Almond butter chocolate chip cookies are simple, wholesome, and made with only 5 ingredients! You won’t miss the butter and flour in these naturally gluten-free cookies.
Almond butter. It’s a toasty, almond-y spread that’s a bit more grainy than peanut butter. Besides on a spoon straight out of the jar, I love it in quinoa snack bars, breakfast cookies, banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies, coconut granola bars, and in today’s flourless chocolate chip cookie recipe. We’re ditching the butter and flour for these easy gluten-free cookies!
While flourless cookies are certainly nothing new, I love these cookies so much that they deserve a place in my collection of beloved healthy dessert recipes and gluten free dessert recipes. This recipe came about when we had some friends over and I wanted to serve something a bit healthier. Did you know almonds have tremendous health benefits? No one had any idea that these cookies were flourless—the entire batch was gone in seconds!
Everything to Love About Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Only 5 ingredients
- Naturally gluten free
- No mixer required
- Easy, 1-bowl recipe
- No cookie dough chilling (just like shortbread cookies and snickerdoodles!)
- Only 30 minutes start to finish
- Lots of customization options
Ingredients in Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
With such few ingredients, the natural flavors truly shine. Use quality ingredients for best results!
- Egg: Binds everything together.
- Almond butter: Acts as both butter and flour in these flourless cookies. You can use homemade, natural, or commercial almond butter, however, the type you use slightly alters the texture. I find the best texture is with 1 cup of my homemade almond butter OR 1/2 cup Jif Creamy Almond Butter and 1/2 cup all-natural organic almond butter.
- Brown sugar: Sweetens the cookies. For an unrefined sugar alternative, use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. So tasty!
- Baking soda: Helps the cookies rise while baking.
- Pure vanilla extract: Optional, but is it really a cookie without vanilla?
- Chocolate chips: An essential component to chocolate chip cookies! 😉
Need another reason to love these flourless chocolate chip cookies? They’re totally customizable! The cookie base is an awesome starting point to add whatever you’re craving. A few ideas: dark chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, peanuts, sunflower seeds, sweetened shredded coconut, chopped almonds, dried cherries, dried cranberries, or raisins. Keep add-ins to about 1 cup total.
You can also leave the almond butter cookies plain with no add-ins! And, finally, you can use peanut butter instead of almond butter or try sunflower seed butter for a delicious nut-free option.
If you’re craving a gluten free cookie with even more texture, try these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies or flourless monster cookies next!
How to Make Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
These flourless chocolate chip cookies are incredibly simple and come together very quickly (in 1 bowl!). We’re only using a few ingredients, so the preparation is super quick.
Crack the egg into a medium bowl and whisk until beaten. Mix in the almond butter, brown sugar, baking soda, and vanilla. Stir until well combined. You want your cookie dough to be mixed together very well, so depending how thick and/or cold your almond butter is, you’ll have to use some arm muscles! Fold in the chocolate chips.
No cookie dough chilling! This cookie dough doesn’t require any chill time—the entire batch takes 30 minutes from start to finish! Use about 1.5 Tablespoons of dough per cookie and place each onto a prepared baking sheet. Slightly press down the cookie dough mounds before going into the oven (see photo above).
The cookies will look quite soft and under-baked when they’re done, but as they cool, they will set and firm up. By the way, you could use these easy gluten-free cookies to make cookie ice cream sandwiches. I love that you don’t need to chill the cookie dough!
What Almond Butter Should I Use?
Any almond butter works in this chocolate chip cookie recipe. Here are a few tips depending on which kind (homemade, natural, commercial) you use:
- Homemade almond butter: Making almond butter at home is simple. It takes just a few minutes and you only need 1 ingredient. I highly recommend it! You could also use the maple almond butter detailed in those recipe notes. 🙂 Ensure the homemade almond butter cools before using it in this cookie dough. After being freshly processed, the almond butter is slightly warm and will make your cookie dough warm. And we all know what warm cookie dough means, right? Colder cookie dough is the key to how to prevent cookies from spreading.
- Natural almond butter: Sometimes, natural almond butter (the kind you buy that has a layer of oil on top) can be pretty oily. Make sure you stir this very well. The more oil, the greasier your cookie. The more oil, the more your cookies will spread while baking. So stir, stir, stir and make sure it’s super thick! You can even refrigerate before using.
- Commercial almond butter: This kind of almond butter is typically pre-stirred and ready to use, but give it a good stir just in case before using.
I guarantee these almond butter chocolate chip cookies are full of flavor, totally chewy, and incredibly soft. Each bite melts in your mouth!
