Yesterday involved too much mac and cheese and a thunderous BOOM. The mac and cheese necessitated an afternoon nap on the couch and the explosion that rattled my apartment announced a raging gas fire right across the street.
Now, the morning after, Cookie and I are back on the couch, under a blanket, while news helicopters circle overhead. There are chocolate chip cookies calling my name from the coffee table, claiming that they can cure me of this insufferable writer’s block. Maybe I’ll have another.
These cookies have a lot going for them. For starters, they are absolutely delicious and everything that a chocolate chip cookie should be: chewy around the edges, soft in the middle, and full of rich chocolate and caramel-like flavors. They also happen to be gluten free, thanks to a simple combination of two flours (almond and coconut flours). They’re naturally sweetened with maple syrup, which lends a brown sugar-like sweetness. They’re eggless, too, which means that the recipe is easily made vegan. These cookies are about as healthy as cookies can be.
My friend Tessa introduced me to these cookies a few weeks ago. We were sipping wine and watching Magic Mike during girls’ night when she set them on her coffee table. I took one bite and knew I had to share the recipe with you all—mostly because they are so very tasty, but also because I know that many of you are on the hunt for gluten-free and naturally sweetened recipes. I don’t try to avoid gluten myself, but my friend Tessa has cured herself of debilitating migraines by following a gluten-free, low-sugar diet. Isn’t that wonderful? I’m so glad she’s found what works for her.
I’ve made three batches of these cookies since that night, and I have some baking notes to share. The original recipe calls for almond flour, but I used almond meal from Trader Joe’s all three times and each batch turned out great anyway. I found Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour in the baking section at the local health food store. Coconut flour is essential to this recipe because its high fiber content soaks up the extra moisture from the liquid sweetener, ensuring that the cookies don’t spread out too much on the pan (more on that later).
The cookies taste fantastic whether you use maple syrup or honey, but I think maple syrup tastes more like brown sugar and yields a more traditionally flavored cookie. I also tried using coconut oil instead of butter, which, as you might expect, produced a cookie with a more pronounced coconut flavor. I’m partial to the butter version. I’m not quite sure why, but the coconut oil cookies were thinner and seemed ever-so-slightly brittle the next day. Lastly, I chose to chop up dark chocolate instead of using chocolate chips, so maybe I shouldn’t call these chocolate chip cookies after all. Whether you choose chips or chunks or chop your own chocolate, just make sure it’s good quality.
As you can see here, my last batch puffed up quite a bit in the middle. My other batches spread out more during baking like traditional Tollhouse cookies. The cookies seem to spread out the most when you plop the just-mixed dough onto the baking sheet and bake right away. I think they spread out a little less if you give the coconut flour a few minutes to soak up some extra moisture, and they spread out the least if you let the dough chill in the refrigerator for ten or more minutes before baking. Can we crowdsource the matter? I always love to hear your feedback… and I’ve eaten a few too many cookies already.
Important! Before You Get Started…
The success of this recipe depends on your measurements. It’s critical that the almond flour and coconut flour are very firmly packed into the cups. If you measure them like regular flour, the recipe won’t contain enough of these flours, and it will flop.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Author:
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 11 mins
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Cookie
This gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe is naturally sweetened, and made with almond meal and coconut flour. These cookies remind me of classic Tollhouse cookies, but much healthier and easier to make—only one bowl required! Since this recipe is egg free, it is easily made vegan by substituting coconut oil for butter and using maple syrup instead of honey.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup firmly packed almond flour or almond meal (about 3 ounces or 100 grams)
- ¼ cup firmly packed coconut flour (about 1 ½ ounces or 43 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt (use ¼ teaspoon if using regular table salt or if you’re sensitive to salt)
- Dash cinnamon (optional)
- ½ cup butter or coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup real maple syrup (preferably grade B) or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter (or coconut oil), maple syrup (or honey) and vanilla extract, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate.
- Let the dough rest for 5 minutes in the refrigerator so the coconut flour can absorb some of the excess moisture (or let the dough chill in the fridge for 10+ minutes if you want fat cookies, like those shown here). Scoop dough, one tablespoon at a time, in mounds onto the baking sheet, leaving a couple inches around each cookie.
- Bake for about 11 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. The cookies will be fragile when they are warm but will firm up as they cool.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Gluten Free Fix.
Yields 24 small cookies.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Just use the coconut oil instead of the butter (to make it dairy free) and choose maple syrup as your natural sweetener instead of the honey (to make it vegan).
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Alyssa (Everyday Mav
These look really good Kate! How do they hold up the next day and did you have to store in the fridge or freezer?
I have been experimenting a lot with coconut flour lately and have been having mixed results with texture and storage.
EverydayMaven
Ugghh, it’s always my able to call you Kate but for the record, I know it’s Kathryn ;)
Kate
Good questions, Alyssa (and please feel free to call me by either name!). These cookis have held up great covered at room temperature. I haven’t noticed a change in texture, even a few days later.
EverydayMaven
Good to know!! I’ll have to try a batch :)
Ashlae
These are gorgeous, lady! Happy you and Cookie are safe and cozy – what a scare!
Oh, and cookies spread the least when chilled just before baking ;)
Kate
Thanks, Ashlae! The funny thing about these cookies is that I chilled both the second and third batch for ten minutes before baking, but the second batch spread out whereas the third did not. Maybe the third batch was extra chilled because I mixed it in my cold sunroom?
Ashlae W.
Hmm, did you let the dough from the third batch rest longer? I feel like my cookies spread less when the dough is well rested and thoroughly chilled. I’m going to try them when I get out of class tonight and I’ll let ya know!
Kate
Well, if I did, I didn’t mean to! Let me know if you get a chance to try them. I’d love to hear what you think of them.
Fawn at Cowen Park K
My almond-flour cookies never spread during baking either, though if eggs are included, they plump pleasantly.
