This post has been a long time in the making. Although I have put off writing it I haven’t stopped thinking about it. In fact, over the past year all I have done is searched and created and mixed and baked and eaten (someone has to do the dirty work) gluten free chocolate chip cookies until at last my husband exclaimed, “Can we have anything other than cookies for dessert”!! Let’s just say I have had chocolate chip cookies on the brain since finding out I might possibly be gluten sensitive. With my kitchen covered in a film of flour I couldn’t and wouldn’t stop until I found the best gluten free cookie recipe!
Why has this post been so hard for me to write? Well, the best way I can put it to you is to think of the one thing on earth you love to eat the most. That one thing on earth for me is a chocolate chip cookie and being able to find a gluten free chocolate chip cookie that not only meets but exceeds my expectations and then being able to finally share with you all my results of a year long recipe battle sort of feels like the end of a chapter, like closing a good book you don’t want to put down or stepping across that finish line.
All I set out to accomplish was to find a gluten free chocolate chip cookie that DOESN’T taste like a gluten free chocolate chip cookie! At last- I found my favorite but 3 others came very close so I am going to lay them all out on the line for you today and let you bake and decide which one fits your bill!
There are 4 qualities that I look for in the perfect chocolate chip cookie (regardless if gluten free or not) 4 qualities that can make or break a chocolate chip cookie recipe:
1) Buttery Flavor
2) Chewy with Slightly Crispy Edges and Peaks on top (you know where the cookie has fallen in certain places on the top of the cookie but where it has fallen on either side is a slightly crispier edge- does anyone know what I am talking about??)
3) Perfect balance btw white sugar and brown sugar (the former presumably adding crunch, the latter a caramel flavor)
4) Perfect amount of salt
Cookie recipes start with the same basic ingredients: butter and sugar, vanilla, eggs, flour, salt, and some sort of chemical leavening. The key is to have the correct balance of moisture and flour content. Here in lies the problem for gluten free cookies. We must eliminate the standard all purpose flour and substitute it with the second best thing- gluten free flour. Finding the right gluten free flour mix is where the game begins. I have tested 3 different gluten free flour blends/sources for the recipes below. Oat Flour, Homemade Brown Rice Flour Mix (Alton Brown) and Homemade Cup 4 Cup Mix. Although the last is my favorite and hands down winner-Let’s break down the different recipes so that you can choose for yourself which ones you like the most.
Oat Flour Cookies
These are delicious. It is like having hints of oatmeal in every bite. The All Purpose Flour is substituted with Oat Flour andh _ GET THIS_ NO Xanthan Gum. The Oat Flour creates a nice chewy melt in your mouth cookie center and the edges are chewy (not crispy). The cookies have a nice depth of flavor and the texture of the cooled cookies is the same as cookies that just came out of the oven- meaning they break apart easily. Using Oat Flour alone for a gluten free cookie is much easier than most cookie mix recipes you will found and although it wasn’t the winner it sure does hit the spot for a nice warm cookie when your time is limited.
Alton Brown Brown Rice Flour Cookies
Brown Rice Flour is a staple in most gluten free recipes. Used alone it can create a dry, crumbly cookie but used in conjunction with other gluten free flours it can be just as dense, chewy and moist as any regular baked goods. The secret to this cookie recipe is in the cornstarch. Alton Brown has came up with a fantastic gluten free cookie mix that has the texture and flavor similar to that of Toll House cookies. It is somewhat of a hassle to get the ingredients together because I have found that the gluten free mix doesn’t necessarily convert well to other baked goods but the time is worth it and the cookie is delicious. You wouldn’t know you were eating a gluten free cookie.
Homemade Cup 4 Cup Cookie Mix
Oh Boy! Now this is where it’s at. This cookie is AMAZING! AMAZING! I use my homemade Cup 4 Cup flour in EVERYTHING NOW! NO REALLY- EVERYTHING. I make cookies, brownies, cakes. I use it to season meat before frying, stir it into sauces and even make my pizza crust. It is perfect to me. The Cup 4 Cup Mix has a handful of ingredients but the great thing about it is once you make a big batch you can use that same flour in anything. If you find something you can’t use it in please let me know and save me the time and energy:) LOL!
