Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies that are naturally gluten-free, grain-free, perfectly chewy, buttery (but butter/oil-free), a bit cookie-doughy in the middle and super yum. Mixed up and ready in under 20 minutes!
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These Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are EVERYTHING in my life right now - chewy, soft, full of chocolate chips, sweet and buttery. And they also happen to be gluten-free, grain-free and contain no vegan butter or added oil at all.
In this post:
And did I mention how quick and easy they are to make? No food processor or mixer required. A bowl and spoon, 20 minutes and you're good to go. Perfect for when you want a yummy baked treat but don't have much time.
Best things about my Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Naturally oil-free, gluten-free, vegan and still taste amazing!!
- Great texture. Just the right amount of softness, chew and a bit cookie dough-like in the middle.
- Excellent with coffee for a mid-morning snack and can also stand in for dessert ... or breakfast ;o)
- Really quick and easy to mix up
- No dough refrigeration required
- Almond flour makes them taste buttery without the butter.
One of these chewy chocolate almond flour cookies alongside your mug of coffee and your day just got a whole lot better!
What you need to make these cookies and why
- Almond flour - Gives these cookies a delicious buttery, rich flavour and a soft chewy texture. There is no nut-free option with this recipe and it will not work with regular all purpose flour.
- Nut butter - A healthy and delicious way of making the cookies rich, flavourful and satisfying.
- Sugar - For sweetness and texture. It's what makes them chewy. You can replace it with coconut sugar or maple syrup (see recipe notes for how), but for best results use cane sugar or granulated white sugar as listed.
- Vanilla - Flavour. It works really well with the almond flour.
- Cinnamon - Not a usual ingredient in chocolate chip cookies, but I always add it to mine. It's just a touch and adds a little something without being obviously cinnamon-y.
- Chocolate Chips - I like semi-sweet chocolate chips in these cookies. Just be sure to check the ingredients and make sure they are vegan. A lot of dark chocolate chips / dark chocolate bars are accidentally vegan but some do contain milk products. Enjoy Life is a popular brand that is vegan and allergen friendly.
- Fine salt - Essential in almost all recipes even sweet ones for the very best flavour.
- Flaky sea salt - Optional but highly recommended. It really makes the flavours pop and adds a special something to this recipe.
What is the difference between almond flour and almond meal?
Almond flour is typically made with blanched and skinless almonds and is ground into a very fine flour, whereas almond meal is made with unblanched almonds and is ground into a courser flour or meal. For this recipe, it is important to use almond flour.
Almond flour is readily available at most grocery stores and is usually found in the baking aisle or with the gluten-free flours. For more delicious ideas ways to use almond flour check out my other vegan almond flour recipes.
How to make Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
You can have freshly baked, chewy, delicious cookies in just a few easy steps.
Step 1: Whisk the nut butter, vanilla and milk together.
Step 2: Add everything else except the chocolate chips and mix up well.
Step 3: Add the chocolate chips and stir them in.
Step 4: Roll into balls and place on a baking tray and flatten them down with your fingers.
Step 5: Maybe sprinkle with a few more chocolate chips and definitely sprinkle with some delicious flaky sea salt, then bake.
Step 6: Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the tray before moving to a cooling rack.
Success Tips
- Use drippy nut butter, not the really super stiff stuff, and not the end of the jar that always ends up getting a bit dry and hard.
- Weigh the almond flour with a digital scale for best results.
- Don't sprinkle the cookies with table salt instead of the flaky sea salt. It's not the same at all and does not taste good when used like this. You need delicious flaky sea salt. My favourite brand is Maldon.
- Be sure to line your baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone liner.
- Don't try to move the cookies too soon after removing them from the oven. Leave them on the tray for 10 minutes to firm up. They will break if you try to move them while hot.
Ways you can adapt this recipe
Keep the base Almond Flour Cookie recipe the same but feel free to "do you" and adapt the add-ins and flavourings. Your customizing options could include:
- any nut or seed butter. Use your favourite.
