These classic thick & chewy gluten free chocolate chip cookies set the standard for everything a cookie should be. They’re easy drop cookies, ready in a flash any time at all.
What makes these “the best” gluten free chocolate chip cookies
It’s entirely possible that you already have a recipe for classic gluten free chocolate chip cookies that you think is straight-up the best. But I’m here to tell you, these are better. 😳
This recipe is a version of the thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies that I was small-f famous for long before I started baking gluten free for my son (and you) in 2004. In fact, I’d been making them for years before that.
They still brown. They hold the same glorious shape. They’re thick, and they are chewy. They are ever so slightly crisp on the very edges and the bottom, but just enough that they are ridiculously satisfying to bite into. 🍪
There are plenty of other cookie recipes (even other chocolate chip cookie recipes) here on the blog. Some crispy, some chewy. Some thin, others thick. But this is the super simple chocolate chip drop cookie recipe that is simply perfect for so many occasions…
If you’re new to baking, gluten free or not, start here
They’re perfect when you’re just starting out on a gluten free diet, and you want to bake something simple that you absolutely know will be a success. I always recommend starting out with a drop cookie recipe—this recipe to be exact.
I have made them countless times for a roomful of gluten-eaters. They’re still the first dessert to disappear at a dinner party, and that is just, well, fun.
This is the recipe you memorize
These cookies are so easy, use such basic ingredients, and the recipe is very easy to memorize. The first few times, you’ll want to double check to make sure you’re remembering everything right.
But remember that all standard drop cookies have flour, baking soda, and salt. Next up are granulated and brown sugars (here, they’re in equal amounts, 3/4 cup each), then butter (1 single stick, at room temperature), eggs (2) and vanilla (1 tablespoon, but a bit more or less won’t affect the result noticeably).
You can freeze the raw dough and bake as needed
Both the shaped dough and the cookies themselves freeze perfectly. I almost always have a batch of the cookies themselves, and a batch of the cookie dough disks in my freezer.
You can bake them right from frozen, but if you plan to do that, I recommend pressing the raw disks of cookie dough flatter, since they’ll spread less if you bake them from frozen. You’ll also need to add another minute or two to the baking time.
The cookie dough doesn’t have to be chilled a lot
If your cookie dough is at room temperature to begin with, you will only need to chill the shaped dough for a few minutes before baking. It will maintain its shape during baking, crackling a bit toward the end of baking.
If you live in a hot and/or humid climate, chilling the shaped cookie dough becomes more important. The best way to know how important chilling the dough will be is if your “room temperature” butter is nearly liquified.
If you press your finger lightly into the butter and it leaves a shallow impression, your butter is at perfect room temperature. If the butter barely resists your touch, your butter is too soft. Your cookie dough may end up a bit greasy, so be sure you’re mixing it a bit extra (ideally in a stand mixer) and then chilling it until firm after shaping.
How many chips should you put in your chocolate chip cookies?
You’ll notice that there is actually a range of chocolate chips that you can add to this recipe. You begin with 12 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips, and you can add up to another 4 ounces for a total of 16 ounces, or 1 full pound.
It’s really a matter of personal taste (how many chips are you hoping for in each and every bite?). If you add more than about 14 ounces of chips, the less the cookies will keep their perfect shape during baking.
Ingredients and substitutions
Dairy: I have successfully made this recipe with Spectrum healthy vegetable shortening (aff. link) in place of butter, and they come out beautifully. They don’t brown as much in the oven, but they’re still crisp on the edges.
You can also try using Melt or Miyoko’s Kitchen brand vegan butter. Those are generally my favorite butter substitutes for baking.
Eggs: You can try replacing the two eggs in this recipe with a “chia egg” each (1 tablespoon ground white chia seeds + 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, mixed and allowed to gel). These are such simple cookies that the texture may not be the same when you make such an important substitution, but it’s definitely worth trying.
Sugars: These are not healthy cookies. They’re chocolate chip cookies, meant to have all the good stuff: butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla. If you would like to try them with a sugar substitute, I recommend Lankato brand monk fruit granulated sugar replacement for the granulated sugar, and their “golden” variety as a replacement for the brown sugar.
Those sugar alternatives do tend to be drying, though, so you may need to add water by the half-teaspoonful as necessary to achieve the proper cookie dough consistency. Watch the video carefully before trying the swap.
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!
Hi Nicole! I was diagnosed Celiac four months ago. I am an avid cookie baker and have had disaster after disaster with other gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipes I found on line. I used the good ‘ole Toll House recipe for over 40 years and just can’t accept anything less in texture and taste. Happily, my search is over! I made your recipe today and you absolutely nailed it! I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 GF Baking flour and was so excited when the cookies looked and tasted perfect. I can’t thank you enough Nicole. I am so glad I found your website and recipes!
Hi, Debbie, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. I’m afraid I do recommend against using Bob’s Red Mill flour blends in my recipes, as they aren’t well balanced and are of inconsistent quality, but I’m glad you got lucky! I don’t mean to dampen your enthusiasm at all, but I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed in the future. If you’re interested, here’s a link to the full explanation of what flour blends I do recommend and why.
Hello Nicole been following you for some time now perhaps did not cool mine long enough, spread pretty good. But hey when delicious cookies like these become too large one has to make ice cream sandwiches . I do like options
Hi, Janet, it sounds like a temperature issue, for sure, assuming you measured by weight, didn’t make any substitutions, and used one of my recommended flour blends. But I’m glad you’re looking at the bright side! ;)
Is this the same (but smaller scale, maybe) recipe that is featured on the better batter 5# box? That was the first recipe I tried with better batter and it is by far the absolute best chocolate chip cookie I’ve ever had. Like, ev-ar. I know it’s one of your ccc recipes, and I don’t have the box anymore so I’m jumping up and down inside hoping this is it.
