Friday, June 8, 2012

The Best Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (GF)


These chocolate chip cookies are insanely good--just ask my husband and my kids! They are slightly chewy, slightly crunchy and have the perfect amount of nutty sweetness. My friend, Emily, has a son who is gluten intolerant and I wanted to make a yummy baked good to take to her house for a playdate. I was trying to come up with something that all of the kids could enjoy. (Side note--one of the little boys who was there from another family had a severe nut allergy. And here I was SO excited about sharing our gluten-free (but super nut filled) cookies with everyone! Can you say "epic fail"? LOL)

I found this recipe online and after trying it out once on my own family, I decided these cookies were not only "good enough" to share with my friend's gluten-free family but were the only chocolate chip cookies I would ever make from here on out! My husband eats them straight from the freezer and had NO idea they weren't "normal" chocolate chip cookies until he saw me making almond flour for the blog post and asked what I used "that" for. Ha ha!! They are full of protein, fiber, healthy fat and are pretty low in added sugar. I have absolutely zero guilt feeding these to my kiddos. I don't make them all the time, however. They are a bit pricier to make due to the almond flour and despite being healthier, they aren't calorie-free and I have very little self-control around baked goods.

In spite of my last comment, you are definitely going to want to make a double or even triple batch of these little gems. The cookies themselves freeze great, or you can freeze the dough "pucks" on a piece of parchment paper and then bake as needed (or in my case, eat the dough right out of the freezer instead of heating up the oven!). These would be a hit at any picnic, playdate or other get-together...so long as no one is allergic to nuts! ;)


Yields about 18 cookies (3" diameter)
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened*
  • 2 T. coconut oil (refined coconut oil has NO coconut taste and is a healthy replacement for shortening in baked goods)
  • 1/3 cup sucanat (dehydrated natural sugar cane) or brown sugar
  • 1 t. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 t. baking soda
  • 1/4 t. sea salt
  • 1 1/2 c. blanched almond flour (Click HERE for tutorial on making your own blanched almond flour--relatively simple and nearly half the price of store-bought.)
  • 3/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
1. Cream butter, coconut oil and sucanat or brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl by hand or electric mixer. 

2. Add in vanilla and egg and continue to mix until well combined.

3. Stir in baking soda and salt. Add almond flour a half cup at a time until thoroughly blended. 

4. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts (if using) by hand and drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet.

5. Flatten cookies slightly with the bottom of a wet glass or measuring cup. Bake at 350 degrees about 9-10 minutes or until edges just begin to lightly brown. Leave on cookie sheet to cool for a few minutes before attempting to remove. Cool completely on a wire rack.

6. Watch them disappear faster than you can get them put in the freezer!

*Substitute coconut oil for the butter if you are dairy-free.

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