Almond flour chocolate chip cookies are entirely gluten free, and easily made paleo, too! These small batch chocolate chip cookies made with almond flour and almond butter are so good. No one will know that they're not regular cookies!
I do this thing with chocolate chip cookies where I make them completely irresistible. Chocolate chip cookies with almond flour are the one thing that absolutely nobody can resist. I have some people in my family that say they’re not ‘dessert people,’ or that they find desserts ‘too sweet.’ While the genetic testing results come in (surely I can’t be related to these people), I created this recipe to woo them.
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
These almond flour chocolate chip cookies also happen to be gluten free. I’m not one to delve into gluten free baking too much, though I do have a gluten free baking recipe collection if that suits you, but I do openly love almond flour. Almond flour is:
- gluten free
- chewy
- high in protein
- delicious
A lot of gluten free flours are sad substitutes for the real thing, but in my opinion, almond flour deserves a special place in the kitchen, whether you eat gluten or not.
My almond flour peanut butter cookies might help convince you, too!
I first discovered almond flour in cooking school where I was making a pear frangipane tart. The subtle almond flavor and crumbly texture over creamy frangipane made me a believer. And if a French recipe uses almond flour and regular flour, you know that almond flour is really bringing something to the table.
Another favorite way to use it is in my almond flour banana muffins.
I make quite a few recipes with almond flour, because I rely on it to make super chewy cookies. If you like cookies with crisp edges and thick, chewy centers, don’t miss these cookies! These are what I call ‘bakery style’ cookies because they spread on the sheet, crackle as they cool, and are irresistibly chewy.
Other Gluten Free Almond Flour Recipes
Other almond flour recipes here on this site to use up the bag:
- almond horns
- Whole30 meatballs
- Whole30 salmon cakes
- vegan chocolate chip cookies
- jam bars
- small batch macarons
- matcha cookies
How to make Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour
Preheat the oven to 350, and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside. Whisk together the dry ingredients first: almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk very well to combine.
In a separate bowl, add the softened butter and almond butter, and beat until creamy with an electric mixer on high. This will take about 3 minutes.
Next, add the egg and vanilla to the bowl with the almond butter mixture, and beat just to combine.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl, and stir just to combine. Because almond flour does not contain gluten, there is not risk of ‘over-mixing’ these cookies.
Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
Using a cookie scoop, portion out 6 scoops of dough onto each cookie sheet. Bake for 10-11 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven when the edges are starting to turn golden brown. The cookies are puffy in the oven ,but will deflate a bit as they cool. Let the cookies cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Almond Flour Cookies Recipe Tips & Substitutions
Almond Butter
- I really want to mention this early on, because you might not expect your typical chocolate chip cookie recipe with almond flour to contain a nut butter. But I can assure you that this is exactly what makes these cookies so rich and almost identical tasting to regular chocolate chip cookies.
- You can sub another nut butter if you’re out. I use regular almond butter from Trader Joe’s that lacks salt and requires a good stir before using.
Cooking by weight
- This recipe contains both the measurements by weight and standard U.S. cups, because I’ve been baking by weight lately. I love that I don’t have to wash measuring cups when I’m done baking; instead, I just tare out my scale as I go. This is the scale that I’ve used for years and love.
How to store Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
These cookies keep for 3 days on the counter in an air-tight container at room temperature. You can store the dough frozen in balls for up to 3 months, just be sure to individually quick freeze them on a sheet before stacking in a bag for long-term storage. Then, bake directly from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time. You can store already baked cookies flat in an air-tight bag for up to 3 months. Let defrost on the counter at room temperature and serve.
Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookie FAQs
I happily eat gluten daily, but I adore these cookies so much. I’m calling these paleo because quite a few of my paleo friends enjoy butter. You’ll also need to check your chocolate chips and sub coconut sugar for the brown sugar. I'm pretty sure white sugar isn’t paleo-approved.
Coconut sugar is amazing stuff, and you should make my coconut sugar cookies with the rest of the bag.
As you know by now, small batch cookie recipes are my game. All of my small batch cookie recipes typically make one dozen cookies or less. This is the perfect amount in a small household—plenty to enjoy today and tomorrow, or some to enjoy today and share with others.
Honestly, I don’t understand what people do with most other cookie recipes that make 4 dozen cookies.
So, almond flour is completely different than wheat flour. It contains protein, fat and oil that wheat flour does not. This means that it absorbs the liquids in a recipe (like eggs and milk) differently. In my expert baking opinion, I would only use recipes specifically developed for use with almond flour. If you swap in almond flour for regular flour in a recipe, you can expect cookies to spread more in the oven, and they may be softer and crumbly. It’s best to stick to recipes, like this, that take this into account to have perfect results.
See above.
Because almond flour does not contain gluten and contains more protein and fat, it makes cookies spread more in the oven. The result is a softer, chewier cookie! I love the chewiness that almond flour brings to a baked good. Plus, the extra protein is nice, too!
If you’re using a recipe that is not designed for almond flour and you’re just swapping it in for regular flour, cookies will fall apart. The extra fat, protein and moisture in almond flour makes baked goods very moist and crumbly. If you use my recipe, you will have a perfect crisp yet chewy cookies, because it is specifically designed to be used with almond flour.
The trick is to only use recipes designed for use with almond flour. I don’t recommend swapping it in for regular flour and expecting the same results.
Yes, almond flour makes baked goods much softer and even chewier. This is a great thing in a chocolate chip cookie, in my opinion. This recipe has a slightly longer baking time and an entire egg to compensate for the extra absorbent qualities of almond flour.
I also have some gluten free chocolate chocolate chip cookies that are TOTALLY worth checking out, just in case you might be a chocoholic. I sense you might be—you and I are very similar.
Chocolate Chip Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookies
One dozen almond flour chocolate chip cookies are gluten free and have easy paleo options.
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (156 grams) almond flour*
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup almond butter (no salt preferred)
- ¾ cup + 2 TB (6 ounces) dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350, and line two large cookie sheet pans with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add the softened butter and almond butter, and beat until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat for another 2 minutes to combine.
- Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture, and beat just to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet and stir to combine everything; finally, stir in the chocolate chips.
- Using a cookie scoop, portion out 12 dough scoops onto the baking sheets.
- Bake, rotating the pans half way through for 10-11 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges start to turn golden brown. As they cool, they will deflate.
- Let cookies cool for 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to cooling rack. Enjoy immediately, or keep covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
*I'm referring to almond flour, not almond meal or simply ground almonds. Almond flour is finely ground blanched almonds and has a pale yellow color. Look for it in the gluten-free baking section of your store.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 228Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 202mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 5g
Kris Marie says
Was I supposed to use a regular size ice cream scoop or the smaller scoop? I used the regular size and got nine cookies. They took much longer to cook and I did twice turn the cookie sheet. Absolutely delicious but I just wanted to know because I will make these again. Also as a diabetic I use monkfruit sweetener, I only used 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons. Thank you for another delicious recipe!