These Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth! Made with nourishing almond flour, they take just minutes to stir together and will quickly become one of your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This gluten-free cookie recipe is made with blanched almond flour, which means the skin has been removed from the nuts before they were ground into flour.
Your cookies will have a crispy, buttery texture when you use this type of grain-free flour, but you can use almond meal (made with whole ground almonds) if that’s what you have. Desserts made with almond meal tend to be denser and not quite as crisp, so just keep that in mind.
Maple syrup and coconut oil help to bind this recipe without using an egg or flax egg, but if you prefer to use coconut sugar as the sweetener, check out my classic almond flour cookie recipe instead. They taste like the Tollhouse cookies, only made with almond flour!
Using coconut oil keeps this recipe dairy-free, but if you’d prefer to avoid any coconut flavor, look for refined or expeller-pressed coconut oil which has zero coconut taste. You can also use your favorite vegan butter, or real butter if you don’t need a dairy-free cookie.
Use dark chocolate chips to keep this recipe lower in sugar, or try adding dried fruit for another variation. I like to use mini chocolate chips to distribute the chocolate flavor even more.
How to Make the Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
1. Mix.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, baking soda, and salt. Stir well until a thick cookie dough is formed. (Because this recipe is not made with traditional flour, there’s no need to whisk the dry ingredients together before adding in the liquid ingredients.)
Fold in the chocolate chips, being careful not to stir too much. Almond flour cookie dough can become oily when overmixed.
2. Bake.
Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop the dough onto the prepared pan, about 2 inches apart from each other. You should get roughly 19 to 20 cookies from this batch.
Use your hands to gently flatten each cookie mound, as they won’t spread much on their own. Sprinkle a little sea salt on top, if you’d like a sweet and salty cookie, then bake at 350ºF for 9 to 10 minutes, until the edges look lightly golden.
3. Cool.
Once the cookies are done baking, let them cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes. They will firm up as they cool.
The finished cookies will have a crispy edge and a slightly chewy center, reminiscent of a shortbread cookie studded with chocolate chunks.
Serve these paleo cookies warm or let them cool completely on a wire rack. They can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container, but they do become softer and less crispy in that case.
For crispier results and longer shelf life, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! Coconut flour is unlike any other flour on the market and needs a totally different ratio of ingredients. Check out my coconut flour cookie recipe for guidance.
I love Hu brand, which is naturally sweetened if you can find it at your local store. Otherwise, dark chocolate chips make a great lower-sugar option, or you can chop up your favorite chocolate bar. For a sugar-free option, try using crunchy cacao nibs instead.
Looking for more paleo cookie recipes? Try Almond Butter Cookies, Almond Flour Sugar Cookies, or the Healthiest Cookies Ever.
The Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut oil , melted
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (at room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips (or cacao nibs, for sugar-free)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, salt, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Stir well, then fold in the chocolate chips.
- Use a 1-ounce cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your fingers to flatten and shape the cookies to your liking; they will NOT spread when baked, so make them the shape you want.
- Bake at 350ºF for 8 to 9 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. The darker they get, the crispier they will be.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature. These cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. They will soften if stored at room temperature, so for the crispiest results, store them chilled.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this paleo chocolate chip cookies recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
Hi, I found your blog through Claire who gave you an award. I love the look of these cookies and it’s great that there’s a vegan option out there. Amazing!
Just made them, and my ENTIRE family was so confused at how they tasted so “unhealthy”!! These are SO GOOD MAKE THEM IMMEDIATELY
Wow, these look amazing!! I love me some good chocolate chip cookies…mmmmmm!! 🙂 My go-to, hmm, I have been making A LOT of pudding (my secret ingredient=steamed carrots) and saving it in the fridge…quick n easy, oh, plus delicious!
Those look pretty darn good. I guess my go-to desserts are either smoothies that contain some cocoa powder and frozen banana to make them thick and chocolately, sometimes with almond butter or something else in there, too, or maybe just plain old dark chocolate? Not that I make that from scratch, mind you!
Those look so great and super easy to make! I think they are going to be my new go to for sweet
cravings 😉 Usually I will either have a plain sliced apple with cinnamon, a plain Greek yogurt, or a little dark chocolate when I get a sweet craving
Look delicious! 🙂
Thank you for posting a vegan version! I make something similar but with coconut flour and banana!
Wow, these look fantastic…definitely need to make these! I had bad cravings last night and I solved with almonds and raisins, plus a little coconut butter. Probably too many of each of these but it tasted good! Having these cookies in the freezer would have been perfect…I need to get it in my head that cravings will happen and I need to prepare, because usually I end up scrounging whatever sweet thing I can find!
