Giant, chocolatey Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are every chocolate lovers dream come true. Decadent, oversized gluten free double chocolate chip cookies with a fudgy, gooey inside and topped with just a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies can't get any better than this since they almost take like a brownie.
This recipe for gluten free levain style cookies was inspired by the famous "Levain Bakery" located in New York City and known for its oversized cookies. Not only do the original levain cookies cost more than $5 a piece but they are also not safe for celiacs. Clearly, something that caught my attention and I figured it was time to create my own recipe.
My Gluten Free Levain Bakery Cookies and my Gluten Free Levain Style Cookies and Cream Cookies have become a reader favorite.
Jump to:
- Recipe Ingredient Notes
- How to make Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
- How to bake Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Storage & Freezing
- Why do my gluten-free cookies taste grainy?
- How do you fix dry gluten-free cookies?
- FAQ for Gluten Free Levain Style Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Join my Gluten Free Community!
- Note about Salt in my Recipes
- Baking in grams
- Note about Ovens and Oven Temperatures
- Substitutions and Modifications
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
Recipe Ingredient Notes
Gluten Free Flour: I have tested this recipe Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies with my own gluten-free flour blend and Bob’s Red Mill 1-1. Both blends work fabulously. I am not saying this recipe won't work with any other gluten-free multi-purpose flour blend. I just have not tested them in this recipe. If your blend does NOT contain xanthan gum, please add 2 teaspoons of xanthan to your dry ingredients.
Cornstarch: The added cornstarch gives this cookie a tender crumb and keeps them soft as well as chewy.
Cocoa Powder: I highly recommend using dutch processed cocoa in this recipe. Dutch-processed cocoa produces richer, fudgier flavors. My go-to brands are Cacao Barry Extra Brute and Valrhona Pure Cocoa Powder. If you are looking for a better price point for cocoa powder I recommend Hershey’s Dutched Cacoa Powder, Special Dark, 100% Cacao. Be aware if you use Natural Cocoa Powder in this recipe, the cookies may be lighter in color and drier.
Granulated White Sugar: I only use granulated beet or sugar cane sugar which is very fine. If you use coarse sugar such as organic white sugar your cookies may have a grainy texture.
Chocolate: I use a mixture of dark chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, and a chopped-up dark chocolate bar in this double chocolate chip cookie recipe. Using different kinds and shapes of chocolate not only gives the cookies more flavor and also more texture. All three chocolates melt at different temperatures and therefore will produce a variety of chocolate pockets in the baked cookie. You could even add milk chocolate chips or white chocolate chips. Plus more chocolate is always fun!
Peanut Butter Chips: Adding some Reeses Peanut Butter Baking Chips to this recipe is optional but I highly recommend it if you love a delicious chocolate and peanut butter combo. If you don't like peanut butter or don't have access to this product, please replace them with an equal amount of dark chocolate chips.
How to make Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Please make sure when making the dough for gluten free levain cookies the butter and eggs are cold. No need to bring either ingredient to room temperature. I refer to the method used in this recipe as the "Streusel Method" since the cold butter gets loosely mixed with the sugar and then combined with the dry ingredients. Adding the wet ingredients last will give the cookies a tender structure and better crumb.
Step 1: In a separate mixing bowl sift together gluten free flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
Step 2: Cut the cold butter into smaller pieces and add to the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle. Beat it until it loses its shape - this will only take 15-30 seconds. We are not going to cream the butter. We just want to break it up into smaller pieces. Make sure to scrape it off the paddle.
Step 3: With the mixer running on low, add the light brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix to combine. Mix until the hunks of butter are coated with sugar (see photos below)
Step 4: Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture and mix to combine. The mixture should like a Streusel (or crumble).
Step 5: At a low speed mix in the chocolate chips and peanut butter chips (if using).
Step 6: In a small bowl whisk together two whole eggs, one egg yolk and vanilla extract and with the mixer running on low, add it to your “streusel”. Mix it until all the dry pieces have disappeared and a dough starts to form. The gluten free double chocolate levain cookie dough may look a little rough, unlike traditional cookie dough.
Step 7: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and portion the dough for Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookie in 6oz cookies using your hands and a digital kitchen scale. This will be easier than using a cookie scoop. Form the dough into a hockey puck shape and press down until around 1-1.5 inches tall. Wrap the sheet tray with plastic wrap or cover it with a lid and refrigerate the cookie dough balls for at least 4hrs.
How to bake Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Once your gluten-free dough has rested peacefully for 4 – 12hrs, it’s time to bake some outrageous cookies. The longer you allow your dough to rest, the more flavor your cookies will have.
