Think of these Almond Flour Cookies as a high protein and nutrition-packed version of classic chocolate chip cookies. Just as ooey, gooey, and soft, they’re easy to make and naturally gluten free!
Easy almond flour chocolate chip cookies
If you’re on the lookout for a “healthy” cookie that doesn’t actually taste healthy, you’ve come to the right place! These Almond Flour Cookies have all of the delectable flavors of gluten free chocolate chip cookies but are made with almond flour for added nutrition.
They’re simple, too. Gather the easy-to-find, grain free ingredients and mix them together in one bowl. After a quick trip in the oven, you’ll have a batch of gluten free cookies that taste just as scrumptious and ooey gooey as classic vegan chocolate chip cookies.
Why make these cookies with almond flour? Because it not only enhances them with sweet and nutty flavors, but also has a lower carb count (if for some reason you are looking for this, personally I don’t avoid carbs!) and boosts the protein. Try it once and you’ll be hooked! I use almond flour to enrich all kinds of baked goods, from brownies to pie crust.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Ground flaxseeds – Flaxseeds mixed with water transform into flax eggs, which mimic the binding effect of real eggs. If you don’t have flaxseed, use chia seeds instead or replace the seeds and water with applesauce.
- Water
- Vegan butter – Coconut oil works too.
- Brown sugar – The added molasses in brown sugar deepens the color and adds a vibrant toffee-like flavor to the cookies. Try coconut sugar, maple sugar, or monk fruit sweetener for a naturally sweetened option.
- Vanilla extract
- Non dairy milk – You can use any kind of non dairy milk you like. Stick with almond milk if you really love that nutty flavor.
- Almond flour – It’s pretty easy to find storebought almond flour nowadays. Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur are good brands or look for bags at Costco or Trader Joe’s. It’s also available online from Amazon. You can use almond meal if that’s all you have at home but the cookies will be darker in color and have a grittier texture.
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Chocolate chips – I like to use a chopped chocolate bar in these cookies but vegan chocolate chips work just as well. You could easily swap them for toffee bits, crushed nuts, or chopped peanut butter cups too!
- Coarse salt – A little flaky salt on top makes every bite pop!
How to make almond flour cookies
Find the instructions with measurements, temperatures, and bake times on the recipe card below.
Make the flax egg by stirring the ground flaxseeds and water together in a small bowl. Set aside and let the mixture thicken.
Begin making the cookie dough by creaming the vegan butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Pour in the milk, vanilla, and flax eggs, and mix well to combine. Add the almond flour, baking soda, and salt into the bowl and mix until everything just comes together.
Finish by gently folding in the chocolate. You can use either chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, I suggest using 70% dark chocolate. And check the ingredients to make sure there is no milk added, if you want them to be vegan.
Now it’s time to form the cookie dough balls. The dough will be wetter than most other cookie doughs, so scoop the balls of dough with a spoon instead of your hands. Drop them onto a prepared baking sheet, then bake until they’re golden around the edges and soft in the center.
Leave the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack. Sprinkle each one with a little flaky salt, then enjoy!
Storing and freezing
The baked cookies will stay fresh for about 3 to 4 days when kept in an airtight container at room temperature. You could store them in the fridge but this tends to dry them out quicker. They also freeze well for about 3 months.
Want to save some time? Freeze the cookie dough balls for later. Simply form the balls, place them on a lined baking sheet, and freeze until solid. Transfer them to a sealed container or ziplock bag, then bake right from frozen later on (just add an extra 3-5 minutes to the baking time).
Frequently asked questions
- Do you need to chill the cookie dough? Not for this recipe. Chilling the dough in the fridge can help solidify the butter and prevent the cookies from spreading in the oven, but these almond flour cookies won’t spread much. If you like extra thick and chewy cookies, feel free to chill the dough for 10 or 15 minutes before baking.
- Can they be made without sugar? Granulated sugar is important not only for flavor, but for the structure of the cookies as well. Feel free to replace the brown sugar with a less refined granulated sugar instead, such as coconut sugar, maple sugar, date sugar, and monk fruit sweetener.
- Why are my almond cookies dry? Sounds like there might be too much flour in the dough. The cookie dough should be quite wet, much more so than other doughs. If it’s too dry, add another 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk.
Want more vegan and gluten free desserts?
- Gluten Free Banana Bread
- Vegan Gluten Free Waffles
- Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins
- Easy Vanilla Gluten Free Cake
Almond Flour Cookies
Ingredients
Flax eggs
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 5 tablespoons water
The rest
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened or coconut oil
- 3/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons non dairy milk
- 3 cups fine almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups chopped chocolate OR chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the flax egg – Mix the ground flaxseeds and water in a small bowl, stir and set aside to thicken.