Now the cookies made with the Homemade Cup 4 Cup mix are chewy. They are dense. They are salty and sweet and crisp on the edges. I have found that by adding in a little gluten free bread flour that they even more resemble a bakery style cookie in terms of both of texture and flavor. Some like just chewy cookies, others like flat cookies but me.. I like a chewy center with hints of crispiness on top as well as on the edges. By combining gluten free bread flour and Cup 4 Cup flour you giving the cookie the best of both worlds, the bread flour makes the cookie dense and slightly crispy on the outside while the GF flour blend brings that chew texture we all love.It is hard to explain, I have been told I am rather difficult in my cookie “needs” but nonetheless that is how I like them. They most closely resemble an All Purpose Cookie in my opinion and now that I have found the ONE GLUTEN FREE RECIPE I will never go back:)
CLICK HERE FOR THE OAT FLOUR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE
CLICK HERE FOR THE BROWN RICE FLOUR CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE
SEE BELOW FOR THE WINNER- CUP 4 CUP CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE
- Homemade Cup for Cup Mix courtesy of GlutenFree on a ShoeString
- 8 TBSP finely ground nonfat dry milk (80 grams)
- 1 cup plus 3 TBSP superfine white rice flour (180 grams)
- 10½ TBSP cornstarch (105 grams)
- 8¾ TBSP superfine brown rice flour (100 grams)
- 8½ TBSP tapioca starch/flour (85 grams)
- 2 TBSP potato starch (20 grams)
- 1 TBSP xanthan gum (10 grams)
- 2 cups of Cup 4 Cup Mix
- ¾ cup GF Bread Flour ( I use King Arthur )
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ cups brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 14 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Cream together your butter and sugars. Add in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flours, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Add in the chocolate chips and place in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
They all sound and look fantastic! I shared this link already <3
How apt! I’m always after cookie recipes and they look awesome!
These cookies sure look good to me. Blessings, Catherine
thanks Catherine for stopping by!
Somebody recently asked me if I had gluten free cookie recipes so this is coming at a right time. I will be forwarding the recipe link, thanks for sharing! =)
oh perfect timing then. Please do send it to them. They will love it
Your cookies look scrumptious. Looks like you’ve accomplished your goal.
Sam
All the cookies looks really good! Wish I have a jar right in front of me right now!
wishing i could send you a jar:)
I am always looking for new recipes to bake for my brother-in-law. I can’t wait to try this one and bring hime CCC. They look so good.
A good chocolate chip cookie is hard to come by and these look perfect!
I love cookies both crisp and chewy at the same time. These GF cookies look divine!
I admire your determination to find the best GF choc chip cookies, these cookies would be a joy for those looking after GF cookies!
Well done Belle on find the perfect recipe – its so hard sometimes finding a GF recipe that is nice, let alone one that is this good with runners-up!
Have a beautiful day.
🙂 Mandy xo
Let’s just say that these CC cookies look so perfect I’d eat at least a dozen in one sitting. Seriously.
All the cookies look great but I must say the Cup 4 Cup version looks perfect. Thanks for providing such a great recipe and for all that taste testing – it must have been brutal 🙂 Great job! Hey – I love your new layout and look. I’m in the process of moving over to WordPress and going through a redesign. Can’t wait! Lovely
Brutal it was! Lol at times though my husband really was feed up with all the cookies!
They look fantastic! I have a girlfriend who is gluten free, so I’ll make your top recipe for her! She’ll be so thrilled.
Thanks Liz! please do share with her they really are out of this world. you would never know they are GF
The cup 4 cup version sounds delicious, I like bringing cookies like this to potlucks as you never know if there are any type of food restrictions. Everyone would like these. thanks for the recipe
That is so true about potlucks. I have never thought about that before. But you know growing up all these food sensitives didn’t exist or at least no one knew as much about them so didn’t care. Going to remember that for the next time I bring something to a party or dinner
There is a “look” for a fabulous chocolate chip cookie and these have that look. I will have to make these soon.
jessica, i admire your patience and determination to work out the best gf cookies recipe. Infact all the three cookies look awesome to me!!
thanks Lena! That is so sweet and much appreciated. I am so happy with how they turned out. i hope you get to give them a try!
You know Jessica, it doesn’t matter to me if a recipe is G-F or not . . . because if it’s good, IT’S JUST GOOD!! And your G-F recipe sounds FABULOUS . . . so to me the ‘gluten-free’ is the ‘icing’ on the yummy cookie!!!!!
Thanks so much for keeping us more health-minded in your recipes!
Love,
Roz
Thanks for stopping by Roz! I always love to hear from you
I agree completely, even if its paleo or some other diet type dish I will eat it if it tastes good. Why eat bad if you dont’ have to right? I love these and I know you would too:) thanks for stopping in
I don’t need to eat gluten free but these cookies sound good, full-stop!
even my friends who don’t need to eat GF love these maureen so I know you would too! They are that good! Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you are having a great summer
LOVE how much research you did for this post! And your ultimate GF CCC looks perfect to me!
thanks Joanne! They are perfection- try them! Do it!
WOW – your gluten free cookies look amazing and we just love how much research you put into finding the perfect GF cookie and we love that you shared this with the world! Good job!
These would make such a nice gift to give to my friend who is trying to stay away from gluten.
Very impressive! Wonderful to see that all your hard work and research finally paid off! Those cookies certainly don’t look gluten free – they look delicious!
Gorgeous cookies!
[…] that chocolate chip cookie recipe I shared a few weeks back? You remember how it is now my go to Gluten Free Mix for cookies- well you might not have believed me then that it was truly a cup for cup for All […]