Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
This gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe is naturally sweetened, too! These eggless cookies are easy to make with almond meal and coconut flour.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 19, 2024
347Comments
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These cookies have a lot going for them. For starters, they are absolutely delicious and everything a chocolate chip cookie should be: chewy around the edges, soft in the middle, and full of rich chocolate and caramel-like flavors.
They’re also gluten-free, thanks to a simple combination of two flours (almond flour and coconut flour). They’re naturally sweetened with maple syrup, which lends a brown sugar-like sweetness. They’re eggless, too, so the recipe is easily made vegan.
These cookies are about as “healthy” as cookies can be. They’re also super easy to make in one bowl—no mixer required, just a spoon. This is a perfect baking project to make with small children. My daughter Grace, who is three years old, loved helping with this one.
Cookie dough lovers, if you’re looking for a cookie dough recipe that is safe to eat, you’re in luck. I see no reason why eating this dough would be unsafe since it’s egg-free and wheat-free (it’s not safe to eat wheat flour that has not been cooked, but this recipe calls for almond and coconut flour).
My friend Tessa introduced me to these cookies a few weeks ago. We were sipping wine and watching Magic Mike during girls’ night when she set them on her coffee table. I took one bite and knew I had to share the recipe with you all—mostly because they are so very tasty, but also because I know that many of you are on the hunt for gluten-free and naturally sweetened recipes. I don’t try to avoid gluten myself, but my friend Tessa has cured herself of debilitating migraines by following a gluten-free, low-sugar diet. Isn’t that wonderful? I’m so glad she’s found what works for her.
I’ve made three batches of these cookies since that night and have some baking notes to share. The original recipe calls for almond flour, but I used almond meal from Trader Joe’s all three times and each batch turned out great anyway. I found Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour in the baking section at the local health food store. Coconut flour is essential to this recipe because its high fiber content soaks up the extra moisture from the liquid sweetener, ensuring that the cookies don’t spread out too much on the pan (more on that later).
The cookies taste fantastic whether you use maple syrup or honey, but maple syrup tastes more like brown sugar and yields a more traditionally flavored cookie. I also tried using coconut oil instead of butter, which, as you might expect, produced a cookie with a more pronounced coconut flavor. I’m partial to the butter version. The coconut oil cookies were thinner and seemed ever-so-slightly brittle the next day.
Lastly, I chose to chop up dark chocolate instead of using chocolate chips, so maybe I shouldn’t call these chocolate chip cookies after all. Whether you choose chips or chunks or chop your chocolate, make sure it’s good quality.
Important Tip Before You Get Started
The success of this recipe depends on your measurements. The almond flour and coconut flour must be very firmly packed into the cups. If you measure them like regular flour, the recipe won’t contain enough of these flours and it will flop.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
This gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipe is naturally sweetened and made with almond meal and coconut flour. These cookies remind me of classic Tollhouse cookies, but much healthier and easier to make—only one bowl required! Since this recipe is egg-free, it is easily made vegan by substituting coconut oil for butter and using maple syrup instead of honey. Recipe yields 24 small cookies.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup firmly packed almond flour or almond meal (about 3 ounces or 100 grams)
- ¼ cup firmly packed coconut flour (about 1 ½ ounces or 43 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- Dash cinnamon (optional)
- ½ cup unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup real maple syrup (preferably grade B) or honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup chocolate chips
- Optional: Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter (or coconut oil), maple syrup (or honey) and vanilla extract, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chocolate.
- Let the dough rest for 5 minutes in the refrigerator so the coconut flour can absorb some of the excess moisture (or let the dough chill in the fridge for 10+ minutes if you want fat cookies, like those shown here). Scoop dough, one tablespoon at a time, in mounds onto the baking sheet, leaving a couple inches around each cookie.
