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Make a batch of easy 3 ingredient vegan almond flour cookies in minutes! They taste rich and buttery, despite being free of oil, eggs, butter and dairy. They are grain-free, gluten-free & vegan, plus, they can be made keto-friendly with 1 substitution.
Table of Contents
- The Best and Easiest Vegan Almond Cookies
- Recipe Benefits
- Ingredients
- Use Blanched Almond Flour to Make the Cookies
- Step by Step Instructions
- Flavor Variations
- Tips for Success
- Make Keto Almond Flour Cookies
- FAQ
- More Grain-Free & Vegan Almond Flour Cookies to Try
- 3 Ingredient Vegan Almond Flour Cookies (GF, Oil-Free, Keto Option) Recipe
The Best and Easiest Vegan Almond Cookies
These are the cookies I want, and I am pretty certain you will want them, too.
Because they are perfect.
And ridiculously easy. The cookie dough takes roughly 1 minute to prepare (that’s averaging up) with the help of nothing more than a medium-size bowl and a spoon.
The texture? Tender and crisp-chewy, similar to a macaron, but more substantial. The sweetness? Spot on (not too much, nor too little). And buttery? Very buttery, in fact, despite having no butter, or added oil of any kind.
These cookies are not ersatz, health-food imposters. Anything but that. Serve them to gourmet friends, traditionalist cookie aficionados, children (big and small), significant others, friends, neighbors, health-conscious acquaintances, and co-workers.
They will love them.
Recipe Benefits
All of that, and I have not mentioned several key features that makes these 3-ingredient almond flour cookies all the more extraordinary. They are:
- Made with 3 ingredients (not counting water & salt)
- Vegan (dairy-free & egg-free)
- Oil-free (e.g., no coconut oil, butter or other vegetable oil)
- Grain-free
- Gluten-free
- Paleo-friendly
- Keto / Low carb (with one simple substitution)
- 1.2 grams fiber and 2.4 grams protein per cookie
- Easy (no stand mixer or hand mixer required, no rolling)
Note: complete nutrition information for the cookies is in the recipe card below.
Ingredients
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.
To make these cookies you will need:
- Finely ground almond flour
- Baking powder (certified gluten-free, as needed. Be sure to use baking powder, not baking soda)
- Coconut sugar (or the granulated sweetener of your choice; I have keto options and other substitutions below)
You will also need a small amount of water (I use filtered tap water). I highly recommend adding a small amount of salt, too, but it is up to you.
Use Blanched Almond Flour to Make the Cookies
It’s very important to use finely ground almond flour (I used blanched almond flour), not almond meal (which is more coarsely ground, and is ground with the skins still on).
The cookies will be greasy and heavy when made with almond meal. I know, almond flour is a little bit pricey, but it is 100% worth it for these cookies. In addition, 1 cup of flour yields 10 generous-sized cookies, which is pretty frugal in the long run.
Step by Step Instructions
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a light colored baking sheet / baking tray with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder and (optional) salt (use a fork to breaking up any lumps in the flour, as needed).
- Add the water to the mixing bowl; stir until blended.
- Drop by scant tablespoons (I use a small cookie scoop, which is just shy of a tablespoon) on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing 2 inches (5 cm) apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 16 minutes until golden brown and set at the centers.
- Remove from the oven and cool for two minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack or other wire rack and cool completely.
Flavor Variations
Here is another reason to love this cookie recipe: versatility. With one basic recipe, you have a wealth of cookie options at the ready, depending on what flavorings you add.
Here are some suggestions:
- Chocolate: Add a 2 to 3 tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips to make almond flour chocolate chip cookies. You can also add chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate, or cacao nibs to the dough. Or dunk or drizzle the cooled cookies with melted chocolate.
- Extracts and Zests: Add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract or almond extract, or 1 teaspoon of finely grated citrus zest, such as lemon zest, lime zest or orange zest to the dough.
- Spices: Add about 1/4 teaspoon (or to taste) of your favorite ground spice (e.g., cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, coriander or ginger) to the dough, or sprinkle the unbaked cookies with cinnamon sugar or another spiced sugar.
- Dried fruits: Add two to three tablespoons of finely chopped dried fruit) e.g., dried cranberries, apricots, raisins, currants, pineapple) or candied ginger to the cookie dough.
- Nuts and seeds: Add 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped nuts (e.g., pecans, walnuts, or more almond) or seeds to the cookie dough, or sprinkle the unbaked, portioned cookies with finely chopped nuts, or seeds.
- Jam thumbprint cookies: make a small indentation in the center of each cookie before baking. Add a 1/4 teaspoon of your favorite fruit jam, preserves or jelly to the indentation before baking.
Tips for Success
- Avoid Dark Metal Baking Sheets / Cookie Sheets: Dark baking sheets and cookie sheets are not good for baking cookies of any kind. Save them for roasting and sheet pan meals. Dark baking pans can overly darken or burn the bottoms of cookies. For best results, use light colored metal baking sheets for even baking.
- Check Cookies at the Minimum Baking Time: Begin checking the cookies for doneness at the earliest suggested baking time. The cookies are done when the center is just barely set. and the edges are lightly browned. The cookies will firm up more as they cool.
- Use a Kitchen Scale: For successful cookies every time, use a kitchen scale to measure the almond flour. It is very easy to overmeasure the almond flour if using volume measure (i.e., measuring cups).
Make Keto Almond Flour Cookies
Making these cookies keto-friendly is a snap. Simply replace the coconut sugar with an equal amount of keto-friendly brown sugar replacement (e.g., Sukrin Gold, Swerve). Done! This reduces the carbohydrates to 2.5 grams per cookies (sugars 0.4 grams).
I specifically scaled this recipe small (10 cookies at a time) for anytime (now!) cookie baking, but the recipe can be doubled, tripled or quadrupled without a problem, in case you need to serve a crowd.
Happy baking everyone!
FAQ
- What is the best storage for the cookies? Store any cooled leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days (in a cool room; if it is hot, store in the refrigerator), the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for up to months.
- What can I use in place of coconut sugar? An equal amount of brown sugar (light or dark) can be used in place of the coconut sugar. You can also use an equal amount of maple syrup, agave nectar or honey (if you do not follow a strictly vegan diet). For these liquid sweeteners, reduce the added water by 1 tablespoon.
- Can I make these with other kinds of flour (besides almond flour)? No, this particular recipe only works with finely ground almond flour.
- My cookie dough is really thick and stiff. Why? The most likely reason is that too much almond flour has been added. This happens when too much flour is added to a measuring cup. For the most accurate results, I strongly recommend weighing the almond flour for best results. If using cups to measure, be sure to very lightly spoon the almond flour when measuring (do not scoop up the flour or tamp into the cup).
- My cookies did not spread or change shape. Why? The reason is the same as above (too much almond flour). These cookies have a very subtle shape change; if the dough is too thick and dry from too much almond flour, they will not change shape at all.
More Grain-Free & Vegan Almond Flour Cookies to Try
- 4-Ingredient Coconut Flour Cookies
- Almond Flour Graham Crackers
- 3-Ingredient Banana Almond Flour Cookies
- 4-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Almond Flour Cookies
- Sweet Potato Almond Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Fresh Apple Almond Flour Cookies
3 Ingredient Vegan Almond Flour Cookies (GF, Oil-Free, Keto Option)
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar , (see notes for keto, & other, options)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, (certified gluten-free, as needed)
- Optional: 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a light colored baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, coconut sugar, baking powder and (optional) salt (breaking up all lumps in the flour). Add the water and stir until blended.
- Drop by scant tablespoons (I use a small cookie scoop, which is just shy of a tablespoon) on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 13 to 16 minutes until golden brown and just barely set at the centers.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 2 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
1 cup of almond flour would be almost double of the amount your recipe has in grams. I didn’t read the comments before starting to make these cookies and the dough was barely coming together. I ended up adding more water but I think you should re-write the recipe. The flour should be 1/2 cup or 2/3 cup, or just not include the cup measurement at all to avoid confusion.
Hi Maya,
104 grams for 1 cup of almond flour is correct. There is a range, between 95 and 118, but nowhere near double the amount unless the flour is being packed into the cup. Bobs Red Mill almond flour is 104 grams for 1 cup, King Arthur Baking gives 96 grams for 1 cup, and Blue Diamond almond flour is 112 g per cup. If using cups to measure, use the standard method for measuring any flour: very lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup and then level off the top with flat edge of a knife. It works very well, but a cheap kitchen scale takes out any guesswork (and frustration). All the best, Camilla
Simple, easy and delish! I added coconut flakes and sprinkles for the kids and they loved it!
Yippee! So glad they were a hit, Pam!
Easy/ yummy! thx~
So glad you like the cookies, Roxanne!
Def add almond extract to the water! So good and easy. Thanks for sharing!
You are very welcome, Tosh, glad you like the cookies!
The metric conversion button still not working even after deleting browser cache.
Hi Paulina,
Sorry for the glitch. It should be working now, I have tested it on desktop, phone and iPad and it seems to be fine now.
The metric conversion link nor the recipe 1x and 2x links are not working at all.
Hi Kylie,
There was a problem with one of the WordPress plugins last week that was causing the problem. I have fixed the problem. If you clear your browser cache it should not be an issue anymore. Let me know. Cheers.
You suggest that it is best to weigh the almond flour but only give it as a cup measurement.
Hi Ann, in the recipe card you can toggle between US Customary measurements and Metric (weights given in grams). Cheers.
You indicate best to use weigh ingredients but I don’t see weight equivalents for the flour and sugar, only measuring cup measures. Where can I access those?
Hi B,
If you look at the ingredients in the recipe card you will see the following: US Customary – Metric Click on metric to get the grams (weights) for the ingredients. Cheers.
I tried making these, my only issue was that they did not spread or puff up like they did in your image, could have been a user error tho, I just used a spoon and pressed them down, I hope they’ll taste good
Hi Lucy,
The cookies do not have a lot of rise or spread. But the rise they do get is dependent on the dough being moist. If the dough is very thick, then it likely due to adding too much almond flour (it is easy to do with a measuring cup; weighing the flour is the best way to go). But you can always add a little bit more water if the dough looks too thick. I hope you enjoyed the cookies!
I don’t usually keep any type of sugar in the house. I really wanted something sweet but I didn’t want too much and this recipe fit perfectly, yielding just 10 cookies! I used 2T of orange juice and made thumb prints and used reduced sugar mixed fruits peach marmalade. It was the perfect amount of liquid and these little gem drop cookies came out amazing! Pinned to make again!
Kels, that is brilliant! I am going to have to try that. Thank you so much for sharing and for taking the time to let me know how much you like the cookies 🙂
Delicious! I added a medium grind of coconut and some chopped dried tart cherries.
Oh, that sounds absolutely delicious, B! So glad you like the recipe 🙂
Just made these! Added my homemade vanilla paste. I think I’ll cut the sugar down a little and add some dried sour cherries. This is a GREAT RECIPE! THANK YOU!
You are so welcome, Kathy! Ooh, I love dried sour cherries so much, that’s a great addition 🙂
These were amazing! Made them once with old almond flour and they were so good I immediately got some fresh almond flour and made the whole pack for my kids gluten free teacher! Have you tried walnut flour or other nuts?
