Fair Warning: You are about to experience the most amazing chocolate chip cookie. EVER. (Grain free or not!) This little bit of cookie heaven was the result of one of those serendipitous accidents that you never could have planned, even if you wanted to. While baking a batch of my regular chocolate chip cookies (the recipe I almost posted last week!), I ran out of a critical ingredient. So naturally I subbed with whatever I had on hand and BAM! Magic always happens when you least expect it.
Around here, we’ve taken to referring to these little guys as “pudgy” chocolate chip cookies. This is not just because they’ll make you pudgy if you eat too many (we can be honest here, right…?), but also because they actually bake up thick and pudgy. This pudginess makes their crumb amazingly soft and moist. Sinking your teeth into the first bite of these little guys is really quite addictive!
Perfect Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen small cookies.
Ingredients:
2 cups (200g) fine ground blanched almond flour (like THESE brands)
1/4 slightly rounded teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted palm shortening, ghee or mild tasting coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (I like clover honey for its mild flavor)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon canned full fat coconut milk (like Natural Value)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life)
Note: Be sure to ‘scoop’ up the AF with the cup and sweep over the top with a flat edge for this recipe. If you spoon it into the cup, you are likely to not have enough AF for the recipe, if you pack it you will have too much.
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F/176C degrees
2. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda and salt until well blended. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the liquid ingredients. Blend well.
3. Add the fat and other liquid ingredients directly to the flour mixture and mix till combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Let the better rest for a few minutes while you line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. Using a (measuring) tablespoon, scoop out slightly rounded amounts of cookie dough and tap it out of the spoon. Gently form smooth, round balls with the cookie dough. Place them on the cookie sheet about two inches apart. Using two fingers, lightly press down on the tops of the balls of dough. REALLY, you barely have to press at all for the ‘pudgy’ style cookie, just enough to flatten the top a little. Place another cookie sheet under the one with the cookies. (This will help keep the bottoms from browning too fast.)
5. Bake 11- 12 minutes. Keep an eye on them toward the end of baking, as times will vary from oven to oven, as well as thickness and size of cookie. They should be light in color as shown in the picture, with some amount of browning on the edges and bottoms. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring.
6. When cool enough, eat at least 4 of them before alerting others that they are finished. Allow everyone to be impressed with how selfless and giving you are when you split the remaining cookies evenly. But do this quickly because all chocolate chip cookies are best served warm and you don’t want to give away your secret!
When they are all gone, return to the top of this page and repeat!
I just fell off my chair.
These are magnificent!!!
Thank you, thank you for this recipe.
Making these STAT!
Beautiful. So, which ingredient was the sub?
Oh, my! These are fabulous! My daughter just ate 4 of them, so I will be making another batch right away! Thanks for sharing!
YUM! Can't wait to try these!
Heaven! It seems so deceiving that something with so few ingredients, no eggs, and grain free should be so darn good! LOVE! This will be one of the recipes i will feature for the Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger post!
I'm shocked that I could actually make 15 cookies, since I just stood in my kitchen nibbling on the dough. I, but more importantly my PMS, THANKS YOU!!! So delicious.
We're making these right now – so excited! You could also form them into balls and freeze and then eat them raw – right!? Oh YUM my mouth is watering.
Oh they are amazing frozen! Even better, dipped in chocolate!!!
Do you think these could be made with coconut flour? My daughter is allergic to almonds. Thanks! These look great!!
Just made these tonight – delish! It was soooo nice to find a recipe that was gluten-free, dairy-free, & egg-free, yet still tasted so good and was sooo easy to make! All I had was Bob's Red Mill almond flour, so that's what I used. It seemed to work ok, although a few cookies did look like perhaps they wanted to fall apart. Thanks for the easy, yummy, low-allergen recipe!
I found this recipe on Pinterest…. I made them yesterday…. they are sooooooo yummy! Thanks for posting. My Whole Foods only had the Bob's Redmill almond flour and they still turned out fabulously delicious!!
I would love to know if there is anohter FLOUR to use instead of the Almond…my child is allergic to nuts? Just starting out so not too sure about a replacement….any thoughts? Thanks!
The only thing you can sub for a nut flour really is another nut flour. Try searching for a coconut flour recipe. There are some good ones out there.
ooooh i love these fat choc chip cookies and they look so perfectly crumbly and gorgeous!
These are the best!! I now have something to go to when I need something sweet. I did add an egg to help with the binding since I only had Bob's flour, and I decreased the coconut oil down to 1/4 cup. These taste like their sugary sisters but with none the guilt!
These cookies have quickly (like 3 batches in 3 days quick) become my family's new favorite paleo cookie. Thank you so much! I made them with butter … mmm. I am avoiding buying chocolate chips for a little while now because I will be too tempted to make more! 🙂
these are great! ABOUT THE COOKIE SHEETS? Does the 2nd sheet go directly under the one with cookies, or in the bottom rack, under the rack with cookies? Great tip! Just want to make sure I understood- thanks!!!
