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4-ingredient chocolate almond flour cookies that are rich, decadent, and good for you! They are vegan, oil-free, grain-free, Paleo, & only 61 calories per cookie
Oh. My. Chocolate.
I can hardly contain my excitement for these cookies, they are so luscious, fudgy, and decadent!
And easy. EASY. As in mix-the-dough-in-under-1-minute easy.
They require no more than 4 ingredients (plus water & salt), too
Did I mention that they are also healthy? Looks like I just did. I’ll get to the specifics in a moment.
Oh, and then there’s supercalifragilisticexpialidocious fact that with one recipe you can make umpteen variations. Here’s a brief tableau of blissful possibilities:
It’s easy to understand my excitement, yes? I hope that it is rubbing off.
These wonderful cookies are great year-round (chocolate is always in season), but are guaranteed to deliver heaps of joy, both to makers and eaters, during the holidays ahead.
Recipe Benefits
Here’s a quick summary of their healthful attributes:
- Grain-free
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Oil-free
- Paleo friendly
- Rich in healthy fats (from the almond flour)
- Rich in antioxidants (from the cocoa powder)
The cookies have a deep, dark chocolate flavor and have a tender yet fudgy texture. Yum!
Ingredients for 4-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies
The exact amounts of each ingredient are indicated in the recipe card at the end of the post.
Here are the four humble ingredients:
- Blanched almond flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Coconut sugar (or the granulated sweetener of your choice)
- baking powder
You will also need some water (regular tap water). I like to add salt to the cookies (the salt boosts the flavor significantly)., but it is completely optional/adjustable according to your needs.
How to Make 4-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies
Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder and salt (breaking up all lumps in the flour and cocoa powder).
- Add the water and stir until blended. It will look dry, at first, but keep stirring (do not add more water).
- Scoop the dough by tablespoons onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. I use a small size cookie scoop to do the job. You can also roll the dough into balls if you do not have a scoop and want perfectly sized cookies.
- Licking the bowl is strongly encouraged.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes until the surface of the cookies appears dry and small cracks begin to appear. The centers should feel just set when lightly touched with your fingertip.
Hello, gorgeous.
Customize Your Cookies {with Ease}
I have included the six variations pictured above in the recipe, but go ahead and experiment to the moon and back. Here are some other ideas to consider:
Mocha Almond Fudge Cookies: Replace the water with 4 tablespoons of cold espresso or strong cold coffee.
Tipsy Chocolate Cookies: Replace half of the water with the spirt of your choosing (e.g., bourbon, liqueur, rum, oh my!)
Zests, Spices, and Extracts: Add a teaspoon of finely grated citrus zest (e.g., lime, orange, lemon), or a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, or anywhere from 1/4 to 3/4 of a teaspoon of ground spice (chocolate + cardamom is the bomb!).
Can I get a Joy to the World?!
More Grain-Free & Vegan Almond Flour Cookies to Try:
- 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Banana Almond Flour Cookies
- Almond Flour Gingerbread Cookies
- Pumpkin Almond Flour Cookies
- Sweet Potato Almond Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Fresh Apple Almond Flour Cookies
- 4-Ingredient Almond Flour Blondies
4-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Flour Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup 72 g blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup 37 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 and 1/2 tablespoons, 32 g coconut palm sugar (see notes for options)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- Optional/adjustable: 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup 60 mL water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut sugar, baking powder and salt (breaking up all lumps in the flour and cocoa powder). Add the water and stir until blended.
- Drop by tablespoons (I used a small cookie scoop) on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 14 minutes until the tops appear dry (& are beginning to crack a bit) and are set at the centers.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Notes
Chocolate Raspberry Thumbprints: Using your finger or the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measure, make a small indentation in each scooped dough mound before baking; filling with 1/2 teaspoon raspberry jam. Chocolate Almond: Add 1/8 teaspoon almond extract to the dough. Gently press a whole almond into the center of each scooped dough mound before baking. Double Chocolate Chip: Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of miniature semisweet chocolate chips to the dough before baking. Double Chocolate Mint: Add 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract to the dough before baking. Melt 1 to 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips and drizzle over cooled cookies Toasted Coconut: Finely chop 2 tablespoons of unsweetened flake coconut. Shape tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in coconut before baking. Turbinado Sugar Coating: Shape tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in turbinado (raw) sugar before baking.
Nutrition
These Look AWESOME 👏🏼😊 Thank You For Sharing 👍🏼❤️G-d❤️Bless
You are so welcome, Cheri! Enjoy 🙂
Delicious taste & texture! Followed someone else’s suggestion to swap half & half for the cream, added a little vanilla and an egg. I also added about 2 Tb oat flour (as it was very liquid) and a few chocolate chips, baked like brownies (small pan, about 15 minutes). Very decadent!
