Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy & gooey center, sweet chocolate chips, *slightly* crispy edges, classic cookie texture, all without a touch of gluten! These almond flour chocolate chip cookies taste just like the real deal and can be yours in just 30 minutes!
Anyone else feel like they’ve eaten hundreds of cookies the past month or two? Especially gluten free chocolate chip cookies. I didn’t think there were so many ways to make one kind of cookie, yet here we are.
These almond flour chocolate chip cookies are one of my favorite and easiest recipes yet. They can easily be made paleo with just a few substitutions (you won’t even taste the difference). They have a chewy gooey center with perfectly (but very slightly) crispy edges with a rich butter flavor. Same with my gluten free funfetti sugar cookies!
Different flours will not work in place of almond flour, but if you’re viewing this recipe, I’m sure you wanted almond flour cookies anyway, so let’s bake!
If you love this recipe, try my almond flour double chocolate cookies, almond flour pumpkin cookies or peanut butter cookies next!
Before we get started…
- I love semi-sweet chips for this recipe. Grocery stores were running low on chocolate when I first made these, so I was stuck with bittersweet chocolate, which was just not as good. Semi-sweet chocolate chips work much better here!
- Be sure you’re using blanched almond flour and not almond meal here. Almond flour has a lighter color and finer texture than almond meal.
How to make almond flour chocolate chip cookies
Soften butter. First, add the butter to a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. If it was previously in the fridge, just stick it in the microwave to soften for about 20 seconds.
Add sugar. Add in the sugar and beat with the butter until well combined, about 30 seconds.
Mix all wet ingredients. Beat in the egg and the vanilla until the egg is completely broken up.
Add dry ingredients. Next, beat in all remaining ingredients aside from the chocolate chips, making sure to spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup, don’t scoop right from the bag. Beat just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon until evenly incorporated.
Chill dough. Add the dough to the fridge for 20 minutes. This ensures the cookies don’t spread flat while baking. The temperature of the butter is really important with cookies! After 20 minutes, use a cookie scoop and scoop the dough into roughly 1 1/2 tablespoon balls.
Bake. Bake for 13-18 minutes, 15 is perfect in my oven if you want soft centers but a very slight crisp on the edge. If you want the cookies to be chewy and stay chewy, remove them from the oven when they still look slightly raw in the center.
Cool and serve. They’ll be extremely soft to the touch when they first come out of the oven, but will firm up after about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool as is for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Key ingredients
Almond flour. Almond flour makes up the base of these cookies and yields a really chewy consistency with crisp edges. The high fat content of almond flour means these cookies will stay super moist and not dry out!
Cornstarch. A little cornstarch helps absorb excess moisture to ensure the cookies don’t spread too much while baking. It also helps give them a more traditional cookie texture.
Butter. I suggest using butter for the best flavor, but you can sub for coconut oil if you prefer. To make these cookies paleo, just use coconut oil and coconut sugar in place of butter and brown sugar. You really won’t be able to taste the difference, just be sure to measure the oil as accurately as possible and use refined coconut oil to avoid a coconut flavor.
Sugar. I used light brown sugar which keeps these cookies moist. You can sub for coconut sugar but the cookies will be darker in color.
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Egg. One egg helps bind all ingredients together so the cookies don’t crumble.
Baking soda. A bit of baking soda encourages the cookies to spread while baking.
Why are my cookies flat?
A few things could be going on that could result in flat cookies. I’ve specifically written this recipe to make cookies that are not flat, so just follow these tips for pillowy cookies!
Too much butter: Too much butter is usually the biggest culprit if you have cookies that are flat. I initially tested this recipe with 1/2 cup (1 stick or 8 tbsp) of butter, but the cookies were completely flat. So, I cut out just 1 tbsp of butter and it made a huge difference. To ensure proper measurements, I suggest using sticks of butter and just slice off 1 tbsp worth.
Not enough chilling: Not only can too much butter cause cookies to be flat, but butter that is too warm will do the same, which is why chilling the dough is important!
You need the butter to be soft and at room temperature to cream it well with the sugar, but you need butter cold before baking cookies if you want them chewy, so chilling the dough is an important step! It’s annoying, I know you just want to eat the damn cookies, but I promise it will be worth the wait!