Yep directly under the other cookie sheet. Just double up.
Wow – what a cookie! Definitely on my to-do and to-eat list this weekend.
I don't any coconut milk, could I just replace with regular milk?
These are great! I recommend doubling the batch right off the bat. I've been a little disappointed that they are so popular (no extras to bring home…) 😉
These are awesome! The dough tastes so good! Your instructions are long and intimidating, with all the explaination to warn about working with the dough, ect. But I found it easy to make and work with. They taste great right out of the oven or even out of the freezer! Thank you for this recipe!!!!!
Tried these tonight and they were a hit! I love everything we've ever made of yours! Thanks for sharing such fab recipes!!
I would like to say THANK YOU So much! 🙂 I made these tonight and they were amazing!
🙂 I put it up here.
http://kaleolani-kitchenwitch.blogspot.com/2012/08/sweet-mother-of-mercy.html
My husband, who rarely asks for sweet things sine going Paleo, asked me to make something sweet to snack in inbetween work outs at a day long competition. OMG…..these are possibly some of the best cookies I've ever made (and I made ALOT of cookies back in my grain eating days)! I even made another cc cookie recipe from another Paleo friendly cooking site right after I made a batch of these. They were good, but fell short compared to how awesome your recipe is. Thank you for sharing……..can't wait to try the bacon version next time!
"When cool enough, eat at least 4 of them before alerting others that they are finished. " You are so cute!
So thrilled to have found this recipe. Thanks so much. I made them last nite. I got about 20 cookies out of the recipe and I added finely shredded coconut b/c I'm a coconut freak. I also used Bob's RedMill Finely Ground Almond Meal/Flour. My oven needed about 14-15 min to cook the dough all the way through. Yum!
these are amazing!!!!
Hi this is the first time ever I write on a blog…. I just made these and they taste great. HOWEVER, do you know why they crumble? I can barely lift them off the cookie sheet. I followed everything like you said- the coconut oil was virgin organic – really dense. Is that why ?
I have never had them crumble and I can't say that I've encountered anyone else yet that has has this problem. My coconut oil is also extra virgin. The always turn out super moist and have never crumbled for me. Perhaps try again and make sure your measurements are right. Especially the almond flour. You want to scoop it up and run a knife over the top. Do not pack it in anyway. You also want to use a very fine ground almond flour. Brands like Bobs Redmill will make a coarse, dense cookie.
I am way too addicted to these cookies. As a sign of my addiction I just froze a can of coconut milk into 1Tb ice cubes!
Haha! Now THAT'S commitment!
Hi, on Paleo is it OK to eat evaporated cane juice, which is the #1 ingredient in the Enjoy Life semi sweet chocolate chips? are there any chocolate chip alternatives that are Paleo? any advice is welcome as I love chocolate but am having trouble finding some that is Paleo. Thanks, Allison
You will find that most Paleo people who are ok with eating a cookie on general use Enjoy Life. They are the most friendly brand out there. You can always make your own with cocoa butter, honey and cocoa if cane juice is not allowed on your diet. Sweets in general are hotly debated among Paleo groups.
These are TO DIE FOR delicious!!!!!!
Mmm…I just made a batch of these! I can see this is going to be problematic. They came out of the oven maybe 10 minutes ago, and I've eaten (tested) at least 5.
Does anyone know the nutritional info on these….and serving size?
Does anyone know the nutritional info on these….and serving size?
I know that it wouldn't be as good, but would there be any way to reduce or replace the oil? Consuming any sort of oil makes me break out, and I'd be willing to give up some of the taste if you could offer a suggestion! (I've heard applesauce can replace oils in recipes?)
–Kay
Try applesauc! I haven't yet but others have in some of my other recipes. Would love to hear the results!
I made these tonight and they are great! Even my hubby who doesn't usually like cookies (I know, weird) said they are delicious. Think I'll go get another right now…
Jenni, this cookie recipe has replaced my other favorite Paleo cookie recipe. Thanks for sharing. My non-Paleo aunt and cousin were visiting from Seattle and they went home with your recipe. These will definitely be on my Christmas cookie tray.
Just made these, love them!! Best grain free chocolate chip cookies I ever had!!
Has anyone tried using canned coconut cream? I get it from Trader Joes.
Any “liquid” will do. So if it is a hard coconut cream (like Tropical Traditions) then you need to add water. Otherwise what’s at the top of canned coconut milk is coconut cream. Or you can use almond milk, cashew milk, dairy milk, even water.
Hi, I tried making these cookies today following your recipe. However, the cookie flattened in the oven and I am not able to lift them up from the tray after bake. I weighed exactly 200g almond flour as you have indicated.