These were incredible! I tend to always have these ingredients on hand and will continue to make these indefinitely…
Thank you!!! 🙂
So very happy! I recently had to change diet for medical, so no fat, dairy, egg… all the good stuff. These didn’t seem too exciting but wow are they good! The water level is correct for me. I heated some sugar free jam, add touch Xanthum, let cool then thumb print them. Amazing! Thank you ????
I am so happy to hear that these cookies work so well for you, Laura! And a huge hooray for thumbprints (I love jam with cookies) 🙂
This recipe is flawed. 2 Tablespoons of water is not enough liquid to dough up dry ingredients. I added plain yogurt but have no idea if it will work until it’s out of the oven. I’m hopeful and look forward to tasty cookies.
Hi Johna,
I am sorry the recipe did not work as expected for you. I’ve been making the recipe for years, so I can attest it works. Did you weigh the flor or measure by cups? It sounds like you had too much flour. It’s easy to overmeasure flour (a little or a lot) when measuring by cups. Very lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup, but for greatest accuracy, weigh the flour.
I just made these and they were so delicious. I couldn’t believe how something so good required so few ingredients. I loved how they were chewy in the middle. Will be making these often. Thanks for sharing!
Yay, so glad you like my humble cookie recipe, Lori! Enjoy every bite 🙂
Can people use Splenda white or brown sugar? What about oatmeal? ; how did you peel the almonds?
Unblanched, also called natural, uses the entire unpeeled almond including the skin. Unblanched almond flour is a brown color gives the cookies a golden brown, speckled look.
Blanched means that the almond skins have been peeled and removed. If you use this kind of flour, your cookies will be more of a white color.
Hi Guest30,
I don’t use Splenda, do you would have to give it a try to find out. No, this will not work with oats in place of almond flour.
I purchase almond flour. Both blanched almond flour and almond meal are widely available in US supermarkets (in the health food section or sometimes right in the baking aisle). You can also make your own flour or meal in a high speed blender.
Just made my second batch. This time I added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract and 3 tablespoons coconut flakes. Batter almost didn’t make it onto the cookie sheet ????. 10 cookies and like the movie, “Gone in 60 seconds”! Such an easy and quick recipe! Thanks soo much.
You are so welcome, Michel!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I’ve made them many times with all sorts of flavor combinations. Today I was craving a fig newton and discovered that the dough rolls beautifully between parchment and with a spread of fig jam there they were. Perfect! Thanks again.
You are so welcome, Trish! I LOVE the idea of the fig newton (crazy about figs in all forms). I am going to follow your lead!
I made these cookies yesterday! They are really delicious. They are my favourite cookies now! I replaced the 3 tbsp of coconut sugar with 2 tbsp of maple syrup. I also did 1.5 tbsp of water instead of 2, because of using maple syrup.
And the cookies are all gone now! I am going to bake them again now:D
That’s wonderful, Nahid! Thanks for sharing your adaptations, too, so helpful for others 🙂 Enjoy your next batch (I know , they are hard to resit!)
@Nahid, thank you so much! I came to the comments to see if I could use honey. I’ve heard coconut sugar was not sustainable so I don’t buy it. Maple syrup works for me. Can’t wait to try this! Thank you, @Camilla!
@Nahid, thank you so much! I came to the comments to see if I could use honey. I’ve heard coconut sugar was not sustainable so I don’t buy it. Maple syrup works for me. Can’t wait to try this! Thank you, @Camilla!
Fabulous recipe! Just baked them this morning and I can’t stop eating them:) Thanks for the recipe!
You are very welcome, SplendidBaker! Thank you!
These cookies are great! So flexible and simple, truly divine! Instead of two tbsp of water, I used 2 tbsp of water+3tbsp of maple syrup. (I made a double batch) I also melted some peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut milk in a pot and added it to the batch. So good. Also added two tsp of cinnamon. Paired with this frosting:
https://www.thespruceeats.com/vegan-coconut-milk-frosting-recipe-3378245 but I added vanilla to the frosting and pumpkin pie spice.
Nancy, I am so happy that you are loving these little cookies. Your variations sound soooo good !the peanut butter, maple syrup coconut milk addition sounds incredible 🙂
I made this recipe twice. The cookies did not spread. They cooked in the same shape as dropped onto the cookie sheet. I went back and pressed them down further so that I didn’t get ” cookie clots”. Other than that, they tasted good.
Also, I also only got 10 cookies when I used scant “teaspoons rather than tablespoons.”
Hi Karen! I am sorry you had issues with the cookies. They cookies do not spread a lot like a traditional cookie, but they do spread a little bit. If they do not move at all, then it is because there is too much almond flour (it is really easy to overmeasure almond flour using the cups method. Very lightly spoon it to measure, or, ideally, weigh it). You can also add more water. The dough should be slightly moist.
I am sorry you got so few cookies. I am a little bit confused that you ended up with so little dough. 10 teaspoons of dough is just over 3 tablespoons of dough (less than 1/4 cup), which seems odd given there is a cup of almond flour, plus water and coconut sugar. You should definitely end up with more than 1/4 cup of dough.
Cheers,
Camilla
This recipe is perfect, the cookies turned out great! I am on my second batch.
I love your website!
This recipe is perfect, easy, delicious and healthy! Thank you! I am following the Blood Type Diet from Peter D’Adamo and so I used maple sugar instead of coconut sugar.
The cookies turned out great! I’ll be trying some of the variations soon.
I love your website!
Thank you for the magnificent recipe.
I’ve just made these delicious almond cookies.
They are very tasty.
Thank you
I am so glad that you enjoyed them, Bishara!
SO DELICIOUS!! I used light brown sugar instead and added some almond butter and chocolate chips on top. They came out so well, I ate half the batch in one sitting.
Yay! So happy you like these, Uj!
Thank you! These cookies are gold star! So easy, so crazy delicious, keto, vegan, and gluten free! And they can be a base for so many flavors… Just perfect! I stuff my with toast almonds and they’re gone in minutes. Again thank you so much for this incredible recipe. Oh, and totally agree… weigh everything makes a perfect cookie 🙂
Kia, thank you so much for the kind words about the cookie recipe! I am so happy that you are loving it. Ooh, I LOVE the idea of stuffing these with sliced almonds , wow! I am going to try that!
Can one use macadamia flour instead of almond flour?
Hi Kutlwano! I have not used macadamia flour myself, but looked up some general use info and it sounds like It should work fine as a measure for measure sub for almond flour. 🙂
What a perfect little cookie! Fabulous recipe. So easy and enough almond flavour, just right sweetness, and crunch with soft – magnificent!! Thank you so much for the fantastic recipe 🙂
You are very welcome, Cathy!
Delicious! I put strawberry jam on mine using the thumbprint suggestion. Thanks for this easy scrumptious recipe????
You are very welcome, Davina!
I added vegan butter and almond milk. It was VERY yummy! Just wanted to share my opinion. Also I did not use coconut sugar, I used cane sugar. It was still good! Even better if you ask me! You should try it! The brand I used was: Earth Balance butter(Vegan), Silk Almond Milk(Vegan) (Has almonds), and Florida Crystals cane sugar (just cane sugar). Veryyyy yummy!
Wow, that sounds soooo good, Amiah!!! (BTW, what a beautiful name :)) So glad you like these!
Whether or not the almond “stuff” is labeled meal or flour is an arbitrary thing. That label probably originated in the marketing/sales department. In fact, some outfits such as Bob’s Red Mill labels theirs “Almond Meal/Flour” in an attempt to cover all the bases. A decade ago I bought seven packages of the stuff of different brands and examined them thoroughly right out of the bag and also when used in a basic bread recipe. It took a while, but overall there was only a slight correlation to “meal” being coarser in texture and “flour” having a finer texture. The only way to be sure of getting the texture you want is to buy some and see what brands have what texture. Some brands had a very coarse texture (even when labeled finely ground) and were good for making fake cornbread, for example. Others were more finely ground (even though sold as “meal”) and were better for making cakes, etc. Ya’ pays yer money and ya’ takes yer chances, eh? Due diligence is needed if the texture of the ground-up almonds matters.
That’s true, RW, there are many more varieties of almond flour and almond meal these days. But in general, my point in specifying the difference here is to use a very finely ground flour, made from blanched almonds. A coarser grind of almonds (almond meal), made with natural almonds (skins left on), will yield a heavier , denser cookie.
Everyone should have this recipe in their rotation. Easy to memorize, endlessly customizable, everyone loves them. Perfect!
Literally just made these and nearly ate all of them. The smaller you make the cookie, the quicker it cooks. I stuck unsweetened chocolate chunks in the center…I don’t suggest doing it. I like the bitterness however, I don’t believe most people would like it… Next time I’ll get stevia sweetened chocolate chips or melt myself a batch of unsweetened bakers chocolate and mix the stevia myself and then put small dollops in the thumbprint. I used stevia instead of sugar. I can’t tell you how nice it was to eat cookies without the guilt. Good crispy outside with moist inside. The recipe is a home run and so easy to make for a novice such as myself. This will be a regular staple in my house. Got the blanched almond flour from Aldi. Good value. I did add some alcohol free vanilla extract which turned out to be a win. Next run I will add walnuts. Excellent excellent recipe. Thank you!!!
Fantastic, Jake! I love the sound of your adaptations. You are brave man, though, to add unsweetened chocolate. But I also understand why you gave it a go (I LOVE bitter foods, too). I could not be happier that you can happily enjoy these (thumbs down to guilt when eating :)).
I just made these and they’re a keeper! I made them thumbprint with raspberry jelly and replaced 1/4 tsp. of the water with vanilla extract. Also used half the amount of salt. I’d say these are perfect, easy, fast, chewy, delicious cookies!
Raspberry almond thumbprints sounds heavenly, Nancy! So glad you are loving these!
Yummy! All these few-ingredients recipes on your website are amazing!
I wanted to make something sweet, simple and with a sensible amount of calories per serving: these cookies were it!
I tried adding a dash of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (1/8 tsp mixed together in total) for added winter warmth ;D
I also used guara almond flour (it’s the only organic almond flour I can find locally) and I think it behaved quite well, the cookies taste almondy, but I’ll definitely try again with blanched almond flour.
Thank you for sharing!
Iggy, thank you SO MUCH for your enthusiasm and kind comments regarding my recipes! It means a lot 🥰. But mostly I am happy that you are trying liking them!
Thank you for the recipe! I followed the recipe and measured 112g of almond flour. It seemed a bit more than a cup. Later I googled grams to 1 cup (almond flour) and came across 96 grams. Should this recipe be 112 or 96 grams of almond flour?
Hi Thao,
I use 112g. There tends to be variation for almost every flour of how many grams are in a volume measurement (by manufacturers and other authorities), so when in doubt, go with the weight measurement (since that is what I am using when develop8ng the recipe) 🙂
Can u ues pure Pumpkin And if so do you do it as thumpints in the middle or do you added in the whole recipe?
Hi Joyce! I have a pumpkin almond flour cookie that stemmed from this one. I have not made thumbprints with it, but I am sure that you could do that. Here is the link: https://www.powerhungry.com/2018/10/pumpkin-almond-flour-cookies-vegan-grainfree/
They came out great, thanks.
Wonderful, Gillian!
I used pecan flour. I added a chopped date, unsweetened coconut flakes and flaxseeds, ground. And I topped with sesame seeds. I was going for “Mediterranean”.
