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A thick, chewy almond flour chocolate chip cookie recipe that tastes like my bakery style chocolate chip cookies but completely gluten free! Sweet and chocolaty with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Jump to RecipePrep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
16 minutes
Chill Time
4 hours
Total Time
4 hours 31 minutes
Servings
30 cookies
Difficulty
Easy
Calories *
231 kcal per serving
Technique
Creaming method, portion, roll, chill and bake!
Flavor Profile
Sweet chocolate, warm cinnamon, nutty almond, vanilla.
* Based on nutrition panel
I followed the overnight chill and baked at 325°F convection for exactly 16 minutes. The cookies came out perfectly thick with the softest centers. The cinnamon is subtle but makes such a difference. I will never skip the chill time again on any cookie! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Lauren
Why This Recipe Works
- Bakery-style thickness in a gluten free cookie. The creaming method, precise flour ratio, and overnight chill work together to produce a cookie that stays thick and chewy rather than spreading flat.
- Cinnamon adds depth without overpowering. A small amount of cinnamon in the dough complements the nuttiness of the almond flour and keeps the cookies from tasting one-dimensional. It is not something you identify immediately, but you notice the difference when it is missing.
- Almond flour delivers natural chew and structure. The fat content and fine texture of almond flour produce a tender crumb with real chew, qualities that are difficult to replicate with other gluten free flours. If you want to see this flour do something entirely different, my amaretti cookies shows how almond flour can create a different texture altogether.
Table of Contents
- Why This Recipe Works
- Ingredients & Substitutions
- Variations on This Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Professional Tips
- How to Make Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- Recipe FAQs
- Recommended Almond Bars and Cookies
- Recommended Cookie Recipes
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
- Before You Go
These cookies resulted from extensive testing. I went through multiple temperature and flour adjustments before landing on the version that finally gave me the thick, soft, chewy result I was after. I promise these almond flour chocolate chip cookies will be the gluten free cookies of your dreams!
Baking with almond flour is one of my favorites! You can make anything from these linzer cookies to frangipane!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Almond Flour: Almond flour is the structural base of this cookie, giving it a tender, slightly chewy texture with a rich, nutty flavor. Weighing the flour using a kitchen scale is the only way to guarantee consistent results, since almond flour compresses easily and a packed cup can throw off the dough significantly. Then use the almond flour to make these almond flour tart crust next!
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch softens the texture and helps mimic the tenderness you would normally get from wheat flour and gluten. It also binds the almond flour and fat so the cookies hold together rather than spreading.
- Light Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar: Light brown sugar provides moisture and chew, and its molasses content deepens flavor and promotes browning. Granulated sugar contributes sweetness and helps create slightly crisp edges, and the combination of both controls spread so the cookies are neither too cakey nor too dense.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips give you stable pockets of chocolate that hold their shape rather than melting completely into the dough. If you want to compare how chocolate chips behave in a traditional dough, my thick chocolate chip cookies are their wheat flour cousins!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations on This Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Mix-In Swap. Swap the semi-sweet chips for dark chocolate chunks, bittersweet chocolate chips or M&M’s like in this monster cookie recipe! For a loaded variation with oats, nuts, and multiple mix-ins, my cowboy cookie gives you a sense of how far you can push the add-ins without losing structure.
- Cookie bar! You can bake this cookie into a bar by pressing it into a 9×9 pan or make it a skillet cookie! Follow the baking instructions from my pizookie!
- Change the size. Make them large, about 70g, or make mini cookies, 25- 30 g. Be sure to still chill overnight and watch the bake time. The smaller ones will bake for 10-12 minutes, and the larger ones for 16-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them!
Professional Tips
- Do not skip the chill time. Four hours is the minimum, and overnight is better. The chill firms the fat and hydrates the almond flour so the cookies hold their shape in the oven rather than spreading flat before the edges have a chance to set.
- Bake at 325°F convection or 350°F conventional, and rotate the sheet halfway through. The lower convection temperature was the critical variable in testing: 350°F conventional produced cookies that were too thin. Rotating the sheet at the halfway point ensures the edges brown evenly rather than the back row overbaking while the front stays pale.
- Add the almond flour gradually, not all at once. Dumping it in a single addition makes it harder to incorporate evenly and increases the chance of overmixing the dough. Add it in two or three additions on low speed and stop the moment it disappears.
