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.
I made these twice – once with extra nuts and chocolate chips, which crumbled up too easily and wasn’t very cookie-like. But the second time I added in a flax egg and extra almond flour, and it’s like a ‘real’ cookie! This was delicious, thanks Megan 🙂 I’m definitely going to be making these more often.
I just made the paleo chip cookies and they were a big hit. I tricked my husband by saying I made vegan cookies for my 20 month old and why doesn’t he try one. He looked at them in disgust and then took a bite and said these are pretty good. He went on to eat about 3 more! I had to shut my son off after a few, he would have kept going. Yay!! cauliflower pizza is next.
Hi, I made these today and while the dough tasted/smelled fine, after baking, the cookies were not good. They smelled/tasted off- almost reminiscent of broccoli. Not sure if I did something wrong. I used Trader Joes almond meal. Any input would be appreciated!
How strange! I’ve never heard of that happening, and I’ve used Trader Joe’s almond meal to make them many times. Have you cooked broccoli in your oven recently? They shouldn’t taste like anything other than chocolate chip cookies!
What did I do wrong? They were still crumbly even after adding quite a bit of water. Should I have used an electric mixer? I went ahead & made them, patting them into flat cookies. Thanks!
If the batter is crumbly, I’d add an extra tablespoon or two of soft coconut oil to make it hold together. The water won’t work well, since it will simply dehydrate in the oven, leaving you with a crumbly cookie. Also, make sure you are using almond flour and not a substitute? I’ve received a number of comments assuming that flours are interchangeable in recipes, and they are not.
I added a flax egg and a half cup of almond milk. Also squeezed them into balls and flattened them. Much better to my taste!
Thanks, Megan. I did use almond flour & followed all of the directions….until I added the water. I will try adding more oil to see if that works…..I’m not giving up on these! 🙂
We followed the recipe to a T. Not sure what went wrong but they were very dry and crumbled apart. My wife and I didn’t find this recipe very good. But we will continue to try more recipes!
Just made these, they are EXCELLENT! Thank you so much for sharing all of your recipes. These cookies remind me of my favorite shortbread chocolate chip cookies that I used to eat before I went grain free! Yum!
WOW, I am loving your site! I just made these with my son and I can not believe how good these are! Hands down the best cookie I have ever had!
These cookies are so good! They are the best paleo cookies I have made! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I am wondering if the people who had crumbly cookies packed in the almond flour. I spooned mine into the measuring cup then used my spoon handle to sweep the excess off the top. I also used refined coconut oil since I don’t like the flavor of coconut in my chocolate chip cookies….oh no, I just remembered, if I eat coconut oil or coconut products close to bed time, I have a hard time sleeping since it energizes me…oh well, it is worth it! 🙂
made these with a combo of almond flour and coconut flour & my fam went nuts for them!!!, Thanks for the great idea!
Just made these and they’re AMAZING! Now I have to try not to eat them all 😉
Hi Megan!
I want to try to make these cookies but I wanted to try making them with buckwheat or brown rice flour, is that possible? What in the recipe would change?
And I’d also try to make them with macadamia nuts and white chocolate sorry for all the questions I am new at all this!
To use a grain-based flour like brown rice or buckwheat, I’d look for a different recipe since you can’t substitute a grain-based flour for a nut-based flour. You’ll probably need to add an egg or egg replacement, and change the ratios a bit.
Hey there! Ok I’ve made these twice so far and I love the recipe.
My only question is when they bake they don’t spread out. Should
I use a bit more oil or less chocolate chips? Thanks!
You can add a little more oil to help them spread, or simply flatten them into the shape you want before baking.
Thanks for sharing Megan!
Love these!!!!!!!
Wow, these were great! My 6-year-old licked the batter and devoured the cookies when they emerged from the oven. I was so happy to find this website because I was recently diagnosed with Candida overgrowth.
These saved the day because I didn’t have to make a separate batch of cookies for the rest of the family!
Also, I only used 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup and I used a whole dropper of liquid stevia.
Keep the recipes coming!
Awesome recipe, thanks. For those who are interested in using something different than almond flour, I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, made out of garbanzo bean flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and fava bean flour. I used an extra tablespoon of butter and some almond milk. They turned out great!
