I’m not joking when I say that I have made no less than 15-20 batches of these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies to get them just right. I just could not perfect them!! This recipe is not about the actual ingredients. It’s nothing unique. It’s all about the technique. I have it figured out and these are gluten-free perfection!
The reason that I call these ½ batch cookies is because they are just that. All normal recipes make 4-5 dozen cookies – that’s a lot of cookies, right? Unless there are 10 people in your family when are you going to eat all those cookies? These are a great recipe to make if you want to have just a taste. This batch makes exactly 21 cookies using the OXO medium sized cookie scoop.
I like my cookies crispy on the outside with a little squish in the middle. I’m not a huge fan of the soft chocolate chip cookies that are sold in the bakery (well, I don’t actually know what those taste like anymore – haha.) But I like a little crunch in my cookie. That’s just me.
Another thing that I think is a must is semi-sweet chocolate chips. I am a big fan of semi-sweet chocolate. Love it with peanut butter, love it in brownies, love it in my chocolate chip cookies!! I’ve talked about Enjoy Life baking chocolate before, because it’s a complete allergy friendly company, but they only make semi-sweet mini chips and mega chunks – what gives on the regular sized chips??!! So, I’ve tried Trader Joes, Nestle Tollhouse, Guittard, and Equal Exchange chocolate chips to name a few. I really like the Guittard and Equal Exchange brands!
Like I mentioned before, this recipe is all about the technique. The difference with this very basic recipe is that I’ve tweaked it a little bit to work with a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour (my favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Baking Flour) and I’ve already gone through the work of cutting the ingredients in half so you can make a smaller batch!
½ Batch Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ Cup (1 Stick) Butter - softened
- ¼ Cup + 2 Tbsp Granulated sugar
- ¼ Cup + 2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar - packed
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 Egg
- 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend - I like Bob's Red Mill
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Works best with a mixer.
- Add egg and beat well.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this flour mixture into the butter mixture, beating well.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- This next step is important. Refrigerate dough for at least one hour. This will harden the butter up again so that the cookies cook evenly.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Drop cooled dough by rounded tablespoon (or use a medium sized cookie scoop) onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Slightly flatten the cookie dough balls with the palm of your hand.
- Bake 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before moving from cookie sheet to a wire rack for cooling.
Tips:
- This is also in the recipe above, but one of the most important steps is that you refrigerate the dough for at least one hour prior to baking. This will allow the butter to absorb into the flour and harden and allow for even baking.
- Most recipes call for the oven to be at 375 degrees, but I found that my cookies turned out really inconsistent that way. I think it was too warm for the butter/flour mixture so the outsides would melt quick and the cookies would spread too much. 350 degrees seems to be right!
- My oven might just be finicky, but I bake only one sheet pan at a time. It allows for more even baking, but if you’ve had success doing more than one pan at a time – go for it!
You guys, you would never be able to tell that these are gluten-free. I hope you try them and enjoy them as much as we do in my house!
You can PIN this recipe by clicking on the photo below:
can you use almond flour?
Hi Andrea, I can’t say for certain if you can replace 1:1 with almond flour because I haven’t tried it. But I will say that almond flour is inherently more fatty/oily the regular GF flour. So you’d probably have to reduce the butter, but again, I can’t say by how much since I haven’t tried it. I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful for you. Happy Holidays. 😉
These came out perfect
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that you enjoyed these, nothing makes me happier!
Hi….Is there any way to reduce the butter in this recipe by half or so? Can I add applesauce, yogurt, something else? Thanks!
Hi Chris!! Good question – I don’t have answer for you since I haven’t tried that yet. I would think you could replace some of the butter, which will most likely affect the overall texture of the cookies, but it’s definitely worth a try! I found this web article that has some replacement options/measurements you could try: https://delishably.com/dairy/Substitutes-for-Butter-in-Baking. The good thing about this recipe is that it makes a small amount so you wouldn’t be losing out on a ton of ingredients. If you decide to try something, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Can I just double for a full batch?
You sure can!!!
Delish! Thank you for this recipe. I am new to gluten free and this hit the spot!
Hi Maggie!! I am so glad that they were delicious and that you enjoyed them. Totally made my day. Thank you for sharing!