That’s great, Sandra! Thanks so much for sharing your adaptations, too 🙂
Lovely! I have a friend who is on a Keto diet, so I made these for a coffee morning. I doubled the recipe and subbed cream for water. I added an egg, a tsp of vanilla and a tsp of espresso granules. I used Krisda xylitol to sweeten them. They turned out well. I’ll make them again. Thanks for the inspiration.
You are so very welcome, Hettie!
Delish! I also used maple syrup plus amaretto and little vanilla. I doubled the recipe because we are chocoholics. I have made before and each time I make a change to try something different. Thanks for this recipe!!
You are very welcome Sharan,
I am so glad you like the cookies 🙂
Do you think maple syrup instead of coconut sugar would work? Excited to try these!
Hi A Smith!
Yes, you can definitely use maple syrup. Use same amount as coconut sugar (or to taste). Just add enough water to make a soft dough similar to photo (not the full 1/4 cup in the recipe). Cheers 🙂
Love these! I have made them many times. Taste just like brownies. Thank you for this recipe!
You are very welcome, Jacquelyn! 🙂
Excited to try these! Can I substitute cacao instead of cocoa? If so, do I need to make any adjustments?
Thanks, Kathryn
Hi Kathryn,
Yes, definitely. You can use cacao powder and cocoa powder interchangeably.
The cookies made from the base recipe, to my tastebuds, are very tasteless. I am willing to give them another shot but they will definitely need to be bumped up from the basic ingredients.
The dough does mix up nicely and quickly however.
Hi Deb! Feel free to make the recipe your own with additional flavors. For example, vanilla extract, use strong (cold) coffee in place of the water, spices, some chopped chocolate or chocolate Chios, or a bigger pinch of salt to bring out the flavors 🙂
I just made up this recipe. Because I’m allergic to chocolate, I used carob powder instead and – even though carob is *usually* a poor substitute for chocolate – these cookies tasted amazing! Thank you, Camilla!
Ooh, that’s so great to hear that they were so tasty with carob powder, Catherine! Thank you for sharing that (even though I have not used it on the site, I like carob–my mom was a hippie Co-op home cook who bought carob products. I am going to buy some carob powder thank to you!)
Hi. These cookies are so yummy. We have diabetics in the family, so I substituted ‘stevia’ for the sugar. This last lot I used a dollop of orange curd [homemade] on top in place of jam. Very’ nice ‘jaffa flavour. This is definitely a keeper recipe for me.
Sharman, the dollop of orange curd sounds heavenly! So glad these cookies are such a hit!
Hi
I have a problem with sugar but blackstrap molasses is okay.. could I substitute?
Hi Shaindy, I think that could work just fine. Reduce the water slightly so that the dough looks similar in texture to the dough I the photos. I bet it will be delicious!
This recipe is such a gift, so quick and easy to make and delicious every time. the first time i made them i used high quality cocoa and they tasted like dark chocolate, now i use regular cocoa and some vanilla. They cook perfectly in the bench top oven. Thank you
You are so welcome, Deirdre! You are making me crave a batch right now ????
The original recipe is one of my all time faves. Today I was running low on almond flour and decided to try hazelnut flour instead (subbed the almond flour entirely): oh. My. Goodness. You HAVE to try it too when you get the chance! It’s insanely good in this recipe!
Iggy! I am sending you a virtual hug, right here right now! Your positive comments/feedback mean the world. Thank you for sharing this–I have a wee bit of hazelnut flour in my freezer, I am going to try it 🙂
YUM!! Super fudgey. I had to stop myself at two. ???? I used 1/4 tigernut flour and 1/2 cup almond. I added vanilla and 2 tbsp cold brew concentrate and 2 tbsp water. Amazing. Will make again for sure. Love that I already had the ingredients.
Ooh, that sounds so good, Shelley! Love tiger nut flour, I will have to try that in combination with almond flour, too!
So easy and so delicious!!! Great recipe!!
I’m so glad you like the recipe, Abby!
I was so excited to find this recipe. I don’t follow any particular diet other than gluten-free but love easy quick recipes.
I tried it last night and they were ok, not fudgy at all. On the contrary, a little grainy and dry.
Please advise. After reading all the reviews I have no doubt they are delicious! I must’ve done something wrong.
I wish I could send you a picture. I’ve checked to make sure I followed the recipe and still can’t tell what’s the difference.
I live in Denver. Could it be altitude?
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Maria,
I am sorry to hear that your batch of cookies did not live up to expectations. Yes, high altitude defiantly affects baked goods. King Arthur baking has an excellent guide for adjusting recipes for higher altitude (it is not my area of expertise). I hope that with the altitude adjustments the cookies will come out to your liking!
I replace the water with coffee, added vanilla and used allulose to sweeten! They came out delicious. A fudgey mocha treat!
Ooh, that sounds fabulous, Jess!
@Jess, You used cold brew coffee or coffee powder
I am so glad I found your recipe! Just made these and they are fantastic! I had to sub maple sugar but worked out fine. So nice to have a luscious grain-free treat!! Thank you:)
You are so welcome, Monica, glad you like the recipe!