Abby @ The Frosted V
I am drooling over these sweet babies! I love that different flours are used, I always like seeing how different baking ingredients turn out
Daniella Silver
These look great! I just made almond milk and was looking for ideas on what to do with the left over almond meal. I can’t wait to make this with my son tomorrow…since we will probably be snowed in :)
Natasha
SO happy about this recipe. I have been looking for an almond flour chocolate chip cookie. These look fantastic. And I love that they are sweetened with maple syrup. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kate
You’re welcome, Natasha! Hope you love the cookies.
dana
Oh yum! Will have to give these a try for my GF buddies : )
★★★★
Nicole
These look so tasty! I like the idea of the almond/coconut/chocolate flavors coming together. Grade B maple syrup is where it’s at :)
Grace
Wow these look dangerously good! I made a similar cookie (no almond) last weekend and thankfully took them to a potluck so I didn’t eat them all. I chopped up the coconut caramel dark chocolate bar from Trader Joes. I highly recommend trying that for your next batch of these. A little less healthy but SO good. I’m off to find some coconut flour..
ashleigh
I cannot wait to make these for two reasons. One, I am in the middle of trying to figure out what my three year old is allergic thus eliminating gluten. Two, I have had too many epic failures with coconut flour but your recipes are ALWAYS spot on and therefore I will try again. To top it off, the fact that I can eat the dough (no eggs) makes me giddy with excitement!
Kate
Thank you, Ashleigh! I hope these cookies meet your expectations—I think they will!
Laura
Welp. Guess I’ll be eating a pan of cookies for breakfast tomorrow. These just shot to the top of my list, Kathryne. So great!
Kate
Thanks, Laura! Do let me know if you try them. I just polished off the last batch (three in one sitting, oops) so I’m due to make another.
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
Scrumptious cookies! I love that chopping the chocolate guarantees chocolate in every bite!
Chris
These look delicious! I just started experimenting with almond meal. This past weekend I made something very similar but it also included unsweetened coconut. They were yummy but have gotten much harder in the few days since I made them. :(
I’m looking forward to trying these.
Kate
Hope you’ll give these cookies a try, Chris. I’ve kept them on a plate under saran wrap for several days without any obvious change in texture. I think you’ll like them!
Pam
These chocolate chip cookies sound yummy; definitely will give this recipe a try!
I read about the gas explosion…whew! So glad your building wasn’t involved; and, my thoughts are with those who were in the restaurant that was.
Kate
Thank you, Pam. The fire was a real tragedy, I’m just glad it wasn’t worse.
Stefanie
That fire was crazy!!! Luckily it didn’t spread to your building. After two batches of that amazing banana bread, which I think I am going to blog about if you don’t mind, I cannot wait to try these!!!
Kate
That fire could have been much worse. So tragic, though. If you post about the bread, that’d be awesome, but if you’re baking it without significant adaption, I’d prefer for the recipe to stay on my site. I’m sorry to be a stickler! Really glad you enjoy it so much.
Taylor
These look fantastic! I love healthier treats like this. I make a similar version, but I use peanut butter/almond butter as the fat source and oat flour/oats instead of coconut flour. You should try a PB version, they’re very good. I’ll have to try this recipe for sure though.
Kate
Your cookies sound so good, Taylor. I’ve been wanting to try making flourless peanut butter cookies! I think they only call for five ingredients.
Angela
Wow, you are one dedicated tester Kathryne! Gluten free isn’t a must for me, but naturally sweetened/low sugar definitely is. I’ll definitely be making this one! :)
Jess
These look fantastic, Kate. I am definitely a chopped chocolate girl, and they result in such beautiful cookies in this version. Can’t wait to try these – I always panic when baking for gluten-free friends. Glad to put these on the list!
Kate
Thanks, Jess! These cookies are GF but they sure don’t taste like it. Hope you and your friends enjoy them as much as my friends and I have!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.c
Deliciousness!! And you know what? I am yet to bake choc chip cookies for my blog! Wowser :)
Joanne
Mac and cheese coma…oh yes, I was there and did that last week!
Usually I’m turned off by gluten-free cookies because they have so many weird ingredients but I actually have everything here on hand! WIN.
Kate
I couldn’t keep my eyes open after that mac and cheese! Hope you try these cookies… they’re my favorite chocolate chip cookies, period.
Marcia
what is coconut flour and almond flour? Are they the same as just the ground nuts?
Kate
Great question, Marcia. Yes, the flours are just finely ground coconut and almond.
Alicia@ eco friendly
These look so delicious! I have a freiend that has to eat gluten free and I think she would love these.
Katie
These sound delicious! But my trip to the store today made me realize that if I ever have to go gluten-free, I’ll probably starve to death because everything on my shopping list to make these was sooooo expensive. Maybe some day I’ll get to try these..
Kate
I’m sorry, Katie. Honey would be less expensive than syrup, and I buy my almond meal and chocolate at Trader Joe’s at a reasonable price, if that helps anything. The coconut flour was around $7 but it’ll make more than a few batches of these cookies.
Alissa
Gluten free chocolate chip cookies + Magic Mike = heaven
Sylvie @ GitK
Gluten free and naturally sweetened, these are right up my alley!
Ashley
Okay. I adore the ice cream scoop shape of these!!! Not to mention they are gluten-free and full of every baking ingredient I love. WIN. :)
Kate
Thanks, Ashley! Hope you’ll try the cookies soon.
Jordan Little
These look awesome! I work with several vegans and these look like the perfect office treat. Thanks for posting!
