Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
These Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies are chewy, chocolatey and only take 20 minutes to make! This easy recipe tastes rich and decadent but is made with wholesome ingredients for a healthier cookie that's gluten/grain free, dairy free, refined sugar free and absolutely delicious.
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It's hard to beat a chocolate chip cookie, but sometimes I want a treat that's a bit healthier, with less sugar and more nutrient-dense ingredients. These cookies are exactly that.
Why this recipe works
- No electric mixer required
- Beginner friendly - anyone can make these!
- Using chopped dark chocolate instead of chocolate chips creates different size pieces for added interest and better melt-a-bility.
- Gluten free, dairy free, grain free, refined sugar free keeps these cookies Paleo and lower in carbs
- Loaded with healthy fats, protein and fiber to fill you up
- Can be made vegan by swapping in a flax egg
- A little bit of sea salt on top balances the sweetness and makes these super addictive
- Inspired by these cookies from Ambitious Kitchen
Essential Ingredients
- Chocolate – For the best cookies, use the best quality chocolate you can find. I typically use Ghiradelli 60% bars, but you can use a darker chocolate (up to 90%) to make these even lower in sugar. Use a dairy free chocolate if that is important to you.
- Coconut Sugar - This is an unrefined sugar with a caramel-like flavor. You can substitute light or dark brown sugar, but they won't be as healthy.
- Almond Flour - Look for blanched, finely milled or finely sifted almond flour for best results. Do not substitute.
- Coconut Flour - The combination of almond flour and coconut flour gives these cookies the ideal texture. Don't substitute.
- Flaky Sea Salt – Maldon is my preferred salt for sprinkling on cookies because of its large flakes. But fleur de sel, sel gris or any other flaky sea salt will work great.
Step by step instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil and coconut sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt, then mix together until fully incorporated.
- Mix in the chocolate until evenly distributed.
- Scoop out large rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared sheet pans, then use your fingers to press down and flatten into a cookie shape.
- Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until browned and a bit crisp around the edges. Let cool just a bit before eating.
- Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Tips for success
- For a totally Paleo chocolate chunk cookie, be sure to use a dairy free chocolate.
- When chopping the chocolate, aim for some big chunks and some finely chopped pieces for the best flavor and textural variation.
- If you'd like to substitute chocolate chips, use 1 ½ cups.
- Make sure you line your sheet pans with parchment paper (NOT wax paper) or a silpat, otherwise the cookies will stick to the pan.
- Make sure the coconut oil has cooled down a bit before adding it to the batter or it could scramble the eggs.
- The batter might seem a bit loose at first. Let it sit for a few minutes and it will firm up into a thick cookie dough.
- It's important to press and flatten the balls of cookie dough before baking otherwise they will stay as balls once they bake.
- For even flatter, thinner cookies, bang the pan a few times during the cooking process after about 7 minutes (a technique created by Sarah Kieffer).
Faq
Simply substitute the eggs for 2 flax eggs: Mix together 2 tablespoons flax seed meal and 6 tablespoons water and let it sit for 5 minutes before adding to the batter. Also make sure you use dairy free chocolate.
The coconut oil can be replaced with olive oil (NOT extra virgin), avocado oil or ghee.
No. They are similar, but almond flour is typically finer and made from skinless almonds. Do not substitute almond meal in this recipe.
Yes! I recommend freezing the fully baked and cooled cookies on a sheet pan, then once frozen transfer them to a zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months. Simply defrost at room temperature and enjoy.
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Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup coconut oil melted and cooled
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 cup almond flour
- ½ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces dark chocolate chopped OR 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- 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.
- Whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, melted coconut oil and coconut sugar in a large bowl.
- Add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt, then mix together until fully incorporated.
- 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.
- Sprinkle each cookie with sea salt.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until browned and a bit crisp around the edges. Let cool just a bit before eating.
- Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
These are nice and chewy, just sweet enough and sooo chocolatey. Love this as a healthier chocolate chip cookie!
Glad you liked the recipe!
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.
It’s 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!
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 🙂 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 🙂