When Tony and I used go to out the movies I always found myself always bringing my own snacks. That’s probably not much of a surprise though. Every once in a while we will splurge on the movie popcorn, but usually, I have a purse packed with my favorite coconut oil and sea salt popcorn, plus a few of these paleo chocolate chip cookies.
Guys, they are RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. Think addicting, thick, chewy, and full of melted dark chocolate puddles. They’ve been an AK reader favorite for 8 years now and YOU NEED THEM.
I had baked these bad boys a few weeks ago, for probably the 150th time. They’re truly one of my favorite better-for-you cookies that still taste just as amazing as the real deal.
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What makes these paleo chocolate chip cookies healthier?
Even though I don’t follow a particular diet (and AK is full of recipes for all diet types), I love making paleo treats like these paleo chocolate chip cookies because they:
- Actually fill you up! Because the almond & coconut flours have a natural source of fiber and healthy fats, they keep you full and satisfied.
- Don’t need as much sugar as your typical dessert. A win for avoiding that sugar crash.
- Tend to be lower in carbs in case you’re watching your carb intake.
Ingredients in paleo chocolate chip cookies
Traditionally I’m not a huge fan of using several different gluten-free flours in one recipe. I want the ingredients to be both accessible and have many different uses. So far, almond flour and coconut flour have become my go-to’s when it comes to paleo baking. Here’s what you’ll need to make these paleo chocolate chunk cookies:
- Egg: you’ll just need one egg in this cookie recipe. I think a flax egg will work well, too, they’ll just be a bit more fragile, but you can bake them for a few minutes longer to help them set up.
- Vanilla extract: for that subtle sweet flavor.
- Coconut oil: we’re using a bit of coconut oil to give these cookies the perfect amount of moisture. You can also use olive oil, melted butter or melted ghee.
- Coconut sugar: these paleo cookies are naturally sweetened with coconut sugar! You can also use brown sugar if you’d like.
- Flour: the almond flour & coconut flour help keep these cookies paleo, gluten & grain free.
- Baking soda: to help these cookies bake up properly.
- Dark chocolate: I like to use a 3 oz 70-80% dark chocolate bar to create delicious puddles of chocolate, but feel free to use chocolate chips (even dairy free!)
- Coarse sea salt: I love to sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on the cookies for that amazing sweet & salty flavor.
Customize these paleo chocolate chip cookies
- Make them vegan. Try using a flax egg to make these cookies vegan! Just be sure to use dairy free chocolate chips or chocolate chunks as well and handle them carefully as they’ll be a bit more fragile. I typically let them cool completely on the baking sheet before removing them.
- Swap your oil. Feel free to use olive oil, butter or ghee in place of the coconut oil.
- Pick your fav add-ins. I love chopping up a dark chocolate bar to create puddles of chocolate in every bite, but you can get creative with any chocolate you’d like or even add nuts, or dried fruit.
Can I use all-purpose flour?
Unfortunately, no, I can’t recommend swapping the flour in this recipe as the texture will not turn out the same.
How to make paleo chocolate chip cookies
-
Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, mix together your beaten egg, melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract. (Please make sure your coconut oil is cool!)
- Add the dry ingredients. Add in your two flours and baking soda, mixing well to combine and form a dough. Fold in dark chocolate chunks. You may need to use your hands to moisten the dough so that it sticks together well.
- Scoop & bake. Use a cookie scoop or large tablespoon to drop dough onto an ungreased baking sheet. Gently flatten the dough with your hand. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden brown.
- Garnish, cool & serve. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and allow to cool on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Then enjoy!
Storing and freezing tips
Get my full tutorial for freezing baked cookies and cookie dough here! To store and freeze these already-baked cookies:
- To store: feel free to keep these paleo chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, then transfer to the fridge or freezer.
- To freeze: make sure the cookies are completely cooled, and then transfer them to an airtight container lined with wax or parchment paper or a freezer-safe bag before storing them in the freezer for up to 2 months. I like to place them in a single layer to avoid any cookies breaking. Once ready to eat, simply thaw out at room temperature and enjoy!
