Chocolate Chunk Almond Butter Cookies

7 ingredients, gluten free and tastes like the real deal?! You better believe these rich and fudgy cookies will make your heart swoon!

In case you all haven’t noticed by now… I have one MAJOR sweet tooth! And while I’m a firm believer that the “real deal” desserts definitely have their place in the world, I also love finding healthier alternatives to satisfy my cravings too. Which is just another reason why I love these chocolate chunk almond butter cookies so much! Not only are they made with NO BUTTER and NO OIL, but they’re also gluten free and pretty low on the sugar too. But the best part?! They still taste like the rich and decadent chocolate chip cookies that we all know and love!

Seriously, how can you pass that up right?!

Ingredients

One of the main reasons I recommend this recipe so much is because it’s so simple and only requires 7 ingredients! (Most of which I’m sure you already have in your pantry too!) Check out the ingredients you’ll need below.

• Almond butter: Can use regular or natural almond butter. (See next section for details.)
• Almond flour: Make sure to use superfine almond flour and NOT almond meal! (Almond meal is made with almonds that still have their “skin” on which makes it much harder to use as a “binder” in baking recipes.)
• Coconut sugar: Can be replaced with brown sugar instead. (I used golden brown coconut sugar for mine.)
• Egg
• Baking Soda
• Vanilla
• Chocolate chips: I would suggest using semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips for this recipe. (You can also use your favorite chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips too!)

What type of almond butter works the best for this recipe?

While most almond butters usually taste the same, some brands do tend to have a slightly different consistency/texture. For example, more natural almond butters can be more liquified and “grainy” than most commericial brands. This is important to note because the more “drippy” or liquefied your almond butter is, the less firm your cookie dough will be which will make rolling your dough into balls incredibly difficult. (It can also result in VERY flat cookies too!) If you find yourself using a more liquefied almond butter, simply place your dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes after you’ve mixed it all together. (This helps to solidify the dough.) From there you can easily roll the dough into balls and bake them accordingly.

My favorite almond butter to use for this recipe is by MaraNatha. (Not sponsored)

Can I make these cookies flourless?

Absolutely! In fact, I used to make these cookies without adding any kind of flour at all! Just note that if you choose not to use almond flour, your cookies will come out a little thinner and crispier instead of thick and chewy.

Note: I haven’t tried these cookies with any other flour besides almond flour yet but I imagine the results would be close to the same.

Chopping the chocolate chips vs. Leaving them whole

Believe me loves, chopping up the chocolate chips definitely makes a difference! I used to make these cookies all the time without chopping them and they were incredibly hard to roll into balls without having the chocolate chips “falling out” of the dough. (This dough is much more oily than your normal cookie dough due to the almond butter, so the chocolate chips don’t “stick” quite as well when they’re mixed in.) But I found that by giving the chips a quite chop, it helps to incorporate them much better into your dough. Plus you get a little bit of chocolate in every bite too! 😉

Tips for making chocolate chunk almond butter cookies

• Make sure to whisk the egg BEFORE adding the rest of your ingredients! This helps to create a thicker and fluffier cookie.
• Stir in the rest of your ingredients with a large spoon. DO NOT trying whisking all of your ingredients together. This dough can get pretty thick and will easily get stuck inside your whisk.
• If you prefer a sweeter cookie, use a 3/4 cup of coconut sugar instead. I don’t like my cookies overly sweet so I only use a 1/2 cup of sugar in mine.
• Put your dough in the fridge for 30 minutes if you notice that it’s too soft and hard to roll into balls. You can also roll your cookie dough into balls first and then put it in the fridge before baking them too. This will result in a more rounded/ball-like looking cookie.
• For the best results, make sure your cookie sheet is at room temperature before placing your cookie dough on it to bake. If your sheet is still too hot from the oven, it can cause your cookies to become very flat on the bottom and not keep their thickness.
• Let the baked cookies cool at least 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to a cooling rack. These cookies WILL LOOK UNDERDONE when you first take them out of the oven but will firm up as they cool. By letting them cool on the cookie sheet, you’re creating a perfectly crispy bottom!

I know you all are going to love these chocolate chunk almond butter cookies just as much as we do!

More recipes like this:

• Edible Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (One of my most popular recipes on the blog!
• S’mores Skillet Dip
• No Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars
• Banana Bread Brownies

[Made one of my recipes? Make sure to tag my social media @kalefornia_kravings – I love seeing what you create!]