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Every once in awhile, there is a food that we really miss from our pre-real food lifestyle. Like the kids’ desire for waffles. Or my love of Chinese food.
I’m not willing to throw healthy eating out the window just for the sake of a craving though, so I usually come up with a healthy alternative that we can enjoy. Chocolate chip cookies are the only dessert my husband likes, so I occasionally make these for him on birthdays or special occasions.
Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
This easy recipe can be made in under 30 minutes and tastes very similar to traditional chocolate chip cookies, but without all the grains, refined sugars, and fake fats. They’re slightly crisp on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.
For the flour, I use blanched almond flour. The blanching lowers the phytic acid content, but I still wouldn’t recommend these if you are working on healing your teeth.
Other than that, everything about this recipe is pretty straightforward. It can be easily doubled and the dough freezes well. I suggest rolling it into balls and freezing them individually on a parchment-lined baking sheet before putting them in a container in the freezer.
More Healthy(ish) Dessert Ideas
Alright, no matter how healthy the ingredients are, a dessert should still be treated as an occasional treat. That being said, these are some of our favorite desserts that I don’t feel at all bad about serving once in a while:
- Berry cobbler
- Carrot cake made with coconut flour
- Dairy-free panna cotta
- Fresh fruit with whipped cream
- Lemon bars — not my recipe, but it made me realize that there’s definitely a lemon-shaped hole in the recipe collection
- Pineapple upside-down cake made with coconut flour
- Strawberry gelato — dairy optional
Here’s the full list my healthy dessert recipes for your baking/making pleasure!
Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼-1/3 cup cane sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup butter (or coconut oil, softened)
- 1 egg
- 1 TBSP vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium size bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt.
- Add the softened butter or coconut oil (or a mix of both) and stir well by hand until mixed. It should form a thick dough that is hard to stir.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix well. This should make the dough easier to mix. If needed, add a teaspoon or two of milk or water to thin. Finished dough should be easy to form.
- Add the chocolate chips and stir by hand until incorporated.
- Form the dough into tablespoon size balls and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are starting to brown. The centers will be somewhat soft, but they will firm up a bit as they cool.
- Let cool at least 5 minutes and serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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What is your favorite type of cookie? Ever made a healthy version? Share below!
I have an easy 4-ingredient recipe: 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 egg. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes. It’s a really good cookie and I’ve experimented with almond butter (not as tasty as the PB, but I think I could get used to the flavor) and I use equal parts Stevia in the Raw to sugar. Good for an occasional treat, but not true paleo if you use the peanut butter, of course, since peanuts are legumes. I tried a full cup of Stevia in the Raw because I want to completely eliminate the white sugar, but the cookies fell apart. They tasted good, but the texture changes a lot. Need to try coconut sugar!
Coconut sugar would be perfect-it tastes like brown sugar and I use coconut flour(even though you’d need more eggs)
I made these today 🙂 Oh these are soooo good! Yay, a winner. My husband thought these were delish too! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us 🙂
i think you forgot the vanilla extract in your instructions
They look yummy! Can’t wait to try them!
could you substitute coconut sugar for cane sugar? I use coconut sugar religiously, but have never baked with it. Awesome recipe thanks!!
Yes, I’d like to know the same thing…..
Probably so… I’ve never tried it but it should sub just fine. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Coconut Palm sugar bakes really nicely. I use it in anything that white sugar is called for and often when agave is called for as well (adjusting oil or egg to add liquid). It makes really tasty almond flour brownies too 🙂
Organic, or any type of Agave is like using High fructose corn syrup for your arteries.
Very Unhealthy..
I have read the same thing! I had a nutritionist this past year try to get me to agave for sugar! I refused and just gave up sugar.
I’ve baked with coconut sugar a lot and it is fantastic! It replaces white or brown sugar one for one! It does have a different smell but tastes great in baked goods.
When using coconut sugar, is it the same measurment as the cane sugar?
I added two tablespoons of psyllium husk powder and one teaspoon of baking powder. Mine had a soft texture. I subbed out coconut sugar for dextrose to reduce the fructose content. These were delicious!
Just tried to make these and they were so horrible – I subbed oat flour because I’m allergic to almonds .. no ma’am – do not do that. Lol
This is love. Cant wait to try these!
OMG these look awesome! Do you think I could make them with coconut flour instead of almond? I’m sure they’d be good with almond, but since almond is so expensive, I was just wondering…
I use coconut flour a lot myself…but being so high in fiber it changes the constancy of the dough…usually they recommend in the recipes I use for pancakes and such if you are going to use one cup of whole wheat flour…that only 1/4 of coconut flour can replace wwflour…and it makes even the pancakes super dense and I add more buttermilk. Hope that helps. 🙂
Thanks a lot! 🙂
I made these as directed… since I had the almond flour anyways… SO GOOD! I will be making them again, for sure! I love the flavor the coconut oil gives! My husband hates to admit it, but he liked them (despite they’re being gluten free!).
