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 want to say that these are, by far, the best paleo chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. In fact, these may be the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had period! And they were so easy! I followed the recipe to a “T” except I added crushed pecan halves to the mix and had to use coconut nectar because I was out of raw honey. Thanks so much for the recipe!
These are incredible tasting and easy to make. Thank you one of the best paleo desert recipes I have made. Love these cookies!
These were amazing. I followed the recipe exactly, except I just used regular choc chips and I actually did use butter to grease the pan! Great substitue for chocolate chip cookies. These are my new favorite and definitely cured my sweet tooth. Thanks:)
I know this will defeat the whole Paleo point but wanted to say I made these to suit my tastes by subbing the honey with pure grade b maple syrup, adding 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (containing only peanuts and salt) and 1 large egg. The results were AMAZING! They are light yet chewy and hold their shape beautifully. Thank you for such a great recipe!
I saw this and had to make it immediately. I love it when I have all the ingredients I need already in stock! Finally a cookie I didn’t botch up that tastes AMAZING!!
These are amazing! I started paleo about three weeks ago and really needed a yummy treat. These could be the best cookies I’ve ever had- even before paleo! Thanks so much for creating and sharing!
A big “hello” from Brisbane, Australia! :)
Thanks for this lovely recipe! it ‘s so nice to find something that I could make that was guilt free!!
so I made these about an hr ago now… the first batch turned out too /chewy/under cooked in the middle with the half-circle shape, but that’s alright I’ll still enjoy them lol
The 2nd batch I made straight after, I made them flatter/wider so they hopefully harden better once cooled… They look a bit more promising, and this time I got 8 cookies where as the first batch only made 7 and 1 tiny little baby one hehe. Oh I forgot to mention, I didn’t have any chocolate on hand, so instead I added 2 tsp of cocoa powder to make them chocolate!!! YUM!!
I’m still going to enjoy the first (very chewy) batch, because that’s still going to satisfy my very sweet tooth!
Thanks again for sharing this recipe! :)
Ruth
I made the cookies and they tasted yummers! I did not have coconut oil, so I used olive oil and they were very soft and crumbly. I must get coconut oil. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ LOVE them!
Oh, my goodness!!! These are soooo yummy! Thank you for posting this!
These cookies are AMAZING.
I omitted the almond milk by accident and they still turned out great.
I think the secret to making sure they don’t spread is to measure your coconut oil correctly. 2 tbsp of solid oil turned out to be a perfect melted 3 tbsp.
I used dark chocolate morsels and gave them a good rough chop and then added in a sprinkle of rough chopped pecans and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a tad bit more salt.
Also I wish I would have only baked them for about 8 minutes. They were a little too brown on the bottom for me, almost burnt.
I will be making these cookies again and again. I want to try them next with some dried cranberries.