Classic Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

These simple, one-bowl thick and chewy gluten free oatmeal cookies are crispy around the edges, and soft and extra chewy the rest of the way through.

Packed with oats and golden brown sugar, and made using the “reverse cream” method, these special cookies will be the first to go at a party!

Why this recipe works

With a full cup more chewy, nutty-tasting old fashioned rolled oats than all purpose gluten free flour, these rich, moist cookies have that thick and chewy texture you can sink your teeth into. That’s also what gives them a completely different texture and flavor from another classic, our thick and chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

Made with the perfect mixture of white sugar and light brown sugar, they’re crisp on the edges and the bottom, but still tender and never hard to bite.

They also have tons of caramel flavor even without a long chilling time, so they’re ready to eat in less than an hour start to finish!

Recipe ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this recipe, plus some tips on what each one does to make these the perfect oatmeal cookies. The full ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card below:

• Gluten free flour blend: Creates a structure to help bind the rolled oats together into a cookie that holds its shape even as it cools. It works out to be only about 1 tablespoon of flour in each cookie, so be sure to choose something that can perform in small amounts, like Better Batter’s classic blend or Nicole’s Best multipurpose with added xanthan gum. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 should also work with an additional 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum or the cookies will be a bit crumbly since it has some, but not enough, binder.
• Baking soda: Helps the cookies brown, and reacts with the acid in brown sugar to create some rise.
• Granulated sugar: Adds sweetness, and also provides crispness by helping the cookies spread during baking, and crystallizing upon cooling.
• Old fashioned rolled oats: Add that classic nutty flavor and chewy texture, and absorb moisture to help control the spread and provide structure. Make sure yours are labeled gluten free.
• Light brown sugar: The rich molasses in brown sugar adds caramel flavor, aroma, chewiness and moisture, and helps keep the cookies from spreading too much.
• Chocolate chips: A smaller-than-usual amount of chocolate chips adds texture chocolate flavor without overpowering the brown sugar and oat flavors. They also lower the moisture content of the cookie dough to control spread. You can also use 6 ounces of raisins and make gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies if you want to avoid chocolate altogether.
• Butter: Adds richness and buttery flavor, and makes the cookies spread in the oven.
• Eggs: Bind the cookies together, add some rise, and help them keep their shape as they cool.
• Vanilla extract: Adds depth of flavor.

How to make gluten free oatmeal cookies (step by step photos)

Here’s how you make these cookies in your own kitchen in one bowl, with the reason behind each step:

Combine the dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl with at least an 8-cup capacity, whisk together the gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar so there’s no clumping of these thinner dry ingredients.

Add the brown sugar and oats, and mix to combine fully, breaking up lumps in the brown sugar, which would melt quickly and could burn in the oven.

Add the butter
Add the softened butter by the tablespoon to the dry mixture, and use a large mixing spoon to toss the mixture to separate and coat the butter in flour and oats. Press the back of the mixing spoon firmly down on the butter pieces to break them and work them into the batter until the mixture darkens a bit and looks like wet sand.

In a gluten cookie, this “reverse cream” method is designed to avoid too much gluten development. In these gluten free cookies, we’re using it to distribute the butter fully without adding air into the cookies, which results in a lighter cookie.

Finish the cookie batter
Add the beaten eggs and vanilla to the mixture by creating a well in the center first. This makes it easier to combine into a cohesive, soft but thick cookie dough without overmixing which can lead to a stringy batter.

Add the chocolate chips at the end, and mix until fully distributed throughout the dough so each cookie has a similar amount of chips.

Shape the dough
Divide the cookie dough into about 24 portions, each about 1.5 tablespoons, using a medium cookie scoop or two spoons, for even baking. Roll each piece into a round between clean palms, and press into a disk about 3/4-inch thick.

Chill briefly
Place the disks of dough either in the refrigerator or the freezer just until they’re firm to the touch, not frozen. This will firm up the butter to help control the spread during baking.

Place the chilled disks about 2 inches apart on lined baking sheets, to allow the cookies enough room to spread.

Bake and cool
Bake in a preheated oven just until spread to about double their original size, golden brown around the edges and light brown all the way to the center.

The cookies will be very unstable even when they’re done baking, so leave them to cool on the baking sheet until firm enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Expert tips

Work the butter into the oat mixture

The raw cookie dough is very thick, and nearly seems like it won’t come together, but it will. Work the butter into the dry ingredient mixture (with the sugars) by pressing down on it with the back of your mixing spoon until everything is slightly moistened. Then, mix in the beaten eggs and vanilla to bring the dough together.

Divide the dough evenly

A spring-loaded ice cream scoop makes it easy to divide the cookie dough up into uniform portions, each about 50 grams. I love my OXO medium cookie scoop for this, which is equivalent to about a #50 scoop. It begins to create the right shape for baking, and helps your cookies all bake at the same rate.

Chill the shaped dough on its own

To control the spread of the cookies in the oven, we chill the raw, shaped disks of dough. But I’ve found that it’s best to chill the dough on a separate surface, not on the baking sheets that will go in the oven. If the baking sheet is very cold, the oven temperature may spike to regain its designated temperature, which could burn the cookies.

Avoid over-baking

Just before the edges of these cookies turn brown in the oven, the tops will still be glossy and look wet. Even when the cookies are done, they won’t be firm, particularly on top.

If you bake them until they’re firm on top to the touch, they’ll be overdone. If you’re concerned about over-baking, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F and bake them for 15 minutes.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free

In place of regular butter, try block-style vegan butter (not in the tub, which is made with too much oil). I’ve made this recipe with Melt brand vegan butter in place of butter, and it worked really well. The cookies didn’t brown quite as nicely, and they spread a bit more, but overall the substitution worked great. Miyoko’s Kitchen brand of vegan butter is also a great choice.

Egg free

In place of each of the two eggs in this recipe, you can try one “chia egg” (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). You can also try Bob’s Red Mill’s egg replacer or Just Egg refrigerated liquid egg replacer.

Oat free

You can replace the old fashioned oats in this recipe with rolled buckwheat groats, or flattened (or beaten) rice. If you can’t have oats, I recommend having a look at our full discussion about how to substitute oats in baking.

Storage suggestions

These cookies will maintain their texture at room temperature for at least 3 days. For longer storage at room temperature, store them in a sealed glass container for 5 days or more.

For longer storage, place them in a freezer-safe zip-top container, squeeze as much of the air out of the bag as possible, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature.

You can also freeze the raw, shaped cookie dough in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pile it in a freezer-safe bag, squeezing out all the air, and freeze for up to 3 months. Before baking, defrost the mounds of cookie dough at room temperature until they’re still firm, but aren’t frozen solid. Bake as usual, in small or large batches.