These chewy, soft, and sweet paleo chocolate chip cookies are so yummy. They’ll just melt in your mouth. Cookies are paleo-friendly, gluten-free, and vegetarian.
Do you love chocolate chip cookies? Me too!
After all, what’s not to love about a chewy cookie filled with ooey, gooey chocolate chips?
However, your traditional chocolate chip cookie is packed with dairy, grains, and refined sugars. And all these are No-Nos on a Paleo diet.
So, what does a gal or guy do – stop eating chocolate chip cookies? No – I have a better solution!
These paleo chocolate chip cookies are a healthier version of your traditional chocolate chip cookies.
They’re sweet, chewy, yummy, and they just melt in your mouth. You’ll definitely want more than one.
So go ahead – no judging here.
That’s because they’re good for you too. One cookie provides 10% of your daily fiber needs.
So, your tastebuds and digestive system are happy too.
They also contain tons of monounsaturated fats. These are excellent fats that are good for your heart.
They may also reduce inflammation – and help you lose weight too. So, eat a cookie or two.
Ingredients You’ll Need
The ingredients you need to make these cookies are pretty basic. In fact, you may already be familiar with them.
They are:
Dry Ingredients
Almond flour – This is a Paleo-friendly and gluten-free alternative to all-purpose flour. It’s not only Paleo-approved but more nutritious too.
Almond flour is also high in fat – and that’s a good thing. Fat retains moisture, so your cookies are moist and tender.
Tapioca flour – Tapioca flour is incredible for baking – especially gluten-free baking. In baking, gluten helps bind your ingredients.
Besides using tapioca flour in baking, you can also use it to thicken stews and puddings. If you’d like to get some tapioca flour, you can get some here.
Coconut flour – This is another Paleo-friendly and gluten-free alternative to all-purpose flour. It’s also quite nutritious.
In fact, it contains a ton of fiber. This means it absorbs a lot of liquid when you bake with it.
This results in your dough being much thicker than you expect. So, you’ll want to add it in very slowly.
Coconut sugar – Coconut sugar is a healthier alternative to refined cane sugar. That’s because coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than refined cane sugar.
Coconut sugar also has a mild caramel flavor. This adds sweetness and a bit of earthiness to your cookies.
Now, coconut sugar may be trickier to find at your local grocery store. But you can get some here.
Salt – Yes, you read that right. You want to add a bit of salt to your dough.
That’s because it really enhances the flavor of the almond flour and chocolate. So don’t leave it out.
Baking soda – Adding baking soda to your cookies gives them more air. This causes air pockets, resulting in a softer cookie.
Cinnamon – This adds a warm, comforting flavor to these chocolate cookies. Yum!
Nutmeg – Nutmeg also adds warmth. And it provides a beautiful aroma in your kitchen when you’re baking your cookies.
Wet Ingredients
Ghee – Ghee is actually clarified butter. This means that all the casein and lactose have been removed.
This makes it Paleo-friendly. Ghee adds a rich butter flavor to your cookies.
You will want your ghee at room temperature. This will make it easier to whisk together.
Egg – The eggs act as a binder, so your dough holds together. This gives your cookies structure.
And the protein in the eggs makes your cookies nice and chewy.
Like the ghee, you’ll want your egg to be at room temperature. This will ensure your dough doesn’t clump together.
Honey – Honey acts as a sweetener. And because it is a bit sweeter than sugar, you can use less of it.
It also acts as a humectant. This means that it draws in moisture, so your cookies have a great mouth-feel.
It also makes your cookies last longer. Yay!
Vanilla extract – Vanilla extract provides warm, subtle sweet flavors. So your cookies go from good to great.
Dark Chocolate Chips – What would a chocolate chip cookie be without chocolate chips. Using dark chocolate chips gives you the chocolate factor – without the dairy.
And the darker the chocolate, the better. That’s because it contains more cocoa, which means more antioxidants.
How to Make Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Making these cookies is actually quite easy. In fact, you could make these cookies with your kids – you’ll definitely score brownie points with them.
Begin by preheating your oven to 350F. Then prepare your baking sheet by placing parchment paper on it.
Next, mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl, combining well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients.
Then slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. You’ll want to do this by adding two tablespoons at a time, mixing in between.
That’s because the dough gets quite thick.
Fold in your chocolate chips.
Next, use the dough to form 12 little balls.
Place the balls on your parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.
Flatten each ball with a spoon. This will crack the edges.
So do take some time to smooth them out first. Then pop your dough in the oven.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. Finally, let them cool down before serving, so they don’t fall apart.
Enjoy your cookies with a nice cup of tea or coffee. And if you want to treat yourself, serve with Paleo-friendly ice cream.
What Makes Cookies Chewy and Crunchy?
That’s a great question! The crunchiness or chewiness of your cookies depends on how much moisture is in the cookie batter.
If you like a crunchy cookie, you’ll want to use ingredients that hold less moisture and fat.
If you want a chewy cookie, you’ll want to use an ingredient that holds more moisture. For instance, brown sugar holds more moisture than white sugar.
So, using brown sugar will result in a chewier cookie. To keep it Paleo friendly, you can use molasses or honey for a chewier cookie.
Another way you can make your cookies chewier is to double your yolks. Instead of using one egg for your batter, you can omit the egg white.
And then use two egg yolks instead.
To make your cookies chewier, you can also use baking powder instead of baking soda. This is because baking powder is more acidic.
So, it will keep your cookies from spreading out as much. This, in turn, prevents your cookies from drying out.
You can also change the baking temperature from 350F to 325 F. This will make your cookies cook a bit slower and be moister.
You can also rest your cookie dough in the fridge for at least one hour. This will cause some of the water to evaporate and increase the sugar content.
This results in chewier cookies.
Watch Full Video: Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
More of a visual learner? Make these cookies with these video instructions!
How to Store and Freeze Cookies?
To keep your cookies nice and chewy, make sure you store them in an airtight container.
You can use either a glass storage container like this or BPA-free plastic container like this.
Then place them in your fridge or freezer. They should last up to 2 months in the freezer.
What Does Adding an Extra Egg Do to Cookies?
Eggs are rich in fat and moisture. So, adding an extra egg to your cookies will make them chewier, richer, and more flavourful.
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Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cup blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
Wet Ingredients:
- ¼ cup ghee room temperature
- 1 egg room temperature
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and place parchment paper on a baking sheet.
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine as well as possible.
- Whisk together all the wet ingredients in a different large bowl.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ones and combine. The dough will be quite thick at this point.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Form the dough into 12 or so balls and place them on the baking sheet.
- Flatten the dough and bake for 10-12 minutes in the oven or until golden brown.
- Let them cool down before serving.