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.
Here’s a quick summary of their healthful attributes:
Add some water and salt (the salt boosts the flavor significantly). Confessions, I actually add 1/8 teaspoon and an extra pinch of salt, because I like salt + sweet. However, feel free to reduce the salt if needed for dietary/health reasons).
Stir. The mixture will seem dry for the first 5 seconds of stirring, but keep stirring (do not add more water). The dough will come together in another few seconds of stirring.
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 a 350F 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:
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
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
Storage: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 2 weeks or the freezer for up to 6 months.
Sweetener: An equal amount of the granulated sweetener of your choice can be used in place of the coconut sugar.
Variation Ideas:[br] 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.
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!
Liz
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
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.
Cindy
Thursday 21st of January 2021
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.
Denise
Thursday 7th of January 2021
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
Camilla
Thursday 14th of January 2021
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!
Eugenia
Sunday 13th of December 2020
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
I’m Camilla, food writer, author, runner, and spin instructor. PowerHungry® is where I share my easy, minimalist, plant-based recipes, designed for living a healthy, delicious, empowered life.
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Kate
Saturday 20th of February 2021
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!
Liz
Wednesday 10th of February 2021
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.
Cindy
Thursday 21st of January 2021
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.
Denise
Thursday 7th of January 2021
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
Camilla
Thursday 14th of January 2021
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!
Eugenia
Sunday 13th of December 2020
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