ingredient oatmeal cookies. Just dates, oats and eggs are all it takes! But they’re of course not as buttery and decadent as these…
The tops will be glossy until just before they turn brown in the oven. The cookies won’t be firm when they’re done, though. If you bake them until they’re firm on top to the touch, they’ll be overdone.
If you’re concerned about overbaking, turn the oven temperature to 325°F (instead of 350°F), and bake them even more slowly. You should need about 15 minutes in the oven, and they’ll be perfect every time.
HELLO! I’m Nicole! I make gluten-free food enjoyable & affordable. If they can make it with gluten, we can make it without. That’s a promise!
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I am not fond of raisins in anything but I am tired of making chocolate chip cookies. I read the post by Saints and Spinners saying “rum soaked raisins would be thrilling”, I know she was kidding but I decided to try it. I soaked the raisins in dark rum and the cookies are amazing, the rum flavor really comes through. I did use quite a bit of rum and soaked them for a couple of hours. My chocolate chip cookie freak husband loves them!
I made these yesterday and mine didn’t spread-at all. They came out of the oven still in the perfect ball that went in the oven. Soooooo, I sliced and baked some apples and then crumbled the oatmeal cookie balls over the baked apples. Yum. When at first you don’t succeed, improvise and invent something else fabulous!
Did you measure your ingredients by weight, and not by volume, Farmer girl? It sounds like an imbalance in how you prepared the recipe. If you made any substitutions (like a different fat, for example), that could also account for the difference. Hope that helps!
Nicole, love love love your blog, my fave place to get g-free recipes. I am off dairy also, could these be made with earth balance, I know butter makes the best cookies, but need to avoid for now. These cookies look amazing!
Hi, Dudette,
In place of butter, I’d actually recommend using Spectrum nonhydrogenated vegetable shortening, not Earth Balance. They even have a butter flavor. Earth Balance has much, much more moisture than butter, and the cookies would likely spread a ton if you use it. Hope that helps!
Help! Do want to make these oatmeal cookies, have all ingredients out to start and realise our Australian measurements are not the same as UK. Used are cups and grms and ours are not the same. Any Aussies out there who have successfully baked these yummy looking gluten free delights?
Grams are a standard measurement, Gemma, since it’s a measurement of weight. I would ignore the volume measurements, and use only the weights. Just a word of caution, as I understand it, there is no such thing as truly gluten free oats in Australia, as they are all cross-contaminated.
OK LADIES…OMG Whip out your kitchen stuff and make these right away. I made them exactly as stated…ok, tha’s a slight lie…. I did add chocolate chips, a handful of pepita seeds, a large handful of chopped up dried fruit of choice, including raisins and cranberries. OMG….I just ate one and you wont regret it. This is THE best recipe I have come across. Kudo’s to You Nicole…YUMMO.
and Oh I used Bob Red Mill Pancake mix for the flour…see how desperate I was? Perfect. Just think how it would taste with the regular complete recipe. Desperation makes us do funny things.
O-M-GOSH. I came on the blog today to see if you had a chewy oatmeal cookie recipe. I swear you can read minds. These look so good. My little brother is a huge oatmeal cookie fan and now that he knows you have a recipe I ‘ll have to make them! Yay! :)
Awesome, Mena!
These look so good. I hope to make them for ME in the next few days and by the way, I too am one of those non raisin fans. I tried SO hard to learn to like raisins as a kid. Back in the dark ages kids used to bring those tiny boxes of raisins in their lunches. I thought they were SO cute. This is long before the days of dried cranberries, blueberries, and all the rest. I finally managed as an adult to eat raisins in a few family holiday traditions such as a great aunt’s applesauce cake, my one grandmother’s filled cookies, another great aunt’s white fruitcake and a few others.I think because they baked for a long time they broke down a bit. It made them easier to eat.