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 375F and arrange the wire rack in the oven in the middle. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
Step 2: Arrange no more than 4 cookies on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with the flaky sea. Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, rotate the tray and reduce the -temperature of your oven to 350F. If the cookies have not spread at all at this point, tap the sheet tray against your kitchen counter to help them spread (TGFA is not responsible for any damage you may cause to your kitchen counters if you bang your sheet trays too hard). Bake for an additional 7-9 minutes. The cookies are done when they have crispy edges, look puffy, and still look slightly underdone in the center. Baking times depend on your oven.
Top them with additional chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and return the gluten-free cookies to the oven for 1 minute (optional!)
Step 3: Remove the gluten-free double chocolate chip cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet tray for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Like any other cookie, they taste the best when freshly baked BUT those cookies are amazing the next day as well. Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Storage & Freezing
Like most gluten-free cookies, these gluten free levain style cookies are the best the day you bake them. BUT, they do stay soft and delicious for several days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze the cookies once they are completely cool. When ready to indulge, thaw them at room temperature or carefully thaw them in the microwave at 50% power.
Pro Tip: If you have a toaster oven use it to rewarm your day-old levain cookies. This will give them fresh baked gooey goodness.
If you do not plan on baking all the cookie dough at once, I recommend freezing it. Place it on a sheet tray that fits in your freezer and allow for the cookie dough to fully freeze. Once frozen transfer them to a ziplock bag and store them in your freezer for up to 3 months.
When ready to bake, transfer the frozen cookie dough to a parchment-lined sheet tray and allow it to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Add an additional 2-3 minutes to the baking time when baked from frozen. Definitely, the right cookie dough to have on hand when that chocolate craving hits.
Why do my gluten-free cookies taste grainy?
There are two factors that can cause gluten free cookies to taste grainy: one is the kind of flour or flour blend used and the other is not allowing the dough to chill an appropriate time to hydrate the flour. As mentioned many times before, I highly recommend a high-quality flour blend such as Bob's Red Mill 1-1 or my own gluten free flour blend. If you use my flour blend, make sure to use fine-ground flour. Certain brown rice flour blends are stone ground and will cause the end products to be gritty. A gluten free cookie will always be as good as the ingredients used. Mediocre ingredients equal mediocre cookies.
How do you fix dry gluten-free cookies?
You spent all day making gluten free levain style double chocolate chip cookies and end up with dry, crumbly cookies? There are a few reasons why this may happen. The recipe has not been made as directed/written on the recipe card. Changing ingredients such as eggs or the amount of sugar used can cause the cookies to be crumbly and fall apart. Sugar not only adds sweetness to the recipe but also moisture. Especially brown sugar which also contains molasses. Another reason could be using natural cocoa vs dutch processed cocoa. Natural cocoa has less fat which results in a dry end result.
FAQ for Gluten Free Levain Style Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dutch-process cocoa powder, discovered by a Dutch chocolate maker, is made by soaking cocoa beans in an alkali solution which neutralizes the acidity and cuts a bit of the bitterness. The results in a product that is darker in color and less bitter flavored. It creates what some people consider a richer, fudgier flavor in baked goods. Natural Cocoa will produce lighter looking gluten-free double chocolate chip cookies and may be dryer.
Please substitute the gluten-free flour used in this recipe for levain style chocolate cookies with 375 grams of regular all-purpose flour.
Levain Cookies were invented by the owners of the famous "Levain Bakery" located in New York. Some refer to them as "New Yorks Most Famous Cookies". They are oversized, looking similar to a scone with crispy edges and underbaked centers.
Yes you can make the gluten free levain style double chocolate cookies smaller but they will lose their signature scone like look and may not be as fudgy and gooey. I do NOT recommend making them smaller than 3oz. As for baking time. Bake them at 375F for 10 minutes and at 350F for 5-7 minutes. Baking times depend on your oven.
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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.
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Giant, chocolatey gluten free double chocolate chip cookies are every chocolate lover’s dream come true. Inspired by the famous New York Bakery, those Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are decadent with a gooey inside and topped with just a sprinkle of flaky sea salt to give it the perfect balance.
Ingredients
Gluten Free Levain Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 400 grams Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour
- 70 grams dutch processed cocoa powder
- 25 grams cornstarch
- 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 226 grams unsalted butter, COLD
- 200 grams light brown sugar
- 100 grams granulated white sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large egg, room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- 275 grams high quality dark chocolate chips
- 75 grams peanut butter chips
For Finishing
- Additional Chocolate
- Flaky Salt for finishing
Instructions
How to make Gluten Free Gluten Free Levain Style Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- In a separate bowl sift together Gluten-Free Flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
- Add cold butter, cut in small pieces, to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle and beat it until it loses its shape. We are not going to cream the butter. We just want to break it up into smaller pieces. Make sure to scrape it off the paddle.