Too little flour: If the butter to flour ratio is off, that can throw off how the cookies do or do not spread. This recipe requires 2 cups of almond flour. To make cookies that are nice and chewy and pillowy, I highly recommend following the recipe to a T. All of the tested substitutions have been listed, but aside from that, try not to deviate from the instructions!
Why do gluten free cookies fall apart?
Almond flour cookies can more easily fall apart than other types of cookies because you’re removing the gluten which binds them together.
Instead, we’ll be using an egg and a touch of cornstarch to bind the cookies together so they don’t fall apart. Another tip is to ensure you let the cookies cool completely before handling or eating so the texture has time to set.
How to store and freeze
Once prepared, these cookies will keep at room temperature for about 5 days. Let them cool completely and then store in an air tight container.
You can also freeze them after they bake! Just let cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat at 300 until warm through the center.
Still hungry? Try these!
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 13+ Almond Flour Recipes
- Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Snickerdoodles
- Gluten Free Crumbl Cookies
- Gluten Free Gingerbread Cookies
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Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 7 tablespoons softened butter
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar I prefer light brown
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups blanched almond flour not almond meal
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅔ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the butter to a mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer. If it was previously in the fridge, just stick it in the microwave to soften for about 15 seconds.
- Add in the sugar and beat with the butter until well combined, about 30 seconds with an electric mixer.
- Beat in the egg and the vanilla until the egg is completely broken up.
- Beat in all remaining ingredients aside from the chocolate chips, making sure to spoon and level the flour into the measuring cup, don’t scoop right from the bag.
- Beat until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon until evenly incorporated.
- Add the dough to the fridge for 20 minutes. This ensures the cookies don’t spread flat while baking. The temperature of the butter is really important with cookies!
- While you wait, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- After 20 minutes, use a medium cookie scoop and scoop the dough into roughly 1 1/2 tbsp balls, but do not flatten.
- Bake for 13-18 minutes, 15 is perfect in my oven if you want soft centers but a very slight crisp on the edge.
- Remove from the oven and let cool as is for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Comments
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I’ve had many chocolate chips in my life, but these by far are the best I have ever eaten so far! They have that perfect crisp and chewy texture. They’re not too sweet either, but also have that perfect level of sweetness I like. I will be making these again and recommending this recipe to anyone who wants to make chocolate chip cookies!
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I loved both versions of this recipe. My first batch was with butter and egg, second batch vegan with coconut oil and egg substitute. Both turned out delicious, crispy on the outside and light on the inside. I used dark chocolate chips which added rich flavor. I want to try adding almond extract to the vegan recipe.
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These almond cookies taste so good! I used white chocolate chips and 1/3 cup brown sugar with 1/3 cup maple syrup. When I finished mixing the dough, it was VERY sticky and more similar to a cake batter. It may be because I didn’t have an electric whisk to beat the ingredients? Or maybe it was because I used maple syrup as well as brown sugar. I didn’t record exact measurements, but I probably added close to an extra 1 cup of almond flour 😅 And even then, it was still sticky so I just popped it in the fridge and hoped it would work some magic. I took it out about an hour later, and luckily I was able to form balls with the dough (it was still ever so slightly sticky so I just refrained from working it with my hands too much)! The cookies didn’t spread too much in the oven, but they were chewy and had an amazing nutty flavour that wasn’t overly sweet. Thank you Claire, I will definitely be using this recipe again, with some modifications so I can achieve that perfect cookie shape!
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These cookies are AMAZING!! And so easy! My husband is trying to avoid wheat so this recipe has been a perfect alternative. I substitute the brown sugar with maple syrup which is also delicious. Thank you for sharing these!
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Amazing! So great to know it works with maple syrup.
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My family absolutely loved the cookies! They had great texture and flavor!
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Love to hear it! Thank you!
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These cookies are amazing! I had to substitute cornstarch with all-purpose flour since I didn’t have any and was too lazy to go to the store. That kind of defeats the purpose of them being gluten-free, but I was making them for my husband and me, and we don’t have an allergy. Regardless we were super surprised by how good they tasted! I’ll definitely make them again (with cornstarch), especially for my mom. These are seriously the best gluten-free cookies I’ve ever had…probably the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made!
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Amazing! So glad you loved them , thanks Kenya!
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I used monk fruit in place of the brown sugar, also added walnut pieces and they are great!!!!!
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WOW….. This is too good to be true. I am in disbelief as I currently eat the cookie( on my fith one). The taste: IMPECCABLE!
THANKS FOR SHARING 💛
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