I added more water and had to squish the dough together but they baked flat and held their shape.
I like these and I like the recipe as a base for a myriad of varieties of a cookie without eggs, gluten, or butter. Thank you!
This site does not have a print friendly recipe
Hi K,
I am so sorry that you cannot see the print button. If you use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post it will take you directly to the recipe card. There you will find the print button. I hope this helps.
Your simple recipe gave me the confidence to bake cookies for the 1st time…result is not bad! I accidentally added 10g more water so it turned out soft in the middle but I don’t mind. Per my personal taste I’m going to make a less sweet version next time
I’m so glad to hear you are now a cookie baker, uuu! Yes, definitely adjust the sweetener to suit your tastes 😊
I am not seeing the recipe card or amounts of ingredients. Not sure I d I’m just missing it…can someone post quantities, please? Thank you!
Hi Hope,
The recipe card is at the bottom of the post. You can use the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the post to get to it quickly 🙂
This cookie was a wonderful surprise! I chopped and toasted some slivered almonds that I had on hand, plus almond extract, as suggested in the recipe notes (I also used splenda brown sugar – again, it’s what I had in the pantry).The cookies didn’t spread but baked into a golden ball of delicate almond flavor with a nice, crisp exterior. I baked these for a son and daughter-in-law who have some dietary limitations; I hoped they would like them but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them! This pretty little cookie is Christmas tray worthy– it’s a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
That is some serious high praise, Dana! Thank you 🙂 I am so happy these turned out to be a cookie you can love as well as share.
Hi Camilla,
One of the best recipes I have ever come across! So simple and easy.
This is my favorite recipe and I bake these very often.
I have made them using desiccated coconut, chocolate chips, cranberries, sliced pistachios etc and the net result has always been super delicious.
Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!!
You are so welcome, Bindu! I am glad that you love them. All your described variations are making me very hungry, sounds wonderful !
I used all weighed measurements and wound up with cookie spheres, haha. They were still delicious, but I think next time I’ll need to add a little more water or flatten them before baking. Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome, Chris, glad you like them 🙂
I don’t typically cook/bake on Saturday since I observe it as the Lord’s day of rest, however something came up today where I had to cook at home and I am so glad I found this EASY & Delicious recipe!! I am not strict keto so here is what I did. I doubled the recipe and I didn’t want to use brown sugar so I subbed it for a mixture of 2tbs molasses, 3 tbs honey and 1 tbs maple syrup. I did weight the almond flour (great tip) and I didn’t have baking powder so I used baking soda and it was still good, and I pressed a date into them (YUM). They reminded me of my late grandmother’s date cookie recipe, so comforting. And my children adored them as well. THANK YOU! 🙂
This recipe doesn’t say to flatten slightly before baking. That’s weird because the cookies look flattened not round! You need to flatten slightly before baking!
Hi Susan,
I did not flatten the cookies before baking in any of the photos, nor when I make these at home. When I weight the flour, the dough is moist, which allows the cookies to even out slightly. It is really easy to add too much almond flour if using traditional cups measurements, which results in a thicker dough. It will still be a very delicious cookie, but will need to be pressed or flattened before baking. If you have a very thick dough after mixing, you can easily make it looser by adding a little bit more water. Cheers.
@Camilla,
I did not see the weight mentioned in the recipe.
Hi Rajesh,
It should be there now, I am not sure why it was not showing before. Cheers.
These are the best Almond cookies! They are light and satisfying- just enough fat from the almonds. I put zest of one lemon and red currant jelly in the thumbprint cookies I made from your wonderful recipe!
Thank you SO much, Eva!!! I am crazy about any kind of currant jam or jelly–that sounds so good with the lemon addition, too! You can be assured that I will replicate your combo in a future batch of my own 🙂
These were great. I used monkfruit in lieu of the coconut sugar. I didn’t have a tbsp. size scoop so I rolled the dough out on a cutting board and sliced it with a knife. The cookies looked more like crackers when done but they tasted great. You have some very creative recipes here (and I visit a lot of plant based websites). It’s quite evident that you “think outside the box”. Thanks.
How clever, Marc! I am going to have to try that. It reminds me of the icebox cookies my mom used to make (a roll of dough, slice and bake). So glad you like the cookies, and thank you so much for the kind compliment.
I will admit I was skeptical – no oil or butter? How can these be cookies? My first batch didn’t come out well, tbe second batch better- the third batch I did the sesame almond version – they are so good! My new go to cookie recipe! I have high cholesterol so butter is pretty much out and oil doesn’t seem to be a great choice for cookies. With this recipe, I got the goodness of cookies, withoutthat which I don’t need. Will try 3 ingredient banana cookies next. Thank you! 🍪
I love a fellow skeptic, Sue 😉 I am so happy that these passed muster!
@Sue, if you have high cholesterol you should be vegan – there is a ton of cholesterol in all animal products.
I made them yesterday [none left]. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
You are welcome, Bethish!
Delicious. Not the first recipe of yours I’ve tried and really liked, especially your breads. So happy to have found you. You are so gifted. THANK YOU.
I am beyond flattered, Marie-Jeanne, thank you so much. Happy that you like the cookies, too!
I found this recipe over 2 years ago and it is still my go to for Passover (and year round). My whole family loves them. Thanks so much!
You are so welcome, Hindy!
@Hindy,p
Did you make this recipe exactly as printed here
This was a big hit. I made mine with a tad less sugar and anise extract. Thanks!
Wonderful, Berenice, sounds delicious!
These are so easy and so delicious. I found cooking with different fillings I had to alter each cooking time. Chopped pecans and Bobs fine unsweetened coconut on top tasted excellent.
I am gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free eater so these cookies worked great! I added dry cranberries, dark chocolate chips,chopped pecans, and vanilla. So good! I would recommend flatting them down at much as possible (without them falling apart). Even though they browned nicely, some of the cookies were still a little raw in the middle.
Your additions sound so good, Laura! I am so happy that you like the recipe, and even more so that you are making it your own 🙂
Also–it sounds like you oven may run a little bit hot, so I suggest baking them at a slightly lower temperature (perhaps 25 degrees) so that they do not over-brown.
The best cookie recipe! Thanks!
Awesome cookies. Thanks for the recipe. I had to pre-flatten before cooking otherwise they stayed in ball form. I’m sure it was used error. Thanks again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Kitty!
hello how many cookies should this recipe make?thank you very much:)
Hi Anna, 10 cookies
For what they are, these turned out really good. I added some vanilla extract and chocolate chips with a touch of flaky sea salt on top but there are so many variations you could make..Definitely a keeper!
Just a note on the idea of not packing the cup measure in this recipe: Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is two pounds and 453g, yet an unpacked measuring of that flour will yield well over 6c. (I just made a 6c. version of this recipe and there is still probably 2c. of flour in the bag.) I was careful in my test runs of the recipe to follow the urging it gave not to do a packed cup, so I scooped loosely. But based on the product I can get easily in the southern U.S., I’d recommend not following the weighing idea. As a former professional baker, I know that’s counterintuitive! But since the performance works well with an unpacked cup and that is about half the weight indicated in this recipe, I thought someone might need to know. Thanks again for the recipe. I made a large batch of vegan mincemeat a while back from which I’ll make a fig “newton” with the almond recipe today.
That’s helpful, Lindsey, especially for scaling up the recipe. I made the recipe by weighing the ingredients, but I know a lot of people go by cups.
The newtons you describe sound INCREDIBLE!!!! I am going to imagine I am in your kitchen 🙂
Mine are cooling right now! Half batch plain half with dried cranberries. I should have pushed them down, I forgot that wouldn’t spread. Might be worth a mention in the instructions, unless I’m the only one. Thanks for this simple recipe!
You are very welcome, Vanessa!
I too found the cookies did not flatten so when I noticed that about 1/2 way through I took them out and flattened them (yes, I did weigh the flour, lol). They turned out great and were enjoyed! I am just going to make some more and try with almond milk!!
P.S. I cannot have any sodium and these perform perfectly well without the salt. I know lahhhhts of the vegan and keto recipes rely on sodium so we are often out of luck if we can’t have it. This recipe is a win on the NS GF journey.
Thank you thank you thank you Lindsay!!! 🙂
Thank you! Using date sugar (technically granulated in shape but of course not actually crystallized) in this for those of us with neurosensitivities to crystallized sugars, makes a lovely snack but I would definitely not call it a “fool everybody” dessert. It is great for me but it veers on the old school health food side of the flavor spectrum 🙂 – fair warning. I would have used the jaggary/sucanat I bought recently, but for some reason even that raw crystallization is now on the culprit list for my neurosensitivities (found out the hard way). This recipe performs very nicely, though. I added 1/2t. vanilla to first try (kept same water as recipe – did not reduce water), and it didn’t seem to show up the vanilla much so I doubled vanilla second time (reduced water by that amount of liquid). Still no vanilla flavor. I have one more brand of vanilla so I’ll try it once more, but otherwise I’ll omit going forward. I did one batch with chopped lemon zest, and that was nice (but not super lemony, in case that’s what you’re looking for – I would if I could :)). I will say, to the comment below about the shape not changing, that that first batch I did, which had that 1/2t. extra liquid, DID “melt” down the shape just a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. My batches using the exact dry/liquid ratio as original recipe stay exactly same shape as when I put them onto the sheet. My specs: used Bob’s almond flour (they don’t label as organic but my body sure thinks they are anyway), Hain baking powder, bulk date sugar, and whatever chemicals are in my tap water… I also did a batch with single-ingredient whole cacao fruit disks from Santa Barbara choc co. inside the cookie. They performed well in this and did not heat so much that the caffeine had time to increase, so they are a nice option for caffeine sensitivity that would like a choc chip cookie once in a while. Thanks for sharing this one.
Made the thumbprints but used Nutella instead of jam; delish!
Yum to the yum, Lisa!!!! 🙂
Love cookies
Used Stevia that’s all
I had
Put walnuts in them
Delicious
Yum! Sounds so good, Debra!!!
These were amazing! Such a distinct flavor and soooo addicting. I will be making more asap! Thank you so much for the recipe! <3
You are so welcome, lorna! Glad they were such a success 🙂
Added a bit of vanilla and almond extract and, quite honestly, half the dough was eaten before I ever baked the cookies. Tasted like delicious marzipan!
Hee hee, we are two of a kind, Kim 🙂 Glad you are loving these!
Turned out delicious! I also did a batch with 2 tsp cocoa powder added. So yum!
Yum yum yum, Nicole!
I made these tonight. Delicious. Used 2 tablespoons of xylitol and finely diced figs. I immediately ate 3 of them as soon as they cooled slightly! Decided I better make another batch. My cookie dough scoop is small and I got 12 cookies.
Thank you for this great simple quick cookie recipe.
Trina
Ooh, I love figs in all forms what a great idea to add some to the cookies, Trina! So happy these were a success for you!
Subbed the sugar out for maple syrup (and reduced the water) just because we didn’t have coconut sugar on hand. Huge hit with the whole fam!
Hooray for easy recipes the whole family loves! Thanks for letting me know these worked out for you, Deanna (and for sharing your maple syrup tip)
First time using this recipe and I used it to make Halloween Cutout cookies for my grandkids. Put keto friendly confetti and colored keto sugar. So pleased
What a great idea, Laura!!!
