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You can feel good about indulging in these 5-ingredient Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies. With crisp edges, chewy centers, and gooey melted chocolate in every bite, it’s hard to believe they’re a healthy and naturally gluten-free treat!
Going gluten-free no longer means you have to give up your favorite treats. Just look at this Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe! Made with just 5 ingredients, these cookies are a breeze to whip up and defy the gluten-free stereotype. Oh, and did I mention they’re paleo-friendly, too?
Just like classic chocolate chip cookies, these flourless treats are crisp and golden on the outside, delightfully soft and chewy on the inside, and have chocolate throughout.
As a bonus, I ditched the flour and used honey as a natural sweetener. They’re not super sweet but that’s kind of the point of sugarless, flourless cookies. All the better for indulging!
Recipe features
- They’re made with just 5 naturally gluten-free and paleo-friendly ingredients you likely already have in your pantry.
- The main ingredient is almond butter instead of flour, so the cookies are not only gluten-free but also a good source of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.
- From start to finish, these no-flour cookies come together in under 20 minutes!
- A perfect healthy-ish sweet treat to curb your cravings, just like my almond flour chocolate cookies and peanut butter blossoms.
Ingredients
Almond butter – If you’re an almond butter connoisseur, then you know the texture can vary from brand to brand. I prefer Whole Foods 365 creamy almond butter and Trader Joe’s creamy almond butter (NOT the raw kind). Both aren’t too thick and, therefore, easy to stir.
Egg – When you make chocolate chip cookies without flour, they’re going to be very delicate. That’s where the egg comes in! It gives the cookies moisture and, most importantly, helps them hold together so you don’t end up with a crumbly mess. Remember to set the egg on the counter 30 minutes before baking so it can come down to room temperature.
Honey – The honey makes the cookies sweet, soft, and chewy. Feel free to use maple syrup as a substitute.
Baking soda – As the one and only leavening agent in this recipe, baking soda helps the cookies rise and develop a light and airy texture.
Chocolate – I like to use chocolate chunks from a chopped chocolate bar because they melt better, ensuring pools of chocolatey goodness in every bite. Chocolate chips work well, too.
Instructions
Step 1: Make the cookie dough. Stir the almond butter, egg, and honey together in a large bowl. Add the sugar (optional) and baking soda and stir to combine. Last, stir in the chocolate. The batter will be sticky at this point, but that’s okay!
Step 2: Shape the dough. With wet hands, roll the dough into 12 cookie dough balls and place them on the baking sheet. Use your palm to flatten each ball slightly.
Step 3: Bake. Bake the cookies until the edges have set.
Step 4: Cool. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Tips and FAQs
- Do not overmix the cookie dough. As soon as everything is incorporated, stop mixing! Overworking the dough will lead to dense cookies.
- If the dough is really sticky or too soft to work with, chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking. This will make it easier to form into balls and help prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
- Flourless cookies can go from soft and chewy to brown and crispy quickly, so don’t walk too far away from the oven. You’ll know they’re ready when the edges are set, but the centers are still soft.
- Always let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cookies made with no flour are delicate and should be handled with care when they’re freshly baked.
Tip
You must use all-natural almond butter, AKA one that only lists “almonds” or “almonds and sea salt” as ingredients. Otherwise, the texture will be off.
Variations
I don’t recommend straying too far from the recipe for these almond butter flourless chocolate cookies. You can, however:
- Add coconut sugar – Miguel and I love these cookies as they are but if you want yours to be a bit sweeter, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar. Otherwise, the only sweetener in this recipe is honey. Oh, and the chocolate, of course!
- Customize your cookies with mix-ins like chopped nuts, dried fruits, or even a sprinkle of sea salt.
- Make double chocolate chip cookies by adding ¼ cup of cocoa powder. Keep in mind that this may slightly alter the texture.
- Swap the almond butter for peanut butter for gluten-free peanut butter chocolate cookies. Remember that peanut butter has a different consistency and moisture content than almond butter, which may alter the texture slightly.
How do you keep flourless cookies from crumbling?
First and foremost, it’s important to NOT overmix the cookie dough. Only stir the ingredients together until everything is combined and you have a sticky dough. Also, chilling the batter before baking helps it firm up slightly, yielding sturdier cookies.
Are flourless cookies low-carb?
They can be; however, the exact carb content depends on the specific ingredients used. If you make these almond butter cookies with honey and milk chocolate, each cookie contains about 22 grams of carbs.
How do I make them low-carb?
Replace the honey with a low-carb sweetener like erythritol, stevia, or monk fruit sweetener. Also, opt for a chopped dark chocolate bar (between 70% and 85% cocoa) or sugar-free chocolate chips.
Storage
Room temperature: Store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Adding a slice of bread to the container can help soften them if they become too crisp.
Refrigerator: They’ll stay fresh for about a week when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
Freezer: Wait until the cookies have completely cooled, then place them in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More healthy cookie recipes
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Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies
You can feel good about indulging in these 5-ingredient Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies. With crisp edges, chewy centers, and gooey melted chocolate in every bite, it’s hard to believe they’re a healthy and naturally gluten-free treat!
Servings: cookies
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
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Stir the almond butter, egg and honey together in a large bowl. Then, add the sugar and baking soda and stir until dough has formed. Last, stir in the chocolate. NOTE: the batter will be sticky and that’s ok!
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Wet your hands, then roll the dough into 12 balls and place them onto the baking sheet. Use your palm to slightly flatten the balls into cookies, then bake for 11-12 minutes, or until the edges have set.
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Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack. Allow the cookies to cool for at least 15 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
*Almond butter: use almond butter with “almonds” or “almonds and sea salt” as the only ingredient(s); otherwise, the texture of the cookie dough won’t be correct.
*These cookies are delicate since they’re made without flour, so be sure to let them cool before handling; otherwise, they may fall apart.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 1mg
