Gluten-Free Desserts For a BBQ

Let’s get to the recipes! These gluten-free desserts are perfect for a summer cookout. In no particular order, we recommend…

1

Gluten-Free Texas Sheet Cake

This easy gluten-free cake is PERFECT for a big family gathering, since it easily feeds a crowd and NO ONE will guess it's gluten-free. It's easy to make and transports well, so it's a great dessert to bring along with you.

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2

Gluten-Free Key Lime Pie Bars

Cool, creamy, and full of fresh citrus flavor, these gluten-free key lime pie bars are a light, lovely dessert for summer. They can be made a day ahead of time, if needed, which makes them a great recipe for getting ahead. Keep them in the fridge until just before serving for best results!

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3

Gluten-Free Peaches & Cream Pie

Peach season is one of the BEST parts of summer, and this light gluten-free peach pie is a great way to celebrate! It's a perfect pairing after a hearty cookout meal.

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4

Gluten-Free Banana Pudding

A gluten-free version of the famous banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery! This old-fashioned dessert hits just right at a summer bbq. Made with fresh bananas, fluffy vanilla pudding, and gluten-free vanilla wafer cookies, it's got all the nostalgic flavor you love, simply made gluten-free.

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5

Gluten-Free Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Thin, crispy gluten-free chocolate chip cookies make these ice cream sandwiches better than anything you'll buy at the store. Make them the day before to make things easy on the day of your BBQ!

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6

Gluten-Free 4th of July Chex Mix

This sweet, salty, crispy, crunchy snack mix DISAPPEARS any time there's a group around, so it's the perfect treat to set out when you have guests. It's easy, can be made in advance, and easily scales up if you've got a big group coming over!

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Gather Your Ingredients

This gluten-free s’mores cookie recipe was built off our Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, so you’ll see lots of familiar ingredients! Let’s take a look:

How To Make Gluten-Free S’mores Cookies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the printable recipe card below.

1. First, Brown the Butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until the butter begins to foam. (Watch carefully when the butter begins to foam, as it will turn golden and brown quickly.) When the butter under the foam is golden (like honey) and smells sweet, remove the pan from the heat and transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl to cool to room temperature.
2. Cool, Then Add Sugars. When the butter has cooled, add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix 2-3 minutes with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), or until well combined and the mixture looks like wet sand.
3. Finish Wet Ingredients. Add eggs + egg yolk one at a time, blending well after each addition. Then, Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
4. Add Dry Ingredients, Then Mix-Ins. Add gluten-free flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until mostly combined, with just a few floury patches left. Add 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and 3/4 cup graham cracker pieces and stir to combine until evenly blended.

5. Scoop & Chill The Dough. Use a large cookie scoop (3 Tablespoon size) to scoop cookie dough balls. Place in an airtight container, cover, and chill the cookie dough balls for at least 2 hours.
6. Preheat The Oven & Prep Your Pans. When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (so you can alternate sheets between batches.)
7. Roll & Bake The Cookies. Working with just 6 cookie dough balls per batch, flatten each dough ball out into a disc. Add a marshmallow half to the center of the disc, and fold the dough around it, leaving a small opening at the top of the cookie for the marshmallow to expand through during baking. Make sure the dough is sealed well around the sides and bottom of the cookie dough ball! Place cookie dough balls on a prepared baking sheet and bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown color and the centers look just underdone.
8. Garnish & Finish Cookies. Garnish cookies right away with a few extra chocolate chips, some extra gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, and a square of Hershey’s chocolate. Let the cookies cool 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Repeat process with remaining cookie dough until all cookies are baked and cooled.
9. Serve & Store. Enjoy right away once the cookies are cooled down, or store in an airtight container 2-3 days. (Or, freeze in a single layer in freezer bags or a freezer-safe container up to 2 months)

FAQ + Tricks For The Best S’mores Cookies

LEAVE AN OPENING! One of the most important steps for these gluten-free s’mores chocolate chip cookies is to make sure to leave a small opening at the top of each cookie dough ball for the marshmallow to expand through! Otherwise, the marshmallow will melt or go downward to the bottom of the cookie.

CAN I USE MINI MARSHMALLOWS INSTEAD? I don’t like to use them in a stuffed cookie like this, since they tend to dissolve into the cookie rather than adding a distinct gooey marshmallow center. Same goes for marshmallow fluff!

METRIC IS BEST. For best results, I highly recommend weighing the dry ingredients with a digital scale. It’s the most accurate way to measure and will give you consistent, reliable results every time.

CAN I MAKE THESE DAIRY-FREE? You won’t be able to brown the butter, so you’ll miss out on one of the key flavor notes of the recipe, but you can use melted dairy-free butter, dairy-free chocolate chips & dairy-free chocolate bars for a dairy-free option. It just won’t be a 1:1 substitute for my recipe!

Gather Your Ingredients

Ready to bake a batch? Let’s take a look at our ingredients list! Here’s what you’ll need for these fudgy, chewy triple chocolate cookies:

How To Make Gluten-Free Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat The Oven & Prep Your Pans. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix The Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until it’s well blended and set aside.
3. Cream Butter & Sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Cream with a paddle attachment or hand mixer 2-3 minutes, or until smooth, light, and fluffy.
4. Add Eggs & Vanilla. Scrape down the edges of the bowl, and add eggs one at a time, beating to combine fully before adding the next one. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
5. Slowly Add Dry Ingredients & Milk. Add about half of the dry ingredients a little at a time, and mix until almost fully combined. Add the milk and mix for a few seconds, then add the second half of the dry ingredients and mix until almost fully combined (just a little powder left).

6. Mix In Chocolate Chips. Pour in 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, and 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate chips) and mix until just combined. The dough will be a bit sticky, like thick brownie batter.
7. Scoop & Bake. Use a large cookie scoop (3 Tablespoon) to scoop 6 cookie dough balls onto a baking sheet. (I like to roll them smooth in my palms first for the prettiest presentation.) Bake cookies 9-11 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers look just underdone. (I bake mine 9.5 minutes)
8. Shape & Cool. When the cookies are done baking, use a large round cookie cutter to gently coax them into perfect circles, if needed (this is just for looks!), fill in any gaps on the surface with some extra chocolate chips, and cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the cookies are baked, alternating between cookie sheets each batch so you don’t put cool dough on a hot sheet pan.
9. Serve & Store. Enjoy cooled cookies right away and store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days or freeze up to 2 months.

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Triple Chocolate Cookies

Metric Works Best! Using an inexpensive digital kitchen scale is THE most accurate way to measure your ingredients for these gluten-free cookies. If you don’t have one, make sure to use the scoop and level method to spoon flour INTO the measuring cups rather than measuring WITH the measuring cup (which packs too much flour into the cookie dough.)

Make Them Extra Pretty. For bakery-worthy cookies, I usually add a few extra chocolate chips on top of the cookies right after they come out of the oven. As for a perfectly round shape, follow my tips in the recipe card about coaxing the cookies into perfect circles with a cookie cutter when they come out of the oven.

Play Around! You can try even more combinations of chocolate chips here. Use a mix of dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips and peanut butter chips, or use dark chocolate, white chocolate, and mint chips at the holidays! Or, use a mix of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks for a more rustic look!

