Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan + GF)

I realized a few days ago that I just couldn’t let January end without sharing a healthy cookie recipe.

Firstly, can I just say that all I wanna do sometimes is take pictures of chocolate chip cookies all day! Okay, if you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, something along the lines of “how can you have anything close to a chocolate chip cookie if you cut out the butter, eggs, and wheat flour????”, well you’re not alone.

To be honest, I was thinking the same exact thing until batch no. 4729474 of these cookies came out of the oven (okay not really, more like batch no. 8)

Anyway, for my family it’s pretty hard to beat a classic chocolate chip cookie. I think if I had to guess-timate how many chocolate chip cookies I’ve made to date I’d be pretty challenged to come up with any kind of number. Although, I do know that I’ve probably made more of them than any other one single thing or recipe.

In fact, I’m fairly sure they were the first recipe I ever learned how to make. I can still remember our excitement as little kids when we’d hear my mom turn on her mixer to make them and we’d hurry in to see if the dough was ready for “poison checking”. I know not everyone is a fan of raw cookie dough in case of health risks and I totally get that, but um…..me and my sibs are still around to eat it so, yeah…..

She would also let me sit on the counter and watch sometimes (something I look back at and admire now because I know having a kid sitting on my workspace would personally make me a little nuts.) When she first taught me how to make them I remember thinking I could never make them as good as hers, and while I still don’t think I ever have, I’ve always used her basic recipe with very little changes. It’s drilled in my head actually and I even use it as a starting point for an adaptation like this one.

I may not have have made as many batches as I exaggerated before but I did go through quite a few not so glamorous variations. My main goal was to find a recipe that could fit both the gluten free category AND the vegan category. At the end of the day there are two versions that I’d say were keepers. One does include eggs but still no dairy or wheat flour.

Thankfully I have a team of wonderful taste control helpers around for projects like these, especially when they involve chocolate in any form, so I can always count on second opinions, and third, and fourth….. What really surprised me is that with all the different flours I tried for these recipes the best ones were when I used exclusively  almond flour. Even the kiddos that don’t like nuts agreed on that.

So here it is, a cookie that you can love and still feel good about if you’re trying to keep things nutritious this month. I’m sharing the version without eggs but I’ve added in the swaps with details on how to make the version that does use eggs. I think either version might even be acceptable enough for the breakfast menu, or at the very least a fun treat to snack on.

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Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan + GF)

If you've ever wanted a great cookie without using dairy, eggs, or wheat, this is it. These are chewy, delicious, and really easy to make.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil room temerature
• 1/2 cup granular sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
• 2 tablespoons coconut cream *see note
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder or cornstarch
• 2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1 cup 175g semi-sweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (be sure your brand is gf and vegan if necessary)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Cream together the coconut oil and sugars in bowl of stand mixer or large bowl. Scrape sides of bowl and add the coconut cream; beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, soda, salt, and starch. Add flour one cup at a time and beat after each addition. Stir in chocolate until combined.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment and roll dough into balls, about 1 inch in diameter, and place about an inch apart on baking sheet. Press the cookie dough balls down slightly and place tray in oven. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the edges are golden.
3. Remove and cool for at least 5 minutes and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

If you have trouble finding coconut cream at your local grocery store it's completely fine to use full-fat coconut milk and scrape the cream off of the top. Just be sure that it's cold enough to separate.