The BEST gluten free chocolate chip cookies! Salty and sweet cookies loaded with crunchy pretzels and bursting with chocolate chips all while being 100% gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.
With golden crispy edges and chewy centers, these gluten free chocolate chip cookies will quickly convert any non-believer that gluten free desserts are just as delicious as their gluten filled counterparts. I adapted some of my own gluten free cookie recipes to bring you this simple and delicious recipe with an added twist of crunchy pretzels.
Let’s make cookies!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- flax meal – when mixed with water, the flax meal will gel and this will act as your egg providing not just binding in the cookie but a boost of fiber as well!
- vegan butter – I like to use vegan butter in stick form when baking so brands such as Earth balance and Melt are best
- organic brown sugar and cane sugar – sugars provide not just the sweetness of the cookie but the overall texture as well – don’t make substitutions here if you want a classic cookie texture
- vanilla extract – vanilla will enhance the flavor of the cookie – the more the better in my opinion 😉
- gluten-free baking flour – I used King Arthur measure for measure gluten free baking flour but any all purpose or 1:1 gluten free baking flour will work as long as it contains xanthan gum.
- baking soda – this acts as a leavening agent to help the cookies rise
- chocolate chips – I prefer dark chocolate but use whatever chocolate makes your heart sing
- pretzels – mini gluten free pretzels with extra salt are my favorite!
How to Make Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Just like most cookies, your first step will be to cream together the butter and sugars. I like to place mine into a stand alone mixer using a paddle attachment and let it go to town for a few minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the flax meal and water and then let it sit to gel.
- Once you have creamed together the butter and sugars and they have become pale in color-about 4 minutes-add in the flax mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Spoon and level your flour to measure correctly and then add it into the butter mixture along with the baking soda and salt. Mix on a low speed just until the dough comes together and some streaks of flour are left.
- Add in the pretzels and chocolate chips and continue mixing. The pretzels will break into small pieces as they mix if you are using a stand alone mixer (KitchenAid). If you are using a hand mixer, you may want to break the pretzel into small pieces before adding them in.
- Once everything is incorporated, use a 1 1/2 inch cookie scooper to make 15 evenly sized cookie dough balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator or up to 48 hours.
- Once ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350 F and place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2-3 inches apart. I baked 5 at a time on my baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes and the edges are golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
Commonly asked questions
I love using an all purpose or 1:1 gluten free baking flour such as King Arthur Measure for Measure because it already contains xanthan gum.
My personal secret is using a quality butter whether it’s vegan or traditional dairy butter, a good quality one will cream as you need it to.
Once they are baked and cooled, transfer them to an airtight container and store up to 1 week.
Absolutely! After making the cookie dough balls, place them into an airtight container and freeze up to 3 months. When you are ready to bake them, transfer them to a the fridge 24 hours prior to baking.
Tips and Tricks
Ever wonder how food bloggers get perfectly round cookies? Wonder no more because I’m going to spill the secret to perfectly round cookies every single time.
When the cookies are removed from the oven and still hot, use a round cookie cutter that’s slightly larger than the cookie or you can use an overturned mug or bowl. Move the cookie cutter in a quick circular motion with the warm cookie inside of it. The edges of the cookie will be pliable enough that this will cause them to take on the rounded shape of the cookie cutter.
The result? Perfectly round cookies.
For more gluten free cookies, enjoy these recipes:
Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
If you make this recipe or any other recipe from the blog, be sure to tag @peanutbutterpluschocolate on Instagram and check me out on Facebook and Pinterest!
Also, don’t forget to leave me a comment after the recipe card at the bottom. I really love chatting with all of you, hearing about how your recipe turned out and answering any questions you have.
Happy Baking!
The Best Sweet and Salty Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ground flax meal
- 4 tbsp water
- 7 tbsp vegan butter room temperature
- ½ cup organic brown sugar
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup + 2 tbsp gluten free flour measeure for measure, 1:1
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp finely ground sea salt
- ¾ cup chocolate chips vegan
- 1 cup mini pretzels gluten free
Instructions
- Cream together the butter and sugars. I like to place mine into a stand alone mixer using a paddle attachment and beat on high for several minutes. You can also use a hand held mixer if needed. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the flax meal and water and then let it sit to gel.
- Once you have creamed together the butter and sugars and they have become pale in color-about 4 minutes-add in the flax mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Spoon and level your flour to measure correctly and then add it into the butter mixture along with the baking soda and salt. Mix on a low speed just until the dough comes together and some streaks of flour are left.
- Add in the pretzels and chocolate chips and continue mixing. The pretzels will break into small pieces as they mix if you are using a stand alone mixer. If you are using a hand mixer, you may want to break the pretzels into small pieces before adding them in.
- Once everything is incorporated, use a 1½ inch cookie scooper to make 15 evenly sized cookie dough balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and chill for 2 hours in the refrigerator or up to 48 hours.
- Once ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 350 F and place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper about 2-3 inches apart. I baked 5 at a time on my baking sheet. Bake for 18 minutes and the edges are golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to continue cooling.
These cookies are absolutely fabulous! I think I’ve made this recipe five times by now—it’s just the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I can’t even tell they’re GF and I love that they use flax meal instead of egg; all the better for snacking!
Hi,
I’m from holland and i don’t know the measurements about cookiescoops. so how much grams or ounce is a 1 1/2 cookiescoop?
greetings Sanne
Hi, I don’t know the grams but scoop makes a 1 1/2 inch cookie dough ball. Hope that helps 🙂