Can I use honey instead? I’m on the SCD diet and that’s the only sweeter allowed.
Hi Anna! Yes, you can definitely use honey in place of the coconut sugar. I suggest using 2 tablespoons of honey, and then just add the water a tiny bit at a time until you have a moist, not too stiff dough. Possibly 2 to 4 teaspoons water. 😊
Hi, Camilla! My name is Annie, and I am an enthusiastic baker who enjoys creating healthy versions of desserts! I have a blog called Desserts for the Better which focuses on posting healthy dessert recipes that are better for you yet still taste amazing. I also post “Recipe Reviews”, which are my thoughts an other bloggers’ recipes, and “Guides”, which contain my latest and greatest tips, resources, and reads about healthy baking. I have decided to feature this amazing recipe in one of my guides called “10 Healthy Snack Recipes for Your Sweet Tooth”. I think these almond cookies are so delcious and a great healthy snacking choice. Here is the link to the post if you would like to check it out! https://desserts4thebetter.wordpress.com/2021/10/06/healthy-snack-recipes-for-your-sweet-tooth/ Thank you so much for reading this! 🙂
Hi Annie! What a great blog! Thank you so much for sharing a link to my recipe in your roundup, I really appreciate it 🙂 All the best with your site, it looks great!
Mine stayed in a “ball” shape. They didn’t flatten out like it should have. I did everything exactly how you said to. Same ingredients. Didn’t work for me tho /:
Hi Cheska! Oh darn, sorry they did not turn out. It sounds like there was too much almond flour. Did you use a cup measurement? If so, very lightly spoon in the flour (it is very easy to overpack flours, especially grain-free flours). A scale is the best way to measure. If you make them again, add a bit more water of the dough looks too stiff.
@Cheska, mine stay mostly in shape as well. I don’t have a weight measure tool though I was careful not to pack the flour. The consistency is still very nice; I just have to shape them more or less how I want them to end up, which is no problem for my mobility. If the recipe is this sensitive, then it’s probably an issue of us simply using ingredients sourced differently. That’s totally okay. Many wheat flour recipes like to be preshaped too, so that can happen. Good luck on the next batch if you try again!
WOW!!! Easy, super versatile, and my hubby LOVED them!
Thank You!
Triple yay, Cathy!!! The partner approval is huge 😊
I made these exactly as directed, adding only some mixed dry fruit and nuts from a trail mix bag and man they are super yummy! thank you!
Fantastic, Judy!!!
Made chocolate chip cookies with your recipe, for coworker birthday gift. Huge hit, she loved them! Thank you! Love how simple the recipe is, just wish they’d set
A treat my whole family loves! My 12-year old now bakes them for me and hubby, lucky us! Thank you!
First time making these! Super easy. Not sure why mine turned out a bit dense and they look darker than the picture. I used blanched almond meal flour. It does say flour and it is lighter. The organic coconut sugar I used is dark, so maybe that’s why…? I added a few white chocolate chips on some and a little cinnamon and vanilla. They taste good, just don’t look as nice as the picture here.
Great recipe with great flexibility as base for variation. Thanks!
This is the BEST recipe!!! I make this all the time, Camilla, with your variations and some of my own. Thank you for your creativity!
These are delicious. Thank you for sharing. We are pre diabetic and so substituted the sugar with 4T date paste and left out the water. I think reducing the date paste would be fine when trying a variation that has some natural sweetness like dried fruit and adjusting the water.
I am so glad these are a success for you, Marlene. I love that you used aate paste, I will give that a try! Thanks for sharing your tips! 🙂
I just made these. I just substitute the water for 1 egg and I did the thumbprints. Yummmmm
Wonderful, Eva!
So easy and SO delicious. I found it very difficult to eat just one!
Hee hee, that makes 2 of us, Denyse!
Came out perfect!
Fantastic, Sithra, so glad they turned out well!
These are seriously the best cookies ever, people!!! So easy, snd like z camilla says snd dhows, you can make do many different cookies with this one basic recipe! Make them, you won’t regret it!
I weighed the flour and made these as directed. I made 12 small balls, flattened then to about 3/8” and put a few mini dark chocolate chips on top. Perfect recipe for when the Mr wants a low carb treat. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You are very welcome, Linda!
Easy, very quick recipe. Helps a lot when you have too keep diary-, egg-free, low histamine diet.
Wonderful, Adrienn!
My husband made these as written and they were so good! It feels like too many healthy recipes out there over complicate the ingredients and the process. Thank you for providing recipes that allows you to appreciate each simple ingredient without all the fuss. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
Thank you so much, Kristine!
Wow!! First time making these and they were a hit. I did sub the water for cold organic coconut milk and I used Lakanto monkfruit sweetener, one row of sesame seeds, one with slivered almonds and one tow with sugar-free chocolate chips & walnuts! The BEST cookies I’ve ever made! Thanks for the recipe!
Oh my goodness, Cece, your change-ups sound INCREDIBLE!!! I am so going to follow your example this weekend with a copycat batch 🙂 So glad you love them!
Can you use monk sugar rather than coconut palm sugar?
I have not tried it, but I know quite a few people have with success 🙂 I have made them with a keto brown sugar substitute (sukrin gold) and they came out great.
Hi Camilla. Wowee! What a great recipe! Three ingredients and still dee-lish! I made as written for the first time today, and can’t wait to try some variations – and your other recipes. Thank you so much for these much healthier low carb vegan goodies.
Yippee! You are so welcome, Michelle 🙂
Simple yet delicious ! Thanks for the easy no brainer recipe Camilla 🙂
Have made these twice so far. The first time overpacked the scoop – so clearly the 2tbsp wasn’t enough.
Today , I made sure to lightly pack the scoop, however it still took me about 7 tbsps water and 3 tbsps vanilla essence for a 2 cup measure of flour. It wasn’t free falling. It was a moist dough, that I made into small balls and flattened out by hand.
Garnished some with sesame seeds and some with shredded coconut and sesame seeds …
32 bite size cookies gobbled in a jiffy by 2 kids and 2 adults 🙂
One question- do the cookies remain the same size even after baking? Or are they supposed to increase in size like regular white flour cookies ?
Hi Soosh,
I’m glad these were a success! There can definitely be variations between brands and batches of almond flour, so I’m glad you used your instinct with the amount of water. Also, I really recommend weighing the flour. It’s really easy to overpack the cup, but with weighing, you get the exact amount every time :). When I make these, the dough is definitely a bit loose, not super firm. TAs a result, there is a small amount of spread, but not nearly as much as a traditional cookie with ap flour, eggs and oil 🙂
Amazing!!!!!
I followed this recipe exactly and it only made 6 cookies. Not sure what happened, I spooned the flour into the cup and everything. I also pressed some chocolate chips on top before putting them in the oven. The taste is good I just wish it made more cookies considering I had to use a whole cup of almond flour, which is expensive.
Hi Madison,
I am glad that you liked the cookies. I am sorry that you only got 6 cookies. It is almost certainly due to portioning. As noted, I use a small cookie scoop to portion the cookies, which yields 10 cookies
Fantastic, easy recipe. Thanks.
I have made these cookies every week for the past month when I found the recipe. My dough did not flatten at all and I also followed the recipe to a T. I used Bobs Red Mill and although I now have to flatten every time I make them (they don’t even last an hour in the house) they are still an absolutely delicious. I flatten them halfway and the edges get really crispy! I can eat the whole batch but limit myself to 2 (maybe 4 at the most, LOL) with a cup of tea or my morning coffee! SOOOO GOOOOD! Thanks for a fantastic recipe! I made some for a couple of friends and their also obsessed! : )
I tried this recipe being reluctant at first: no egg, no butter, no nothing? It turned out great, i added some coconut oil to bind it better and to help harden when cooled. However, for the life of me, I cannot see how you made yours look so amazing! I flatten mine with my hands and they keep the exact shape, I cannot make them so round and pretty.
Overall, great recipe idea for vegans.
The second batch i substituted one tablespoon of water for lemon juice and I added some lemon zest, they are soooo good!!!
I will try to substitute the water with coffee and add some chocolate chips as well ☺️
Amazingly simple and tasty cookie Camila!
I did have similar experience mentioned by a lot of other people that the cookies are not flatten out during baking. I tried what Camila recommended to weigh the flour during my second try. It turned out that my loose cup of almond flour is about 101/102 g and 3 tbs sugar is about 40-41g. After baking powder, salt, two very full tbs water and 1/4 tsp almond extract, the dough come together at 175g. Made 9 cookies, pressed down few with a fork, few with fingers and left few as rolled ball. 350°F , 16 minutes later, they all came out the same shape as then went in 😀 Nevertheless, all very tasty with crispy outside, chewy inside and perfectly browned bottom! I am wondering if the moisture in Feb. PA played any role in this. Or is it my Costco bought Kirkland brand blanched almond flour?
Take three I go! With everything remain the same, just added an extra tbs water. The cookies are slightly flatten but not nearly as much as the picture showed in the recipe. Poke around on the internet and seems that fat is the determine factor for flattening cookies. Since there is not much meltable fat in this recipe, it makes sense the cookies maintained their shapes during baking. Just curious how you all get yours flat?!
Oh well, an interesting Sunday afternoon and thanks Camila!
Thank you so much for sharing your insights, Jillian! You are probably right, there likely are some variations with the brands of flours 🙂
These turned out amazing. I did make a few changes, though. I made my own almond meal (not flour) using my food processor and raw almonds. I used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar and 1/4 tsp of almond extract. I also used unsweetened almond milk instead of water. I used wet hands to form the cookie batter on the parchment paper, so the batter would not stick to my hands. I did not have a cookie scoop. We baked them for 16 minutes, pulled them out for about 3 minutes to let them cool a little bit, then my husband flipped the cookies over on the parchment paper and placed them back in the oven, with the oven turned off, for about 3 minutes. We think that this helped with the texture of the cookies…perfect chewy cookie. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
So glad they were a yummy success, Kali!!! Thank you, too, for sharing your method, it is so helpful to have lots of different bakers explain thier particular process 🙂
The best cookie recipe!!! People you only need this recipe in your arsenal. You can modify in so many ways, as Camilla explains. I makes Meyer lemon version (use regular sugar) in the summer, thumbprints all year long, dark chocolate chip cookies, double almond (add almond extract–they taste like European cookies I had in Vienna), and so much more!
I rarely bake but saw these on pinterest and gave them a try. So glad I did! This is a genius recipe. I have already made them several time.
Hi I loved your banana almond cookie simply delicious!!! I wanted to try your jam thumbprint cookie recipe but I seem to be have technical difficulties finding it.
I have made this recipe five times now. It is the best! I did a batch with finely chopped chocolate added, added lime peel to another, and made jam thumbprints, too. Amazing, thank you!
The best cookie recipe!!!
Thanks, made them and they are great! Can these be made carnivore? Perhaps chicken broth to replace the water? Would adding a pat of butter work well?
Hi Amy,
Sure you could definitely use broth in place of water (leave out any added salt), and yes, you could also replace some of the water with melted butter.
Hi Camilla,
This was our family go-to recipe during the COVID lockdown and continues to be our very favorite. I cannot thank you enough!
Omg!!! These were so easy to make and turned out perfect!! So glad that I found your recipe! Will surely make more in future 🙌🏻
I made thumbprints with a friend’s homemade pomegranate jam using natural almond flour, white sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp almond extract. Wonderful! My vegan family members thank you.