More paleo desserts you’ll love
- The Bet Paleo Chocolate Cake with Paleo Chocolate Frosting
- Fudgy Flourless Almond Butter Brownies (gluten free + dairy free)
- Paleo Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Soft Cut Out Sugar Cookies (gluten free, grain free, paleo friendly)
- Healthy Soft Banana Bread Cookies
If you find yourself looking for more recipes like these cookies, feel free to check out all of my paleo desserts and grain free desserts!
If you make these paleo chocolate chip cookies, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe! You can also snap and picture and post it on Instagram using the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
The Best Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (56g) coconut oil, melted and cooled
- ½ cup (77g) coconut sugar
- 1 cup (112g) almond flour
- ¼ cup (28g) coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 oz (85g) 80% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped*
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar and vanilla extract. (Please make sure your coconut oil is melted and cooled!)
- Next stir in the almond flour, coconut flour and baking soda, mixing well to combine and form a dough. Fold in dark chocolate chunks. You may need to use your hands to moisten the dough so that it sticks together well.
- Use a cookie scoop or large tablespoon to drop dough onto ungreased baking sheet. Gently flatten the dough with your hand. The flatter you make the cookies, the flatter they'll bake. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden brown.
- Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and allow to cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finishing cooling. Makes 12 cookies.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on February 1st, 2016, republished on October 27th, 2020, and republished on March 7th, 2024.
These were SO easy to make and genuinely so good! I already had all the ingredients at home, so when that cookie craving hit, this recipe was a lifesaver!
So happy to hear that!
These are amazing! Huge hit with the kids too (8 and 11). I used a mix of dark chocolate- some 70% with 87%- so I decreased the sugar to 70g and this was plenty sweet. The sea salt on top is a must!! Seriously so good! I would definitely serve these to non-paleo guests too- anyone would love these.
Love it! Glad they were a hit!
These are great !!!! Thank you so much !!!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
We have done this recipe several times now. We use chocolate chips instead of chunks and They are delicious every time but we are planning to try it with the chunks. Thanks for this recipe.
Perfect! Glad you love these!
These are delicious. The texture is similar to a macaroon. I loved the coconut flavour too. I stuck to the recipe except I didn’t have coconut sugar so I subbed brown sugar. 13 minutes in my oven and they were a tiny bit too brown, so next time I’ll check them sooner.
Definitely would make again, thank you.
So glad you enjoyed!
The most easy to follow recipe and truly phenomenal cookies!! Far exceeded my expectations on so many levels and they are not too sweet and perfectly chewy! Highly recommend!!
The best treat! So glad you loved them!
These were very satisfying! Since my celiac diagnosis it’s been my mission to find substitutes for my beloved sweets. I didn’t have almond flour so had to substitute brown rice flour. Followed everything else exactly and these came out really good,
I’m glad they turned out delicious!
These are my new favorite choc chip cookies. All the other paleo cookies are dry or taste weird. These are perfect, crunchy on the outside but deliciously moist and chewy in the inside. Betcha can’t eat just one……
So glad you love these ones!
Love this recipe! I’ve made it many times and it so good!!
I’m so glad!
These are seriously delicious and so easy to make. Whole family loved them!
So happy to hear that!
Has anyone tried this with a flax egg or other egg alternative? My son has an agg allergy.
A flax egg should work!
I’m new to Hashimoto’s diet and I’ve eaten nothing but hideous cookies, until now! These are incredible and taste so close to an old world grain cookie, it’s unbelievable! I substituted chocolate (can’t have it) for dried cranberries and Almonds chopped, works beautifully. Huge thank you 💛
Amazing! So glad you found these!
Your post was a lifesaver! I’ve been looking for answers to this problem, and your clear and actionable steps made all the difference. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
Others should be able to use the internet to view the blog.
So delicious
Glad you loved them!
These were SO good! I was out of coconut sugar, so I subbed with brown sugar (I’m GF not paleo). These are my new favorite cookies.
Perfect! So glad you loved them!
Thanks for the delicious Recipe! I made it yesterday and we are loving these cookies! That said I had a bit of a problem with the part of the recipe that says: “You may need to use your hands to moisten the dough so that it sticks together well.” Even though I used my hands and the dough was very sticky, the chocolate chips (I didn’t have a bar) were not sticking to the dough. It took me 15 minutes or so to “shape” the cookies. Should’ve I “moistened” my hands to “moist” the dough? Or what do you think could have been the problem? :). Thank you again! H