Can you substitute the sugar for apple sauce?
Hi WR,
I am thinking that might work, but the results will not be very sweet. Cocoa powder is naturally bitter, so I am not sure whether they would be like cookies in flavor. Since the recipe contains no eggs nor wheat flour, you could try mixing a very small amount of the dough (an 1/8 of all of the ingredients) using applesauce in place of sugar, and taste the dough (and or bake some of the dough) . That way you would not be wasting an entire quantity on a test batch.
Very good and so easy! Thanks for the recipe:)
You are very welcome, Lindsay!
WOW! These really surprised me! So flavorful, great texture, reminds me of the chocolate “crinkle cookies” my mom used to make when I was a kid. Excited to have found this healthier, satisfying version! (I doubled the batch- glad I did, cuz they’ll go fast- plus added some mini chocolate chips. SO YUMMY!!) Thank you for this awesome recipe- a new staple for my very selective recipe box.
p.s. I do wonder how these might work with maple syrup instead of the dry sweetener.
Omg so freaking good! I swapped the sugar with 1 ripe mashed banana (generous 1/3 cup – dropped the water), added 20g of vanilla protein powder for sweetness, cardamom and a little orange zest. They came out not too sweet as I intended and I can barely taste the banana: it’s all about that chocolate and cardamom combo! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Umm, you added some of my favorite flavors on the planet (vanilla–in the form of protein powder, cardamom, orange)–sounds so good! How to smart to add a bit of protein powder, too!
This looks amazing, could I use Monk Fruit granulated sweetener, I have never used it before, but it’s meant to be great. Thanks
I think that would work, Evie. I know there are different varieties of monk fruit sweetener, so I would advise using one that is specifically designated for baking. All the best.
Love ❤️ these. Two more ways I make
Add in 2 tablespoons pulsed freeze dried raspberries 1 way
Add 1 tablespoon dried coffee in 1/4 warm water 2 way
😋
Yum yum yun, Patty!!! I love coffee and chocolate together 🙂
Super easy and fast will make again!
Excellent, Lainy! So glad you like them 🙂
I have’t tried the cookies yet but I’m so happy that I stumbled on to this page. I just printed out all the recipes and stapled each one so I will have them on-hand instead of searching the computer. Thanks so much for all the options … I will be trying each recipe and adding on…vanilla, almond extract, cinnamon and all spice from time to time. Love the options!
I would be interested in other recipes you have. 🙂
Happy you stumbled onto may site via cookies (my favorite food group), Paula! I have lots of other minimalist almond flour cookie on the site (plain almond cookies, banana almond, fresh apple almond, almond flour shortbread, and more). Enjoy!
One word : Divine!!! 😋😋
So happy you like them!
Super duper easy! I did the almond version w/o the almond on top, accidentally overcooked them and they’re still amazing 🙂
Fantastic, Iggy!!!
Excited to try these! May these cookies be frozen and still taste wonderful? Has anyone done this? Thanks!
Hi Heather! I have definitely frozen them, with success (although they are most often eaten before making it to the freezer at our house! :))
OMG! Best. Cookie. Ever. I did the peppermint w/ dark chocolate cocoa powder and put 3 sugar free chocolate. chips on each cookie _ thanks Phil). I have to watch my fat intake due to high cholesterol and your 3 and 4 ingredients cookies let me have cookies again. Thank you for sharing these wonderful cookies. Happy Holidays.
So happy to hear that you are loving them, Sue! Your additions sounds so good. Hooray for holiday cookies you can enjoy!!!
Thanks Camillia! Is it feasible to make them even healthier by adding flax meal or oatmeal? If so what portions or anything else you might add?
@Phil Sure! You could swap up to about 1/3 of the almond flour with finely ground rolled oats/oat flour, or add a tablespoon of flaxseed meal or chia meal/flour and up to water slightly.
I just made these for the first time and followed the recipe except for using Hershey Special Dark cocoa powder and added three dark chocolate chips to each cookie just before baking! My wife and I loved them! They didn’t rise very much and I got 15 out of the batter! Is this normal? This was simple, easy and delicious!
Excellent, Phil, I am happy you and your wife enjoyed these! They do not rise much, so that is completely normal. I used a small cookie scoop to portion mine, but your yield could definitely be more or less depending on the size of the cookie dough portions.
Tried this recipe as recently bought almond flour for the first time and wanted to put it to use. This was the easiest desert I’ve ever made and I was pleasantly surprised how good these cookies taste. And being as healthy as they are, there is no guilt!
I didn’t find the cookies rose during baking and after doing some research I learned that baking powder shouldn’t be combined w/almond flour – will try skipping next time to see if there is a difference.
