Irresistible Gluten-Free Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies: Soft, Chewy & Easy!
Satisfy your sweet tooth with these unbelievably soft and chewy oat flour chocolate chip cookies. This incredibly easy, one-bowl recipe requires no chilling and delivers warm, gooey cookies in less than 30 minutes. They’re naturally gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and come with a simple option to make them dairy-free or even vegan, proving that healthier can still mean delicious!
Prepare to fall in love with your new favorite cookie recipe! These oat flour chocolate chip cookies boast perfectly golden-brown edges and a wonderfully soft, delightfully chewy interior. They deliver all the classic comfort and rich chocolatey goodness you crave in a chocolate chip cookie, but with a wholesome twist, made exclusively with real and unrefined ingredients.
Why Oat Flour is a Game Changer for Your Baking
If you haven’t yet embraced oat flour in your baking, these cookies are the perfect introduction! Oat flour is an exceptional choice for many recipes, offering a host of benefits that make it superior to traditional white flour. It’s naturally gluten-free, a whole grain, and packed with significantly more fiber and protein, contributing to a more satisfying and nutritious treat. Its subtle nutty flavor also adds an incredible depth to baked goods.
It’s no wonder oat flour is a staple in my kitchen! You’ll find it featured prominently in many of my other beloved recipes, including my fluffy oat flour pancakes, comforting apple cinnamon oat muffins, delectable gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip bread, energizing chocolate protein bread, fudgy oat flour brownies, and the irresistible gluten-free apple crisp.
🍽 Why These Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Will Become Your Favorite
These aren’t just any cookies; they’re a revelation in healthier baking! Here’s why these oat flour chocolate chip cookies are about to become a permanent fixture in your recipe rotation:
- Effortless One-Bowl Preparation: Who loves a mountain of dishes after baking? Not us! This recipe is designed for maximum flavor with minimum cleanup, requiring just one mixing bowl. Simply combine your ingredients, and you’re halfway to cookie heaven. It’s baking made brilliantly simple.
- Wholesome, Better-For-You Ingredients: Indulge without the guilt! We prioritize your health by using whole grain oat flour and sweetening these cookies minimally with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is a natural, unrefined sweetener that adds a delightful caramel note without the harshness of white sugar, making these cookies a treat you can feel good about.
- No Chilling Required – Instant Gratification!: Forget the tedious waiting game. These cookies are perfect for those spontaneous cravings or when you need a quick dessert. The dough comes together beautifully without needing any chilling time. From mixing to warm, gooey cookies in your hand, you’re looking at less than 30 minutes – pure baking bliss!
- An Explosion of Amazing Flavor: Each bite is a symphony of textures and tastes. The oat flour imparts a subtle, earthy nuttiness, while the coconut sugar lends irresistible notes of rich caramel. And of course, generous amounts of melty chocolate chips ensure every cookie is packed with that classic, comforting chocolatey goodness we all adore.
- Perfect for Diverse Dietary Needs: Whether you have specific dietary restrictions or just prefer a cleaner treat, these cookies are incredibly versatile. They are inherently gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and can easily be adapted to be dairy-free or even fully vegan with simple ingredient swaps, ensuring everyone can enjoy them.
🥘 Gather Your Wholesome Ingredients
Crafting these delectable oat flour cookies starts with a few simple, quality ingredients. Here’s a visual guide and specific notes to help you achieve perfection:
A complete list of ingredients and precise amounts can be found in the detailed recipe card below. Below are some important notes and potential substitutions to ensure your baking success.
Oat Flour – The Gluten-Free Foundation
OAT FLOUR is the star of this recipe, and it’s crucial to stick with it. Do not substitute other flours, as oat flour behaves uniquely in baking and substitutions will alter the texture and consistency significantly. For individuals with celiac disease or high gluten sensitivity, it is absolutely essential to use certified gluten-free oat flour to prevent cross-contamination.
Coconut Sugar – A Naturally Sweet Choice
COCONUT SUGAR is our preferred sweetener for these cookies. It’s considered an unrefined sugar and has a wonderful caramel-like flavor, very similar to brown sugar. If coconut sugar isn’t readily available, good old brown sugar can be used as a direct 1:1 replacement, maintaining the rich flavor profile.
