After many cookie failures I landed on this gluten free cookie flour blend. I had many successes with cookies but some recipes did not do well with a so called all purpose flour blend. This 4-ingredient flour blend includes almond flour and brown rice flour. If you're trying to remake old recipes or haven't perfected cookies yet, you need to try this flour blend.
I bake cookies all year long but November kicks off the holiday baking season. One day we're looking at pumpkin recipes and the next we're talking about gingerbread and shortbread. I have cookie recipes from every stage of my gluten free baking journey, that means before I used this blend. Check out my roundup of gluten free cookie recipes for more.
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Ingredients
The year I got serious about perfecting my holiday cookies this blend was a game changer! It won't work in every single cookie recipe you try (because no one flour blend will ever do that), but it helped me remake seven of my holiday favourites.
- brown rice flour
- almond flour
- potato starch
- tapioca starch
- xanthan gum
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Xanthan gum - The best substitute for xanthan is guar gum. Use it in equal amounts in any recipe calling for xanthan gum.
Different Gluten Free Flours for Cookies
My cookies reflect the many ways I've tried and succeeded to remake them gluten free. Here are the five ways I've remade my cookies (yes, FIVE!) and I've shared 17 cookie recipes to date.
- Using a single flour like quinoa flour or almond flour (these peanut butter cookies and a chocolate chip cookie pizza).
- Cookies made using only my EGFG gluten free flour blend (chocolate chip cookies and ginger molasses cookies).
- Those made with specific measurements of different flours and starches (sugar cookies and whipped shortbread).
- Cookies made with my gluten free flour blend plus the addition of another flour (chocolate chip cookies with teff flour and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies).
- Finally, the cookies I make using this flour blend (list below).
How To Make a Cookie Flour Blend
Recipes Using this Cookie Flour Blend
Once my gingerbread recipe finally worked I was encouraged to experiment using this cookie flour blend. These are the ones I've remade so far.
- Cappuccino Diamonds
- Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Cinnamon Snickerdoodles
Printable Page - Cookie Flour Recipe
Get the Tools to Make Cookies
Every kitchen needs a few tools. Many items will last for decades so buy quality. During a holiday cookie baking spree I might use all of these.
- Technically a cookie sheet has no rim allowing optimal air circulation in the oven during baking.
- Rimmed baking sheets are better for roasting vegetables or making granola but they can double for a serious cookie baking session. I have a set of two for baking (no garlic allowed) and a set of two for cooking.
- Parchment paper has been a good option for lining baking pans for years. It's available on a roll or in packages with individual sheets.
- Reusable baking pan liners are the best environmental choice, wash and reuse. There are several options and I recommend buying one the size of your pan for maximum efficiency when baking. They may require some adjustments to cooking time so pay attention and be patient. I have one dark coloured one that browns baking to fast so choose a light colour if you're a baker.
- Portion scoops are time efficient, they make uniformly sized cookies for even baking and for some cookies they give the nice rounded look you want.
Top Tip for Remaking Holiday Cookies
Choose one or two recipes to master and start early. Review the tips in this post, Tips For Making Gluten Free Cookies. Once you have success take a moment to enjoy that, then try one more. That's how I got started remaking my old holiday cookie recipes.
Gluten Free Cookie Flour Blend
Ingredients
- 90 grams brown rice flour (⅔ cup)
- 25 grams almond flour* (¼ cup)
- 30 grams potato starch sifted (3 Tbsp)
- 15 grams tapioca starch (1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon )
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Store in airtight container. Makes 1¼ cups.
Notes
Nutrition
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Podcast Interview on Gluten Free Cookies
Listen to A Canadian Celiac Podcast: episode 43 Baking Gluten Free Cookies.
Barb
Hello,
I cannot use anything made with potato, arrowroot, cassava, or tapioca starch or flour. What would be a good substitute for these two items (and how much to use) in this recipe?