Now the main reason I’m writing is to see if you know how gluten free baking is for diabetics, does it affect their sugar level the same way as wheat baking? Is it better for them? My father is diabetic, and LOVES raisins by the way, and LOVES oatmeal cookies. I’m wondering if these would be better for him than regular wheat baking.
Gluten free baking is necessarily better for diabetics, and in some cases can be worse. The sugar in the recipes is the same as regular baking, and most gluten free flour is actually HIGHER in carbohydrates than the wheat flour-in other words-worse impact on blood sugar than wheat flour because they are made from rice, corn, potato starch, etc. You can adjust recipes to be more diabetic friendly by swapping out sugar for Splenda/Stevia type sweetener (unless you are going for a more natural sugar approach) or looking for recipes that are naturally low in flour content. Some of Nicole’s Paleo recipes might be good options as-is or could be made more diabetic friendly by swapping out sweetener. Recipes that use finely ground nut flours are a good low-carb/diabetic friendly option. Hope this is helpful.
sorry-this should say “NOT necessarily better for diabetics in the first sentence!
Holy smokes, these are delicious! I’m new to this whole GF deal, and your cookbook has made the process 100 times easier to transition to a GF lifestyle. And here is yet another fantastic recipe! 4 of my non-GF friends tried this and NONE of them realized they were GF until I told them. I look forward to trying more! :)
I love fooling non-GF peeps, don’t you, Kimm? So glad to be able to help smooth the transition from a non-GF-deal to a GF-deal. :)
xoxo Nicole
[…] Thick, chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies – These are the ones I made last week and they are really, really good. So good that they’re dangerous to have around. Even with gluten free oats, eating too many of them made me feel a little sick. One or two a day was fine, but they’re good enough that it’s really hard to keep yourself to that. So, be warned. Only make these if you’ve got good self control, or if you’re going to take them to a picnic or a party or something where you’ve got a lot of other people helping you get rid of them. Anyway, I made a couple batches of these when we got back home with the baby, and I split them half and half with chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Oatmeal cookies with butterscotch chips (those of us in the know call them “Oatmeal Scotchies”) are my favorite cookies of ever. […]
Hi Nicole,
Looks like a yummy recipe – I will have to try it!
I live in Canada and don’t have easy access to Better Batter. Some stores carry it here but only a box or two at a time, and VERY hard to find. Any idea what other GF flour mix I could use to create these wonderful creations of yours?
Also, I have noticed that your recipes call for unsalted butter. Would it make a difference if I used salted butter instead?
Hi, Jane,
I have a recipe for “DIY all-purpose gluten-free flour” on the blog (just search for “DIY” and you’ll find it). And yes – unsalted butter is necessary!
xoxo Nicole
This is a good recipe, Nicole. It even stands up to the bean-based flour that caused so much disappointment in the beginning. That email from the “not-funny” person reminds me of my favorite spam ever: on my blog, someone wrote, “Get a life, losser” [sic]. Maybe it’s funny to no one but me, but I snicker when I think about it. As a “losser,” I am easily amused.
You speak of putting in raisins for a more traditional cookie. I know there are people who don’t like chocolate, or don’t want it in their cookies. I respect the preference. De gustibus non est disputandum, and all that. I like raisins, too. However, a couple of times now, I’ve reached for what I thought was a homemade chocolate chip cookie, thinking, “This is the treat for which I’ve been ‘saving up’ my dessert calories,” only to bite into the cookie and realize that the chocolate chips were actually raisins. Raisins!
Now, rum-soaked raisins would be thrilling….
xo,
Farida
Farida! I love how you sic’d the losser. I’m afraid it might only be funny to the two of us, you and me, but it is indeed funny to me. It just underlines the irony of it all, I think. It seems I’m a losser, too. I don’t mind. I’m in good company. :)
A raisin chip cookie? No thanks, man…
xoxo Nicole
Nicole, I’ve read your blog for a while and am going to try my first recipe today with the kids. We have Better Batter flour, which I know contains xanthan gum. So I should omit the xanthan gum when making this recipe, am I right? Clearly you can see I’m not an experienced baker : )
From,
another Nicole
Hi, another Nicole,
Yes! Omit xanthan gum, since Better Batter already contains it. No problem asking to be sure. Better safe than sorry. :)
xoxo this Nicole
Oh my. These look awesome. I can’t wait to try them.
