Gluten-Free Chai Spiced Chocolate Chip Cookies

These gluten-free chai spiced chocolate chip cookies are everything I love in a classic chocolate chip cookie with the addition of warming masala chai spices that are perfect for this time of year. 

The information in this post is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is always best to work with a qualified healthcare professional before incorporating herbs into your diet.

Everyone needs a go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. I’ve been playing around with several recipes trying to find my favorite gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe and the base recipe below has become my go to. But since it’s the holiday season, I decided to take my basic cookie recipe and give it a cozy upgrade with the addition of classic masala chai spices. 

The result is a delicious soft-and-chewy cookie, dotted with chunks of chocolate, and elevated with the warming spices we know and love. 

How To Make Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are one of my favorite desserts to make in large part because they’re usually fairly easy. And that’s exactly how I like it. This recipe is straightforward and easy to make and doesn’t require any crazy ingredients. You’ll need…

• ½ cup softened butter (114 grams)
• ½ cup brown sugar (120 grams) 
• ½ cup white sugar (110 grams)
• 1 egg 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup oat flour (125 g) 
• 1 cup gluten-free 1:1 flour blend (120 g)
• 1 ½ teaspoon masala chai spice blend
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, you’ll cream together the butter and sugars in a bowl. Then you’ll add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. 

Add the oat flour, gluten-free flour, chai spice blend, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix again until just combined. 

Add the chocolate chips and mix until they’re evenly distributed. 

Using a 1-2 tablespoon scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave a couple inches between each cookie. 

Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are just starting to turn golden. 

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before serving. 

Notes & Substitutions

Because gluten-free flours can be more finicky than regular wheat flour, I always measure by weight. If you have a kitchen scale, I definitely recommend using that to measure everything out. If you don’t, I highly recommend getting one! But since you shouldn’t have to wait until you have a kitchen scale to make these delicious cookies, just make sure you measure the flours using the scoop-and-level technique where you scoop the flour into the measuring cup and then scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level it out. That’s the method I used to get these weight measurements. 

This recipe can also easily be made vegan. I tested it with both butter and coconut oil. I preferred the flavor and texture with dairy butter but the coconut oil worked just fine. You could also substitute in a vegan butter. 

For the egg, I’ve made this with a flax “egg” and a chia “egg” and both worked great. To make either one, just combine one tablespoon of ground flaxseed or one tablespoon of ground chia seed with three tablespoons of water. Whisk and set aside to thicken before using. 

For the gluten-free flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour, which is consistently my favorite gluten-free flour substitute. I haven’t tested it with other gluten-free options, so if you want to use something different I suggest comparing the ingredients to Bob’s Red Mill to see if they’re similar. You could also use regular wheat flour or almond flour and they should work just fine. 

The Masala Chai Spices

The thing that takes these from “perfectly nice cookie” to “cozy cookie heaven” is the masala chai spice blend. You can sometimes find chai spice blends at the grocery store but it’s so easy to make that I like to just mix it up myself. 

To make your own masala chai spice blend, you’ll need

• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Combine all the spices in a small jar. Secure the lid and give it a good shake to distribute all the spices evenly. Label and store the blend with your other spices for up to a year. 

If you don’t want to make the chai spice blend, you could opt to use just cinnamon in the recipe. Or if you have pumpkin pie spice on hand, that’s also a great option. 

Benefits of Masala Chai Spices

The spices in a classic masala chai blend are delicious but they’re also much more than that. Masala tea is enjoyed traditionally as a way to support overall health and wellness thanks to the health benefits of the spices use in the blend. Cooking liberally with spices is a great way to get more of this herbal goodness into your daily diet. 

• Ginger is one of the best herbs for supporting healthy digestion. It’s a very warm herb that stimulates circulation, supports your immune system, and can reduce inflammatory pain. 
• Cinnamon is warming and can gently help to increase circulation, bringing warmth to chronically cold extremities. It also helps support healthy blood sugar regulation. 
• Cardamom is a digestive aid with a reputation as an aphrodisiac. It warms the body and has mildly stimulating effects.
• Cloves warm the body, stimulate circulation, and support digestion. It has also traditionally been used to relieve toothaches.
• Black pepper increases the amount of nutrients your body is able to absorb from the food you eat and supports healthy digestion. 

Now, I’m not trying to claim that eating a cookie spiced with classic masala chai spices is going to provide the above health benefits. But I do believe that getting familiar with these delicious spices and using them often and liberally in your cooking has a cumulative health effect and is a great way to get in the habit of incorporating herbal support in your day-to-day life. It’s also a great way to make food more delicious and enjoyable. 

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Gluten-free Chai Spiced Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These gluten-free chai spiced chocolate chip cookies take the cookie we all love and add even more coziness with the addition of classic masala chai spices. *See notes for easy vegan options.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Dessert

Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

  

• ½ cup (114 grams) softened butter*
• ½ cup (120 grams) brown sugar
• ½ cup (120 grams) white sugar
• 1 egg*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup (138 grams) oat flour
• 1 cup (120 grams) gluten-free 1:1 flour blend**
• 1 ½ teaspoon masala chai spice blend see below
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate bar***

For Masala Chai Spice Blend

• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Make the masala chai spice by mixing the ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and black pepper in a small bowl or jar. Mix together and set aside.
• In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue beating until incorporated, scraping down the sides as needed.
• Add the oat flour, gluten-free flour, chai spice blend, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the bowl. Mix until just combined.
• Add the chocolate chunks and mix until they’re evenly distributed.
• Using a 1-2 tablespoon scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Leave a couple inches between each cookie.
• Bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are just starting to turn golden.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before serving.
• Repeat with remaining cookie dough.
• Store cookies in a lidded container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 6 months.
• Remaining masala chai spice blend can be stored in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 12 months.

Notes

*Regular dairy or vegan butter works well. I didn’t love the results from coconut oil but feel free to give that a try, too.

*A flax egg or chia egg both worked perfectly in this recipe. To make either, combine one tablespoon of ground flaxseed OR ground chia seed with three tablespoons of water. Whisk and set aside for 10 minutes to thicken before using.

**I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free 1:1 Baking Flour. You could also substitute regular wheat flour or almond flour.

***Using a chopped up chocolate bar instead of chips adds a fun variety of chocolate chunks throughout the cookies. But feel free to use chocolate chips instead.