- Bake for about 11 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then slide the parchment paper onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. The cookies will be fragile when they are warm but will firm up as they cool. Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt while they cool, if desired.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Gluten Free Fix.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Just use the coconut oil instead of the butter (to make it dairy free) and choose maple syrup as your natural sweetener instead of the honey (to make it vegan).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Hello,
After reading the other comments, I decided to manipulate this recipe so it would work. I
I added two eggs and doubled the coconut flour.
After I mixed all ingredients, put in the fridge to get cold for approx. 10-15 min.
Rolled into balls and pressed down. turned out wonderful, goin
to make 6 batches today for the work week. they are chewy and go great with coffee, tea or milk for the kids.
thank you,
sami
I’m glad you found the other helpful. Thanks for your comment, Sami.
I went a little mad scientist as I thought the dough looked too runny, so I added 1/2 c. of Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour, another 1/2 tsp of baking soda, and one egg. I also decreased the maple syrup by half. They amazingly turned out really well! I was scared with all my changes they would not work out, but they’re a winner. I probably could have added a little more maple syrup back in, and I may not have needed the extra baking soda… might play with it some more. :)
Thanks for sharing, Sarah! I like that you got creative with this recipe.
Came out sooo good!
Thank you for your review, Nicci!
These are delicious! I used date syrup and ended up adding extra coconut flour for the second pan. I think I had too much oil for the first pan since I was melting it first to get to 1/2 cup. Thanks for the recipe!
So So So good! Best gluten-free cookies ever! So soft and creamy!!!
I am 16 years old and it was so easy to make! My whole family ate them
all in one day! I used the exact recipe but let the batter sit on the counter for about an hour and then refrigerated it for 10 minutes. so worth it! recipe made exactly 12 tablespoon cookies. Looking forward to making it again! Thanks so much!!
I am going to try this cookie recipe because I want to use almond and coconut flour together, also with other recipes if I can find them. I want to try to make these cookies all chocolate with coco powder so hopefully it will work. Maybe someone has tried this already. Wish me luck.
So the comments made me worry. These cookies were super easy and came out pretty well except they were pretty salty at the end of eat bite. I may try again with leas salt.
was wondering if I could use a measure of maple sugar (it’s just dehydrated real maple syrup) …that would affect the liquid proportion of the recipe…tho maybe in a good way…was wondering if you’ve tried (don’t want to mess up with what are expensive ingredients) Have both available and can’t wait to try
Have to give this recipe a1star. Followed directions however cookies flattened out and turned into a 1 large thin sheet cookie. I refuse to waste ingredients so will try to eat but it’s way to sweet (and oily) and I’m a sweet tooth. I would probably consider this recipe a sugar cookie.
I’ve had success with your salad recipes and will be continuing making other recipes of yours!
Hi Alex, I’m sorry to hear that! Can you please let me know if you packed the almond flour and coconut flour in the cups when you measured them? It’s really key that those ingredients are packed for good results (use too little, and the recipe won’t work right).
Made the cookies with vegan “butter” and maple syrup. They are amazing. Soft and chewy!! Will make these again and again!!
Would like to try this gluten free sugar free recipe; allergic to coconut, what can replace it?
Hi Sammi, I’m sorry, the coconut flour is really key to this recipe. It absorbs moisture at a higher rate than any other flour, so I don’t know of an alternative. You might enjoy my friend’s blog, which is entirely devoted to gluten-free baked goods! It’s called Salted Plains.
These were absolutely delicious! Just a bit too much salt. I used 3/4c butter with 1/4c coconut oil and maple syrup from our trees. I added a bit of coconut. Perfect!
Kate – There were AMAZING! I did not change a thing. I’ll def make these again with 1 Tbsp less maple syrup. So delicious!!!
I made this Recipe
I subsituted the Butter for rapeseed Oil
And the almond flour for a Gluten Free plain flour
And i used Latvian honey
And made my own chocolate instead
Delicious
A bit dry but top With some maple syrup very delicious
Very glad i used this Recipe
Would use this again
And i would like other people to try it out
But the only Thing is i came out AS 14 small cookies
Thank you
LOVE this recipe! Gluten free, naturally sweetened and toddler approved. As there is no egg, I could safely bake them and spoon licking was totally allowed. This is being added to the favourite roster immediately.
