Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies
Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies

Iโ€™d like to introduce you to, quite possibly, my favorite cookie in the entire world. And if youโ€™ve ever had my Mamaโ€™s crazy awesome chocolate chip cookies, youโ€™d know itโ€™s really saying something to elevate these babies above those.

The reason I love these almond butter cookies so much isnโ€™t just because they taste amazing (they so do), but itโ€™s also because, at just six ingredients total, they are beautifully simple, and actually kinda healthy. But not in a โ€œIโ€™m chewing on a piece of cardboard thatโ€™s supposed to taste like a cookieโ€ kind of healthy. An actual, honest-to-god, decadent, richy, chocolatey, chewy, just-happens-to-be-healthier kind of healthy.

I first tasted these cookies in 2010, when my รผber-health-conscious sister-in-law brought me one sheโ€™d made (she hand-delivered it to me in a little baggie at my mother-in-lawโ€™s kitchen table, in fact). I was totally bowled overโ€”especially when she told me they had no flour in them at all!

These almond butter cookies are buttery and tender and sweet and rich and chocolatey. They are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free (if you choose vegan chocolate chips). Iโ€™ve been making and loving them ever since!

These cookies are totally flourlessโ€”and Iโ€™m not just talking using a flour substitute hereโ€”no weird flours or meals or gums or crazy additives that you have to find from a specialty health food store. Even without the flour, they bake into gloriously soft pillows of deliciousness.

In fact, they are so soft and tender, that when you pull them out of the oven, youโ€™ll think there is no way they are ever going to solidify, but I promise they will. Unlike a lot of cookies, youโ€™ll want to let these babies cool completely on the cookie sheet before moving them. And donโ€™t even think about baking them until they are solidโ€”if you do, when they cool, theyโ€™ll be hard as bricks (trust me, been there). Nothing a dip in a cold glass of almond milk canโ€™t fix, but itโ€™s better to err on the side of too soft. For me, they are ready at right around 10 minutes in my oven.

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies - Cookie Sheet

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies - Milk

If youโ€™re tempted to try to sub in a more natural sweetener (say, honey or maple syrup) for the sugar in this recipe, fight the urge. Iโ€™ve tried it, and it just doesnโ€™t work. You need a dry sweetener to make the texture of this batter stick together. If youโ€™re looking for a more natural option, try coconut sugar, turbinado sugar, or sucanatโ€”which are all less processed than straight up granulated white sugar. 

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies - Plate

And before you ask, yes, you sure can use peanut butter (or sunflower butter) in place of the almond butter! Just make sure to use unsweetened, natural nut butter without additives.

But, before you go swapping out the almond butter, let me tell you that Iโ€™m not a big fan of almond butterโ€”I have texture issues with itโ€”but I love it in these cookies. These cookies are pretty much the only thing I use almond butter in. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies

Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies

Yield: 18 cookies
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

These Chocolate Chip Almond Butter Cookies only require six ingredients, are dairy- and gluten-free...and still manage to be decadent and rich!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond butter
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar (coconut sugar, turbinado, and sucanat all work, too)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (use vegan if dairy-free)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
  2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy. A hand mixer or stand mixer might make this a little easier.
  3. Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, and press down with the bottom of a glass slightly to spread out.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 9-12 minutes, or until the cookies are beginning to crack on the edges and look slightly brown. They will still be very soft—do not wait until cookies set-up to take them out of the oven. You don’t want to overbake these, so err on the side of underdone.
  5. Let cool for 15 minutes or so on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Notes

You can sub in peanut butter or sunbutter, just make sure they are natural, unsweetened versions.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 cookies Serving Size: 1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 141Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 70mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 3g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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26 Comments

  1. Wonderful, liked the texture very much!!! But is there an option to reduce the sugar in half or even more without changing the texture too much? Because they were too sweet for me… I’m trying to consume less suger.
    Thank you very much!

    1. I’ve never tried reducing the sugar, but I’d start off by trying to reduce it 2 tablespoons at a time. I’m assuming you could probably take as much as 1/4 cup out without it effecting the texture too much (but again, I haven’t tested it).

  2. I just made these exactly as instructed (using coconut sugar), mine are not flat at all! They never spread out so they’re still a big blob. Not sure why that would be…. They tasted ok but I took your advice to use Ghirardelli choc chips and I really don’t like them, they’re tangy or something. I’ll try these again with a different choc chip maybe.

    1. I haven’t tested it with any egg substitutes, so I wouldn’t recommend it. Baking is tricky when it comes to using egg subs!

  3. I really wanted this to work but it was a huge fail! I have no idea why but the oil separated first during mixing then baking. I couldn’t get it to stay together like a cookie so made it into a bar, but even that doesn’t seem to have worked!

    1. So sorry to hear they bombed for you! I have no idea on the oil separationโ€”I usually don’t have a problem with oil separating in almond butter (unlike natural peanut butter), so I don’t even know where to start. Sorry I’m not more help!

  4. Just made these with sunflower seed butter and rice sugar (I live in Germany where it’s called “kristalline ReissรผรŸe” and am not sure if you can get that in the US – it’s crystalized brown rice syrup with the texture of very fine sugar) and they turned out so well! They spread out a bit because of the rice sugar I think, but the flavor was great and the texture very tender and buttery and not too sweet. Thanks for the recipe!