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
These were delicious and easy! I used half almond butter and half peanut butter.
Good recipe although I used dark brown sugar and I think that was a mistake, making it a bit too molassesy tasting. Next time I’d make it with light brown sugar. Did use almond butter (trick: put almond butter jar contents in food processor to thoroughly mix the oil in, otherwise it’s almost impossible to get it all mixed together)
My grandson works with a doctor who is gluten free. This is whole new area of baking for me so I was very glad to see that you had such an easy down to earth gluten free cookie. I used Justin’s honey almond butter and the dough scooped easily and formed beautiful little hockey puck shapes. I used mini chocolate chips and almond slices as my add- ins. They baked up slightly puffy and just barely spread. They tasted wonderful and the doc gave two thumbs up. Such an easy tasteful cookie for everybody
Loved this recipe! I’m in Denver so I had to slightly change the recipe (Added 1/4 cup AP Flour) but they came out so good! I was also out of regular almond butter but had some Dark Chocolate Almond Butter (Good & Gather) and they tasted like nutella cookies… So tasty and a nice chew to them! Thanks again!
You’ll want to try these with half semi-sweet chips, half butterscotch chips. Thank me later. They are AMAZING. So tender and delicious. I did use the coconut sugar as well.
Do you think you could substitute honey or maple syrup for the brown sugar?
By the way – I LOVE your recipes!
Hi Cheryl, thank you so much for using our recipes! We haven’t tried those substitutions, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
I’m not sure what happened but these were soooooo oily. Definitely difficult to work with. I wish they had turned out.
Made these so many times and love them! Also wondering if they could be the base for a thumbprint cookie?
Hi Stacey, We haven’t tested these as a thumbprint cookie but let us know if you give them a try! You might also enjoy these peanut butter thumbprints.
Made these a billion times and love them! Wondering if the cookies would work well as the base for a strawberry rhubarb thumbprint cookie?
Hi Stacey! I can’t see why not, though I haven’t tried it myself. Let me know how they turn out.
I literally had hard almond butter that needed to be used up because I hate to throw away and man these cookies taste nothing like scraps… shocking how easy and delicious Your recipes never disappoint Sally!
I have followed all the instructions and used an organic almond butter but my cookies completely burnt in under 10 mins 🙁
Hi Zoe, do you have an oven thermometer? It sounds like your oven may run quite a bit hotter than it reads. For next time, you can reduce the temperature a bit and even move the baking sheet a rack further from the heating element.
Made exactly as directed. Flavor is fine, but the cookies do not hold together; one bite and the whole thing becomes a handful of smushed mess.
Hi Kate! Have they cooled completely? They will firm up as they cool. Otherwise, they may need a few more minutes to bake next time.
Cooling is definitely key. But even falling apart they are delicious. I also froze some and they are truly yummy out of the freezer!
Wow! These are fantastic. Will be making these again. Thank you for another great recipe!
Have you tried these with monk-fruit (sugar)? Do you think that would work?
Also, love all the recipes in this no’choll series. I sell at a farmers market and their keeping properties will make them great for baking ahead of time
Hi Chef Sandy, we haven’t tested it with monkfruit sugar, but we have successfully used coconut sugar. Let us know if you decide to try it!
Very good. Next time I’ll follow your recipe and make homemade almond butter. I think they will taste even better. Also I used erythritol instead of sugar and they turned out just fine.
I’m happy I found this recipe for a gluten free cookie. My problem is a nut allergy. Cannot use the almond butter or the sunflower seed butter. Can I use regular butter? If so how much butter?
Hi Marianne, we haven’t tested this recipe with regular butter, and it would likely take some testing and tweaking to determine the correct amount. If you’re interested, here are all of our naturally gluten free recipes. Hope you can find something there to enjoy!
Can any type of nut butter be used, like sunflower butter?
Hi Janet, yes, that should work just fine!
I understand a mixer isn’t needed, but is it ok to use one? Or is the almond or peanut butter too sticky for that?
Hi Adriana, you can use a mixer if desired. Happy baking!
I need to find more lo-carb recipes. Also the nutritional valves of the recipes are so helpful.
Hi Linda, 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 love your recipes but it would be so good if you could put at least the nutritional information for the basic recipe so we can get an idea of the carbs in particular for those of us with diabetic issues. I haven’t had much luck using the calculator you recommend so although more work for you it would be such a boon for many of us to have this information for desserts in particular.
These were some of the simpliest cookies I’ve EVER made! It’s not overly pungent and almond-y and everything compliments each other so well. Make sure to let them chill, or else they will fall apart. I put some espresso-chocolate chips and it was SOO good!! Making some more today!
Not a bad cookie. I was looking to use up some almond butter. As luck would have it I had about 1/4 c of milk chocolate and a 1/4 c of semisweet chocolate chips and some coconut flakes hanging out in the pantry. Add the 3 together to measure 1 c of mix ins. Very nice to have this in my back pocket for .my gluten free friends.
This recipe does not work well. Maybe because I made it vegan- has nothing to hold it together. I thought maybe I missed an ingredient.
Hi Gloria! Did you omit/substitute the egg? The egg plays a key role in keeping these cookies together.
I made these with Lily’s stevia chocolate chips to reduce the sugar, and they were delicious!!!
Can the cookies be made without or with less sugar?
I couldn’t love you more! I have some college students with allergies, who I have wanted to make drop cookies for! I bought some dairy free chips and these are already GF, and I will be delivering Sunday! These are delicious! Don’t skip the vanilla!
So glad these were a hit, Cara!
Wow!!! Thank you!!!
I made this cookies for the first time today. They are delicious!
Can I omit the chocolate chips? I don’t have any on hand. Thanks!
Hi Rachel, that should be fine.
These cookies were/are a big hit especially with my daughter who doesn’t eat gluten as it causes her stomach to hurt. Only one small thing, I find the baking soda leaves a bit of an after taste, is there anyway around this? First batch I made were perfect except for the after taste, so next time I added a bit more vanilla and incorporated the baking soda with the egg … and they turned out flat and not as perfect as the first batch. Taste was the same though. Any suggestions? This recipe is a keeper, wish I had more like this.
Hi Saveria, sometimes when baking soda leaves an aftertaste, it’s because it’s getting a bit old. A fresh container might be the key here. So glad you and your daughter are enjoying these cookies!
I was thrilled with this recipe! I used peanut butter rather than almond butter. Amazing. Thank you so much! FYI, I recently began a low FODMAP diet. Any other recipes of this nature would be greatly appreciated.
My wife and grandchildren loved these cookies. They are super easy to make. I used Resse’s pieces and baked them for 12 minutes. The only change I will make is to heed the advice for baking them for 10 minutes next time.