Janet
Hey Kathryne! These look amazing. What do you think about using oat flour in place of almond flour/meal? My boyfriend is allergic to nuts. Of course, I could just make them with almond meal and not share with him! ;)
Kate
Hey Janet! So nice to hear from you. I haven’t tried with oat flour, but I asked about it on twitter and some people suggested that you would probably need to adjust the amount of sweetener to compensate for the difference (oat flour is more absorbent than almond flour, so it might need more liquid). I just finished off the last of this batch today and I think I’ll need to make more before I start experiencing withdrawals… I’ll try with oat flour and let you know how they turn out. Oh and I wouldn’t blame you if you kept them all to yourself (they’re that good), and please send my love to K!
Janet
Thanks so much Kathryne! I can’t wait to try them. Maybe I’ll make a “ladies batch” to share with K and the gals. ;)
Yosef - This America
I feel like GF has come a long way. My wife made awesome GF slider buns last night, and they were delicious!!
Kate
I agree, Yosef. I bet those slider buns were great. These cookies are my new favorite chocolate chip cookie, gluten free or not. They make me want to experiment more with gluten-free flours!
Laura
I live in Lawrence, KS – that explosion was all over the news!! Glad you are ok!! Also, those cookies look delicious, perfect for this crazy snow day.
Kate
It was quite a scene! I polished off three cookies on this snow day. Whoops.
Ana
I have an almond allergy. If I subbed oat flour instead of almond would it still work to use cocnut flour? Also, I was wondering if I added an egg if that would make them fluffier. Thanks!
Kate
Hi Ana, I’m sorry, I wish I knew how oat flour would work in this recipe. You would probably need to adjust the amount of sweetener to compensate for the difference (some followers on twitter suggested that oat flour is more absorbent, so it might need more liquid). I don’t think you need to add an egg just because I felt like the cookies were fluffy enough, but you could try. If you try the cookies with your substitutions, please let us know how they turn out!
sara
these look fantastic! I have yet to pick up coconut flour but have heard great things about it. and yes, sometimes it’s absorbent nature would come in handy. I am excited to try them!
Kate
Please let me know if you try them, Sara! They’re my new favorite cookies.
marissa @ the boot
this is SO great! i’ve been wanting to extend into gluten-free eating (maybe just a little) and this seems like a sweet place to start. i love all your notes and tips, they’re so helpful!
Kate
Thanks, Marissa! These cookies are definitely a great start. I actually prefer these cookies to regular chocolate chip cookies!
Alex @ Cookie Dough
These look great! I’ve wanted to try using almond meal since I saw it at Trader Joe’s. I bet the almond meal gives the cookies a great flavor!
Kate
I can’t say I pick up on almond flavor in these cookies, surprisingly, but I think I’ll try baking with almond flour more often now!
Elizabeth
Hi Kate, I’m so glad you’re OK! That’s WAY too close to home. And now snow? Good thing you have plenty of these gorgeous cookies on hand. I’m allergic to almonds, but I need to find a good substitue so I can try these. They look downright irresistible.
Kate
Thank you, Elizabeth. Please let me know if you find a good substitute. Some others have asked if oat flour would work, so I might give that a try soon. I’d hate for you to miss out on these cookies! So good.
Kelly
These look delicious! My daughter is allergic to tree nuts – can I substitute coconut flour for the almond flour? And if so, what is the substitution? Thank you!
Noi | Oh My Foodness
Kate, this stuff is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! I’ve just started making it and I could eat the batter up without baking it!!
★★★★★
Tessa
Already made two batches this weekend. I’m blaming the snow.
Kate
I just made these cookies but didn’t have any coconut flour so I rummaged through my cupboards and found quinoa and buckwheat flours. I first used about 1/2 cup of quinoa flour but the mixture was still rather liquidy even after sitting for ten minutes so I added about 1/3 cup buckwheat flour. (I didn’t want to use too much quinoa flour as it can be a little bitter.) It was still at the consistency I wanted so I added another 1/2 cup of buckwheat flakes. The cookies turned out great!
Kate
Sorry, that should read ‘it still wasn’t at the consistency I wanted’.
Kate
Kate, I’m so glad you made this recipe work with what you had on hand! Thank you for sharing your substitutions with us all.
Kasey
Glad you and Cookie are safe! Since I had Neko, I’ve been walking to the bakery near my house nearly every day to pick up a chocolate chip cookie..probably not the healthiest approach to ‘going on a walk’ but whatevs. I’d love to try your GF version sometime! xoxo
Claire
Hey there Kate! I couldn’t find coconut flour in my town but bought “finely shredded for baking” unsweetened coconut thinking that might work. I knew almond flour was just ground almonds. It’s this exactly actually: http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Do-Organic-Reduced-Shredded/dp/B000F4D5I0
However my cookies spread like crazy! They looked like crisps, definitely not cookies. Before I go sinking money into a bulk amount of coconut flour online, do you think that was the problem? The coconut? (I used coconut oil, not butter, if that makes any difference.)
Any guidance would be appreciated. I’m looking for a good gluten-free, lactose-free cookie to serve at my wedding so that everyone will be able to have something sweet. I’m keeping my fingers crossed this one will fit the bill! :) Thanks!
Claire
My job has me travelin from day to day, and guess what, I just found coconut flour on my lunch break! I will report back with findings!
Kate
That’s great, Claire! I bet the coconut flour will make a big difference. You might let the dough chill for a few minutes in the fridge before baking, too. That will reduce the spreading.
Claire
update! The coconut flour certainly helped with the spreading. No amount of chilling will compensate for a lack thereof. However, my cookies still didn’t look as beautiful as kate’s perfect-almost-macaroon-like-mounds. Perhaps because I used coconut oil. Nevertheless, I’m classifing the recipe a keeper!
P.S. Can I just say how totally stoked I am Kate replied to my comment? 11 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Kate
Thanks for the updates, Claire! I’m glad the coconut flour helped. I’m going to have to try the cookies with coconut oil again. They spread more than my butter cookies, but I thought that was because I made the cookies bigger and didn’t give them any time to soak up the moisture. Maybe it’s the oil!