Gather Your Ingredients

• Butter. Brown butter makes these gluten-free toffee chocolate chip cookies taste UNBELIEVABLE. It’s like infusing every molecule of the cookies with toffee/caramel flavor. It’s like magic!
• White Sugar & Brown Sugar. Add some sweetness with a mix of sugars. I love the caramel-y notes from the brown sugar!
• Eggs & Egg Yolk. One trick to perfectly chewy gluten-free brown butter chocolate chip cookies is using a mix of eggs and an egg yolk. I know it might seem silly to use just the yolk for that last egg, but please do! It’ll add the richness the batter needs. (Plus, you can save the white for another use!)
• Vanilla. Plenty of vanilla really plays up the caramel-y, toffee flavors in these cookies. So good!
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda. Just what you need for the perfect spread, puff, and softness.
• Salt. I love the balance that salt adds to this gluten-free toffee cookie recipe.
• Gluten-Free Flour. I highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour here. It’ll give your cookies the best texture and has a lovely, neutral taste that won’t take over like some flour blends do.
• Chocolate Chips + Chopped Chocolate. You can use all chocolate chips or all chopped chocolate for this recipe, but I especially love using a mix of both (3/4 cup chocolate chips & 3/4 cup chopped chocolate). Visually, the cookies look more interesting, and texturally, you’ll get some great contrast!
• Toffee Bits. Last, but not least is some toffee bits. I usually just use the Heath “Bits ‘O’ Brickle” bits I find in the chocolate chip aisle, but you can use their milk chocolate covered toffee bits, or chop up Heath Bars, if you prefer. Whatever you can find! You can even go big and make your own if you’re feeling extra.

How To Make Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. First, Brown the Butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until the butter begins to foam. (Watch carefully when the butter begins to foam, as it will turn golden and brown quickly.) When the butter under the foam is golden (like honey) and smells sweet, remove the pan from the heat and transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer or a mixing bowl to cool to room temperature.
2. Cool, Then Add Sugars. When the butter has cooled, add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix 2-3 minutes or until well combined and the mixture looks like wet sand.
3. Finish Wet Ingredients. Add eggs + egg yolk one at a time, blending well after each addition. Then, Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
4. Add Dry Ingredients, Then Mix-Ins. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and half of the flour. Mix for a few seconds (it won’t be fully combined), then add the rest of the flour, along with the chocolate and toffee bits. Mix until just combined.

5. Scoop & Chill The Dough. Use a large cookie scoop (3 Tablespoon size) to scoop cookie dough balls. Place in an airtight container, cover, and chill the cookie dough balls for at least 2 hours, up to 1 day in advance.
6. Preheat The Oven & Prep Your Pans. When you’re ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator while the oven fully preheats to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment (so you can alternate sheets between batches.)
7. Bake & Cool The Cookies. Roll 6 cookie dough balls in between your palms to smooth them out and place onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown color and the centers look just underdone. Garnish right away with a few extra chocolate chips, toffee bits, and a little flaky sea salt, if desired. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat process with remaining cookie dough.
8. Serve & Store. Enjoy right away once the cookies are cooled down, or store in an airtight container 2-3 days. (Or, freeze up to 2 months)

FAQ & Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

Really. Don’t Skip The Chill Time. I’ll say it one more time so you don’t miss it, but PLEASE don’t skip the chill time! Chilling the dough helps the flour hydrate which will give you better texture and flavor. It also impacts how much the cookies spread. If you don’t chill the dough, the cookies will spread too much and may have a slightly gritty texture. Give it at LEAST 1-2 hours, up to 24 hours. Whatever you have time for!

Can I Just Use Regular Butter Instead? Not for this recipe. Our gluten-free brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies were specifically flavored with the caramel-y notes of brown butter in mind. You technically *could* use melted butter instead, but your cookies won’t have the same rich flavor.

Can I Leave The Toffee Out? Yes! If you’d prefer to make gluten-free brown butter chocolate chip cookies instead of toffee chocolate chip cookies, just leave out the toffee bits. You can choose to add a bit more chocolate to the dough or not–it’s up to you!

The Best Gluten-Free Flour For Cookies. In our experience, the best gluten-free flour for making cookies is King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour. It’s got a great balance of whole grains and starches, and it contains xanthan gum, which will give softness and stretch to your baked goods. I highly recommend it for all gluten-free cookie recipes! Our backup fave is this one from Bob’s Red Mill.

More Chocolate Chip Cookies To Try

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thin & Crispy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-Free Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten-Free Sprinkle Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Gluten-Free Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies

These gluten-free cookies are what dreams are made of. Studded with caramel-y toffee bits and plenty of melty chocolate, they're golden on the outside and gooey on the inside. Yum! 

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten-free brown butter chocolate chip cookies, gluten-free brown butter toffee chocolate chip cookies

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chill Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 20 -22 cookies

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks, 226 grams)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
• ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams)
• 2 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 egg yolk (room temperature)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (300 grams, weighed or scooped & leveled)
• 1 ½ cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips/chopped chocolate – feel free to use either or a mix (9 oz/255 grams)
• 1 cup toffee bits or chopped Heath bars
• flaky salt – to finish (optional)

Instructions

• First, Brown the Butter. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly until the butter begins to foam. (Watch carefully when the butter begins to foam, as it will turn golden and brown quickly.) When the butter under the foam is golden (like honey) and smells sweet, remove the pan from the heat and transfer to the bowl of your stand mixer or a mixing bowl to cool to room temperature.
• Cool, Then Add Sugars. When the butter has cooled, add the sugar and brown sugar. Mix 2-3 minutes or until well combined and the mixture looks like wet sand.
• Finish Wet Ingredients. Add eggs + egg yolk one at a time, blending well after each addition. Then, Add the vanilla and mix to combine.
• Add Dry Ingredients, Then Mix-Ins. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and half of the flour. Mix for a few seconds (it won't be fully combined), then add the rest of the flour, along with the chocolate and toffee bits. Mix until just combined.
• Scoop & Chill The Dough. Use a large cookie scoop (3 Tablespoon size) to scoop cookie dough balls. Place in an airtight container, cover, and chill the cookie dough balls for at least 2 hours, up to 1 day in advance.
• Preheat The Oven & Prep Your Pans. When you’re ready to bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator while the oven fully preheats to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment (so you can alternate sheets between batches.)
• Bake & Cool The Cookies. Roll 6 cookie dough balls in between your palms to smooth them out and place onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are a golden brown color and the centers look just underdone. Garnish right away with a few extra chocolate chips, toffee bits, and a little flaky sea salt, if desired. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Repeat process with remaining cookie dough.
• Serve & Store. Enjoy right away once the cookies are cooled down, or store in an airtight container 2-3 days. (Or, freeze up to 2 months)

Video

Notes

• Don’t Skip The Chill Time. Really. I’ll say it one more time so you don’t miss it, but PLEASE don’t skip the chill time! Chilling the dough helps the flour hydrate which will give you better texture and flavor. It also impacts how much the cookies spread. If you don’t chill the dough, the cookies will spread too much and may have a slightly gritty texture. Give it at LEAST 1-2 hours, up to 24 hours. Whatever you have time for!
• Gluten-Free Flour. We HIGHLY recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for these cookies. It’s got a great balance of whole grains and starches, and it contains xanthan gum, which will give softness and stretch to your baked goods. I highly recommend it for all gluten-free cookie recipes! Our backup fave is this one from Bob’s Red Mill. Make sure to weigh the flour or use the scoop and level method to avoid packing extra flour into the recipe. 

