These soft chewy paleo chocolate chip cookies are made with cassava flour, making them nut free PLUS grain free and gluten free. The cassava flour makes the flavor very similar to traditional chocolate chip cookies, so you know everyone will love them!
Get ready for more Paleo + nut free baking today! It’s chocolate chip cookies for you right now – soft, chewy, chocolate chip cookies, with a flavor nearly identical to traditional white flour cookies, thanks to our star – cassava.
I worked on this recipe over last summer until it drove me so batty that I decided to shelve it for awhile. The problem? Texture. It turns out that cassava flour behaves very differently in a cookie recipe than in a bread recipe.
My cookie dough would look perfect over and over, but the results after baking were all over the place.
I was met with cookies that spread ALL OVER the baking sheet, cookies that didn’t spread at all, cookies that looked perfect but had the texture of crumbly cake, and cookies that seemed to melt into something that tasted like sand after taking a bite.
After about 5 tries, I noticed a few common themes.
First, ALL of the cookies came out of the oven fall-apart-soft. Even the ones that would up pretty good after a few hours could disintegrate if you tried to touch one a few minutes out of the oven.
Lesson 1 – cassava flour cookies need lots of time to “set” and should be cooled COMPLETELY on the baking sheet – not transferred.
Lesson 2 – using all granulated sugar to sweeten the cookies (like coconut sugar) won’t work – it needs to be combined with a nice STICKY sweetener (honey) for a good chewy texture after cooling.
Lesson 3 – Cassava flour chocolate chip cookies seem to have superior texture after cooling completely and THEN chilling in the fridge for awhile. Trust me on this one – and try it!
Lesson 4 – More than one egg (even an extra yolk) turns the cookies way too cakey and almost rubbery. I had a batch that looked absolutely perfect, but had a strange rubbery texture that I couldn’t get past! After that, I stuck to one egg and didn’t look back.
So, after compiling all these lessons learned from the failed batches, I came up with a recipe that seems to be as close to perfect as you can get, both flavor and texture wise!
I used a mixture of honey and coconut sugar to take care of the texture and flavor. One egg, one cup of cassava flour and a mix of baking soda and powder to help the cookies spread just enough.
I still recommend allowing the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet – these aren’t “grab-one-out-of-the-oven” cookies. They need to be left alone for at least an hour to really set properly (weird, yes, but it works.)
And again, I totally prefer these after spending a little time in the fridge. That doesn’t mean they can’t be left out at room temp, but for superior texture I recommend a little chilling. As a side note, they are SO perfect with some coconut vanilla ice cream!
I hope you’re ready for insanely delicious paleo chocolate chip cookies – let’s bake!
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cassava Flour {Nut Free}
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cassava Flour {Nut Free}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ghee OR grass-fed butter
- 1/3 cup raw honey
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 cup cassava flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder*
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a large cookie sheet (or 2) with parchment paper.
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Using an electric hand mixer, cream together the ghee (or butter), honey, coconut sugar and vanilla until smooth on medium speed
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Add in the egg and beat on low speed until combined
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In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, then add dry mixture to wet, beating on low speed until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips, then chill the dough for 10-15 minutes in the fridge.
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Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet about 2” apart since they will spread a bit while baking.
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You’ll need to repeat the process on a separate baking sheet for the leftover cookie dough.
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Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the baking sheet - do not transfer them while they’re cooling since they’re VERY delicate due to the cassava flour. These cookies are not at their best right out of the oven - they need time to finish setting while they cool.
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Once completely cool to the touch, remove from sheet and serve. Cookies will be soft and chewy at room temp, and become more firm, yet still chewy after refrigeration. I personally prefer them after chilling! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*For Paleo (corn free) baking powder, mix 1 tsp baking soda with 2 tsp cream of tartar. For this recipe you’ll need just 1/2 tsp of this mixture.
Nutrition
What I Used To Make My Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cassava Flour:
Want More Paleo and Nut Free Baking Recipes? Try one of These!
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Banana Blueberry Breakfast Bread
Classic Blueberry Muffins with Cassava Flour
Chocolate Donuts with Chocolate Frosting
Hearty Cassava Flour Banana Bread
Chocolate Chip Donuts with Chocolate Ganache
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Yum! These look great. I’ve never baked with cassava flour but I’ve been curious about it so thanks for all the tips.
Sounds good!
So you think this recipe would work with coconut oil instead of butter?
Yes I think so, however they might be softer or more crumbly. I think ghee would work well though!
Michele, did these work for you subbing coconut oil? Mine didn’t. They tasted good but were extremely dry. I will make with ghee as directed next time.
Mine were too and I followed the recipe to the T. Definitely not right in texture at all but tastes great. I’m a pastry chef and even I was dumbfounded. It needs a starch and a liquid!
These were so good but definitely follow the directions and let them sit and place in the fridge. So good but crumble if you don’t wait 🙂
I’ve recently started to use cassava flour a lot more because of some diet changes, so this recipe looks great! I’m egg-free, though, so do you think it will work without the egg?
Unfortunately I don’t think they’ll work without an egg, but you might be able to try a gelatin or chia “egg” to replace it.
Can you use tapioca flour instead of cassava?
No, they have different properties unfortunately!
Tried this recipe but didn’t have enough honey so I had to use a bit of molasses to top off the 1/3 amount listed. They turned out surprisingly well! Thank you! I have them in the fridge now to see if I like them better chilled ?
That was a good call with the molasses, glad it worked out!
I followed the recipe to a t (except for accidentally mixing coconut sugar with the dry ingredients) and it turned out great! Definitely agree that they taste best when stored in the fridge. Thanks for the recipe!
So happy they worked out for you!
Can this dough be frozen and baked later?
Thanks!
I’m not sure how they would turn out, I’d say a day in the fridge would be fine though
Ok thank you!
These are delicious!
Another GREAT recipe! These turned out so yummy! Thank you!
So happy you enjoyed them!