I doubled the recipe with no issues and followed the recipe and instructions to the letter and it turned out perfect! I used amber honey and Dark Ontario maple syrup with unsweetened chocolate chips.
PERFECT! thank you for this delicious recipe!
After reading the comments I was very careful to be precise with measurements. I used coconut oil instead of butter and I used honey instead of maple syrup. The batter was loose but put in fridge for more than 10 minutes. I used my small scoop to place cookies on the sheet. They looked beautiful! But alas after about 5 minutes, they deflated. I baked them for exactly 11 min. What I can say regardless of the flattening is they are delicious!
Thank you for taking the time to report back, Katherine! I appreciate it.
Chef tips: if you can use egg and brown sugar rather than honey or maple, do so. If no egg, use egg substitute to keep cookies together. Weigh your ingredients. Follow a normal cookie-mixing technique by creaming the room temp [not melted] fat and brown sugar til fluffy. Mix in egg, cinnamon/extract and baking soda. Once combined, then add your weighed flours. Fold in chocolate and bake until golden and set around the edges. Store airtight. When done this way, these cookies are better than any you’ll ever buy, I promise!
These cookies turned out great! I used melted butter and maple syrup, and followed all the instructions/tips.
Kate, you are seriously a life saver and have restored my hope… two years ago I went on a sugar fast, and during discovered the migraines I’ve suffered since childhood were due to sugar! Amazing! So I have been sugar free for two years, and finding you blog a year and a half ago changed my life. I have always been the baker of the family, so quitting sugar pretty much eliminated the joy of baking for me. Then when I started experimenting with your recipes, it was the best and everything turned out so yummy!! Thankfully I can have natural sugars like honey, maple syrup and Lakanto’s monkfruit sweetener. My dad bought me your cookbook for my birthday last year, and it is my favorite!!
All that to say, thank you Kate!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you have been enjoying my cookbook, Bethany.
These came out great! I used earth balance vegan butter. I was worried at first that they would be too liquidy and almost added more flour but decided to follow directions and put in the fridge first. I waited 10 or so minutes. They still seemed kind of liquidy for cookie batter – but i put 12 tablespoon full ones on the cookie sheet and put it in. They did flatten out and became very thin cookies but were so yummy! Love the healthier version of the chocolate chip cookie and it is still so sweet!
Great! Thank you for sharing, Molly.
I LOVE these cookies. I make them using butter and date syrup (lower glycemic index than maple syrup). They are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I bake them 1-2 times a week.
I stumbled upon this recipe a while ago and have truly enjoyed these cookies! So grateful for your recipe – I’ve been making them regularly lately using coconut oil instead of butter – truly appreciate the flexibility given too (for dairy free option). Nicely done!
You’re welcome, Jo! I’m glad you continue to make these cookies.
Kate – thanks for the recipe. I like the idea of almond and coconut flour. I used coconut oil to make these vegan and GF!
I found that 11 minutes at 350 was too short – the cookies were undercooked (I used a #60 scoop – 1TB). I tasted the cookies after they had cooled for about 20 minutes, I ended up putting them back in for another 5 minutes, this helped bake them more thoroughly. This leads me to think that I would need to bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or try a higher temperature (375). This may require experimentation – any suggestions?
I also upped the spice (adding ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp each of nutmeg and cardamon for the base recipe)
I also found that the dough was still a bit soft after 10 minutes in the fridge (maybe because it was a kinda warm day)
I baked 12 cookies and scooped the rest of the cookies and froze them on a tray (I will transfer them to a plastic freezer bag in 8 hours) so they are ready to bake as we need cookies (always best to have freshly baked cookies only a few minutes away!). I assume I would bake them for the same time (15 minutes at 350)
Hi, a friend made these recently and they were delicious! When I tried making them tonight, it was a flop! I followed the measurements to a T, and noticed that the batter was very oily. When they came out of the oven, they were a little flat but otherwise looked good. However, even after being on the drying rack for hours, they were so brittle and basically crumbled when I picked them up to eat one. I’ll try this recipe again with butter instead of coconut oil and see how I go.
