23 Best Gluten-Free Cookies

Years ago, gluten-free cookies were either loaded with nuts or left an unpleasant grainy texture in your mouth. 

Luckily, gluten-free flour has come leaps and bounds, and I’ll bet nobody will even know some of these aren’t loaded with wheat.

Of course, some still use ground almonds, and they’re best for people who want low-carb cookies.

But with the availability of gluten-free flour, you’ll have the choice now.’

Each of these 23 recipes is perfect for people with allergies and intolerances, and they’re pretty darn delicious, too.

The Best Gluten Free Cookie Recipes You’ll Ever Taste

1. The Best Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had to start with a classic because if you can’t make a decent gluten-free chocolate chip cookie, what’s the point, right?

As I mentioned before, gluten-free cookies and baked goods used to be a challenge, and they somehow always had a very gritty and dry finish. 

Gluten-free flour has come a long way, but it’s still not perfect.

That’s because to make it gluten-free, it often includes rice flour, which is where that gritty texture comes from. 

So, to combat that, you need to add extra moisture and starch, like cornflour, to help keep the cookie tender. 

Alternatively, choose a gluten-free flour blend that doesn’t include rice flour. 

Back to the recipe, these cookies have a perfect balance of moisture to flour. All it takes is a little extra milk in the dough. 

Not only that, but they’re made with brown butter for added flavor. 

2. Gluten-Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

What better way to infuse a batch of cookies with moisture than to add pumpkin to the mix? ‘Tis the season, after all!

Pumpkin cookies are notoriously soft and tender, and these are no exception. Oh, and did I mention they’re egg-free to boot?

Just mix gluten-free flour with packed brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl, so everything is well blended. 

Then, stir in coconut oil, pumpkin purée, and vanilla, followed by dark chocolate chips. Portion. Bake. Devour!

3. Gluten Free Brown Sugar Cookies

Brown sugar is the key to making cookies chewy.

It has more moisture than white sugar, and since it’s made with molasses, your dough will be a little more sticky.

This recipe is actually straight from a box, so you’ll need to find King Arthur Gluten Free Cookie Mix. 

To that, you’ll add butter, eggs, and water, and remember to be gentle when mixing. 

Keep them simple or go ahead and add chopped nuts or chocolate chips. 

4. Easy Gluten-Free Drop Sugar Cookie Recipe

I love sugar cookies, but I don’t always have the time to roll and cut a batch. That’s why I love this simple drop recipe. 

You’ll use slightly less flour, making the dough wetter and, therefore, more likely to spread in the oven (like chocolate chip cookies do).

The dough is firm with standard sugar cookies, and you need to roll it out and cut shapes. They don’t spread much, by design, so that you can decorate them.

That doesn’t mean you can’t decorate these, of course. You just won’t have a perfectly flat surface to work with. 

5. The Best Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

In my opinion, peanut butter cookies should be firm, if slightly crisp around the edges, and wonderfully chewy in the middle.

Boy, do these babies deliver.

You’ll notice that the recipe and method for this are just like regular peanut butter cookies. And you can even criss-cross the top with a fork if you like. 

You could probably make these with almond butter if you have an allergy. Just remember to mix any excess oil thoroughly before using it. 

6. Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think there’s a common misconception that if a recipe is gluten-free, it’s healthy. 

But unless you swap out eggs for bananas, chocolate for dried fruits, and sugar for sweeteners, most are just as sugary and delicious as regular cookies. 

And that’s what I love about them. If I wanted something healthy, I’d eat fruit. But instead, I want something that tastes decadent, just without gluten. 

So, here we have indulgent chocolate and peanut butter cookies that are just as sinful as their wheat counterparts. 

Better still, these only need a handful of ingredients and take minutes to make. 

7. Thick and Chewy Classic Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

I need to preface this one with a quick PSA: not all oats are gluten-free. 

Although oats don’t contain gluten, they’re usually processed in large factories where flour, other grains, and wheat are present. 

So, if you have a severe gluten allergy, be sure to get gluten-free oats that are processed in separate factories and free from cross-contamination. 

That said, if you have Celiac disease, oats are usually a bad idea.

This is because they contain a specific protein called avenin, which is like gluten and intolerable for people with Celiac.

Ok, that wasn’t too quick, but it’s important to know these things, right?

Once you have the proper oats, this recipe is like any other. You’ll use white sugar for sweetness and brown for its chew. 

Make them with chocolate or raisins, or maybe even both!

8. The Best Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know this is similar to the recipe above, but it uses almond flour instead of just gluten-free flour. 

Almond flour not only adds a lovely, subtle sweetness to the dough but also helps to infuse these with moisture. 

If you’ve never baked with coconut oil before, don’t worry, you can use it just like butter.

Once it’s in the bowl with the sugars, beat it with a paddle until it’s light and fluffy. 

9. Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles aren’t just sugar cookies coated with cinnamon. Instead, they have a very distinct flavor of their own that’s a little tangy.

They’ll get this from the cream of tartar, which is acidic and also makes them chewy.

To make the perfect Snickerdoodle with a crispy spiced coating and incredible fluffy middle, you’ll make the dough, portion it, then toss the unbaked cookies in cinnamon sugar.

Next, chill the cookies again so some of the coating can infuse into the dough. Finally, toss them in cinnamon sugar again and bake them. 

10. Easy Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies

In order to make a gluten-free cookie that melts in your mouth, you’ll need to ensure they have enough starch. 

This recipe uses powdered sugar, which on its own will make the dough smooth.

Plus, confectioner’s sugar usually contains cornstarch to keep it from clumping. 

Add to that the extra cornstarch in the dough, and these will be crazy tender. 