Start With Simple Ingredients

One thing you’ll love about this gluten-free fruit pizza cookies recipe is how straightforward the ingredients are. Let’s take a look:

• Butter. You’ll need butter for the gluten-free lemon sugar cookies and the easy cream cheese frosting.
• Sugar. Next up is some granulated sugar. A must for making sugar cookies!
• Lemon Zest. I find that fresh lemon zest adds BRIGHT lemon flavor to the cookies. It’s kind of the secret ingredient here that takes the cookies to the next level.
• Eggs. Some room temperature eggs blend in beautifully.
• Vanilla & Lemon Extract. I love a mix of vanilla extract AND lemon extract in the cookies, but you can skip the lemon extract if you don’t have it.
• Baking Powder & Salt. For the perfect puff and a delicious balance of flavors.
• Gluten-Free Flour. We recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure gluten-free flour blend, but if you use another brand, be sure it contains xanthan gum. Make sure to measure the flour carefully to avoid packing extra flour into the measuring cup!
• Cream Cheese Frosting. We’re making a quick cream cheese frosting with butter, softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. It’s easy and works like a charm every time.
• Fresh Berries or Fruit. My favorite combination of fruit for these fruit pizza cookies is fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, but you can also add kiwi, pineapple, mandarin oranges or halved grapes, if you like!
• Fresh Mint. For an extra pretty touch, I love to tuck a mint leaf into each mini fruit pizza. The pop of green is a gorgeous look for this beautiful dessert!

FAQ + Tips & Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies

CAN FRUIT PIZZA COOKIES BE MADE IN ADVANCE? Yes! The cookies can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Or, you can freeze the cookies (without frosting + berries) up to 1 month before decorating them. Let them thaw a touch before frosting and decorating for best results. Once decorated, the cookies will look their best when eaten within a few hours.

HOW TO STORE FRUIT PIZZA COOKIES. Before frosting, you can store the gluten-free lemon sugar cookies on a covered sheet pan or in an airtight container or bag with parchment paper between layers of cookies. Once frosted, store the cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator. (Covered, for best results!)

A TRICK FOR PERFECTLY ROUND COOKIES. If you’re making these fruit pizza cookies for an event or get-together or simply love the look of perfectly round cookies, you can make your cookies perfectly round by coaxing them into circles with a large circular cookie cutter. When the cookies are hot out of the oven, gently move the cookie cutter around the cookie in a circular motion to coax it into a circle.

More Fruity Dessert Recipes To Try

Gluten-Free Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cheesecake

Gluten-Free Lemon Tart

Knickerbocker Glory

Recipe Card

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Gluten-Free Fruit Pizza Cookies

These mini gluten-free fruit pizzas are made from gluten-Free lemon sugar cookies, a light cream cheese frosting, and fresh berries. They're beautiful and easy!

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword fruit pizza cookies, gluten free fruit pizza cookies, gluten free mini fruit pizzas, gluten free sugar cookie pizzas

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 28 -30 cookies

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Ingredients

For The Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:

• ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature (1 1/2 sticks, 170 grams)
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (300 grams)
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
• 2 eggs (ideally room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon lemon extract optional
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (300 grams)

For The Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened slightly (340 grams)
• ½ cup butter, softened slightly (113 grams/1 stick)
• 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar (150 grams)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt (about 1/8 tsp.)

To Decorate: 

• Fresh strawberries blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries (OR kiwi, pineapple, mandarin oranges, halved grapes, etc.)
• Fresh mint leaves
• Powdered sugar 1/2 Tbsp. or so will do!

Instructions

Start With The Gluten-Free Lemon Sugar Cookies:

• Combine Sugar, Lemon Zest, and Butter. In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), combine sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it’s well combined and fragrant. Add the softened butter and cream on medium speed 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. 
• Add Eggs & Vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg before adding the next. Then, add the vanilla (and lemon extract, if using!), and mix to combine. 
• Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl and add baking powder, salt, and half of the flour. Stir until the flour is partially incorporated (this prevents the flour from POOFING out at you!). Pause and add the remaining flour and mix until just combined.
• Chill 20-30 Minutes. Cover the cookie dough and chill 20-30 minutes, while you preheat your oven.
• Preheat & Prep. Preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a medium cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 Tbsp.) to scoop 6 cookies onto the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are golden. Note: the tops and edges of these cookies will NOT brown. If they have browned, your cookie will be crisp rather than soft. Let the cookies sit on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining cookies. (Note: the longer the cookies chill, the less they spread, so remove the dough from the fridge a minute or two before you plan to scoop to keep all the cookies the same size.)
• Cool completely before frosting. Cookies can be made 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator or frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw before decorating. 

Next, Make The Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Cream Butter & Cream Cheese. When the cookies are cool, make your frosting. In a stand mixer or mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. 
• Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat to combine. If the frosting seems too loose, add more powdered sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time. If it seems too thick, you can thin it out with 1-2 tsp. milk at a time. 
• Spread or Pipe The Frosting. Spread the frosting onto the cooled cookies (a small offset spatula makes this easier!) or transfer the frosting to a piping bag** and pipe the frosting onto the cookies, leaving a small border around the edge where the cookie is still visible (like the crust of a pizza). 
• Decorate the frosted cookies with fresh fruit and mint leaves as desired. Finish with a light dusting of powdered sugar for a pretty look. (use a sieve or sifter to dust the powdered sugar over the cookies). 
• Store decorated cookies covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days. 

Video

Notes

• *GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR. I highly recommend King Arthur Baking Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for this recipe. My second favorite is Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour. 
• **PIPING TIP. I used a Wilton 1M open star piping tip for the cookies in the photos. 

Gather Your Ingredients

So, how do we make a brownie in cookie form? Let’s take a look:

• Semisweet or Dark Chocolate. Just like with our fudgy gluten-free brownies, these brownie cookies start with chocolate! A higher percentage of chocolate + butter gives you REALLY fudgy texture with an ultra chocolatey taste—just what we want in brownie cookies!
• Butter. You’ll melt butter with the chocolate to help with the fudgy texture. I haven’t tried these dairy-free yet, but if you do I’d love to know how they turn out!
• Brown Sugar & Granulated Sugar, A mix of light brown sugar and white sugar gives these brownie cookies great moist texture and their signature crackly tops.
• Eggs. Humble though they may be, eggs are the secret key ingredient in this gluten-free brownie cookie recipe. They bind the ingredients, yes, but whisking them with the sugar creates the structure that forms the light crackly top and fudgy middles. Yay for eggs!
• Vanilla. Always. I love vanilla extract and chocolate together!
• Gluten-Free Flour. We’re aiming for just enough flour to hold the chocolate cookies together without making them too cakey. To keep things simple, I recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure gluten-free flour blend. Don’t substitute almond flour or coconut flour or they won’t turn out!
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder. I’m using alkalized or Dutch-processed cocoa powder (sometimes labeled dark cocoa powder). Its acidity has been neutralized and it gives a richer color to the brownie cookies. Love it!
• Baking Powder. The secret ingredient! This is what gives the cookies their spread.
• Salt. To balance the flavor, we’ll use some kosher salt in the cookies themselves, then for a pretty flourish, I love to add a few flakes of flaky sea salt on top after baking.

Psst! Make Sure You Measure Your Flour Correctly!

This will make a HUGE difference in the quality of your bakes! We recommend the scoop and level method or (better yet!) weighing your flour for the best results.

