These Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies are chewy, chocolatey and crazy addictive! This easy recipe is gluten/grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free and shockingly delicious.
Last week I got the surprise of a lifetime, and it wasn’t exactly a good one.
I found out – the hard way – that I think I have to start avoiding gluten in my diet. WHAT?!
I know, I know… Me!! Of all people!! Practically 75% of the recipes on this website are made with at least some form of wheat. I was as shocked, as I’m sure you are too.
Without going into too much unnecessary personal detail, I recently learned via trial and error that gluten is perhaps the biggest underlying causes of my Rosacea. Unlike what many people think, Rosacea doesn’t just give you cute rosy colored cheeks. When I have a bad flare-up, I look like a person with tragically bad acne who’s also having an allergic reaction to shellfish. It’s not pretty.
After going on a brief “cleanse” in the new year, I began to notice I was having particularly bad flare-ups after I ate anything that contained wheat – bread, pasta, pizza, beer, etc. In hindsight, it now makes sense why my skin was so inflamed the whole time we were in Italy last October.
I’m still experimenting with isolated ingredients in attempt to figure out which specific foods affect me worse. So far, my reactions are minimal when I consume small amounts of wheat, but I wonder if the longer I avoid it, the worse those reactions will get. One night, after eating a few meatballs made with breadcrumbs I had little to no reaction, but then another night I ate pasta and drank wheat beer and it resulted in me looking like a leper for the next few days.
You guys, it suuuucks. I spent a solid week being super depressed over it. I love wheat. I love cooking and baking with it, I love its distinct, comforting flavor and unique variety of satisfying textures. I love toast and bagels and pizza and fresh out of the oven bread. I love pasta and noodles; wheat berries and farro; crispy breaded cutlets and beer battered fish. BEER.
After a few days of feeling sorry for myself, I decided to get back into the kitchen to see what was possible, and it turns out, there’s quite a lot. I need to stop focusing on what I can’t eat, and turn my attention towards what I can. There are so many delicious things that can be made gluten free – like chocolate chip cookies! – it’s just a matter of making a simple shift in mindset for me to feel okay about it all.
My friend Andrea introduced me to a version of these Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies last year via the blog Ambitious Kitchen. Monique makes lots of super tasty healthy treats, and has been a big inspiration for my own healthy baking – uhhh – ambitions. Andrea made her recipe for chocolate chip cookies last year but accidentally used half of the amount of almond flour called for. Still, they turned out really good, and after baking them a second time using the correct measurements, she actually liked the original batch better. I tried them and agreed. They were a lot better.
I’ve since made my own tweaks to the recipe, adding in more salt, more vanilla, more chocolate and they’ve become an absolute staple in our house. They’re baked up with coconut sugar, so it’s unrefined and a little easier on the body. They also use a combination of coconut and almond flour for a really nice, balanced texture that isn’t chalky or weird tasting in anyway. As long as you use a dairy free dark chocolate, these Paleo chocolate chunk cookies are totally dairy free since the recipe calls for coconut oil instead of butter (although if you wanted to use butter, I can’t imagine it would be bad).
These Paleo chocolate chunk cookies even get the approval of Chaser, who is practically allergic to anything healthy or “gluten free”. He’s been more than supportive of my new endeavor, especially since he know’s I’d rather walk around with my face on fire than eat a diet of unappetizing food. Chaser does prefer a crispier cookie, since they’re more suitable for dunking in milk, but he’s a fan of these Paleo chocolate chunk cookies none the less. They have a slightly cakey texture, sure, but they also have a decent amount of chewiness. And yes, they do a very nice job of soaking up milk.
You can definitely expect to see more “gluten free” recipes here on my blog in the future, but one thing I can assure you is they won’t be published unless they’re absolutely awesome, and these Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies definitely fit that bill.
One Year Ago: Thai Green Curry | Croissant Morning Buns
Two Years Ago: Honey Butter Granola | Chicken Tortilla Soup
Three Years Ago: Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pecorino + Herbs | Meyer Lemon Marmalade + How to Create an Epic Cheese Board
Four Years Ago: Fennel Orange Salad with Toasted Pistachios
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These Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies are chewy, chocolatey and crazy addictive! This easy recipe is gluten/grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free and shockingly delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped* (see note)
- Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon) for sprinkling (optional but highly recommended!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper (I foolishly skipped this step once and the cookies stuck to the pan).
- Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil (be sure it’s cooled or it will scramble the eggs!) and coconut sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt, then mix together until fully incorporated. If the mixture seems a bit loose at first, let it sit for a few minutes so it can firm up into a thick dough.
- Mix in the chocolate until evenly distributed.
- Scoop out large rounded tablespoons of dough on to the prepared sheet pans, then use your fingers to press down and flatten into a cookie shape, as they will stay in a ball shape once baked if you don’t. Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt if desired.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until browned and a bit crisp around the edges. Let cool just a bit before eating.
- These cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
*For a totally Paleo recipe, be sure to use a dairy free chocolate. I like to have a mix of big chunks and finely chopped pieces for the best flavor and textural variation. If you’d like to substitute chocolate chips, use 1 1/2 cups.
Keywords: paleo, chocolate, chip, chunk, cookies, dairy free, gluten free, grain free, best cookie
Nicole Gaffney, aka Coley, is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, tv host and food writer.
I feel for you with this diagnosis. . .I imagine I’d have just as hard a time if it was me. And it probably is, but I don’t know it yet π Thanks for sharing your story, and for making these really yummy-looking cookies. They’re on my list of must-tries!
Thanks for the support and encouragement, Nicole! I had just been “dealing” with the skin issues for so long, never really taking the time to figure out my triggers. I probably knew but was in denial. It feels good to have some control over it, but it’s still a bummer! Hope you love the cookies π
I feel ya, Coley! Every woman in my family has rosacea, and we’ve all come to the same conclusion. It’s hard to stick with but what a huge difference! It all comes down to calming inflammation, and that’s something I need to do for RA as well. It sucks and I don’t do it 100 percent, but over the past 7 years I have been so much better thanks to awareness (some food is worth being red and feeling rough). Glad you’ll have more recipes to keep me on track, and I love that you started with the most important food!
I didn’t know you suffered from rosacea too! I’m finding out it’s so much more common than I thought. You’re right, some food is definitely worth the red, inflamed face.
Itβs a tough one! My daughter has the Eczema and we avoid wheat and soy and has helped her tremendously. Now that she has it under control she occasionally has wheat at parties, restaurants without good options, or if she is simply craving an occasional piece of tomato pie. Pasta was the most difficult for her and we found that Jovial is our favorite GF option, it has the closest consistency/texture to wheat pasta. Good luck and looking forward to more Gluten Free options on your blog.
That’s great to hear that ditching wheat and soy have made such an impact! I’m going to mess around with some other food eliminations, but so far gluten has made the most significant and obvious difference. I appreciate the support and glad you’re looking forward to more gluten free recipes!