Brit
My husband made these cookies this past weekend and they really are amazing. Ever since going dairy-free, desserts have been a struggle for me. These most definitely did the trick!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Brit! I’m so glad to hear it.
eileen ragan | leane
Welp, this just made my day. Will be making as soon as I’m back in my kitchen. Nothing (NOTHING) beats homemade chocolate chip cookies, and I’ve yet to test my GF baking skills on the most classic of cookies.
Thanks for sharing!
Elise
These are supremely exceptional! i made them two days ago and my roommates and i have officially finished them off. I think i even dreamt about them last night haha!
thanks kate!
Kate
That’s awesome, Elise! Can’t blame you for dreaming about these cookies. I’m daydreaming about my next batch right now!
Minimally Invasive
What?! INSANELY good. Complete sentence? Feh!
All of my previous attempts to bake with coconut flour left me disappointed in one way or another, but this cookie has redeemed it for me. Thank you for posting!
Kate
Hooray! Glad to hear that your cookies turned out well, Amy. Thanks for commenting.
Sheena
I tried this recipe twice. The first time I thought, “how important could coconut flour be?” because I couldn’t find it at my local Whole Foods. And then I thought, “oat flour is pretty absorbent, so I added 1/2 a cup of that instead. My first batch could not be described as cookies, and just spread out to coat the bottom of my cookie sheet. So I added a lot more oat flour, and the second batch looked like cookies, but didn’t really have a cookie texture.
Today I thought I would try again, this time with coconut flour. But unable to find it again, I settled for buying shredded coconut and grinding it in my magic bullet. Upon using 1/4 of ground coconut and waiting half an hour, I knew the mixture was still too wet. So I added 1/4 more ground coconut and waited again. It looked better so I tried a couple test cookies. They were flat just like my last first batch. So I ground and added more coconut. About 2/3 of a cup more was added, and I waited and chilled the dough this time. Two more test cookies went in the oven for 5 minutes, with the same flat result.
I finally gave in and added a bunch of whole wheat pastry flour, and got normal cookies.
I can’t eat much flour or sugar, so I was excited about an almond based, naturally sweetened cookie, but I no longer think it is possible.
★
Kate
Sheena, I’m so sorry the recipe isn’t working for you. I’d hate for those good ingredients to go to waste. Based on your comment and some others, it sounds like coconut flour is absolutely essential to the recipe. I’m surprised that your Whole Foods doesn’t carry coconut flour, as I saw it at a regular grocery store the other day. I’ve been using Bob’s Red Mill brand with a pale yellow label, if that helps you spot it.
(Another) Kate
Hi, just to comment again since I absolutely loved these cookies and will make them again today, as I try to avoid gluten as much as possible. In my version of the recipe, I used a mix of quinoa and buckwheat flours/flakes–all of which should be obtainable–to substitute coconut flour. I saw in the pics above that the dough should be quite thick so I kept adding stuff until I got the desired consistency. To sum up what I mentioned before, instead of coconut flour, I used (approximately):
– 1/2 cup of quinoa flour
– 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
– 1/2 cup buckwheat flakes
You can probably play around with the buckwheat flour/flakes proportions but I wouldn’t add too much quinoa as it can be a bit bitter, at least in my opinion. Good luck and thanks again to the blog owner Kate for sharing the original recipe! :)
Kate
Kate, thank you so much for providing these details. I’m sure they will be helpful to other gluten-free bakers out there!
melanie
Do you think flax flour would be good in this recipe too? I am trying to find recipes to use it in.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s a good question, Melanie, but I’m afraid I don’t know the answer. You could maybe try replacing a bit of the almond meal with flax, but the coconut flour is essential, I know that much. Please let us know if you try.
Rikke
Uhm….YUM YUM YUM! So baking these this weekend. I am always on the hunt for gluten free recipes, so this is perfect, as it seems like a lot of people wouldn’t notice the difference.
I am a bit unsure about ‘coconut flour’ though. I assume its not like the shredded bits you get in normal supermarkets. Could I just use those, but grounded in a coffee grinder?
Kate
Hi Rikke! Great question. I think another commenter tried to make coconut flour but she didn’t have any luck. I’m afraid it might turn into coconut butter in your grinder. I’m sorry! I’ve found it at regular grocery stores here, but I’m not sure about its availability in Denmark. Good luck.
Megan D
Holy crap these are awesome!!!!!
I did the coconut oil, maple syrup version (let the dough fridge for a bit, didn’t spread too much) and they are so much more than a regular CCC! It has so much flavor and a great texture. All without grains or butter or eggs????
Thank you so much for this Kate! Please post more vegan/naturally sweetened/grain free recipes!
PS If you’re chopping your chocolate make sure to do it small. My cookies were like bits of dough seperated by chocolate chunks…not that that’s a bad thing :D
Kate
Thanks, Megan. I love it when comments start with “Holy crap these are awesome!!!!!” :D Glad you like them.
Heather
Hi Kate, can you confirm the butter measure – 1/2 cup butter melted, or 1/2 cup melted butter? I am not getting anything remotely like cookies after setting near 30mins in the fridge. It all flattens out to one big buttery piece of…. well, it’s tasty whatever you’d call it! I don’t know if the problem is with high altitude, butter mis-measure, or if I didnt pack the flours tight enough. Any idea what the flours would measure if weighed? That would be a great addition to the recipes. Regardless, stuff be tasty so I made a cookie roll and sliced it!
Kate
Hi Heather, I’m sorry you’re having trouble. I think 1/2 cup butter melted or 1/2 cup melted butter should be equivalent. I used 1 stick of butter, melted. I don’t have a scale to measure the flour, but the flour should really be packed in the measuring cups. You are using coconut flour, correct? You might try mixing in some more of that, as it is very absorbent.