More Gluten Free Desserts
- Chocolate Coconut Almond Tart
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
- Healthy Berry Streusel Bars
- Chocolate Soufflé
- Cranberry Frangipane Tart
Flourless Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Almond butter chocolate chip cookies are simple, wholesome, satisfying, and made with only 5 ingredients! You won’t miss the butter and flour in these naturally gluten-free cookies.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup (250g) almond butter or peanut butter, at room temperature or cold (not warm)*
- 1/2 cup (90g) light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- optional and tasty: 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (190g) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, peanuts, peanut butter chips, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until beaten. Mix in the almond butter, then the brown sugar, baking soda, and vanilla (if using). Mix everything together very well. Depending how thick and/or cold your almond butter is, you’ll have to use some arm muscles. Fold in the chocolate chips until combined.
- Scoop the dough, about 1.5 Tablespoons each, onto prepared baking sheet. Gently press down on the dough mounds with the back of a spoon. If you find the cookie dough balls are a little oily from your almond butter—mine usually are—blot each with a paper towel. If desired, press a couple chocolate chips onto the tops of each cookie dough mound.
- Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft—that’s ok! For crispier cookies, bake for up to 12 minutes. Sometimes I press a couple more chocolate chips into the tops of each cookie immediately after coming out of the oven. This is optional and only for looks.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Cover leftover cookies tightly and store at room temperature for up to 7 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cookies freeze well up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Almond Butter: You can use homemade, natural, or commercial almond butter, however the type you use will alter their texture slightly. I found the best texture was with 1 cup of my homemade almond butter (the regular or maple version detailed in that post) or 1/2 cup Jif Creamy Almond Butter and 1/2 cup all-natural organic almond butter. Be sure to stir in any excess oil on top of the natural brands, and get it completely mixed in. An equal amount of peanut butter may be used instead of almond butter.
- Sugar: I’ve successfully made these cookies with coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. So tasty! I like Trader Joes brand organic coconut sugar.
- More no chill cookie recipes to try!
Would cashew butter work for this recipe?
Hi Emily, we haven’t tested it, but other readers have reported success using cashew butter. Let us know if you give it a try!
The flavor of these cookies is amazing!
I hesitate to say this but I think my next batch I will use only 3/4 cup of chips…I plan on making again. I baked for 11 minutes and the cookies were very chewy and tasty.
Is it possible to make these cookies crispy? Or slightly crunchy on the outside?
Hi Elena! These ingredients don’t lend themselves to a crispy/crunchy cookie. You could bake a but longer but they will dry out. These are definitely more of a soft cookie!
Could these be made in in a cake pan (bar cookie). Do I have adjust the recipe at all?
Hi Bill, absolutely. We’d use an 8-inch or a 9-inch square baking pan. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. Let us know what you try!
I love your site. Your recipes are always winners. I have a question about your homemade almond butter. How do you store it after you make it? How long will it last after you make it?
Hi Grace, you can store homemade almond butter in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Store in a glass jar or even a tupperware container.
Perfect! I’ve made similar few ingredient peanut butter cookies and some turn out great w processed PB but I never found a way to use natural. Needed an almond butter brown sugar cookie and this was the 1 st one I came across. I did add the suggested vanilla, I had natural almond butter and I was suprised to find I was out of brown sugar so I used organic sugar and throw in a big spoonful (prob 2 tablespoons?) of molasses to make my own. I followed one comment suggestion to add each item in order and mix after each addition I think this was monumental to the success of the cookies. It also used two eggs as per other reviews since I had the natural peanut butter. The cookies came out looking like regular cookies! And so delish. Crispy edges, chewy middles. I will use this to try w peanut butter soon. It’s the last GF cookie recipe I need!
These were a huge hit! They now replace my traditional Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Delicious! I used white choc chips and they tasted amazing! Couldn’t believe it I baked for 11 mins. I also heated my tray up before in the oven, just because my house is so cold, so was the tray. Not sure if that changed anything. They’re a little crumbly but was a great use of my very separated almond butter.
I make these often with almond butter and they’re delish! Made it for the first time with peanut butter and they were just as good. I also only use coconut sugar. The only way I get the most perfect results with chewy (not crumbly) cookies is by adding the ingredients one by one in the order they are listed and mixing after each add in.
I used coconut sugar, trader joes almond butter (the salty one! which was amazing), and about half of the chocolate chips (had issues in the past with cookies being more melted chocolate than cookie lol) and it turned out great! Was worried because I’ve had a lot of almond butter “healthier” cookies before so I thought I knew what this would taste like, but I was pleasantly surprised with the taste. Also I loved the texture – mine were not crumbly as others mentioned, and the dough was not too oily to work with (though it was thick!). I’ll definitely be making them again.
They’re okay. Not the easiest dough to work with.
I just made these cookies exactly as written. Baked them for 10 minutes. Taste and visual appeal is really good (5 star good) but they crumble as soon as you pick one up. This makes them terribly messy for children. Is there anything I can do with them to prevent them from crumbling? I doubled the recipe and have a lot of cookies to share with guests over the upcoming holidays.
Hi Mandy! Are the cookies dry? They may be over-baked. Try baking for a couple less minutes to see if that helps.
Everything amazing (added a little sprinkle of sea salt too)
But it’s crumbling as soon as I pick one up…
10min 1sec at 350* was not overcooked.
