I know not everyone has a sweet tooth but sometimes I just crave a little dessert. When you’re doing paleo, your dessert options can feel limited. Well, I’m excited to share a great Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe that lets you indulge a little while still feeling good. These cookies are chewy, moist, chocolatey, grain free, and dairy free. It’s now one of my favorite homemade paleo treats!
This Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe uses a mix of almond flour and coconut flour in lieu of wheat flour. Not all nut flours are the same so keep in mind that substituting them would yield a different cookie. This recipe also uses coconut oil and coconut sugar but if you aren’t concerned about paleo and just want to stick with being grain free, feel free to just use butter and brown sugar instead!
Homemade Chocolate Chips
One of my favorite paleo bloggers is Juli of PaleOMG. Juli is sassy, fun, and such a real person – evening though she’s totally insta-famous and has a podcast 😛. Yes, her blog is about paleo cooking and eating but it’s also about fashion, fitness, and just feeling good about yourself. She isn’t concerned about eating perfectly or giving you the run down of paleo science. She just wants to eat and share good food.
I want to channel Juli in my paleo journey…but I’m also a crazy baker who loves a challenge and will try to make anything from scratch at least once. So, that being said, if you just want to buy some chocolate chips for this cookie – go for it! But, if you want to make your own, luckily homemade chocolate chips aren’t too hard to whip up!
Three ingredients: Honey, Coconut Oil, and Cocoa Powder (can also use cacao powder)
Essentially you just melt and mix everything together over the stove. Once everything is smooth and well combined, you pour the chocolate onto a baking sheet and stick it in the fridge until it sets. Chop it up and voila, homemade chocolate chips! That easy. You can add sea salt and vanilla extract for some extra flavor. If you can spare a batch, this is perfect for some paleo/vegan chocolate bark. Add in peppermint, coconut flakes, pretzels…the options are endless when you have chocolate 😁
BAKING TIPS FOR THESE PALEO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
I am by no means a professional baker but after you’ve mixed and whipped what seems like endless batches of baked goods, you start to learn a few things. I actually enjoy reading the notes and comments section of food blogs to see what kind of modifications people are trying. It can be really helpful! Sometimes overwhelming but then you just keep on scrolling. Here are a few tips I have for these cookies:
- Knead the Coconut Oil – If you use coconut oil, spend a little extra time making sure it mixes fully into the dough. Best way? Use your hands. It’s kinda gross because it helps melt the oil a bit.
- Shape the Cookie – When you scoop the dough onto the cookie sheet, flatten it down a bit with your palm. This dough doesn’t melt much so you have to pre-shapen it before baking.
- Moisture without the Grease – A trick to balance out the moisture without the oil in these cookies? Almond butter! Add a few more tablespoons if you feel like your dough isn’t holding together well but you’ve already added enough oil.
- Cool it Down – This is probably a personal preference but I like to keep these cookies in the fridge. They firm up a bit which makes it a nice texture but still stays moist and chewy!
Hope you enjoy making these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies! If you like these, then you gotta try the Grain Free Espresso Brownies. Finding delicious paleo sweets get me super excited so if you have any favorites, please share! Just got some new filing cabinets at work and I have a drawer fully dedicated to snackage that needs to be stocked😉.
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil, room temperature not melty – can substitute with butter
- 5 Tbsp pure almond butter – optional…but tastes so much better with it!
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar – can subsitute with brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips – or more if you’d like!
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIPS
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract – optional
- Pinch of salt – optional
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together the coconut oil and coconut sugar. Add in egg, almond butter, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until everything is well combined. Use your hands to knead in the coconut oil, making sure there are not chunks left in the dough.
- Gently mix in the chocolate chips. Save a few to place on top of the cookies prior to baking.
- Use a cookie scoop or roll the dough into little balls and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place the remaining chocolate chips on top and gently flatten the dough balls with your palms.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the edges are slightly browning. Brown sugar may take a few extra minutes. Take out of oven and let them sit on the tray for about 10 minutes before moving them onto a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.
HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIPS
- Prepare a lined baking sheet.
- Put coconut oil, coca powder, and honey into a small saucepan and heat over medium until well combined. Can add in vanilla if desired.
- Remove from heat and pour melted chocolate onto the baking sheet, using a spatula to smooth it out until you get your desired thickness. Sprinkle sea salt as an option.
- Place in freezer for about an hour to harden, or leave in the fridge overnight.
- Once harden, take out and chop into pieces. Save any remaining chocolate chips in the fridge (the coconut oil makes it melt more easily!)
