Sorghum flour is a great choice for gluten free home baking! Check out this recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sorghum Flour.
Roll out of your Easter weekend and straight into these Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sorghum Flour! This is hands-down my most successful attempt at gluten free baking so far. See how I did it below.
Now let me be clear: these cookies may be gluten free, but that doesn’t mean they’re more or less healthy than any other cookie. A cookie is still a cookie, regardless of how it’s made. A gluten free diet is absolutely necessary for some people, but if you tolerate wheat and gluten products in your diet, avoiding them is just another form of restricted or restrained eating.
The healthiest cookie = the one you enjoy the most. Food should not cause pain. But it should also not cause guilt or shame.
Which is why I continue to chow down on these guys the day after not one, but TWO, Easter feasts with the family. Non-diet living for the win!
[Tweet “The healthiest cookie = the one you enjoy the most. Check out a new contender for favorite cookie”]
Looking for another version of gluten free baking with sorghum flour? Check out this Gluten Free Cardamom Apple Galette.
The main reason I wanted to give this recipe a shot is my hatred of food waste. I had a random assortment of gluten free flours left over from a previous project, including a bag of all-purpose sorghum flour from Nu Life Market. Sorghum is a whole grain (naturally gluten free) and there is a LOT of it grown in my home state of Kansas. I spent the last month diving a little deeper into sorghum and how it’s grown here, which fed my constant need for new knowledge about where food comes from.
So of course I wondered if sorghum flour cookies could become a thing…and sure enough! These sorghum flour chocolate chip cookies are a big hit, even among those in the family who have no issues with gluten.
Gluten-Free Baking
My history with gluten-free baking is troubled at best. I never fully embraced it because I didn’t see a personal need for it, but I want to understand it to better relate to clients or patients who need it. My half-hearted attempts never turned out satisfactory and I chalked it up to a lack of effort on my part. Well, I think it’s safe to say I’ve finally turned the corner with this one!
And these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are a hit with the family, too. I may or may not have let them eat more than a few before enlightening them that these cookies were special. I’m pretty sure sorghum flour cookies were never on their radar for something they thought they’d be eating…but I suppose that’s sort of what you get when you’re related to a dietitian with a food blog?
Gluten Free Baking Reminders
I will say up front I am far from expert status when it comes to gluten-free baking. But, here’s a few things I’ve learned along the way that you might find helpful, too:
- It will taste good, but it might also taste different. Prepare for a slightly different texture or mouthfeel, which results from the lack of gluten in the dough. You may find it “gritty” or “grainy” but not necessarily in a bad way. The classic flavor of a chocolate chip cookie is still here, and it’s still delicious!
- You might have to search for ingredients. Xanthan gum isn’t exactly a staple in most pantries. It’s widely used in the food industry, but is not a produce I usually have on hand. Look for it in the specialty health section or online markets. Xanthan gum helps create the sticky quality of the raw dough, helping to bind it together while it bakes. This recipe will result in a much crumblier cookie if you skip the xanthan gum, so I can’t recommend it!
- Check your ingredient lists. If you’re cool with gluten, no need to check as carefully. But if you and gluten aren’t so cool, make sure your other ingredients don’t contain hidden sources. Some things like oats (not appearing in this recipe, but may show up in others) are processed on equipment that also processes wheat or gluten-containing grains, which can cause cross-contamination So, just to be safe, verify everything is gluten free before starting if you need to avoid gluten altogether.
A Note About Xanthan Gum: Yes, this is a more premium (AKA, expensive) ingredient. It’s frustrating how ingredients necessary for sticking to a GF diet and preserving quality/tatste/texture are so pricey, but keep in mind you’re using a small amount. Unless you’re baking all the time, a small bag should last you through many batches!
Have you experimented with gluten free baking yet? If you’re new to the game like I am, this simple recipe is a great place to start! Give it a shot and if you like what you try, share it and tag #streetsmartnutrition.
Have a great rest of your week!
Here’s the recipe for Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sorghum Flour:
Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sorghum Flour
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose sorghum flour
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.
- Combine the sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Mix to combine, then add to the wet ingredients and mix well. Add the chocolate chips, mixing again, then chill in the refrigerator until firm. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F while the dough is chilling.
- Line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Form one inch balls from the dough and place on the baking sheet, flattening slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on a baking rack. Enjoy warm or store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
[Tweet “#GlutenFree Chocolate Chip Cookies made with sorghum flour, from the Street Smart Nutrition blog”]
Questions & Reviews
Wow I can’t believe they rise and look the same! Would love to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I was amazed too! In the past they turn out like flat little hockey pucks LOL But these were delicious, I was really impressed!
Yum! These cookies look perfect! I have to check out this flour 🙂
Thank you! I loved the way they turned out!
I’ve never worked with sorghum flour before! these cookies look fantastic!
Thank you! I think the photos did them justice, they tasted amazing!
These look so good! I’ll be honest, I don’t do much gluten-free baking. Thankfully, my mom picks up the slack for me in that department.
I don’t either! Never had a need to (and really, still don’t) but it was fun to experiment and give myself a little challenge 🙂
There are so many different gluten free flours out there now. I haven’t heard of this one. Great recipe!
Thank you Betsy!
I have no experience with sorghum flour, but making chocolate chip cookies sounds like it was a perfect idea to use up your extra!! 🙂
Thanks! I’ve only baked with it a couple of times but this recipe turned out great!
Wow, love your website cara. I have to be g f or my stomach bloats dye to gastroparesis. I am intolerant to alot of stuff an must be diligent to preserve my gut health until it heals. I found a great gf flour mix that works for me due to no wheat. B. Rice or oats for the time being. I made substitutions from the cuo4cup online an it made my stomach feel heavenly without bloat. I will try this recipe soon an give u feed back. Blessings Laurie
Thank you so much for this recipe ❤️
I don’t eat grains, is there a substitute for the rice flour? Thanks!
I wish I could share my photo. These look like they belong in a magazine!! I used vegan chocolate chunks, 3/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup ghee for the butter to make these dairy-free as well and they’re beautiful!!
Thanks Christina, your dairy-free version sounds amazing! I have a friend who is very sensitive to dairy so I’ll be sure to share your tips, she’s always looking for good substitutes for baking. So glad to hear you enjoyed them!
I have several gd flours, but not rice and tapioca. So are there others I can substitute?
Yes, although I have not tested this recipe with other GF flours, you could substitute for what you have available. The xanthan gum is important for texture, and swapping flours may yield a cookie that is more dense/less fluffy, but overall the flavor of the cookie should not be significantly affected. Thank you!
This recipe is excellent. Thankyou for sharing it.
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe was great, I am not a gluten free Dieter, like you bought tons of different gluten free flours thinking it was a healthier way! Not, but certainly more expensive, so now I have cabinets full of sorghum, brown rice flower, tapioca flour, and some others. Lol when I saw this recipe I said good I have all the ingredients let’s give them a try. Fabulous I can’t tell the difference, I added some candied cherries I had left over from Christmas and they were even better, my only concern is the amount of butter, so I will be experimenting with using less and maybe apple sauce. Thanks for sharing your recipe, I’m going to be baking them again! 👍❤️
Thank you Nadine, I’m so glad these turned out great for you! Love the addition of cherries, that sounds delicious!
I can’t eat eggs and I didn’t have xanthan gum so I just replaced with flax seeds since I know it’s more of a gummy binding ingredient anyways and this recipe was perfect with those substitutions and despite no xanthan gum!
Thank you so much for making this recipe!