These double Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies are easy to stir together and perfectly fudgy. These flourless cookies are naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo as well. They’re a huge hit with everyone, and make a perfect homemade gift! Almond butter makes up the base of these cookies, but peanut butter, cashew butter, and seed butter all work in this recipe.
We’ve been making these chocolate cookies for over 9 years now. And I have to say they’re still just as big of a hit in our house as they were the first time I made them.
They’ve been my go-to when I need a super easy cookie in a hurry because you can mix them up in minutes! This recipe is my #1 go-to when I have a cookie craving, or whenever I need cookies to give away.
It’s also fairly predictable that everyone loves them… after all, they’re a double chocolate situation. We both love them fresh out of the oven, with gooey centers and crispy edges.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Almond Butter – this makes up the base of the cookies. It provides structure and allows these to be flourless as well. I’ve also made these with cashew butter and it works well. Peanut butter and seed butter are options, but they have a slightly more crumbly texture. Make sure your nut butter of choice is unsweetened and unsalted.
- Coconut Sugar – makes the perfect natural sweetener for cookies. It has similar properties to regular cane sugar and produces the right texture. I have had different people write to say they successfully decreased the sugar in this recipe. But just know that the amount called for is what will give you the texture you see in these photos. You can also use brown sugar or cane sugar as well. The texture will be slightly different with cane sugar, but still very good.
- Cocoa Powder – works like flour together with almond butter to make the perfect flourless cookie.
- Eggs – bring the almond butter and cocoa powder together and they help to make that chewy texture.
- Vanilla Extract – I love adding just a touch because it enhances the chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate Chips – this is what makes these cookies ‘double chocolate’ and I like to use the Enjoy Life brand because they’re free of many common allergens. Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips for the deepest chocolate flavor. You can also use chocolate chunks in these cookies, but I recommend roughly chopping them first.
How to make this recipe step by step
Step 1: Start by preheating the oven and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Then add all the ingredients except the chocolate chips to a medium bowl and mix until smooth.
Step 2: Add the chocolate chips and mix to combine.
Step 3: Next portion the cookie dough out onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, or use a silicone baking mat.
You can use a cookie scoop or a pair of spoons for this. I like to keep mine around 2 tablespoons which yields a 3-4″ sized cookie. For a fun variation, sprinkle the tops of each cookie with flaked sea salt.
These cookies don’t spread much, so you can lightly flatten them with your hand if desired.
Step 4: Bake until puffed in the center, crispy on the edges, and soft and fudgy in the center.
Cool slightly on the cookie sheet until you can transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Ways to serve this
- Serve these cookies warm out of the oven while the edges are crispy with a cold glass of milk.
- These cookies are also great with my Coconut Ice Cream or Vanilla Ice Cream. You can also use them to make ice cream sandwiches.
- Crumble up leftover cookies and mix them into ice cream for a ‘cookies and cream’ ice cream.
FAQ’s
You can use cashew butter, peanut butter, and seed butter. I’ve tried each one myself and they all work. However, each one has a slightly different texture.
There are 2 reasons this can happen. The first and most common reason an almond butter cookie can be crumbly is because the almond butter wasn’t properly mixed when the jar was opened. It is crucial to thoroughly mix the nut butter when you open the jar otherwise some of the nut butter won’t have enough fat which makes for drier crumbly cookies. The second reason this can happen is if you use small eggs, 2 large eggs are very important to the texture of these cookies.
Storing leftovers
- To store – place the leftover cookies into an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. These cookies will get drier as they sit at room temperature. So we freeze our leftovers right away for the best freshness.
- Make ahead – these cookies are best eaten right away, but they will keep for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze them for optimal freshness. The edges will lose their crispy texture within half a day or so.
- To freeze – place any leftover chocolate cookies into an airtight sealed container and store them in the freezer for up to 1 month. Defrost on the counter and remember the cookies will be soft, not crispy after freezing.
Tips & Tricks
- Make sure to thoroughly stir your almond butter for this recipe. Any oil that would separate must be well mixed in. The texture of the cookies won’t be right if the jar of nut butter isn’t properly mixed when you open it up.
