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’m baking for Passover! I was wondering do you think potato starch will work as a substitute for the corn starch? And I have to use oil instead of butter is that fine?
I need to make cookie cakes but am struggling to find the chewy soft feeling when I try my recipes. Any advice ?
Thanks!!
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Yes, a 1:1 sub should be fine! Coconut oil will work, but I don’t recommend another type of oil here. The butter is key for flavor/texture!
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This is delicious! The flavor is rich, buttery, and sweet without being too much. The texture is a bit chewy, crisp around the edges, and melts in the mouth. My whole house also smells intoxicatingly good which is another plus you for sharing this recipe!
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Thank you, Anais!
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Put this in a cast iron pan to make a cookie cake, we love it. It’s hard to find a recipe that makes all of us happy and everyone can enjoy.
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Sounds amazing, so glad it’s a hit!
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I am a diabetic and these cookies are diabetic friendly. I used a sugar sub called IN THE RAW and sugar free chocolate chips. I baked on 350 for 15 mins and they are AMAZING!! You cannot tell the difference, they taste just like a regular chocolate chip cookie. I will be using this recipe from here on out. Thank You for sharing this recipe 🙂
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Amazing! So glad you found something that works for you.
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Followed the recipe to a T and they didn’t spread at all! Also tasted quite eggy. They were good, but sadly wouldn’t make again.
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My family LOVED your cookie recipe. Made exactly like recipe and added chopped pecans! Thank You!
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Love these with pecans! So happy to hear it was a hit 🙂
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How much grams (in metrics) is 7 tbsp or 1/2 cup butter?
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7 tablespoons is 100 grams.
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Excellent cookie, I added walnuts and dates. I will definitely make these again.
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Thank you, Connie!
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Would Arrowroot powder work in place of corn starch?
I don’t eat any grains, especially corn.
Thank you-
Yes, that should work!
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I made these cookies and use 2 T of gluten free flour instead of corn starch bc I didnt have any and these sadly didnt spread. I later even added more butter and no spreading. So the last batch, I flattened them myself. They taste good, just sad they didnt spread
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That’s probably because of the flour instead of cornstarch. I highly recommend making the recipe as written, they will definitely spread!
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Hi, I made these following the recipe exactly, but they didn’t spread? They look like “shortbread” cookies, according to my friend.
Any tips?
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Strange! They definitely should spread. You can try adding in an extra 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda or increase your oven temp by 25 degrees since some oven thermometers are not accurate and the temp is actually lower than you want which can prevent spreading.
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I cannot find in your recipe what temperature to bake the cookies. Please let me know. Thanks
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Step 8, 350!
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Really tastes great and I like the consistency. I did 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup stevia powder, and thought it tasted great that way too.
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Perfect! So glad that worked out.
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I just made two batches, one with walnuts and one without! These turned out perfect! They are delicious and you can not tell they are gluten free! Very easy to make also! My husband and kids both love them. Now I know I can make them for my sister with celiac disease!
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So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks, Rebecca.
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I made this recipe for my family and they love these cookies! The cookies are so good! 😋
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Thank you, Tiffany!
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Wow! Amazing can’t tell these are GF. Highly recommend
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