Fudgy Mini Egg Cookies (Gluten Free)
Super-delicious, fudgy gluten free Mini Egg Cookies for Easter and beyond. Made with the BEST dough for the chewiest, fudgiest, fattest, bestest gluten free cookies EVER!
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Don’t Lost This Recipe. Pin it for Later
I’m late to the Easter party… But to be honest, Mini Eggs (of some description) are available for so many months of the year, that my gluten free Mini Egg Cookies recipe still needs to be published. Even if it’s just to put on next Easter’s ‘make list’. And lest we forget… *In the absence of mini eggs, the same recipe can be used with colourful gluten free chocolate beans, M&Ms, Minstrels and any other safe candy-coated chocolate sweets.*
They’re fat and fudgy, perfectly balanced, creamy-sweet handfuls of gluten free deliciousness that simply can’t wait until ‘next year’!
Gluten Free Mini Egg Cookie Perfection
My recipe for Mini Egg Cookies uses cookie dough similar to that used in my epic gluten free New York Cookies (with chocolate chips). With good reason. It uses the perfect combination of ingredients needed to ensure the chewiest, fudgiest, fattest, bestest gluten free cookies EVER! If you haven’t made them yet, you’re seriously missing out.
I did make a couple of small tweaks to the original NYC dough both on ratios and process… Life in my gluten free kitchen constantly strives to improve and at some stage, I may well incorporate these changes into the original NYCs. Either way, you can be sure the recipe shared below is as good as cookies (gluten free or otherwise) get!
Even if you think you aren’t a fan of mini eggs (Yes… these people actually exist 😱), my Mini Egg Cookies may still be the most delicious cookies you’ve had in a long time! Even hubbie (not a mini egg fan 🙈) couldn’t get enough of them.
The BEST Gluten Free Fudgy Cookie Dough – What You Need
If you want to make the BEST fat and fudgy cookies, you need the right combination of ingredients… Sure you can cut corners, but I personally don’t! The fine tuning of ingredients (type of sugar, dark vs milk chocolate, whether or not to use extra egg, type of gluten free flour, etc) elevate an ‘ok’ cookie to one that is way ahead… So, these are the ingredients I use and why…
Sugars
These gluten free mini egg cookies use a combination of both caster sugar (or granulated if you are in the US) and soft light brown sugar.
Yes, you can use all white sugar (or even golden caster)… But using a solid ratio of soft light brown sugar offers a more caramel, tempered sweetness; And ensures increased moisture in the cookie dough, supporting a chewier, squidgier bite.
My sugar ratios are thus weighted in favour of light soft brown sugar, but not so far that the cookies become too dark… The pastel mini eggs still need to shine!
Butter
For best flavour and baking stability, use pure block butter (which also avoids any additives and chemicals). This can be subbed weight for weight for a dairy free/vegan block alternative as required. In the UK, I recommend Flora Plant B+tter or Stork or Naturli vegan baking blocks as dairy free alternatives.
Either way, it is essential that the butter is melted. This gives density, reduces air and enhances chewiness!
Egg
Use both whole egg and an extra egg yolk in the cookie dough. Anyone who isn’t doing this with fat, chewy cookies is missing a trick!
The extra yolk brings protein without excess liquid, providing structure, moisture, richness and binding. And this means chewier, fatter cookies!
Gluten Free Flour
When I created my New York Cookies, I used a little corn starch alongside the base gluten free flour blend, for a lighter, softer texture.
For my Gluten Free Mini Egg Cookies, I switched the corn starch to tapioca starch. It does the same job… but (without doubt) does it better. So… While it’s fine to make cookies with a single flour blend, I absolutely recommend replacing a little of it with tapioca starch… And failing that, use corn starch as tapioca’s replacement.
For the base flour in these cookies, any good PLAIN gluten free flour blend will work. I tested with my gluten free flour blends A and white rice free Blend C… Recipes for both blends can be found here: in my Gluten Free Flour Blends post. Do NOT use self-raising flour.
Xanthan Gum
A very small amount of xanthan gum is added to the flour mix in this recipe for additional structure, but also to enhance chewiness. If you can’t tolerate xanthan gum, just leave it out! The binding from extra egg yolk will help ensure dough stability.
Raising Agents
Raising agents help cookies rise for volume and lightness… Both bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and baking powder are used in this recipe. They work in tandem to create height, while maintaining a softer texture.
Salt and Vanilla
Vanilla (optional) brings depth and richness and salt enhances flavour.
Mini Eggs in Cookies and their Alternatives
Mini eggs look so pretty in their pastel jackets. And yes! They ARE gluten free. However, as mentioned above, there are plenty of alternatives (either for preference or when mini eggs aren’t available).
For colour and crunch, choose chocolate eggs and sweets with a bright sugar-candy coat… Gluten free variants of ‘smarties’ chocolate beans are perfect, as are chocolate M&Ms. Alternatively, candy-coated Minstrels are another option for a chocolate hit with a crunch.
Whatever you use, they need to be broken to allow the chocolate to melt into the cookie dough… But not broken up so much that the coloured candy ‘disappears’ in the bake. I possibly crushed mine a little too small, so go easy with the rolling pin when ‘bashing’. Or… poke a few visible, extra-large pieces into the tops of the cookie dough balls before baking.
Extra DARK Chocolate Chips in Mini Egg Cookies
Extra chocolate is always optional. However, while I personally think there’s a limit to how many mini eggs are in the cookies, there’s no such thing as too much chocolate per se… As long as the chocolate isn’t too sweet!
