The BEST Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies – soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies made undetectably gluten and grain free with almond flour and simple, gluten free ingredients. These cookies are tried, tested and easy to make
I think I say this every time I share new chocolate chip cookie here recipe but really, these almond flour chocolate chip cookies are without a doubt my new favourite. They’re soft, chewy and studded with little morsels of semi-sweet chocolatey goodness made entirely gluten and grain free with the use of almond flour.
Let’s bake!
Ingredient Checklist
- butter: You can sub out the butter for a dairy free/ vegan friendly butter. Coconut oil can also be used but I don’t recommend it for best results. I haven’t tried this myself but I have heard from readers that palm shortening also works as a good butter sub.
- sugars: Use a combination of white and brown sugar. White sugar will help make for cookies that are a bit crisp around the edges while the brown sugar makes for soft and chewy centres. I used light brown sugar, but you can also opt for dark brown sugar. Just keep in mind that dark brown sugar has more molasses meaning the cookies will be sweeter and softer.
- egg: One egg provides moisture and binding in these cookies. If you’re in need of an egg-free option I have heard from readers that using 1 flax egg or chia egg also works well!
- vanilla extract & salt: What’s a chocolate chip cookie without a little vanilla? Both vanilla and salt work as out flavour enhancers in this recipe.
- almond flour: Fine almond flour makes for the most undetectably grain-free cookies, but almond meal works just as well! I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure out the flour for the most accurate weight and best results.
- chocolate chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips are the usual cookie go-to but dark chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips are also good options. Use whatever you like!
How to Make: Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Altogether this recipe requires only 8 ingredients to make and can be completed in easily under an hour. The steps are simple and similar to most regular cookies.
To begin, simply beat together your butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until you have a light and fluffy mixture using an electric or stand mixer. Continue by adding in the egg and vanilla and beat once more to fully mix it all together.
In a separate, medium bowl whisk together your dry ingredients: almond flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to evenly distribute the baking soda and salt throughout the flour and remove any stubborn lumps. Once mixed, add the flour mixture in with in with the butter mixture and mix once again to combine until a soft dough forms.
At this point all that’s left to do is stir in your chocolate chips, roll and bake. Use a tablespoon to scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into little cookie dough balls. Place the dough on a greased or lined baking sheet about 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread slightly as they bake so it’s important to leave a little room in between.
When you’re ready to go simply pop the cookies in the oven and bake for 10-11 minutes and that’s it! I prefer taking my cookies out at the 10 minute mark for more chewy centres. They do look slightly under baked at this point but continue cooking as they cool on the cookie sheet. If you’d prefer more crispy edges leave them in the full 11 minutes.
Once done, transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling and that’s it!
In Summary
- In a large bowl: Beat together butter and sugars.
- Add the egg and vanilla.
- In a medium bowl: combine almond flour, baking soda and salt. Whisk.
- Add dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix into a thick, soft dough.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop and drop onto prepared baking sheet.
- Bake and enjoy!
Final Tips, Substitutions and other Questions:
Storage Tips
These cookies keep better than most chocolate chip cookie recipes. They stay soft and chewy for at least a week. The only real thing to keep in mind when it comes to storage is to make sure the cookies have completely cooled before you pack them away in an airtight container or cookie jar.
You can keep these stored at room temperature or packed away in the fridge. I even like keeping some cookies in the freezer to satisfy sweet cravings in the warmer summer months.
Freeze for Later
Yes! Both the dough and the baked cookies can be frozen.
- To freeze the dough: roll cookie dough into balls and place in the refrigerator for an hour or so. Once the balls have chilled and hardened place in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready for cookies simply bake from frozen – just add an extra 2-3 minutes to the overall bake time. You may also want to write down the date frozen as well as the bake temperature and time.
- To freeze baked cookies: Once fully cooled place the cookies on a baking sheet you can fit in the freezer. Place in the freezer until solid and then transfer the cookies to a bag or Tupperware container – place a small sheet of baking parchment in between each cookie to prevent cookies from freezing together. Cookies will keep at least 3 months in the freezer. You can enjoy frozen cookies straight out of the freezer or allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight.
What’s The Difference Between Almond Flour And Almond Meal?
Though almond flour and almond meal are made from essentially the same thing (ground almonds) there are a couple of key differenced between the two.
