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 tried out this recipe tonight and although it is pricey.. ($10 for a bag of almond flour, $5 dark chocolate, $10 maple syrup.. etc) i think it’s absolutely worth it!
Rather than coconut oil i used earths balance butter
and actually added in trader joes oats with flax seed
SOO delicious with coffee
I made these tonight. They were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! We devoured them! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity and knowledge.
I have made these for the fourth time and they are absolutely delish. I’ve substituted the choc. chips with raisins and a couple of tablespoons of unsweetened coconut to make them SCD legal, and they turned out great. I also cut back on the honey…just 1 tbsp, and that was just fine
. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hi,
Just want to tell you that I made these cookies for the first time last night and they were amazing! My husband of all people loved them (and he’s the pickiest when it comes to “healthy snacks” 😉 haha so if he liked them then it means they’re really good. Thank you for all your recipes! I can’t wait to try the rest of them. You are very talented and I can’t wait to buy your cookbook, I hope it’s available in Canada. Thanks for sharing!!
These are so good it’s almost laughable to me. Except I made them with Nature’s Harvest HONEY ROASTED sunflower seeds instead!!! Honey roasted ones are sweeter to begin with, if it matters. And I added some whole ones in for texture. Awesome! It may sound grody, but they are delicious. I used honey instead of maple syrup. Plus, I used butter so I don’t know if they’d taste different with coconut oil.
Also, if you want normal sized cookies, make more dough than the recipe calls for. I made half the recipe and it made 8, so the full recipe would make closer to 16 than 24 cookies (normal sized, to me, any way). This is NOT a complaint! Just FYI 🙂
^ Oh, and I didn’t even put in any chocolate (didn’t have any)! Still great!
Okay, you are like a food genius! I have tried your chocolate coconut donuts, and even had to buy a donut pan because they are so good I will make them all the time! I also loved your pumpkin bars and I topped them with your maple pecan frosting. And last night I made these cookies and I am SO in love! Thank you for what you do! I’m trying to cut back on refined sugar and this stuff helps so much. Plus your recipes were so quick and easy to make! I can’t wait to recommend your site to all my health concious friends 🙂
I made these because my boyfriend wanted dessert and I happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Plus we both follow the Paleo diet. They were delicious!! We ate almost the entire batch in one sitting. Thanks for a great healthy recipe that satisfies my cookie craving!
Made these along with the Choc chip peanut butter blondies. I liked those better but these were pretty good too. After they cooled I liked the MUCH better! I made these with butter to try to get as close to a “regular chocolate chip cookie” as possible for my picky family. The pickiest of all was popping them like popcorn so they didn’t last long!
Ok, so I made the mistake of making these with leftover almond pulp from homemade almond milk. Definitely doesn’t work, even after I tried adjusting the amount of fat to make the batter hold together. Using almond meal seems to be a must for this recipe!! Next time Megan, I’ll make your cookie-dough bites with my almond pulp!! Have a great day 🙂
WOW. These cookies are AMAZING!!! I honestly feel like they could compete with many of my other favorite chocolate chip cookies. They are just good in an of themselves. They don’t have the this-is-a-replacement-for-the-thing-I-love-but-can’t-have taste. Honestly, try these. You won’t be disappointed.
Has anyone calculated the nutrition info for these little gems?
I love these. Make them all the time, so I came back to rate them! They are my favorite choc chip cookies. More delicious than traditional because of the nut and coconut flavors! Mmmmmm! Thank you.
These were delicious and so easy! I love how your recipes use relatively few ingredients that i am likely to already have in the pantry. Thank you so much!
I have made these 3 times, twice for group meetings/functions. They were loved by all!
The first time I had heated the coconut oil a bit to melt it, and it was still warm when I stirred in the chocolate chips. They melted a bit, and the cookies turned out differently because they had melted chocolate throughout, but it was strangely delicious.