Yummmm! This is such a great recipe, thank you!
This is the best cookie recipe ever. It is healthy but tastes indulgent and I can make it tastes scores of ways with different flavors and ingredients. It is so easy! Brilliant work, thank you for sharing it.
Great recipe, thank you!
FYI my favourite combo so far is thumbprint using dark brown sugar and I replaced the 2 tbsp. water with 2 tbsp beaten whole egg. I also added 1/4 tsp. almond extracts and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. I baked them for 14 minutes, turning the tray 180 degrees halfway through.
They came out fantastic. Golden around the edges, moist inside and gently crispy around the edges. Very soft but didn’t fall apart. The egg helps keep them together more. Not vegan but still keto and gluten free!
Sounds smashing, Natalie! 🙂
This cookies are perfect! Instead of coconut sugar I made them with monkfruit sugar and add a little cinnamon. Thank you very much for this recipe.
I just made these. Tasted delicious. Came out darker than your pictures and brittled a little along the edges. Not as pretty but super nutty and yummy. It also didn’t flatten out like a cookie would have. I had to press down on it a bit to flatten it towards the end of its baking time, which is why the edges are not round and uniform. Any tips?
Just the recipe I have been looking for FOREVER!!! I made 1 batch.. Ate them ALL!! Felt bad I didn’t have any for the kids… So I made a 3x batch. Lol. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract. I used regular white sugar also. I am not on any diets or vegan…. But ever since I had these portugese almond cookies when I was a kid, I have been looking for this same taste and texture! THANK YOU A MILLION!! I have tried other recipes that were much more complicated with almond paste etc… Nothing! This is dead nut the same chewy not too sweet perfection! 🥰
How wonderful Lori!!! 🙂
I followed the recipe to a T, and I ended up with round almond balls, not flat like a cookie. Not sure what I did wrong? 🤔
Hi Marti,
It is most likely due to having too much almond flour. It is really easy to overfill the measuring cups when measuring any flour, especially grain-free flours. Very lightly spoon the flour into the cup to measure. The dough should be moist once mixed-/ if it is super firm (holding a solid ball before baking) then there is too much almond flour. If this happens,you can add a little bit more water.
These came out beautifully. I wanted to add a Middle Eastern flair to these cookies so I swapped 1 tablespoon of plain water with rose water, added 1/4 teaspoon almond extract and slivered almonds, and replaced the 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar with maple syrup. I also added 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom! The batter was wetter due to the maple syrup so I just added a little more almond flour and it came out great!
Oh my stars, we are flavor twins, I am crazy about the combination of cardamom, almonds and rosewater! Thank you for the suggestion to use them in these cookies, brilliant, Mariam!
My pleasure! Although, I realize rosewater is definitely an acquired taste that can be polarizing – my friend tried the cookies and was NOT a fan, it was too overpowering and floral for her, but she also does not like the taste of cilantro, which i LOVE!
You are right about the cilantro and rosewater–I love both as well. I know there is a genetic marker that determines cilantro like/dislike, maybe it is the same for rose water (in which case we share the same genetic propensities! :))
I made this several times! The come out a bit different each go round, but i remembered someone adding rosewater. I tried that with the last of my almond flour. Wow!!! I might have gone overboard with the rosewater but it really elevates the cookie. I feel super fancy. Thank you for sharingthat addition, Miriam.
This are amazing! The best almond cookies I’ve ever had!
I used brown sugar instead of coconut sugar, and also added some raisins. Everyone loved them!!
I am thrilled that they are such a hit, Harumi!!!
Couldn’t find my old comment but yum..still making..I DO flatten out a lil w fork like oh cookies so cookies thru n flip over n rotate tray halfway also..is yummy w walnuts too or sprinkle of sea salt before baking 😋
I’d like to bake these guilt-free cookies tomorrow with a Middle Eastern flair. Can I replace the two tablespoons of water with pure rose water instead? I was also planning to add 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom and 1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin spice. Thoughts? I will be using dark brown sugar as the sweetener.
Ridiculously amazing!
Whoohoo! So glad you like them, Judy!
These cookies are heavenly and sooo chewy and still so easy to make. Thanks so much for sharing. I was wondering if it would be possible to reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons without losing out too much on the texture? Thank you again for sharing!
You are very welcome, Beenish, glad they worked for you!
Excellent recipe! I make something similar to use with low carb cheesecake. Since I am doing a more plant based diet, no dairy.
I added in a bit of nutritional yeast for the buttery flavor and used 1TBSP of stevia. Figuring they wouldn’t spread, I marked them with a fork (like peanut butter cookies) and they did great!
Then I spread the following recipe on the backs and made sandwich cookies. Perfect for a sweet dessert for a low carb, vegan dinner! https://acleanbake.com/chocolate-sunflower-seed-butter-sugar-free/
These were great! So quick and easy, even with trying a few mix-ins. The cookies were also eaten fast. Thank you for this. Offically a fan!
I was sooo looking forward to these cookies… and i will make them again, however, i substituted Truvia brown sugar for the coconut sugar and they are WAY too sweet. I will cut down on the sugar next time and i will add the almond extract that a previous commenter mentioned. If it wasn’t for the sweetness they would be excellent for someone who is gluten and dairy free… thanks for posting. 🙂
Also gonna try them with jam as thumbprints 🙂
Just wanted to let you know that my favorite new add-in is 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa. I like to combine it with 1/4 cup chopped pecans, a tablespoon or two of coconut flakes or shredded coconut (unsweetened), and 1/4 cup oatmeal. It makes a wonderful chocolate cookie. I sometimes have to add an extra tablespoon of water to accommodate the extra ingredients. I make two batches of cookies a week, one chocolate and one regular. My next add-in trial will be flax, chia, and hemp seeds. Ten star recipe!
Brilliant, Jane!
I did not see this coming. I just had some almond flour and didn’t know what to do with it but to ‘cook’ for 4 minutes and get these heavenly tasty cookies is all that I didn’t know I needed!
I’ve replaced the sugar/honey with zero calories granulated sweetener and made 2 batches, one with almond essence and one with orange essence. Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much!
For the Europeans:
112 g blanched almond flour
45g granulated zero calories sweetener
2g baking powder
a pinch of fine sea salt
30 ml water
orange/almond essence
69 kcal for one cookie. It can get to 75-80kcal depending on the toppings.
Thank you, Cristina, and thanks for sharing the EU measurements.
maybe the best darn cookie ever. love it so much, and I have tried all of your variations, too. Thank you for your genius!!!
I weighed the almond flour by gently pouring it into the mixing bowl that sat on the scale, and subbed brown sugar for the coconut flour. My scooped cookies did not change shape at all when they baked. The texture of the raw dough was not wet, but moist enough to stick together nicely. Maybe the addition of vanilla would have provided just enough added liquid to help them flatten and spread. Have only tasted one so far. Looking forward to eating some more.
Hi Suzanna,
Glad they turned out! Add a touch ore water t make them moister and you should be gold 🙂
My kids love them and so do I. They are perfect every time.
Kid approval is high praise, thanks for letting me know, Ruby 🙂
Should the brown sugar be packed into the measuring spoons?
lightly spooned, not packed
So delicious! I ended up adding the 1/4 teaspoon almond extract to the original plain dough to get more of that almond flavor. I used my scale to measure properly, and it did make 10 cookies. Very well written recipe! My husband said they were the best almond flavored cookies he had ever had. I ate half the batch and he ate the other half! Have you considered adding egg whites to the recipe to amp up the protein? Definitely keeping this recipe!
Yum, that sounds delicious, Sonia! No, I have not added egg whites (cannot do eggs), but I think you could get good results by using them in place of the water (akin to a macaron). Thanks for taking the time to write!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe,it is incredibly simple yet genius,i was searching for vegan dessert recipes for my vegan friend who happens also to have sweet tooth.
This recipe is marvelous
I followed it exactly and made it thumb print with raspberry jam,some of the jam sneaked in to the cookies,so it necame crunchy from the outside and incredibly soft and sweet from the inside yummy
I wonder can i replace water with coconut milk and add shredded coconut.
Thank you so much again
You are so welcome!!!
Yes, I think the coconut milk option should work well–and shredded coconut sounds like an excellent add-in. You might want to consider toasting the coconut before adding it, for a richer flavor.
This recipe really saved me while I was on a strict food plan. I left out the baking powder & just mixed almond flour, brown sugar, & water & ate the cookie dough a little at a time but it gave me a little something to pull through a crazy amount of vegetables mostly. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
So happy that this recipe helped you get through, Brenda!
These were awesome! I added chocolate chunks. They came out like a cross between a chocolate chip cookie and a macaroon (with almond instead of coconut). I just made this to use up my almond flour that’s taking up space in my tiny cabinet, but I didn’t really expect them to be so good. Thank you!
Fantastic, so glad they were such a (surprise) success, Charlie! 🙂
I did the cookies last night,it turn out great!! I’m surprise that I we can make delicious cookies with only minimal ingredients. However, the cookies become soft on next day eventhough I store it in airtight container. Is that normal for this recepi? or how can I prevent the cookies become soft? Thank you.
OMG Amazing!!!! I tweaked it a bit added brown sugar and honey,4 tbs of brown sugar 2 tablespoons of honey and about a teaspoon of ground ginger… made a few with a morelli cherry thumbprint too! Nice tiny treat! Next time all honey, and adding tumeric. And maybe I’ll remember the baking powder!!! Super easy, and so adaptable to whatever you’re feeling that day and whatever you have hanging around. Thanks!!! Such a great sweet treat! ooxx
My husband loved it so much! Thank you for the recipe, Camillla!
You are so welcome, Lei!
great recipe! whole family loves these.
Seriously! You deleted my comment asking why the recipe didn’t work for me. 🤦♀️
Thanks for the help. Smh.
Marti-. I have not deleted your comment. I have to approve all comments and am simply behind because I just got power restored last night (out for over a week— it has been pretty rough in here in Texas without heat, power and water). I hope to get through all comments today. Take care.
Would these work with monk fruit sweetener?
Hi Roz,
I have not tried it, but it should work. One thing to note: if it is monkfruit sweetener in small packets, as opposed to a granular sugar replacement, you my need to make up for the missing volume from the coconut sugar (e.g., add a few more tablespoons almond flour and a bit more water).
What a revelation, that cookies can be made so simply! I used Lankato Monkfruit golden granulated sweetener, which actually also contains erythritol. It is supposed to be a 1:1 sub for granulated sugar, but I find it a bit sweeter & use about 3/4:1, but I use so little sweetener that my taste may not be average. Also, my batter was a bit too wet, so it probably loses volume when mixed with liquid. So, for a 2x recipe, I had to add another 1/2c almond flour. I was glad I had added the salt, & also added 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds, & 1/2 tsp almond extract. Took about half again as long to bake 2 dozen cookies, (minus at least 1 eaten raw, yay for egg-free batter!) but turned out fabulous! Thanks for what is bound to be a regular addition to my sweet tooth self-care,
Cheers to you, Cynthia!
