Gluten Free Chocolate Chipless Cookies

I know it sounds a little strange - a chocolate chip cookie without the chocolate chips - but hear me out. These Gluten Free Chocolate Chipless Cookies are all about the brown butter, brown sugar, and good vanilla. They’ve got chewy centers, crisp edges, and a rich, toasty flavor that doesn’t need anything else. If you’ve ever found yourself picking around the chocolate chips just to get more of the dough… this one’s for you.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Gluten Free Flour: I have tested these gluten free chocolate chipless cookies with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Flour (Blue Bag) and King Arthur Measure for Measure. While both cookies taste delicious, I very much prefer the cookies made with Bob's Red Mill here. They spread more and stay chewier than the ones made with King Arthur Measure for Measure. IF you use King Arthur, I recommend reducing the Gluten Free Flour used in this cookie recipe by about 10 grams. That should help with the spreading.

Unsalted Butter/Brown Butter: I like to use unsalted butter to control the salt content of my baked goods. If you use salted butter make sure to reduce the amount of kosher salt added to the recipe to just ¼ teaspoon. Brown Butter is made by slowly cooking butter over low heat. The butter turns golden brown with a nutty aroma, and the milk solids separate into brown specks that sink to the bottom. Brown butter smells like toasted hazelnuts.

Milk Powder: Adding milk powder (whole milk or non-fat) will give the brown butter a richer and nuttier flavor. This is an optional ingredient but if you love brown butter, you should consider adding the milk powder. (It has to be dairy, non-dairy milk powder like coconut milk powder will not work).

Heavy Cream: When browning butter it looses some of its water content. To make up for that I like to add just a splash of heavy cream back to the recipe. You can also use regular milk or even water for this.

Vanilla: A good vanilla extract adds warmth, complexity, and rounds out the richness of the brown butter and brown sugar. You can also use a good quality vanilla paste in this recipe for gluten free chocolate chipless cookies.

Brown Sugar: The use of brown sugar (light or dark) - not just for sweetness but for depth - is essential here. It adds moisture, a touch of molasses flavor, and helps activate the baking soda, giving these gluten free brown butter cookies their signature chew and just the right amount of lift.

How to Make Brown Butter (Beurre Noisette)

If you’ve ever wondered how to make brown butter, you’re in for a treat. Brown butter, or beurre noisette, is made by gently cooking butter past its melting point until the milk solids caramelize. This process creates a rich, nutty, and slightly toasty flavor with a deep amber hue - perfect for enhancing baked goods like cookies, cakes, or even savory dishes.

If you would like to see step by step instructions with photos, please check out this post: How to make Brown Butter

1. Place unsalted butter (cold from the fridge or freezer), cut in smaller pieces, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. If you have a white or light-colored pan, use it - it helps you clearly see when the milk solids start to brown.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted allow the melted butter to simmer for about 30-45 seconds before adding the additional milk powder (this intensifies the nutty flavor). The butter will foam and bubble - keep stirring and make sure you’re scraping the bottom of the pan.
3. Continue cooking and stirring. The butter will begin to smell nutty and take on a medium amber color. You’ll see golden brown specks (those are the caramelized milk solids). Watch carefully - brown butter can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.
4. Remove the pan from heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a heat-proof bowl (don’t forget to scrape in all the flavorful brown bits). Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before using. For this gluten free chocolate chipless cookie recipe, the brown butter should still liquid and can be warm to touch.

Gluten Free Chocolate "Chipless" Cookie Dough

Making the gluten free chocolate chipless cookie dough is pretty straightforward. Just make sure the brown butter has cooled slightly - it should still be liquid but not hot. I like to mix everything with a spatula rather than a whisk. Whisks can incorporate too much air into the eggs, which can make the cookies turn out cakey instead of chewy. And we want these chipless to be chewy.

1. In a small bowl combine the gluten free multi purpose flour, baking soda and kosher salt. Whisk together and set aside until needed.
2. To the cooled but still liquid brown butter add the light brown sugar and granulated white sugar. With a flexible spatula combine the ingredients until they look like wet sand.
3. Next add the large egg, heavy cream (milk or water) and vanilla extract. With the spatula mix the the ingredient together until fully combined. It should appear smooth and glossy.

4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir together with a spatula. The cookie dough will seem very dry first, but the more you stir the ingredients together, the dough will come together.
5. Place your cookie dough in your fridge for at least TWO hours to allow the butter to set up and the dough to be scoopable. The dough will be VERY loose and almost unscoppable if you try to scoop cookies without chilling the dough. At this point, you can refrigerate the cookie dough up to 24 hours.

Baking Instructions

The dough for chocolate chipless cookies should be refrigerated for at least two hours before baking it. This gives the dough time to fully hydrate.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. With a medium cookie scoop (around 1.5 tablespoons), portion out the cookie dough. You should get around 16-18 cookie dough balls from this batch (amount depends on how much cookie dough you snacked on). Please be aware that the longer the cookie dough is in the fridge, the harder it may be to scoop the dough.
3. When your oven is fully preheated, arrange 6 - 8 cookies on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake them at 350°F for 11 - 12 minutes. The cookies should be golden brown and appear just a tad puffy. These cookies are meant to be chewy and soft, so be careful not to overbake them. They will continue to set as they cool. (Keep in mind baking times can vary from oven to oven and the size of the cookie dough)
4. Remove from the oven and with a round cookie cutter slightly larger than the cookie to scoot them into a perfectly round shape. You can also use a glass to do this if you don't have a round cookie cutter.
5. Allow the cookie to cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking pan before moving to a wire rack to cool completely. And yes, you should try a cookie right now. I like topping mine with just a sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
6. Repeat with the remaining gluten free brown butter cookie dough.

Note about Salt in my Recipes

I use Diamond Kosher Crystal Salt in all of my recipes unless otherwise stated. If use use a different brand or kind of salt in your kitchen please adjust accordingly since some salts can be saltier. If you use Morton’s Kosher Salt please be aware that their salt granules are smaller in size, denser, and crunchier and twice as salty.

Baking in grams

I share my recipes in grams and by weight since baking by weight is the most accurate way to bake. Digital Scales are very affordable and easy to use. You can purchase them on Amazon for less than a set of measuring cups. For small amounts under 10 grams, I like to use this Precision Pocket Scale. Measuring cups are very inaccurate which can cause significant errors when it comes to gluten-free baking or baking in general. Especially since I bake with gluten-free flours which weigh differently than “regular” flours. I do provide some ingredients like spices and leavening agents in measuring spoons. To learn more about Baking with a digital scale, make sure to check out my post about Baking by weight.

Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures

All my recipes are tested and developed with a conventional oven. I always bake my baked goods on the rack placed in the MIDDLE of my oven. This way the heat coming from the bottom will not burn my baked goods.

If you are baking with convection (fan-forced), please adjust the recipes accordingly. Convection oven can cause baked goods to dry out quickly and still be raw inside. Since takes at least 15-20 minutes for a standard American Oven to be fully preheated. I highly recommend investing in an Oven Thermometer.

Substitutions and Modifications

Any dietary or ingredient modifications/substitutions to this recipe may alter the end result in appearance and taste. I test my recipes several times as published in this post and The Gluten Free Austrian Blog is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe you find on our website.