Chocolate Chip Cookies {GF +DF}

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This gluten-free, dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe is melt-in-your mouth delicious, buttery, and textured. From a crispy edge to a chewy center, your tastebuds will be wowed! Tips and tricks are included to get the right consistency and to troubleshoot allergen-friendly baking obstacles! {GF + DF}

Gluten-free and dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies on a cooling rack next to a black and white-striped napkin and allergen-friendly chocolate chips.

Spiriteds, how is it even possible that with all the dessert bars, cookies, and sweet bites on the blog, we’ve not, NOT EVEN ONCE, had a straight-up gluten-free, dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe? LIKE HOW?

(Let us not tell my lang and comp teachers I typed the word “like” as an interjection.)

Our foursome realized the lack of chocolate chip cookie recipe had to be remedied ASAP. So we suffered our way through several rounds of cookie testing in our home kitchen lab.

Just kidding.

We loved every single bite, including the rejects that weren’t blog-worthy. And now, after all that delicious hard work, we have a good old-fashioned, gluten-free, dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe you can make in your very own kitchen, no fancy equipment needed.

Do you have a cookie sheet? Can you get your fingers on some parchment paper? How about some gluten-free flour and plant-based butter? And those chocolate chips AND chunks, because we are going ALL OUT.

Yes? You’ve got those things? Then you’ve got what you need to make your own allergen-friendly chocolate chip cookies. And aren’t your tastebuds so lucky? Spiriteds, we got this. We can do it. Let’s get baking!

These Chocolate Chip Cookies are

Gluten-free
Dairy-free
Crispy around the edges
Soft and chewy in the center
Buttery and chocolatey

Allergen-friendly baking ingredients on a piece of white parchment paper.

Chocolate Chip Cookies ingredients

Coconut oil and allergen-friendly butter. In place of vegetable shortening, this recipe uses a combination of plant-based butter and a dollop of coconut oil. This provides the soft, chewy, buttery taste and texture.
Sugar. Brown sugar (dark or light is fine) and granulated sugar pair up to add flavor.
Baking soda. A very small amount goes a long way to create the right consistency.
Eggs. Two regular-sized eggs is perfect.
Vanilla. A splash is all you need.
Gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour. I like Bob’s Red Mill because it closely matches traditional flour.
Tapioca flour. Although it’s a small amount, this powerhouse acts as a binding agent, along with the eggs, to hold the ingredients together during baking.
Chocolate chips and chunks. Yes, I mean both. They add texture, as well as flavor, to these gluten-free, dairy-free cookies. *Please see Ingredient FAQs below for more details and troubleshooting.*

Creamed dairy-free butter in a stainless steel bowl.

Creamed butter with brown sugar and granulated sugar in a stainless steel bowl.

Creamed butter and sugar in a stainless steel bowl.

Creamed butter and sugar with eggs in a stainless steel bowl.

Gluten-free flour added to cookie dough in a stainless steel bowl.

Chocolate Chip Cookie dough in a stainless steel bowl.

Allergen-friendly chocolate chips and allergen-friendly chocolate chunks added to cookie dough in a stainless steel bowl.

Cookie dough for Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Rounded drops of cookie dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

How to make gluten-free, dairy-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
To a mixing bowl add the butter and coconut oil. Using an electric mixer, cream for about 15-30 seconds, or until smooth. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and baking soda, mixing until combined.
Then add the eggs and vanilla, scraping the sides of the bowl periodically.
Next add the gluten-free baking and tapioca flours. If necessary, add the flours in batches. Then stir in the chocolate chips and chunks.
Cover and chill the dough for at least a few hours to as long as overnight. When ready to bake, roll the cookie dough into 1-inch balls and place several inches apart on the lined cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes, rotating the sheet once halfway through. Let cookies cool completely before transferring to an airtight container.

Gluten-free and dairy-free chocolate chip cookies on a cooling rack.

Ingredient FAQs

Does it matter what type of allergen-friendly butter I use? Each brand of butter will have its own unique properties. Some that are olive oil-based or avocado oil-based are quite soft and need ample chilling time to set. Others are middle-of-the-road and need chilling time but are still somewhat firm to the touch. Others are quite firm and even a little dry. This last variety might not need a super-long chilling time. If you find you chilled the dough longer than needed, then let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before forming the cookie dough balls.
Can I swap out the gluten-free baking flour with another flour? I have not tried this to know for sure. Swapping flours isn’t always a 1-to-1 match. How well one ingredient swaps for another depends on their individual properties. In the case of flour, whether a swap works will depend on how similar the granule sizes, flavors, and moisture content. Some flours are drier than others or have a noticeable taste. They may be bulkier or finer-grained. When there are more or significant differences between the flours, a successful swap isn’t guaranteed.
What if I can only find mini chocolate chips or I can’t find allergen-friendly chocolate chunks? Let’s take each one at a time. If all you can find are the mini chips, then use those. Sometimes that’s all that’s available in my area, too. If they seem to get lost in the cookie dough, then add a handful more. And if you can’t find allergen-friendly chocolate chunks, then use chocolate chips (regular or mini) for not only the chocolate chip quantity listed but also the chocolate chunk quantity.

Stack of gluten-free and dairy-free chocolate chips on a cooling rack next to allergen-friendly chocolate chips.

To chill the dough, or not to chill the dough, that is the question

Whether you chill the dough will often depend on how soft the butter is. But, in short, I always assume I’ll need to chill the dough for anywhere from a few hours to overnight. I like to chill the dough for as long as 24 hours if I can, especially when baking with soft plant-based or allergen-friendly butters. This allows enough time for the dry ingredients to absorb the wet ingredients. Chilling also aids in binding the ingredients together so the cookies don’t spread all over the pan as they bake.

If you don’t have that long to chill the dough, and your cookie dough is still soft, then shape the cookies into smaller sizes and put fewer on the cookie sheet. The extra space on the sheet means they’ll get that jolt of heat right away rather than compete with other cookies for it, and will more likely hold their shape.

Gluten-free and dairy-free chocolate chips on a cooling rack next to a black and white-striped napkin.

Can these Chocolate Chip Cookies be frozen?

Yes. For best results, I like to tightly wrap them in small bunches in plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer-safe airtight bag or baggie. Although you may be able to freeze them for several months, I find consuming them within a few weeks or so yields the best flavor. After a while, the flavor becomes less pronounced, and the cookies gradually dry out.

In addition to these soft, chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, we have more cookies for you to sink your teeth into. Enjoy each and every bite!

Spiriteds, stay well and stay wild. Jump into the fun when you can, and always remember I’m glad you’re here. ❤️

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