Thick and Chewy Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies

If your ideal cookie is thick, chewy, and absolutely packed with chocolate, you've come to the right place! This gluten free chocolate cookie recipe will give you exactly that: soft, chunky cookies with a rich dark chocolate flavor you'll LOVE.

When it comes to cookies, my standards are HIGH. With a few exceptions (like my crispy & beloved almond florentines), I like them soft, thick, and oh-so-chewy. And if you've made my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (or one of my fudgy brownies), you might have noticed: we go heavy on the chocolate around here.

I can proudly say that these double chocolate cookies check all those boxes and then some. Much like fudgy brownie cookies, they're dense yet soft, intensely chocolatey, and perfectly chewy.

this recipe

Ingredients You'll Need

For the full ingredient list, head to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. But first, here are a few ingredient-specific tips:

• Flour: As I mentioned in the recipe highlights above, you can use standard or gluten free all-purpose flour for these double chocolate chip cookies. There's no need to adjust the amounts! If you are making gluten free cookies, make sure your all-purpose blend contains a binder like xanthan gum or guar gum. For this recipe I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Baking Flour, which has xanthan gum.
• Cocoa Powder: When it comes to recipes where chocolate is really the standout flavor, (like this incredible chocolate fudge cake), I always recommend spending a little more for a good quality cocoa powder if you can help it. I often use Ghirardelli. I've always made this recipe with Dutch processed cocoa because it has a smoother, richer flavor than standard cocoa powder, but either option should work.
• Corn Starch: A little bit of corn starch makes cookies thicker, softer, and chewier, which is why I include it in many of my cookie recipes. Don't skip it!
• Espresso Powder: This ingredient isn't mandatory, but it does help intensify the rich flavor of these fudgy cookies. If you have an espresso machine, you can make espresso powder with the brewed grounds.
• Butter: This is another ingredient where I've found that it's worth splurging on the good stuff, and by good, I mean European-style butter - preferably Kerrygold. I consistently find that recipes for cookies and scones spread less in the oven when I use this butter. I went with unsalted butter here, but I think salted would taste just as good.
• Cream Cheese: It might sound like a weird addition, but I'm telling you - if you want a thick, soft, chewy cookie, add some cream cheese. I use this in my recipe for gluten free chocolate chip cookies as well, and it always does great things for a cookie's texture without negatively affecting the flavor. For the best results you'll want to use full-fat cream cheese.
• Eggs: This recipe calls for one whole egg plus a second egg yolk, and I know that you might be tempted to use that second egg white as well, but don't do it! This is another technique I use in a lot of my cookie recipes because the second yolk will help yield softer and more tender cookies. While the whites are great for structure, they can dry out a cookie when used in excess.
• Chocolate: Whether you want to go with chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, or chopped chocolate here is really a matter of preference. I like a combo! Chips or chunks will give you consistently-sized pieces of chocolate in every bite, whereas chopped chocolate gives you a mix of big chunks and small flakes that melt into the cookie a bit more. Again, quality is extra-important here; the better your chocolate is, the better your cookies will taste. For the cookies photographed I used a mixture of 8 ounces semisweet Super Cookie Chips (a new find that I LOVE) and 4 ounces Trader Joe's Pound Plus dark chocolate.

How to Make Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Mix the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, corn starch, baking soda, espresso powder, and salt until evenly combined. You can sift in your cocoa powder to make this easier, but if you don't, be sure to break up any chunks of cocoa as best as possible while whisking.

2. Cream the butter and sugar: In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a large bowl and handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until smooth, light, and fluffy.
3. Add remaining wet ingredients: Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar, and beat in on medium-high until the mixture is smooth and the beaters leave a trail in the batter after mixing. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater to make sure all of the ingredients are well-combined.

4. Combine wet and dry ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold in with your spatula until just combined; the dough will be very thick and sticky. Add the chocolate (chips, chopped chocolate, or a combination) and fold in just until evenly dispersed. Transfer the dough to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least a few hours before baking (or up to 2 weeks).

5. Portion and shape: When you're ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Scoop the chilled dough by 2 ¼-ounce portions (about ¼ cup each), shape into mounds that are taller than they are wide, and divide evenly between the prepared baking sheets. If you'd like, you can press a few extra pieces of chocolate into the top of each cookie dough ball, and/or sprinkle the tops with fleur de sel before baking.

6. Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, switching and rotating the baking trays halfway through. They're done when the tops no longer appear glossy or wet.
7. Cool cookies on the baking trays for about 10 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire rack or other surface to cool completely.

Storing, Freezing, and Shelf Life

Once baked and cooled, store your double chocolate cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature. They should stay fresh for at least 1 week.

If you'd like, you can also freeze the dough or the fully baked cookies.

To freeze the dough:

Portion dough into individual mounds as outlined in step 5 above. Place on a parchment-lined tray (use one small enough to fit in your freezer) and freeze until the dough is firm (about 1 hour). Then, transfer to a freezer-safe plastic bag or other airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

To freeze baked cookies:

Transfer fully cooled cookies to a freezer-safe plastic bag or airtight container in a single layer. Freeze for up to 3 months, and remove from bag or container when defrosting.

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