- omit the chocolate chips
- switch the chocolate chips for dried fruit, cacao nibs, vegan white chocolate, chopped nuts or seeds, crystallized ginger
- switch the vanilla for almond extract
- orange or lemon zest or orange or lemon extract, with or without the chocolate chips
- add a drizzle of melted chocolate over the top of each one
- dip them in chocolate (half way to look kinda cool) or just do the tops
- add some ground ginger as well as or instead of the cinnamon
- a bit of shredded coconut or coconut flakes
How long do these cookies last?
These aren't your typical cookies and don't keep quite as well as most.
Once they are completely cool store them in an airtight container. They will last for up to a week but they do get softer and softer with time. That's not necessarily a bad thing though because it makes them cookie-doughy!
How to freeze
You can make the cookie dough, shape the cookies, then freeze them prior to baking.
Once the cookies have been shaped and are sitting on the tray, put the whole tray with them on in the freezer uncovered. As soon as the raw cookies are hard you can transfer them to a freezer proof container or bag until needed and get your tray back for other things.
When you want to cook the cookies, remove from the freezer, lay out on a lined baking tray again and bake from frozen at the same temperature as stated, just allow an extra 5 minutes baking time.
How to store almond flour
Almond flour is more expensive that regular wheat flour, so it's important to know how to store it correctly.
Because it's made from nuts with a naturally high oil content it is prone to going rancid. If you smell your almond flour it should smell sweet and nutty. If it smells bitter and unpleasant it has probably gone rancid and you will need to discard/compost it.
To avoid almond flour going rancid, store it in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer. In the fridge it should last about 6 months and in the freezer up to 12 months. You can use it in any recipe straight from the fridge or freezer. It stays flour-like in the freezer and doesn't turn into a solid lump.
Recipe
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons / 64 g smooth & creamy natural nut butter , or seed butter
- 6 tablespoons / 90 ml plant-based milk of choice , plain, unsweetened & not flavoured
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups / 192 g almond flour
- ½ cup / 100 g cane sugar or granulated white sugar , see notes for sugar-free alternative
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup / 87 g dairy-free chocolate chips , plus a few more for decorating the tops
Optional (but recommended)
- flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top (not table salt)
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set the tray aside, away from the oven so it doesn't get warm.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the nut butter, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined. Be sure to scrape the whisk off well when you remove it from the bowl, so that you don't waste any.
- Add the almond flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to the bowl and mix really well with a wooden spoon or spatula until you can't see any dry flour anymore and it looks like cookie dough. It starts off looking like it will be too dry but suddenly comes together as you stir it. Then add the chocolate chips and stir them through.
- Roll into balls and place on the baking tray with about 2 inches free space between each one . I used an ice cream scoop to portion my dough so they were all the same size or you can measure about 2 tablespoons of mixture for each one.
- With slightly damp fingers (dip them in a cup of water and shake them off) press the top of each ball down to flatten it so it's about half an inch thick. The water stop your fingers sticking to the dough.
- Stick a few extra chocolate chips in the top of each one and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, then bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring carefully to a cooling rack. It is normal for them to be really soft while hot but they firm up as they cool.
- Once completely cool store in an airtight container.
NOTES
When you want to cook them, remove from the freezer, lay out on a lined baking tray and bake from frozen at the same temperature. Just allow an extra 5 minutes baking time.
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Natalie says
Absolutely delicious!! And super fun /easy to whip together with my preschooler. I only had salted peanut butter on hand so I omitted the extra salt on the recipe. Thank you!!!
Shellie says
These sound great, and I'm going to make them today. I read in your notes what you said about using the coconut sugar. I don't have maple syrup, but I do have coconut nectar and date syrup. Can I substitute one of those for the maple syrup also 7 tablespoons?
Melanie McDonald says
I haven't tried them with coconut nectar or date syrup so can't say for sure how thye'd turn out. If they are the same consistency as maple syrup then yes it should be 7 tablespoons, but be sure to omit the milk. Obviously using either of them will affect the flavour and colour of the cookies, especially date syrup which is really dark and strongly flavoured. I hope the cookies turn out well!
Pallavi says
Hi do we have to use unsweetened nut butter?
Melanie McDonald says
I would if you can. The recipe was tested with natural nut butter. Using sweetened will make the cookies sweeter and could affect the spread.