I’m sorry that was your result. Let me know how it turns out when you try it again!
These are incredible soggy. The coconut oil ratio is completely off. Mine turned into one big flat cookie. I left the dough in the fridge for 15 min.
Hi Dre, I’m sorry to hear that was your experience. I tested these several times. I’m not sure why that was the result for you.
Followed Recipe. A little tooo salty. And the cookies crumbled when I tried to pick up from cooling rack :( the o Lu difference was that I ran out of syrup so I could only put in 1/4 plus a half 1/4. Was kinda skeptical cuz of the reviews. At least mine didn’t flatten out. Also I don’t think my butter was melted 100% it was like a (thick)melted. Plus we have salted butter and I had seen that after I already put the salt in :( . I’m sure they’re great from someone who’s had plenty of practice rounds lol.
I’m sorry you didn’t love them as is, bri. Changing the sweetener would impact your results.
It’s ok, I would change my stars if I could cuz I’m sure I messed up haha . Hubby ate them all tho, and they didn’t crumble after they sat on the cooling rack for a bit. Hubby was just too impatient I guess so they crumbled when he grabbed for some. And it was my fault they were too salty cuz we used salted butter since that’s all we had. I’m sure the way you make them they are wonderful :)
First you and your dog are adorable in the sense that you are easily adored. I am not a cook – but have had to learn at the age of 77 that I can cook and actual like making a few various things. I have been cooking but without the basic abc’s; with the help of your website and a love of thai and all things chocolate, life is very good now. My husband even finds me …well, more adorable. Yes, I know it is all about his loving my cooking….after 20 years. Its okay.
Life is good. Thank you!….Eliza
Do I need to refrigerate them or freeze if we are not eating them right away?
I loved the recipe the only thing I changed
was baking longer for crisper!
Yes, these are great pulling out of the freezer. Thank you for your review, Cindy!
Made these tonight and the family and I really enjoyed them. We like this blend of coconut and almond flour. Very satisfying! I like their consistency, I followed your advice letting them sit 5 min before cooking.
One problem… I can definitely taste the baking soda though… do you think if I decreased it to 1/2 tsp , that the cookies will still rise ok?
Hi Janelle, I recommend this as written for best results. Make sure you are using aluminum free.
Due to allergies what may I replace almond and coconut flours with?
Hi, I would recommend trying a gluten free flour in my Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hi,
I made the recipe and they came out too sweet.
I used 1/2 cup of honey.
Cookies are for children (3 years)
I want to make them again but with less honey.
Can I add 1 or 2 tablespoons?
Thank you so much for the recipe.
You can try it, although changing the liquid will likely impact your results.
I love these cookies and have used the base to make ginger cookies using molasses as a sweetener, and adding chopped crystallized ginger, as well as fresh, and dried ginger. I have added nuts, orange zest, and dried cherries to batches, and once when I realized I had no maple syrup, used orange marmalade as a sweetener. Everything works, I have not had a bad batch – ever! My husband hates coconut, and gobbles these up like they were going out of style. It’s my go to cookie! Well this and the dark-chocolate-dipped macaroons. Thank you.
Hi Kate,
How do you store them, and for how long?
Thank you
You can store them on the counter or in the refrigerator ( or freeze them). They should keep fine for a few days.
Would love to try these but hesitant due to the inability to ensure I can replicate the EXACT amount of flours you need.
Can you please update the recipe to have a weight measurement and then that ensures an accurate recipe and no room for error
I made these and they did stay in the rounded scoop shape. I weighed the flours by the grams on a scale and refrigerated for 53; minutes prior to baking. They are crisp on outside. Crumbly, but that is the nature of almond flour
Made the recipe as follows. It tastes very baking soda-y and not good. Would recommend using less.
I’m sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy this recipe, Jo. I appreciate your feedback.