- With the mixer running on low, add your sugar and mix to combine. Again, we are not planning on creaming this. We want little hunks of sugary butter here (See pictures in the above blog post)
- Add all your dry ingredients and mix them in. You should have a mixture that looks almost like a Streusel (or crumble). This is why we are going to call this “The Streusel Technique”. Make sure to give your bowl a quick scrape.
- Add your mixed chocolate chips and chunks and mix to combine.
- Whisk together your whole eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract and with the mixer running on low, add it to your “streusel”. Mix it until all the dry pieces have disappeared. You should have a traditional cookie dough now. It might look a little bit rough but that’s okay.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and portion the dough in 6oz cookies using your hands and a digital kitchen scale. Form the dough into a hockey puck shape and press down until around 1-1.5 inches tall. Wrap the sheet tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for at least 4hrs.
How to bake Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 375F and arrange the wire rack in the oven in the middle.
- When your oven is hot, arrange no more than 4 cookies on your parchment-lined sheet pan and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Bake at 375F for 10 minutes, rotate the tray, and reduce the temperature of your oven to 350F. If the cookies have not spread at all at this point, tap the sheet tray against your kitchen counter to help them spread (TGFA is not responsible for any damage you may cause to your kitchen counters if you bang your sheet trays too hard).
- Bake for an additional 7-9 minutes until they have crispy edges, look puffy, and still look slightly underdone in the center. If you want a gooey cookie you will want to underbake them.
- Remove the gluten free double chocolate chip cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the sheet tray for 10 minutes. Top them with additional chocolate chips and peanut butter chips while still hot if you like.
- Transfer them to a cooling rack and allow for them to cool completely.
Like any other cookie, they taste the best when freshly baked BUT those cookies are amazing the next day as well. Store them in an air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Peanut Butter Chips: If you don’t like peanut butter or don’t have access to this product, please replace them with an equal amount of dark or milk chocolate chips.
How do I bake the frozen cookie dough? The best way to bake the frozen cookie dough, please preheat your oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. When your oven is preheated, transfer the number of cookies you would like to bake to your sheet tray. Bake them at 375F for 13 minutes, lower the temperature to 350F and finish baking them for 7-11 minutes.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 500
Calories are a guestimate and randomly generated.
Sophie says
Looks DELICIOUS!! I'm planning to make them soon, but is it recommended to store the frozen pre-portioned dough frozen? And for how long? If so, could they be baked according to the previous directions? Thank you so much for sharing your incredible recipes!!
Daniela Weiner says
Good questions Sophie! Once you have your dough portioned, I recommend freezing it all unless you bake all the cookies at once. Freeze it on a sheet tray that fits in your freezer and once the dough is frozen, transfer it to a ziplock bag. To bake the dough from frozen, I recommend going from the freezer to the preheated oven. Please add 3 minutes at 375 and then if needed an additional 2 minutes at 350F. I recommend storing the frozen dough in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thank you! I will add this to the FAQ as well. Guess my brain was too fast and just wanted to get the recipe online.
Steve says
Step 3, cream cheese? I don’t see that in the ingredients list. Did I miss it? Thanks!
Daniela Weiner says
Thank you Steve! That was a mistake on my end. No cream cheese. I really need to hire someone to double-check my recipes! I appreciate it
Steve says
Whew! 😊. Thanks! I’ll post when attempting!
Daniela Weiner says
Well, maybe it's time to train the dogs to do some proof reading HAHAHAHA
Arwaah says
How do I make it if I wanna use regular flour? Should I use cake and pastry flour or all purpose flour?
Daniela Weiner says
Arwaah, Please substitute the gluten-free flour used in this recipe with 375 grams of regular all-purpose flour. If you have cake or pastry flour, I would recommend using that but it will also work with All-Purpose Flour.
Arwaah says
Thanks so much I am gonna try it today
Julia says
These look and sound delicious, so rich and chocolatey. I can't wait to try them. Do you think the recipe will be ok if I use spelt flour?
Daniela Weiner says
Julia, I am afraid spelt flour will be too "heavy" for this application. You could use part spelt but 100% spelt will give you a very dense and firm cookie.
Alyssa says
I made these cookies yesterday and can confirm they are amazing! I cut the recipe in half and made 6 cookies and it worked great. I used 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk. Thanks for the recipe Daniela!