- Almond flour is typically made with blanched (skinless) almonds into a more fine flour.
- Almond meal is usually made with un blanched (skin on) almond into a more coarse flour.
Can I use almond meal instead of almond flour?
Yes! In many cases you cannot swap out almond meal/almond flour interchangeably but with these cookies you can.
Can I use another type of flour?
No. I tested this recipe multiple times using almond flour/meal. I can’t guarantee the same results if you use any other types of flours.
If you’re interested in making cookies with different types of flours there are plenty of other recipes on this site you might prefer instead.
- Sunflower Seed Chocolate Chip Cookies (nut free, paleo, low fodmap and vegan)
- Chickpea Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (grain free/nut free)
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies (used coconut, almond and tapioca flour)
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Oat Cookies (vegan option and low FODMAP )
- Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (flourless, paleo)
Can I use coconut sugar?
Yes! If you wanted to make these with all coconut sugar your cookies will be more crispy and less chewy but it will still work. I prefer using a blend of brown and white sugar for the soft and chewy texture but you can swap those out and sub coconut sugar if you’d prefer!
Can I make these with coconut oil?
Yes, but it’s not recommend for best results. I’ve found that the times I’ve made these cookies or other almond flour cookies using coconut oil (like these almond flour snickerdoodles), the cookies come out less soft and chewy and are more likely to spread and make for overly flat cookies. You can combat the spread by chilling the dough for about 20 minutes before baking, but then if the dough has been chilled too long, they don’t spread at all and can come out a little dense.
If you want to make them dairy free I recommend a good vegan butter substitute like Earth Balance Butter Spread.
The end result? The BEST almond flour cookie made entirely gluten and grain free! Make sure to check out the recipe notes on how to adapt this recipe to be dairy free, egg free and low carb friendly!
I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we have these past few weeks! If you have any more questions just let me know in the comments below!
More Almond Cookies and Baked Goods You Might Enjoy:
- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies with Almond Flour
- Chocolate Chip Almond Zucchini Cookies
- Almond Flour Raspberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Almond Flour Sugar Cookies
- Golden Almond Cookies
- Almond Flour Cookie Bars
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies - soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies made undetectably gluten and grain free
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup | 150 g butter, salted or unsalted, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup | 165 g brown sugar
- 1/4 cup | 50 g white sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons | 10 ml vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups | 265 g almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup |1 25 g chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Line a couple of large cookie sheets with baking paper. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl with an electric or stand mixer. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In another small bowl whisk together the almond flour, baking soda and salt until combine. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix in on a low speed until a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon or rubber spatula.
- Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into balls. Place on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart leaving room for spreading.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges have goldened slightly. At the 10 minute mark the cookies will still look a little under baked but will continue bake as they cool on the cookie sheet. If you prefer chewier cookies 10 minutes should be enough. If you want crispier edges bake 11 minutes
- Allow the cookies to cool for a couple of minutes on the tray before carefully moving them to a wire cooling rack. The cookies will come out of the oven puffed up but deflate as the cool. Fresh out of the oven they will be fragile, but as they cool they will be easy to handle.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- To freeze the dough: roll cookie dough into balls and place in the refrigerator for an hour or so. Once the balls have chilled and hardened place in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you're ready for cookies simply bake from frozen - just add an extra 2-3 minutes to the overall bake time. You may also want to write down the date frozen as well as the bake temperature and time.
- To freeze baked cookies: Once fully cooled place the cookies on a baking sheet you can fit in the freezer. Place in the freezer until solid and then transfer the cookies to a bag or Tupperware container - place a small sheet of baking parchment in between each cookie to prevent cookies from freezing together. Cookies will keep up to 3 months in the freezer. You can enjoy frozen cookies straight out of the freezer or allow them to thaw in the fridge overnight.
- If you wanted to make these with all coconut sugar your cookies will be more crispy and less chewy but it will still work. I prefer using a blend of brown and white sugar for the soft/chewy texture but you can swap those out of you'd prefer!
- You can use almond meal instead of almond flour
- You can use a granulated sugar substitute like monk fruit sugar or erythritol (I've used swerve & monk fruit) in place of the white and brown sugar here for a low carb twist. The cookies won't spread as much though so make sure you flatten them out before baking.