All I can say is that I made these yesterday, ate four today (two before breakfast and two after) and when I went running felt like superwoman. I ususally do 3.5 mi, but today I did 5.5.
I have made these many times since I discovered the recipe in October. They are delicious. I have finally tweaked the recipe a bit to try and lower the amount of sweetener needed. I have replaced 2 of the 3T of maple syrup with 3 dates. I then tried soaking the dates in water, draining and then adding them with the vanilla and the 1T vanilla. Occasionally I need a little more liquid and I use a tablespoon or two of the date water. Anyhow, they are delicious. The dough is delish, the cookies are yummy. Every way I make these, with coconut oil or butter with or without nuts etc they are delicious. Oh and I add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped walnuts. Yum. So good. Thank you for all of your great recipes.
do you think you could substitute for almond flour for coconut flour?
No, don’t do it! Coconut flour is incredibly different, so I’d try my coconut flour cookie recipe instead: https://detoxinista.com/2013/08/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
I’m so excited about these! Just made a double batch. Just wanted to know how many calories,fat,fiber, etc are in these and what the serving size is? Thanks again! Also do have a cookbook and what is it called?
I just found out that I am allergic to almonds, and eggs…and I can’t eat gluten. 🙁 What can I use instead of the almond flour? I see that you have chocolate chip cookies that you make with coconut flour, but you use eggs…Please help me! Thanks!
Maybe try using ground sunflower seeds instead of almond flour?
Loved these. Made some slight modifications: slightly less almond flour (less 2 tbsp), + 1/4 cacao powder, + 1 tbsp coconut cream, was generous with coconut oil, and a sprinkle of chia seeds. so incredible. thanks!
These are awesome! I used 1 cup of almond flour and 2 scoops of protein powder. I also added a little apple sauce because protein powder is a little dry. This is the first cookie I made using protein powder that wasn’t dry. Thank you!
Please teach me your ways! I aspire to be just like you, amazing recipe
This cookie recipe is amazing and so easy!
Thank you so much for your recipes and your work to share so many of your ideas! My young daughter and I are focused on changing our food habits (which she inherited from me) and your website is such a wonderful resource for me!
I can’t believe there is no egg in this recipe! I’m going to have to try this one out!
faganeatspaleo.blogspot.com
i made this cookies and they were sooo good! even my daughter, who doesnt eat what i bake, loves them,
thank you very much!
OMG, THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!! They taste like an almond joy. I didn’t have maple syrup so I used agave syrup and they turned out great. Thank you for this recipe!
Can you use honey instead of maple syrup?
Sure! Honey tends to be a little sweeter than maple syrup, so feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste.
Tried these today with leftover almond pulp from homemade almond milk and they were so crumbly that they did not hold together at all. Is this because it was fresh almond flour? I followed the directions exactly.
Yes, almond pulp leftover from making almond milk cannot be used as a replacement for almond flour in most recipes– the results are almost never good! You can see my recipes specifically developed for almond pulp by using the search bar in the right sidebar.
I adapted these for my daughter who is sensitive to salicylates and they came out fantastic! They taste a bit like granola bars but with a cookie texture. The substitutions I made are: canola oil rather than coconut oil (I might try palm shortening next time), cashew meal rather than almond meal, and replaced vanilla with additional maple syrup. I’ve been enjoying many of your recipes recently. Thanks so much!
These cookies are fantastic! I tripled the recipe, added 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of applesauce to help with the “dryness factor” of using coconut flour and they were perfect! Next time I will add shredded coconut …YUM!
Sorry if this has already been asked… can these be made with coconut flour?
No, coconut flour can’t be substituted, but I have a coconut flour cookie recipe here: https://detoxinista.com/2013/08/coconut-flour-chocolate-chip-cookies-grain-free/
Can I use ghee? Would it still be 1/4 cup?
I’ve never tried it with ghee, but it’s worth a shot! I think the measurements would be the same.
