These gluten-free brookie cookies are fudgy and delicious; they are going to win you over. Each bite has a soft, chewy brownie center wrapped in rich chocolate cookie flavor. They are deeply chocolaty, perfectly moist, and hard to resist fresh from the oven. Even better, these homemade brookies are completely dairy-free and nut-free, so everyone can enjoy them.
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You must hide these cookies from your family if you want more than one for yourself!! This is one of the best gluten free chocolate cookie recipes!! If you love cookies as much as we do, you will want to check out all of my delicious gluten free cookie recipes. There are a lot of delicious options to try!
If you want an awesome brownie recipe, try my Gluten-Free Brownie recipe. It is also dairy-free!
What Are Brookies?
Consider these to be like brownie cookies. They are moist like brownies but hold their shape like a cookie. Then, they are rolled in powdered sugar, like crinkle cookies. The perfect combination!
I adapted this recipe from one my friend Charissa at Zest Bakery likes to make. Sadly, this bakery is no longer in business. She used to call these “brookies” because they are a cross between a brownie and a cookie.
Ingredient Notes and Recipe Swaps:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure For Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1. Other blends may work, but keep an eye on the moistness of your dough ball. Some blends have more starch and can be drier; therefore, they need more liquid.
- Xanthan Gum – If your blend does not contain either xanthan or guar gum already blended in, you must add one teaspoon to your dry ingredients.
- Cocoa Powder – Most brands should be gluten free. I like Anthony’s Cocoa Powder. It is a great cocoa powder at a lower cost.
- Baking Powder and Salt – I recommend aluminum-free baking powder because regular baking powder can leave a metallic aftertaste.
- Coconut Oil – See the Substitutions below for more options.
- Eggs – Use size large.
- Vanilla Extract – I recommend pure vanilla extract and not imitation.
Substitutions:
- To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.
- You can use dairy-free or regular butter if you can’t have coconut.
If you love soft cookies, you will also want to try these Gluten Free Russian Tea Cookies or these Gluten Free Eggnog Crinkle Cookies.
How to Make Gluten-Free Brookies (Step-By-Step)
Step 1: Add your dry ingredients to a large
Step 2: In a medium bowl, add your wet ingredients and whisk to blend.
Step 3: Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix into cookie dough.
This is what your gluten free brookie cookie dough will look like when the wet and dry ingredients are blended. It is a little more firm than other cookie dough because you must roll it into balls.
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Step 4: Make a roll with the cookie dough on plastic wrap. For best results, refrigerate the cookie dough for an hour.
Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350º F. Be sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven. Line a
Step 6: Fill a small bowl with powdered confectioner’s sugar. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator. Make cookie dough balls and roll them in powdered sugar.
Step 7: Use a glass to flatten the cookies.
Step 8: Now, the brookies are ready to bake. They are already looking like gluten free brookies! Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and enjoy when they have cooled.
You may also love these Gluten-Free Buckeye Cookies.
Cookie Baking Tips:
1. Measure your gluten free flour correctly. Either use the leveling method or the spoon method. Put the measuring scoop into the flour and fill. Do not pack the flour. Use a knife to scrape along the top to remove the extra flour. You can also use a spoon to fill the measuring cup. Use a knife to level along the top to remove the extra flour.
2. Know that every gluten free flour blend is a little different. Some have a higher starch content, so you may need more or a little less flour. Look at your cookie dough and add flour or more liquids if needed. Read more about why gluten-free flour blends vary for more information.
3. After the cookies have been baked, only let them sit on the cookie sheet for up to 3-5 minutes on the baking sheet. The pan will still be hot and continue baking them otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You do not have to roll these brookies in powdered sugar, but please know you won’t get that sweet crinkle look when you bake them. They will also be less sweet, so consider adjusting the sugar in the recipe.
Store these cookies in an airtight container. I prefer storing them in the refrigerator, especially during the hot summer. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze room-temperature cookies in a zip-style freezer bag. They will keep fresh for up to 3 months.