- I have heard positive feedback from readers saying that flax and chia eggs work well in place of the egg.
Katelyn says
These were soooo gooooooood!!! 😍
I made them for a friend of mine who has Celiac disease (and therefore is gluten and dairy intolerant) and her family (who has no restrictions) and they were ALL EATEN! Seriously, her husband (who doesnt care for sweets) asked me twice, “So these are all gluten and dairy free? Really?” That’s how good they were!
I made a couple of alterations because i needed them to be dairy free. I used Country Crock plant butter (made with avocado oil) and EnjoyLife dairy-free chocolate chips (a mix of mini chips and dark chocolate morsels). Also, i like my cookies FULL of chocolate chips, so I used half a cup of mini chips AND half a cup of full sized morsels. I could only find salted plant butter, so i used a heaping 3/4 c. of white sugar + a very packed 1/4 c. of light brown sugar, and they were very balanced – not too sweet at all, but still super yummy.
My first 2 batches came out a liiiiittle flat (still delish!!!) so I added about 3-4 tsp of almond flour, and they were perfect.
I also added about 2 tsp of finely ground instant espresso for an extra kick. SO. STINKIN. DELICIOUS.
I will definitely be making these again!
Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Katelyn says
Make that tightly packed 3/4 c. of light brown sugar + a heaping 1/4 c. of white sugar 🙈
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! So glad you all enjoyed them! LOVE the idea of adding ground espresso – going to try that next time! Thanks Katelyn 🙂
Samantha says
These are SO good- I used vegan margarine (I’m gf and df) and they turned out great. I’ve made them twice, and uped the oven temp to 375, keeping the cook time 10-11 minutes. I use a gas oven, so maybe that has something to do with it. SOOOOOO DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Samantha – so glad you enjoyed them!
Connie says
Do you need to do something different for high altitude? I have made these 3 times and my family loves them. But they turn out to gooey and flat.I’m not able to roll into a good cookie dough ball. Almost too moist
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Connie! I’d recommend adding more almond flour next time – try adding another 3-4 tablespoons of dough or until the dough doesn’t feel quite so soft
Desiree Lopez says
I’m about to make these cookies. I don’t use any type of refined or added sugar in my baking. There fore I’m wondering, could I substitute sugar with natural sugar as in dates, honey, agave, banana? Any of these types of substitutes?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Desiree! I can’t really say how the cookies would come out using different types of sweeteners without testing them myself. I do think that with a bit of playing around you’d probably be able to find a good substitute but I don’t know about the amounts. Wish I could be more help here!
Deb says
Hi Sarah,
OMG!!!!1 These are DELISH!!! Was too lazy to go out to the store for almond flour and chocolate chips so I made them with almond meaI and dried cranberries. They were chewy and overall YUMMO-LICIOUS. I want to make these for a friend of mine but I think they might be a bit too sweet for her. I don’t want to substitute the sugars with a sweetener substitute because I think they are all awful. So I thought I would either take out the white sugar altogether or cut it in half and take away one and half or two tablespoons of the brown sugar. Your thoughts?
Thanks a BUNCH for these SCRUMPDILLYICIOUS cookies.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Deb! I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! I think your idea about cutting the white sugar in half and then reducing the brown sugar by a couple of tablespoons is the best way to go – that way you still have a balance between the two types of sugars which will help keep the overall texture the same. I hope that helps!
(Sorry about taking a few days to get back to you – your comment got caught in my spam filter!)
Deb says
Hi Sarah,
It worked. WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO! I reduced the white sugar by half and for every tablespoon of white sugar I took out, I took out 2 tablespoons of B-sugar. Thy were puuuuuuurfect! Th texture was the same as the full sugar batch. YUMMMMMMM! I made half the recipe, got 2 dozen, and ate them all myself (in three days). Had to make sure they were “edible” for my friend. YAH! RIGHT!
Deb
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! Thanks Deb – that’s so helpful to know!!
Gianna says
When I made these I used 1/4 cup white sugar and a 1/4 maple syrup and they were plenty sweet!
Sarah Nevins says
Oooh – that’s great to know! Thanks Gianna!
Anna says
I made these really yummy cookies last night with macadamia nut/cranberry!
