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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These turned out so good! I used a flax egg and refrigerated for 20-25 min before baking and they didn’t just melt into a puddle on the tray – they looked like real cookies! 13 min was a tad too long in my oven so I’m going to try for 12min next time but they were still delicious 🙂
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Perfect! Glad they work well with a flax egg. So crazy how all ovens are so different, definitely just play around and you’ll get it right!
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These look amazing! Could I replace the granulated sugar for maple syrup?
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Generally speaking, I don’t recommend replacing any granulated sweetener for a liquid one because it will completely change the wet to dry ratios. I have another similar cookie that will be only maple syrup sweetened coming in abut 2 weeks so stay tuned 🙂
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I haven’t tried these yet but I am curious if I can use arythratal rather than sugar?
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I haven’t tasted them that way, but I think it would probably be fine! let me know if you try it!
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Mine ended up so thin 🙁 I chilled them for 15 minutes after scooping them onto the pan.
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Sorry that happened! Something may have been measured incorrectly. I’d recommend chilling the dough for longer or adding a bit more flour to the batter.
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Hi. These sound great! Would regular butter work in place of dairy-free? Thanks.
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Yes, regular butter will definitely work!
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These are way too good! But the recipe made about twice as many cookies as it says. So now I have to try not to eat them all haha.
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So glad you liked them! You probably used a smaller scoop than I did which is why you ended up with more. Not the worst problem to have 🙂
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Can I use spelt flour or all purpose flour for the cookies
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No, these are almond flour cookies and almond flour generally cannot be subbed for anything else. If you want to use all purpose flour, I’d suggest my classic chocolate chip cookie recipe instead!
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Can I use arrowroot or tapioca flour for the corn starch? Thanks!
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Yes that should work!
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I have been gluten free for 18 years now and I try out a lot of recipes where I adapt from a regular recipe or that uses naturally gluten free ingredients. This was my first time using almond flour. I used real butter and milk chocolate chunks but OMG they are possibly the best cookie I ever tasted! They did flatten a bit, but I really don’t care 😉 so thank you!
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Perfect!! So happy you enjoyed them, they’re a favorite of mine!
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These cookies are so delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and used coconut oil and Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips! I tried to make them a bit smaller and they were still perfectly chewy on the inside with the perfect amount of crisp on the outside. Highly recommend!
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Thank you Clare! So glad you enjoyed them!
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Is there a sub for the egg? My son is allergic to so many things. This will work if I can sub for the egg. Thanks so much
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I have not tried these with an egg substitute since almond flour generally needs eggs, but I would recommend either apple sauce (about 3 tbsp) or a store bought egg replacer like Bob’s Red Mill. Let me know how they turn out!
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I used a flax egg (1tbsp flax meal + 2.5 TBSP water, let sit for 5) and it turned out INCREDIBLE
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Why have you added cornstarch to the recipe? I added it to another chocolate chip cookie recipe by accident and they were horrible. I’m just curious before trying. Thanks 🙂
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It really enhances the texture and gives them a nice chew! It also acts as binder since we’re just using almond flour.
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These came out perfect. Soft on the inside and firm on the outside just like a cookie should be!
I used coconut oil instead of vegan butter and followed the recipe exactly as stated.
Best almond flour cookies! Delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I’ve been looking for a good almond flour chocolate chip cookie recipe and I’m glad I came across your pin!-
Thank you Candice! These are one of my favorite cookie recipes too, grain free or not! So glad you enjoyed them!
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YES! you’re absolutely right about that. Grain free or not they are honestly the best cookie I’ve had. I made them 3 times last week for my husband and his co-workers loved them!
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Love that!! Glad they’re such a hit!
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If I could give these cookies 10 stars… I would. Chewy on the inside but juuuust crispy enough on the outside. We used DF dark chocolate chips, definitely going to be my new go to choc chip recipe! Thanks for sharing with us!
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Thanks Jamie! These are one of my favorites too, so glad you enjoyed!
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Wow that’s a lot of butter! Are you correct? I still made them and taste delicious but maybe with 2 – 3 tbsp of butter will be fine
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7 tbsp is correct! That’s about 1/2 the amount you’ll find in traditional cookies. These would be far too dry with just 2 tbsp. You can also use coconut oil if you prefer!
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