LEARN HOW TO MEASURE FLOUR CORRECTLY

How To Make Fudgy Gluten-Free Brownie Cookies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Melt Butter & Chocolate. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine butter and 8 ounces chocolate chips. Melt in 15-20 second intervals on low heat, stirring in between each interval, until the chocolate is smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Whip Eggs, Sugars & Vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Use a hand mixer to beat the eggs mixture 2-3 minutes on medium speed, or until much lighter in color, doubled in volume, and the sugar is dissolved almost completely. (When you rub this mixture between your fingers, there should be almost NO grit. This is a critical step, so don’t rush it!)
4. Add Chocolate To Egg Mixture. Pour cooled melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and mix to combine.

5. Add Dry Ingredients. Then, add gluten-free flour, dark cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined. (At this point, the cookie dough should look and feel like thick brownie batter.)
6. Fold In Mini Chocolate Chips until evenly distributed in the cookie dough.
7. Scoop & Bake Cookies. Working in batches, use a medium cookie scoop to portion 6-8 cookies per baking sheet. (The dough balls should be 1.5 Tablespoons in size.) Make sure the cookies have plenty of room around them to spread! Bake cookies 9-11 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set on the outside and just a little shiny in the middle. (Mine are usually done at 10-10 1/2 minutes!) Repeat until all cookies are baked.
8. Cool Cookies Completely. Let the cookies cool 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Enjoy once cooled & store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Brownie Cookies

MAKE SURE TO WHISK THE EGGS & SUGAR LONG ENOUGH. Don’t skip or rush the whisking step. The eggs and sugar should be almost completely dissolved, at least doubled in volume, and lighter in color. This gives the brownie cookies their glossy tops. If you rush this step, the cookies will be more dense and won’t have the same appearance.

GET THEM IN THE OVEN QUICKLY. To make sure you get that glossy, crackly brownie top to your cookies, get them in the oven as soon as possible once your batter is mixed. The longer you wait, the less glossy and crackly they’ll be. Even 3-5 minutes makes a big difference!

DON’T OVER-BAKE! Just like with brownies, you’re looking for a slightly dense, fudgy texture. Make sure that you pull them out when the centers look just barely set. It’s OK if they seem a touch underdone when you pull them out. They’ll finish setting on the baking sheets after you pull them out of the oven and let them cool. If you over-bake them, they’ll be crunchy around the edges and more cakey and dry in the centers.

CAN I MAKE THIS DOUGH IN ADVANCE? This is one gluten-free cookie recipe where you canNOT make them in advance. Making the dough in advance will mean you lose the glossy, crackly brownie tops and the cookies won’t spread the same way.

HOW TO STORE LEFTOVER BROWNIE COOKIES. To store leftover gluten-free brownie cookies, keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the freezer up to 6 weeks. Follow the instructions in our freezing cookies post for best results!

Gather Your Ingredients

These chewy maple snickerdoodles are a maple-flavored hybrid of two other recipes: my Brown Butter Snickerdoodles and my Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, so you might notice a familiar cast of characters. Let’s take a look at the ingredients list:

How To Make Gluten-Free Maple Snickerdoodles, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Brown & Cool Butter. Before you start the cookie dough, brown the butter. Dice the butter into cubes then add to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly until the butter is golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool. (Get step-by-step instructions for browning butter here!)
2. Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined, then set aside.
3. Combine Butter & Sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine COOLED brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix to combine. Drizzle in pure maple syrup, then add egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, with no floury patches left.
5. Chill Dough 30 Minutes. Cover the dough and chill in the fridge just 30 minutes while you preheat the oven and prep your pans. (I don’t recommend chilling longer than 30 minutes, or the dough can be hard to work with.)
6. Preheat & Prep. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon to make cinnamon sugar mixture.
7. Scoop & Roll Dough. Use a medium cookie scoop to measure 2-Tablespoon balls of cookie dough and roll smooth between your hands. Roll each cookie dough ball in cinnamon sugar then place 6-8 cookies on a baking sheet. (Return the rest of the dough to the fridge in between batches.)
8. Bake & Cool. Then, bake the cookies 9-12 minutes in preheated oven until the edges are set and the centers look slightly underdone. (The remaining heat will finish cooking them through.) Let the cookies cool 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process, alternating cookie sheets with each batch so you don’t put cold cookie dough on a hot baking sheet.
9. Serve & Store. Enjoy cooled cookies right away or store in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days. If desired, you can freeze cookies up to 2 months.

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Maple Snickerdoodle Cookies

Let The Brown Butter Cool! I know it’s annoying to wait, but you NEED to let the brown butter cool down to room temperature before making the maple snickerdoodle cookie dough, otherwise, it will melt the sugar and cause the cookies to spread drastically.

Metric Is Best! The most common mistake I see in gluten-free cookie baking is adding too much flour. If possible, weigh your flour using an inexpensive kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, make sure to use the scoop and level method to spoon flour INTO the measuring cup, rather than scooping flour WITH the measuring cup (which packs in too much flour!).

Don’t Rush The Chill Time. Another round of waiting–I know!–but this 30 minute chill time lets the cookie dough hydrate, so the flour absorbs just enough liquid from the dough to give your maple snickerdoodles their soft, chewy texture.

Do I Have To Use Cream of Tartar? Yes. Cream of Tartar is a leavening agent (like baking soda or baking powder), so it’s important for the texture & spread of the cookies, but it also gives this classic cookie its signature flavor. It’s widely available in the spices or baking sections of grocery stores and worth buying for this recipe.

Try It For A Cookie Exchange! This soft, chewy cookie recipe is delicious in the fall, but I especially love these gluten-free snickerdoodles as a gluten-free Christmas cookie! The maple, cinnamon & brown butter flavors are lovely paired next to other favorite cookies on a cookie plate or dessert spread.

More Holiday Cookie Recipes To Try

Gluten-Free Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies

Gluten-Free Iced Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

Print

Gluten-Free Maple Snickerdoodle Cookies

These soft, chewy gluten-free maple snickerdoodles have layers of flavor from brown butter, pure maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, and vanilla. They're DELICIOUS & perfect for a cookie exchange!

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword gluten-free christmas cookies, Snickerdoodles

Servings 20 -25 Cookies

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Equipment

• 1 Medium Cookie Scoop
• 2 Cookie Sheets
• Parchment Paper

Ingredients

For The Snickerdoodle Cookie Dough

• 1 cup Butter cut into cubes
• ¾ cup Brown Sugar (150 grams)
• ¾ cup Granulated Sugar (150 grams)
• ¼ cup Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 Egg Yolk (save extra egg white for another use)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 teaspoon Maple Extract
• 2 ¾ cup Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour (330 grams)
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt

For The Cinnamon-Sugar

• ¼ cup Granulated Sugar (50 grams)
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Instructions

• Brown & Cool Butter. Before you start the cookie dough, brown the butter. Dice the butter into cubes then add to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly until the butter is golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool. (Get step-by-step instructions for browning butter here!)
• Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined, then set aside.
• Mix Wet Ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine COOLED brown butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Mix to combine. Drizzle in pure maple syrup, then add egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, and maple extract. Mix until evenly combined.
• Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, with no floury patches left.
• Chill Dough 30 Minutes. Cover the dough and chill in the fridge just 30 minutes while you preheat the oven and prep your pans. (I don't recommend chilling longer than 30 minutes, or the dough can be hard to work with.)
• Preheat & Prep. While the dough chills, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon to make cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Scoop & Roll Dough. Use a medium cookie scoop to measure 2-Tablespoon balls of cookie dough and roll smooth between your hands. Roll each cookie dough ball in cinnamon sugar then place 6-8 cookies on a baking sheet. (Return the rest of the dough to the fridge in between batches.)
• Bake & Cool. Then, bake the cookies 9-12 minutes in preheated oven until the edges are set and the centers look slightly underdone. (The remaining heat will finish cooking them through.) Let the cookies cool 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process, alternating cookie sheets with each batch so you don't put cold cookie dough on a hot baking sheet.
• Serve & Store. Enjoy cooled cookies right away or store in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days. If desired, you can freeze cookies up to 2 months.