Egg – The Essential Binder
These oat flour cookies rely on ONE EGG to act as a crucial binding agent, providing structure and moisture. For those seeking a vegan alternative, a flax egg (one tablespoon of ground flaxseed meal mixed with three tablespoons of water, allowed to sit for 5 minutes until gel-like) works perfectly as a substitute.
Butter (or Dairy-Free Alternative)
The rich flavor and tender texture of these cookies largely come from the BUTTER. To make these oat flour cookies dairy-free, you have excellent options: substitute with refined coconut oil or your favorite vegan butter substitute. If opting for coconut oil, I highly recommend using refined coconut oil to ensure your cookies don’t take on an unwanted coconut flavor. Whichever fat you choose, ensure it is at room temperature and softened for optimal creaming with the sugar.
Chocolate Chips – Your Favorite Indulgence
I typically use dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips to keep these cookies friendly for all, but feel free to use ANY CHOCOLATE CHIPS you love! Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or even a mix of different types would be absolutely delicious.
Clean food tip: I highly recommend opting for organic oat flour whenever possible. Like most grains, conventional oats are often sprayed with glyphosate (a commonly used herbicide that has been linked to increased cancer risk) prior to being harvested. Choosing organic helps avoid these harmful chemicals.
Clean food tip: When selecting chocolate chips, look for brands that keep their ingredient list short and simple: ideally no more than chocolate liquor/chocolate/cocoa powder, cane sugar, and cocoa butter. Brands that are Fair Trade certified and/or organic are an even better choice, supporting ethical sourcing and cleaner ingredients.
🔪Step-by-Step Directions: Baking Your Best Oat Flour Cookies
Get ready to bake! Follow these easy steps to create perfectly soft and chewy oat flour chocolate chip cookies. Remember, attention to detail, especially with mixing, can make all the difference.
STEP 1: Cream Butter and Sugar. In a large mixing bowl, combine your room temperature butter and coconut sugar. Using a hand-mixer or an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-low speed until they are just combined and lightened in color. This process incorporates air, which contributes to the cookies’ tender texture.
STEP 2: Add Wet Ingredients. Introduce the egg and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat on medium-low speed until these wet ingredients are just combined. Avoid overmixing at this stage to prevent developing too much gluten (even in gluten-free flours, overmixing can lead to a tougher texture).
STEP 3: Incorporate Dry Ingredients. Add about half of the oat flour, along with the baking soda and salt, to the bowl. Beat on medium-low speed until the flour is almost mixed in. Then, add the remaining oat flour and continue mixing until all the flour is just incorporated into the wet ingredients. The key here is to mix until *just* combined; overmixing can result in a more cake-like, less chewy cookie.
STEP 4: Fold in Chocolate Chips. Once your dough is fully mixed, gently fold in the chocolate chips using a spatula. Distribute them evenly throughout the dough for chocolatey goodness in every bite.
STEP 5: Scoop the Dough. Scoop the cookie dough into roughly 1 ½ – 2 tablespoon-sized balls. Place them onto a prepared cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, ensuring they are about 2 inches apart to allow for proper spreading.
Tip: Oat flour cookie dough can be a little stickier than traditional wheat flour dough. For perfectly uniform and easy-to-handle portions, I highly recommend using a spring-loaded cookie scoop. This will make the process much cleaner and more efficient.
STEP 6: Bake to Perfection. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown and the centers still look slightly soft. For those who prefer a crispier cookie, extend the baking time by an additional 1-2 minutes. Keep a close eye on them, as ovens can vary.
Oat flour cookies, while delicious, can be a bit more fragile when they first come out of the oven compared to traditional cookies. It’s important to allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire cooling rack. This brief cooling period helps them firm up and prevents them from breaking apart. Let them cool completely on the rack for the best chewy texture.
And there you have it! Warm, wholesome, and utterly delicious oat flour chocolate chip cookies, ready to be devoured. We truly hope you and your loved ones enjoy these as much as we do!
👩🏻🍳Mastering Homemade Oat Flour: Simple & Cost-Effective
When it comes to using oat flour, you have two main options: buying it pre-packaged or making your own from scratch. While store-bought is convenient, I enthusiastically recommend making your own oat flour. It’s incredibly simple, offers superior control over ingredients, and is significantly more economical.
