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These Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth! Made with nourishing almond flour, they take just minutes to stir together and will quickly become one of your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This gluten-free cookie recipe is made with blanched almond flour, which means the skin has been removed from the nuts before they were ground into flour.
Your cookies will have a crispy, buttery texture when you use this type of grain-free flour, but you can use almond meal (made with whole ground almonds) if that’s what you have. Desserts made with almond meal tend to be denser and not quite as crisp, so just keep that in mind.
Maple syrup and coconut oil help to bind this recipe without using an egg or flax egg, but if you prefer to use coconut sugar as the sweetener, check out my classic almond flour cookie recipe instead. They taste like the Tollhouse cookies, only made with almond flour!
Using coconut oil keeps this recipe dairy-free, but if you’d prefer to avoid any coconut flavor, look for refined or expeller-pressed coconut oil which has zero coconut taste. You can also use your favorite vegan butter, or real butter if you don’t need a dairy-free cookie.
Use dark chocolate chips to keep this recipe lower in sugar, or try adding dried fruit for another variation. I like to use mini chocolate chips to distribute the chocolate flavor even more.
How to Make the Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
1. Mix.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Stir well until a thick cookie dough is formed. (Because this recipe is not made with traditional flour, there’s no need to whisk the dry ingredients together before adding in the liquid ingredients.)
Fold in the chocolate chips, being careful not to stir too much. Almond flour cookie dough can become oily when overmixed.
2. Bake.
Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop the dough onto the prepared pan, about 2 inches apart from each other. You should get roughly 19 to 20 cookies from this batch.
Use your hands to gently flatten each cookie mound, as they won’t spread much on their own. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top, if you’d like a sweet and salty cookie, then bake at 350ºF for 9 to 10 minutes, until the edges look lightly golden.
3. Cool.
Once the cookies are done baking, let them cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes. They will firm up as they cool.
The finished cookies will have a crispy edge and a slightly chewy center, reminiscent of a shortbread cookie studded with chocolate chunks.
Serve these paleo cookies warm or let them cool completely on a wire rack. They can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container, but they do become softer and less crispy in that case.
For crispier results and longer shelf life, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! Coconut flour is unlike any other flour on the market and needs a totally different ratio of ingredients. Check out my coconut flour cookie recipe for guidance.
I love Hu brand, which is naturally sweetened if you can find it at your local store. Otherwise, dark chocolate chips make a great lower-sugar option, or you can chop up your favorite chocolate bar. For a sugar-free option, try using crunchy cacao nibs instead.
Looking for more paleo cookie recipes? Try Almond Butter Cookies, Almond Flour Sugar Cookies, or the Healthiest Cookies Ever.
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil , melted
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (at room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips (or cacao nibs, for sugar-free)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, salt, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Stir well, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your fingers to flatten and shape the cookies to your liking; they will NOT spread when baked, so make them the shape you want.
- Bake at 350ºF for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. The darker they get, the crispier they will be.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. They will soften if stored at room temperature, so for the crispiest results, store them chilled.
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Notes
Nutrition
If you try this paleo chocolate chip cookies recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
So excited to try these – I was searching the web for paleo cookies and yours looks the easiest and so good! Thank you:)
Made these last night and they were delicious. Thanks!!
Awesome cookies. My first Paleo recipe ever and I couldn’t be happier. I am not vegan so I made added an egg and with Kerrygold butter instead of coconut oil and I used brown rice syrup instead of maple. They are amazing. Shared with my sister who is gluten/dairy free and she is excited to try too.
Thanks so much for this recipe! Just made these even more detoxiliscious by omitting the chic chips for cacao nibs and inca berries! Soooo good!
Yum, that sounds fantastic! 🙂
i love this recipe and make it every week!! Could you please tell me if your almond flour is blanched? I just read that unblanched or raw almonds made into almond flour is toxic? Scary!
I have been using raw almonds all this time but may need to buy blanched almonds now with no skins. Thanks!!!!!
