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These gluten free dairy free cookies are big, chewy chocolate chip cookies with crisp golden edges and soft, gooey middles. They’re made with a gluten-free flour blend, melted dairy-free butter and a little dairy-free cream cheese, and the dough chills for at least 4 hours before you bake.
I started baking gluten-free back in 2019, during the quarantine, when I noticed that cutting out gluten made my stomach feel so much better. The bloating I’d gotten used to just went away! Since then I’ve been searching for and testing gluten-free recipes pretty much nonstop.
A good chocolate chip cookie is one of the first things you miss after giving up gluten. And plenty of people who skip gluten skip dairy too.
So here’s a cookie that skips both, and still tastes like the real thing.
What makes these cookies gluten free and dairy free?
Four swaps do all the work: a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend instead of wheat flour, dairy-free butter sticks, dairy-free cream cheese and dairy-free chocolate chips. Everything else in the bowl (brown sugar, white sugar, egg yolks, vanilla, baking soda, salt) is naturally free of both.
The chocolate is where dairy usually sneaks in. Lots of semisweet chips contain milk or milkfat, so read the ingredient list, not just the front of the bag. Milk is one of the major allergens US labels have to name, and the FDA has a simple guide to reading allergen labels if you’re new to it.
Baking for someone with celiac disease? Look for a gluten-free label on the flour blend and the chips too. In the US, a package can only say gluten-free if it meets the FDA’s gluten-free standard of less than 20 parts per million of gluten.
One heads-up: these cookies do have eggs (just the yolks). There’s more on allergy swaps further down.
Ingredients for gluten free dairy free chocolate chip cookies
You need 11 ingredients, and most of them are pantry basics.
- Gluten-free flour blend: Use a good all-purpose blend, and weigh it if you can (280 g). Blends vary a lot cup to cup, and too much flour is the fastest way to a puffy, cakey cookie. Skip blends made with bean flours, which can leave an odd smell and aftertaste.
- Xanthan gum: Only if your blend doesn’t already have xanthan or guar gum. Check the bag.
- Dairy-free butter: Sticks, not a tub. Earth Balance and Melt both make dairy-free sticks. You’ll melt it and let it cool a bit before mixing.
- Dairy-free cream cheese: It’s only 2 ounces, but don’t skip it! It makes the dough richer and covers up the slightly gritty texture that rice-based flour blends can leave in cookies. Many brands are made from almonds or cashews, so read the label if you need nut free.
- Brown sugar and white sugar: Brown sugar keeps the middles soft and chewy, and white sugar helps the edges crisp. Pack the brown sugar (it’s the only thing you pack).
- Egg yolks: Yolks only. Whites make cookies puffier and drier, while yolks add richness and chew. Save the whites for an omelet.
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract.
- Baking soda: Not baking powder. They don’t swap here.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips: Two whole cups, on purpose. Enjoy Life makes semisweet chips that are dairy free. If you’d rather taste more cookie in each bite, cut back to 1 1/2 cups.
What can I use instead of butter in gluten free cookies?
Dairy-free butter sticks are the closest swap. Melted, they act most like real butter, so you keep the chewy middles and crisp edges.
| Option | What happens | Use it? |
|---|---|---|
| Dairy-free butter sticks, melted | Closest to a classic butter cookie | Yes, this recipe is written for them |
| Refined coconut oil, melted | Slightly crisper edges, no coconut taste | It should work, but I haven’t tested it in this recipe |
| Unrefined coconut oil | Same as refined, plus coconut flavor | Only if you like coconut |
| Tub-style spread | Thin, greasy cookies, because tubs hold more water | No |
Whatever you use, let it cool after melting. Hot fat dissolves the sugar, and the cookies spread more in the oven.
Can I use almond flour?
Not as a straight swap for the flour blend. Almond flour has no starch to hold the dough together, so the cookies spread flat, break easily and brown fast.
A blend that includes some almond flour is fine, though. Those cookies just brown a little sooner, so start checking them a minute early.
How to make gluten free dairy free cookies
Mix, chill, scoop, bake. The chill is the step that makes or breaks these, so plan for it.
- Melt the butter and let it cool. Warm is fine. Hot isn’t.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Pour the melted butter over the cream cheese in your mixer bowl, add both sugars and beat on medium for 2 minutes. It should look smooth, glossy and a shade lighter. Then beat in the vanilla and the yolks, one at a time.
- Add the dry ingredients, then the chips. Mix on low just until you can’t see dry flour anymore, then stir in the chocolate.
- Chill at least 4 hours. This gives the flour time to soak up moisture (so no gritty texture), firms up the butter (so less spread) and deepens the flavor. The dough keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days, which means you can bake a few cookies at a time.
