Paleo chocolate chip cookies that are gluten, grain and dairy free but taste just like the real thing! Just a small amount of easy ingredients and you can be eating these in minutes!
It’s been a week.
Like one of those that despite your best intentions, all you can eat think of is chocolate, dessert, pasta, cheese… Basically, all the bad stuff.
I blame the stupid weather which, according to weather.com, was supposed to be sunny and 60s every day when I checked on Sunday and then somehow ended up a cloudy, drizzly mess for 3 of those days.
My cousin just graduated with a degree in meteorology and took his first job which is accompanied by a disgustingly low salary. I now understand why. I’m convinced they all just sit around throwing darts at a selection of weather patterns and pick whichever one they hit for the forecast. (Chris- I’m kidding)
This is why I hate winter. It makes me crave bad things.
And before someone gets all sassy in the comments, no, I’m not calling cheese and pasta inherently bad, but when you crave copious amounts of each every day because it looks like armageddon outside, it’s not the healthiest choice.
I can usually hold myself off for the first half of the day but that 2-3pm blah time gets me.
Every. Single. Time.
It’s about the time I want a nap, lose all motivation to work and want to eat every single piece of chocolate and/or carby goodness in my house. This doesn’t happen in the summer.
Reason #345987456 why we should’ve never moved back to NY from Florida.
So since we have approximately 6 more months of this craptastic weather coming our way, I decided I needed a go to 2-3pm fix.
Requirements:
- Chocolate
- Tastes legit
- I can eat like 5 of them without feeling bad.
Let’s expand upon #2 for a second – when I say “tastes legit” I mean I don’t want some “health-ified” or “high protein-ified” version of a classic that uses prunes or dates or protein powder. Although, I’m kinda making fun of myself when I say that because these raw brownie bites fit that description but are SO delicious at the same time.
Guys- there’s some crazy ass shit out there in the form of “recipes” for stuff like that.
I just so happened to have picked about 5 of them for recent breakfasts. Wednesday’s ended up in a batter explosion and a black waffle with great flavor but the texture of an air puff. Um, wtf? Do people not taste their creations before posting for the world?
I digress.
I’m giving myself an A on this assignment.
These paleo chocolate chip cookies have chocolate chunks, legit chocolate chip cookie flavor and most importantly for me when it comes to a chocolate chip cookie, they have the soft gooey chocolate center. Soft batch cookies are where it’s at. Life’s too short for crispy, hard cookies, at least when it comes to chocolate chip.
Somehow they’re also miraculously dairy-free, grain-free and paleo.
Holla.
Also, I somehow only ate 3 straight out of the oven. So make that an A+ on this cookie assignment.
If you want to take these paleo chocolate chip cookies to the next level, check out these paleo bacon chocolate chip cookies!
Same recipe just with the addition of some crispy crumbled bacon to the batter for that delicious salty sweet combination.
Love these paleo chocolate chip cookies?
Try these other paleo cookie recipes like this Paleo Salted Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet <– so gooey and insanely delicious!, these Paleo Blueberry Thumbprints or these Paleo Blueberry Chocolate Macaroons.
And for something chocolaty but not in cookie form, paleo chocolate mousse never disappoints.
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond meal
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil, *update: make sure to measure oil after melting so that you’re not inadvertently using too much. This can cause cookies to flatten
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
- 1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate pieces Enjoy Life chocolate chips are a great option.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Whisk together wet ingredients in a small bowl.
- Add wet to dry and mix together.
- Fill a tablespoon measure with batter and press down to form a half-circle. Tap batter out onto baking sheet and lightly press down in the center. *Optional – freeze cookies on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before baking. This helps keep them from spreading.
- Bake for 10-11 minutes until bottoms just start to turn brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They will be soft when removed from oven but firm up in a couple of minutes.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I just made these for the 2nd time-they are so easy and absolutely delicious! Being a chocolate chip cookie junky, I REALLY appreciate your paleo version!!! Thank you so much!
I just made these yesterday and LOVE them. I used almond flour (rather than meal) and grapeseed oil (not paleo). They turned out delicious!! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! This recipe looks AH-MAZING! I need to make this pronto but I don’t have coconut oil. What else can I use in place of coconut oil but still have the right texture and taste?
Thanks!!
~Nancy
Hi Nancy- Honestly, I’m not sure as I’ve never made it with anything but coconut oil. You could try canola or melted butter but I can’t speak to those substitutions myself. Let me know how they turn out!
Oh my gosh…just made these cookies and like another person had said, literally took 5 min to whip up. They turned out sooo delicious!! Im actually stuffing the entire batch of them into my face as I type this on my phone! Thank you for such a great recipe! And PS…your post was just fine and I didn’t find if offensive at all (who likes shitty winter anyway??!) :)
Haha, thanks Laurie. So glad you liked the cookies!
Oops forgot to rate…I’d give more stars is I could
I make these at least once a week! They’re the best damn cookies I’ve ever eaten…I add cranberries and chopped walnuts with a pinch of cinnamon and they come out perfect everytime! BRAVO, thanks so much for the recipe :)
These were great forever looking for healthy alternatives. Just started following you very excited loving all your good recipes and trying them out to all my friends here in australia!!
These were so delicious! My 14 year old and 3 year old made these for me today because I’ve been so cranky lately (35 weeks pregnant on a no-carb diet makes for a cranky mama). They were so easy and so yummy, I ate all of them. The girls each got one, the rest were mine. We used almond flour and regular milk because that’s what we have on hand.
My husband and I own a pastry shop and we’re always looking for gf items to add to our menu. Would you mind if we use this recipe?
I tried these last night. You’re a genius! Thanks for introducing me to an AMAZING recipe!!
It’s freaking about time that I finally stumble upon a paleo recipe that doenst taste like compacted almond/coconut. I am I total agreeance… Taste your dang paleo recipes before posting!!! Almond and coconut flour, butter, nuts, shmuts… They’re all pricey, and id rather not keep “experimenting” at such a high cost. Let me save you all some money…. ALL paleo bread, no matter how tempting and scrumptious looking the recipe pic looks, it’ll suck. The pretzels suck, the “rustic”loaf sucks, paleo hamburger buns suck…. All of it. And, let me tell you, as a former bread addict, it’ll just make you miss bread more at each attempt to make it. Same goes for cookies with the exception of this here cookie. Compai to the cookie!