Gluten-free chocolate chip cookies
Crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle gluten-free cookies studded with dark chocolate. Easy to make and brilliant for lunchboxes.
These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies give you everything you'd expect from a proper biscuit: crisp edges, soft chewy centres and dark chocolate pockets in every bite. They're reliably simple and very forgiving of small kitchen mishaps.
Make them for a picnic, a cake sale or just because the biscuit tin is looking lonely. Chill the dough — it's the secret to great texture and a more flavourful cookie.
Ingredients
- 170 g Unsalted butter — softened
- 80 g Caster sugar
- 80 g Light brown sugar — lightly packed
- 1 Large egg — at room temperature
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
- 200 g Gluten-free plain flour
- 5 ml Xanthan gum — omit if your flour blend already contains it
- 5 ml Bicarbonate of soda
- 5 ml Fine sea salt
- 150 g Dark chocolate chips
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand electric whisk
- digital scales
- spoon or 30–35g cookie scoop
- two baking trays
- baking parchment
- cooling rack
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C conventional. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.
In a large bowl, beat the unsalted butter with the caster sugar and light brown sugar until pale and fluffy — about 3 minutes with a hand electric whisk or 4–5 minutes by hand.
Beat in the large egg and vanilla extract until just combined and smooth.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten-free plain flour, xanthan gum, bicarbonate of soda and fine sea salt to distribute the raising agent evenly.
Fold the dry mixture into the butter mixture with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. Stir in the dark chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Portion the dough into 18 even balls (about 30–35g each) and place them spaced on one of the lined baking trays. Chill the tray in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm the dough and concentrate the flavours.
Bake the first tray in the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes (aim for 11 minutes) until the edges are golden and the centres still look slightly soft. Remove and leave on the tray for 5 minutes to set, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Bake the second tray for the same time, 10–12 minutes. Cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before storing.
Tips
- Weigh ingredients for consistent results — gluten-free flours are less forgiving of volume measures.
- If your flour blend already contains xanthan gum, omit the xanthan gum listed; otherwise the texture will be crumbly.
- Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes; you can chill overnight for deeper flavour and firmer cookies.
- Freeze unbaked dough balls on a tray, then transfer to a bag — bake from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes to the time.
- Store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days; refresh in a low oven for a few minutes if they soften.
Substitutions
Unsalted butter → 113g dairy-free block margarine (use a firm, block-style margarine), same weight
Noticeably differentDark chocolate chips → 150g milk chocolate chips
Noticeably differentLight brown sugar → 80g muscovado sugar
Stays closeGluten-free plain flour → 200g oat flour made from certified gluten-free oats (may produce a denser cookie)
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 211
- Calories
- 1 g
- Protein
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
- Sugar
- 70 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
Can I make these dairy-free?
Yes — swap the unsalted butter for a firm dairy-free block margarine of equal weight. Texture and flavour will be slightly different; chill the dough well before baking.
Do I need xanthan gum?
Only if your gluten-free flour blend doesn't already contain it. Xanthan gum helps bind the dough and give elasticity; omit if the blend includes it.
Can I freeze the dough or baked cookies?
Freeze shaped dough balls on a tray then transfer to a bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen, adding 1–2 minutes. Baked cookies freeze well for up to 1 month; thaw at room temperature.
Why chill the dough?
Chilling firms the butter so cookies spread less, concentrates flavours and gives a chewier centre with crisp edges.
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