Actually, I think it is, Julie! I’m not 100% sure since I haven’t seen that box in ages, but I think it at least used to be…
I have a GF friend in Iceland who I wanna bake some cookies for, and I need a choc chip recipe that will travel and keep well :/ These look sturdy but do you know how long they last after you make them? I’ll be sending them by fastest post, but it could still take a week…
They’re quite sturdy, but a week in transit is quite a lot to ask of anything perishable, B Hulme. I’m picturing them sitting out in the hot sun…
You are such a genius. Made these last night with mock cup for cup flour. I can’t believe how good they are!!!!i haven’t shown them to my kids yet. Lol.
I made these cookies and your fabulous lemon pound cake for Easter (we are paleo, but couldn’t resist a holiday treat!). Both recipes turned out fabulous!!! I always use your flour recommendations and put arrowroot instead of cornstarch in the pound cake with perfect results — you are a genius!). Thank you so much for the treats!
These were AMAZING and are now my new go to choc chip cookie recipe! Thank you so much for all that you offer here!
I’m new to your blog…and GF cooking – and so far, so good! But I’m wondering if know what to do for high-altitude GF baking?? Simple trick with “regular” baking is simply add 2 Tbs. flour to the batter for a high-altitude adjustment. Any idea if that would hold true with GF flour blend?? I really want to get back to baking….. Thanks!
Hi Nicole! Today I used your new vanilla cake recipe to make cupcakes and I frosted them with the chocolate buttercream frosting you used to frost your chocolate cutout cookies (using a star tip to make them pretty) . EVERYBODY ABSOLUTELY LOVES THEM. LOVES THEM. PERIOD.
Thank you so much for the great recipe Nicole. :) I will always use that recipe when I want vanilla cake or cupcakes.
XOXO -Mena
These are great with the milk chocolate chips too.
I made these for non-gluten free friends and they loved them! I’m making a second batch tonight. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi, Sarah,
They’re a major favorite in my house. Glad you enjoyed them!
xoxo Nicole
I just found your blog – and I am so excited! I have a long list of your recipes to try, but tonight I made these cookies. I swear, I couldn’t even tell that they are GF!!
I love that your recipes use “normal” ingredients – things that I already have in my pantry. So many times, I find recipes for GF products that have weird, expensive flours and stuff. I usually use Bob’s Red Mill flour blend – but sometime I may have to try this Better Batter that I see you recommend.
Thanks so much for the fabulous recipes!
just agreeing with all those who love this recipe, it was very very good,, even my non gf husband ate quite a bunch,, can’t thank you enough for this site
Hi,
I am currently baking these cookies and they are wonderful! I used olive oil instead of butter, we are dairy free and they still came out perfect! The recipe calls for a 1/2 stick of butter, that is only 4T. One of the above posters mentioned cutting the butter down to “at least 6T” that is too much butter to begin with.
I bake a lot both professionally and personally and the trick as Nicole has said is really to keep the dough cold.
These are really great freezer box, slice and bake cookies. I love being able to pull something out of the freezer already made and it’s only 12 minutes to something really fantastic.
Thanks Nicole these really are wonderful!
Kim
OMG! This is the bestest recipe ever! I make this constantly!!!! I always double it…EVERY time! I have been mixing it up with changing the kind of chips I put inside (PB/White Choc./half semi sweet – half milk choc. etc)!
I usually make half of it and roll the rest into a long thick sausage like shape(like the cookie dough rolls you can buy in the grocery store!) and then use tin foil or plastic wrap to wrap it up…then put inside a container or bag to freeze or refridge – then when you want to make them you can just unwrap and slice….so easy as you can make just a few at a time or all of them!
Another thing I have done is used the dough once frozen for mixing with GF ice cream…to make cookie dough ice cream as I can’t have the stuff you buy! I know I know….you shouldn’t eat cookie dough, but you know what? I DO and have since a wee bit kid and it hasn’t hurt me yet!
Hello Nicole! I just found your website today! I put my kids to bed and read every one of your posts! My son was diagnosed w celiac on 6/1/09 so GF fooding is new to me. But I made these cookies just now at 9 p.m. and they are great! They look just like Toll House. I read through the comments section and the second cookie tray I put in my freezer for 10 minutes and they came out much thicker. Thank you so much! I intend to loyally read your blog and am excited to try some of your recipes!
Hi, Heatherlyn,
You are very welcome. I’m so glad you’re enjoying them. I hope you have a stash in your freezer. They’re excellent even frozen! I’m so glad I was able to save you some time. I consider it an honor to help make a regular day easier.
Warmly,
Nicole
OMG!! I must tell you thank you thank you thank you. These were the absolute best cookies ever! I so miss cookies and these were fabulous. I am going to try them without the chips and add other things, maybe walnuts. Thanks so much for sharing your successes! For a working mom like me it is hard to have time to experiment with recipies.
OK YUMMY!!!! They were perfect. My newly diagnosed 13 year thought they rocked. (direct quote!) We individually wrapped each one and froze so we can add them to her lunch. It is 90 degrees and humid here. I placed the dough repeated in the fridge and the cookie sheets in the freezer for about 5 min before baking. They were thick and chewy. PERFECT