Hi Monika,
So glad you like the recipe! I had never heard anything about baking powder not being used with almond flour. I use it all the time. I googled and saw something on blue diamond almnonds (brand) to that effect–they recommended only using eggs. They do not provide any citations. But yes, you could definitely try skipping it!
theyre rlly good, i added more water than listed and used regular sugar. my family liked it 🙂
Outstanding, Marissa! And yippee that the whole family liked them 🙂
Seems to me that there are 6 ingredients used.
Hi Gail,
I am not counting water (assuming that if you are baking, you have running water available 🙂 Just like I would not counting the water for boiling pasta in a pasta recipe as an ingredient). And the salt is optional.
This recipe is outstanding! Perfect proportions. The only addition I make is vanilla essence. I have made these several times now…hands down my favorite chocolate recipe and everyone I have served it to loves it. Thank you for sharing!
Oh wow! Thanks so much Gayatri, I am so happy that you love these cookies!❤️
I was the only one in my family who liked these. Instead of 3.5 tablespoons of coconut sugar I used 1.5 tablespoons of monk fruit sweetener. It was too bitter for my husband and kids. Oops.
Hi Lisa, I’m sorry the cookies were not to your family’s liking. Cocoa powder is naturally bitter, so decreasing the sweetener to a 1/3 the total amount is a pretty dramatic change. But I am glad that you liked them!
Heyy I made these little babies. I found the cocoa overpowering and sweetness negligible . By what qty would l u recommend increasing the amount of sugar?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Yukti,
I’m sorry these did not live up to expectations. You can try reducing the cocoa powder to 3 tablespoons and adding an extra tablespoon of coconut sugar (or more, to taste).
@Camilla, can you sub pure maple syrup for coconut sugar
Hi Diane,
Yes! Use an equal amount of maple syrup and skip the water (at first). Add a little bit of water, as needed, to make a thick dough. Great, now I am dreaming about maple-sweetened chocolate cookies! ???? 🙂
Just tried these. OMG wonderful. I took original recipe and added 1/3 teaspoon vanilla flavoring and coffee in place of the water. I also used a tad of table salt .. about 1/8 teaspoon.
I also rolled them in a sugar cocoa mix
Cooked for 12 min.
Oooh, that sounds absolutely wonderful, Donna!!!
Thank you. These were Great!! Did the Raspberry Thumbprint version and added a Dark chocolate chip on top of the rasberrry filling. These are so wonderful frozen which creates a really chewy brownie like texture. I’m seriously addicted.
Raspberry + chocolate = one of my all time favorite combos, Mary 🙂 I am so happy you love these as much as I do! Love the idea of freezing…I am going to have to try it, immediately!
Awesome recipe! Added orange peel zest – simple, delicious and healthy! Thank you!
Bob
YUM! Such a classic combination, Bob, I’m so happy you like these 🙂
Can I replace the sugar with either honey or maple syrup? And if yes – how much? Thx
Hi Joyce,
Yes, that should work. For honey, I suggest 3 tablespoons and reduce the water to 3 tablespoons total. For maple syrup, I would do 3 and 1/2 tablespoons and reduce water to 2 and 1/2 tablespoons.
@Camilla, I left out the water and sugar, and instead did a quarter cup of maple syrup
Ooh, wonderful! Thanks for sharing that, Alicia!
can i use coconut flour instead?
Hi Nurashikin! No, not for this recipe, but I have a chocolate coconut flour cookie recipe ? here you go: https://www.powerhungry.com/2018/03/chocolate-coconut-flour-cookies-vegan-keto/
Wow! These are fudgy little chocolate bombs! I used monk fruit/erythritol for the sweetener and also dissolved 1/4tsp espresso powder in the water. I used my new scale (!!) to weigh the ingredients and the dough turned out so nicely, easy to work with! I used my smallest cookie scoop and got 16 cookies, perfect one bite cookies. I must admit that I ate one raw and loved it! I think I will make a batch and leave unbaked, omitting the baking powder, to keep in the freezer for cookie dough bites! I dusted with SF powdered sweetener after they cooled. Absolutely love this recipe!
Thanks a million, Pam!!!
@Pam, glad I’m not the only one that eat the dough raw! Will plan to also make some cookie dough bites for the freezer. So yummy! Wonder how I can make them vanilla/birthday cake like?
Hi Jess! So glad you like these cookies 🙂 If you want a vanilla version, try using my vanilla almond flour cookie recipe. You could add vanilla + a touch of almond extract and add funfetti or sprinkles. You might want to use cane sugar instead of coconut sugar for a more traditional cake flavor https://www.powerhungry.com/2018/03/3-ingredient-almond-flour-cookies-vegan-grain-free-paleo/
Superb! Thanks so much Camilla. I used milk instead of water and I can’t believe how great these are. Thank you for sharing.
You are so welcome, Gayatei! Thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed these 😊
I love these cookies so much! They eogg to k great with almond meal, too, but use your scale and use an equivalent weight, not the cups amount
Amazing taste and texture!
