Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies | Soft & Buttery (Bakery-Style, No Grit)

Setting the Scene: Warm Vanilla, Golden Edges, Melty Puddles

The tray slides from the oven and the kitchen goes quiet—the good kind of quiet—while buttery perfume and vanilla drift through the air. You break a cookie and the edge gives a tiny snap before the center folds into a soft, bendy chew, sending ribbons of melted chocolate across the crumb. These Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies deliver everything you love about the classic—crinkly tops, plush middles, generous pools of chocolate—without the grit or gloom that GF cookies sometimes bring. The secret? A great cup-for-cup flour blend, proper hydration time so starches drink in moisture, and a few pro moves (melted butter, a touch of cornstarch, the right sugar ratio) that guarantee bakery texture.

This is a weeknight-friendly bake: one bowl, no stand mixer, and you can scoop immediately. A short 10–15 minute rest is all it takes for the dough to transform from “good GF” to great—smooth, cohesive, and ready to bake into thick, soft cookies that stay that way for days.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients (Makes 22–24 cookies)

• Wet & sugars
  • ½ cup (115 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 10 minutes (or plant butter stick for dairy-free)
  • ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) milk or dairy-free milk (texture insurance)
• Dry
  • 2 cups (260 g) gluten-free 1:1 baking flour (cup-for-cup blend with xanthan gum)
  • 1 tbsp (8 g) cornstarch (extra tenderness)
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ tsp ground psyllium husk (optional, for remarkable chew and no crumble)
• Chocolate & finish
  • 1½ cups (255 g) chocolate chips/chunks, dairy-free if needed (mix of chopped dark chocolate + chips = puddles + structure)
  • Flaky sea salt, optional, to finish

No xanthan in your blend? Add ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum to the dry ingredients. If your blend already includes it (most 1:1 flours do), you’re set.

Tools

• 2 rimmed sheet pans + parchment
• Large mixing bowl + whisk & spatula
• #30 cookie scoop (2 tbsp)
• Wire rack and small offset spatula
• Digital scale (highly recommended for GF accuracy)

How to Make It

Melt, Whisk & Shine: The Glossy Sugar Base

In a large bowl, whisk melted, cooled butter with the brown and granulated sugars for 45–60 seconds until shiny and slightly thick—this gentle dissolving creates crinkly tops later. Whisk in the egg, yolk, vanilla, and milk until the mixture turns satin-smooth.

Dry Mix Strategy: Chewy, Not Cakey

In a separate bowl, whisk the GF flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and psyllium (if using). Tip the dry mix over the wet base and fold with a spatula just until a few flour streaks remain. Add the chocolate and fold 1–2 more times. The dough will be soft and scoopable.

The 10-Minute Rest (Your GF Superpower)

Let the dough stand 10–15 minutes at room temp. GF starches (rice, tapioca, potato) hydrate slowly; this brief rest transforms the dough—less sticky, better body, thicker cookies, zero graininess.

Scoop, Space & Bake to “Barely Done”

Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line pans with parchment. Scoop 2-tbsp mounds, spacing 2½ inches apart (8–9 per sheet). For bakery-thick rounds, “double-stack”: nest a small marble of dough on top of each scoop.
Bake 9–11 minutes, rotating once, until edges are set and golden while centers look puffed and just underdone. Sprinkle with flaky salt if you love sweet-salty contrast. Cool on the sheet 7–8 minutes, then transfer to a rack. They’ll finish setting to soft-bendy perfection.

Storage That Keeps Them Soft

Store airtight 3–4 days with a small piece of sandwich bread or a marshmallow in the container for plushness. Freeze dough balls up to 2 months; bake from frozen at 350°F for 11–12 minutes.

How to Make It (Thematic Steps & Why They Work)

1) Hydration Is Texture

Gluten-free flours need time to drink. A short rest hydrates starches and “erases” grit, yielding a smooth, bakery-style crumb. It’s the single most impactful tip for GF cookies.

2) Melted Butter = Fudgy Chew

Using melted butter (rather than creaming) delivers a denser, brownie-adjacent chew that GF blends adore. The added tablespoon of milk returns a touch of moisture lost from melted butter and helps keep cookies soft on day two.

3) Cornstarch + Psyllium = Insurance

A spoon of cornstarch softens gluten formation (even in GF blends) for tender centers. Psyllium (optional) mimics gluten’s elasticity, preventing crumbles and improving that classic, bendy chew.

4) Pull Early, Let Carryover Finish

GF cookies go from gooey to dry fast if overbaked. When centers are slightly underdone, pull the tray; the residual heat sets them to perfect softness.

Creative Twists (All Gluten-Free, All Crowd-Pleasing)

• Brown Butter Deluxe: Brown the butter first for nutty depth; cool completely before whisking with sugars.
• Espresso Dark Chocolate: Add 1 tsp instant espresso to the sugars; finish with flaky salt for café vibes.
• Salted Toffee Crunch: Replace ½ cup chocolate with toffee bits; keep semisweet chips for balance.
• Pecan Maple: Fold in ¾ cup toasted pecans; swap 2 tbsp sugar for pure maple syrup and add +1 tbsp flour.
• Tahini Swirl: Replace 2 tbsp butter with tahini; sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Halva-meets-cookie bliss.
• Dairy-Free Path: Use plant butter, DF chocolate, and your favorite non-dairy milk—structure holds perfectly.
• Nut-Free Classroom Safe: Skip nuts and tahini; use allergy-friendly chips.
• Extra Thick Bakery Size: Scoop 3 tbsp (60 g) portions and bake 12–13 minutes.

Troubleshooting (Before the Second Tray)

• Spread too much? Butter was too warm or rest was skipped. Cool the dough 10 minutes; make sure butter is cool to the touch before mixing.
• Too puffy/cakey? A heavy hand with flour. Weigh it (260 g). Reduce flour by 1–2 tbsp next batch.
• Crumbly texture? Blend lacked binders. Add ¾ tsp xanthan or the optional psyllium next time; ensure a 10–15 minute rest.
• Grainy mouthfeel? Needs more hydration time—rest the mixed dough 15–20 minutes or bake the next tray a bit later.
• No crinkle/shiny top? Whisk sugars longer into the warm butter base so some sugar dissolves; don’t over-flour.

Nutritional Spotlight (Per cookie, 1 of 24; approximate)

Hydrating the dough and balancing starches create a tender crumb that’s satisfyingly rich—so one cookie truly hits the spot.

Final Inspiration: A Cookie Jar Classic, Now for Everyone

There’s a particular joy in a cookie that just is delicious—no qualifiers needed. These Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies smell like home, bake up with confident crinkles and molten pockets, and stay soft long after they cool. Learn the rhythm—melt, whisk glossy, fold, rest, scoop, pull while still pale—and you’ll have a house cookie that happens to be gluten-free but tastes like the beloved original.

Pile them on a plate for after-school snacks, tuck two into a lunchbox with a note, or stash dough balls in the freezer for late-night “need a cookie” moments. The edges whisper crisp, the center sighs gooey, and the chocolate winks. Inclusive baking has never tasted so classic.