These chocolate chip almond flour cookies are super soft, chewy and tasty. They’re made with naturally gluten-free almond flour, and I promise, you won’t miss gluten one bit after enjoying these delicious cookies. If you’re looking for strategies for using almond flour as a swap for regular flour, please read my article, Can You Use Almond Flour in Place of Regular Flour?, then come back here to make this recipe. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Who doesn’t love a good gluten-free chocolate chip cookie?
I love chocolate chip cookies and have worked hard to make a variety of chocolate chip cookies for my readers.
In fact, you can try my soft-baked gluten-free chocolate chunk cookies made with a gluten-free flour blend, or my copycat Nestle Toll House classic chocolate chip cookie recipe that maintains slightly crispy edges, and a chewy center.
In this post, however, I share my delicious, soft and doughy chocolate chip almond flour cookies, which I make with nutrient-dense almond flour.
Is Almond Flour Gluten Free?
You might be wondering if almond flour is gluten free, and the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”
Almond flour is naturally gluten free as it’s made solely from ground up almonds. (Of course, check labels to make sure the manufacturer didn’t add in any weird ingredients.)
I use blanched almond flour to make this recipe, and most of my almond flour recipes, because blanched almond flour is much less gritty in texture and taste.
Blanched simply means the outer skin of the almond was removed before the almond was ground into a soft flour. Baking with blanched almond flour will result in less gritty and overall softer baked good.
How Does Almond Flour Taste?
A lot of people ask me if almond flour takes nutty and the answer is no, it isn’t nutty at all. In fact, you won’t taste that nutty flavor, and if you do, it’s very minor. You won’t smell a nutty fragrance either.
Baked goods made with almond flour are typically softer in texture. Almond flour is a high-fat flour, so you wind up with moist and soft baked goods. When you want an ultra soft cookie or muffin, almond flour should be the first flour you reach for.
If you want to bake with almond flour more often, I suggest reading my article, Can You Use Almond Flour in Place of Regular Flour?, to get the full scoop on how this flour reacts in baked goods and how it’s best used to create – or recreate – your favorite recipes.
Let’s Make Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Now I want to show you how to make these chocolate chip almond flour cookies with a few simple ingredients and in a few simple steps.
I honestly think these might be the easiest of all my chocolate chip cookie recipes to make. It’s simple to make and delicious in taste – just how I like it!
Step #1: Preheat Your Oven
You’ll need to preheat your oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
Step #2: Gather Your Ingredients
As mentioned prior, you only need the following ingredients to make these cookies:
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Pinch Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup softened (not melted) butter, equivalent to 1 stick of butter (if dairy-free, use Earth Balance vegan butter sticks)
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips (if dairy free, use these dairy-free chocolate chips from Enjoy Life)
There are several brands of almond flour on the market to choose from, and after you bake with almond flour long enough, you’ll hone in on the one you like best.
I used to shop exclusively for Honeyville Almond Flour, and still love this brand. But I’ve also come to enjoy Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour and Kirkland Almond Flour from Costco.
I find the texture of each almond flour brand to be a bit different, so if you find your cookies are gritty, consider trying a different brand of almond flour. Regardless, always look for blanched almond flour when baking these cookies.
Step #3: Make the Cookie Dough
To make the dough, whisk together almond flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
Next, add softened (not melted) butter, egg and vanilla and mix by hand until well blended. It’s a greasy mixture, so I recommend using gloves if mixing by hand.
Here is what the dough looks like after all the ingredients have come together.
Now add chocolate chips to the batter and mix until well combined.
Step #4: Form Cookies
Now take chunks of the dough and roll them into approximately 1 inch balls, by hand or using a cookie scoop, and place each ball on your baking sheet. Do not flatten the cookies before baking. You’ll have enough dough to make about 14-16 cookies.
Step #5: Bake
Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes until tops of the cookies start to slightly brown. The cookies will spread as pictured.
Remove the cookies from your oven and let them sit for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.
You’ll notice the cookies are slightly browned on the bottom, yet still soft and and doughy on top. By keeping the dough in balls before baking (and not flattening the dough), you’ll prevent the cookies from crisping up and overbaking in the center. You want them to be soft and doughy – yummy!
FAQs
Here are answers to some of the most asked questions about these chocolate chip almond flour cookies:
How Do You Store the Cookies? Store the cookies in an airtight bag for up to 3-4 days. These cookies keep well since the almond flour keeps them very moist.
How Do You Make these Cookies Dairy Free? Simply swap regular butter for vegan butter (I use Earth Balance vegan butter sticks) and use dairy-free chocolate chips (I suggest mini-chocolate chips by Enjoy Life).
Can I Use an Egg Substitute? I have not made these cookies egg free. If you do, please let me know how they turn out. I have, in the past, had great results with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer, and with a flax egg (1 tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 tbsp warm water, mixed together until gelled).
What Brand of Blanched Almond Flour Do You Recommend? I recommend Honeyville, Bob’s Red Mill, and Kirkland (Costco) brands of almond flour.
Can I Make these Cookies with a Sugar Alternative? Yes, you can make them with monk fruit. Follow the instructions in this article.
Please note the recipe was inspired by Wellness Mama.
Other Recipes Made with Almond Flour
Try any of these soft baked goods made with nutrient-dense almond flour:
- Almond Flour Linzer Cookies
- Fast and Easy Grain-Free Almond Flour Bagel Recipe
- Melt In Your Mouth Almond Flour Pumpkin Cupcakes
- Incredibly Moist Almond Flour Muffins with Apple Pie Filling
Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour blanched
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Pinch Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup softened (not melted) butter equivalent to 1 stick of butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To make the dough, whisk together almond flour, sugar, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
- Next, add softened (not melted) butter, egg and vanilla to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix by hand until well blended. It's a greasy mixture, so I recommend using gloves if mixing by hand.
- Now add chocolate chips to the batter and mix until well combined.
- Now take chunks of the dough and roll them into ~1 inch balls, by hand or using a cookie scoop, and place each ball on your baking sheet. Do not flatten the cookies before baking. I promise you, they will bake up perfectly soft if you leave them in the rounded shape. You’ll have enough dough to make about 14-16 cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes until top of cookies start to slightly brown. The cookies will spread.
- Remove the cookies from oven and let them sit for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to a wire rack to continue cooling.