Oh boy, these look so great! And I love how simple all the ingredients are, perfect for basically any diet. Love. I need to pick up some more almond flour, I recently ran out!
These sound perfect!! nothing beats a good chocolate chip cookie
xo
~Lori
Ive made a cople of your desserts now and have been SO impressed!!!!! Thank you for these great recipes!! My husband eats Paleo so I wanted to test these out for him today. Between my parents and my 4 yr old son, they ate almost the whole batch!! My dad even loved them and he has been known to eat 6 crispy kremes in one sitting without thinking twice! 😉 I used our blendtec blender to grind some raw almonds into flour (hadn’t tried that before) and with that the cookies came out delicious!! Thank you for sharing!
I made these tonight and they are amazing!! I added a tiny bit of almond extract (as I always do to chocolate chip cookies), as well as a little bit of coconut flour because I ran out of almond meal. Thanks for the excellent recipe!
lol – I substituted rice flour & millet flour for the almond flour and added chia seeds. Total flop. I had to double the oil & add flax milk to get the flour to come together and they crumble apart when you try to eat them after cooking. Looks like a 3rd grader attempted to bake these. 🙂
I guess I still have a lot to learn when it comes to cooking vegan style.
Sorry to hear it was a flop! But thanks for sharing– it’s always helpful to learn from mistakes, too. 😉
Better luck next time!
Very high in fat?
I always make a recipe as is,so I’ll know how it’s supposed to taste. After that, I can modify if necessary.
is there anything else i can use instead of coconut oil or butter? i recently developed an allergy to coconuts ( i love them too much and over did it ) anyways i cannot touch the stuff without my face and neck swelling right up and now need to find substitutes for it. any ideas would be appreciated.
Palm shortening would also work like butter or coconut oil. Otherwise, you could try using a mild-flavored oil, like grapeseed oil, but the results may be a little different. Let us know if you have some success! 🙂
Hi. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this recipe!!!!! Thank you so much Megan. I have many food restrictions and have spent hours upon hours combing the Internet looking for good sweet treat recipes and I discovered this recipe only a few days ago and it is my third time baking it!
In response to Joanna, I too have to be careful with coconut oil and I use Spectrum’s Canola oil for medium high heat and they turn out quite nicely! Soft and chewy from the oven and more baked if I cook them in the convection toaster oven. Hope this helps!
I make them with olive oil since I am not crazy about the coconut flavor
Refined coconut oil does not have the coconut flavor, like the unrefined. But I bet the olive oil is delicious also.
Ghee is a great sub for the coconut oil or butter. And now it’s dairy free for me. Great easy recipe with no major clean up. Love that!
Has anybody tried making these with coconut flour?
I would like to know the answer to this too, please. 🙂
Coconut flour cannot be substituted for almond flour, but you can see my recipe for coconut flour cookies here: https://detoxinista.com/2013/08/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
Yes, I’ve used half coconut flour. Still in the oven but they tasted good before I put them in! I also found them too crumbly the first time I made them, so I added a flax egg and half a cup of almond milk and then squeezed them into balls and flattened them. Much better consistency. And I find they need to bake 2-3 minutes longer, maybe even a bit more.
These were absolutely delicious!!! Super quick and easy to make (Start to finish in <20 minutes). These were a big hit in our house. My husband, who was quite skeptical (and wondered why I was ruining good chocolate chip cookies, went back for seconds and thirds! The almond flour gives them a nice nutty flavor. Extra chocolate chips are recommended (increase from 1/2 to 3/4 cup in an entire batch if you like extra chocolate). Vegan friendly and gluten free. Super yummy-make these!!
I have made these twice in the last week. Sooooo yummmmyyyy! My girls loved them. My friends loved them. I directed them to your site. Thanks for the great recipes and info!
Thanks so much for this recipe! Just made these even more detoxiliscious by omitting the chic chips for cacao nibs and inca berries! Soooo good!
Yum, that sounds fantastic! 🙂
i love this recipe and make it every week!! Could you please tell me if your almond flour is blanched? I just read that unblanched or raw almonds made into almond flour is toxic? Scary!
I have been using raw almonds all this time but may need to buy blanched almonds now with no skins. Thanks!!!!!
Hi Kate! While I still use blanched almonds occasionally, I do use raw organic almonds, with skins, for most of my almond flour needs! Since I eat raw almonds with skins often, I don’t see how grinding them into flour would make them toxic. I’ve actually never heard of that before! After doing a bit of internet research, I believe the almonds you’re thinking of are called “bitter” almonds, and as I understand it, they are not the type of almonds you’ll find in any grocery store (because they’re toxic!).
