These paleo chewy chocolate chip cookies are a breeze to make, kid approved and the perfect go-to healthy dessert. They’re loaded with good fats, super chewy and thick, with great nutty flavor thanks to the almond butter! Grab one for an after school snack or serve to a crowd – these chewy chocolate chip cookies are sure to be a hit.
Some of the best recipes I’ve created were born out of another recipe’s failure – I pretty much refuse to accept ANY failure when it comes to food – there’s always a way to make it work!
Well, my lemon meringue pie from last year might be the exception – I made it 4 times and I think I had to literally throw out each attempt due to the paleo meringue clashing with the filling while baking.
Anyway, I may revisit that one at some point, but, for now we’re talking about a major cookie recipe success!
So to clarify, this is one of those recipes that resulted from a failure. What I was attempting to make was a copycat Reeses egg for Easter.
As you might remember, I did away with the Reeses idea and went straight for a Paleo Cadbury Egg – which turned out far better than the Reeses attempt.
So, the mixture for the inside of that Reeses egg wound up becoming the base for the cookies. I had mixed up creamy almond butter with maple syrup, coconut sugar, coconut cream and vanilla hoping for magic, and while it tasted delicious, the mixture separated while mixing and didn’t look creamy at all.
Bye Bye creamy almond butter filling.
Since wasting ingredients makes me insane – especially a mixture that DOES in fact taste good – I knew I had to use it for something else – possibly just so my family could eat it – not necessarily to create another recipe.
I added an egg, some almond flour and a bit of baking soda and decided to bake the dough as cookies. The first round came out a little bit cakey looking, although my kids devoured them when they got home from school!
I wound up baking two more rounds with just slight variations before settling on a recipe that might just be my favorite paleo chocolate chip cookie ever – and here we are today!
The recipe couldn’t be easier to make – the dough comes together all in one bowl, gets chilled for 5-10 minutes and then bakes into the softest, chewiest, chocolate chip cookies with a great nutty flavor due to the almond butter and almond flour.
However, since almond butter has a relatively neutral taste, it allows the dark chocolate to shine while making the texture deliciously fudgy. Plus, since we’re using coconut cream here instead of coconut oil, they’re extra soft and moist, in my opinion.
One thing I noticed about these cookies is that you can control the texture based on how long you bake them – keep them toward 10 minutes and you’ll have a soft, chewy, fudgy cookie, bake them for 12-14 minutes and they’ll be more cakey, but just as delicious.
My personal preference was right around the 10-11 minute mark, when the cookies were set but not really browning yet.
I think we’re ready to go ahead and bake these deliciously chewy paleo chocolate chip cookies! Okay, let’s go!!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Butter {Paleo, GF, DF}
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Butter {Paleo, GF, DF}
These chewy paleo chocolate chip cookies are a breeze to make, kid approved and the perfect go-to healthy dessert. They're loaded with good fats, super chewy and thick, with great nutty flavor thanks to the almond butter! Grab one for an after school snack or serve to a crowd - these chewy chocolate chip cookies are sure to be a hit.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup smooth almond butter
- 3 tbsp coconut cream blended before adding*
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup organic coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper
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Using an electric hand mixer, cream together the almond butter, coconut cream, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla on medium speed until creamy.
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Beat in the egg on low speed, mixing until very smooth, then slowly add in the almond flour, baking soda and salt and mix until a sticky dough forms.
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Stir in the chocolate chips, then place cookie dough in the freezer for 5 mins, or in the refrigerator for 10.
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After chilling, mix dough with a spoon one last time, then scoop using a medium cookie scoop (about 1 1/2 Tbsp) onto prepared baking sheets 2” apart to make about 16-18 cookies (you can bake them in batches too if you only have one baking sheet)
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Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until cookies puff up and appear set in the center.
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Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5-10 mins, then carefully transfer to wire racks using a spatula to fully cool.
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Store cookies loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, you can also refrigerate or freeze them. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*You can use just the thick part of a can of full fat coconut milk
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Want More Paleo Cookies and Bars? Try One Of These!
Double Chocolate Chip Cookies {Paleo & Vegan}
Chewy Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies {Paleo & Vegan}
Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies {Paleo & Vegan}
Chewy Chocolate Chip Blondies {Paleo}
Lemon Almond Thumbprint Cookies {Paleo & Vegan}
Almond Butter and Jelly Cookie Bars {Paleo & Vegan}
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These are delicious!! The texture is so soft and chewy. They hold up well after cooling, although I wouldn’t count on them being around too long lol.
The Best Chewy Paleo chocolate chip cookies I have ever had!! I had a craving and this more than took care of it!
The link to the chocolate chips on your site takes you to Enjoy Life dark Chocolate chips. The first ingredient is cane sugar…which is not paleo. I keep seeing this on all these “paleo” cookies or baked items. Do you have an alternative chip to make them 100% paleo?
Moist and scrumptious. My husband who is a devout chocolate chip cookie lover, even gave them a 5 star. We enjoyed them soft and w a sprinkle of sea salt on top.
Hi! I am wondering if these cookies would freeze well once baked?
Just finished my first whole30 and decided to continue my healthy eating following the paleo diet. Wanted to treat myself so I baked these tonight. They were absolutely delicious and had a great chocolate taste! Your website truly has been a blessing. I made a lot of your recipes during my whole30 and am convinced I wouldn’t have succeeded without your recipes!
Can I substitute the almond butter for sunflower seed butter when making the almond butter chocolate chip cookies due to nut allergies?
Hello! I make these cookies and my family loves them. I would love to make them for a school function, but I have the worst time with storage. If I store them on the counter, they get all soft and essentially break apart. How can I keep them firm enough to hold their shape, but still make them ahead of time. Any suggestions.
This recipe gets two thumbs up. The consistency of the batter is not like cookies made with wheat flour, but the egg and baking soda hold it all together and puff them up just enough. The chilling step is important. They don’t spread a whole lot so I was able to fit 12 on a sheet. Now my only challenge is not to eat them all today!
I never do any baking anymore so I was really nervous that I would somehow ruin this and waste my ingredients. However, this recipe was soooo easy and was a total success!!!! I made them for my son’s birthday and he loved them.