You can put the dough in the freezer and you have cookie dough icecream…! 😉
Yet another successful recipe from your website! These were so delicious. I was worried that they’d taste strange, but they’re great! I did experience the crumbly-dough-cookie issue, and I was curious if the coconut oil is supposed to be softened, or melted. I used softened, and it seemed to have trouble blending and binding, so I thought maybe it was supposed to be melted? Would that have worked better?
Again, great recipe. I have been so impressed with these healthy recipes that you have on your blog!
I’ve made those with honey instead of maple syrup and raisins instead of chocolate chips. They turned out great ! Can’t wait to bake them for my family 🙂
i replaced the coconut oil with MASHED AVOCADO & they were excellent!
These are fantastic…I used raw hazelnuts pulsed in the vitamix and organic brown rice syrup, and they are divine. I’m vegan and gf because of food allergies, and these have just become my go-to cookie. Thank you, thank you!!
I made the Paleo cookies, the sugar cookies, and the coconut macaroons last night with my newly arrived 5-lb bag of almond flour. What fun! They all turned out great, although the ‘dough’ never really formed as depicted in your photographs. It was very crumbly, but I could form them into balls with my hands. I was so chuffed they turned out so well and were so tasty! My sweet tooth is soothed at last…
Thanks for sharing these recipes!
WOW>> These cookies are divine! I was looking for a recipe to use up the almond flour that’s left over after making almond milk and these are PERFECT, I added a little extra coconut oil to make up for the fat content and used cacao nibs instead. They are truly delicious! And it feels so good using something that you would normally throw away. I have also tried your vegan mac’n’cheese and will never go back! We are going vegan and your website is making it very easy and enjoyable.. thanks 🙂
These are great! Do you think it would work with ground walnuts?
Walnuts might be a little more oily, but I bet they’d be delicious in these cookies! Just be careful not to over-process them, or they’ll turn into a nut butter very quickly.
Thanks 🙂
All the recipes I have tried of yours are great and your photos are well done too!
OMG these were AMAZING it’s soo good but i dont feel guilty because they are healthy (healthier…) it doesnt give me that sugar coma, it’s better than ones i’ve had in France! one question – you think you can replace almond flour with coconut flour? it’s just almond flours are more expensive than coconut flour… just wondering!
I burned the cookies- my oven wasn’t even on 350! Ughhh 🙁 2 minutes too long- but they still kinda, sorta taste good.
I just tried making these with some homemade almond meal I had (made from almond milk pulp I toasted on low heat in oven and then ground up). They did not work AT ALL 🙁 I’m guessing it was the almond meal/flour but not sure why it didn’t work using what I had. Darn. I’d love to try again if anyone has tips.
Almond meal and almond pulp leftover from making almond milk bake VERY differently, and shouldn’t be substituted for each other. The almond pulp has most of the fat removed, and becomes more like traditional flour, rather than ground almonds. If you want to use the almond pulp in a recipe in the future, I recommend trying one of my recipes that call specifically for that:
https://detoxinista.com/2013/03/raw-cookie-dough-bites-vegan/
https://detoxinista.com/2013/05/grain-free-fudgy-brownies/
I actually made this cookie with dehydrated almond pulp from making almond milk. At first, it seems like they don’t hold together, far from a cookie dough. So i improvised and add some mashed banana and bake them in the oven for 20mins.
They turned out really great! It tastes like eating banana bread in cookie form.
I hope this helps. 🙂
You can make almond flour from almond meal (after milking it out) by dehydrating or baking on very low heat. I’ve done it before and it comes out well. I hope it works well for this recipe too.
I just made these and used 1/8th cup ghee and 1/8th cup coconut oil—they turned out FANTASTIC! I loved that I was able to get that buttery taste without having to worry about all the negative implications dairy has on my body. Thank you so much!
I really didn’t expect these to be very good. I was fully intending to buy “real” chocolate chip cookies or something highly processed today, but decided to give these a try. I made them with Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips. They’re AMAZING! I would eat these regularly. Fantastic recipe.