Thank you for this recipe! I have a family of 6 all GF/Vegan/Corn Free and we love these! I made almond chocolate chip, almond strawberry thumbprints and cashew flour with the original recipe. My oven was a little hotter so I changed it to 325*F for 8 mins. I look forward to trying other combinations, and more of your recipes~
That’s fantastic, Peggy! Love that you switched it up with cashew flour 🙂
Hi there,
I just pulled these out of the oven and they taste great, but the insides are soft and don’t really seem baked. The outsides are perfect and the bottoms are brown- any longer than the 15 minutes I baked them and the bottoms would burn. Are they supposed to be chewy in the middle? I made each cookie more like a tablespoon size than a teaspoon.
But as I said, the flavor’s great- I used grapefruit and lemon zest in some, dried cherries and and apricots in some, and marmalade in a few (I discovered I was out of jam).
Miracle cookies OMG!!! These are fantastic!! I halved the recipe and added cinnamon, almond extract, and I added some monk fruit sweetener and a little salt. YOU ARE BRILLIANT!!!
Way to brighten my day Rachelle!!! I love the sound of your additions, sounds so delicious 🙂
These came out AMAZING!!!! I made the cherry jam thumbprint variation and can’t wait to make them again!!! Thank you for sharing! These will absolutely be a go to recipe for me 🤓❤️
Cherry + almond= heaven in my book! Hooray that it is making your go-to list!
Hiya
Just made my first batch…I’m not much of a baker or cook or chef for that matter hahah. So a recipe with four ingredients and 16minutes cooking time sounded perfect… AND THEY WERE!
So pleased with the recipe and how they turned out!
I doubled up my mixture too.
Out of interest, how many cookies should i be able to get our of the single mixture? (Just trying to be strict – as I can be – with calorie info per cookie.
Many thanks
Rob
I am so pleased that they were a success for you, Rob! As for yield: I get 10 cookies. I use a small cookie scoop for making cookie so that they are all the same size (it is one of my very favorite kitchen tools, I use it for portioning other things like vegan meatballs, mini muffins, sand dollar size pancakes, falafel. I’ve had my current one for about 18 years 🙂 This is what I have : small cookie scoop Cheers!
Hi there, I made these a couple days ago and I absolutely love them! I used xylitol instead of coconut sugar and I added some almond essence to add to the flavour. I’m shocked by how simple these are and I will be making loads more. Next time I’ll put some cinnamon essence in. Thanks a mill for sharing! Best wishes from South Africa
I am so happy that these were a success for you, Chanel! 🙂
Hi Camilla! I made these and – yep, I packed on the Almond flour DuH. So they stayed mounded but I just cooked them a bit longer. THESE are so good! Yummmmmm. I also sprinkled a minute amount of sea salt on tops before baking. Thank you thank you for this recipe, can’t wait to add nuts and things. OMGee these are the bomb!
Yay! So glad they worked out, Rita, even with extra almond flour 🙂 Enjoy!!!
This recipe is the best! It’s super delicious and healthy. I followed the recipe as instructed, and added 1/4 cup of chocolate chip and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. The cookies were amazing! I love that it is crunchy outside and soft inside. Next time I will add some chopped walnuts just to try it. I will definitely make this again very soon. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Soooo happy these were successful for you, Marizza (what a beautiful name, BTW :)) You are so welcome, and have fun experimenting with different add-ins.
I tried the recipe but for some reason my cookies flattened out in the oven and I just broke them up like barks. I wonder where j went wrong? I have to mention that I used regular brown sugar instead of coconut sugar
Hi Madiha! I am so sorry that your cookies did not turn out. Using brown sugar is perfectly fine, so that is not the issue. The results sound very unusual. It sounds like it could be one or two issues, or both (1) too much almond flour (perhaps packing the cups?) and (2) the oven temperature, which overbaked the cookies (many ovens run hot, perhaps check yours with an oven thermometer).
I was wondering if I can replace coconut sugar with either white sugar, brown sugar big sugar and if I can how much do I replace it with?
Hi Mikayla,
Yes, you can definitely use brown sugar; you can probably use white sugar, too, I just have not tried it.
Use the same amount as the coconut sugar.
I made these this evening and these are great. Love the flavor.
Next time I’m going to add vanilla extract as some of the other commentators suggested.
Great Christi, I am so glad you like them and they turned out so well!
I don’t understand the 2 TBSP water?? How would that ever work? I added 1/4 cup almond milk and about 2 TBS water. At that liquid quantity I was able to actually roll cookie balls with my hands.
Hi Maina! Glad you were able to make these work for you 🙂 I have made the recipe more than 100 times and the 2 tablespoons of water works perfectly.
Same issue…2 table spoons of water, and it’s just a powdery mix? What am i missing?
Hi Janelle,
I am so sorry your mix did not come together. It definitely sounds like there was too much almond flour. It is very easy to overpack, so if not using a scale to measure, I strongly recommend very lightly spooning (no packing) the flour into a dry measuring cup to measure. I hope that helps.
Me too. Had high hopes. Inwas worried that the douh was initially crumbly and failing to bind, but came together into a stiff dough at last. It wasn’t a droppable dough – I shape it into balls, which didn’t flatten and didn’t cook through. After 16 minutes baking, flattening them, and adding 5 more minutes, I took them out and let them cool, in case that would help make them crisp and cookie-like. That did help a bit, and they turned out odd, but delicious. Will keep playing, because I love the simple ingredients!
I thought of that too but once I added the 2 tablespoons it came out really well!!
Great, Aisha! I know, it looks dry when it is first added, but a bit of stirring and it comes together as a soft dough.
I was in search for yummy gluten-free, dairy-free cookie recipe because my brother in law had those limitations. This recipe was perfect but I was skeptical about the ingredients. And they turned out AWESOME. I played with flavors and added 1/4tsp almond extracr for an almond cookie,. Then for orange cranberry flavor, I added 1/3 c cranberries as recommended, and added 1/4tsp orange zest.:) so excited to try other variants using this recipe as a base. Thank you for this!❤️
Whoohoo! Glad to hear you love these, Katrina! Love your add-ins.
Has anyone tried subbing the coconut sugar for honey or maple syrup?
Delicious and easy!
So glad to hear it, Tara!
Update
This time I added 1/4 cup coconut and 1/4 cup old fashioned oats and kept the macadamia nut on the top. Delicious!
Ok, I am officially craving cookies now, Jane, and I am still working on my morning cup of coffee 🙂 Sounds delicious!
Wow! These sound divine without the guilt! If I add oats, do I need to add extra water?
Can’t wait to try these this weekend 😉
HI Sin,
Gosh, I am not sure how these would work with oats, it might take some tweaking to get them just just (the oats will absorb a lot of moisture, so yes, you will probably need to experiment with adding more water).
I am in love with this recipe. It takes 5 minutes to ready for the oven with hardly any equipment needed. Most importantly, the cookies taste great. Here are some changes I made to suit my needs: I substituted an equal amount of Xylitol for the sugar and I smushed down each cookie to flatten a bit before baking. I also pressed 1/2 of a macadamia nut on top of each cookie. Very nice taste. The next time I made the recipe I added 1/4 cup of non sweetened, shredded organic coconut to the mix. Delicious! I will probably add 1/2 cup next time. I started with less as I did not know how the coconut would affect the consistency of the dough but it was fine. This recipe lends itself to lots of possible variations. I especially love that there is no butter needed for a cookie that can easily rival many others that do have butter.
Oh y goodness, you are making me seriously hungry reading your variations! YUM! Thank you a million for the compliments, and, hooray, love that you love these so much! (BTW: I love your email address )
Hi Camilla,
thank you so much for your wonderful recipes. can i ask one thing: my cookies have bitter aftertaste. Anything i can do? I’m using (defatted) sukrin almond flour. I’m new to baking with almond flour, so maybe i’m just not used to the taste.
Many thanks!
Hi GF! I am sorry your cookies had a bitter aftertaste, that is unusual. I had never heard of defatted almond flour, had to look that u (always good to learn about new products, thanks!). It must have something to do with the defatted almond flour. I have used many different brands of almond flour and never had that problem, so perhaps the lack of fat and the greater percentage of protein? But should be fine with regular almond flour.
WOW WOW WOW. I was doubtful, there must be a catch. Nope these are awesome. I used monkfruit sweetener and added one extra tablespoon of water.
That is so great to hear, Sharon! Thanks for sharing re: the monkfruit sweetener, that is very helpful!
How is the texture supposed to be, before putting in the oven? I added two tablespoons of water but it is all still like crumbly… 🙂
HI Roberta,
The texture should be moist. It is likely there was too much almond flour. It is easy to over-measure/pack the cups. If not using a scale to measure I recommend very lightly spooning the almond flour into the cup (no packing) to measure.
Hello! Is it possible to substitute the sugar with powdered stevia?
Hi T,
I have not baked with powdered stevia, but if it says that it is a measure to measure sub for sugar, it should work. The cookies will likely be a touch drier, as sugar adds moisture (consider adding a 1/2 teaspoon more water).
I made these today, and they were fine, certainly easy enough, if not great. My issue is, why do you call them 3 Ingredient Cookies when they obviously have five ingredients? Would it be so hard to call them 5 Ingredient Cookies, or just Easy to Bake Cookies?
Hi SB,
I am glad the cookies turned out! The recipe is meant to be a base recipe so that it can be varied it many differnt ways (with extracts, zests, spices, chocolate chips, jam, dried fruit, etc.). As for the 3-ingredient title: one could call them those other options, the 3-ingedient title is simply my choice. Salt is always optional, and I assume running water is available (similarly I would not call a recipe for boiled pasta a 1-ingredient recipe, not a 3-ingredient recipe, even though the pasta is boiled in water and adding salt to the water is optional).
We cannot stop making these. 2x/week so far.Such a genius little recipe. We’ve been adding mini choc chips and a thumbprint if apricot jam. My 4 year old thinks these are some of the best treats we’ve ever made together and I agree. Guilt-free and couldn’t be easier. Thank you!
Oh Erin, the thought of your 4-year old loving these fills my heart with joy! So happy that these are a family favorite (we have been making them nonstop since the shutdown, too :))
These turned out great. I love the simplicity. I just happened to have keto friendly chocolate chips in the cupboard so used those. I was skeptical that two tablespoons of water was going to blend well enough but it worked out very well. After I balled the dough I didn’t try to flatten them because it didn’t specify. I ended up with little balls with a soft center and they were perfect.
So happy to hear that they surpassed expectations, Ingrid!
I simply cannot believe how amazing these cookies turned out with such a simple recipe. They’re perfectly crispy and chewy at the same time. Oh so good! I wish I had found it earlier. Thank you for sharing this!
You are very welcome, Deepa!
These are so delicious! I added 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom and used orange juice instead of water for an orange cardamom flavor. I used a bit less sugar because of the OJ. I can’t wait to experiment with other variations!
Yum! Great idea to use the orange juice, I am going to have to try that, Sarah. And cardamom is my favorite spice–love your creativity!
Love this recipe! It is now our go to for chocolate chip cookies. With the stress eating that my hubby is doing, I’m happy to provide a healthier cookie. He has a dairy allergy and problems with his blood sugar. I was happy that I didn’t have to make substitutions, as they don’t always turn out correct. I used Swerve. He stated that by having these, he doesn’t miss cookies. (Which happened with other “healthy cookie” recipes.). Oh, I added dark Enjoy Life Chips as they are allergy friendly. I also made these with regular brown sugar for myself. ( I can’t tolerate sugar substitutes. ) Delish as well. Plus, it’s easy to find almond flour, even when other baking supplies are low stock.
