Soft, chewy, gooey paleo chocolate chip cookies that have a nice crispy outside and that delicious molten inside. You’d never know these cookies are grain-free and refined sugar-free!
I had zero intention of giving you all yet another cookie recipe, but then something happened: a ginormous hankering for gooey, chewy, ultra chocolatey chocolate chip cookies struck me in my stomach chakra and before I knew it, I was conjuring up ways of improving my original recipe for Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies to come out with a version 2.0. Sometimes you just need an ultra comforting cookie, and so…
Version 2.0 is here, and let me just tell you…
Bangarang!
I wanted to title these The BEST Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies In all the Land, but then I figured at some point in the future I would add one more tablespoon of ghee (for instance) or an additional tablespoon of pure maple syrup only to find out these cookies could be improved by yet another subtle adjustment…you catch my drift?
..That said, it’s difficult for me to imagine them getting any better!
I made a few subtle changes to the same recipe I’ve been making for years, and those subtle changes made all the difference. I added tapioca flour for fluffy texture, some almond butter, and I used ghee instead of coconut oil. PLUS, I sprinkled the cookies with Himalayan Pink Salt when they came out of the oven, because: fancy and because: salt + sweet = epic mind meld.
The salty-sweet combo, the goo, the soft and chewy yet exterior crisp (it’s ALL ABOUT the crinkle top, can we agree?!) of these cookies makes them nearly indistinguishable from a regular chocolate chip cookie.
My guess is if you handed one to a friend, he or she would never be able to tell the difference.
So if you’re tired of all the holiday hubbub, take a therapeutic baking moment for yourself and whip up a batch of (sorry ->) THE BEST paleo chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had the pleasure to consume.
But pace yourself. Don’t do as I did and eat 4 off the bat…they’re definitely sultry little temptresses, but you’ll want to save some for breakfast and of course share one or two them with your beloved humans.
Ingredients for THE BEST Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Almond Flour: An easy to access and work with grain-free flour. Almond flour is full of fiber, magnesium, healthy fats and a small amount of plant-based protein. When combined with tapioca flour, you can make delicious grain-free desserts that have a similar consistency as regular flour goodies.
Tapioca Flour: This starchy flour helps bind the cookies together, giving them the texture of regular chocolate chip cookies. If you stay away from starches, you can replace it with more almond flour.
Ghee: Ghee is clarified butter, or butter that has been cooked to remove the milk solids (lactose). Most folks with lactose intolerance can tolerate ghee. It is packed with omega-3s and B Vitamins. You can use regular butter or coconut oil to replace the ghee in this recipe.
Pure Maple Syrup: Used to sweeten the cookies, pure maple syrup is a great minimally processed sweetener that is easy to incorporate into baked goods.
Almond Butter: The almond butter in these cookies is a little je ne sais quois that gives them a chewiness and a unique essence that you won’t want to miss! If you don’t have the almond butter on hand, you can skip it without replacing it with anything else (i.e. don’t add more ghee).
Egg and Baking Soda: The agents to leaven, rise, and hold! The egg and baking soda help make the cookies fluffy, chewy, and hold together.
Sea Salt, Cinnamon & Vanilla Extract: These three ingredients aren’t mandatory in baked goods but truly add wonderful subtle flavor. You don’t want to skip them!
Chocolate Chips or Chunks: The main event of these delicious paleo chocolate chip cookies! Select your chocolate based on your own personal preference. I like using dark chocolate bars and/or stevia-sweetened chocolate chips.
To Roll or Not to Roll?
There comes a time in everyone’s baking life when he or she questions if the dough should be rolled into a ball or not. Really, that’s a matter of preference. Here is what the cookies look like when you roll the dough into a ball prior to baking it:
Both baking methodologies yield insanely delicious results, HOWEVER!:
My preference from a texture standpoint is to not dough roll. Simply dropping spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet yields that crispy crinkle top. They seem to be gooey-er this way, too!
You can also use dark chocolate chunks (as seen in the photo above) instead of chocolate chips. I chopped up a dark chocolate bar for these cookies and was blown away by how amazing the cookies turned out.
More Grain-Free Cookie Recipes:
- Paleo White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Chocolate-Dipped Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
- 5-Ingredient Paleo Banana Bread Cookies
- Paleo Morning Glory Cookies
Happy cookie baking!
My cookbook, Paleo Power Bowls, is now available! CLICK HERE to check it out. Thank you for your support!
If you make this recipe, please feel free to share a photo and tag @TheRoastedRoot on Instagram!
The Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup ghee softened, not melted
- 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond butter
- 1.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 2/3 cups finely ground almond flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips see note**
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add the egg, ghee, pure maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla extract to a stand mixer. Fit the stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat until mixture is completely creamy and there are no visible chunks of ghee.
- Add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, and sea salt and mix until combined. Mix in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour.
- Drop spoonfuls of dough on a baking sheet according to the size of cookies you like. I enjoy making mine fairly large.
- Bake for 8 to 15 minutes, depending on your desired level of chewiness or crunch. For me, 11 to 12 minutes is the sweet spot of ultimate goo-to-crunch. Allow cookies to sit 5 minutes before using a spatula to remove them from the baking sheet.
We are out of Christmas cookies. I am not sure where 500 cookies went! I need to make some cookies tonight, so I will give these a whirl. They look delicious!
Don’t d dairy. Can 2.0 be made but keeping with coconut oil?
Hi Donna, Absolutely! Use softened coconut oil (still solid but not rock hard) for the best result 🙂 Hope you enjoy!!
So can coconut flour be used instead of tapioca flour?