Megan, Great recipe!!
Can you tell me the nutritional information on the cookies? Carbs , calories etc…. Thank you so much!!
Rebecca
Hi can I substitute almond meal for cashew meal and maple syrup for coconut nectar?
Can you still get a good result without baking soda?
really good cookies! I made these tonight and I am happy with how quick and easy they are! I am a vegan who has celiac disease, so they are perfect for me! thanks! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this great recipe! So excited!
I just made these tonight and they are definitely the easiest and most delicious chocolate chip cookies ever! My husband and 3 kids gobbled them up before they even had a chance to cool completely. I used trader joes almond meal, palm shortening and raw honey. The texture was perfectly moist! Thanks for another great recipe!
Originally tried these as is with almond meal and fell in love. Then found out that almonds were off the table for me and switched the recipe to cashew meal from trader joes and love them even more!!! My husband and I now prefer them with the cashew meal because they are more rich and moist. Letting them cool for a bit is still necessary for stability and taste. 🙂
How many calories per cookies
They arw just wonderful.
Thank you for this recipe and for restoring the belief in my baking and tasting skills! – After so many failed attempts to bake something yummy without dairy, sugar and gluten I just followed your instructions to the T and had the most amazing breakfast in ages. – Not planned though, I was just too overwhelmed by the taste….
I made these the other night and they were AMAZING. The recipe is so simple and quick to make that they are a great ‘whip it up quickly’ type of dessert/snack/sweet craving. My 7-year-old daughter loved them as well and I had to cut her off at 3 cookies 🙂
These cookies are fabulous! I love the texture, and the taste!
It is not too peanut – buttery, and the choclate is perfect! I saw the recipe and I said I am gonna make this! It turned out as a keeper!
i dont have maple syrup (or honey because i was looking for it to replace the syrup) and no coconut oil, but i do have coconut oil spray, which i usually use for baking, will that do?? and what can i replace the syrup with or can i just omit
Definitely 5 stars. I made a double batch tonight and they are fabulous. Keep in mind they don’t spread so make sure they are flat enough like a cookie and not a round lump of dough because they will stay that way. My husband keeps coming back to eat “just one more”. Well done yet again. I can’t wait for guests in 2 to try them. I hope there are some left!
I can’t wait to try these. Quick question: my coconut oil always melts DNS never remains in solid form. How much coconut oil in liquid form should I use for this?
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I am blown away with grain free cooking thus far… I first made these precisely as intended and found that the almond meal lends to a dry cookie if you aren’t careful with the baking time. In the second batch, I used half cashew meal — AMAZING. Just the right amount of moisture and crunch. I think using all cashew meal would be great, too. I’ll try that next time 🙂 Thank you!!
Hi!
If making double batch, should I stock them in the freezer already made or unbaked?
Thank you <3
These were amazing. Everyone loved the,!!!! Question: could you substitue quinoa flour? If so, same amout?
I’ve never tried using quinoa flour with these, so you’ll have to experiment and let us know!
Just out of the oven and delicious (mine slightly still warm). They took 12 mins to brown. Let them sit a minute on the sheet before moving to cooling rack. I did melt the coconut oil since getting it to simply soften w/o chunks was not working. When mixing the dough, the chips got shiny and coated by the oil, making it really hard to hold it all together to keep chips and dough mixed while forming the cookies. As I tried to form them the oil literally was seeping from the cookies. More or less made balls out of them best I could and then flattened a bit on the baking sheet. I was skeptical based on how they were sharing up getting on the pan, but they are very good. Might add a little ground flax next time to off set the melted oil issue.
Hi Melissa,
You might want to try Earth Balance vegan butter next time. It wont seep or coat the chips like coconut oil. You can find it at Kroger, Grubbs, or any whole foods store. Hope this helps. 🙂
Mine were a bit crumbly. I thought about adding a banana as a binder. Any thoughts? The crumbles tasted delicious none-the-less:)