Pinterest user Country Grandma sent this picture of her cookies, saying, “Made these for my granddaughter, who is gluten and dairy-free. She loved them. So did I! Very easy to make and delicious. Will be making these again!”
More Gluten Free Chocolate Desserts:
- Thick and creamy Dark Chocolate Custard makes a great dessert.
- If you love cookies, these Gluten-Free Chocolate Mint Crinkle Cookies are great for a bake sale or cookie craving.
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Easy Gluten Free Brookies Cookies
Equipment
- Cookie sheet
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cups cane sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder aluminum-free
- ⅛ tsp salt
- powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend, 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 1/4 cups cane sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/8 tsp salt. Whisk to blend.
- In another mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted), 4 large eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk to blend.
- Slowly stir the liquid mixture into the flour mixture until fully incorporated.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop the chilled dough into small balls and roll them in confectioner’s sugar. I found that it was easy to just scoop out a chunk of dough, sprinkle some powdered sugar on it, and then roll it into a ball. Use a glass to smoosh the balls flat to about 1 inch thick.
- Place cookie balls on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Bake in 350F oven for 10-12 minutes.
- They should still be a bit soft, but fully cooked all the way through.
- Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a minute or two before moving the brookies to a cooling rack.
Video
Notes
- I tested this recipe with both King Arthur Measure for Measure and Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF blend. Both work well, and other blends should also work. My rule of thumb is if your batter or dough is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
- If your blend doesn’t contain a binder, add 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum.
- These cookies turn out better if you refrigerate the dough.
- Rolling the cookie balls in powdered sugar gives these cookies a melt-in-your-mouth feel, but if you are cutting back on sugar, you can omit this step.
- Store leftover cookies in an airtight container. They will keep fresh for up to 4 days. I love to freeze these cookies. Just place cooled cookies into a freezer-safe zipper bag.
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SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
NOTE: This post was one of my very first posts on this blog from 11/2013. I updated the post with more details, reshot the pictures, and added a tutorial video. Updated on 11/28/2022.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Easy recipe for a first time gluten free baker! Turned out perfect and taste wonderful.
I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies Joan :-).
Can these be frozen to enjoy later?
Yes, they freeze very well. All of my cookie recipes freeze well. I do this all of the time so I don’t eat them all at once.
I am after a dairy free recipe so this is great, however do you think I could just use normal flour instead of gluten free flour?
Hi Renee, I would assume that is okay. I have not used regular wheat flour in over 10 years.
Can I use butter instead?
Hi Jackie, you can definitely use butter :-). Have a good weekend.
Can you use almond flour for these cookies?
Hi Joan, do you mean use some almond flour, or only almond flour? If you mean only almond flour, this flour doesn’t absorb moisture the same way and it will change this cookie recipe a lot and I don’t think it will hold together well.
I made this today and had a really hard time with the dough. There was nowhere near enough liquid in the batter once I combined the ingredients, and I know I followed the measurements to a t. Any ideas? I am cooling the dough now and really hoping they still bake well.
Hi Lindsay, can I ask what gluten free flour blend you used?
Hi Sandy,
Thank you for all your adaptations for gluten free. I have many other things I have to avoid, but I love to bake. What would you suggest for making these egg free and with less sugar?
You are so welcome Mary. You can use an egg replacer like Bob’s Red Mill, as for less sugar, you can skip rolling them in powdered sugar…and cut back the sugar or use coconut sugar in the recipe. Take care, Sandi
Hi! If I use coconut sugar would it be the same amount as the white sugar?
Good morning. Coconut sugar has a different melting point than sugar so the there will be some differences. You can use it, I haven’t tested it, but I assume the same ratio to sugar.
You should edit your steps. Currently, it says to mix “the chocolate mixture with the flour mixture”
But the cocoa and flour are already together. I think you might mean the wet mixture and the flour mixture. ?
Thank you so much Trudee. I agree that can be a bit confusing so I changed the wording. Thank you so much 🙂
What can you use in place of coconut oil?
Hi Deb, try avocado oil or another very light oil. Enjoy 🙂
How strange about the video. I just tested it and it played, please do come back and try again if you would like to see it.