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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Hello, can I freeze this cookie dough to make at a later time?
Thanks
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That should work! You’ll want to freeze in balls, and decrease the oven to 325 when you bake.
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We make these often. One of my daughters has celiac so this is a perfect treat for all of us to enjoy.
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I couldn’t resist, ate 3 in a row. I really like the rich nutty taste of almond flour. I couldn’t resist the smell after it was done. The best recipe I could have ever found. Crispy edges and very soft in the inside. Next time, I’ll add extra minutes for crispier cookies.
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I’ve made these twice in one week! Dangerously good!
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Forgot to leave my rating of 10 stars! 🙂
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Trying to eat better this year and just made the cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth. I am not gluten free but simply trying to eat less gluten. The almond flour gives the cookie a wonderful, nutty taste. The cookies are very soft in the middle and tasted amazing! I didn’t even mind that they didn’t rise as much than regular-all purpose flour cookies. (Possibly because I was trying to be silent since my toddler was sleeping and mixed the batter with a spoon—which worked great btw!) This recipe made 12 cookies for me 🙂
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I made these cookies because I don’t eat gluten. I woke up this morning and there were 2 left! They were a hit! I guess I’ll have to buy more almond butter!!
Thank you so much for a great recipe – it’s a keeper! -
I’m not dairy free, can I sub dairy free butter/ coconut oil with butter?
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yes!
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If I could rate these 10 stars I would!! I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe. My husband and I are watching our carbs, and these are the best cookies ever!! If I were blind-folded..I would be hard pressed to be able to tell the difference. I was especially surprised at how they held their form and the texture was just like their less healthier cousin lol. You, my dear, just worked cookie keto magic in my kitchen!! Bless you!!
Forgot to add, I made the recipe exactly as you shared it. Only thing I did different was I chilled the cookies after they were already on the cookie sheet. That way I could take them from fridge to oven with no worry on the dough getting too soft while I scooped it out and formed the cookies onto the cookie sheet. Other than using that method, I didn’t and wouldn’t dare change a thing!-
Amazing! Love using that method too, glad they worked out well!
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These cookies were really great!!! I did 8 T of butter and upped the flour to 2 1/4 cups. Turned out wonderful. Going to try making a batch but use pecans instead of chips
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These came out fantastic!!! Next time we will make them with softened brown butter to give it an even more rich flavor. Also, I used coconut sugar and arrowroot flour instead of cornstarch. Came out wonderfully delicious! Thank you, for sharing the recipe.
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Perfect! So glad those subs worked well.
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Mine didn’t flatten at all and feel suuuper soft right out of the oven. Is that normal? The browned edges also feel soft right out of the oven.
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Did you make any substitutions? They harden up quite a bit as they cool, so you may just need to give them more time!
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Delicious 😋 My whole family loved them! Baked as directed and came out perfectly! Thank you for the recipe!
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I am a novice at this keto baking thing, but these cookies turned out fabulous. I was pleasantly surprised at the taste and texture. I did add 1/4 tsp of xanthum gum and 1 tsp of baking powder. This is a very easy to follow recipe that yields a great tasting treat. Thank you for sharing this recipe 😋.
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Simply Amazing! I used monk fruit sweetener in place of sugar and they are perfect.
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Perfect! Good to know that worked well.
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