Gina
I have a recipe for paleo chocolate chip cookies that is almost identical to this so I can attest to their deliciousness. I don’t even prefer the “real” ones over them!
Ulrica Wihlborg
I’m so grateful I found this recipe and your beautiful site! I’ve been searching for a gluten-free, vegan, no-refined-sugars chocolate chip cookie recipe for months and one of my Facebook friends posted this out of the blue. I’m trying to limit my three little kids’ exposure to dairy and refined sugars (and I’m a vegan), and these cookies were a huge hit with everyone including my husband. Thank you!! I’m making them again today for the third time in two weeks :) xo
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Ulrica! I’m so pleased you all enjoyed the recipe. I think it’s about time I made another batch myself. :)
lauryn
These look super delicious! I have had some almond flour in the cupboard for a little while now and now I know exactly what to do with it. I had not found a recipe I wanted to use it in until now. Can’t wait to try it!
★★★★
Amanda
These are seriously wonderful! My picky eaters love them. We’ve made them several times. More times than I should mention. Thank you!
Kate
Thank you, Amanda!
Hollie
I made and reviewed these tonight, they are AMAZING! So delicious, and only two kinds of flours, thank you so much! Our whole family loved them, and I can’t wait to tweak them (I’m thinking maybe some almond extract instead of vanilla? Maybe some ground chia or flax in there somehow?) Just a HUGE thanks! We will be making these for years.
My review is here: www.saltwaterblog.com/gfcccookies
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you and your family are enjoying the cookie, Hollie. Thank you for the wonderful review!
Justeen
I had a VERY hard time controlling myself around these cookies! Especially when they were warm from the oven. I made the with coconut oil and a mixture of honey and maple syrup, and they were fantastic!!
Kate
Glad you enjoyed the cookies, Justeen! Thanks for commenting. Using a combination of honey and maple syrup seems like a very good idea.
Abby W.
I loved the flavor of these cookies, but found that they never quite firmed up, even when I followed the recipe as stated and popped the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes. They wouldn’t hold their shape when I picked them up – cooled or hot – and just seemed to crumble. Did you have this issue?
Kate
I’m sorry you’re having trouble, Abby. I’ve never encountered that issue. The coconut flour should absorb the extra moisture (it sounds like your cookies are too moist). Are you using store-bought coconut flour and really packing the measuring cup with it?
Athomeattorney
Wow! A cookie without eggs, refined sugar, or gluten, could it really be true? Can’t wait to try, we will sub in cacao nibs for the chocolate. Hope it works!
Athomeattorney
Great cookie…loved having a treat. We did 1/4 cup maple syrup and seven drops of stevia and they were plenty sweet. We loved the dough almost better than the cookies and since it was egg free we could eat it to our hearts’ content. :)
Thanks for te great recipe!
Stephanie
I just made these and they are absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly (super easy!) except I added an egg. I normally like really fluffy, soft cookies and they turned out beautifully. I also used the Enjoy Life brand of dairy free chocolate chips. I will definitely make these again! Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Stephanie! I’m glad you’re enjoying the cookies!
Bailey
Hi Kate!
I made these cookies last night, they are amazing! Thank you for making a gf chocolate chip cookie!!
XO
Kate
Thank you for commenting, Bailey! I’m so glad you like them. I’ve been craving them lately. Might have to make another batch before the day is up!
Sara
Hi Kate,
I was very excited to make the cookies for my grandkids who are Gluten free. I tripled the recipe
and added a bit cocoa powder and chopped up walnuts. They spread out very badly and it has a bitter after taste. I’m very disappointed. I like to add eggs, but I don’t know how many.
In your recipe it says 1/4 coconut flour, I hope it’s a 1/4 of a CUP… wasn’t sure but it didn’t say.
I hope to hear from you soon before my remake.
Thank you
Kate
Sara, I’m so sorry the cookies didn’t turn out well for you. I hate for you to be disappointed. I have made multiple batches of these cookies and haven’t run into the issues that you experienced, so I’m not quite sure what to suggest. I suspect that if the cookies spread out too much, then maybe there wasn’t enough coconut flour in your batter. Both the coconut oil and almond meal should be packed as much as possible in your measuring cups. (And yes, you’re right about the coconut flour, it should be 1/4 cup and I have corrected the mistake.) Lastly, did you let the batter rest for five to ten minutes before baking? The resting time gives the coconut flour time to soak up the extra moisture. As for the bitter flavor, I’m really not sure where that came from. Maybe from the cocoa powder or walnuts? I hope you’ll give the cookies another chance, maybe just one batch to be safe.
Margarita
kathryne, i just made a batch of these. they taste great but definitely did not come out fat and rounded like yours. mine are flat as disks and brittle. i used coconut oil and refrigerated the cookie dough balls for 10 minutes prior to baking. i think i kinda have an idea what went wrong. i have a feeling that i used too much coconut oil. when you say, 1/2 cup melted, did you measure the coconut oil in its solid form or liquid form? i did 1/2 cup melted coconut oil. if i measured it 1/2 cup solid and then melted it, i might have had less than 1/2 cup of it melted. please let me know… i will make these again coz they are so freakin’ good even if they didn’t come out well on my first try.
for the record though, these are incredibly delicious… even though mine came out flat, they are still chewy and good!
Kate
Margarita, I’m sorry I didn’t answer sooner! I have used 1/2 cup melted coconut oil and the cookies were more flat/brittle than the butter ones but still very good. Did you pack the measuring cups to the max with the almond flour and coconut flour? The cookies could be flatter if you didn’t use quite enough coconut flour. I do prefer the taste and texture of the cookies with butter so you might like using butter better!
Margarita
i patted the flours in instead of super packing. so, packing flours to the max next time for sure! also, i will try butter next time although i have to say, coconut oil was really good too.
once again though, they were still super good even if they didn’t come out fat and puffy. thank you for the response!
