The BEST gluten free dairy free chocolate chip cookies! Perfect for those with dietary restrictions, but taste so good that everyone will love them!
Get ready to indulge in some seriously delicious cookies that are not only gluten free, but dairy free as well! Just because you have dietary restrictions doesn't mean you have to miss out on incredible chocolate chip cookies!
Making these gluten free dairy free cookies couldn’t be simpler! The recipe is straightforward and uses simple ingredients and just one bowl. These no-butter chocolate chip cookies are made with vegetable oil and a combination of oat flour and almond flour. You don't need xanthan gum or any special gluten-free flour blends.
But don’t let the fact that these cookies are allergy-friendly fool you, these gluten free dairy free chocolate chip cookies are absolutely delicious! I assure you, there is no compromise on taste here. Regardless of dietary restrictions, they’re sure to be a crowd-pleaser.
Looking for more gluten free dairy free cookie recipes? Then you should try my recipe for gluten and dairy-free peanut butter cookies. These cookies are packed with peanut butter, have crisp edges, a soft and chewy interior and are certain to be a new favourite. If you're a fan of oatmeal cookies, you should also try my gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Another delicious gluten-free cookie recipe that you can also make dairy free.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Taste great – they’re soft and chewy in the centre, with crisp edges!
- Easy to make – this is a simple, one-bowl recipe. You don't need fancy equipment or any special techniques!
- Use simple ingredients – if you regularly bake gluten free, you’re likely to have all of these ingredients stocked in your pantry.
- Made with oat flour and almond flour.
- Made without xanthan gum.
- Made without butter, dairy-free butter, vegan butter, or vegetable shortening.
- Made without rice flour.
Ingredients
- vegetable or canola oil
- brown sugar
- eggs
- vanilla extract
- apple cider vinegar
- oat flour, certified gluten free
- almond flour
- cornstarch
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- dairy-free chocolate chips
See the recipe card for quantities.
Ingredient Notes
Oat flour: Using oat flour adds a nice flavour and softness to the cookies. If you want your cookies to be gluten free, make sure you use certified gluten-free oat flour. During processing, oats are often contaminated with gluten-containing grains (wheat, barley, rye); therefore, it’s important to make sure you’re only using certified gluten-free oats. Certified gluten-free oats are harvested, stored, transported and processed in dedicated gluten-free facilities and tested for purity. For more information on adding oats to your gluten-free diet, please refer to the Canadian Celiac Association's Oats Statement. I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oat Flour.
Almond flour: Cookies made with vegetable oil instead of butter can lack flavour because butter has a lot more flavour than vegetable oil, which is neutral in taste. Almond flour has a rich, slightly sweet, almost buttery taste. Adding almond flour to the cookies, naturally adds back a rich and buttery taste. I use Robin Hood Almond Flour or Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps with the overall texture of the cookies. It helps create cookies with crisp edges and a soft centre.
Eggs: This recipe calls for 1 whole egg, plus 1 egg yolk. The extra egg yolk keeps the cookies soft and chewy. I don’t recommend replacing the eggs in this recipe with an egg replacer, as eggs are a key ingredient. If you’re looking for cookie recipes that are gluten free, dairy free and also egg free, try my gluten-free vegan oatmeal raisin cookies or my gluten-free vegan cranberry oatmeal cookies.
Apple cider vinegar: Don’t worry, you won’t taste the vinegar, it just works with the baking soda to give the cookies the right texture and consistency, and help balance the overall flavour of the cookies.
Chocolate chips: I like to use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. Many popular brands of chocolate chips contain dairy; if you want your cookies to be dairy free, make sure to only use dairy free chocolate chips, such as Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels or Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mega Chocolate Chunks. You can also use chopped chocolate or a combination of chopped chocolate and chocolate chips.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the oil and brown sugar until well mixed.
- Beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the oat flour, almond flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, about 2” apart, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, using a cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon. If your dough is sticking to your cookie scoop or spoon, spray with a little bit of non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until edges are golden and centres are slightly underbaked. Remove from oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Variations
Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies: For added taste and crunch, also add ½ cup of chopped toasted walnuts or pecans, when you add in your chocolate chips.
Substitutions
To make nut free: If you need your cookies to be nut free, you can replace the almond flour with an equal amount of additional oat flour. Please note, that while still delicious, your cookies won’t have as buttery a flavour to them. If you’re looking for a gluten-free and nut-free chocolate chip cookie recipe, but don’t need your cookies to be dairy free/made without butter, please try my recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
Top Tips for Perfect Dairy Free Gluten Free Cookies
- Don’t overbake – If you want cookies that are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, make sure the centres of the cookies are slightly underbaked when you remove them from the oven.
- Want picture-perfect cookies? If you’re looking to impress, here are three tricks to help your cookies look their best:
- Use a cookie scoop to help ensure all the cookies are uniform in size and therefore bake evenly.
