Gluten-Free Chewy Sugar Cookies

These gluten-free chewy sugar cookies are soft, buttery drop cookies made with just 7 ingredients. No rolling, no chilling overnight, no cookie cutters. Cream the butter and sugar, mix in the eggs and vanilla, add the dry ingredients, chill for an hour, scoop and bake.

They’re not the same as my gluten-free sugar cookies , which are roll-out cutout cookies you decorate with royal icing. These are the ones you make when you want a soft, chewy cookie with lightly browned edges, no decorating required.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Just 7 pantry ingredients. Butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, GF flour, baking soda, salt. No special trips to the store.
• Drop cookies, no rolling. Scoop the dough, bake, done. No rolling pin, no cutters, no flour-dusted countertops.
• Endlessly customizable. Roll in sanding sugar or sprinkles before baking, fold in M&Ms, or sandwich with frosting or ice cream after.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 in the blue bag. I developed and tested this recipe with this blend, so if you swap in a different brand I can’t promise the same results. I recommend weighing your flour with a food scale if you can (350g). The way you scoop flour into a measuring cup can vary so easily, so weighing is the most accurate way to measure.
• Unsalted butter – Room temperature is key here. If the butter is too cold it won’t cream properly, and if it’s too soft or melted the cookies will spread flat. I test mine by pressing a finger in. If it leaves a dent without squishing all the way through, it’s good to go.
• Eggs – Use two large eggs at room temperature. I pull mine out when I set the butter out so they warm up together. Cold eggs don’t incorporate as smoothly into the creamed butter and sugar.

Two things will make or break these cookies.

First, chill the dough for a full hour before scooping. It firms up the butter so the cookies hold their shape and gives the gluten-free flour time to hydrate so there’s no grittiness. Second, pull them from the oven when the centers still look slightly underdone. They firm up on the pan as they cool, and that’s where the chew comes from.

Step-by-Step Instructions

You won’t believe how easy it is to make these gluten-free chewy sugar cookies. While they may seem rather basic, they are so chewy and flavorful!

The below steps with matching photos are there to help you see the recipe made at various stages so you can make your cookies perfectly every time. Pay special attention to the consistency of the cookie dough after chilling vs. before chilling and the space in between the cookies on the baking sheet.

For the ingredient list with measurements, full instructions, printable recipe, and additional notes, please scroll down to the recipe card.

Add the granulated sugar and softened butter to a large mixing bowl. Cream together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the butter mixture. Mix together until combined. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until combined and no more streaks of flour remain. Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Use a cookie scoop to scoop out 2-3 tablespoon sized dough balls. Place the cookie dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving at least 2 inches in between each ball to allow room to spread. You will need to bake these cookies in batches. Bake cookies until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are no longer wet-looking. Be sure not to overbake to keep the cookies chewy and soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes to completely set and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

Can these sugar cookies be rolled out and cut into shapes?

No, these are drop cookies. The dough is too soft for rolling and cutting. If you want cutout sugar cookies you can decorate, use my gluten-free sugar cookies recipe instead.

Do I have to chill the dough before baking?

Yes. Skipping the chill means flat cookies. The hour in the fridge firms up the butter and lets the gluten-free flour hydrate, which is what gives these their chewy texture without any grittiness.

Why did my cookies turn out flat?

Usually one of three things: the butter was too soft or melted before creaming, the dough wasn’t chilled long enough, or your baking soda was expired. Make sure the butter is at room temperature but still firm, chill the dough a full hour, and check the date on your baking soda.

Can I use a different gluten-free flour blend?

I developed this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 in the blue bag and that’s what I recommend. Other blends have different ratios of starches and grains, so I can’t guarantee the same texture or results if you swap it out.

Expert Tips

• Cream the butter and sugar for a full 2-3 minutes. You want the mixture light and fluffy, not just mixed together. This builds the structure that keeps the cookies soft and chewy instead of dense.
• Use a cookie scoop for even cookies. I use a 2-3 tablespoon scoop so every cookie is the same size and they all bake evenly. If some are bigger than others, the small ones will overbake while the big ones are still raw in the middle.

Storage Instructions

Room temperature – Keep them in an airtight container and they’ll stay soft and chewy for 3-4 days. I honestly prefer to freeze them if I’m not going to eat them within a couple days.

Freeze baked cookies – Let them cool completely, then layer with parchment in a freezer bag or container. They freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour, or pop one in the microwave for 15 seconds if you’re impatient like me.

Freeze the dough – This is my favorite move. Scoop the dough into balls, freeze them solid on a sheet pan, then toss them all into a freezer bag. When you want fresh cookies, bake straight from frozen and just add a minute or two to the bake time. The dough keeps for up to 3 months, so you’re basically always 15 minutes away from warm cookies.

Serving Suggestions

These are my go-to when I need cookies fast and don’t want to fuss with decorating. I bring them to school events and potluck dinners, and I always keep a stash of frozen dough balls for when someone needs cookies on short notice.

They’re great plain, but they’re also a blank canvas. I frost them with my strawberry buttercream or brown butter cream cheese frosting , or make cookie sandwiches with peanut butter frosting . In the summer I use them for ice cream sandwiches with my homemade strawberry ice cream . You can also roll the dough balls in sprinkles before baking, which I go into more detail on in my gluten-free sprinkle sugar cookies post.

If you’re putting together a cookie platter, these go well next to my gluten-free chocolate chip cookies or my gluten-free coconut macaroons for something with a completely different texture.