I don’t react well to high fructose corn syrup or white or even brown sugar. And I have to watch my sugar levels. So I used fructose (low glycemic index. Not to be confused with HFCS) and coconut sugar.
White flour is starting to mess with my blood sugar too (makes me fatigued and angry/anxious later) so the low carb and higher protein almond flour was great.
The almond flour was super soft and nice to bake with.
I used fruit juice sweetened dried cranberries from Morher’s Market. (Too expensive though).
Man they turned out well! Depending on how long they’re kept in the oven, they can be a bit chewy or more crispy. I like crispy and left them in for 13-15 minutes.
Super tasty – I didn’t note a diffence from regular flour- but I didn’t feel sick and gross after I ate them, which happens to me with regular cookies.
I used this recipe but substituted 2.5 tablespoons fructose for the white sugar and brown coconut sugar for the brown sugar.
I couldn’t find fruit juice sweetened chocolate chips so I used macadamia nuts and cranberries.
Very nice!!
Sarah Nevins says
Yay! I’m so glad you were able to tweak them to make them suitable for you! I love the sound of macadamia nut & cranberry – those sound lovely. Thanks so much for coming back & shared what you did!!
Marge says
Made the cookies last night. Ran out of light brown sugar and used mostly dark brown sugar. Only had mini choc, chips. Easy to make, but they were extremely sweet and very soft. They looked great. Left them out overnight hoping they would get a little more crispy, but they did not. Do you think the dark brown sugar and the mini choc. Added more sweetness? Going shopping tomorrow to buy reg. Size choc. Chips and light brown sugar. I baked one tray for 10 minutes, and another for 11 and another for 12. Liked the 12 min. Ones the best. Thanks for the recipe. And LOVE the comments from everyone!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Marge! Glad you enjoyed these!
It’s possible that the dark brown sugar made these too sweet for your liking – dark brown sugar contains nearly double the amount of molasses as light brown sugar (6.5% vs 3.5%). As for the chocolate chips, I’m not sure what type you used in your first batch but you can alway try using dark chocolate chips in your next batch to balance everything out.
Hope that helps! Thanks so much for coming back and joining in the comment discussion!
Luna says
Hi! I want to make these without eggs. I’d find a vegan recipe but unfortunately I cannot eat coconut products either, and they all seem to contain coconut. What would you recommend using instead of the eggs that won’t cause spreading?
Thank you!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Luna! I haven’t tested these with an egg free alternative yet so I can’t say for sure but you might be able to use flax or chia eggs. I usually have a lot of luck using those as egg substitutes and they never spread after baking. Aside from that I imagine using an egg replacer like ener-g would work.
Vedangi says
Hi…. I had commented before but IDK what happened….. Anyways my cookies tasted really gud but they started turning brown only 6 minutes in the oven ……what did I do wrong since they burnt a little around the edges…..
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Vendangi! Is it possible that your oven might run a little hot? Almond flour in general burns quicker than a lot of flours so it’s one that needs to be monitored often. You might just need to lower the oven temperature a little bit if you make these in the future so they don’t brown too quickly.
Jasreen Kaur says
My cookies flattened so much that they touched eachother and became monster cookies plus they got stuck on the baking sheet
What did i do wrong?
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Jasreen! A few things could have gone wrong to result in flat cookies:
*Your butter was too melted – butter should be softened, but not completely melted.
*Your oven wasn’t preheated properly OR your pans were left in the oven as it preheated and the dough was placed on hot pans.
*You might have needed to add more flour. Unless you weigh out your flour with a kitchen scale it’s hard to get the exact right amount. When I was testing these cookings I had to make sure to use enough almond flour or my cookies also spread too much.
Sheri says
I had the same problem. I tried everything and they still flattened and stuck to the pan. Preheated correctly, added ingredients correctly, tried non stick cooking spray, baking paper even cupcake tins to try to get them from flattening out and sticking but nothing worked. I even added more flour. Nothing worked.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Sheri! A couple of things that might helps: Do you measure your ingredients with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? I find that when I use measuring cups I often come out with widely different amounts of almond flour. If your cookies are spreading that much it makes me think that you need more flour. Also, how is your butter? The ideal here is room temperature butter. Sometimes when I make a recipe that needs softened butter and all I have is cold butter from the fridge I’ll pop it in the microwave to soften. When the butter melts too much it makes for flatter baked goods that spread too much.