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
One reader, Lana, commented: “Made these tonight and they were so much better than expected! So soft, fluffy, and delish. I did sub out the brown sugar for coconut sugar and the result was still amazing! ★★★★★“
One reader, Emily, commented: “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! ★★★★★“
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!
Reader Comments and Reviews
I made these for the first time today for my brother who is lactose intolerant. He and everyone else who had the cookies loved them! They are so easy too. The only thing I did differently was to add 1/4 tsp of salt based on another review since my almond butter was unsalted. I love that I didn’t have to chill the dough. I think I ended up with about 20 cookies.
I had a jar of Almond spread in the fridge that I was going to throw out!!! I used it to make these delicious cookies. It was a bit oily so instead of blotting I added about 2 tablespoons of almond meal and that absorbed the extra oil.
I’ve never baked flour free before, I’m now converted !!!!
Thank you Sally I bake your recipes all the time and love them xx
Who knew you could have a flourless and butter free cookie taste pretty good. I will see if anyone can taste the difference. Thanks
I made these to share with my co-workers, one who cannot eat gluten and another who cannot eat dairy. They were a huge hit! I used chocolate chunks, rather than chips, simply because that’s what I had on hand, and I sprinkled the tops of the cookies with a little coarse salt when they emerged from the oven. Delicious! And great texture! Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
Not bad sally. Not bad
This sounds tasty and healthy, as sweets go! Can you tell me how many cookies this recipe should yield?
Hi Valerie, this recipe yields 12 cookies. Enjoy!
Flavorful but they fall apart. Followed this recipe but the cookies didn’t come out as expected. Even let them cook a bit longer as the recipe suggests. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Mae! Did the cookies cool completely? They will be a little crumbly when still warm.
What is the nutritional information for these cookies? They are in the oven, want to know how many I can have without feeling guilty.
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
I am allergic to white egg , but would love to try this recipe. Just wondering if someone has tried it without using the white egg or with a vegan version of it?
Hi Ana, we have not tested any egg white replacements here, but let us know if you do!
I’ve had great results with Bonds Redmill egg replacer. It’s basically psyllium husk and a couple starches.
For egg replacement, you can use flax egg. 1 “egg”= 1 TBS ground flax seed and 3 TBS warm water. Let sit for 5 min.
These are so simple and delicious!
Hi I’m looking for your delicious almond butter choc chip squares recipe that I can’t find. Do you have in your recipe blog I can’t find it. Thanks!!
Hi Rachel, you may be thinking of a different website. I don’t have an almond butter squares recipe. Here are all of my bar recipes if you want to browse.
Hi. The flavour turned out great but the cookies were a bit crumbly. Anything I can do to fix that?
Hi FM! Be very careful not to over-bake the cookies, which could make them dry and crumbly.
i will not go back and use flour again after making these cookies. This the best cookies I have ever made,
I really wanted to make these cookies, but nowhere can I find the portions for each of the ingredients, except for you wrote egg in the singular so I assumed that there’s only one egg, and you said that you use a certain measurement when it’s homemade almond butter, But you don’t give the other measurements! How much brown sugar for example? I really wanted to make this.
Hi Sarah, if you scroll down a little further in the post, you’ll see the recipe card with the full ingredient list and instructions – right after “More Gluten Free Desserts.” We hope you enjoy the cookies if you give them a try!
i used Kirkland nut butter they turned out pretty good…i think i would try them again and double the recipe next time…my husband thought they were pretty yummy as well.. they weren’t to sweet…i was short on brown sugar but not by much..not too sweet…we don’t like anything too sweet…
Could I use pistachio butter instead of almond butter
Hi Eva, that should be fine.
So simple and completely delicious!!!!!
Your recipes are consistently tasty and come out perfect, thank you! A very reliable source for me. Is there a way we can determine the number of calories per cookie?
Hi Rachel, 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
Amazing cookies!!! crunchy on the outside and goey inside. very very good texture and taste. I added 80% cocoa chocolate chips, thanks so much for these recipe
OMG!! What a wonderful recipe. I followed it exactly and they turned out great. Thank you
I’ve made made these so many times and always delish! I want to try making it as a cookie cake. Should I double the recipe for a 10 inch cake and any idea how long to bake?
Hi Stacey! We have not tested these cookies as a 10 inch cookie cake, so can’t offer much guidance. We would love to hear what you try!
The taste is quite good, but the cookies are pretty messy. 1 cup of chips to one cup of almond butter (and one half cup brown sugar) turned out to be very heavy on the chips and the dough did not hold together well. I’m not throwing them away (I mean CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!) but I’lol tinker with measurements if I do this again.
Would peanut butter work as well? Can’t wait to try these. I have 2 celiac people in my life and love to find recipes that don’t use GF flour.
Hi Cathy, absolutely! You can use the same amount of peanut butter.
These look really good. Can you use sunflower butter instead. Thank you
Hi Nora, absolutely! Hope you enjoy them.
Best cookies ever
The texture of these cookies is excellent, but they’re very bland and desperately need some spices. The total absence of salt might be a factor. Do yourself a favor and add cinnamon, ginger, etc.
The recipe probably assumes you are using salted nut butter as that is the most common kind. If mine was unsalted, I would probably try adding 1/4 tsp salt. These always turn out great for me with salted almond or peanut butter.
Can you freeze these as cookie dough balls and bake from frozen?
Hi Jodi, absolutely. Bake time may be a minute or two longer.
Great recipe, loved it and so easy to make. I added mini chocolate chips and coconut! Delicious! I will me making this again. Thank you!
I made these cookies recently for a friend who is gluten free. The consistency of the dough was a bit crumbly and I was concerned that the end result would be the same. Was I wrong – the cookies were soft, light and delicious. Adding some additional chocolate chips right after baking made was also a great tip. Thanks for another great recipe Sally!
These were easy, quick and delicious- I used vanilla and regular store brand almond butter. You have the best recipes
Made these tonight and they were so much better than expected! So soft, fluffy and delish. I did sub out the brown sugar for coconut sugar and result was still amazing!