cooking

19 Gluten-Free Cookie Recipes That Don’t Read Like a Science Project

You don’t need a ton of specialty ingredients to make great gluten-free cookies, just your favorite alt-flour and a few baking basics.
Pinenut studded glutenfree cookies on a gold surface.
Alex Lau

If you’re celiac with a sweet tooth, welcome. These gluten-free cookies (and bars and brownies) are for you—and for anyone who doesn’t take well to gluten or just wants a little break from it. The world of gluten-free baking does not discriminate; from rice crispy treats to snowballs to gluten-free shortbread, it’s just glad you found it.

Some notes on brands: Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur both make great all-purpose gluten-free flours (as well as regular all-purpose flours, for what it’s worth), and this Hearthy Foods kabocha squash flour is one of our latest obsessions. If you’re also vegan, Earth Balance and Miyoko’s make vegan butters that work wonderfully well in baking.

Let’s take a moment to discuss a very important piece of equipment. Whether you call them baking sheets, cookie sheets, or sheet pans, we have some opinions about which are the best—and guess what? Our favorite only costs $24. (Here are a few more baking tools we love.) Now, on to the recipes.

  • Alex Lau
    3/19

    Pignoli Cookies

    There’s just no getting around the fact that almond paste is indispensable for these cookies; it transforms their flavor and helps them brown evenly. (And, oh, how golden brown these babies get...)

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Beth Pakradooni
    4/19

    Almond-Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

    Sometimes you can slap your cookie scoop full of dough right onto the baking sheet, but these cookie dough balls require a roll between your palms in order to form a smooth sphere, which is what you want if you’re hoping your cookies end up looking like this photo. (And they will. You got this.)

    View Recipe
  • Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    5/19

    Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Cookies

    The gluten-free flour blend (or, as some say, GF flour) for this ambitious, Mallomars-inspired recipe? A DIY mixture of almond flour and rice flour.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Stephanie Yeh
    6/19

    Coconut-Mango-Lime Barfi

    According to Oxford Languages, a cookie is “a small sweet cake, typically round and flat and having a crisp or chewy texture.” By that definition, this barfi—which, by the way, stays good in an airtight container for up to three days—counts.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li
    9/19

    Tahini Rice Crispy Treats

    This gluten-free dessert doesn’t require an oven; it refrigerates its way into being. Line a square pan with parchment paper, pour in and press the tahini mixture, and chill it until firm, about 30 minutes.

    View Recipe
  • 10/19

    Fudgy Meringue Cookies

    These double-chocolate cookies get their pow from a combo of cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Feel free to stir in a handful of chopped toasted walnuts or pecans for more texture.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton
    11/19

    Breakfast Blondies

    Prep time: 15 minutes. Baking time: about 20 minutes. Total time: long enough to listen to today’s episode of your favorite podcast. Just saying.

    View Recipe
  • Photograph by Laura Murray, food styling by Sue Li
    12/19

    Nan-e Berenji

    These buttery gluten-free cookies raise an important question: Why do we tend to bake with unsalted butter? It just means more control over the flavor, really. Here are some of the best butters for baking, in our humble opinion.

    View Recipe
  • 13/19

    Gluten-Free Triple-Chocolate Chunk Cookie

    Is eating gluten-free cookie dough off of a spoon while standing at your kitchen counter in sweet silence any lesser of a pleasure than doing the same with “regular” cookie dough? Nope.

    View Recipe
  • Alex Lau
    14/19

    Ricciarelli

    Powdered sugar is key for these traditional Tuscan cookies made with bright lemon zest and slivered almonds. You can form them into whatever simple shape you want, like snowballs—or even snowmen.

    View Recipe
  • Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li
    15/19

    Gluten-Free Chocolate-Tahini Brownies

    These may look like milk-chocolate-swirled brownies, but they’re not: Nutty tahini is tricking the eye—and making this delicious gluten-free treat such a looker. Note: It will be easier to swirl the tahini on top if it’s room temperature.

    View Recipe
  • Alex Lau
    16/19

    Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

    This gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe may take over as your household’s go-to, because you can play with refrigeration times to manipulate results. For crispy edges, chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before baking. If you like them chewy, leave the dough in that fridge for 2 hours.

    View Recipe
  • 17/19

    Chocolate Brownie Cookies

    When it looks like a baked cookie but feels like dark chocolate cake between your teeth, call it a brownie-cookie (or a brookie, if you will). When it doesn’t require baking soda or baking powder, call it easy.

    View Recipe
  • Laura Murray
    18/19

    Peanut Meringue Cookies

    Why go for peanut butter cookies when you can have peanut meringue cookies? Exactly. Twenty minutes of cook time and a little hang on the cooling rack and they’re yours.

    View Recipe
Joe joined the Bon Appétit team in 2022 after climbing the editorial ranks for a few years at Condé Nast’s other food publication, Epicurious. As the senior SEO editor, he works to make sure Google loves all of BA’s cooking stories just as much as you do. Look for his... Read more
Senior SEO Editor, Cooking
Explore Bon AppétitBakingCookieChristmasGluten-Free