Ana says
Made these cookies today! I chilled the dough overnight and they turned out AMAZING! I followed the recipe as is and they were perfect!
Sally says
These are delicious. I had to draw the line at 6oz cookies but even at 3oz, they were very generous and delicious. I baked these for the staff at work and got asked for the recipe so many times. I am slowly converting them all to gluten free. I even had one guy argue that gluten free doesn’t taste that good. Can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Daniela Weiner says
Sally this made me laugh! Love that you are converting your co-workers to gluten free!
Melissa says
When making 3oz cookies, what do you suggest for adjusting the cooking time?
Daniela says
I would not bake them longer than 7 minutes at 375F and 5 minutes at 350F until they have crispy edges, look puffy, and still look slightly underdone in the center. If you want a gooey cookie you will want to underbake them.
Syd says
Dough is chilling as we speak ready to be baked after dinner! My nephew and I both agree that the dough was delicious (shhh don’t tell mom I let him eat raw cookie dough)
Daniela Weiner says
It's quality control.... someone has to make sure the cookie dough is good 😉
Barbars says
What does Levain mean? The goods are chilling and I plan to bake them for our single digit weather the next couple days. I’m sure the will warm us on the inside! Thanks.
Daniela says
Levain Bakery is located in New York City and is known for its oversized cookies. My cookies are similar to theirs but without the hefty price tag of $4.50 per piece (plus they do not have any gluten free options)
Barbara says
Thanks. I also wonder about the shape before they go in oven. Not a ball of cookie but a thick pancake ? Really all 6 ounces at once?
Daniela says
No cookie scoop - I just portion them by hand and top them with a few extra chocolate chips. Of course, you can make them smaller. But the 6oz is the traditional size of those cookies. If you make them smaller in size - like 4oz - make sure to reduce the baking times accordingly. I would not bake them longer than 7 minutes at 375F and 5 minutes at 350F until they have crispy edges, look puffy, and still look slightly underdone in the center. If you want a gooey cookie you will want to underbake them.
Barbara says
Delicious!!! I’d charge $100 !!
Daniela says
Haha - Thank you for the laugh! I love hearing this
Grace says
What should the width and height of these be (approximately)? I've never seen these before so I am troubled to figure out if the 6 oz is for a normal size but super thick cookie or wide cookies (and if so, how wide?). Thank you for this (and many!) wonderful recipe.
Daniela says
Hi Grace, do you mean before or after baking?
Grace says
Before baking
Daniela says
This is a photo of the classic levain bakery cookies before baking. They look like 6oz pucks.
Sara says
I made these and they are great. They stayed fresh enough to be great for four days. The salt is a nice complement to the sweetness. I weighed all ingredients and followed directions exactly. I used Cup4Cup gluten free flour. My cookies didn’t spread enough and looked kind of like baseballs right out of the oven. So, I slapped the cookie sheet down on the counter twice and that flattened them to the perfect spread. For my own personal preference I will add less chocolate chips in the dough next time. There were so many chips it was too sweet for me, but I’m sure others have no complaints about too much chocolate. 😉
Tammy says
This recipe is amazing! I had never heard of a Levain cookie until I stumbled across this recipe. I was looking for a jumbo gluten free mini egg cookie recipe to make and sell at an Easter bake sale when I found this one. I have made it four times since! I made it exactly as directed with the exception of substituting all the chips with lightly crushed Cadbury mini eggs. I used Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1, chilled for four hours and then baked as directed for 17 minutes total time. I then topped each cookie with a whole mini egg once they came out of the oven. Every time I made them I had excellent consistent results. I love the crispy crunch exterior and the soft almost brownie like interior. I will now be trying your other Levain style recipes! Quick question, I was wondering if I could make your Monster Cookie recipe in the same 6oz Levain style?
Kris says
I sent these cookies to my son and his wife. They loved them!! Great recipe...again!
Sofia says
Absolute favourite, go to cookie recipe. I make these dairy free all the time! Sometimes I bake them right away but it’s definitely so much better when left in the fridge overnight. They’re always a crowd favourite and no one knows they’re gluten free!
Tara says
Hi. Love your recipes. Have you made these chocolate cookies without using the streusel technique and creaming the butter can and sugar? I made your chocolate chip levain recipe and find that method easier.
Guljan Sherwani says
Hi! Can we replace the eggs with anything?
Nishtha Gupta says
Hi, Can we substitute the sugar with coconut sugar or date sugar?
Daniela says
I don’t bake with sugar substitutes so I don’t recommend doing this.