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Here they are folks, the most Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies! I have to say, it took me about 15 attempts and a lot of failures, but they are here and I absolutely cannot wait for you to make them.
For me, warm chocolate chip cookies — with a touch of flakey sea salt — are my favorite dessert ever. Fresh out of the oven and still warm, it’s a classic staple that you just cannot beat! For me, I like a chocolate chip cookie that is not super chewy, and definitely not fully crunchy. I like it somewhere in the middle. You know, like the texture you get when you bake a batch of Tollhouse cookies! Golden brown edges with a perfectly soft, and only slightly chewy center.
That is exactly how these cookies turned out. My own husband — a very tough critic when it comes to paleo baked goods — said they tasted like the ‘real deal.’ Cady, who works on my team, said they tasted so much like Tollhouse and it would be very hard to tell the difference. My kids devoured them and my neighbors sent rave review texts when I dropped them off on their doorstep. A total win!
Here are some of the key ingredients that are inside this cookie and why I chose them:
- Coconut Sugar and Maple Syrup– these two together really help sweeten the dough and add that delicious caramelized flavor you want in a cookie.
- Liquid Coconut Oil– a great sub to butter here in this recipe to add fat. I like to use liquid coconut oil (as opposed to traditional melted and cooled coconut oil). I find it is more neutral in flavor and does not make the cookies taste like coconut. You can sub avocado oil here if you need to, and I am sure melted and slightly cooled butter would work, also, but I have found this works best.
- Almond Flour and Tapioca Flour– these two grain-free flours come together to really give these paleo cookies the perfect texture. With almond flour alone, they taste slightly grainy and have some grit to them which I know many people do not like. With the addition of tapioca flour, it softens the texture for a soft and chewy center and smooth texture that doesn’t taste grainy at all — just perfectly crumbly.
Other helpful tips for baking the Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Waiting for your dough to chill is quite frankly, the most frustrating part; however, it is essential in this recipe! Not only does it make the paleo dough easier to work with, but it also helps the flavors to mend.
- Paleo cookie dough is a bit more wet/sticky than traditional cookie dough. Using a cookie scoop helps tremendously when forming the cookies; however, if you don’t have one on hand and end up having to use your hands to help form the cookies prior to baking, damp hands work best! This way the dough will not stick to you.
- Just like all cookies, these are best served fresh out of the oven. I provided some tips below on freezing your cookie dough into pre-portioned balls so that you can have fresh cookie dough in your freezer at all times for a bake-as-you-want-it experience. Don’t worry, they still taste great for about 3 days…but as I said before, fresh. out of the oven cannot be beat!
Also, be sure to try my Brown Sugar “Pop-Tart” Cookies!
Perfect Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Wet:
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup liquid coconut oil can also sub avocado oil
- ¼ cup maple syrup
Dry:
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups super-fine almond flour (from blanched almonds) *I use Bob's Red Mill
- 3/4 cup tapioca flour *I use Bob's Red Mill
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips use dairy-free dark chocolate to keep paleo, I also like to use a mixture of mini chocolate chips and regular sized!
- Maldon salt optional for topping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the vanilla extract, egg, coconut sugar, coconut oil, and maple syrup. Whisk until very well combined.
- Add the cinnamon, almond flour, tapioca, baking soda,and kosher salt. Using a rubber spatula, stir until just combined and smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably 2 hours (I know it’s hard to wait, but it really helps the flavors mend and the grain-free dough to thicken/harden a bit, making it perfectly delicious and easy to work with!)
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. When the dough is ready, scoop dough by rounded 1 – 1.5 tablespoon onto the prepared baking sheet(s), placing at least 2 inches apart. I really recommend using a cookie scoop, since paleo dough is a bit more difficult to work with. If you don’t have a cookie scoop and you may need to use your hands to shape into balls, damp hands work best!
- Transfer to the oven and bake until the cookies are golden brown on the edges, yet still soft in the centers, about 8 minutes. Don’t over-bake your cookies or they will be too hard!!
- Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets before serving.
Notes
To bake from frozen- just set the cookie dough out on the counter while your oven heats. Then place the dough on a baking sheet and bake for 1-2 minutes longer than the recipe directs, keeping an eye on the cookies during those last few minutes so that you can see when they are ready to go.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
Alex do you get anything wrong? Your cookbook is literally my bible at home, so is your blog- but I’ve never tried any of your baking/dessert recipes and I don’t know why I doubted that you could be so good at both cooking AND baking so my expectations were not high. Boy was I wrong! I’ve been baking paleo for almost a decade now and these are by far the best paleo cookies I’ve made to date! Thank you!