Hi Kate! While I still use blanched almonds occasionally, I do use raw organic almonds, with skins, for most of my almond flour needs! Since I eat raw almonds with skins often, I don’t see how grinding them into flour would make them toxic. I’ve actually never heard of that before! After doing a bit of internet research, I believe the almonds you’re thinking of are called “bitter” almonds, and as I understand it, they are not the type of almonds you’ll find in any grocery store (because they’re toxic!).
All almonds sold in the USA, even if they are labeled as “raw,” are still heat-treated before selling in a store, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about on that front, regardless of which almonds you use.
Hope that helps! 🙂
the skin has toxins on/in them that protects them from insects, and that our intelligent immune systems react to when we eat too many.
If you soak them, drain, and dry, you get the benefits of the fiber in the skin without the toxins.
You can also dip them in hot water and remove the skin.
Otherwise, eat and enjoy!
I just found my answer to my previous post below asking which almonds to use in baking your awesome recipes! Thanks, I will be getting some slivered almonds tomorrow, Have a great weekend, and thanks for your website. I am so grateful!
I have made these twice in the last week. Sooooo yummmmyyyy! My girls loved them. My friends loved them. I directed them to your site. Thanks for the great recipes and info!
These were absolutely delicious!!! Super quick and easy to make (Start to finish in <20 minutes). These were a big hit in our house. My husband, who was quite skeptical (and wondered why I was ruining good chocolate chip cookies, went back for seconds and thirds! The almond flour gives them a nice nutty flavor. Extra chocolate chips are recommended (increase from 1/2 to 3/4 cup in an entire batch if you like extra chocolate). Vegan friendly and gluten free. Super yummy-make these!!
Has anybody tried making these with coconut flour?
I would like to know the answer to this too, please. 🙂
Coconut flour cannot be substituted for almond flour, but you can see my recipe for coconut flour cookies here: https://detoxinista.com/2013/08/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
Yes, I’ve used half coconut flour. Still in the oven but they tasted good before I put them in! I also found them too crumbly the first time I made them, so I added a flax egg and half a cup of almond milk and then squeezed them into balls and flattened them. Much better consistency. And I find they need to bake 2-3 minutes longer, maybe even a bit more.
is there anything else i can use instead of coconut oil or butter? i recently developed an allergy to coconuts ( i love them too much and over did it ) anyways i cannot touch the stuff without my face and neck swelling right up and now need to find substitutes for it. any ideas would be appreciated.
Palm shortening would also work like butter or coconut oil. Otherwise, you could try using a mild-flavored oil, like grapeseed oil, but the results may be a little different. Let us know if you have some success! 🙂
Hi. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this recipe!!!!! Thank you so much Megan. I have many food restrictions and have spent hours upon hours combing the Internet looking for good sweet treat recipes and I discovered this recipe only a few days ago and it is my third time baking it!
In response to Joanna, I too have to be careful with coconut oil and I use Spectrum’s Canola oil for medium high heat and they turn out quite nicely! Soft and chewy from the oven and more baked if I cook them in the convection toaster oven. Hope this helps!
I make them with olive oil since I am not crazy about the coconut flavor
Refined coconut oil does not have the coconut flavor, like the unrefined. But I bet the olive oil is delicious also.
Ghee is a great sub for the coconut oil or butter. And now it’s dairy free for me. Great easy recipe with no major clean up. Love that!
lol – I substituted rice flour & millet flour for the almond flour and added chia seeds. Total flop. I had to double the oil & add flax milk to get the flour to come together and they crumble apart when you try to eat them after cooking. Looks like a 3rd grader attempted to bake these. 🙂
I guess I still have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking vegan style.
Sorry to hear it was a flop! But thanks for sharing– it’s always helpful to learn from mistakes, too. 😉
Better luck next time!
Very high in fat?
I always make a recipe as is,so I’ll know how it’s supposed to taste. After that, I can modify if necessary.
I made these tonight and they are amazing!! I added a tiny bit of almond extract (as I always do to chocolate chip cookies), as well as a little bit of coconut flour because I ran out of almond meal. Thanks for the excellent recipe!