Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

We’re going back to basics with the recipe for Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies! In a world of fancy, over-the-top baked goods, we all need a simple, go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe to keep in our back pockets. 

That said, if you’re looking for a gluten free chocolate chip cookie – that’s vegan too — these will not let you down! 

Maybe you’re used to lowering your expectations when it comes to gluten free or vegan treats — I totally get it. But these Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are objectively good. Even your friends and family who eat all the wheat flour, all the eggs, and all the butter will love them. 

They’re soft, chewy, loaded with chocolate in every bite, and food allergy-friendly too. Bonus: since there’s no egg inside, you can feel free to taste the batter. Spoiler alert: it is INSANEly delicious!

Ingredients Needed

Scroll down to the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

• Finely ground almond flour: More on this below.
• Coconut sugar: Feel free to substitute brown sugar if you don’t have coconut sugar on hand.
• Tapioca flour: Tapioca flour helps make these cookies soft and chewy. I haven’t tested it, but several readers have commented to say that arrowroot powder works well as a substitute.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips: I like Enjoy Life gluten free chocolate chips, which are free of the Top 8 allergens, but you can use whatever you’ve got in the pantry. Mini chips help you get lots of chocolate in every bite, but regular-size chips are fine too. Dark chocolate chips are also a treat!
• Baking soda: Cookies don’t rise like a cake, but they do need some lift and that’s where baking soda comes in.
• Salt: Just a bit to bring balance to the recipe.
• Milk: I use unsweetened almond milk, which is what we drink, but whatever you have on hand will work. Make sure to use dairy-free milk to keep these cookies vegan.
• Vegetable oil: Any neutral tasting oil, including almond oil (keepin’ it in the family!) or avocado oil, will work in this recipe. Coconut oil is fine too.
• Vanilla: I go heavy on the vanilla extract in my cookie recipes because a couple teaspoons really enhances all of the other flavors. 

What Is Almond Flour?

Almond flour is made from blanched almonds that are ground into a fine powder. It’s a favorite for gluten free and grain free baking, and I just love it in this Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

Note: almond MEAL is made from un-blanched almonds ground into a coarser texture. For this recipe we want almond flour.

I’ve used many different brands of almond flour to make this gluten free cookie recipe—Kirkland (Costco) brand, Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur, Hy-Vee—and they all work well. You’ll just want to make sure the package says “super fine” or “finely ground” almond flour.

Can I Use Coconut Flour Instead?

Unfortunately you can’t substitute coconut flour for almond flour in this recipe. Coconut flour, while also gluten free and grain free, is a very “thirsty” flour, meaning it absorbs a ton more liquid than almond flour, so it’s not a good swap in this recipe. 

How to Make Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ready for the best gluten-free, grain-free, vegan chocolate chip cookies you’ve ever had? (This is where you say: I was born ready.) Here’s what you’ll need to do:

Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350ºF, then line a half sheet pan with a Silpat or parchment paper.

Combine the dry ingredients. Using a fork, wooden spoon, or rubber spatula, stir together the almond flour, coconut sugar, tapioca flour, chocolate chips, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. 

Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla until the wet ingredients are well incorporated into the dry ingredients. 

Form the cookies. Use a Tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet then wet your fingers a bit and press the cookie dough balls down to flatten them slightly, as pictured below.

Bake. Pop the baking sheet into the oven then bake for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the cookies are a light golden brown.

Cool. Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Why Do My Almond Flour Cookies Fall Apart?

The key to almond flour cookies that don’t fall apart is patience. Let them cool for a full 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then allow them to finish cooling completely on racks. It’s hard to wait, but the cooling time is important to keeping your cookies together.

Tips for Success

These Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are clearly easy to make, but here are some tips that will help you make sure they turn out perfect:

• Measure correctly. When measuring the almond and tapioca flours, scoop the flours out of the bag then shake to level the cup, versus packing or pressing the flour into the cup.
• Don’t over-bake. The cookies may look soft in the middle when you pull them out of the oven, but that’s okay! They’ll continue baking from the residual heat on the baking sheet.
• Stick with the base recipe. You can customize these cookies with different add-ins like toffee bits or chopped nuts, but don’t make changes to the base. This recipe was formulated with these ingredients and these proportions, and with gluten free baking, it’s easy for things to go south if you start changing things up!

How to Store

Store the baked and cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. The cookies will get softer and more deliciously squishy as they sit.

Can This Recipe Be Frozen?

You can freeze both the cookie dough and the baked cookies in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.

If you want to freeze the dough, I recommend forming the cookies (scooping the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, then using wet fingers to flatten them a bit) then placing the baking sheet in the freezer until the dough is completely frozen. Store the frozen dough in a freezer bag or airtight container.

Thaw the dough in the refrigerator then bake it according to recipe instructions, or bake it from frozen and simply tack on a few extra minutes to the baking time.

More Dessert Recipes Using Almond Flour

• Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins
• Green Smoothie Muffins
• Chocolate Cranberry Almond Energy Bites
• Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
• Blueberry Almond Crisp

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Description

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies are not only gluten free, grain free, and vegan, but they're one of the best soft chocolate chip cookies you'll ever eat!

Ingredients

makes 2 dozen cookies

• 1-1/2 cups finely ground almond flour
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons milk, any kind (I use unsweetened almond milk)
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees then line a half sheet pan with a silpat or parchment paper and set aside.
2. Add almond flour, coconut sugar, tapioca flour, chocolate chips, baking soda, and salt to a medium-sized bowl then whisk with a fork to combine. Add milk, oil, and vanilla then stir until ingredients are well mixed.
3. Scoop dough by the Tablespoon onto prepared sheet pan then barely wet your fingers and press down gently on each dough mound to flatten slightly. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until cookies are light golden brown on top. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container on the counter for 4-5 days.

Notes

• When measuring the almond flour and tapioca flour, scoop the flour out of the bag/container then shake to level the cups, versus packing or pressing the flour into the cups.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

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