And whoever that person was is a poopyhead.
You do have a way with words, Darlene. :)
xoxo Nicole
Ok. I’m going to try these. I have done all of your cookie baking success suggestions save the oven thermometer, and there is now a brand spankin new thermometer in my craptastic God-only-knows-how-old oven. I am going to make decent cookies if it freaking kills me. I will be making them with chocolate chips, as raisins in cookies are why I have trust issues. ;)
The oven thermometer is going to be the key to your success, Jen. Honestly. Even a brand spankin’ new oven isn’t too useful without a proper thermometer. And almost all ovens are off, new and old. I hope the cookies fortify you with trust. No raisins for you.
xoxo Nicole
Made French fries tonight. My oven is off BY MORE THAN 100 degrees (too cold). ::headdesk:: So I think I may have found the problem and now I get to figure out how to recalibrate the danged thing. Gah.
Wow, Jen. Crazy, and not uncommon, I’m afraid (although usually ovens run hot). I wouldn’t bother recalibrating the oven, since it will happen again over time. Just go by the temperature on the separate oven thermometer, and all but ignore the dial. :)
xoxo Nicole
I have to try something; the temp never got above 300. :/ The whole kitchen, nay the whole HOUSE, is like this. :( We’re looking at a kitchen reno in a few years, but the oven has to hold on til then. The dishwasher didn’t make it. LOL
Oh, no, Jen! Yeah, you definitely need to get that oven serviced, then. :)
xoxo Nicole
Yum! I had just gotten a bag of GF oats and thought about oatmeal cookies. This recipe looks perfect. Hopefully, adding the chocolate chips will get my 6 year old to eat it. He makes funny faces when dad eats oatmeal, but I wanted him to try the oats. Thanks Nicole.
Stephanie
I would read your blog regardless of the amazing eats you bring to my celiac diseased life. I always brag about your smart off-beat humor to my lawyer-husband. I tell him what good taste I have in discovering awesome people, both in real life and in the cyber-sphere. Then again, maybe I just have a thing for lawyer-types.
On the real, though, I LOVE your blog, your warm and funny spirit, and of course all the outstanding GF recipes.
Well, clearly you have great taste in everything, Ashley. Your husband and I can attest to that. Thanks for all the kind words. Glad you’re here!
xoxo Nicole
I must try this. I am still in search of a recipe that replaces my FAVORITE all time cookie called cinnamon nip. It is a snicker doodle meet oatmeal without any chocolate or raisins. With cinnamon in the dough, and then rolled in cinnamon sugar ~ :) yum me drooling now! They were always thick, crispy on the edges and gooey soft in the middle. I had tried making them to the recipe with just Better Batter and they were pretty good. The texture was a little off due to the dairy free part I had to do. I think I will break the DF rule, and make a batch just for me :) Thanks for sharing!
Cinnamon nip, huh, Michelle? I’ve never heard of that, but it sounds fabulous. I might have to try to do a mashup of this recipe with my recipe for snickerdoodles. Interesting… If you’re doing dairy-free cookies, by the way, I always suggest shortening instead of margarine, if that helps any.
xoxo Nicole
I can’t imagine ever emailing someone to tell them I thought they were not funny…on their own blog…that they write for free…where they do the general public a great service by providing us with great recipes…for free. Did I mention it’s free? That no one is forcing them to read it (I don’t think…). What a wacko. Good for you for finding it funny. I probably would have been angry. You are a better woman than I!
