A super easy and amazingly delicious recipe for rich, Soft and Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies! These addicting cookies are gluten and grain free, dairy free, paleo, and sure to become your favorite go-to healthy cookie recipe.
I used to have mixed feelings about paleo “treat” recipes, because cookies are cookies no matter what type of grain or nut flour they’re made of, don’t you think?
If it looks like a cookie and tastes like one too, it’s probably a cookie. I thought people would kid themselves into believing that “paleo” treats are somehow more virtuous than the good old fashioned Betty Crocker style chocolate chip variety. Cookies don’t come with or without virtue though, right?
But what about those chewy butter toffee ones that came in a pack of two in the school cafeteria. God I loved those! Anyone else remember them? Where the heck are they now? Can I make them Paleo? Hmmm…
Anyway, I think once you start getting into “good” “bad” “healthy” “not healthy” with food you run into trouble.
Trouble I want nothing to do with – for myself or my kids.
It’s more about having delicious options that won’t leave you sick or in pain. Luckily, it turns out that cookies made without grains, dairy, or soy can be JUST as delicious as the “real” deal! (Not kidding)
And, while I wouldn’t eat these in place of eggs, veggies, meats and other whole foods, not so surprisingly, they work really well if you’re trying to replace a traditional cookie with something a bit more system-friendly.
I also love making these for my kids, since they have a good deal of fat from coconut oil and nut flour, and fat in general is one thing my kids don’t embrace quite as passionately as I do. It’s a total win-win! They happen to be super easy to throw together too. Now let’s start baking!
Soft and Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies {Paleo}
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil melted, or unsalted butter (if dairy is okay), melted
- 1/3 cup organic coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp of fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips - or your favorite dark chocolate chips *
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries *Optional
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk the egg with the coconut oil, vanilla, and coconut sugar until smooth.
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In a separate medium bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda and salt and mix to incorporate all ingredients.
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Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the egg/sugar mixture until fully combined and the mixture is the consistency of a dough (it will be sticky)
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Stir the chocolate chips and cranberries into the dough.
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If the dough is too sticky to roll into balls, chill first in the freezer for 10 minutes.
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Form dough into 16 balls and flatten into cookie shape (they'll expand but won't flatten in the oven) and arrange on the parchment lined cookie sheet
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Bake in the preheated oven 10 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown - be careful not to overbake.
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Remove from oven, allow cookies to sit 2-5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If omitting the cranberries, use 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Soft and Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies:
What’s your hands down favorite cookie? Yeah that’s a tough one. Might have to go with those old butter toffee ones but not sure they count since I haven’t had one in over 20 years. A really good and chewy, homemade chocolate chunk cookie might just have to take the win on this!
Want more Paleo cookie recipes? Try one of these!
Ultimate Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Big Soft Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Almond Butter Sandwich Cookies
Awesome Paleo cookies around the web:
Thick and Chewy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Best Paleo & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Agree with you on the whole cookie is a cookie thing. I think having treats in the diet is important otherwise I would go off the deep end and overeat them. I’m better off having them regularly. I’ve also learned that using coconut oil and nut flours, my body likes the fat of those much better and my stomach doesn’t get crazy bloated by not using regular flour.
I have the same experience – my energy doesn’t crash and no digestive issues so I much prefer making them grain free and high fat 🙂
I’m just not a sweets or dessert person. The last time I had a cookie was the ultra healthy ones I made for Christmas last year (if they can even really be called cookies!) Haha!
I feel like when I eat them, then I want more! But when I’m not eating sweets I don’t crave them. Such is life 🙂
The cookies looks great. Where do you get coconut sugar? I like the concept of healthy treats. My favorite cookies are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies so this recipe has caught my eye.
I purchased it in my local shoprite so I would think it’s in most grocery stores, if the store has a “natural” baking section which most do. I find it to be like dark brown sugar, not too coconut-y.
These look awesome! I love the clean ingredients– I’ve never had luck making Almond Meal Cookies chewy, so looking forward to trying these.
I think some recipes use too much almond flour which makes them cakey instead of chewy. These were a hit with my whole family, hope you try!
Mmmm, cookies. Love them all, but I’d have to say that I favor oatmeal raisin and white chocolate macadamia.
Yum those are both good too! This is totally the time of year I start thinking about cookies 🙂
While I can’t say that I follow this diet… I find it quite interesting. I’m always looking to try new stuff. Especially with ingredients that I’ve never had before. I’ve never eaten coconut sugar. Does it taste like coconut?
Coconut sugar is sort of more like dark brown sugar, in my opinion. I don’t find the flavor to be incredibly coconut-y, although, it’s hard to tell because I eat a lot of coconut so I might just be used to it! Something to try!
Those sound amazing! I love this time of year because it gives me so many excuses to bake millions of cookies!
Agreed! There is something so fun and warm about baking cookies this time of year, especially with my kids 🙂
I’m definitely with you on not being willing to label food as good or bad. Food is food. We need to nourish our body, but we also need it to soothe our soul — and I don’t see any harm as long as it makes us feel good. As for what my favourite cookie is… that’s definitely a tough one, but I’m going to have to go with the classic chocolate chip oatmeal.
Definitely no harm in dessert 🙂 And it seems like the classic cookies have people’s hearts the most.
These look fabulous and so delicious! I’m trying these for sure. Honestly I was never a huge cookie or cake person, oatmeal raisin was one I liked but I always preferred baking more than eating my goodies. I was aware of my tummy issue with white flour from a young age but it never kept me from loving to create baked treats for others. Recipes like yours are so exciting! I can bake and eat too
I love baking too, and I DID like to eat the stuff I baked as well. It’s nice to be able to bake things that you can eat without feeling like garbage 🙂 Hope you enjoy them!
Chewy and Chocolate? I’m sold! I try not to make too many paleo treats often but every once in awhile they happen 🙂 A few might have actually happened today in preparation for our Friendsgiving tomorrow!
Once you start having too much of something, it loses the “treat” quality anyway. I bake probably twice a month and that’s perfect for us.