Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
OK, committing to 12 recipes this month for the 12 days of Christmas is a lot, so I needed to do something to break up the amount of butter I’ve been ingesting. I usually maintain a pretty gluten free diet, despite the current state of this blog, but in the immortal words of Oprah, I LOVE BREAD. And sometimes I just have to eat it along with cookies and brownies and cake.
OMG CAKE... I'm getting distracted.
Anyways, I’ll get back to my mostly gluten free existence after the holidays, but these cookies provide a good break and a yummy treat for those of us that are staying away from wheat.
This recipe is one that I saw on Simon Sinek’s Instagram feed about three years ago, and I’ve been messing around with it pretty consistently ever since. You can even modify it to be completely paleo by adding carob chips instead of chocolate, and it’s dairy free. So if you’ve got some picky eaters at the holiday party, this is the recipe to make (also, these cookies don’t taste like sawdust, as some gluten free recipes are a total dud).
The recipe technically calls for blanched almond flour - this is the skinless, yellowish almond flour that usually runs at a bit higher price than the regular almond meal that I buy in bulk. I’ve used both for this recipe, and don’t notice a difference in taste - just texture and aesthetics. Using the blanched almond flour, like the kind you can get from Bob’s Red Mill, will give the cookies a lighter color and a texture similar to that of a regular chocolate chip cookie. It’s really up to you and what you prefer.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I’m using dark chocolate today)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. You won’t need a stand mixer or anything for this recipe - just a few bowls and cookie sheets.
Line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.
Put the almond flour, baking soda, salt, and coconut flakes into their own bowl and mix together. If you don’t like coconut, you don’t have to add it - this is something I add, because I like the texture and flavor.
In a separate bowl, add the eggs, vanilla, and maple syrup, and whip together with a whisk.
Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together. Then add the chocolate chips and the coconut oil, and fold together.
Let the dough hang out on the counter for 15-20 minutes, and then use a small ice-cream scoop (my favorite cookie tool) to spoon cookies onto the parchment lined baking sheets, keeping the cookies about 2 inches apart.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. My oven is an electric convection oven, so it’s typically on the lesser side of time, about 11 minutes or so.
Cool the cookies for about a minute on the sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack. The recipe should make about 3 dozen cookies and can easily be doubled.
Here are some variations on the recipe that I’ve tried in the past (instead of adding coconut and dark chocolate):
- add 1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips and 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- add 3/4 cup of peanut butter chips and 3/4 cup of butterscotch chips
- add 3/4 cup of white chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of dark chocolate chips, and sprinkle flaked salt on the cookies before baking
- add 3/4 cup of rolled oats and 1 cup of raisins
- add 1/2 cups rolled oats, 1/2 cups shredded coconuts, 1/2 cups chopped pecans, and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips
Enjoy!