11. Bakery-Style Flourless Fudge Cookies

These fudge cookies, or brookies as you may also know them, are insanely fudgy and super indulgent. 

If you’ve ever made brownies, you’ll know that they don’t use a ton of flour. That’s what makes them so chewy and soft. 

So, it makes sense that these gluten-free fudge cookies would be so good. In fact, they don’t use any flour at all!

Between the cocoa powder and foamy egg whites, these will have a lovely crinkle top and a lightly crisp coating.

12. Gluten-Free Chocolate Chunk Toffee Cookies

Here’s another recipe that calls for brown butter. Don’t worry if you’re unfamiliar with the stuff, as it’s super easy to make at home. 

Just add butter to a pan and heat gently. The trick is to be patient because it will take some time. 

Eventually, the butter will turn foamy, and you’ll see the milk solids start to separate and turn brown.

Once it’s cooled again, you’ll see brown bits in the butter, which is normal. That’s where the flavor comes from!

Use it how you would regular butter for the most naturally nutty and caramel-flavored cookies ever. 

13. Gluten-Free Gingerbread Cookies

This is one of my favorite things to do with kids. Make a big batch of dough, let them cut out some shapes, and then get messy with colorful icing. 

If you’ve got a holiday party coming up, having a gingerbread decorating station is a terrific way to keep the kids entertained. 

And how nice will it be for the gluten-free guests to see you made an effort to include them?

14. Gluten-Free White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies Recipe

White chocolate and macadamia nuts are a classic combination. Both are creamy, but white chocolate is sweet, where macadamia nuts are buttery.

For a chewy cookie with a crisp edge, use melted butter. For a richer flavor, use egg yolks only. 

And for the best texture, always spoon the flour into the measuring cups. If you just scoop it out, you’ll pack it in and end up with way too much. 

Instead, use a spoon, layer the flour into the cup, then level it off with a flat knife or spatula. 

15. Gluten-Free Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies

You probably noticed that most of these recipes suggest a specific brand of gluten-free flour. If that’s the case, you really should try to get the same blend. 

That’s because they can vary wildly, and you might end up with very different cookies. 

That said, if you do your research, you should be able to find and use different brands, so long as they have the same ingredients. 

For example, if a recipe calls for Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, you should know it already contains cornstarch. So, adding more will likely ruin the recipe. 

In this case, you’ll need Pillsbury gluten-free and xanthan gum.

However, if you have gluten-free flour that already contains xanthan gum, you’ll need to omit any extra.

16. Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Cookies

If you’re worried that your gluten-free cookies will come out dry, why not just add a thick layer of frosting to the middle?

It works for cakes and cupcakes, right?

Of course, carrot cakes and cookies are pretty tender. The carrots add a ton of moisture and natural sweetness, not to mention fantastic color. 

17. Gluten-free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Unlike the fudge cookies above, which contain no flour at all and are insanely chewy, these use gluten-free flour to make them a little cakier and more stable. 

Still, they’re very chewy and tender. To get this texture, you’ll need to mix the melted butter with cocoa, just like you would with brownies. 

This activates the cocoa and enhances the chocolate flavor. 

There’s also an extra egg yolk in the mix for richness and moisture. 

18. Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

Peanut butter blossoms are bite-sized cookies with a Hershey’s Kiss nestled in the middle. They’re light and tender with a terrific bite of chocolate. 

I love giving these as gifts because they’re so easy to modify with different flavored Kisses.

I happen to like them with caramel Kisses, but white chocolate works well too. 

To keep these from spreading too much, chill the dough before portioning.

Then, add the chocolate as soon as they come out of the oven, so they’ll melt a little and stick to the top. 

19. Gluten-Free Pizzelle Recipe: Thin and Crisp Pizzelles

To make these adorable and decorative cookies, you’ll need a pizzelle maker.

I know it might seem a bit extra, but it’s so worth it, especially when the holidays roll around. 

The good news is, you can get one on Amazon, and it will guarantee perfect-looking cookies every single time.

This recipe is very authentic, so you’ll use star anise to add a wonderful festive taste.  

20. Gluten Free “Nilla Wafers”

Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding is heaven in a bowl. It’s creamy, luscious, sweet, and impossible to resist. 

It’s also effortless to make at home, with two of the main ingredients being Nilla Wafers and box vanilla instant pudding mix.

If you love the idea of creamy banana pudding but can’t eat gluten, these gluten-free Nilla Wafers are for you. 

21. Gluten-Free Samoas Cookie

Samoas have three critical components: a buttery shortbread base, a chewy caramel and coconut topping, and a dark chocolate coating. 

The last two are already gluten-free, so it’s just the cookie you need to worry about.

Luckily, with almond flour and arrowroot powder, you can easily make a light and tinder base. 

I know the donut shape is standard, but I usually just keep these as discs. You’ll get more that way, and they’re not as fussy to make. 

22. Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies

Also known as Mexican wedding cookies, these little shortbread bites are already loaded with chopped nuts, so adding them here to keep the dough moist won’t change the flavor at all.

The recipe calls for gluten-free flour with rice flour plus xantham gum.

Since you’ll add chopped nuts, you don’t need to worry as much about grainy mouthfeel.

Since there are no eggs in the dough, you can easily make this vegan with dairy-free butter.

23. Gluten-Free Triple Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

These thick chocolate cookies are loaded with chocolate chunks, refreshing peppermint extract, and then dipped in creamy white chocolate. 

As much as I love chocolate, I enjoy how the white chocolate coating mellows out that rich flavor. It means I can have more than one (or two)!

Vanilla almond bark makes a nice alternative but stick with good-quality white chocolate if you want these nut-free.