Yeah the sugar is not needed, I use 4-5 dates and throw them in the food processor to make a paste. Still carbs but not processed sugar.
Can I sub for the sugar?
You can omit or sub maple syrup, honey or date paste
I haven’t tried this but I just found it and thought if anyone else has any thoughts on it. A substitute for sugar Acesulfame potassium is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar. Heat does not affect this sweetener, making it stable for cooking and baking. Since the body excretes 95 percent of acesulfame potassium unchanged, the sweetener does not affect blood sugar, potassium levels or caloric intake. As reported by the International Food Information Council, the FDA approved acesulfame potassium in 1988. The FDA has established an acceptable daily intake for acesulfame potassium of 15 mg per kg of body weight. According to the IFIC, a 150-pound person has to drink about two gallons of acesulfame potassium-sweetened beverage daily to reach this limit.
Could this be the ideal substitute. Since its sweeter too you can use less of it. I wonder if this sweetner has any catch. I found this on a website for diabieties I think.
Acesulafame potassium (aka Splenda) is pure chemical and proven to cause cancer. It tricks the body into thinking its getting sugar, your body releases insulin and it disrupts your entire system! Since this website is devoted to being well, please take the time to do more research on the harm of this chemical! Even the National Institutes of Health is re-examining its safety.
https://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/top-number-most-dangerous-artificial-sweeteners.html#b
If you need more guidance, I am happy to help as I am a practicing nutritional pharmacist and help people make sense of what is healthy to your body and what isn’t, especially in people who are on prescription medications or with chronic disease.
I would expect a nutritional pharmacist to know the difference between Acesulafame potassium and sucralose. You incorrectly attributed Acesulafame potassium to being the same as Splenda. Splenda is sucralose.
Scientifically speaking splenda(sucralose) is C12H19Cl3O8, labeled as E955 in the European Union.
Acesulafame potassium is chemically C4H4KNO4S, labeled as E950 in the European Union.
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/additional-information-about-high-intensity-sweeteners-permitted-use-food-united-states
There has been no vetted or published scientific journal that has ever shown a link to Splenda (aka sucralose) to cancer. Not one. Feel free to link me one if you can find an actual published study.
On a happier note. I am all for natural alternatives to chemicals, but I am not going to use false statements and fear tactics to make my points.
What do you feel is the best alternative to sugar? Artificial sweeteners cause migraines also in my daughter and myself.
Heather:
European research has found that aspartame leads to Diabetes #3 (or inflammation on the brain), which leads to Alzheimer’s disease. Splenda isn’t much better. You can also get fat off of Stevia (which happened to me over the past year as I was putting Stevia into EVERYTHING!). I recommend dates and limiting all sugar and sugar substitutes as the body gets confused with things like Stevia and still thinks its getting sugar…and still makes you fat!
This is for BOB. Don’t know why there is Not reply button for him?
Q: What exactly is Splenda?
A: In a simple sentence, you would just as soon have a pesticide in your food as sucralose because sucralose (Splenda) is a chlorocarbon. The chlorocarbons have long been known for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the testing of sucralose reveals that it can cause up to 40 percent shrinkage of the thymus: a gland that is the very foundation of our immune system. Sucralose also causes swelling of the liver and kidneys, and CALCIFICATION of the kidney. Note: if you experience kidney pain, cramping, or an irritated bladder after using sucralose in Splenda, stop use immediately.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/05/14/artificial-sweeteners-diet-soda.aspx
I tried Splenda One time years ago, and it started to close up my Throat.
I would never put a website up from the Gov and say its the truth.
Big Pharma paid’s the FDA Half of there Salary.
Has anyone replaced the sugar with Ripe Banana’s?
I’m trying this recipe tonight.
Has anyone tried a product called virtue? It is monk fruit extract and erythritol. It is recommended to be used in recipes by dr William Davis who created the wheat belly diet. and does not raise blood sugar You can get it on line at the wheat free market
E
From the websites I looked at this sweetener has not been tested enough yet.
https://www.naturalnews.com/041510_Acesulfame-K_methylene_chloride_carcinogen.html
ONe of the side of effects of this one is that it “hampers the bodies metabolism.” Also possibly more incidents in breast cancer in rats in the testing.
https://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/top-number-most-dangerous-artificial-sweeteners.html
Thanks for the tip. Using some dates in place of the sugar.