Video

Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour, but if you use another 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum for best results! 
• Metric Is Best! The most common mistake I see in gluten-free cookie baking is adding too much flour. If possible, weigh your flour using an inexpensive kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, make sure to use the scoop and level method to spoon flour INTO the measuring cup, rather than scooping flour WITH the measuring cup (which packs in too much flour!).
• Let The Brown Butter Cool! I know it’s annoying to wait, but you NEED to let the brown butter cool down to room temperature before making the maple snickerdoodle cookie dough, otherwise, it will melt the sugar and cause the cookies to spread drastically.
• Don’t Rush The Chill Time. Another round of waiting–I know!–but this 30 minute chill time lets the cookie dough hydrate, so the flour absorbs just enough liquid from the dough to give your maple snickerdoodles their soft, chewy texture.

Gather Your Ingredients

How To Make Gluten-Free Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

First, Bake The Cookies

1. Cream Butter & Sugar. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine butter and sugar. Beat together with a paddle attachment or hand mixer 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and cohesive.
2. Mix In Wet Ingredients. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg before adding the next. Then, Add vanilla and almond extract and beat to blend in.
3. Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until the flour mixture is mostly mixed in.
4. Mix In Sprinkles. Add sprinkles and stir or beat on low to incorporate the sprinkles into the dough. (The dough will be thick and sticky at this point. You may prefer to finish with a spatula.)

5. Chill Dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill dough 30 minutes, while you preheat the oven.
6. Preheat & Prep. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
7. Scoop & Roll Dough. When the oven is preheated, remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Scoop or roll dough into 1.5” balls (i use a medium cookie scoop). If desired, roll the tops of the cookie dough balls in more sprinkles before placing on the prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake Cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set around the edges and just underdone in the center. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting. You can eat the cookies as-is at this point, store in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days or freeze up to 2 months. OR, you can decorate them!

Make Frosting & Decorate Cookies

1. Beat The Butter. Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes with a hand mixer or paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy.
2. Gradually Add Powdered Sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer running, gradually add powdered sugar.
3. Combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, and add vanilla, almond extract and 2 Tablespoons of cream. Mix on medium speed, and add additional cream 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach a smooth and spreadable consistency. If you want to pipe the frosting, the frosting should hold its shape on a spatula or your finger, but not be too stiff to easily stir with a spatula.
4. Add Color, If Using. If using gel food coloring, add 1-2 drops at a time at this point until your desired color is reached. (You can also divide the frosting so you can dye some of it and keep some white–just use remove the white frosting from the bowl before adding food coloring to the rest.)
5. Pipe or Spread. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. I recommend a large closed star tip, (like a Wilton #2D or Ateco #852). Starting at the center of each cookie, pipe frosting into a rosette on top of each cookie. (Start in the center of the cookie and continue to move around the circle of the cookie until you get close to the edges.) If you don’t have a piping tip, you can use an offset spatula to frost the cookies.
6. Add Sprinkles, if desired. (I recommend only frosting 2-3 cookies at a time if you plan to add sprinkles on top of each cookie, so you can add them before the frosting sets!)

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Christmas Sugar Cookies

Can I Use This Recipe To Make Cut-Out Cookies? I don’t recommend this recipe for cutout sugar cookies. This soft sugar cookie recipe was designed to make drop cookies (meaning a scoop & bake cookie). The dough will spread and puff too much in the oven to hold its shape with cookie cutters. 

Use The Right Sprinkles! For best results, you’ll want to use jimmies (long sprinkles) or quins sprinkles (cut-out shapes) for this Christmas sprinkle sugar cookie recipe. Jimmies and Quins will hold their shape & color, and they tend to give you the look most people are going for with gluten-free Christmas funfetti cookies or gluten-free sprinkle cookies. Learn more in our Sprinkles 101 Post!

Use Gluten-Free Sprinkles! Not all sprinkles are gluten-free, so make sure to double-check your ingredients list before buying sprinkles for these gluten-free Christmas sugar cookies! We like Judee’s & Sweetapolita sprinkles. (Get 15% off Sweetapolita sprinkles with my link!).

Measure Carefully! IMO, the secret for the best gluten-free sugar cookies is all about measuring correctly. For the best texture & flavor, make sure to weigh the flour or use the scoop & level method to spoon the flour into the measuring cup (rather than using your measuring cup to scoop flour, which packs extra flour into the recipe.)  

More Gluten-Free Christmas Cookies To Try

Gluten-Free Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies

Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

Print

Gluten-Free Christmas Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

Made with plenty of festive sprinkles & a pretty swirl of frosting, these soft gluten-free Christmas sugar cookies are perfect for the holidays!

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword gluten-free funfetti cookies, gluten-free funfetti sugar cookies, gluten-free sprinkle cookies, gluten-free sugar cookies with sprinkles

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings 30 cookies (2 1/2 dozen)

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Equipment

• Medium Cookie Scoop
• Piping Bag
• Closed Star Piping Tip (like Wilton 2D or Ateco 852)

Ingredients

For The Sprinkle Sugar Cookies

• ¾ cup butter, softened (170 grams/1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 ½ cup granulated sugar (300 grams)
• 2 eggs (ideally room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (300 grams)
• 1/3-1/2 cup Christmas sprinkles (use jimmies or quins!))

For The Frosting & Decorating

• 1 cup butter, softened (227 grams/2 sticks)
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar (480-600 grams)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 4-6 Tablespoons heavy cream or milk (plus more, as needed)
• gel food coloring (optional)
• sprinkles (for decorating)

Instructions

First, Bake The Cookies

• Cream Butter & Sugar. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine butter and sugar. Beat together with a paddle attachment or hand mixer 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and cohesive.
• Mix In Wet Ingredients. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg before adding the next. Then, Add vanilla and almond extract and beat to blend in.
• Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add baking powder, salt, and flour. Mix until the flour mixture is mostly mixed in.
• Mix In Sprinkles. Add sprinkles and stir or beat on low to incorporate the sprinkles into the dough. (The dough will be thick and sticky at this point. You may prefer to finish with a spatula.)
• Chill Dough. Cover the dough and refrigerate to chill dough 30 minutes, while you preheat the oven.
• Preheat & Prep. While the dough is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Scoop & Roll Dough. When the oven is preheated, remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Scoop or roll dough into 1.5” balls (i use a medium cookie scoop). If desired, roll the tops of the cookie dough balls in more sprinkles before placing on a baking sheet.
• Bake Cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set around the edges and just underdone in the center. Cool 2 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Let the cookies cool completely before frosting. You can eat the cookies as-is at this point, store in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days or freeze up to 2 months. OR, you can decorate them!