- For allergy-friendly chocolate chips, try Enjoy Life. They’re our favorite chocolate chips because they taste so good!
- Be careful not to overbake these cookies. They should be nice and fudgy in the middle, not dry. Be sure to take them out when they’re still soft and a bit fudgy in the middle!
- Important baking note! As with all cookie recipes (and baking recipes for that matter) start checking them before the baking time is up. Not everyone’s oven is the same or perfectly calibrated, and you don’t want overdone cookies.
- As mentioned above, we’ve made countless batches of these cookies over the last 9 years, and we both have come to prefer them with 1/4 tsp salt in the cookie dough. Omit this if you decide to sprinkle them with flaked sea salt.
I hope you enjoy these Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies! If you do get a chance to make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Chocolate Almond Butter Cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup blonde coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup almond butter - room temperature & well mixed, no salt or sugar added
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips - I like the Enjoy Life brand
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt until no more cocoa powder lumps remain.
- Stir in the almond butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips until a stiff dough forms.
- Using a spoon, scoop out a bit of cookie dough (2 Tablespoons) and roll it into a ball. Place the formed cookies on the prepared baking sheet. You can fit 12 cookies on a regular-sized cookie sheet.
- These cookies don't spread much, so you can lightly flatten them with your hand if desired.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until crunchy on the edges, but still soft and fudgy in the middle. Cool for 1-2 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Bake the remaining cookie dough, and cool the cookies to room temperature before storing.
- Enjoy immediately and freeze any leftover cookies for another day!
NOTES
nutrition facts
This recipe was originally published in 2014 and updated in 2020 & 2023 with new photos, more tips, and information.
I just made these cookies! I used Golden Monk Fruit insead of coconut sugar, but time I will use 1/2 the amount.
Also used Lily’s semi-sweet baking chips. These – cookies- are – YUM-MAZING!!!
They came together quickly, too, Try this recipe!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for writing about the monk fruit as well!
Hi Kari,
I have some almond butter I need to use up and these look YUMMO-licious. I see that one cookie is 2 tablespoons of dough. I’ve learned that kids will take 2 minis instead of one regular size cookie because they think they are getting more if they take two so I make mini cookies. How do you think these would bake up if I made half size?
Deb
I think these cookies will bake up fine in a 1/2 size just cut the baking time down so they don’t get overbaked!
These cookies are delicious! I’ve made them several times, and everyone raves about them.
Thanks so much, I’m so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying these so much!
Lovely brownie-like fudgy cookies straight out of the oven! Works well using chopped dates and currants in place of chocolate chips. Made a half-sized batch, which made a good portion each for two of us
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed them and thanks so much for the wonderful idea to use dates and currants!
These are my family’s favorite cookie! I make them for all of the holiday functions (and the rest of the year too), and they’re always a hit! Great recipe!
I’m so glad to hear you’ve all been enjoying them, they’re our favorites too!
Had a jar of almond butter that I didn’t know what to do with. So glad this recipe came up in my search. Hot out of the oven they are delicious! Brownie cookies!
I’m so glad you found us and enjoyed these cookies, they’re definitely fudgy like brownies!
Can you sub cashew butter for the almond butter?
Yes you can sub in cashew butter for almond butter. It does have a slightly different texture, (I don’t know how to describe it) but it does work well! I hope you enjoy these and let me know how it goes or if you have any more questions!
Do you think these would work with an egg substitute?
I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it myself, but I have heard from others that they’ve had success with egg substitutes in my baking recipes. I hope this helps a bit, sorry I don’t have a better answer for you!
They sound super easy to make! Can’t I substitute regular sugar for the coconut sugar? If so, cup for cup? My daughter is allergic to coconut. Thanks!
Yes you can sub in regular sugar cup for cup or 1:1 for the coconut sugar! I sure hope you enjoy these, and let me know how it goes or if you have any more questions!
I made these today, but used Trivia brown sugar substitute instead of coconut sugar. I had to bake them a good 15-17 minutes but they never got crispy. Once cooked they have a great brownie texture. Love that these cookies are not overly sweet.
So glad you enjoyed these! I haven’t baked with Truvia before, but whenever you use a sugar substitute it usually results in a softer baked good.