01
Brown Rice
10.0best for cookies1 cup : 1 cup
Serve sauce over rice instead of pasta
10.0
pasta substitute
in cookies.
In Cookies, Pasta determines whether you get chewy or crispy results. The replacement must absorb fat and liquid at a similar rate for the right spread.
top substitutes
adjustment for this dish
Brown rice flour has no gluten and less fat absorption than pasta flour, so cookies spread 20% more. Swap 1:1 cup and chill the scooped dough to 34°F for 45 minutes instead of 30. Drop 40g portions on parchment and bake 12 minutes at 375°F for golden edges and a chewy center; any warmer and they go flat.
02
Rice Noodles
10.0best for cookies1 oz : 1 oz
Not GF; closest texture match
10.0
adjustment for this dish
Rice noodles ground fine keep the dough tender but with no gluten to hold shape. Swap 1:1 oz and add 1/2 tsp xanthan per cup. Chill the drops to 38°F before they hit the sheet; bake 11 minutes at 375°F until edges crisp. The spread is tighter than pasta-flour cookies by about 10%.
03
Spaghetti
10.0best for cookies1 oz : 1 oz
Same dough, different shape; use for any long-noodle pasta dish with similar texture and cook time
10.0
adjustment for this dish
Spaghetti ground from dry behaves like pasta flour with a coarser grind. Swap 1:1 oz and cream butter-sugar 3 minutes as written. Rest the dough 30 minutes at 38°F; the coarser particles absorb fat 15% slower, so without the rest the cookies spread wide and the chewy centers go hollow.
show 8 more substitutes
04
Noodles
10.01 oz : 1 oz
Egg noodles are softer and richer; great in casseroles, soups, and stroganoff
10.0
adjustment for this dish
Noodles, cooked and mashed, add water content that changes cookie chemistry entirely. Swap 1:1 oz of mashed noodle and cut sugar by 15g per cup to compensate for the softer moisture. Chill the drops 1 hour; bake 13 minutes at 365°F so the extra water evaporates before the edges crisp, otherwise the cookies stay cakey.
05
Vermicelli
10.01 oz : 1 oz
Very thin strands; cook faster and work in light brothy soups or Asian-style stir-fries
10.0
adjustment for this dish
Vermicelli ground from dry has the finest grind of the noodle family and acts closest to pasta flour. Swap 1:1 oz; the cookie spread matches pasta-flour dough within 5%. Scoop 40g portions, chill to 38°F, bake 11 minutes at 375°F — the golden edges come in right on time and the chewy centers stay tender.
06
Couscous
10.01 cup : 1 cup
Small pasta shape, cooks in 5 minutes
10.0
07
Macaroni
10.02 cup : 4 cup
Any short pasta shape works; same cook time and sauce-holding ability, purely a shape preference
10.0
08
Quinoa
6.71 cup : 1 cup
Gluten-free, works as base for saucy dishes
6.7
09
Spelt Flour
6.71 oz : 1 oz
Use spelt pasta for nuttier flavor and more fiber; slightly more delicate, cook al dente
6.7
10
Sweet Potatoes
6.71 cup : 1 cup
Spiralize into noodles for low-carb swap; sweeter flavor, pairs with savory sauces
6.7
11
Zucchini
3.32 cup : 1 cup
Spiralize for low-carb noodles, cook briefly
3.3
technique for cookies
technique
Cookie dough made with pasta flour will spread wider than butter-sugar dough made with standard AP, because pasta flour's denser particles absorb fat more slowly during the first 2 minutes on the sheet. Cream butter and sugar for 3 minutes to incorporate air, then chill the scooped dough balls to 38°F for at least 30 minutes before they hit parchment — this firming step cuts spread by about 25%.
Drop 40g portions 2 inches apart and bake at 375°F until the edges are golden but centers still look underdone, roughly 11 minutes; rest on the sheet 4 minutes to finish setting, then move to a rack. Unlike cake, where pasta flour is aerated into a tender crumb by creaming and baking powder, cookies want the flour barely hydrated so the edges crisp while the center stays chewy.
If the cookies puff and stay pale, your oven is running cool — a quick probe check should read 375°F at the rack.
pitfalls to avoid
watch out
Chill the scooped dough balls to 38°F before they hit parchment or they spread flat before the edges have time to set crisp.
watch out
Avoid dark sheet pans without dropping 25°F; dark metal over-browns the bottoms before the chewy centers finish baking.
watch out
Don't cream butter and sugar past 4 minutes — extra air pushes the cookies to puff instead of holding a tender, golden edge.
watch out
Rest the baked cookies on the hot sheet 4 minutes before moving to a rack; lift too soon and the centers tear.
watch out
Drop the dough in even 40g portions — uneven scoops bake at different rates and some edges burn before others crisp.