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer, or using a hand mixer, cream together the vegan butter and sugar. Now add the milk, vanilla and flax eggs and mix to combine.
- Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. The dough will be a bit wet, more so than usual cookie dough, so don’t roll with your hands. Scoop instead.
- Scoop tablespoon sized balls and place on the prepared pan. For super chocolatey tops like in the photos, place some more chopped chocolate on top of each ball of dough. Bake for 10-13 minutes until they are golden around the edges.
- Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe has been updated and changed to create a better cookie, but if you are looking for the old recipe with less oil and sugar, here it is: Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Other mix ins – Feel free to switch it up and fold in dried cranberries or blueberries, white chocolate chips, nuts, or any combination you like.
These look amazing! What brand of vanilla extract to you like?
I don’t use any specific brand of vanilla, but most often I probably use Trader Joe’s brand.
Everything that “Nora Cooks” is pure gold. These cookies are amazing!
Gosh, thank you Suzanne! I appreciate your wonderful review, and am thrilled you loved the cookies!
Very good! I have a gf daughter and a daughter with milk and egg allergies. These were very tasty and easy to make. Thanks for this recipe! It’s a keeper.
The taste is great, but mine crumbled and fell apart, even after chilling the dough. The only thing different is that I did not use parchment paper. Is that what went wrong?
Do you mean the dough crumbled and fell apart, or the cookies after they were baked? There is no instruction for chilling the dough, and chilling the dough in fact will make it crumbly and fall apart, so my guess is this is what happened. Don’t chill the dough, follow the recipe exactly for best results.
Ok these are phenomenal! I’ve shared with a few non-vegan people and they are in awe! Of course mine look nothing like the photo but maybe because I use chips and that is pieces of chocolate? I used coconut oil and the hint of coconut taste and chewy texture is just the best!! I think these would also be amazing with white chocolate and coconut flakes. I might try that next!
These cookies are amazing!! I made them for a friend who has a boatload of allergies. She loved them, and so did I (and everyone else who tasted them). I substituted chia seeds for the flax and it worked wonderfully. Added some roughly chopped toasted almonds which were perfect with the chocolate chunks! 10/10 will absolutely make them again.
Hi Vee. I’m so glad the cookies were a hit with your friend and everyone else! Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas and feedback!
If you used applesauce instead of flax or chia / How much applesauce would you use ?
Hi Pam. I have never tried this, however, I did receive a comment from someone who did. They used 1/4 cup applesauce + 1 tsp baking powder for an ‘egg substitute.’ Said they turned out well! Happy baking!
So… I did a few modifications: I subbed 1/2 cup of the almond flour with regular flour, I used coconut fat instead of the butter, and I added a handful of mini Dandies (in addition to several types of chopped artisan dark chocolate). I also used a smidge of almond extract. Anyway, I don’t know if it is because of my little Indian oven, but I had to bake them for a full 30 minutes to get them anywhere close to baked… but they are LEGIT!! Totally worth the wait!
So glad they worked out for you, Megan! Thank you for your wonderful review and feedback!
I asked a fellow parent for this recipe. I dearly love it. I used an egg instead of flax seed egg, also swerve instead of regular brown sugar. My granddaughter in her 3 yo attempt to help dump some bottled water in the mix which I quickly drained then stopped up more with a paper towel. It’s all good, no harm, no faul.
Hi Peg. I’m so glad you love the cookies! Thank for sharing your very cute story! How great that the cookies turned out wonderful! I appreciate your wonderful feedback and review!
I love this recipe! My boys do too! (6, 5 and 18 months)
I swapped two ingredients due to what I had on hand: olive oil instead of butter & coconut sugar instead of white sugar. They came out perfect!
I love your recipes Nora! Thank you for taking the time and energy to create such delectable recipes. My family and I make them all the time!
I’m so happy to hear that you and your boys love the cookies, Katie! Thank you so much for leaving such a wonderful review!
My family eats eggs, in this wonderful recipe: Vegan chocolate chip cookies, how many eggs would you use in place of the flax seed eggs.
Thank you
You’re doing great
Ani Cho
Thanks for your great feedback Cho! I think it would work with one egg. Let me know how that works for you!
I am confused as the ingredient list on shown has different ingredient amounts than the printed copy. The printed copy is missing the almond milk.
It looks the same to me? It might have taken a few minutes to update the printed version, but it looks correct now. Hope that helps!