How many calories are in each cookie? And can you please tell me the nutritional information? Thank you 🙂
Great recipe …As a lifter on a Paleo lifestyle im always on the look out for tasty healthy and if possible still used for performance snacks….
I’ve modified this by mixing chocolate whey with the coco powder.
and presto……chocolate chip protein cookies.
Thanks for the inspiration…..!!!
Will it work with coconut flour?
I love these cookies. I’ve made them several times. I have a batch in the oven this very minute. I love how easy they are to whip together. I also use the “Enjoy Life” chocolate chips. I can’t wait to have a cookie with my coffee for breakfast tomorrow morning! 🙂
Perfection
Perfection! I do worry a bit about using coconut oil as its high in saturated fat…but they’re so so good. Have made these so many times.
Hi there. I just made these and my husband and I loved them…However, the dough was a little crumbly for me so I am wondering how you softened your coconut oil? I had a feeling while I was mixing it all up that I didn’t soften it enough because I was nervous that I would melt it…would it be okay to melt it? Thanks
Yes, I think it would be okay to melt it!
How could I substitute the almond flour for coconut flour? Should I cut the flour in half and add a few eggs?
Here’s the recipe for using coconut flour: https://detoxinista.com/2013/08/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
Can I use almond pulp flour in this recipe?
I would not recommend using almond pulp flour– the texture and flavor are very different!
My husband, 6- and 3-year old daughters and I made these after dinner tonight. What a hit they were! We nearly polished off the whole batch (making me think perhaps we all saved just a little too much room for dessert – haha). Thanks for yet another fantastic recipe, Megan.
made this today my brother and I loved them. you’re very talented thank you for sharing
Made these b4 I saw your recipe. Wish I saw this before because the other recipe asked to bake for 1-15 min and my cookies were done but the base got over done. I user coconut sugar and flax meal to replace egg. Also I added 1/4 tsp of powdered cardamom. It turned out delicious. Baked it for my diabetic mom.
I made these for a weekend class, I used butter instead of coconut oil but otherwise followed the recipe as is. My recipe only made 16 cookies, not 24 and perhaps I ate a couple before they got to the class 🙂 Anyway, I was so surprised when I had about 12 of the women come up to me to tell me how great they were. Mind you, it’s not a group that knows me except by name. I have never had such a big response to a recipe before. Will be making them for the class again next weekend and doubling the recipe. Thank you!
Girl- I have been baking cookies for years, and they’ve always been your standard butter/flour/sugar cookies, and I am in complete SHOCK how delicious and tasty these cookies are!! Shockingly better than my all time favorite recipe (best big fat chewy chocolate chip cookies from allrecipes.com). Next time, I will add cocoa powder to make them even more chocolatey! Thanks for a delicious and easy and healthy recipe! (Oh, I used 1/4 stick of earth balance instead of coconut oil).
Oh my~this cookie recipe is a keeper!!! Splendid job Megan! I have searched numerous “healthy” websites to no avail, until I found your recipe and baked them….the lovely cookie aroma once again 🙂 (it’s been a while since I baked my last cookie, dumped all flour years ago). The only change I made was to substitute home-made carob chips for the chocolate,the results…..delectable! Thanks again Megan♥
I am going to try making these for a office holiday party. I’m making my own almond flour, and I want to add shredded coconut to it (1 part to 2 parts of almond flour). Think that’ll be OK?
This cookie is now my family’s favorite! I like not feeling tired after eating more than two! If you love Almond Joy bars, you’ll love this cookie. They are incredibly easy to make, too. Thank you for a great recipe!
Super delicious cookie that satisfies!
I just made these and they were extremely crumbly so I added an additional tablespoon of coconut oil and also 1/4 cup of granulated erythritol to help keep them together. I used a cookie scooper and packed them very tightly before placing on the baking sheet. Since these don’t really spread I then flattened them with the palm of my hand and rounded the edges with my fingers kind of like making a burger patty. They turned out AMAZING. These are really nice from the other grain-free cookies I make because these were a bit softer as my other go-to chocolate chip recipe produces crisp cookies. Thank you very much for the recipe. I love your site and have made many of your creations!
What kind of chocolate chips do you use? I would like to avoid cane sugar.