Hi! This looks amazing, but I don’t have any ghee on hand. Would coconut oil or non-hydrogenated, organic vegetable shortening work?
Hi Grace, coconut oil definitely works! I haven’t tested this exact recipe with coconut oil, but I’m confident it would turn out great. Just make sure it’s softened (not liquid but not hard as a rock) and you’re good to go! As a side note, you can use my original recipe for Paleo Chocolate Chip cookies – it calls for coconut oil 😉 https://www.theroastedroot.net/grain-free-chocolate-chip-cookies-with-walnuts/
Hi Grace! UPDATE! I just baked the cookies using coconut oil and they turned out great. I baked them for 12 minutes instead of 10 because they were under-done at 10, but other than that, there were no changes to the recipe. Enjoy! xo
AMAZINGGG!!! Thank you! Will 100% be making them tonight. Can’t stand watching my family eat Gma’s cookies and bread without me? You ROCK!!!
Yaaaay I’m so happy to hear it! I feel ya on not wanting to miss out on treats! I hope you love these cookies as much as I do!! xoxo
Hi, sorry if I’m being a pedant, but some folks follow instructions to the letter – are the chocolate chips lightly mixed / kneaded in at the of the preparation. in the mixer they would likely lose their chunkiness?
Hi Luisa, No problem at all! I mix the chocolate chips into the dough with my mixer until they’re well-incorporated into the dough. The chips don’t lose their chunkiness 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xo
Danger–I have all these ingredients on hand!!! Your cookies may have just replaced shepherd’s pie as my plan for tonight’s dinner…
Is there any reason why butter would not work as well as the ghee?
Hi Lisa, Butter will work too! The cookies won’t technically be paleo if you use regular butter, but so long as you’re okay with that, they should turn out great!
It seems so Yummy. Wanna try it out for sure.
This recipe is amazing. I use the 69% cacao chips from Enjoy Life, maintaining a no dairy concept. Thank you!
You’re very welcome, Lynnie! Thanks so much for the sweet note!
I tried this today… with coconut oil and I can say this is an AMAZING recipe!! Something I will definitely be keeping in my recipe book. I did have a question about how you store this? Do you keep it out in an airtight container or should it be in the fridge? How long do they keep?
thank you!
I’m so glad you like them, Chloe! I store them in a zip lock bag (tupperware container works great too!) and keep them in the freezer only so that I’m not tempted to eat one every time I walk in the kitchen. You can definitely keep them in the refrigerator, though 😉 In the freezer, they will last up to 2 months, and in the refrigerator, they will last up to 10 days (although I’d say they’re best within the 7-day window). xo
Cookies with the chocolate are the best! I eat it with the milk
Agreed! Hope you enjoy!
Is this really 236 calories for 15 cookies?? How is that even possible!
Hi Whitney,
It’s 236 calories per cookie 😀
Yes
looks so delicious trying it tonight for sure ..i would like to use ghee and butter together instead of oil..lets see how it works.thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Olive! I hope you love the cookies! xx
According to the info provided it says that each serving is 235 calories. Does that mean 235 per cookie?…….or is a “serving” 15 cookies? Ha ha!! I know this sounds rather silly to ask, but how big is each cookie?? I am planning on making a double recipe.
I have just put my “homemade” chocolate chips (chunks) into the fridge to harden. Can’t wait to try this recipe. I hope each cookie is not 235 calories, otherwise I will have to really watch it!! The do look so delicious.
Hi Vickie!
That calorie count is per cookie, lol…but I did make mine pretty large – they were about 3 inches across, so you can definitely make them smaller 😀 Hope you enjoy!
Wonderful recipe its yummy. I will surely try this
These cookies are looking very delicious.I will try these cookies at my home .Thank You very much for this delicious cookies .
You’re welcome! I hope you love them, John!
Can you make these with all almond flour and no tapioca flour? We don’t have any…
Hi Kayt,
Yes, you can replace the tapioca flour with more almond flour. I would add an additional 2 tablespoons of almond flour (total for 4 Tbsp) since tapioca is a better binder than almond 😀
What can I use instead of tapioca flour? I have marine collagen peptides, unflovored whey protein powder, cassava flour, arrow root and guar gum. TIA
Go for the arrowroot flour! Cassava would work too, but arrowroot would be ideal. 😀
Yummy yummy yummy! Great recipe!
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Connie! It’s one of my favorites! 😀
I have successfully made this recipe. Thanks to you.
Please keep us informed like this. Thank you for sharing
looks so delicious trying it tonight for sure..
So much tempting and crunchy these cookies look.
I really liked this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear it, John! Thanks for letting me know!
Thank you for this chocolate chip cookies recipe.
What a wonderful blog this is a beautiful website and you help to provide a delicious recipes thanks for share
It’s looks so amazing. So I want to try these cookies
I am having so much fun with this recipe …. the first cookies that do not make me feel ill … Thankyou so much
I’m so happy to hear you tolerate them well, Angie! Thanks so much for the sweet note! xoxo
I want to try this, ita looks very amazing
We absolutely love these cookies! I’d love to use gluten free rolled oats to make these oatmeal cookies. Could you tell me how much flour I should withhold and substitute with the oats. I’m not super experienced. Could that even work?
Hi Kate!
I haven’t tested the recipe using oats but if I were to try it with this exact recipe, I would omit 1/4 cup of the almond flour and add 2/3 to 1 cup of oats. I hope that helps! Let me know how they turn out 🙂
My new favorites. These are delicious!
Wahoo! I’m thrilled to hear it, Stella!