So happy to read your comment, Amy Dee 🙂 Glad these fit for both of your dietary needs! I know, it is heartening that almond flour remains so available. The wheat flour section is completley cleared out in all of our store, but the health food section has plenty of options (almond flour, coconut flour, and more)
I don’t have baking powder at this time. Can I replace with baking soda instead?
Hi Meg,
Use 1/8 teaspoon baking soda and add 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the water mixture. It should work!
I would love to make these. I am following the Paleo dirt and do not have store bought baking powder (due to corn). Any suggestions on what to use as baking powder? Thanks!
Hi Cristin! You can make a grain-free baking powder at home (much cheaper) using arrowroot or tapioca starch and baking soda. If you goodle paleo baking powder, you can find many recipes for the ratio 🙂
Are these cookies supposed to spread when baked? When I made them they stayed in the shape of the scoop and did not flatten.
Hi Monica,
They should spread out some. Perhaps try adding a smidge more water next time, it sounds like the dough may have been too stiff to spread. If measuring the almond flour with cups (instead of weighing it), lightly spoon it into the measuring cups (it is really easy to overfill/pack almond flour).
These cookies are absolutely delicious. I’m so glad I made them, super easy using whole simple ingredients, I added some sesame seeds on top & they gave it a nice nutty flavor. Soo good ! Never makin any other cookie again
Yum! So pleased these hit the spot, Dany!
I’ve made these twice in one week! I was lucky enough to have the three ingredients! They taste great and I’m hooked now!
I needed some good news, and you provided it, Maryam! So happy to hear these have you hooked 🙂 That makes two of us!
Hi Camilla,
This recipe is too good. I made 2 batches today and both came out really well.For extra flavor I made one with rose water and one batch with cardamom. Thank you so much for the recipe :).
You are SO welcome, Gayathri! I absolutely love the combination of cardamom and rose water–I am going to have to make a batch with those additions!
I’ve tried many almond flour cookie recipes and this one hits the spot. Mine didn’t spread either so I will put more water next time. They are delicious nonetheless! I’m making a second batch with cinnamon as I type this 👍🏻
Happy to hear you enjoyed these, Maggie, thank you!
I made these today. I forgot the salt but they were still yummy. I was only able to get 6 cookies not 10, not sure why, but they are only for me. I added chocolate chips to mine…Yum
Hi Susan! Glad you like the recipe! I think my cookies were simply smaller than yours. I used a small cookie scoop, which is about 1 tablespoon per cookie. But nothing wrong with big cookies!
OMG! These were delicious! My husband (gotta love him) bought some almond flour by mistake. I was looking for snacks to make with it. We were also out of butter so I thought it would be a challenge. I’m so happy I found this recipe. The cookies were moist and chewy. I thought they’d be tasteless rocks. I told my husband we would have to add almond flour to our grocery list now. Thank you for this excellent recipe!
WONDERFUL! Hee-hee, especially nice surprise when you have lowered expectations of the results. So glad you enjoyed these so much 🙂
I just made these and I loved them so much!! I’ve had gluten and dairy restrictions my entire life so these were awesome to find. I added a little bit of vanilla extract and cinnamon and it really elevated the flavor.
Wonderful, Lexi! So glad these worked for you! Love the vanilla and cinnamon additions 🙂
WOW. I wasn’t expecting much when I read the ingredient list, but it really blew my mind away. These cookies are buttery and chewy as promised, and they hold together very nicely! Such a good sweet for my husband and I during COVID-19 quarantine.
Hip hip hooray!!! So happy these weer a (surprise) success, Angela!
OK: this recipe is amazing. I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and used milk instead of water. Also, I used brown sugar as that is all I had here. Oh and I added some ground up walnuts. These cookies came out scrumptious! Not overly sweet and I couldn’t believe how buttery they were, considering that the recipe didn’t call for any added oil. It’s a perfect recipe for people like me as I’m currently no Betty Crocker. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful, simple recipe.
I make these for my mom every week! Theyre so good. I roll them into balls with a hershey kiss inside and dip in sprinkles before baking 👌
Ooh, why had I not thought of the kisses idea, thank you Bridgette! You have one lucky mom, and you are one sweet daughter!
This recipe is amazing. I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and used milk instead of water. Also, I used brown sugar as that is all I had here. Oh and I added some ground up walnuts. These cookies came out scrumptious! Not overly sweet and I couldn’t believe how buttery they were, considering that the recipe didn’t call for any added oil. It’s a perfect recipe for people like me as I’m currently no Betty Crocker. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful, simple recipe.
Oh wow, Lisa, that is so great to hear! I know , it is crazy how they have a butter-y flavor. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Yum! I added cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon. Crazy good. Next time I’m trying lemon. 💗
yum, Yum, and YUM! Sounds perfect, CH!
Yums! I used Swerve to sweeten. These were great, and so easy. Love that they are egg-free. 🙂
We cookies did not spread out and where burnt on the bottom ..maybe I should turn my heat down, and they where not that light
Hi Judy,
Sorry to hear that you had problems with the recipe. Several tips that might help: he cookies do not spread a lot, but if they do not spread at all, then it is likely due to too much almond flour in proportion to the water. If you have a kitchen scale, it is worth weighing the flour to get a precise measurement. Otherwise, measure by lightly spooning the flour into the measuring cup to ensure that it is not packed (i.e., too much flour). Too much flour could also explain why they came out heavy. Regarding burnt bottoms: it could be that your oven runs hot. I am a big fan of oven thermometers (inexpensive)to check oven temperature. It can save a lot of grief with baking! Also, a dark baking pan can cause burnt bottoms; not sure if that could be the case. But a light-colored, heavy baking sheet can make a big difference with simple cookies such as this.
I make these as a thumbprint cookie with either raspberry or fig jam. They have become my go to for potlucks and bake sales and just anytime I’m not sure if there will be vegans or celiacs. It’s so nice to have a quick, easy, yummy dessert most people can enjoy. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad to hear this is your go-to recipe, Jennifer! 😊❤️
I’m so shook about how good these turned out. I was skeptical because the ingredients were too simple and I thought they were come out as plain, dense blocks of dough but oh boi I was wrong. I did use mylk instead of water and added vanilla and choc chunks but the cookie dough base is way better than expected❤
Yay! So happy that they defied expectations!
Hi thank you for sharing this recipe I made the chocolate chip cookies,used homemade almond milk neede four tablespoons fore the mixture to bind
I had trouble baking longer than five minutes noticed cookies started to burn on the outside
Any suggestions I followed the recipe exactly except adding almond milk instead of water
Thank you
Hi Ronda!
So sorry you had problems with the cookies. The almond milk is not likely to be the issue. If they are burning at 350 after only 5 minutes then it is most likely that your oven runs (very) hot. You can check it with an oven thermometer (they are inexpensive) and then adjust down by how much hotter it runs at particular temperatures. Also, is there any chance you used a dark metal baking pan? Dark metal will bake cookies, cakes and breads much faster. But given that these were burning in such a short time makes me think it must be the oven temperature.
I literally made these in under a minute!
I added vanilla extract….
They are delish!
So glad that they were so easy…and so yummy! Thanks, Gina!
Awesome recipe
I can’t stop eating it 😋
So pleased! I know, the only downside is they are so darn yummy 🙂
Delicious! I substituted the sugar for honey. Kinda played with the amount to get a nice consistency. Maybe 1/4 cup. Pressed the fork in like peanut butter cookies for some art! Thanks for the recipe!!!?
Whoohoo, the honey substitute sounds delicious! Love the fork-press art , too 🙂
Hello there! I am Going to try to make theses cookies today! I’m going to substitute the sugar with ground dates! I’ll let you know how it turns out!!!
Yum, date sugar sounds like a great idea! I think it will make the cookies a touch chewier, which sounds delish to me!
I had the same problem as others with the cookies not spreading. I spooned the almond flour into a dry measuring cup so it wasn’t too much of that. I also have a darker coconut sugar so the bottoms o my cookies got very dark. They’re still delicious even if not as nice looking as yours. I’ll try again with some cane sugar. Thanks for a super simple recipe!
Hi Patty,
Glad you liked the recipe! Regarding spreading: you could add a touch more water so that the batter is looser (about 1 to 2 teaspoons more, at most). If you have a kitchen scale, it helps tremendously to get the exact amount of flour since almond flour is lighter than all-purpose flour.
I can’t stop making these. Easiest dessert I have ever made and so yummy and versatile! MY FAV
YAY! 🙂
My kids and I had made these cookies for Santa we added lemon extract to them they turned out amazing thank you for the recipe
I am so happy to hear it, Brittany! Lucky Santa 😊
Hi!
Is almond flour interchangeable with almond meal? I really want to make them but I’ve got almond meal at home and I was wondering if they would still come out nicely?
Thank you!
Hi Carola,
Apologies, I have not tried this with almond meal. I think you will still end up with a tasty cookie, but different from this one (perhaps denser, and definitely darker). Almond flour is ground very fine and is made with blanched almonds (no skins), so it produces lighter baked goods. Almond meal is typically more coarsely grind, and it also has the skins on (nutritious and delicious, but heavier).
These were a perfect recipe for a rainy night when I wanted a treat, but didn’t want to go to the grocery store. I had everything on hand already. I made the sesame almond variation with brown sugar instead of coconut sugar. They were very good, but next time I definitely plan on adding vanilla extract. I think that will be delicious!
I am so happy to hear that these hit the spot, Beth! 😊
Hi , tried for the first time cookies ever also for my 14 months old first cookies..this is so good in taste …but mine took extra 10 minutes but also not cooked properly..is adding little more water made it like that ??..can you figure it out .
Hi Prasanthi! Hmm, that does sound odd that these took so long to bake. Mine start to get far too dark if left in for 3 to 3 minutes too long. Adding more water definitely sounds like the reason. The dough should be pretty firm; it will seem dry when you first begin stirring, but it will come together with the small amount of water 😊
Yeah that shpuld be the reason..thank you for responding😍
Easy and great! You could make so many variations. Love it thanks!
So glad to hear it, Andrea!
After an early morning, very cold, dog walk, we both wanted freshly baked cookies. Your recipe fit the bill. Quick and easy and satisfying.
Thank you for this recipe and all that you do
Diane
Thank you so much,Diane! Stay warm 🙂
I just made these cookies. They did not rise beyond the size of the cookie scoop. I measured my flour on a scale…measured all the other ingredients as well. Any ideas about why they didn’t rise?
Hi Jimmie,
I am so sorry your cookies did not rise. It sounds like you did everything right, so the lack of rise sounds like it is from the baking powder. Perhaps a bad batch, or old? Just checking: did you bake soon after mixing? The only other explanation might be if the dough sat too long and lost it’s rising power.
Wow these cookies came out incredible! It’s crazy how delicious they are considering how simple the recipe is! I made some chia seed berry jam and created thumbprint cookies. Tasty! I also subbed the coconut sugar for maple syrup and omitted the salt. Awesome!
So happy to hear it, Lyra! Yum, the chia berry jam thumbprints sound pretty amazing 🙂
How would you suggest adding a butter to this recipe?