- Top each ball of cookie dough with a few additional chocolate chips (or any other add-ins you’re using) before baking.
- As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, use a round cookie cutter, that’s slightly larger than the cookie itself, to quickly swirl around the outside edge of the cookie to give it a smooth, even, round edge. I have a set of round cookie cutters/metal ring baking moulds that I use, so I always have the right size on hand.
Troubleshooting
Why are my cookies hard and not chewy? This can happen if you overbake your cookies. For cookies with a soft and chewy centre, remove them from the oven when the edges are done and golden, but the centres of the cookies are slightly underbaked. The centres of the cookies will set as they cool.
Why did my cookies spread too much when baking: To prevent your cookies from spreading too much while baking, make sure you chill your dough for at least 1 hour before baking and don’t portion the dough out onto your cookie tray until right before baking. This is a soft dough, and if you leave a sheet of unbaked cookies to sit before baking them, the dough won’t hold its shape and will start to spread.
Storage
Baked cookies: Freshly baked cookies will keep for 2 – 3 days in an air-tight container stored at room temperature.
Unbaked cookies (cookie dough): You can store the unbaked dough in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for 1 – 2 months. If freezing, it’s best to portion the cookie dough out as usual and freeze the cookie dough in individual balls. You can freeze the cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, and once frozen, pack the frozen cookie dough balls in an air-tight container/freezer bag to store in the freezer. To bake, bake the same as normal, but add 1 – 2 minutes to your baking time. Bake straight from the fridge or freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vegetable and canola oil has a different moisture content than butter, so you can’t replace them one-for-one in a recipe. A rule of thumb is to use ¾ of the amount of butter called for. Butter is also often used to add structure and flavour to a recipe. For best results, other ingredients will often need to be added or adjusted to make cookies as flavourful. Therefore, it’s best to use a recipe designed to already use oil, rather than try to make all the various substitutions yourself.
No, many popular brands of chocolate chips contain dairy. If you need your cookies to be dairy free, please read the label carefully, and make sure to only use chocolate chips labelled dairy free, such as Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels or Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mega Chocolate Chunks.
No, not all oat flour is gluten free. Oat flour is made from finely ground rolled oats. While oats themselves are naturally gluten free, most oats are contaminated with gluten-containing grains (wheat, barley, rye) during harvesting and processing. Therefore, you should only use oats and oat flour that are certified gluten free if on a gluten-free diet. Certified gluten-free oats are harvested, stored, transported and processed in dedicated gluten-free facilities and tested for purity.
Yes! You can make your own oat flour at home. To make yourself, put old-fashioned rolled oats in a high-speed blender or food processor and blend until they form fine flour. If you need your flour to be gluten free, make sure you use certified gluten-free oats, such as Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats.
Yes! This dough freezes well. Using a cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon, portion the cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet as usual, but instead of baking, place the cookie sheet in the freezer and freeze the dough balls. Once the dough is frozen, place the frozen dough balls in an air-tight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. You can bake straight from frozen, just add 1 – 2 minutes to the baking time.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your cookies turned out, and your feedback also helps other readers!
Recipe Card
Gluten Free Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1½ cups oat flour, certified gluten free
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips, dairy free
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together the oil and brown sugar until well mixed.
- Beat in the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the oat flour, almond flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover and chill for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, about 2” apart, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, using a cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon. If your dough is sticking to your cookie scoop or spoon, spray with a little bit of non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until edges are golden and centres are slightly underbaked. Remove from oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Nutty Chocolate Chip Cookies: For added taste and crunch, also add ½ cup of chopped toasted walnuts or pecans, when you add in your chocolate chips.
- To make nut free: If you need your cookies to be nut free, you can replace the almond flour with an equal amount of additional oat flour. Please note, that while still delicious, your cookies won’t have as buttery a flavour to them. If you’re looking for a gluten-free and nut-free chocolate chip cookie recipe, but don’t need your cookies to be dairy free/made without butter, please try my recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies.
- Don’t overbake – If you want cookies that are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside, make sure the centres of the cookies are slightly underbaked when you remove them from the oven.
- Baked cookies: Freshly baked cookies will keep for 2 – 3 days in an air-tight container stored at room temperature.
- Unbaked cookies (cookie dough): You can store the unbaked dough in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for 1 – 2 months. If freezing, it’s best to portion the cookie dough out as usual and freeze the cookie dough in individual balls. You can freeze the cookie dough balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer until frozen, and once frozen, pack the frozen cookie dough balls in an air-tight container/freezer bag to store in the freezer. To bake, bake the same as normal, but add 1 – 2 minutes to your baking time. Bake straight from the fridge or freezer.
Nutrition
Nutritional information shown is an estimate only.
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