All almonds sold in the USA, even if they are labeled as “raw,” are still heat-treated before selling in a store, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about on that front, regardless of which almonds you use.
Hope that helps! 🙂
the skin has toxins on/in them that protects them from insects, and that our intelligent immune systems react to when we eat too many.
If you soak them, drain, and dry, you get the benefits of the fiber in the skin without the toxins.
You can also dip them in hot water and remove the skin.
Otherwise, eat and enjoy!
I just found my answer to my previous post below asking which almonds to use in baking your awesome recipes! Thanks, I will be getting some slivered almonds tomorrow, Have a great weekend, and thanks for your website. I am so grateful!
Awesome cookies. My first Paleo recipe ever and I couldn’t be happier. I am not vegan so I made added an egg and with Kerrygold butter instead of coconut oil and I used brown rice syrup instead of maple. They are amazing. Shared with my sister who is gluten/dairy free and she is excited to try too.
Made these last night and they were delicious. Thanks!!
So excited to try these – I was searching the web for paleo cookies and yours looks the easiest and so good! Thank you:)
Made these tonight and they were so good! Felt great to eat something so tasty with minimal whole food ingredients. My dad is the chocolate chip cookie lover so I make them for him all the time and he told me these were the best he’s ever had!! thank you for sharing 🙂
who needs to bake these?? i just ate the dough – awesome recipe!! yum!
these cookies were so yummy will definitly make these again
Can I use raw honey instead of maple syrup?
Yes, you can! In my experience, maple syrup results in a slightly less sweet cookie, and sometimes the resulting baked good can feel a bit “sticky.” But, it’s always delicious! 🙂
Made these today – ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!
you win! i have tried multiple recipes and these cookies are the closest to non-vegan, non-paleo cookies. they are great! i can wait to try out more of your recipes. 🙂
Just made these and they came out wonderful! Hubby ate them up and that’s always a good sign 🙂 5 stars!!
Megan,
I’m baking them again. They were a hit at work but I keep on getting 13 -15 cookies instead of 24 am I missing something? I’m using a Tbs measuring spoon to scoop it. Please help
I’m using a tablespoon-size cookie scoop, which I scrape along the bowl so that it’s flattened– not a “heaping” tablespoon. Perhaps the scooper doesn’t give me the full tablespoon, since some of the dough gets stuck in the gears. I happen to like making small cookies, but if your cookies end up being bigger, that is perfectly fine!
Absolutely a 5 star cookie. I’m still getting over how balanced they are: plenty sweet, light texture (crispy yet soft, almost like a shortbread) and satisfying. I’ve made other recipes with almond flour and was starting to get discouraged b/c they tasted too nutty, like they had an aftertaste. And while I prefer to use unrefined sugar, I don’t care for honey in cookies or cakes. Thank you, Megan. This is the go-to cookie I’ve been looking for. I made a double batch and just added a little grape seed oil b/c I ran out of coconut oil.
I’m so glad you love them as much as I do!
I typically don’t comment on blogs, but now I feel compelled to! I literally make this recipe almost weekly, and everyone I know loves it so much! I’m asked to make it for get togethers, and even as gifts for people…this is the most incredible Paleo cookie recipe out there! THANK YOU SO MUCH you are one brilliant cook 😉 Keep posting recipes like this…please!
Much better than expected! I had to use honey instead of maple syrup (I was out)… And I wasn’t sure they were going to turn out well – the batter was super crumbly, so I added 2 more tbsp of coconut oil and then using a cookie scoop, I mashed the batter into it to make rounded balls. The ones I mashed in like that didn’t crumble when they came out of the oven – they stuck together well.
Great recipe, but I wish I read the comments before attempting. Definitely don’t use rice flour! The cookies had a really weird texture and were way too crumbly. Also I forgot that coconut oil goes solid really quicky, so had to add soya milk in the end to get usable dough. Can’t wait to try these again when I’ve got all the correct ingredients!
I went to lunch with another blogger today (This American Mama) and she told me about these cookies. Can’t wait to try them! They look fabulous.
These were absolutely horrible. The flour never became anything but crumbled powder. Considering the $8 worth of ingredients and the fact that it is Christmas eve, so nothing’s open, we’re completely out of luck.
“Merry Christmas, dear daughter. Enjoy your powder”
I’m sorry to hear these didn’t work out for you. I’m not sure what you mean by “the flour never became anything but crumbled powder.” Were you making your own almond flour, and the ground almonds didn’t become fluffy enough? Or do you mean that there wasn’t enough moisture for the cookies to hold together? I’ve made these cookies many times, and this ratio of maple syrup and coconut oil (or butter) has always produced a delicious result. You can always add additional coconut oil or maple syrup if the cookie dough doesn’t look like it will hold together. I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas, regardless!