Make Frosting & Decorate Cookies

• Beat The Butter. Add softened butter to a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes with a hand mixer or paddle attachment until smooth and fluffy.
• Gradually Add Powdered Sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. With the mixer running, gradually add powdered sugar.
• Combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, and add vanilla, almond extract and 2 Tablespoons of cream. Mix on medium speed, and add additional cream 1 Tablespoon at a time until you reach a smooth and spreadable consistency. If you want to pipe the frosting, the frosting should hold its shape on a spatula or your finger, but not be too stiff to easily stir with a spatula. To make frosting softer, add more cream 1 Tablespoon at a time. To make frosting more stiff, add powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired texture.
• Add Color, If Using. If using gel food coloring, add 1-2 drops at a time at this point until your desired color is reached. (You can also divide the frosting so you can dye some of it and keep some white–just use remove the white frosting from the bowl before adding food coloring to the rest.)
• Pipe or Spread. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a piping tip. I recommend a large closed star tip, (like a Wilton #2D or Ateco #852). Starting at the center of each cookie, pipe frosting into a rosette on top of each cookie. (Start in the center of the cookie and continue to move around the circle of the cookie until you get close to the edges.) If you don't have a piping tip, you can use an offset spatula to frost the cookies.
• Add Sprinkles, if desired. (I recommend only frosting 2-3 cookies at a time if you plan to add sprinkles on top of each cookie, so you can add them before the frosting sets!)
• Serve & Store. Decorated sugar cookies will keep in an airtight container in the fridge 2-3 days, or can be frozen in a single layer up to 2 months. (Don't stack them, or you're mess up the frosting!)

Video

Notes

• Use The Right Sprinkles! This recipe works best with jimmies or quins sprinkles If you use nonpareils (the tiny ball-shaped sprinkles), they’ll just melt & bleed their color. Jimmies and Quins will hold their shape & color! 
• Gluten-Free Flour. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour. If you use another brand, be sure it contains xanthan gum or your cookies will not turn out properly. Oat flour, coconut flour, almond flour, etc. will not work in this recipe. 
• Measure Carefully! For the best texture & flavor, make sure to weight the flour or use the scoop and level method to spoon the flour into the measuring cup (rather than using your measuring cup to scoop flour, which packs extra flour into the recipe) 
• Coloring. If you plan to dye the frosting, I recommend gel food coloring. It has more vibrant color and won’t throw off the texture of your frosting. 

Gather Your Ingredients

These gingerbread oatmeal cookies are a yummy spin on our pumpkin oatmeal cookies and brown butter oatmeal cookies, so you’ll see a lot of familiar players here. Let’s take a look at the ingredients list:

How To Make Gluten-Free Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

First, Make The Cookies

1. Pulse Oats. To start, add the oats to a food processor and pulse 8-10 times to break the oats up a bit. This will give the cookies better texture!
2. Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten free oats, gluten-free flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Whisk to combine until evenly blended, then set aside.
3. Cream Butter & Sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Cream on medium speed with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer 2-3 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
4. Finish Wet Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed 1-2 minutes, or until evenly blended. The molasses may make the mixture look a little curdled. Don’t panic!
5. Mix In Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until there are no more floury patches left.
6. Chill Dough While You Preheat & Prep. Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator just 30 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. (I don’t recommend chilling longer than 30 minutes, or the dough can become too hard to work with.)
7. Scoop & Roll Dough. After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the fridge. Use a medium cookie scoop to measure 2 Tablespoon scoops of cookie dough. Roll the dough balls smooth between your hands and place 6-8 cookie dough balls on one of the baking sheets. Return the rest of the dough to the fridge.
8. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set around the edges, but look a little underdone in the centers. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes to finish setting before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Alternate baking sheets with each batch of dough so you don’t put cold dough on a hot baking sheet. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

Making Icing & Finish Cookies

1. Make The Icing. In a small mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream or milk. Whisk until you get a VERY thick icing. When you pick up your whisk and let it drip into the bowl, it should hold its shape on the surface for a few seconds before being absorbed.
2. Dip Cookies. When the cookies are cool and fully set (they should hold their shape when you pick them up!), carefully dip them in glaze. Hold the cookie on the sides and gently lower the cooke into the icing until the top JUST touches the icing. It shouldn’t be fully covered–just the ridges of the cookies should be coated in glaze. Lift it up and shake off excess glaze. Repeat until all cookies are glazed. Repeat until all cookies are glazed.
3. Serve & Store. Let the icing set before serving. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months. For best results, store in a single layer so you don’t mess up the icing! If freezing, I let them freeze on a cookie sheet or cutting board before transferring to a freezer bag or container.

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies

Make Sure The Icing Is Nice & Thick! You want this sweet icing to be barely pourable so it sticks to the ridges of the cookies but won’t immediately run off. If needed, add more milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you reach the right consistency. (If your icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time, as needed.)

Let The Cookies Cool Before Icing! I love a warm cookie as much as the next person, but if you want the icing to stick, it’s important to WAIT and let the cookies cool before icing them. It won’t take long, and it’s worth the wait!

Try Them For a Cookie Exchange! These gingerbread iced oatmeal cookies are great for cookie swaps and holiday parties. They’re unique enough to stand out on a holiday cookie plate, but still full of classic flavor. (Plus, those golden brown edges + soft, chewy centers? AMAZING!)

Can I Use This Recipe To Make Gingerbread Men? I don’t recommend it. The dough won’t hold its shape with cookie cutters. If you’re after a recipe you can use for cookie cutters & decorating, we made these classic gluten-free gingerbread cookies that work like a charm!

Dietary Swaps. This recipe hasn’t been tested with egg substitutes like flax egg, but it CAN be made with vegan butter for a dairy-free option! Use a thick dairy-free milk (like coconut milk or cashew milk) for the glaze.

More Gluten-Free Cookies For a holiday Cookie Plate

Gluten-Free Snowball Cookies

Gluten-Free Hot Chocolate Cookies

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

Gluten-Free Maple Snickerdoodle Cookies

Print

Gluten-Free Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies

Our gluten-free gingerbread oatmeal cookies have all the soft, chewy texture of a classic oatmeal cookie, mixed with the warm spices & molasses flavor of traditional gingerbread. Paired with a thin layer of sweet vanilla icing, these yummy cookies are a perfect gluten-free holiday cookie recipe for a cookie plate or cookie swap!