- Scoop and bake. Let the cold dough sit out until you can scoop it. Use a #20 cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons), fit 12 on a parchment-lined sheet with plenty of room between them, and bake at 375°F for 11 to 12 minutes.
- Pull them early. They’re done when the edges are set and just starting to brown and the centers still look underdone. They finish baking on the hot pan, so give them 2 to 3 minutes there before moving them to a rack.
Want that melty chocolate look on top? Press a few extra chips into the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven.
Tips for chewy cookies (and how to fix flat or gritty ones)
Most cookie problems come down to temperature or too much flour. For more on choosing flours and avoiding grit, see my guide to gluten free cookies.
| Problem | Why it happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Flat cookies | Dough not chilled long enough, butter added hot, or a tub spread | Chill the full 4 hours, cool the butter, use sticks |
| Gritty texture | The flour didn’t get time to soak up moisture | Don’t cut the chill short, and keep the cream cheese in |
| Puffy, cakey cookies | Too much flour, usually scooped straight from the bag | Weigh it (280 g), or spoon it into the cup and level it |
| Bottoms too dark | A blend with almond flour, or a dark pan | Check a minute early, and use a light-colored pan |
| Hard the next day | Overbaked | Pull them while the centers still look underdone |
| Dough too hard to scoop | Straight from the fridge | Let it sit out until it softens a bit |
And if a batch spreads more than you’d like, that’s okay. Nudge the edges back in with a spoon while they’re still hot and soft.
Can I make these egg free, nut free or vegan?
Nut free and soy free, yes, if you pick the right brands. Egg free and vegan, honestly not yet.
- Nut free: Check three labels. Many dairy-free cream cheeses are made from almonds or cashews, so look for one made from coconut oil, oats or soy. Some flour blends include almond flour. And check the chips for a “may contain tree nuts” warning.
- Soy free: Lots of chocolate chips use soy lecithin, and some dairy-free butters use soybean oil. Read both.
- Egg free: The yolks do a lot here. They add the chew and richness and help hold the dough together, and a flax egg can’t do that the same way. I don’t have a swap I’d recommend yet. If you try one, please tell me how it went in the comments!
- Vegan: Same story, because of the yolks.
More gluten free dairy free cookie ideas
Once you’ve got this dough down, these gluten-free cookies from the blog are good next bakes. I haven’t tested every one of them dairy free yet, so read each ingredient list and swap in dairy-free butter sticks where it calls for butter.
Peanut butter cookies
My gluten free peanut butter cookies come two ways, with or without flour. The flourless version is a good place to start if you’re avoiding dairy, since classic flourless peanut butter cookies often have no butter at all. Just double check the list.
Oatmeal cookies
For something heartier, try my peanut butter oatmeal cookies. Use oats labeled gluten free. Regular oats are often cross-contaminated with wheat, which is why Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center recommends buying only oats labeled gluten-free.
Sugar cookies
My guide to gluten free sugar cookies covers both soft cookies and cut-outs, which makes it the one to bookmark for the holidays.
Holiday cookies
If you’re planning a cookie tray, my gluten free spritz cookies and springerle cookies are both festive and fun to make.
How to store and freeze them
Baked cookies keep 3 to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Gluten-free cookies dry out faster than regular ones, so a slice of gluten-free bread tucked in the container helps keep them soft.
- Dough in the fridge: Up to 3 days, covered. Bake a few whenever you want warm cookies.
- Frozen dough balls: Scoop the dough right after mixing, freeze the balls on a tray until firm, then move them to a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 375°F and add a couple of minutes.
- Frozen baked cookies: Up to 3 months. Thaw them at room temperature, or warm one for a few seconds in the microwave.
FAQ
Do I need xanthan gum?
Only if your flour blend doesn’t already have xanthan or guar gum in it. Most all-purpose blends do, and adding extra can make the cookies gummy.
Can I skip chilling the dough?
I wouldn’t. Unchilled dough spreads thin and bakes up gritty, and 4 hours really is the minimum for the texture in the photos.
Can I use coconut sugar or less sugar?
You can swap coconut sugar for part of the sugar, but the cookies come out darker and the texture changes. I don’t recommend cutting the sugar way down. Sugar is part of what keeps the middles chewy and lets the edges crisp.
How do I make smaller cookies?
Use a smaller scoop and shorten the bake. As a starting point, a #40 scoop takes about 7 to 9 minutes and a #60 scoop about 6 to 7 minutes. Watch the edges, not the clock.
Can I double the recipe?
Yes, as long as your stand mixer can handle that much dough.
More gluten-free recipes to try
You’ll find the rest of my cookies in Gluten-Free Cookies, and if you’re in the mood for something else, my 13 easy gluten free dessert recipes and the Gluten-Free Desserts page have plenty more.
If you bake these, I’d love to hear how they turned out. Leave a rating in the recipe card, and tell me in the comments which dairy-free butter and chips you used.