The process couldn’t be easier: simply blend rolled oats in a high-speed blender or food processor until they transform into a finely ground, powdery flour. That’s all there is to it! This DIY approach ensures you always have fresh oat flour on hand without the premium price tag.
Beyond the cost savings, making your own oat flour allows you to guarantee its quality, especially if you prioritize gluten-free and organic options. It can be challenging to find certified gluten-free oat flour that is also organic. Most conventionally grown oats are sprayed with glyphosate, an herbicide that has raised significant health concerns, including links to cancer. For this reason, selecting organic oat products is incredibly important to me, and making my own flour ensures I meet this standard.
While oats are naturally gluten-free, they are often processed in facilities that also handle wheat, barley, and rye. This common practice can lead to cross-contamination, making conventionally processed oats unsuitable for those with celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance. If you need to fully avoid even trace amounts of gluten, or simply prefer to, using certified gluten-free rolled oats to make your own flour is the safest and most reliable method.
💭Expert Tips for Oat Flour Cookie Perfection
Achieving perfectly soft and chewy oat flour chocolate chip cookies is simple with these expert insights:
Measure Oat Flour Accurately: When measuring oat flour, always use the “spoon and level” method. Gently scoop the oat flour into your measuring cup until it overflows, then level it off with the back of a knife or a straight edge. Do not pack the flour down. Overpacking the measuring cup can result in too much flour, leading to dry, crumbly cookies that don’t spread properly during baking. Precision here ensures the perfect texture.
For a Crispier Cookie: If you prefer your chocolate chip cookies with a delightful crunch, simply increase the baking time by an additional 1-2 minutes. Keep a close eye on them to prevent over-browning, aiming for a deeper golden edge.
Patience is a Virtue (Post-Bake): Oat flour cookies can be a little delicate and fragile right after they come out of the oven. To prevent them from breaking, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before attempting to transfer them to a wire cooling rack. This brief cooling period allows them to firm up and solidify.
Avoid Overmixing the Dough: Once you add the dry ingredients, mix only until everything is just combined. Overmixing the dough can develop the gluten (even in gluten-free oats) and lead to a more “cake-like” or fluffy texture, rather than the desired soft and chewy cookie. Stop mixing as soon as no dry streaks of flour remain.
The Secret to Perfectly Round Cookies: For bakery-worthy, perfectly round cookies, here’s a neat trick. Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, take a round cookie cutter (or a large glass) that is slightly larger than your baked cookies. Place it around each hot cookie and gently swirl the cookie inside the cutter. This simple motion pushes the edges inward, creating beautifully uniform circles.
Boost Your Chocolate Factor: For an extra dose of visual appeal and chocolatey goodness, press a few extra chocolate chips onto the top of each cookie dough ball right before baking. As they bake, these exposed chocolate chips will melt beautifully, creating those iconic, irresistible pools of chocolate.
📋Frequently Asked Questions About Oat Flour Cookies
Yes, oat flour is naturally gluten-free! However, it’s crucial to be aware that oats can sometimes become contaminated with gluten during processing if handled in facilities that also process gluten-containing grains. If you have celiac disease or a high sensitivity to gluten, it is highly recommended to use certified gluten-free oat flour (or certified gluten-free oats to make your own flour) to ensure your cookies are completely safe for consumption.
Absolutely! Transforming these into delicious vegan oat flour chocolate chip cookies is very straightforward. Simply substitute the butter with a high-quality vegan butter substitute or refined coconut oil. For the egg, use a flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water, let sit 5 minutes). And of course, ensure you are using dairy-free chocolate chips. For another naturally vegan cookie option, you might also love my healthy Samoas!
No, that’s one of the best features of this recipe – no chilling required! This dough is specifically formulated to spread perfectly into beautifully round cookies even at room temperature. Because this recipe uses coconut sugar instead of white granulated sugar (which tends to make cookies spread more), there is naturally less spreading to begin with, eliminating the need for refrigeration and getting you to warm cookies faster!
Unfortunately, oat flour is not a direct 1:1 substitute for regular white (all-purpose) flour in most recipes. Oat flour absorbs liquids differently and has a unique structure, so simply swapping it out will likely result in a very different texture, and possibly a dense or crumbly cookie. It’s always best to follow a recipe specifically developed for oat flour, like this one, to ensure successful results.