Cinde Little
Hi Barb! It always requires a bit of recipe testing so here are some tips to help you. We know that using a smaller amount of 2 starches always gives better results than too much of any single one. You can consider sweet rice flour as a starch since it is very low in protein so I would try that. Replace both the potato starch and tapioca starch with sweet rice flour and see what you think. Work in small batches and tweak as you go. I buy sweet rice flour at the Asian grocery store and the bag says 'glutinous rice flour.' It is made from a sticky type of rice and is gluten free. I hope that helps, let me know how it goes.
Cliff
Is there another flour to substitute for Almond Flour that might be "almost" as good. I donate baked goods to my church and they have a "No Nut" policy due to some kids having issues.
Thanks
Cinde Little
Hi Cliff! You can try certified gluten free oat flour or sorghum flour. I haven't tried either of those so for cookies it will take some trial and error to see how it works. I never started using almond flour until my son was finished school so I have many nut free cookie recipes. Do look within this post for the section where I talk about the 4 other types of cookies I make. They're all nut free. Happy baking!
cliff venier
Thanks! I will try that. My wife has gluten issues so I have all those different flours around. You inspired me with one of your posts about mixing and experimenting with different flours. I made pancakes by using millet- sorghum- banana- and coconut flour and it was delicious! Now I didn't measure, so I probably can never completely replicate it, but it opened my eyes that you can make your own blends. I normally use the ATK blend and make about 5 lbs at a time.
Cinde Little
That's exciting news Cliff! As you start to experiment more I recommend you come up with some method to track what you're doing. You can claim a recipe as perfect and move on to the next but I don't really do that. For me as long as I'm baking I'm learning. My go-to is the banana muffin recipe and I wrote it to use your 'favourite blend' and then add a smaller amount of anything you want to try. I sometimes print the recipe and then make two batches at a time writing the changes I made. You could try that with your pancake recipe or anything you make often. Best of luck!
Sharon
I cant use rice flour. what could I sub it with?
Cinde Little
Hi Sharon! There is no easy answer to that question when it comes to cookies. I haven't tried these but I would suggest sorghum flour, oat flour or quinoa flour as possible substitutes. Try anyone of them in a cookie recipe you have made before or one that you'd like to be your experimental recipe. (Pick a favourite because someone has to eat all those cookies). I would also recommend making two versions on the same day if you can. This will allow you to do a head-to-head comparison and not rely on your memory. I have cookie recipes from every step of my GF journey so you may also want to look up the recipes under RICE FREE BAKING. Just type that into the Search bar. If you can come back and tell me what you learned I would love to share that with my readers. Happy baking!
Mary Fuesting
I used your EGFG flour blend to make a Peanut Butter Bundt Cake. The recipe was not intended to be gluten free. I brought this cake to a pot luck at work and received rave reviews. I did not have sorghum flour, I substituted tapioca flour.
The 11 Gluten Free Flour Recipe Guide has a confidence booster for me.
Thanks
Cinde Little
Oh Mary, that is fantastic. I'm so happy that my guide has been helpful. Isn't it great that you can take gluten free baking anywhere and people love it! That's a game changer for gluten free cooks, bravo. Your cake sounds delicious, thanks so much for sharing.
Alene
I cannot eat any rice at all. I know you spent time and ingredients creating this flour blend.
Do you have a suggestion as to what I can substitute for the rice flour? I do have other blends without rice flour, but I don't know if any 9f them are good with cookies. Thank you! V
Cinde Little
Hi Alene! That's an excellent question and you won't be the only one wondering that. I have 2 recipes made with quinoa flour; Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza (you can make them like normal cookies) and Peanut Butter Cookies. My cookie flour blend you mentioned didn't work in every cookie recipe I tried so I know there is always more to learn. Do experiment if quinoa flour works for you. I have also seen cookies made with almond flour alone and other cookie recipes combining whole oats and oat flour. That should give you a good start on your cookie baking adventure without rice. Happy baking!
Lastly I want to give a plug for my favourite resource, America's Test Kitchen Cookbooks. I have How Can It Be Gluten Free, both volume 1 and 2. They have a newer book published in 2019 so take a look at them all if you're in the market for a physical book. I'm pretty sure delicious cookies are in your future.