Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Erin Jeanne McDowell

Updated February 2, 2025

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
About 30 minutes
Rating
5(5,181)
Comments
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Almond flour is the only special ingredient needed to make these cookies, and it can be found in the baking aisle or the health food section of the grocery store. It provides the protein and structure of a classic wheat flour, while keeping the cookie perfectly chewy in the center. If you want a stronger almond flavor, toast the almond flour in a dry skillet over medium-low heat until golden and fragrant, and cool before using. This recipe was adapted from the Times’s famous chocolate chip cookie recipe, but unlike that recipe, this dough does not require 36 hours of refrigeration before baking. Chopped chocolate or feves make for a gooier cookie, but classic chocolate chips work here, too. This recipe makes huge, bakery-style cookies, but if you want smaller cookies, use ¼-cup mounds of dough and bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or a 2-tablespoon scoops and bake for for 10 to 12 minutes.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 10 (5-inch) cookies

  • 2 ¾ cups/310 grams finely ground almond flour

  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • 10 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 ¼ sticks)

  • ½ cup/110 grams light brown sugar

  • ½ cup/100 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 12 ounces/340 grams bittersweet chocolate feves or chips, or coarsely chopped bar chocolate

  • Sea salt, for finishing (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

49 grams carbs; 49 milligrams cholesterol; 535 calories; 7 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 38 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 247 milligrams sodium; 9 grams protein; 40 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, salt and baking soda to combine.

  3. Step 3

    Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until very light, 3 to 4 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add the egg and mix on medium speed to combine. Scrape the bowl well, then add the vanilla and mix to combine.

  5. Step 5

    Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined, about 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl well and mix on low speed to ensure the mixture is homogenous.

  6. Step 6

    Add the chocolate and gently mix to incorporate it. Scoop the dough into 10 3 ½ ounce/100-gram mounds of dough the size of generous golf balls, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Stagger the rows to allow the cookies room to spread.

  7. Step 7

    Gently press the cookies down slightly with your fingers until about 1 ½ inches thick. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, if using. Bake the cookies, switching racks and rotating the sheets halfway through, until they’re golden brown around the edges and just barely set in the center, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer sheets to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer cookies with a spatula onto another rack to cool a bit more.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
5,181 user ratings
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Comments

DW99

Please avoid Earth Balance -- it's made by Conagra, an agri-biz giant that has a terrible environmental record, and that has destroyed many family farms. Thanks.

Folklorevermore

Lost count of how many times I've made these, always to rave reviews. Tips: You can use melted butter. You can use Miyoko's vegan butter. You can use 2 parts chocolate to 1 part toasted pecans/walnuts. You really should use dark choco chunks, not chips. You can do 2T scoops for 11-12min at 350°, it will look very pale out of the oven, let it cool for 15min - patience is key. You can freeze preportioned dough for weeks & bake from frozen (add 2min). Costco has the best price on almond flour.

jmee

I have a newly gluten-free husband and am trying to embrace the challenge, but I'm still a little scared so halved the recipe and made them small (yielded 20 cookies). These cookies are delicious, gluten free or not. I love the almond flavor and slightly grainy texture. And I'm less annoyed about the gluten-free thing. ;)

Catherine

I have a question, we recently moved house and I’ve been struggling with these in my new oven as they keep spreading out far more than in my old oven. I was thinking my new oven may run a little hotter so I lowered the temp however it made little difference. Has anyone else had this issue and do you have any suggestions for how to get my favourite cookies to keep their shape? Thank you!

Melissa K

The BEST chocolate chip cookies I have had in my entire life, and they need no qualification as gluten free versus not gluten free. The almond flour makes for an amazing mouthfeel and the little bit of salt on top made the whole thing perfect. I will be making these again.

Cathy

These are such delicious, chewy cookies that if I didn’t have to bake for people with nut allergies on a regular basis they would be my go-to chocolate chip recipe.

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