Kate
Thanks, Margarita. Please do let me know if super packing the flours makes the difference for you next time.
Katie
Hi Kate! I made these last night and they came out really great!! I made 4 separate batches for a party and everyone loved them (and were shocked they were GF!). But I had some mishaps along the way, so here are my observations:
* When adding the wet to the dry, do it in stages. I added the (at room temperature) melted butter first, mixed gently, then waited until it was absorbed by the coconut flour (should look like a paste). Then I added the maple syrup and waited again to absorb. Then added the vanilla, wait, then chocolate chips.
* Chilling the dough for a minimum of 10 min is essential. Longer the better. My first two batches were flat disks, whereas the later batches came out as nice plump cookies because they were chilled longer. It was a warm day yesterday, so the dough probably needed to be chilled longer.
* Bake on a parchment paper because the cookies were so soft and brittle in the oven, any disturbance made them fall apart. So when cooling the cookies, “slide” the parchment paper onto a cookie rack. Once cooled, the cookies were crispy on the outside with a soft center….HEAVEN!!!
* My cookies came out really dark brown almost burnt looking. I use a Japanese microwave oven and not a proper oven. (I live in Japan, where western ovens are scarce) So my microwave probably affected the cookie color some how. But the taste and texture wasn’t affected at all. They just don’t look as pretty. So not sure how to fix that. :P
Thank you for the recipe! Definitely will make these again, and maybe try using coconut oil. :)
Kate
Hi Katie, thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it. I haven’t made these cookies on a warm day yet, but I can see why they would need more chilling time. I added your suggestion about the cooling rack to my instructions (I’ve done that but I forgot to add those details to the recipe!). I’m not sure why your cookies turned out darker, unless maybe you used honey instead of maple syrup? I have heard that honey browns more easily in the oven but I’ve yet to witness it.
Lindsey
I just made these cookies! They are delicious. My husband, 16 month old son and I devoured them! I love how easy they were to prepare too. Thank you for posting such a great recipe!
Kate
Thank you, Lindsey! I’m so glad the three of you enjoyed the cookies. :)
Hillary
These were delicious! My husband exclaimed that they were even more delicious than “regular” chocolate chip cookies :) I used coconut oil, cut the maple syrup chips in half and used 80% cocoa chocolate chips. Perfect. Thank you!!
Kate
Thanks, Hillary! I’m so glad you two enjoyed the cookies. I prefer them to “regular” chocolate chip cookies, too.
Lena
I had the same problem as many my first time around, which was that the cookies came out deflated and fell apart even after I let them cool. For my second batch, I let the dough chill for about an hour and I doled them out in teaspoon sized-scoops as opposed to tablespoon-sized scoops (I figured that the smaller the surface area, the less chances they had of crumbling). The result was a delicious, picturesque batch of gluten-free delight.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Kate
Hey Lena, thank you for your feedback. I’m still scratching my head at why your cookies were falling apart. Do you mind telling me if you used coconut oil or butter? I find that the cookies are a little more delicate when I use coconut oil, but they still stick together. And are you packing the almond flour/meal and coconut flour to the max? That’s important.
Lena
Hey Kate,
I used butter for the oil and maple syrup for the sugar. Maybe I was impatient and didn’t let the first batch cool as long as they needed to? Not sure. I thought I packed the flours pretty tightly but maybe not.
Kate
Thank you for getting back to me, Lena. I’m not sure what went wrong, other than perhaps not packing the cups tightly enough? I think that the ratio of coconut flour to almond meal is really important.
Kathy
Thank you for this recipe! I have made these nearly once a week since I found it! These are delicious, easy, and healthy! Thanks so much!
Kate
Kathy, I’m so glad you love the cookies so much! Thanks for letting me know! I just might have to a bake a batch today. :)
Auntie Angela
I love these cookies!! I used butter for the oil and honey for the sweetener. They turned out best when I chilled the dough a bit, rolled it into balls and then put it in the freezer for a while. I baked them until just lightly browned on top. My whole family loves them! I also used the dough (uncooked) in homemade cookie dough ice cream. Yum! Thanks for sharing this.
Kate
So glad you enjoy the cookies, Angela! Thanks for sharing your notes with us!
Jayme
First off I wanted to say that these cookies were amazing! Possibly even better than regular chocolate chip cookies I’ve had. I did everything as written and my cookies came out very soft, they fell apart but were still absolutely delicious. I tried putting them back in the oven and baking them longer but after an additional 10 mins they were still soft. Should I let the dough sit longer than 10mins? Or bake at a higher temperature?
★★★★
Kate
Hey Jayme! I’m glad you loved the flavor. I’m sorry they fell apart, though! I have heard of that happening to others but I have never been able to isolate the exact cause. Be sure you really, really pack the measuring cups with flour to get the right ratio of almond to coconut. Maybe chilling the dough longer would help, too. I bet mixing in an egg would help bind them if nothing else works. Please let me know if you figure it out!
Carol
Kate, Thanks so much for all of this wonderful information. I have a question for you. I make my Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour and Coconut Oil and they come out of the oven nice and crisp. After a few hours they become limp and glob together. Do you have any ideas on how I can fix this? Thanks, Carol
★★★★★
Kate
Carol, I’m sorry that happened! I’m not sure what to suggest. Coconut oil seems to be a little finicky in this recipe. Definitely make sure the cookies have cooled completely before storing. Here are some more tips I found on the subject.
Yosha
These were fantastic! Exactly as your pictures showed! I may have come downstairs at midnight to snack on a few more, not that I am admitting to anything. I made the first batch with coconut oil I am curious to try them with butter. Thanks for the recipe.
Cheers!