I had to make some gluten free cookies for a friend (in a pinch) and just happened to have some almond flour. They were a TREAT! And can also make them for vegan friends. Just fab! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe ☺️
yummy! my roommates and I make these in our little toaster oven (we’re in a college suite) and they come out great!
Can I use ground sesame seed flour (your ground sesame seed flour recipe) instead of almond flour? Secondly, will the cookies be soft or crunchy? I am dying to try this recipe. Thank you.
Hi Maria! I have a sunflower seed flour recipe (not sure if sesame seeds will grind to a flour). But yes, the sunflower seed flour works great in these cookies! You can use the same method to grind pepitas, too (works great as an almond flour alternative).
LOVE these lil’ superfood babies!
How would I add puréed banana into the mix?
Is it as simple as swapping out the H20?
Thank you!
Hi AZ,
Yes, that’s all that you would need to do 🙂
These are the best!! I made them with monk fruit sweetener and almond extract and they are so soft and chocolatey! 10 out of 10; thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
I was just looking for a recipe to use up some almond flour and these turned out to be a delicious surprise!! They are easy and quick to make too.
I brought these cookies while waiting for my doctor’s appointment and they broke down in half (or the shape didn’t hold up). But dang I forgot about that when I ate it. It’s that good and thank you for this recipe. Btw, I baked them last night & popped it in the ref after it cooled down,
Not only is this soooo good, but healthy, oil-free and really hits the dark chocolate monster spot in me! I added a dash of cayenne & cinnamon as suggested by one of the commentators here and replaced the water with unsweetened almond milk. I even made a second batch since this recipe only made 8 cookies and half of it was already gone although it was straight from the oven basket (hahaha – yep we couldn’t wait for these to cool down since it was already smelling great as it baked). I also topped it with different nuts (almond, walnut, cashew and pumpkin seeds).
I will make this again tomorrow and will replace the almond milk with coffee to kick up the chocolaty goodness and maybe top it with fresh strawberry & kiwi fruits.
By the way, i used air fryer instead since I don’t have an oven. Could this be the reason why the shape didn’t hold (It was crunchy on the outside but a little soft in the middle but not crumbly after it was taken from the AF basket & even after taking it from the ref the next day). Any other way to make this hold in room temp? Thank you in advance.
Um, YUM! I am new to paleo (I know, I know, in 2021 I’m a little late to the party) and was looking for a treat with the ingredients I had on hand. WOW, super delish, I’ll DEF be making these again!!! xo
Yay! I am very late to join parties, too, Denise (e.g., I finally learned to use–2 weeks ago– the Instant Pot I received for Christmas three years ago) 🙂 Glad you enjoyed the cookies!
I made these as a cherry jam thumbprint – SOO GOODDD!!! I wish I had some candy canes so I can make a truly festive cookie, but we don’t have any 😭😭
Thank you for this recipe! 10/10 will share with friends. Will DEFINITELY make again
Thanks for sharing this recipe. One batch fits inside my toaster oven perfectly and they come out great. Of course I doubled the recipe, though, and ended up putting half the dough in the fridge. When I baked them they came out much denser and didn’t spread even a little but they certainly won’t go to waste. Still delicious.
Thank you!
You are very welcome, Noah!
I’ve made these sooo many times. They’re my go-to for a treat while I’m trying to lose a few pounds. Today instead of chocolate, I did a lemon version (darn those cravings!) Omitted the chocolate and added the zest of one lemon and substituted lemon juice for water. STILL DELICIOUS! Thanks for such a flexible recipe!
You are very welcome, Brenda! I love the lemon variation, so good!
Thank you for this, was looking for a lemon since I have a lot here! Are the measurements the same? Thanks in advance.
These are absolutely incredible and versatile! I have made this 3 times already with different toppings and they are just fantastic. For me they are guilt free as they are quite nutritious and oh so easy to make. These are my definite go to quick cookies/brownies snacks.
I am thrilled to pieces, Tatiana xoxoxo
Hey should i use cups or grams? 3/4 cup of my almond flour is 75g not 84g and 1/3 cup of my cocoa powder is 27g not 37g
Also can i replace water with almond milk? Thx
Thx
Always more precise to go with grams for that very reason–cup measurements tend to be more or less, depending on how the flour is being scooped into the measuring cups.
Came out delicious! But texture is very soft, even softer than brownies.
Is it supposed to be that soft?
YUM! I was definitely skeptical that this recipe would work out, but the positive reviews convinced me to try it. These have the super-rich brownie bite vibe, which I personally like (i.e. texture is more brownie than cookie). All I had was cacao, so I ended up using standard granulated sugar to help balance that ultra-chocolatey flavor. I used almond milk instead of water since I had some open, and I mixed-and-matched the modifications: Added chopped chocolate to the whole batch, and then rolled half in coconut and the other half in turbinado sugar. Also, I HIGHLY recommend weighing the ingredients if at all possible — almond flour + different kinds of cocoa powder makes it tricky, and my cup measurements were way off of the weight. Thanks so much for the super simple recipe with weights listed! My only complaint is it makes so few cookies….buuuut that’s probably a good thing anyway. 😉
Oh Jasmine, thank you for such a thorough write-up! So helpful. Love the addition of coconut on the outside 🙂
Hii!!