I like that you’re real-with your humor and otherwise. That’s part of what makes your blog memorable, in a sea of GF food blogs. It doesn’t feel glossed over and perfect. You appear to be a real person, living a regular life. It’s nice. :)
Hi, Sarah,
I know, right? I wanted to tell her I’d give her all of her money back. ;)
I think I was mad (maybe even hurt?) at first, and that’s why I deleted it. Then, like 10 minutes after I deleted it, I realized how funny it was. Mostly because it was so wildly inappropriate. Then, as things like that have started to accumulate, I so wish I had saved them all. I have better perspective on it now.
I’m so flattered that you see me as real and regular. I’m both of those things. And there really is a sea of GF blogs, isn’t there? I’m thrilled you see fit to come visit mine. :)
xoxo Nicole
Wut Sarah sez.
Just pulled these out of the oven and OMG! My daughter is going to do back flips when she bites into one!
Mine didn’t go as brown as yours did and I had to adjust the cooking time to 17 minutes as we’re at 3500 ft above sea level…
They are sooooo goood! <3
I’ve been missing a good oatmeal cookie in my life. My husband and kids will be very happy that it has chocolate chips….unlike me, they don’t care for raisins cooked in things. Me….I’m glad that I can still make them with raisins….the way a good oatmeal cookie should be. You ROCK sista!!!!!!!!!
I’m somewhere in the middle about raisins cooked in things, Maggie. When they’re really good raisins and they’re plump when you begin, they’re very tasty indeed when you bake them in things. When they don’t start out so fab, they’re like shoe leather once you bake them. Something I do love in oatmeal cookies? Really fresh currants. So good. :)
xoxo Nicole
I’ll have to try making them with currants once mine are ripe. The currant bush is loaded so I have high hopes this year.
I am and will remain terribly jealous of your currant bush, Maggie.
xoxo Nicole
Nicole, you crack me up every time I read your blog. You are hilarious. Last Thursday when you say you were in a bad mood, well, that was my birthday. One of my coworkers tried baking GF baking for the first time in an attempt to bring me a birthday treat and it didn’t turn out so well apparently. After consoling her and thanking her for the sweet though, I sent her to your site for some tips (your post that day was especially helpful). And she loves your humor too. So you’ve got fans down here in Dallas! Keep up the great work!
**tried baking GF cupcakes (not baking GF baking)
You sent her to me on bossypants Thursday, Angie! I hope I didn’t startle her. How kind of her, that she tried to bake for you. She sounds like a real keeper. Thanks for the props, Angie. I’m so glad to have you around here. :)
xoxo Nicole
Reading your blogs makes me feel as though I’m hangin’ out with my bud’ in the kitchen. Except I’m getting fatter and your not….
In my dreams, I hang out with you in the kitchen, Mr. Haber. Maybe someday??
xoxo Nicole
Haven’t made these before but they are definitely going on the “make these” list!
Yum, can’t wait to try these.
Dearest Nicole:
Canadians think you’re funny too! What a grouch that emailing meanie was! Sounds like a cloud of gloom follows her around while she tries to bring everybody around her down..
Haters! who needs them!
I wish I could just reach in and grab one or two of those cookies! Definately going to be making up a batch..
Laura
Maybe I’m Canadian at heart, after all, Laura! I’m still so mad at myself that I deleted that email. I now keep a master document with all such sorts of insanity. Believe it or not, it’s actually really funny, and it happens to everyone who blogs for long enough. Go figure. :)
xoxo Nicole
I think you’re very funny….I laugh regularly when I read your posts and I really enjoy laughing….so keep up the good humor!
I’ll take it, Melissa. Whether you’re laughing with me, at me, or simply near me, a laugh’s a laugh. :)
xoxo Nicole
You not funny? Really? Whatever. You are and these are on my list to make asap!
Love you, Kristi. :)
xoxo Nik
Joke’s on your e-mail subscriber…every time she clicks on your links to see just how ‘unfunny’ you are, she is giving you more views. I believe what she is doing is called ‘projection’??…if I can remember anything from college psychology 101.