Kate
Yosha, I’m so glad you love the cookies! If you think they are great with coconut oil… try butter! Even better. :)
Lauren
Very excited to have tried these! Trouble is, I didn’t have chocolate in the house, so I made an apple compote to toss in the dough and they were awesome!! Chinese class loved them! Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★
Kate
Lauren, I love that idea! Apple compote cookies might be my next baking experiment. Thank you for sharing!
kiya
Just made these last night, they’re even better today than yesterday.
These are hands down the best gluten-free cookies i’ve had yet!
Kate
Hooray! I’m so glad you love the cookies, Kiya. Thank you for commenting!
Barb H
Just tried these-and they were fabulous!
I substituted 1/2 cup almond butter for the butter, and raw cacao nibs for the chocolate chips.
Chilled for 10 minutes, and I thought they were perfect.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Barb! I want to try your version. Sounds delicious.
Therese
these cookies are fantastic. I add a little less maple syrup, it is completely sweet enough with the chocolate chips. Sometimes I add also nuts. These are a keeper. Thanks
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Therese! Glad you like the cookies!
Kelsey
HEy! i made a triple batch of these… all i can taste is baking soda :( i used a teaspoon per batch …im guessing this didn’t happen when you made them?
Kate
Uh oh, I’m sorry that happened, Kelsey! Are you sure you didn’t use baking powder on accident? Baking soda just tastes salty to me. My friends and I make these cookies all the time and they’ve never tasted funny like that. :(
Spencer @ Moo-Lolly-Bar
Looks like a delicious recipe and doesn’t seem all that difficult to make. I love a good chocolate chip cookie so might have to recreate this recipe of yours.
★★★★★
Skylar
Hi, I’m interested in making these, but I haven’t had much luck baking with coconut oil in the past. So, I was wondering if it will still turn out good with these kinds of flour if I substitute margarine for the butter?
Thanks!
Kate
Hey Skylar, margarine would probably be fine. I’ve tried butter and coconut oil and they turned out best with butter. I avoid margarine myself because it’s highly processed.
Gayatri
Hey Kate! These cookies look awesome :) I’ve been wanting to make a vegan, GF chocolate chip cookie for a friend and I did a bit more research on the oil vs butter thing. I think you may have found the cookies thinner because if you use a liquid sweetener with oil, you land up with thinner cookies. Do you think that’s true? I might actually experience the same thing if I make these vegan!
Kate
Interesting. Maybe that’s why! I’ve heard that it’s best to reduce the amount of coconut oil if you’re doing a straight sub for butter, so maybe there was just too much oil in the coconut oil version. Not sure!
Lisa
Amazing !!!
Wow, everyone should make these, they are so delicious. They have a delicate, crispy, buttery texture that is truly irresistible. A wonderful recipe – I used almost all organic ingredients and sugar instead of maple s. or honey-just doubled the recipe and added 1/4 cup less sugar than called for.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Lisa! So glad you enjoyed the cookies.
Cari
Going to make these now but had a question… should you always pack down coconut and almond flour? Thank you!
Cari
My cookies did not turn out like your photo but they sure are yummy! I used butter, maple syrup, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and refrigerated for 10 minutes before baking. They spread quite a bit. And even after cooling they fall apart very easily. Will be trying this recipe again!
Kate
Cari, I’m sorry they didn’t turn out great! Did you pack the coconut flour very firmly into your cups? Coconut flour soaks up all the excess moisture, so if you didn’t use quite enough, that would probably explain why your cookies spread.
Cari
I did pack down the flours. Could you tell me how many grams are needed for the coconut and almond flour? I’ll use my scale the next time I make them. Thanks!
Kate
Yes, I think so! I know so with almond flour. One cup of almond flour should be 4 ounces. If you treat it like regular flour and use the spoon and swoop method, you’ll only end up with about 2.5 ounces. I learned this the hard way. :)
Kate
Hi Cari, I just pulled out my scale and updated the recipe with weight measurements. Please let me know how your next batch turns out!
Lee
Was skeptical of a recipe without eggs or substitutes, but these turned out great. Followed the recipe close except used half butter and half coconut oil, half a cup rather than a cup of choc chips. Also, I weighed the flour as I think that makes a difference. Nearly forgot about putting dough in the fridge so as oven was heating I put the sheet of cookies in the freezer for about 8 minutes and then baked for 12 minutes. Using a tablespoon to drop the cookies onto the cookie sheet I got 16 average cookies. Very good. Recipe now lives in my Pinterest recipe box until the next time. Thanks for posting.
Would be helpful if your comment box was at the beginning of the comments rather than have to scroll through all the previous comments.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Lee! I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies. I tried placing the comments box on top once before—I’ll give it some more thought!
Cassandra
These are my GO TO cookies! I am making them for the holidays as proof to my family that healthy can also be delicious! Thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
Awesome! Thank you, Cassandra!
GG
I thought I would be clever and warm up my honey a little bit to help it mix in, so when I added the chocolate chips they partly melted leaving the mixture a rich chocolate brown color in addition to the chips. Bonus!
The only problem I had is that they spread a little more than I planned during the baking which left me with a sheet of vaguely square conjoined cookies…more like a thin brownie really, still terribly delicious. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Kate
Hey GG! Those chocolatey cookies sound great to me. I’m sorry your cookies spread out while they were cooking. Next time, be sure to really pack that coconut flour into the measuring cups and let the dough chill in the fridge—the coconut flour absorbs excess moisture.
Colleen
These are awesome! My 2.5 year old who is GF loved them! I used coconut oil because I am a huge coconut flavor fan and they taste amazing! Chocolate and coconut is a win- win in my book.
★★★★★
Kate
Hooray! Thanks, Colleen. So glad the cookies turned out great for you.