Absolutely! These oat flour chocolate chip cookies are wonderfully adaptable. Feel free to get creative with your favorite mix-ins. Great options include chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts), dried fruit (cranberries, raisins), shredded coconut, or even a sprinkle of sea salt on top before baking for a sweet and salty twist.
📖Storage Guidelines for Freshness
Proper storage ensures your delicious oat flour chocolate chip cookies stay fresh and enjoyable for longer. Whether you plan to savor them over a few days or save them for a future craving, here’s how to store them:
Room Temperature: Once completely cooled, these oat flour chocolate chip cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They will remain wonderfully fresh and soft for up to 3 days. To maintain their chewy texture, avoid leaving them exposed to air.
Refrigerator: To extend their shelf life by a few extra days, you can store the baked cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This is a great option if you make a large batch or live in a warmer climate.
Freezer: For long-term storage, these cookies freeze beautifully! Place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe airtight container or freezer bag, separating layers with parchment paper to prevent sticking. They will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, simply thaw them at room temperature or gently warm them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Freezing Cookie Dough: You can also prepare the dough ahead of time and store it in the freezer for freshly baked cookies on demand! Scoop the dough into individual balls, just as you would for baking, then place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once frozen, transfer the dough balls to a freezer-safe bag or container. They will keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to bake from frozen dough, allow the dough balls to come to room temperature first (this usually takes about 30-60 minutes on the counter). Then, follow the regular baking directions. Note that baking directly from frozen dough may result in slightly thicker cookies that don’t spread as much. If you prefer the original spread, thawing is key!
🍪More Delightful Cookie Recipes For You to Try
If you loved these oat flour chocolate chip cookies, you’re in for a treat! Explore more wholesome and delicious cookie recipes from my kitchen:
- Easy Coconut Flour Oatmeal Cookies
- Gluten-free Thumbprint Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Cranberry Apple Breakfast Cookies (gluten and dairy-free)
Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Equipment
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1 Large Mixing Bowl
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2 Baking sheets
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Hand mixer or stand mixer
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Spring-loaded cookie scoop (optional, but recommended)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (or vegan butter/refined coconut oil)
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 large egg (or flax egg for vegan)
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups oat flour (certified gluten-free if needed)
- ¾ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. fine sea salt
- ¾ cup chocolate chips (dairy-free if desired)
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
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In a large mixing bowl, cream together the room temperature butter (or substitute) and coconut sugar until they are just combined and lightened in color. You can use either a hand mixer with double beaters or an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
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Add the egg (or flax egg) and vanilla extract to the mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the egg is fully incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture, ensuring everything is well blended.
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Introduce half of the measured oat flour, all of the baking soda, and the salt into the bowl. Mix on low speed until the flour is almost combined. Then, add the remaining oat flour and continue mixing until all the flour is just incorporated into the dough. Be careful not to overmix to maintain a soft and chewy texture.
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Gently fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough using a spatula, distributing them evenly throughout.
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Scoop roughly 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of dough into individual balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. A spring-loaded cookie scoop is highly recommended here, as the dough can be a little sticky.
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Bake one baking sheet at a time for 9-11 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned and the centers are still slightly soft. If you prefer crispier cookies, bake for an additional 1-2 minutes, but keep a close watch to prevent burning.
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Once baked, allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes. This is important as oat flour cookies are delicate when hot. After 5 minutes, carefully transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
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Repeat the baking steps with the remaining dough until all cookies are baked. This recipe should yield approximately 18-24 delicious cookies. Enjoy your homemade treat!
Notes
- When measuring oat flour, always use the “spoon and level” method. Scoop the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife. Do not pack it down, as overpacked flour can lead to dry cookies that don’t spread correctly.
- Brown sugar can be used as a direct 1:1 replacement for coconut sugar if you don’t have it on hand.
- For an extra delightful touch, consider pressing a few additional chocolate chips onto the top of each cookie dough ball before baking. This makes for beautiful, melty pools of chocolate!
- To make these cookies dairy-free, simply substitute the unsalted butter with an equal amount of refined coconut oil or your preferred vegan butter substitute. Be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips as well.
- These oat flour chocolate chip cookies are best stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, they can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Nutrition