Hi Kaitlin,
I would suggest you make my -ingredient almond flour shortbread cookies and use melted butter in place of the melted coconut oil 🙂 Here is the link: https://powerhungry.com/2019/08/almond-flour-shortbread/
Thanks so much for this recipe! My poor husband had a rough day and had the worst late night craving. Luckily I had a fresh bag of almond flour and was able to whip this up so fast. I added a handful of chia seeds to the dough. He was very satisfied!
How wonderful!
So curious to try these. I just made the same recipe but less the baking powder and plus coconut oil. I had added some almond extract and they were delicious. Reminded me of Italian “macaroon” cookies. I thought they’d be good as thumbprints too, so I went out and bought some jam. Great minds! haha
Wonderful, Mary!!!
I’ve made these twice so far; I only used 2 instead of 3 tbsp of erythritol (I’d never used anything but sugar in baking and I was afraid of a hard-core stomach-ache, since I had no idea how the fake sugar would affect me.) Because of that ‘sugar’ adjustment they definitely stayed in a ball shape and were pretty dry and didn’t have a lot flavor. I wanted to keep the measurement to 2 tbsp, of the erythritol, so I added about 3/4 tsp of almond extract to boost the flavor on my next batch, and that solved the flavor issue 100%, but still with the ball shape, so I flattened them 3 or 4 minutes into cooking (not pretty since the edges were dry, but at least they weren’t balls anymore). I do LOVE these little cookies and will keep making them with the extract and the reduced amount of sugar substitute; these snacks help me feel like I’m not missing out if I want something tasty. My next batch will have less almond flour (probably should have adjusted that FIRST since I took away a full tbsp of the ‘sugar!”) to see if I can’t get these bad boys to flatten on their own. I definitely recommend the almond extract if you love almond-type things – it really enhances the flavor when I use less of the sugar substitute – so much! Thank you for posting this recipe – I’ll be trying the coconut flour snickerdoodles next!
Thanks so much for sharing your adaptations, KatGirl! The almond extract addition is great, love that flavor, too. I have not baked with straight erythritol, I typically use a blend designed for baking (current favorite–and I have no affiliation with the brand, just like it very much–is sukrin gold, a mix of erytritol, stevia, and malt extract; I order online). So glad that these work for you!
I made your cookies the plain ones to start with, instead of coconut sugar I put stevia, they turned out lovely, perfect to calm my sweet tooth on my diet, passed your recipe on to my brother 👍
Yay! So happy to hear it, Melissa!
Camilla,
My mother is allergic to almonds. Have you tried making these using other types of flour, coconut flour, maybe?
Hi Elizabeth,
I have a number of coconut flour, vegan recipes similar to these cookies that I think will fit the bill 🙂
Such as
Coconut Flour Snickerdoodles
Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Banana Coconut Flour Cookies
Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies
Enjoy!
1Thank you! Will pass on your Coconut Flour recipes to a friend!
Something went wrong. My daughter rolled up dough balls and placed them on the cookie sheet. The balls never softened into cookies. I baked for 15 min in 350 preheated conv oven. Help! I followed all instructions.
Hi Jas,
I am so sorry to hear that the cookies did not turn out for you and your daughter.
I am not sure what could have gone wrong. I am not quite sure what you mean when you say they did not soften into cookies–do you mean that they stayed in balls?
Just trouble-shooting a possible reason: it sounds like there may have been too much almond flour, which can happen if the almond flour is compacted into the measuring cup. The fact that they could be rolled into balls is another clue: the cookie dough is fairly moist and soft, and is easier to scoop than roll into balls. If the dough was firm enough to be rolled into balls, it is most likely the excess flour I mentioned.
If you want to try again (I hope you do!), I suggest lightly spooning the flour into a dry measuring cup (i.e., not a liquid measuring cup), and leveling off with a knife. Or weight the flour (112 grams, if you have a culinary scale). They should come out just right!
Have you ever tried adding essential oils for flavor s?
Hi Megan,
I haven’t, but if the oils are safe for culinary purposes, I am sure it would be a delicious option!
These are the easiest cookies I’ve ever made. They came out beautifully. I added some vanilla essence.
Hoorah! So glad they were a hit, Cindy
Made these today w/ a 1/4 t of vanilla and 1/3 C chopped dried apricots. Very tasty!
Do you think these would work using agave nectar instead of coconut sugar?
Thanks much!
Yum! Love dried apricots. Yes, agave will definitely work. Use the same amount of agave as coconut sugar, then add water (1/2 teaspoon or so at a time—probably 2-4 teaspoons) until it comes together into a dough.
These are very good. I was not sure they would hold together while 4eading this recipe but they really did. They are not even crumbly. I love them! Very surprised!
Excellent, April! So happy to hear they exceeded expectations!
An excellent recipe!
Used a microwave oven, Elba Grill+Microwave, output 800w, on High, 50 to 60 sec for a small batch.
In addition to all of the recommended add-on, once the dough balls are made, gently toss them around in almond flour and then bake.
And the cookies are great once cooled and at room temperature. And….refrigeration worked the best.
Fantastic to hear that they came out well in the microwave, Shoba! Thanks for sharing that for others (including me!) to try!
Made these for my kids so I didn’t want to use sugar. Doubled recipe and added a banana. Used my blender because I wanted to smooth my my almond meal (out of blanched). Big hit with them. They rarely have sugar, so these are great for them. Also made some packed with pecans and vanilla. Great, healthy treats! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful Sarah! Your changes sound sooo good! Glad they were a hit with the kiddos, in particular 🙂
What would the ratio of white sugar, brown sugar or stevia be in place of the coconut sugar?
1:1 sub for any other granulated sugar (white or brown). I am not sure about stevia since there are different varieties (e.g., powdered packets, granulated stevia for baking, liquid). You may have to check the package.
Do you happen to know what how much erythritol would be equivalent to the 3 TBS of coconut sugar in this recipe? I’m not using coconut sugar because of plant paradox restrictions.
Hi Shari,
I have some granulated erythritol in my pantry that is a 1:1 sub for granulated sugars. I know that it comes in different varieties, but is often 1:1 sub. Does it say on the package you have?
I’m making your buckwheat groats bread today – thanks for providing recipe.
In these cookies, would sweet white sorghum flour work do you think? Being convinced of its nutritional benefits, I’m starting to use it wherever possible. Thanks again for all you do to encourage us to be healthier … without sacrificing taste.
Hi Tim,
No, I do not think the sorghum flour will work here as it has no fat whereas almond flour is high in natural fat. You would have more of a hard cracker than a cookie. It would take some experimentation to make it work, if at all. Sorry! I am sure there are some good sorghum flour recipes out there!
Soooooo good!! Thank you for sharing. My husband is dieting and had a sweet tooth. Glad I found your recipe cause I was scrounging in my pantry to whip up something healthy sweet. This was perfect. =)
So glad the recipe came to the rescue, Cindy!
Can monkfruit sweetner be substituted for the coconut sugar?
Thank you.
Hi Marie,
A monkfruit sweetener that is a 1:1 replacement for sugar (i.e., same measurement of monkfruit sweetener as coconut sugar or other sugar) should work well. I have not tested it with monkfruit, but the cookies will most likely not brown as much (absence of sugar) and may end up a bit more crisp (not a bad thing!) since sugar adds moisture to baking. I would love to know how it turns out if you try it!
I made these and they are great. I just want to say, when you use coconut sugar in the recipe it turns your product brown in color and that is because coconut sugar is dark in color, so my cookies came out dark before baking and after baking. These cookies are absolutely wonderful, but I need to know about the ones you show in the picture with the recipe, because they are white in color. Did you use regular sugar for the food photos?
Hi Steve! So glad you like the cookies. The cookies are made with coconut sugar. There is some variation in the coconut sugar, but the brand I order in bulk is light brown in color, not dark brown. I have seen some coconut sugar that is very dark.
Thank you for your answer. The one I buy is from a health food store here in Hawaii called Down to Earth and the one they carry is very dark. I was a Chef for over 25 years and because of some health issues that my wife has, we are changing the type of foods we eat. We are both happy that we found you and looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thanks so much, Steve.
Hi I just made your cookies. They are so easy and delicious. Mine stayed in round mounds shaped like my little cookie scoop. Did you flatten yours before baking? I measured all the ingredients and used the same as your recipe.
Hi Doreen,
So glad you like the cookies! Hmm, I’m not sure why yours did not spread. I do not flatten mine. Perhaps more loosely pack each cookie as you scoop?
Having already been vegan now for two months, just not forcing my son bc he still wants his bacon and burgers so I only allow it because he’s my kid whereas the other eats anything you give her, and it being near the end of the month, I wanted a snack that I and the kids would like. I wanted to do peanut butter vegan cookies with no oil. But realized I am super low on peanut butter. So I went with sugar cookies.
I was apprehensive about such little liquid used. But these are great! I didn’t have coconut sugar but I have monk fruit sugar. It’s grown on me. Came out very good.
Oh that is so good to hear, Ashley! And I am happy to know that the monkfuit sugar worked, too–I know that will be helpful to others, as well! 🙂
Tried the fingerprint recipe. Delicious! Thank you!
Whoot! So glad to hear, Sheila 🙂
Can I add brown sugar or white sugar instead of coconut sugar?
Yes, either will work Sam!
I find the recipe alone needs something, the variations listed all sound delicious but my quick fix was to approx. 1/4 tsp of vanilla when adding the water. Works Wonders! Such a quick and simple recipe, I’ve made these at least 4 times already
Perfect, sounds great Jynger! So glad you have made the recipe your own 🙂
Hello, I just tried this but 2tbs of water basically did nothing. Do I need to put more water to help these form? It is still mostly powder after I placed the water in. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. TIA
Hi Joleen,
I am guessing you stirred vigorously after adding? The dough will look dry when the water is first added but should become a dough after mixing well. Perhaps it was a generous measure of flour? But yes, you can always add a drizzle more water (start with very little, stir a lot) until it just turns into a dough.
Do you think these could be made without the sugar?
Hi Nicole,
It might produce something akin to a cracker, I just do not know. Were you planning on using an alterative sweetener, such as stevia? If so, it will not for this particular recipe, a the sugar does more than add sweetness (adds volume, moisture, browning, and more). With such a minimalist recipe, there is not much wiggle room for change in the basic formula, other than additions.
The recipe doesn’t say when to add the sugar. I assume it’s added with the flour and other dry ingredients.
Thank you so much for catching that, Penny! I have made the change 🙂
Very easy to do and what a delight! They were GONE within 5 minutes of taking them out. I used brown sugar instead of coconut (same ratio). I ran out of baking powder so I used baking soda (same ratio). I doubt that I was supposed to do that but they came out delicious. Since I was using a toaster oven, I baked them for 7 minutes, keeping an eye on them. As soon as they started turning golden I took it out. It was crusty on the outside and smooshy in the inside. I inhaled them all. They’re that good! Thanks for the recipe 😀
Hi,
This recipe looks amazing. I’m new to types of sweetners and the only one I have is stevia. Can I use stevia for sweetener ? I’m not interested in keto but I have pre diabetes 🙁
Thanks
You are so welcome, Wael!!! It sounds lik we are cookie twins (re: inhaling shortbread :))
Hi Fouz,
I am not crazy about stevia in baking, it tends to turn bitter. If you do use stevia, be sure to use a variety that is specifically designed for baking.