Could i grind up some whole almonds until it becomes a flour instead?
Hi Alida,
Yes, you can make almond flour at home. But you need to be sure to grind it ultra fine, into a flour, not just ground almonds. Also, I am using blanched, very fine almond flour, which is made with almonds that have the skins removed. The outcome will be different if they are made with skin-on almonds that are ground to a meal as opposed to a flour.
This was so good! Will be making it again.
Excellent, Danielle! So glad that you liked them 🙂
Wow – these are really good! So simple and ultra quick to make too! For my first batch, I added some almond extract and chocolate chips (for hubby’s half of the recipe). This will be a go to recipe for home and also for taking to others. I’m considering adding some crushed corn flakes to make it similar to a famous New Zealand cookie I love (called Afghan cookie), but isn’t plant based. Fantastic recipe!
Oh that’s wonderful, Cathie! And now I need to go and look up Afghan cookies, I’ve never heard of those before. Yes, add in different bits and bobs to the cookies, they are very flexible 🙂
These cookies are so delicious. They are not dry either. I added a dash of cinnamon and a little cayenne (and followed the suggestion of using cold coffee instead of water). I wanted to mimic Mexican hot chocolate. I’m definitely making these cookies again! I’ll add some chopped walnuts next time.
Yum! Your Mexican hot chocolate cookie variation sounds heavenly (and is making me very hungry…) 🙂
Well….I was certainly sceptical of this recipe, never before having made baked goods that didn’t require eggs and some sort of added fat. Let’s just say, I was blown away! These are truly delicious. They will become one of my staples, as will the different variations. Thank you so much for posting this very delicious recipe!
Your comment made my day, Pascale. So glad you like them! 🙂
these are my family’s favorite cookies! my partner and daughters ask me to make them all the time! I’m AIP so I haven’t tried these personally, but my family is picky so I KNOW they have to be delicious. thanks for all your easy recipes- love finding things to make which don’t required a bunch of ingredients to taste good. xoxo
I am simply thrilled to hear it, Ryane! Especially hearing that it is a family favorite (no small feat to get everyone to like the same thing, even cookies :)) Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know !
Forgot to ask a question in my previously submitted comments: Can these be made as brownies in an 8×8 pan or will they fail to get done in the center?
I have not tried it, but I think that would work fine. You might need to 1 and 1/2 or double the recipe, not sure if there is enough dough for the pan.
Just took them out of the oven and had a little taste—excellent!
Whoohoo! Glad to hear it, Brenda!
Hello,
My daughter loved these cookies . Can I substitue the sweetener with maple syrup or honey ?
Hi Kavitha, I am so glad you and your daughter liked these! Yes, maple syrup should work fine. I would add an equal amount (as the sugar) and decrease the water by at least half (you can always add a bit more water, as needed).
So glad I found this recipe! I was incredibly surprised. I am not sure if my location had anything to do with it, but I had to add a little more almond flour at the end and subbed regular brown sugar for the coconut sugar. Luckily, you had a picture of the mixed batter, which was very helpful. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Oh! I used almond milk instead of water too! I think it made it a little richer.
Oh wow!!! These reminded med of brownie bites that our local grocery store made, except not as sweet and so much better nutrition for our bodies. Thank you for sharing. 😢
Sorry about the typo I meant to say they reminded me of the brownie bites our local grocery store made. And I fat fingered the teary face it was suppose to be a 🙂!🤷♀️
I am an expert at typos 🙂 I completely understand!
You are so welcome, Dolly!
Being an older male (who lives alone), I do not bake much; plus, I’m Pescatarian not Vegan. I had a 2 pound bag of (Nature’s Eats) Blanched Almond Flour, and close to expiring, it was use it or toss it. So, I started searching for it plus the (Better Body Foods) Organic Cacao Powder that I’ve been using for years now; I wanted to know what I could bake with these two key ingredients. That’s when I came upon this site. I print-saved the recipe a month ago, and finally got around to baking, due to confinement boredom :-). Based on what I already had, I varied from your recipe a bit. First, I made a larger batch (I doubled everything), but I used only half of your recommended sugar; I use (Better Body Foods) Organic Coconut Palm Sugar, but supplemented it with a pinch of (Enzo’s) Organic Stevia Powder, and, I used one small egg and 1% chocolate milk instead of water. In half the recipe batch I added chopped walnuts. They turned out more like brownies than cookies; that was a pleasant and tasty surprise. So now I want to make them as brownies! If putting them into one pan, not portioned but as one, say a 1/2 inch thick, how (if at all) would that change baking time and/or temp?
