Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

These soft and chewy cookies are inspired by the classic flavor of peanut butter cups.

By
Elizabeth Barbone
Elizabeth Barbone: Contributing Writer at Serious Eats
Elizabeth Barbone
Elizabeth Barbone develops delicious and creative recipes for the food allergic and gluten-free communities through her site Gluten-Free Baking. Author of three cookbooks: Easy Gluten-Free Baking (2009), How to Cook Gluten-Free (2012), and The World's Easiest Paleo Baking (2016).
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Updated March 13, 2023
Gluten-free chocolate chip peanut butter cookies resting on parchment next to the earlier version of the cookie recipe, which consists of a chocolate cookie batter and peanut butter chips. A jar of peanut butter and a jar of chocolate chips are nearby.

Serious Eats / Elizabeth Barbone

Why It Works

  • Using all peanut butter and no butter or shortening gives the cookies a rich peanut butter flavor.
  • The two eggs and baking soda leaven the cookies, so they bake up into little mounds, instead of spreading into flat cookies.

Recently, a friend asked me to tweak my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. And by "tweak," he meant, "transform it into chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips." He was pretty specific, requesting that I use cocoa powder to make a moist, chocolaty dessert. Made sense to me!

I did just what he asked—I added cocoa powder to the chocolate chip cookie recipe, cutting back on the rice flour to compensate. But the cookies didn't have the rich, chocolate-heavy punch I was looking for. They were just okay, and "okay" basically defeats the whole purpose of cookies in the first place.

As I stirred peanut butter chips into the chocolate batter, I muttered, "You got peanut butter in my chocolate!" I laughed at my own joke because no one else was there to appreciate my callback to a decades old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial. Of course, I had to finish the bit, "You got chocolate in my peanut butter," I replied to myself. And then it hit me: Why not try baking a batch of peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips?

Haunted by the idea of a gluten-free peanut butter cup cookie, I ended up modifying a flourless peanut butter cookie recipe, which bakes up thin and crisp. I wanted this batch to be nice and chewy and thick enough to envelop and stand up to the chocolate chips. So I added an extra egg and just enough rice flour to give the cookies some body.

The cookies baked up soft and chewy, and the combination of peanut butter and milk chocolate chips conjured the classic flavor of a peanut butter cup.

June 2014

Recipe Details

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies Recipe

Active 15 mins
Total 90 mins
Serves 24 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup (3 ounces) white rice flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup (about 9 ounces) dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup (about 8 ounces) smooth or creamy peanut butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips (see note)

Directions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together white rice flour and baking soda. In a large bowl, stir together dark brown sugar, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla extract with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add dry ingredients and stir until a dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips.

  2. Working in 2 batches, drop rounded tablespoons onto 1 prepared baking sheet, spacing dough about 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are set and lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.

  3. Allow cookies to cool slightly on baking sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and unused prepared baking sheet. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Special Equipment

Rimmed baking sheets

Notes

If you're dairy-free or don't like the taste of milk chocolate, simply replace the milk chocolate chips with dark or dairy-free chocolate chips.

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