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword ginger, gingerbread, gluten-free christmas cookies, oatmeal cookies

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 50 minutes minutes

Servings 25 -28 Cookies

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Equipment

• 1 Medium Cookie Scoop

Ingredients

For The Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies

• 2 cups Gluten-Free Rolled Oats* (190-200 grams)
• 1 ⅔ cup Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour* (200 grams)
• 2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
• 1 ½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
• ¾ cup Butter, Softened (170 grams/1.5 sticks)
• ¾ cup Brown Sugar (150 grams)
• ¼ cup Granulated Sugar (50 grams)
• ¼ cup Molasses*
• 1 Large Egg Room Temperature
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

For The Vanilla Icing

• 1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar (180 grams)
• 2-3 Tablespooons Heavy Cream (or milk)*
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

First, Make The Cookies

• Pulse Oats. To start, add the oats to a food processor and pulse 8-10 times to break the oats up a bit. This will give the cookies better texture!
• Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten free oats, gluten-free flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Whisk to combine until evenly blended, then set aside.
• Cream Butter & Sugar. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Cream on medium speed with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer 2-3 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
• Finish Wet Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Mix on medium speed 1-2 minutes, or until evenly blended. The molasses may make the mixture look a little curdled. Don't panic!
• Mix In Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again and gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until there are no more floury patches left.
• Chill Dough While You Preheat & Prep. Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator just 30 minutes, while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. (I don't recommend chilling longer than 30 minutes, or the dough can become too hard to work with.)
• Scoop & Roll Dough. After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the fridge. Use a medium cookie scoop to measure 2 Tablespoon scoops of cookie dough. Roll the dough balls smooth between your hands and place 6-8 cookie dough balls on one of the baking sheets. Return the rest of the dough to the fridge.
• Bake 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are set around the edges, but look a little underdone in the centers. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet 2-3 minutes to finish setting before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Alternate baking sheets with each batch of dough so you don't put cold dough on a hot baking sheet. Let cookies cool completely before icing.

Making Icing & Finish Cookies

• Make The Icing. In a small mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 Tablespoon of heavy cream or milk. Whisk until you get a VERY thick icing. You want it to be barely pourable so it sticks to the ridges of the cookies but won't immediately run off. If needed, add more milk 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you reach the right consistency. (If your icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time, as needed.)
• Dip Cookies. When the cookies are cool and fully set (they should hold their shape when you pick them up!), carefully dip them in glaze. Hold the cookie on the sides and gently lower the cooke into the icing until the top JUST touches the icing. It shouldn't be fully covered–just the ridges of the cookies should be coated in glaze. Lift it up and shake off excess glaze. Repeat until all cookies are glazed. Repeat until all cookies are glazed.
• Serve & Store. Let the icing set before serving. Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months. For best results, store in a single layer so you don't mess up the icing! If freezing, I let them freeze on a cookie sheet or cutting board before transferring to a freezer bag or container.

Video

Notes

• Gluten-Free Oats. Make sure to buy certified gluten-free oats! We have good luck with One Degree, Trader Joe’s, and Bob’s Red Mill brands. Look for rolled oats or old-fashioned oats rather than quick oats. 
• Gluten-Free Flour. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour blend for these cookies. If you use another 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum, or the cookies won’t have the right texture. 
• Molasses. Look for regular, unsulphured molasses, like Grandma’s brand. Do NOT use blackstrap molasses in these cookies, as it runs bitter and will not give them the flavor you’re looking for. 

Gather Your Ingredients

Besides the flavor & texture, the best part about this delicious chocolate cookie recipe is that it starts with simple ingredients! Let’s take a look:

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients & Decoration

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Crumbl-Style Chocolate Cake Cookies

Let The Cookies Cool ALL The Way Before Frosting. If you try to frost chocolate cake cookies when they’re even the tiniest bit warm, they’ll melt the frosting. I promise–PROMISE!–it’s worth waiting until your cookies are completely cool before you start decorating.

How To Store Frosted Chocolate Cake Cookies: Since they’re frosted, I recommend storing these gluten-free chocolate cake cookies in a single layer in the refrigerator. They’ll keep 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Or, you can freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet to set the frosting, then transfer to an airtight bag. They’ll keep 3-4 weeks in the freezer frosted. (You can freeze them unfrosted up to 6 weeks before adding the frosting.)

Can You Make Chocolate Cake Cookies In Advance? Sort of! The cookies can be baked ahead of time! Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 day in advance or and freeze unfrosted in a freezer bag up to 6 weeks in advance. Once you’ve added the frosting, they’re best eaten within 3-4 days. The frosting can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator 3-4 days in advance. You’ll want to let it soften at room temperature until it’s soft enough to stir. Then, add to your piping bag and frost the cookies.

Dress Them Up! You can easily match these rich chocolate cookies to any holiday or special occasion by swapping out the sprinkles! Think red, white, and pink sprinkles for Valentine’s Day, red, green & white for Christmas, etc.

More Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookie Recipes To Try

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cookies & Cream Cookies

Gluten-Free Dirt Cake Cookies (Crumbl Copycat)

Gluten-Free Hot Chocolate Cookies

Gluten-Free Cosmic Brownie Cookies (Crumbl)

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Cookies (Crumbl Copycat)

Our Crumbl copycat chocolate cake cookies with chocolate frosting are your new favorite way to satisfy a chocolate craving. They taste even better than they look!

Course Cookies

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten free chocolate cake cookies, gluten-free crumbl cookies, gluten-free crumble chocolate cake cookies

Prep Time 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time 16 minutes minutes

Total Time 56 minutes minutes

Servings 20 -22 cookies

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Equipment

• Piping Bag
• Closed Star Piping Tip Like Wilton 2D or Ateco 852

Ingredients

FOR THE CHOCOLATE COOKIES:

• 2 ⅓ cup Gluten-Free Measure-For-Measure Flour* (280 grams)
• 1 cup Dutch Processed cocoa powder* (92 grams)
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (8 grams)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter softened (226 grams/2 sticks)
• 1 cup light brown sugar (200 grams)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
• 2 large egg – at room temperature
• 1 ½ Tablespoons corn syrup*
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

FOR THE CHOCOLATE FROSTING & DECORATION:

• 1 cup butter softened (226 grams/2 sticks)
• ¾ cup natural cocoa powder * like Hershey’s (65 grams)
• 5 Tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk or more, as needed
• 1 Tablespoon corn syrup*
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch salt
• 3 ½ cups powdered sugar (420 grams)
• Chocolate sprinkles or your favorite sprinkles if desired

Instructions

FiRST, MAKE THE CHOCOLATE CAKE COOKIES

• Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine gluten-free flour, Dutch processed cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine until well blended and set aside.
• Cream Butter & Sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl) combine 1 cup softened butter with the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Cream on medium speed with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy.
• Finish The Wet Ingredients. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate each egg fully before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add corn syrup and 1 Tablespoon vanilla. Mix to combine.
• Add Dry Ingredients Gradually. Working a bit at a time, mix the dry ingredients 1/3 or 1/2 at a time on low speed, until all of the dry ingredients are just incorporated. (Doing this gradually helps prevent them from poofing out the sides of the mixer!) The sticky batter will look more like very thick brownie batter than traditional cookie dough–this is normal!
• Scoop. Working with just 6 cookies at a time, use a large cookie scoop to measure 3-Tablespoon scoops of cookie dough onto a prepared baking sheet. (Don't roll the cookie dough balls smooth, just scoop them straight onto the baking sheet.)
• Bake & Cool. Place the pan in the oven and bake cookies 9-10 minutes, or until set on top and slightly underdone in the center. (They'll continue to set as they cool.) Allow the cookies to cool 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat process until all cookies are baked, alternating baking sheets with each batch so you don't put cool dough on a hot cookie sheet.