The cookies look fantastic…easy and simple, my kind of cookie. I’m sure these will work great with my g-free mix (I make my own, I’m a control freak). Thanks for the light-hearted humor in your blog–some blogs are way too serious and scream ‘Read what I have to say…it’s really important.’…when in fact it’s boring. (That’s MY projection…my own fears for my own blog.) :-)
My general rule of thumb, Trish, for keeping a blog from being boring? Not that you asked, but I’ll tell you anyway. :) Talk less, not more, and if it bores you, it’s definitely going to bore your readers. So the trick is to be honest with yourself. And remember, there is no good writing. Just good re-writing. :)
xoxo Nicole
Have tried lots of your recipes,& love the results,,still tial & error,but have a whole file full so far ! It’s so nice to find such a helpful site Nicole .My one question is,our unsalted butter price here in South Africa has ‘gone through the roof’,’ what can I substitute,or if using the salted one,will they just be a little salty ? Can I use a good margarine too.
Diane
Kiwi’s seem to get your humor too Nicole ;) I often laugh out loud over your comments. In person you’re even more hilarious! :) Thanks for this recipe. Off to do some baking now. Will attempt to get my daughter to eat oatmeal cookies by adding the chocolate chips!
Maybe I’m a Kiwi at heart, then, Karen. :) Glad you’re enjoying yourself. It’s so nice that I get to see you from time to time. Otherwise, I might begin to think that the blog existed only in my imagination! Wait – it doesn’t – does it?
xoxo Nicole
BTW ,Nicole, Jewish folks really do understand the nuances of humor. Better to laugh with each other about life than to cry. And sarcastic wit,to me , is high humor- if it’s not mean-spirited. Your writings are sunshine in a glutenmeany world!!
Mr. Haber! I’m completely with you. If you don’t get it, don’t blame me! There is something extra special about someone who goes out of her way to tell me I’m not funny. What I really wanted to reply? That I’d refund the money she paid for the blog. ;)
xoxo Nicole
I loved you before, but now…WOW! Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my favorites! I cannot wait to try these!
Jennica! Always nice to hear from you. And I’m so glad I was able to further solidify our relationship. It’s a living thing. It needs to be nurtured with new recipes, or it dies. :)
xoxo Nicole
hmmmmm…I ‘tune in’ to your blog because I find your humor refreshing. Life is waaaay to serious to nag someone about their humor. Oh, and a good cookie doesn’t hurt!
OMG!! I was just thinking about these too. Thanks for posting this.
And to share; I was showing the recipe to my daughter, as we are sitting here doing 7th Grade Math and the first thing she wanted to know was can she make it with raisins instead, and what do you know, you put a note about that and made her day :)
Hi, Dede!
You’re not the only one who was wondering about oatmeal cookies. Sounds like I posted the recipe just in time. And tell your daughter that she can use her 7th grade math to swap out the chocolate chips for raisins by weight. ;) Nah, just kidding. A cheapo scale will do all the work for you. It’s like a calculator for baking.
xoxo Nicole
LOL! I was thinking just the same thing. It’s a good way for me to measure if she is really learning or just taking it in for tests only ;)
I have been looking at scales. Never used one for baking, course never needed one till now either. Any recommendations?
Hi, Dede,
I use and recommend this Escali scale. It’s simple and cheap, and gets the job done. :)
xoxo Nicole
Hey Nicole, I already own your cookbook. I may purchase another and give it as a gift to our daughter next Christmas who also has to be gluten free. I think she will love it, too! Thank you for wonderful recipes and for being FUNNY! LOL Some people just have no sense of humor.
Hi, Wanda,
Give her the next book for Christmas! It will be out in October, in plenty of time for the holidays. Then you can swap.
At least it’s funny in my own mind, you know? There’s no accounting for taste. :)
xoxo Nicole
thank you so much for this recipe. the cookies look delicious so i cannot wait to try this recipe. i love all your recipes and i appreciate all the time and effort you put into your website. thanks again!
You’re welcome, Karen! No self-respecting food blog should be without a recipe for oatmeal cookies. :)
xoxo Nicole