Grandma's Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Sweet Tradition

Do you remember the delightful scent of freshly baked cookies wafting through your home as a kid? If you’re like me, those old-fashioned oatmeal cookies hold a special place in your heart. Wouldn’t it be amazing to have gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that capture that memory and satisfy the desire for a sweet treat?

I discovered a treasure trove of memories as I thumbed through my mom's old homemade recipe book.  She started it in home-ec class in the 1950’s and continued to add to it throughout her adulthood.  Hidden among the yellowed pages on a cut out square of cardboard was a recipe for oatmeal cookies that I can only assume she cut from the back of a Quaker Oats box, maybe 60 years ago.

Adapting Traditional Recipes to Gluten Free

As someone with celiac disease, I knew that if I was going to enjoy this childhood treat again, I would have to adapt it to gluten-free.

Main dish recipes like soups, stews, meat dishes etc. are usually easy to adapt.  A few simple substitutions are often all that’s needed.  But gluten free baking is different.  Rarely can you just swap wheat flour for gluten free flour and expect it to work out.  When you remove the gluten, you remove the lift and structure that’s needed for most baked goods. Replacing that can be a little complicated.

What makes oatmeal cookies perfect for a gluten-free adaptation is the rolled oats. They naturally provide bulk and structure, so the missing gluten is less important.   Plus, who can resist the hearty texture and wholesome flavor of rolled oats?

Be Sure to Buy Gluten Free Rolled Oats

For our gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to be safe for those of us with celiac disease, we need gluten free rolled oats. So look for oats that are explicitly labeled "gluten free." This ensures that they are free from contamination. For more details on this, you can check out my page about gluten free oats.

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Use Your Favorite Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend

Flour isn’t the centerpiece of this recipe, so the flour you choose isn’t all that important.  Use a good gluten-free all purpose flour blend that has a binder like xanthan gum.  If your flour doesn’t have a binder then add ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum to the recipe.

Dairy Free, Egg Free and Vegan Versions

To make your oatmeal chocolate chip cookies dairy free, simply substitute the butter with Crisco golden shortening or another dairy free butter substitute. And if you need an egg-free version, you can use a gluten-free egg replacer that’s available online or in most supermarkets. For gluten free vegan chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, make the above substitutions, plus make sure you are using vegan chocolate chips.

Putting it All Together

Assemble Your Equipment

You’re going to need the following equipment:

• two medium sized mixing bowls
• ¼ cup, ½ cup and 1 cup dry measure cups
• measuring spoon
• a mixing spoon
• two parchment lined baking sheets
• You can use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the dough out onto the baking sheets.

Gather Your Ingredients

First preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C) so it’s ready when you are then assemble your ingredients.  The ingredients list is simple: Granulated white sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, egg, gf all purpose flour, baking soda, gf rolled oats, salt, water and chocolate chips.  See the recipe card below for measurements.

Add a Little Variety if You're So Inclined

Feel free to change things up a bit.  Instead of chocolate chips, try seedless raisins, dried cranberries or chopped walnuts.  I like to do a combination of nuts and chocolate chips.

Mixing it Up

You're going to do your dry ingredients and your wet ingredients separately.  Start by sifting your flour and baking soda together.  Make sure they are well combined. Then stir in the gf oats and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar, brown sugar and butter.  This means putting them in the bowl then combining by repeatedly mushing it into the side of the bowl. Do this until it becomes a uniform pasty mixture. The combination of sugars adds both sweetness and moisture to the cookies, while the butter (or shortening) provides richness.

Then add the egg and vanilla and beat it in until it’s smooth.

If you have a stand mixer, you can combine the wet ingredient as described above in the bowl of the mixer using the paddle attachment.

Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet, add the water and stir.  Fold in the chocolate chips at the very end.

Loading Your Pans

Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, drop rounded spoonfuls of the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Space them about two inches apart to give them room to spread out as they bake.  Depending on the size of your cookie sheet you’ll probably fit 9 – 12 cookies on one sheet.

Put the cookies into the preheated oven and set the timer for ten minutes.  They will take 10-12 minutes to bake, so check them when the timer goes off and if they’re not quite done, give them another 2 minutes.  They should be light brown and starting to set around the edges.

While your cookies are baking, load the second pan.  When you pull out the first pan, slide the second one in.  Don’t open the oven before the 10 minutes are up or you’ll loose heat and mess up your timing.

Let Your Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Cool and Set

Once your cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes. This allows them to set, making them easier to transfer to a cooling rack.

Using a spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Allowing the cookies to cool helps to set their structure and enhances their chewiness.  Dying to test one? Go ahead, I won’t tell.

Why This is The Best Gluten Free Baking Recipe for Beginners

Not only do these gluten free oatmeal chocolate chip cookies evoke feelings of nostalgia attached to such traditional treats, they are also the perfect recipe for beginning gluten free bakers.   

It’s a simple, dependable recipe made with ingredients that are readily available at most supermarkets. So, next time you’re longing for a taste of the past, try whipping up a batch of these gluten-free old-fashioned oatmeal cookies. They’re a heartwarming treat that will bring back sweet memories while fitting seamlessly into your modern, gluten-free diet.

I hope this recipe brings as much joy to your kitchen as it does to mine. In revisiting and adapting traditional recipes, we create new memories—ones that blend the best of the past with the needs of the present. Happy baking!

The Recipe

Grandma's Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Sweet Tradition

By Patty Maguire – Naturally Gluten Free,

Recreate the delightful scent of freshly baked cookies wafting through your childhood home with these old fashioned oatmeal cookies.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 12 to 15 servings - about 30 cookies
Tags: Gluten Free, Vegan Option

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons of granulated white sugar
• ½ cup of brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup of butter, softened
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup gluten free all purpose flour blend
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 cup of gluten free rolled oats
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of water
• ½ cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or a combination of chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, dried cranberries or seedless raisins.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C)


2. Sift together flour and baking soda into a bowl, then stir in your gluten free rolled oats and salt.


3. In a separate bowl, cream together your butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Then add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.


4. Add the dry mixture to the wet, add the water and mix.


5. Fold in the chocolate chips.


6. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.


7. Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, spoon the batter onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.


8. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool then transfer to a cooling rack.