THEN, MAKE MAKE THE FROSTING & DECORATE THE COOKIES

• Beat Butter. When the cookies are all cool, make the frosting. To start, beat 1 cup softened butter 2-3 minutes in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer). The butter should be creamy and lighter in color.
• Combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add cocoa powder, 3 Tablespoons cream, 1 Tablespoons corn syrup, the vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Mix on LOW speed until just blended. Add the powdered sugar gradually, along with 2 Tablespoons more cream.
• Whip. As soon as the powdered sugar is all added, increase the speed to HIGH and mix 1-2 minutes more, until the creamy frosting is smooth, light, and fluffy. (The should be NO lumps!)
• Frost. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip (like Wilton #2D or Ateco #852). Starting at the center of each cookie, pipe frosting into a rosette on top of each cookie. (Start in the center of the cookie and continue to move around the circle of the cookie until you get close to the edges.) If you don't have a piping tip, you can use an offset spatula to frost the cookies.
• Add Sprinkles, if desired. (I recommend only frosting 2-3 cookies at a time if you plan to add sprinkles on top of each cookie, so you can add them before the frosting sets!)
• Serve & Store. Enjoy right away or store in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days. (I like to pop mine in the fridge!)

Video

Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for these cookies. If you use another brand, be sure it contains xanthan gum and weigh or measure carefully! 
• Use BOTH Kinds of Cocoa Powder! We experimented using all of one or the other, and really feel that the Dutch-processed cocoa powder works best for the cookies and natural cocoa tastes best for the frosting. (If you *must* use just one kind, I recommend all Dutch processed cocoa.)
• Troubleshoot The Frosting: As with all baking, there are a LOT of conditions that can affect your bakes–ambient temperature in the room, the temperature of your butter and melted chocolate, the humidity, etc. If your frosting is too soft to hold its shape, add more powdered sugar 2 Tbsp. at a time until it’s stiff enough to hold its shape. If it’s too stiff, add more liquid 1 tsp. at a time until it loosens up. 
• Let The Cookies Cool COMPLETELY Before Frosting. This is CRUCIAL. If your cookies are even a little bit warm, it’ll melt the frosting and just make a mess. Make sure the cookies are cooled to room temperature before frosting.

Gather Your Ingredients

One of the things that makes this easy recipe such a crowd pleaser is the simple ingredients list. Let’s take a look!

How To Make Gluten-Free Monster Cookie Bars, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat & Prep. To Start, preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a metal 9×13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, gluten-free oats, quick oats, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine until evenly blended and fluffy. Set aside.
3. Cream Butter & Sugar. In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), combine softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes with the paddle attachment (or a handheld electric mixer) until the mixture is light, fluffy, and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Build The Dough. Mix in the peanut butter until fully incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the egg yolk, and the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just a few dry patches remain.

5. Add Mix-Ins. Then, add 1 1/4 cups mini M&Ms, and 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips to the dough. Stir the mix-ins in by hand with a spatula (so you don’t break the M&Ms), until the dough is well blended and the goodies are well distributed.
6. Bake Cookies. Spread cookie dough out into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the cookie bars look golden brown on top and just set in the center. (Try not to overbake, or the bars will be dry and cakey rather than fudgy and soft. Keep in mind that the cookie bars will continue to bake and set as they cool.)
7. Immediately Add Topping. As soon as the cookie bars come out of the oven, sprinkle the extra mini M&Ms and the mini chocolate chips on top while they cookie bars are still hot from the oven. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cookie bars cool completely before slicing. (Chilling the cookie bars first will give you the neatest slices!)
8. Serve & Store. When cookie bars have cooled completely, cut into slices & enjoy! Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

FAQ + Tricks For The Best Monster Cookie Bars

Your Pan Material Matters! If you’re using a glass or ceramic baking pan instead of a metal pan, keep in mind that you’ll likely need to add a few minutes to the bake time, and your bars may “climb” the sides a bit. We like this metal 9×13 pan–it bakes the bars to the perfect thickness and conducts heat gently and evenly for a beautifully even bake.

Can I Use Natural Peanut Butter? While natural peanut butter is great for sandwiches and toast, I do not recommend it for monster cookie bars, as it tends to make the cookie bars dry out faster, and can impact the texture. For best results, use a traditional peanut butter spread, like JIF or Skippy.

Can I Make These Dairy-Free? These monster cookie bars can be made dairy-free with a few simple swaps. First, use vegan butter (like Earth Balance) and dairy-free chocolate chips (like Guittard or Enjoy Life). Then, you’ll use dairy-free chocolate candies in place of the m&ms. We’ve had good luck with YumEarth Choco Yums and Unreal Candies.

More Mix-Ins To Try! Next time you’re looking to mix things up, try adding half chocolate chips + half peanut butter chips, or swap out the m&ms for reese’s pieces!

More Gluten-Free Cookie Bar Recipes To Try

Gluten-Free S’mores Bars

Gluten-Free Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookie Bars

Gluten-Free Brookies

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Gluten-Free Monster Cookie Bars

Our Gluten-Free Monster Cookie Bars recipe is everything you love about classic monster cookies in bar form! Made with a soft peanut butter oatmeal cookie base, they're packed with m&ms and chocolate chips in every delicious bite!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword gluten-free monster cookies, monster cookie recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 20 Cookie Bars

Author Emily Dixon, Sweets & Thank You

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (210 grams)
• 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats (or more quick oats)*
• ½ cup gluten-free quick oats (or more rolled oats)*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened (226 grams)
• 1 ¼ cup light brown sugar (250 grams)
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar (66 grams)
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter*
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 1 egg yolk room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Mix-Ins & Toppings:

• 1 ¼ cups mini M&Ms for the cookie dough
• 1 ¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips for the cookie dough
• ¼ cup mini M&Ms for topping the cookies
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips for topping the cookies

Instructions

• Preheat & Prep. To Start, preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a metal 9×13 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
• Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, gluten-free oats, quick oats, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine until evenly blended and fluffy. Set aside.
• Cream Butter & Sugar. In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl), combine softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed 2-3 minutes with the paddle attachment (or a handheld electric mixer) until the mixture is light, fluffy, and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Build The Dough. Mix in the peanut butter until fully incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by the egg yolk, and the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just a few dry patches remain.
• Add Mix-Ins. Then, add 1 1/4 cups mini M&Ms, and 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips to the dough. Stir the mix-ins in by hand with a spatula (so you don't break the M&Ms), until the dough is well blended and the goodies are well distributed.
• Bake Cookies. Spread cookie dough out into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the cookie bars look golden brown on top and just set in the center. (Try not to overbake, or the bars will be dry and cakey rather than fudgy and soft. Keep in mind that the cookie bars will continue to bake and set as they cool.)
• Immediately Add Topping. As soon as the cookie bars come out of the oven, sprinkle the extra mini M&Ms and the mini chocolate chips on top while they cookie bars are still hot from the oven. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cookie bars cool completely before slicing. (Chilling the cookie bars first will give you the neatest slices!)
• Serve & Store. When cookie bars have cooled completely, cut into slices & enjoy! Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.

Video

Notes

• Gluten-Free Flour. We love and recommend King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten-Free Flour for these monster cookie bars. If you use another 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum! We highly recommend weighing the flour (and other dry ingredients) for the best results, but if you don’t have a kitchen scale, we recommend using the scoop and level method to avoid packing too much flour into the measuring cup.
• Peanut Butter. Do NOT use natural peanut butter for these cookie bars, or they’ll dry out faster. Use a traditional peanut butter spread, like JIF or Skippy, for best results.
• Oats. If needed, you can use all rolled oats or all quick oats for these cookies. I just love the texture you get from using a mix!
• Toppings: I love the look of mini m&ms and mini chocolate chips on top of the cookie bars. You can use traditional M&Ms and chocolate chips, though your cookie bars will look different from mine.