Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

My daughter starts her senior year today. Her last first day. I have been standing in this kitchen most of the morning thinking about that, which is how the cookies happened.

She will come home tired and full of news, and I wanted something warm on the counter and a cold glass of milk to go with it. Oatmeal cookies felt right. They are not fussy. They do not ask anything of you.

These are gluten-free. Today I made them with a diabetic-friendly brown sugar and a stevia-based granulated sugar so my husband can have one too. Thankfully these work well one-to-one. Today’s batch got cacao chips.

Why oats are the easiest cookie to make gluten-free

An oatmeal cookie is already half oats. The oats give you the chew and the structure, so the flour is doing less work than it does in a plain drop cookie. That is why this one converts so cleanly when most gluten-free cookies go flat or sandy.

The flour that is left is only a cup, and it is split three ways on purpose. White rice flour carries the bulk. Tapioca starch gives the chew and helps the edges brown. Potato starch keeps the middle soft. There is no xanthan gum in this recipe and it does not need any. Two eggs and a cup and a half of oats hold a cookie together fine.

What I have learned making these

• Certified gluten-free oats are not optional. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are usually grown and milled alongside wheat. The words have to be on the package.
• Chill the dough. Rice flour and starches absorb liquid slowly. Thirty minutes in the refrigerator is the difference between a thick, chewy cookie and a thin one that spreads to the edge of the pan.
• Pull them looking underdone. The edges should be golden and the centers should still look wet. Gluten-free cookies firm up considerably as they cool, and if the middle looks done in the oven it will be dry on the plate.
• Leave them on the sheet five minutes. They are fragile straight out of the oven and will break in half if you rush them onto a rack.

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Gluten-Free Oatmeal Cookies

Soft, chewy gluten-free oatmeal cookies with cacao chips. We bake them with a diabetic-friendly brown sugar and a stevia-based granulated sugar so everyone at our table can have one.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Chill Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 57 minutes mins

Servings: 20 cookies

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1/4 cup potato starch
• 1 1/2 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg optional
• 3/4 cup cacao chips or chocolate chips or raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts optional

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4. Whisk together the rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients.
6. Stir in the oats and whatever add-ins you are using.
7. For thicker, chewier cookies, refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
8. Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 tablespoons per cookie.
9. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers still look slightly underdone.
10. Let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving them.

Notes

The sugar. We bake these with a diabetic-friendly brown sugar and a stevia-based granulated sugar so my husband can have one. The ones we use measure cup for cup, but check your package, because not every brand does. The oats, flours, and add-ins still carry carbohydrate, so this is a cookie made friendlier, not a free food.

The flours. The rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch add up to exactly one cup. One cup of a gluten-free all-purpose blend works in their place. No xanthan gum needed either way.

The oats. They must say certified gluten-free on the package. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are usually grown and milled alongside wheat.

Make ahead. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them solid on a sheet pan, then keep them in a bag. Bake from frozen and add a couple of minutes.

Questions I get about these cookies

Can I use a gluten-free all-purpose blend instead of the three flours?

Yes. The rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch add up to exactly one cup, so use one cup of your blend. If it already contains xanthan gum that is fine here. The cookie will be a little softer.

Do I need xanthan gum?

No. The oats and the eggs do that job. This is one of the few gluten-free recipes I make that does not need a binder.

Can I use quick oats?

They will work, but you lose the reason to make an oatmeal cookie. Quick oats break down into the dough and the cookie goes soft all the way through. Rolled oats stay distinct and give you something to chew.

Does the sugar swap change anything else?

The ones we use measure cup for cup, so nothing else in the recipe moves. Check your own package, because not every brand does. The oats, the flours, and the add-ins still carry carbohydrate, so this is a cookie made friendlier, not a free food, and anyone managing blood sugar should count it as what it is.

Can I make the dough ahead?

Yes, and the chill step means you are halfway there already. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them solid on a sheet pan, then keep them in a bag. Bake from frozen and give them a couple of extra minutes.

If you bake these, come back and tell me what you put in them. And if you are sending a child out the door this morning too, I am right there with you.