Hi Camilla,
I just made these. They are YUMMO! I dropped the sugar down to 3T since I was going to roll them in sanding sugar. I added chopped pecans. They are not sickening sweet which is good. I used a 1 inch cookie scoop also and mine were baked in just 9 minutes. Next time I will leave out the pecans and roll them in a crushed peppermint candy/sugar mix.
Deb
YUM! I have some leftover candy canes in the pantry from Xmas; you just gave me an idea of how to use them, Deb!
My cookies are flat despite following the recipe. They look nothing like the photo
Hi Abigail,
So sorry to hear that these did not come out as expected. It is definitely unusual that they came out flat; if anything, the dough does not not spread much at all. It sounds like the proportions (especially the amount of liquid; too much relative to the other ingredients) were off.
It’s delicious! But I only yielded 6 cookie scoops 🙁 and a half to eat 🙂 perhaps measuring 3 of the 1/4 cup does not equal 3/4 Cup. I even put it on my scale for 84g to make sure. Still delicious though! HIGHLY RECOMMEND for snacking! Next time I will try the boozy ones and double the recipe.
Hi Karen,
So 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 big cookies are always great, too!
Super good and super easy! I’ll definitely make these again.
Wonderful, Sue! Super easy and super good is my favorite kind of recipe 🙂
Wonderful recipe! I added milk and coffee concentrate instead of water and it turned out great! After trying the first batch, I made some tweaks for the second batch and it turned out even better. I found the original recipe to be a bit salty for my taste so I reduced salt a bit. I reduced cocoa a little bit since I was running low on it and ground all the dry ingredients in a food processor to get a even tasting dough and then added the milk and coffee concentrate. They taste like brownies. Really yummy!
I love all of your adaptations, Meena–so glad to haar that you made them your own! Sounds delicious!
I can’t use baking powder because I’m allergic to the corn starch in it, so what would you suggest as a substitute?
Hi Morgan! I use a grain-free baking powder in all of my baking (Hain Pure Foods brand) or I make my own. But you can also make your own using baking soda and tapioca or arrowroot starch (just google paleo baking powder and you will get a slew of results :))
I was pleasantly surprised, these cookies so easy and so delicious 😋. I added 1/4c oftiny chocolate chips and topped with a walnut. Will be my signature chocolate cookie, and I don’t like to bake !
That is so great, Donna–even more so given that you are a self-professed non-baker! 🙂
I found your recipe in my search for something i could use my left over almond flour and cocoa, that i wanted to clear my ref and pantry of. They came out amazing. Now i am planning to replenish supplies to try the Mocha variation with cold brew coffee, and the “Tipsy’ chocolate one with left over Kahlua.
Excellent, Roxy!!! 🙂
I just made these. I used half amaretto liquor and half water and I snuck a little extra sea salt in there as you suggested and they were OH MY GOODNESS, next level delicious. I just googled almond flour chocolate cookies and I found you. Now you have a new BIG fan. All of your recipes look fantastic. Limited ingredients is right up my healthy lifestyle alley! Thank you!!
Whoohoo! And oh good heaven, I love the idea of the amaretto and extra salt (admitted salt fiend, right here :)) I am going to have to try that asap, so brilliant Mandy. Yay for simplifying in a healthy and delicious way 🙂
So very good! I added chocolate chips and pecans but would be great any way.
Excellent, Lee! 🙂
Hi, I really like your website. I’ve tried a few of your recipes and they’re all great. You have a very unique style of baking, you use whole food ingredients and not a bunch of oil and sugar and milk and things you don’t really need to make stuff. I’m always looking for simple recipes that don’t require a lot of oil or sugars, and yours are perfect. Real food for real people! I tried this cookies and added some chocolate chips to them. Very good. My daughter will be awake soon and eat them all. Thanks for ANOTHER great recipe!!!
Thanks so much for the note, Salty— I love imagining your daughter waking up to homemade chocolate cookies !
Just made these cookies! Delicious!!!
Hooray, so glad they were yummy, Vlada!
Can you use oat flour instead of the almond flour?
Hi Laura,
It’s possible, but I think it could take some tweaking to get it right. The almond flour has fat, oats have no significant fat, so without adding some fat, the cookies will not be tender. You could try adding about a tablespoon of fat/oil along with the oat flour.
Ok I want to preface this review by saying I am new to coconut palm sugar and almond flour in desserts., & first time working with coconut palm sugar at all. So the ease of this recipe is superior. Minimal ingredients and together in under 2.5 min. I waited longer for the oven to preheat than to make these cookies, so that was fabulous.
Taste: very chocolatey and rich but it is a dark chocolate so some may find it on the bitter side, smelling the coconut palm sugar it had that same slightly bitter burned smell so it makes sense.
Texture: very delicate. Moist but with that coconut pieces texture you get when eating coconut candies. Just feels like little pieces of coconut left behind. Idk if that’s what it is is normally like or not.
