This gluten free cookie flour blend is what took my cookie baking to the next level. If you're trying to remake old recipes or haven't yet made cookies you love, you need to try this flour blend.
I bake cookies all year long but American Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday baking season. One day we're looking at pumpkin recipes and the next we're talking about gingerbread and shortbread.
Having a few flops is unavoidable when you're learning to gluten free baking. In the moment it's frustrating, expensive and might make you take a break from baking for awhile. Yet the lure of warm cookies from the oven brings us back into the kitchen to try again.
If you love cookies this gluten free cookie flour blend might be just the recipe you need. I have cookie recipes from every stage of my gluten free baking journey so I don't use this blend in every cookie recipe. But the year I got serious about perfecting my holiday cookies this blend was a game changer!
Ingredients
Almond flour increases the percentage of protein in cookie recipes and brown rice flour helps make them nice and crisp. This recipe includes:
- brown rice flour
- almond flour
- potato starch
- tapioca starch
- xanthan gum
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Different Gluten Free Flours for Cookies
It's always worth repeating, there's no single gluten free flour (or blend) that works in all recipes. If there was we'd all be using it.
Years ago my EGFG gluten free flour blend took my baking to the next level. Yet I still struggled with cookies and that's how I came to use this blend. But my cookies reflect the many ways I've tried and succeeded with gluten free cookies.
Here are the five ways I make cookies (yes, FIVE!) and they all work.
- 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 pumpkin chocolate chip 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).
- The cookies I make using this cookie flour blend (list below).
How To Make a Cookie Flour Blend
Remaking Old Favourites Gluten Free
Cookies have a high fat and sugar content plus a short cooking time that doesn't allow for the gluten free flours to absorb all the liquid. This may be why your old recipes don't work with the flour blend that was working for other recipes.
Once my gingerbread recipe finally worked I was encouraged to experiment using this cookie flour blend. This is my current list:
- Cappuccino Diamonds
- Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Cinnamon Snickerdoodles
For more tips on remaking cookies gluten free check out this post, Tips For Making Gluten Free Cookies.
Printable Page
Equipment
Every kitchen needs a few tools and it will change over time depending on what you like to cook. Many items will last for decades so think of them as an investment and buy good 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 cookie baking too. I have two of them that I only use for baking (no garlic allowed).
- 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 faster 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.
I recommend you chose one or two recipes to master. If this gluten free cookie flour blend works with your recipe then you can try more. That's how I got started remaking my old recipes.
As always, let me know in the comments if you have any questions or tips to share.
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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
More Help For Gluten Free Cookie Recipes
My post Tips For Making Gluten Free Cookies is full of help and there is even a podcast interview on the same topic. Listen to A Canadian Celiac Podcast: episode 43 Baking Gluten Free Cookies.
From my 12-part series on How To Use Gluten Free Flour this post, How To Use A Gluten Free Flour Blend has lots of tips for working with different flours and blends. With some tweaks to what you're already doing you'll be on your way to improving your results.
For more cookies check out my Recipe Roundup of Gluten Free Cookies with links to all the recipes.
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!
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.