I am so bummed. Mine spread like crazy and didn’t bake. I wonder what I did wrong?? I followed the recipe exactly and even chilled the dough for two hours.
Absolutely amazing cookies! I make a batch about once a month and then freeze them and bake as needed!
These are delicious! I didn’t have tapioca flour so I subbed arrowroot. They turned out perfectly. Thanks, Alex!
So glad they were a hit!!!
Please don’t waste your time just making one batch – double this baby up you will not regret it for a second. These basically just disappear in my house !!
The crunch & chew factor, coupled with the two types of chocolate chips made these the best things my lips have ever met- totally addictive and so perfect! I wanted to ask however, I was looking to bake up around a 3 ounce cookie so rolled each into an 85 g dough ball. (This was just something that I had made a note of from cookie baking experiments previously…) I did flatten them a bit before putting them in the oven but each were more thick & puffy rather than thin with a ‘collapsed’ crackle aesthetic like yours, which I actually do prefer. Any clues?Just looking to perfect my technique!😘
Hey Gigi, Did you cut any liquid ingredients or sugar? If so, that may be the reason, as liquid ingredients and sugars ‘melt’ while baking to produce a ‘flatter’ and ‘wider’ cookie. Go ahead and flatten them to your desired height and width before popping them into the oven and they should bake up nearly the same as they appear pre-baking. I typically cut sugars in half and experiment from there (recommended by King Arthur’s baking hotline). Good luck and enjoy!!
These are amazing!! Omg!!!! I’m not a cookie lover but I’m in love. Perfection!
These are THE BEST paleo chocolate chip cookie I’ve tried. And so simple. All of my guests loved them and had no idea they were paleo. You hit the jackpot on these Alex!
OMG YES. I have tried lots of paleo chip cookies (my all time favorite dessert) and these are hands down the best. They taste just like my moms homemade 🍪 when I was a kid. I used avocado oil and my egg was cold and they turned out 100%. They did run together on the pan but that was user error haha. I enjoyed the heck out of them and will make again!
The taste and texture of these cookies turned out fabulous!
The one issue I had was that they didn’t flatten at all, so I had cookie balls instead of regular shaped cookies lol. The taste is so good that I don’t mind, but I’d really like to know what could’ve gone wrong so I can make these again. I followed the instructions but obviously did something wrong, any ideas on what could’ve happened?
These cookies are AMAZING! I have tried several paleo chocolate chip cookie recipes, and they did not pass the husband taste test (were always too grainy and nothing like the really deal.) THESE are like the real deal. Thank you for creating the recipe, this will be a family staple. More baking recipes please!!!! Huge fan of your waffles too. Cheers 🙂
Thank you, Michelle!!! More coming your way soon! xo!
Hi Alex, I’ve made these a couple of times – so delicious! I’ve tried making them on a silpat and parchment paper, and the middle/bottom of cookie falls apart when I pick them off the cookie sheet. Any suggestions on how to make them stay as full cookies? Thank you!!!
They should come off very clean from the cooking sheet! perhaps they need to bake longer, and definitely let them cool completely.
Can the dough be made a day ahead of time and kept in the fridge overnight?
yes it can!
Could i leave out the coconut sugar and only use the 4th cup of maple syrup?
No, the texture won’t turn out the same im sorry!
Holy cow! Best chocolate chip cookies ever. They are scrumptious!!
yay! Thanks, Sandy!
Outstanding recipe! I ditto all the other positive comments, but I wanted to add that I appreciated the reason behind letting the dough sit. I have found with other recipes that I can feel the texture of the almond flour, and I know that I haven t let it sit.. I was also very intrigued to add the tapioca flour to off-set the almond flour, add texture, and stability to the cookie- great science. Lastly, I always appreciate a cookie recipe that doesn’t have an entire pantry of ingredients. I’m looking forward to making these again. Well done!
This will be the ONLY cookie recipe I will use from now on, for the rest of my life. Not even kidding. They are actually PERFECT. Taste, sweetness level, and texture.
I’ve made it twice and my parents are already asking for more. I’m already planning to make more in the next few weeks for family, friends, and the holidays this season. Thank you Alex for this AMAZING recipe. This is so good!
yippee!! THank you so much!! I am so happy you and your family love them!! 🙂