How to Make Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Use these instructions to make the perfect almond flour chocolate chip cookies every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Whisk the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until evenly combined. Set the bowl aside. (photos 1-2 above).
Step 2: Cream the butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium speed until the mixture looks creamy and slightly lighter in color. (photos 3-4).
Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla. Add the egg and vanilla extract to the butter mixture and beat on medium-high speed until the mixture looks smooth and emulsified. (photo 5 above).
Step 4: Incorporate the dry ingredients. Reduce the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in 3 to 4 gradual additions, mixing just until each addition disappears before adding the next. Once the flour is fully incorporated, stir in the chocolate chips on low until evenly distributed. (photos 6-7).
Step 5: Portion and chill the dough. Scoop the dough into balls of approximately 2 tablespoons (40g) each and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Wrap the entire sheet well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, though overnight is ideal.
The chill firms the butter, helps the cookies hold their shape in the oven, and improves the texture considerably (photo 8 below).
Step 6: Preheat and arrange. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F convection or 350°F conventional. Pull the chilled dough balls from the refrigerator and arrange them on a fresh parchment-lined baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. They will spread in the oven, so give them room. (photo 9).
Step 7: Bake the cookies. Bake for 16 minutes total, rotating the pan after 8 minutes. The edges will turn golden brown, and the centers will develop small cracks on the surface. When they are done, the centers should look matte with just a hint of golden color. (photo 10).
They will look slightly underset compared to a conventional cookie, and that is exactly right. Do not push past 16 minutes chasing more color; the cookies continue to set as they cool.
Step 8: Cool on the pan, then transfer. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack. They will flatten noticeably as they cool. That settling is how you get that thick, chewy texture rather than a cakey puff. Once fully cooled on the rack, they are ready to eat.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
The single variable that separates a thick, chewy almond flour chocolate chip cookie from a thin, crisp one is the chill time. The overnight rest allows the almond flour to fully hydrate, which is what gives the interior that soft, slightly dense chew rather than a dry or crumbly texture. Bake a batch straight from the mixer and a batch after an overnight chill side by side and you will see the difference immediately. The chill is doing more work than it looks like.
Recipe FAQs
The two most common causes are skipping the chill or baking at too high a temperature. The overnight chill stabilizes the dough so the cookies hold their shape for the edges to set before the centers spread. Baking at 325°F convection instead of 350°F conventional was the adjustment that fixed this in testing. The lower temperature gives the cookies time to rise and set rather than melting flat before the structure has a chance to develop.
Yes, and the recipe is actually better for it. Wrap the dough well in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, though overnight is ideal. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days! So you can bake in batches without making fresh dough each time.
Store the baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. For longer storage, freeze them in a single layer until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
They share the same approach: a creaming method, brown sugar for chew, and a generous amount of chocolate chips, but the flavor profiles are distinct. These lean nutty and warm from the almond flour and cinnamon, while my peanut butter chocolate chip cookies are richer from the peanut butter. Both are worth having in your rotation if you like a thick, chewy cookie.
Yes, the recipe scales down cleanly to about 15 cookies. The only step that requires attention is the egg: beat a whole egg lightly, then weigh it and use half by weight. Eyeballing the egg is the most common reason a half batch turns out drier or looser than expected.
Recommended Almond Bars and Cookies
Cookie Recipes
Amaretti Cookies
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Almond Bars
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Almond Crescent Cookies
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Ginger Orange Almond Biscotti
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups almond flour
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup butter slightly softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Whisk together almond flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar on medium speed until creamy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and emulsified.
- Reduce to low speed and add the flour mixture in 3 to 4 additions until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Portion the dough into balls of approximately 2 tablespoons (40g) each. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, wrap well in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325°F convection or 350°F conventional. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 16 minutes, rotating the pan after 8 minutes. The edges should be browned and the centers matte with a very faint golden color. The centers will look slightly underdone, which is correct.
- Cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack. The cookies will flatten and firm as they cool.
Notes
Doneness Cue: Pull the cookies when the edges are visibly browned and the centers look matte, not shiny. The centers will firm and flatten as the cookies cool on the pan.
Oven Temperature: 325°F convection is strongly recommended. Baking at 350°F conventional produces noticeably thinner, crisper cookies.
Storage: Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze in a single layer until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Before You Go
These almond flour chocolate chip cookies are what I reach for when I want something satisfying without compromising on texture or flavor. If you want to keep baking, browse my cookie recipes or make these white chocolate macadamia nut cookies next!