Really soft and so good looking and etc etc
I’m using Amanba natural almond butter
Need to find the little ingredient that would make them stick together.
Thanks
I love these so much! I use coconut sugar and reduce it to 1/3 cup and it comes out perfectly. I also take a half of a dark chocolate bar and chop it – makes amazing chocolate chunks that melt nicely into the cookies. They’re so easy, fast, and delicious!
They are really great, my friends and I loved it!!, but I had a little problem, my dough was sticky 🙁 so it was difficult to make the balls :/ any recommendations
Hi Victoria, without any flour in these cookies, it’s definitely a stickier dough. You can try using a cookie scoop or lightly spraying your hands with a baking spray before rolling them into balls. We’re so glad the cookies were a hit!
What is the nutritional value per cookie?
Hi Anne, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Super easy to make and incredibly delicious – we don’t miss the gluten with these! Thank you for this recipe my whole family can enjoy!
My new favorite cookies! Thank you so much for the recipe. I used two eggs instead since after mixing all the ingredients my dough was not coming together so I added one more egg and they turned out perfect! I used all natural almond butter that had been refrigerated each time, not sure if that’s why I had an issue. But anyways I have made them twice and I even won a cookie competition at work with this recipe! Who knew such a simple recipe could be so good and how other people mentioned “you don’t miss the gluten with this cookies!”
These taste pretty good and its a great GF option. I used all natural peanut butter and the cookies were dry. I’d recommend using something else.
Forgot to put the star rating on my review
Made these to bring to a friends house who cant eat gluten and everyone loved them. I used santa cruz natural creamy peanut butter which worked well. I also used your hint of pressing a couple of chocolate chips into the top and everyone commented on how perfect they looked. One note on the recipe it says to line 2 large baking sheets, I only needed 1 for the 12 cookies.
Sally, for those of us on a low carb menu, these are perfect!! Used everything in the recipe, use heaping Tabkesoon per cookie and ended up up 16 cookies. baked 13 minutes for a firmer cookie!! I didn’t see anywhere if there was a notation of how many carbs per cookie. Since I wasn’t sure of the carb value, I made mine smaller.
Are you planning to do more low carb options?! It would be great if carb content could be added to your recipes for those of us who love your recipes, but are often restricted by the carb content.
I’ve made this recipe sugar free, possibly Keto by using powdered Monkfruit Sweetner instead of sugar and lilys sugar free chocolate chips. I’ve made these at least 10 times and they come out great every time!
Loved this!
These cookies are taste amazing. But mine don’t stay together after they’re cooled. Not sure what to do about that.
These are remarkably good! Honestly, as I mixed up the dough, I was skeptical. It was very oily and a bit sticky and kind of hard to integrate the chocolate chips into. I must admit I even added a Tbs of flour thinking that would help the consistency. Thankfully I stopped myself and just decided to try the recipe (mostly) as written. I did find the dough needed a little salt, so I added about 1/3 – 1/2 tsp (I eye-balled it). I think the saltiness (or lack thereof) is dependent on what almond butter one might use. I like that they aren’t too sweet. Anyway, I baked them about 11 minutes or so, and they came out perfect! The texture is SO great – perfectly chewy with a crisp edge. I’ll definitely make these again.
Made these today!! Whole Family loved them! Followed directions & they turned out! They just melt in your mouth!! Will make again!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe!!
Can I use something else instead of eggs? I cannot eat eggs.
Hi Carol, we haven’t tested this recipe with egg substitutes, so can’t give any advice. Let us know if you try any! Here are all of our egg free baking recipes if you are interested in browsing there.
I’ve substituted applesauce in place of an egg plenty of times.
Can I omit the sugar all together?
Hi Jess, we don’t recommend it — sugar provides necessary taste, texture, and structure. You can try reducing it slightly, but expect a different cookie depending on how much you reduce. We have successfully used coconut sugar in its place, though, if that is an option for you!
Made this today for a GF friend and they turned out perfect. She loved the recipe and will be making it also. So happy it turned out on the first try. Soft, yummy cookies!
If I leave out chocolate, should I increase sugar? If so, by how much?
It’s not necessary to add more sugar– the cookies will still be sweet.
I made these low carb by subbing Swerve brown and sugar free chocolate chips. These are amazing! Texture is great, flavor is great. They do not taste gluten free or low carb. A new family favorite. I also sprinkled a little sea salt on top! I’ve made with natural almond butter, peanut butter and a combination nut butter. All work great. I think I’ll make another batch today!
My dough would not come together so I added another egg. They turned out great. I will use parchement paper after the first batch. They wanted to stick to the sheet. I used Walnut Creek Almond Butter and maybe that is why the dough was wrong in texture. Tasted great with crispy edges!
I thought these were great! I made as written and used mini chocolate chips – that was a mistake because 1 cup was waaay too many. Next time I will use a half cup minis or use regular chips. They would be just as good without chocolate.