DARK chocolate is the way to go. It’s got depth and shouts cacao without excess sweetness. So throw some in for extra decadence. I use (as always) Callebaut 811 Dark Chocolate Callets.
Tips and Tricks for Exceptional Mini Egg Cookies
Of course, while getting the ingredients right is essential to creating great cookies, the process used to combine them is equally important. These are my top process tips for the fudgiest, chewiest, most perfectly-baked gluten free Mini Egg Cookies…
- MELT the butter for a chewier, more fudgy texture.
- Vigorously beat the sugars with the hot melted butter until well-blended, smooth and creamy. This helps the sugars dissolve, resulting in a more caramel flavour and texture.
- While it’s fine to whisk the melted butter with the sugar, beat in the eggs and dry ingredients using a firm wooden/silicone spoon. This avoids excess air in the mix (which would lead to cakey cookies).
- Once shaped into balls (weighed if you are obsessive about equality), CHILL the dough well. *Chill for at least an hour! This firms the dough and (particularly) the butter, so it won’t melt and spread as quickly (or as flat) in the oven… It also slows the evaporation of moisture when baked, resulting in chewier, fresher-lasting cookies.
- Leave plenty of space around the cookie dough balls on the tray. Too close and they’ll spread and merge into one huge ‘tray cookie’.
- Don’t overbake! The middles should still look quite pale with the edges a little darker when you take them out. Too long in the oven and they’ll lose their chew.
How to Store Mini Egg Cookies
Gluten free Mini Egg Cookies should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Like all good-quality fudgy cookies, they are best eaten the same day and at least within a couple of days of baking. However, they’ll last pretty well for up to 5 days and still be delicious.
If they do lose their softness, pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to re-squidge!
Freezing Cookie Dough
For the freshest cookies on demand, freeze the prepared, ready-to-bake dough balls. Freeze them separated on a tray (to prevent sticking) and then store in a sealed bag or airtight container.
When ready for fresh-baked cookies, either defrost and bake as normal… OR bake from frozen, adding an extra couple of minutes to the bake time.
Ready to Make Gluten Free Mini Egg Cookies?
Hopefully that’s answered any questions you may have. Thank you for reading! The recipe for my gluten free Mini Egg Cookies is just below. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me and I’ll do my best to help. Either leave a comment, message me on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest), or contact me at kate@glutenfreealchemist.com
If you’re a cookie lover, check out my dedicated Gluten Free Biscuits and Cookies collection. You may particularly love my bakery-style White Chocolate and Raspberry Cookies, Stuffed Brownie Cookies, Courgette Cookies and (of course) the aforementioned New York Chocolate Chip Cookies… All of which are fudgy-chewy. OR go full-on fudgy fat chocolate with my Perfect Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies and Pistachio Cookies with Chocolate!
And for all my other recipes, head to my general Gluten Free Recipe Index and navigate from there. If there’s anything you can’t find, let me know!
Best Wishes and Happy Baking
Fudgy Mini Egg Cookies (gluten free)
Key equipment
- fridge
- Oven
Ingredients
- 270 g plain gluten free flour blend (white)
- 20 g tapioca starch (this improves the chewy texture, although the cookies can be made with same weight additional white flour blend. OR with a sub of corn starch (UK cornflour) for the tapioca)
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- 80 g caster sugar (or US granulated sugar)
- 110 g soft light brown sugar
- 120 g unsalted butter (melted)
- 1 large egg (UK large) – liquid weight approx. 57g
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract or paste (optional)
- 150 g sugar-coated mini eggs (such as Cadbury’s) – Lightly crushed (ensuring plenty of large pieces of colourful sugar shell remain)
- 80 g dark chocolate chips
- extra 15 to 20 mini eggs (optional) – to decorate tops if more vibrant colour desired
Instructions
- Weigh and mix together the gluten free flour blend, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder and set aside. *TIP: Weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously to mix.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugars with the melted butter until creamy and well-blended. This can be done with an electric whisk (preferably), or by hand.
- Add and beat through the egg, egg yolk and vanilla by hand, using a wooden/firm silicone spoon until well combined.
- Add the dry-mixed ingredients to the bowl and beat through (also using a firm wooden/silicone spoon).
- Add the crushed mini eggs and chocolate chips and stir until even.
- Shape the dough into 14 balls (each weighing around 65g). For larger cookies, increase weight per cookie.
- Place the balls on a lined tray/plate in the fridge to chill for at least an hour and preferably longer. *Do NOT skip this step.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/170 Fan/350 F.
- Line a couple of large baking sheets with baking paper and set aside (*Note: Because the cookies need room to spread, they need to be batch-baked).
- When ready to bake, arrange a maximum of 4 cookie balls on each tray with plenty of space around each to spread (including at the sides of the tray). Return the remaining dough balls to the fridge until ready to bake.
- If adding extra mini egg decoration to the top, gently poke 2 or 3 larger pieces of broken mini egg into the top surface of each cookie ball, coloured-side up.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the trays part-way through to ensure an even bake. The cookies should be golden with the edges very slightly darker.
- Remove from the oven (they will still be soft, but firm up as they cool). Leave on the trays for at least 15 minutes, or until firm enough to transfer (using a palette knife) to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Allow the trays to cool completely before arranging and baking the remaining cookie dough balls.
- Once cold, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2026 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Gluten Free Mini Egg Cookies Shared With
- Fiesta Friday #637 with Angie
- Full Plate Thursday #790 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
