Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

These vegan and gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are soft, chewy and have that classic, bakery-style crinkle top! They are super easy to make and require just a few simple ingredients. They make a great treat for those with allergies!

These chocolate chip cookies are the second batch of gluten-free cookies I’ve made for this blog, second to my white chocolate and macadamia cookies.

I had a couple of emails recently from readers, asking if I had any gluten-free dessert recipes for them and I was quite embarrassed to say that I didn’t! At least, not anything that I specifically made a point of making gluten-free.

So I’m slowly working on building up my selection of gluten-free baked goods and these cookies are the latest addition. I plan to create a gluten-free version of all of my most popular bakes!

I know some people follow a plant-based diet due to allergies or intolerances, so I really want to make an effort to make sure my recipes a little more inclusive.

More vegan gluten-free desserts:

• Rice Krispy treats
• Lemon drizzle sheet cake
• Almond flour cookies
• Peanut butter fudge

Ingredients you’ll need

None of the ingredient’s you’ll need for this recipe are overly wacky or unusual, especially if you’re used to following a vegan and/or gluten-free diet. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Flax seeds: These act as a vegan egg replacement and help to bind the cookies together. This prevents the cookies from crumbling when cold. I doubled the amount of flax seeds compared to my regular cookie recipe, to replace the binding power that you typically get from gluten.
• Vegan margarine: Margarine is the fat source in this recipe. It helps the cookies to spread out and get that classic crinkly top. I strongly recommend using a spreadable type of margarine such as Vitalite, and not the blocky style of vegan “butter”. They each have different water contents, and the latter can cause the cookies to spread out too much and become too crispy or greasy.
• Sugar: This recipe calls for a mix of soft light brown sugar and caster sugar. This gives the perfect balance of soft, chewy and crispy all in one!
• Vanilla extract: Gives additional flavour.
• Gluten-free self-raising flour: You’ll need to use a self-raising flour blend for these cookies, as the added raising agents will help to improve the cookie texture. Flours such as almond or coconut will not work well. I recommend using a blend that contains xanthan gum, such as Dove’s Farm (this is the one I used when testing and it’s available in most large UK supermarkets). If you can’t get one with xanthan gum already in it, add 1/2 a teaspoon of xanthan gum to the recipe. You can find xanthan gum in the free-from section of most supermarkets.
• Chocolate chips: Of course, no vegan gluten-free chocolate chip cookies would be complete without chocolate, would they?!

Best vegan chocolate chips for cookies

Since a lot of people struggle to find vegan chocolate chips, I thought I’d make a small list of the ones available in UK supermarkets. There are some others available and you can find full details in my vegan chocolate guide.

• Dr. Oetker jumbo dark chocolate chips (make sure you get the jumbo ones as the regular dark chocolate ones contain dairy)
• Morrison’s dark chocolate chips
• Asda dark chocolate chips (not currently listed online but available in stores)
• Moo-Free baking drops

I have to admit, and you’ll be able to tell from my photos, that I usually make my cookies with chocolate chunks rather than chips. I think it’s because dairy-free chocolate chips tend to be dark chocolate with tonnes of sugar added to them, which have a weird aftertaste in my opinion. When it comes to chocolate, I prefer either a totally creamy, “milky” flavour or a strong, dark, bold flavour.

So I typically just chop up a bar of whatever chocolate I’m loving at that time and throw it into my cookie dough. Yes, technically they’d be chocolate chunk cookies but you get the idea. Here are some of my faves:

• Tesco 74% dark chocolate
• Nomo sea salt caramel chocolate
• Lindt excellent dark chocolate

How to make vegan gluten-free cookies

Step 1:

Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F and line a large baking tray or two with baking paper. Alternatively you can use non-stick cookie sheets.

Step 2:

In a small bowl or mug, mix 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Set it aside for around 5 minutes. It will become thick and gelatinous and will act as your egg replacement.

Please note that you have to use ground flax seeds for this to work correctly. You can buy them already “milled” or you can get them whole and grind them up yourself in a high power blender.

Step 3:

In a large bowl, cream together 100g of vegan margarine, 100g of caster sugar and 75g of light brown sugar.

Once mixed, stir in the flax mixture plus 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Step 4:

Now add 210g of Dove’s Farm self-raising gluten-free flour blend. Stir the mixture with a spoon until it starts to stick together, then use your hands to press it together into a ball of dough.

Step 5:

Add 100g of vegan chocolate chips or chunks to the bowl and gently knead them into the cookie dough with your hands.

Step 6:

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into balls. Use your hands to flatten the balls to around 1/2 an inch thick and place them onto your baking tray(s). Make sure to leave a few inches of space to allow them to spread without sticking together.

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes and let them cool completely on the tray. They will be quite fragile at first so don’t try to lift them up. They will firm up and hold together once cool.

FAQ:

That’s all for now! I hope you enjoy this recipe. If you make these cookies at home, please leave a comment and/or rating to let me now how you get on. Happy baking! xo

5 from 1 vote

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Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy, soft and chewy gluten-free cookies without eggs or dairy.

Course Dessert

Cuisine vegan

Keyword gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Servings 8 large cookies

Calories 316 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Ground flax seeds
• 100 g Vegan margarine* (¼ cup + 2 tablespoons)
• 75 g Soft light brown sugar (⅜ cup)
• 100 g Caster sugar (½ cup)
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 210 g Dove's farm gluten-free self-raising flour blend (1+⅔ cups)
• 100 g Vegan chocolate chips or chunks (~⅔ cup)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F (or 180°C/350°F if you're using a fan or convection oven). Line a large baking tray or two with baking paper or have a non-stick cookie sheet to hand.

2. In a small mug or bowl, mix the ground flax seeds with 1 tablespoon of cold water. Set it aside for around 5 minutes. It will become thick and gelatinous, and will act as your egg replacement.

3. In a large bowl, mix the margarine, brown sugar and caster sugar together. Then stir in the flax seed mixture and the vanilla extract.

4. Add all of the flour to the bowl. Stir it with a spoon until it starts to stick together, then use your hands to press it into a ball of dough.

5. Add the chocolate chips and gently fold them in using your hands.

6. Divide the dough into 8 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball then flatten to around ½ an inch thick.

7. Place the discs of cookie dough onto your tray(s), leaving a few inches of space between them to allow for spreading.

8. Bake for 12 minutes. Leave them on the tray until they are completely cool. They will be fragile when they come out but firm up as the cool.

Recipe Notes

• *Use a dairy-free spreadable margarine and not the blocky types of vegan “butters” for this recipe. I recommend Vitalite.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Amount Per Serving (1 cookie)

Calories 316 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Sodium 92mg4%

Carbohydrates 47g16%

Sugar 25g28%

Protein 3g6%

* All values are an estimate only and will vary depending on the food brands used.