Sara
Hi Kate! Thank you for posting this recipe, I love it. I made some tiny changes, only because I was worried when I saw the liquid mix –I was worried it wasn’t going to come together… I added three tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of cocoa. (I know this means they now have gluten –which might not work for everyone). I also only had four ounces of chocolate, so I added two ounces of cocoa nibs. It made it nice with a crunch. I made two batches, one with butter and one with red palm oil. I was going to use coconut oil but Trader Jos was out. Now, I have never used red palm oil –this one is harvested and sourced ethically and sustainably without harming habitats which is why I bought it. I definitely like the butter batch better. It turns out (I wish it said it somewhere on the packaging) red palm oil has a strong smoky ungraceful aftertaste. The butter one, however, was absolutely delightful. I followed your suggestion and let the mix rest in the fridge for 10 minutes. I then scooped cookies out on a tray but didn’t have time to bake them so I froze them for a few hours. When I baked them they came out pillowy and puffy and definitely thick in the middle, all of which I like very much. Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s delightful.
★★★★★
Kate
Thanks, Sara! I just saw that palm oil at Trader Joe’s and I was curious about the taste. Very interesting. Glad the cookies turned out well for you!
Dawn
These cookies were delicious!!! We recently started eating real food. With a 3 year old in the house he was begging for chocolate chip cookies. So many have honey which we are not great fans of yet. These are soooo easy and taste Devine, thank you. We will be trying more of your recipes in the days to come!!
Kate
Dawn, so glad you all enjoyed my cookie recipe! Glad to hear it!
Mary
About 1 1/2 years ago, I started changing my eating habits. These cookies helped and continue to help keep me on a healthier diet. My two cents worth.. I use regular salt because my sea salt tasted too salty. I use organic, raw honey but less than suggested. I add walnuts because I like nuts:) I use more vanilla because I like vanilla:) Thanks so much for the recipe. I was also interested in it because of migraines and your friend’s story of changing her diet.
★★★★★
Kate
Congratulations on your healthier diet, Mary! So glad you’re enjoying the cookies. My friend’s gluten-free diet has worked wonders for her. She has a gluten-free baking blog now at saltedplains.com!
Mary
Thank you. I’ll look it up.
Marina Colerato
I wasn’t luck with these ones. They spread so much they became a giant cook in the tray, even tough I let cool in the fridge for more than 10 min. Maybe too much coconut oil? But they still taste very good. I will try less coconut oil and a little bit more of coconut flour, lets see…
Kate
Marina, I’m so sorry to hear that! These cookies can be a little fickle, for reasons I haven’t quite deciphered. I bet you didn’t have quite enough coconut flour in there to soak up the excess moisture. Please let me know how your next batch turns out!
Rebecca
I make these all the time. These are, by far, the BEST gluten free chocolate chip cookies ever! I’ve tried a lot, and these are king! Thank you for figuring everything out just right!
★★★★★
celine
when i was mixing the flours and liquids together and slowly adding the 1/2 cup of coconut oil it just seemed like a crazy amount because of how oily the dough was already looking so i only added 1/4cup. I wonder if your oil measurement is off and you meant 1/2 cup solid coconut oil (not melted). Overall these cookies came out ok. Consistency like sand.
Angelica
Found these cookies when doing a search for “almond meal coconut flour cookies” because those are the gluten-free ingredients I had on hand. Made them with butter and they are so delicious! I baked for a minute longer because I like a crunchy cookie. Definitely a remake. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
Glad to hear it! Thanks, Angelica!
Sarah
Made these last night. Flavor was good but:
1) waaay too much salt in this recipe. 1/4 tsp would have been more than enough
2) cooking time too long – they got too dark
3) came out extremely crumbly and fell apart, even after chilling the dough in the fridge and leaving them out to cool without touching for quite a while
You’re onto something but the recipe needs perfecting.
Aside from that, love your blog :)))
Kate
I’m sorry to hear that, Sarah. Did you use salted butter and a dark baking pan? Those could explain points one and two. I’m not sure why they were crumbly! I’ve made these on multiple occasions and they’ve never fallen apart on me like that. :(
Audrey
Hi Kate! Would it be possible to use spelt flour instead of both flours
? Or use oats instead of the coconut flour? Thank you!!
Kate
Hi Audrey! I’m afraid that neither of those options will work well here, because the coconut flour absorbs so much more liquid than those will. Your might like these cookies, which are made with oat flour (you can make it yourself in a blender/food processor!).
Sherlani
At last, a cookie that delivers!! Thank you Kate for such a great and easy recipe. I made your recipe yesterday and I can’t believe how good the cookies are. They are very much like Toll House cookies : ) The tip on putting the dough in the fridge might work for all almond / coconut flour recipes, it really made the difference and gave the cookies their fluff. After several successful and failed baking trials, it’s a delight to have such great results! Thanks again!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Sherlani! So glad to hear these worked for you!
Liz
These are seriously good and super simple to make. I love that they don’t use any white sugar and I can feel good about having a little treat. My husband was very impressed with these ones! Thank you very much!
★★★★★
Nancy
This recipe is great! I just made my 3rd batch. I bake for 13 minutes and then add 3 more on convection. They are firm, but not hard, they only last about 2-3 days at our house and the texture doesn’t change during that time. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! My favorite GF cookies!
★★★★★
Grace
Hi Kate, I’m just wondering, do you have to use almond flour or would it work with gluten-free flour?
Gracie
I’m wondering that too. I have a gluten-free all purpose flour and I’m wondering if I could sub that with almond flour but keep the coconut flour.
Kate
Hi Grace and Gracie, I’m really not sure, and I’m not sure it’s worth trying. Nut flours behave differently, and I’m not sure just how much GF flour you would need to use as replacement.
Gracie
Okay, thank you for responding.
Grace
Oh, okay. Thank you!
Pat
If I wanted to add peanut butter to these, how would you suggest I do that? thanks!
★★★★
Sarah
I made these! I liked the cakiness texture. However, next time I would cut back on the baking soda and salt.
★★