I’ve made these cookies literally dozens of times and they are always amazing. I’m not sure what you did wrong, but if your cookies came out poorly, it’s not the fault of this blog where you found a FREE recipe.
thank you for this recipe. I changed it up a bit – did one cup almond meal, one cup gluten free flour from arrowhead, one cup of gluten free oats, used sunflower oil – added more to fill it out + more maple syrup. played with it a tad as I usually do and we will see how they taste as they are cooling down.
When you change a recipe that much, how can you give it an accurate rating? Two stars is unfair. These cookies are amazing.
Agree with Aimee … how can you accurately review a recipe if you change it so much? It’s like getting takeout from a local restaurant, then completely covering it in salt when you’re eating it at home, and then giving the place 2-stars on Yelp, stating that their “dishes are way too salty” … doesn’t make sense?
I just had to let you know, I made these cookies for the third time tonight, and they are seriously the BEST cookies I’ve ever tasted– gluten-free or otherwise! Thank you so much for the delicious recipes.
No on paleo diet but awesome cookies. My husband’s favorite and kids loved it too. Very crispy cookies. Used 1/2 cup of coconut oil to help it form better. Probably could have used a little less. Kids allergic to almond so used whole wheat pastry flour. Used Agave nectar 6 Tablespoons, added 1 tablespoon of chia seeds and 1 tablespoon of flax seed ground. By the way this is my favorite cookies. Next time I’ll try adding oats.
This was such a quick and yummy breakfast for both me and my toddler!To avoid chocolate overload in the morning I substituted craisins in half the batch. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
wow! i made a couple of your no grain cookie recipes before but this one takes the cake, er, cookie! this time, however, i opted for 1 1/2 cups almond meal with 1/2 cup buckwheat flour. i needed to add about 1/3 cup water to make the dough come together. along with vegan choc chips, i threw in some walnuts and ate three cookies before they were completely cool! since my dough only make 12 cookies, i will probably eat them all in a day. : )
Thanks for this amazing recipe Megan! These are the tastiest cookies I have tried in my 44 years of life. To take you over the moon – use all organic ingredients and substitute hazelnuts for almonds – when I eat these cookies, the world stands still.
OK, I just have to chime in here how amazing these cookies are. I call them crack cookies. They are seriously better than full sugar cookies. I LOVE these cookies. <—- understatement
Thanks for letting me know! They are by far my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, too. 🙂
Made these tonight and they turned out great! I was going to make a double batch to find that my dog sneaked the bag of almond flour I just bought and ate it in the backyard lol arg at least I had 2 cups of another bag left! The best part about these cookies is they are super easy 🙂
I made a batch to send to my daughter in college…she shared with all her friends…love! FINALLY, a wheat-free chocolate cookie with a cookie texture. Yum!
Hi Megan.
I can’t wait to try your recipes. I was wondering if I could substitute ghee butter in your raspberry chocolate chip muffin reccipe and in your chocolate cookie recipe. I don’t really care for coconut oil.
Thanks.
I’ve never tried cooking with ghee, but if it bakes the same way as real butter does, it should work just fine.
I’ve baked with ghee, and it’s usually 1:1 in place of oil/shortening but learned the hard way to add water when subbing ghee for butter.
Skillet dessert of apples sautéed in ghee then sprinkled with cinnamon turned out delish but I fried my caramel sauce, eek!
How much water and ghee depends on amount of butter the recipe calls for. Maybe start with something like 2 tsp water with 7.5 Tbs ghee for every 8 Tbs of butter? It doesn’t take much water, you can always start with less then add more later.
Good luck!
I made this recipe for my dad, who is on a paleo, low carb diet… He LOVED them! Even my mom and siblings who aren’t on the diet agree these are amazing! I made the almond meal myself and used butter instead of coconut oil. I have made a lot more almond meal just so I can bake these up for the family some times! P.S. my dad did NOT want to share these with his low-carb buddies!
These are too good! Doubled the recipe and my daughter, husband, and I still ate all of them. :O
OMG! I just made these, and I didn’t have chocolate chips, all I had was lindt dark chocolate with sea salt – these are to die for!! I highly recommend the substitution too it sooooo good! Thank you for the recipe!
Can I get the nutritional info please?
Please see my FAQ: https://detoxinista.com/frequently-asked-questions/
Amazing recipe! Easy and delicious. Never been a fan a “faux” chocolate chip recipes but this recipe has changed my feelings on that! Love them.
These are delicious! I made them for my three year old to take to preschool in his lunchbox. He was so excited about his treat! Thanks for the great recipe!