One thing I didn’t love was these lend themselves to a slightly chalky mouth feel. It isn’t terrible and I am still Taste testing.
Overall: simple fast easy cookie with healthy ingredients but just don’t expect it to be an exact replacement for a true brownie cookie full of naughty ingredients lol. For experienced healthy folks whose taste buds are totally acclimated to lowered sugar intake these are probably almost blissful.
Thank you for such a detailed review, Kat! I appreiciate it (and know other readers will, too) 🙂
Yesss. These hit the spot. I was craving chocolate so bad, but I’m too lazy and impatient to make elaborate cookies. I subbed Mac milk for the water & it turned out great. Not too sweet, perfect texture, no gross Over sugared feeling after.
You the MVP today 😘😘
So happy to hear it, Jess!
Hi, would a 1/4 cup of maple syrup work for this?
I think that should work fine! Use it in place of both the water and sugar. If it is too thick, try adding a tiny drizzle of water (few drops at a time). I would love to here how it works!
I have this recipe in the oven now and am worried they won’t turn out properly. My dough was very crumbly. I mixed for nearly a minute by hand, and it did not adhere. I did add 1/4 tsp more water and that helped some, so i left it. I did have to press/make it into balls by hand because it would not stay on the spoon. I have them in the oven now. Fingers crossed!
Hi Rachel,
Oh no, so sorry that the dough is not as expected. Based on your description, it sounds like you may have had too much almond flour and/or cocoa powder in the mix. It’s very easy to overpack the cups in baking, it happens often. For any kind of flour, or floury ingredient (like cocoa powder), lightly spoon into a cup and then level off with a knife. I have gone in and added measurements in grams, too, in case you want to weigh the ingredients.
I am hoping that your cookies still taste good, even if they do not spread much! 🙂
I just made these using almond extract with almond on top. To die for! Perfect size and fills my chocolate craving! Now I will experiment 🙂
Oh wow, that sounds so good, skc!
Hi, I’m process sugar free & am wondering if I could substitute raw honey for the coconut sugar?
Thanks so much!
That should work fine with an adjustment, Joyce. Use 3 tablespoons honey, and Wait to add the water— you will problem only need a tablespoon. Add that, and if it’s not moist like the photo, add a little bit more. Would love to know about the results!
Would I be able to sub chocolate protein powder for the cocoa powder?
Hi Heather,
I think you could make this work with chocolate protein powder, but it will definitely be different than the original. Less chocolate-y, and the protein will likely affect the shape. Not that it doesn’t have potential to be good— but it could take a few tries and adjustments to get it where you want it to be. But I think you’re right to look to this as a solid starting point for a protein cookie! I May have to try to figure it out…😊
Hello Camilla,
What kind of cocoa powder do you use? I used Fresh Market Dutch Chocolate Cocoa powder today. My cookies could definitely use more sugar! I’m going to try using 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar next time.
Hi Elizabeth,
I prefer the flavor of natural cocoa powder over Dutch process (personal preference–fruitier and more full-flavored to my tastes). I either use Ghiradelli premium baking powder or Hershey’s (they are not alkalized/”Dutch”)
Wow! I can’t believe how good these turned out with only four ingredients. My six year old daughter loves them! What more can I ask!!!!! I will be making these often. I will definitely try other almond flour and eggless recipes. Thanks for sharing. I give this recipe a 5 ⭐️
Thanks a million, Pardeep! 🙂
These were oh so yummy and also easy to make. I used Swerve with a drop or two of liquid vanilla Stevia and added a chopped sugar-free Lakanto chocolate bar and chopped walnuts. I also added instant coffee to the water to enrich the chocolatey goodness. I’m thinking almond extract, chopped cherries and sliced or slivered almonds would also work well. They really are quite versatile.
Hi Tara,
I am so glad to hear that you tried these with Swerve— that will be great for many other readers (me included)— I appreciate it! Oh my goodness, cherry and almond sounds brilliant— yum!!!
HI Camilla!
I made these today as I was dying for some chocolate! I took your tipsy suggestion and used Coconut Rum for half of the water…dreamy good! I added 3 chocolate morsels in the top and just one satisfied the raging chocolate monster inside of me. Fabulous! Thank you!
Laura
You are making me crave a batch right now, Laura! Sounds so good, and so glad you are enjoying the recipe! 🙂
These cookies are so decadent and delicious and feel healthy and energizing! I put in some raw walnuts as well. Simply amazing recipe! Thank you!
HUrray! So glad to hear it, Lori–thank YOU!:)
These are amazing! Love the texture and just the right amount of sweetness. Thank you for such a simple gluten free winner of a recipe!
Oh Amelia, you are so welcome, and thank you for the sweet feedback 🙂
Hi. Can this recipe be doubled ? I am talking about the chocolate almond flour delicious looking cookies
Hi Cindy–yes, absolutely! Double or even tripe to your heart’s content:)