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.
These are soooooooo awesome!!!! I let them sit after mixing the ingredients together before baking them. Mine turned out very flat, but unbelieveably GREAT!!! I added pecans to one batch and walnuts to a second batch. YUM!!! P.S. I tried a different recipe with coconut flour and had a taste test with a friend. Your recipe won hands down!
I just have to say your intro to this recipe is what made me read on….
I love that you are real and you speak what a lot of people are feeling. The winter blues are upon us and I know that I tend to struggle during this time. To read that you are dealing with the same thing and that cookies save the day made me feel normal again. Love the recipe and love that I can indulge without the guilt this January. :)
Is there anything else we can use in lieu of Honey??
I’m doing Keto (High Fat Low Car No Sugar) and I can’t have honey.
Does it need to be a sticky liquid sweet? (I’m thinking for consistency) Or can it be an alternate sweet of choice?
I haven’t tried it with something other than honey and I’m not sure what your diet allows but just from the title of it saying “no sugar” I’m not sure what you could substitute in it’s place. Normally, I’d say maple syrup would work. I do think it should be a liquid sweet b/c of the consistency. I’m sorry, I’m really not sure in this case!
Erin I use Sugar-Free Maple syrup in lieu of honey. I also puree some apples and use them in lieu of the coconut oil. These two easy substitutions really reduce the fat, sugar, and calorie count from the original recipe. Plus apples are Paleo approved :) The cookies still taste fantastic too!!!
Thanks!
I can do the coconut oil so that’s not an issue. (I’m on low carb high fat hence coconut oil being okay)
I’ll definitely try it with the sugar free maple syrup. Thanks for the tip!
I have got to thank you for this recipe, I’ve probably made these cookies 4-5 times now…so good and so quick and easy to make! I’ve shared with many people at work too :) I actually added some shredded unsweetened coconut and some cinnamon. Super yummy!
Also made these and got one big thin flat mess, with an almost rubbery texture. My baking soda is still fresh, i didn’t use ANY substitutions and i’ve double checked the recipe multiple times and according to it I made them correctly. Perhaps you mistyped and it’s baking powder instead of soda? Yours look good, but the ones i made are pretty awful.
I’m pretty sure it’s not the recipe. What kind of pan are you using? I find the really dark pans do this more often, they get too hot and the cookies spread out. I find the light colored (insulated are the best) make the best cookies. As with “normal” baking freezing the dough or at least chilling it first helps a lot too.
Yay! Made them again and this time they aren’t flat, they look exactly like on the picture! :) I replaced baking soda with baking powder (thought maybe my baking soda wasn’t fresh anymore), cut down a bit on coconut oil (measured once melted, I used 2 tablespoons) and maple syrup (only 1 tablespoon) and they came out perfect! Absolutely delicious!
I made these today and they came out perfectly. I have a feeling I’ll be making these often — thanks!
Just made these with my 2 year old son. We also used the mini-cupcakes and added some chopped raw cashews and dried cherries. SO GOOD! I love having cookies I feel good about giving him.
I have some ideas on to why cookies might be flat. When I measured the oil into the pan before melting it was easy to get a little too much in there, so I measured again after melting on the way to the bowl and sure enough there was a good tablespoon left melted in the pan. So make sure to remeasure after you melt the oil. Also baking soda does expire so if you aren’t using it a lot make sure the check the expiration date. If it’s too old it won’t work!
Ah-ha! Could be the melted vs. solid oil measurement and/or baking soda. I will have to try again some time. Thank you!
Thank you, Rebecca! Didn’t even think about that! Hope this helps some people out :)
I just made these cookies, and like several other people, I ended up with flat pancakes–very oily. I could tell based on your description of scooping the batter and pressing down to form half circles and then tapping the batter out, etc., that the consistency was wrong even before I baked them. Much too sticky and moist to shape the batter at all. Is that 3 tablespoons of coconut oil correct? The only change I made was rice milk for almond milk. The taste is okay, but again, very oily.
So sad–everyone else seems to be having more fun with this.
I’ve made this recipe almost 10 times now and they never flatten out for me. I’m honestly totally perplexed at the commenters that are having this happen. It seems that for every one who experiences that, there are 2-3 that don’t though. I keep trying to mimic the flattening to figure it out and it’s not happening for me!
I was meticulous with the measuring and the batter was still very runny. I added extra flour( about 3/4 more) and they runed out great!
Hi Cheryl- I’m glad yours ended up turning out but I can assure you the recipe amount of 1 cup of almond flour is not wrong. I have no idea how you had a batter that was anything near “runny” as there’s only 1 tablespoon of milk & 3 tablespoons of melted oil as far as liquid goes (I’m not counting the honey as it’s so thick). I’ve made these many times and the batter is usually quite thick. The only thing I can think of is perhaps you measured the oil before melting rather than after?
MADE THEM. LOVED THEM. AMAZING with a glass of Vanilla Almond Milk!!!!!!!! YUM