The other day at the store, I noticed a big bag of almond flour on sale. I remembered these great chewy chocolate almond flour cookies, and decided to get a bag just so I could whip up this recipe again. These tender little gems have a slight hot cocoa flavor, and are just sweet enough to call dessert.
Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies that are Perfectly Sweet & Satisfying
This recipe was originally shared with us by Elana Amsterdarm from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, but I have updated it. Elana always bakes gluten-free, grain-free, soy-free, and low sugar, and usually shuns dairy. This recipe for chocolate almond flour cookies also happens to be egg-free and vegan! But I have some answers to FAQs addressing additional recipe options.
Can I Use Almond Meal Instead of Almond Flour?
Elana prefers to use blanched, fine almond flour. But I’ve found that these chocolate almond flour cookies come out great with unblanched, home-ground almond flour, too. That said, almond meal might be a little coarse. It depends on the brand, but a fairly fine grind is still preferred.
How Do You Make Your Own Almond Flour
Pulse raw almonds in a spice / coffee grinder (in batches) or in a food processor until a floury almond meal consistency is reached. This happens very fast; do not overgrind lest you end up with almond butter. Using a mesh sieve, sift the almond flour to extract the finest bits to use for your flour. Repeat until you have the amount you need. Don’t fear waste either; you can turn any rejects into almond butter!
What Can I Substitute for the Arrowroot Starch?
Cornstarch will work just fine. Tapioca starch might also be a good option, but we haven’t tested it with this recipe specifically.
What is Unsweetened Cocoa Powder?
Unsweetened or natural cocoa powder hasn’t been treated with alkali (like Dutch processed cocoa powder), so it’s more acidic and more bitter. That acidity reacts with baking soda (an alkali) in your cookie dough, giving it a little lift, better texture, and neutralizing the bitterness in the cocoa and the naturally acrid flavor of the baking soda. You can find natural cocoa powder from brands like Hershey’s, Scharffen Berger, Ghirardelli Unsweetened, and Anthony’s.
How Chocolaty are these Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies?
They are on the hot cocoa side in my opinion. If you want more intensely chocolate cookies, you can increase the cocoa powder to taste. I would start with another 1/2 tablespoon, taste the dough, and see what you think.
What About Chocolate Chips?
Go for it! I would use dairy-free mini chocolate chips specifically. About 1/4 cup might be enough since this is a smaller batch, and you might need to press some of the chips into the dough.
Those Look Like Sandwich Cookies. What Did You Use for the Filling?
See my Dairy-Free Cookie Filling Recipes. That post includes my simple base recipe plus a few flavorful variations. These chocolate almond flour cookies work great with a filling since they are just gently sweet on their own.
Special Diet Notes: Chewy Chocolate Cookies
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, peanut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
- ¾ cup almond flour, packed
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch (see post above for options)
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 tablespoons agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup – or a combination
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the almond flour, starch, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetener, oil, and vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in your medium bowl, until well combined.
- Scoop the dough by the tablespoon onto your prepared baking sheet. The dough is a little sticky but fairly pliable, and can be loosely rolled into balls.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Do not overcook them. The tops of the cookies will start to look a little dry and crack a bit when done, but not as much as chocolate cookies that contain eggs.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet or a wire rack for 30 minutes. They will firm up as they cool.
More Dairy-Free Recipes using Almond Flour
Strawberry Cream Tart
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Crispy Almond Flour Cookies