Gaynor Hood says
Quick, easy and totally delicious. I made mine with natural peanut butter, from the top of the jar, so included the extra oil, which made the mixture very wet. I added 2 tbsp more almond flour to compensate. Cookies baked on top shelf in less than 15 mins, on bottom shelf, probably could have done with another 3-4 mins. All that means next time I'll ace this :) Highly recommend this recipe - thank you for sharing. The final issue is not eating all of them too quickly lol. PS: I used coconut sugar to reduce the GI, and the cookies were still chewy and delish - especially after being in the fridge. Will definitely use this recipe a lot!
Kelly says
Omg so very easy and really tasty! I added a little lemon extract as I didn’t have quite enough of vanilla extract and they are the best vegan as well as one of the best cookies ever!!! Huh-mazing!!!! Thank you!!!!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them and thanks so much for stopping by to leave a review/rating. It's much appreciated!
Chessie says
These are good! I think I left them too thick because it took a long time for them to bake and I wound up lowering the oven temp to just under 300F so as not to burn them. I'll flatten them more next time...and there will be a next time!
Anuradha says
MAde these but forgot the sugar I added white chocolate chips with Craisins in it so they provided the sweetness, still came out delicious. Can’t wait to try again with different mix ins. How flat do you make these mine were prob too thick.
A Virtual Vegan says
As per the recipe instructions you should be squishing them down to about half an inch thick before baking. Not using the sugar will have affected the thickness though because they won't spread properly while baking without it. Hope that helps!
Elizabeth says
I made these using the rest of my homemade almond flour, oat milk and peanut butter. They are chewy and fine. I would leave the salt off the top next time.
Louise Gagnon says
scrumdilly-icious!!!
I used coconut sugar :)
Patrizia says
I made these today exactly as the recipe said but with crunchy almond butter instead because I couldn't find the smooth stuff at my local shop. My little one has several food allergies and I wanted a chocolate chip cookie recipe I could make with her. Needless to say she ate a lot of raw cookie dough and the end result was scrumptious. We're not vegan and my boyfriend couldn't believe they're vegan! These will definitely be added to my favourite baking recipes and they feel a little less guilty than a usual cookie would. Thank you ?
A Virtual Vegan says
The raw cookie dough is so good! I'm really pleased you all enjoyed them!
Jackie says
Made these today and they were definitely a big hit. So yummy!! My new favorite chocolate chip cookie. Thank you for sharing!
P.S. I printed the recipe and noticed that when to add the chocolate chips was not listed in the printed instructions.
A Virtual Vegan says
Glad you enjoyed them and thank you for spotting that. I've fixed it now!
Dotty says
I made these as outlined in recipe (with Almond butter) and they are wonderful! My non vegan friends loved them as well. The Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe in your cookbook is one of the best I’ve tried. Thank you for sharing.?
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them Dotty and glad you're enjoying the cookies in my book too!
Hani says
I made these today, I followed the recipe but added some walnuts and less chocolate
They taste great
I also live their texture, sorta crispy on the outside but soft and gooey inside
Next time I am gonna make them with maple syrup instead of sugar
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you enjoyed them!
Hani says
I made them again today, and this time I used maple syrup instead of sugar and topped them with cacao nibs and walnuts
They were great and I needed 9 tbspoon of maple syrup
I liked their texture with sugar a bit better though
Thank you for the recipe ?
Patricia G says
May not make these, as we are fat free and nut free at our house, but just wanted to comment re the chocolate chips - What I often use in recipes calling for chocolate chips is cacao nibs. They are "chocolate in the raw", so very nutritious. They are too bitter to eat outright, but when added to baking (muffins and cookies), they add a nice dark chocolate burst of flavour.
A Virtual Vegan says
Cacao nibs are listed as an alternative to chocolate in the "adaptations" section of my post along with lots of other suggestions. Personally though, if I'm having a chocolate chip cookie I want real chocolate chips in it. Cacao nibs have their place but they don't taste nearly as nice in a decadent cookie, or have the same melty texture when freshly baked.
Yaiyía says
Thank you for sharing!!
Amanda says
Made these this afternoon. Yum! A definite hit. Thank you for the recipe