Health-Bent

Paleo Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

—

by

Megan Keatley
in

Chocolate and cookies. What more can I say?

Yield: About 2 Dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 c almond butter, freshly ground from the bulk section or homemade, but most definitely not jarred
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c cocoa powder
  • 1/4 c chocolate chips (highest % cocoa, but NOT baking chocolate (bleh))
  • 2 t vanilla extract
  • 2T – 1/4 c sugar (optional)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. We have had a few comments about people trying to make these and they fell apart. We’re pretty sure that jarred almond butter is the culprit. The oil that separates on top is causing the dry texture. You must, must, must use freshly ground almonds, from the bulk/grind-it-yourself section of your grocery store. Or you can make your own with almonds and a few splashes of almond oil burred in the food processer.

Let’s carry on…

On a parchment lined (or silicone lined) baking sheet, portion out the cookie dough batter by the tablespoon. Use your clean hand to flatten the ball into the desired cookie thickness.

Bake for approx. 12 minutes or until the cookies are relatively hard to the touch.

Comments

80 responses to “Paleo Double Chocolate Chip Cookies”

  1. Ben V

    Um…the bulk section of where? You can’t tell us how awesome this place is without actually naming it. D:

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      well mr. ben, since you’re in columbia, i’ll let you in on the secret–earth fare. it’s freaking 4.99/lb!!! what a deal, huh?

      Reply
  2. Melissa K

    I’m guessing its a bake at 350? Looking forward to trying these out! 🙂

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      ohhhh gosh. i did it again. sorry. yes…350F. hope you like ’em melissa!

      Reply
  3. James

    These did not turn out as I had hoped. Disintegrates when touched. Only makes about 6 medium sized cookies. Pass.

    Reply
  4. Brandon Keatley

    did you use almond butter or almond flour?

    Reply
  5. Elyse Merchant

    I found that these had a great taste but they were really dry. Maybe I should add an extra egg? I am just starting to bake and cook and I don’t know what would make the texture more moist. Suggestions?

    Reply
  6. brandon keatley

    did you use almond butter? i’m not meaning to insult anyone but if at a glance you read it and use almond flour that would make a big difference. almond butter has so much oil in it it’s hard to imagine how it could dry out very much. if you did use almond butter then i’m stumped. let us know.

    Reply
  7. Mike

    I just made these and had the same problem. Not sure if i just overcooked them or not, but the consistency of the batter seemed pretty crumbly. I also am not very good with baking so I can’t offer any suggestions. Very tasty flavor though! Also made carbonara tonight and that turned out awesome…thanks!

    Reply
  8. Brandon Keatley

    we will try to make these again and see if we can figure out what could be going on. we’ve already had them 2 or 3 times and they came out dense, moist and, chewy. stay tuned.

    Reply
  9. Anna

    2nd batch out of oven and tasted tested while still warm. This time I made them with store-ground almond butter, and they are MUCH improved over the creamy almond butter from a jar. The dough looked grainier and coarser, but held together well with hand rolling and flattening.

    No problems transferring hot cookies to the cooling rack, and within minutes they were tested and approved by my husband. Will check on our preteen’s opinion tomorrow.

    So, I’ve tried it both ways: the store-ground almond butter is a necessity, and almond butter from a jar will NOT do (though I do think it made a prettier cookie).

    Reply
  10. Tyler

    Anyone try making these with Justin’s Maple Almond Butter? That’s what I’m going to be working with. Any suggestions on making them less crumbly with this almond butter? Additional egg? More oil of some sort?

    Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Laura

    Just made these with homemade almond butter. They turned out great! If they had been too crumbly, I would have added some melted coconut oil.

    Reply
  12. Mitchell

    I made these using Trader Joe’s creamy almond butter (with sea salt) and they held together fine, but were VERY DRY. Any thoughts on how to moisten them up? Extra egg? store ground almond butter instead? I used a high % cocoa chocolate bar from Trader Joes chopped into tiny little flakes/chips.

    We also forgot to get/didn’t have any sugar so we put in a bit of agave (not even sure why I have that) In case that would make a difference.

    Reply
  13. Weekly Recipe Wrap Up – The 1/1/11 Edition | Delicious Obsessions

    […] Paleo Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies – Come on, does it get any better than this? I don’t think so. Paleo diet approved and fantastically delicious!!! […]

    Reply
  14. Katie

    These were delicious. For those who are having them come out dry… maybe try cooking a little less time or a slightly lower temp. I added 2T of coconut oil for the taste/health and they were really moist.

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      thanks katie…appreciate the help!

      Reply
  15. m

    just tried making a batch. as reported crumbly. i’m going to try adding some more sugar and a bit of water next time. i didn’t put much sugar in and i imagine that might be the cause

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      i think we’ve deduced that it’s likely the type of almond butter you use–sugar content shouldn’t affect it, except taste, of course. other commenters have had success with adding some oil or an additional egg.

      Reply
  16. Kelli Floyd

    I’ve made these twice now with no issues with dryness at all. My only problem is Lee likes them so much he keeps eating them and I don’t get any 🙁

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      hahaha..something lee will eat! hooray!

      Reply
  17. Emily Hopkins

    I added an extra egg and they came out with no dryness 🙂

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      awessssome!

      Reply
  18. Sharon

    Just made these and mine also came out dry and crumbly even though I added some extra coconut oil.

    I used Valrhona dutch processed cocoa powder because it is what I had on hand. However I think the “dutch process” could be why they are dry. I will try again later this week with regular cocoa powder and see if that makes a difference.

    Reply
  19. Brandon Keatley

    thanks sharon…maybe you’ll be able to solve the mystery for us!

    Reply
  20. Danielle

    Yummmm!!! Thanks for the recipe!!

    Reply
  21. Sharon

    So I have made two more batches this time using regular cocoa powder (non “dutched” alkaline). The result was a much richer chocolate flavor and a less chalky taste. And YES the cookies are not as crumbly and dry although they are still very delicate and far from chewy.

    Note: I used bulk—grind it yourself almond butter, added 2T of coconut oil, and used no sugar in all of my attempts.

    Next time I may try it with 2 eggs. I really want this recipe to work for me.

    Reply
  22. Garrett

    You left these up on your homepage for too long. i was trying to put off making them knowing they would be so delicious. however i failed last night and made my first batch. they were insane-o good.

    side note – made it with 1 egg and had no dryness problems or crumble problems.

    Reply
  23. megan keatley

    hahahaha….sorry garrett. good to know a/b the egg. did you happen to use freshly ground almond butter too?

    Reply
  24. Emily

    I made these with hazelnut butter: divine! Thank you for such an easy recipe that has managed to blow “regular” cookies out of the water.

    Reply
  25. Betsy

    My cookies crumbled. 🙁
    I think using the bulk almond butter is what makes a huge difference, they were all out at Whole Foods today. I will have to try again.

    Reply
  26. Stella

    Yum! The dough seemed way to dry so I added 1/4 cup agave. It helped immensely

    Reply
  27. Stella

    Forgot to say I used MaraNature Almond Butter. Way cheap at Costco.

    Reply
  28. Elizabeth Matakiewicz

    Came out very crumbly. Needs something added or maybe less cocoa.

    Reply
  29. Tom

    Concerned. Still learning to bake Paleo. is chocolate considered paleo? Cocoa powder? Let me know and thanks. Tom

    Reply
  30. Virginia

    I made these a couple of weeks ago. The flavor was good, and almost all of them transfered safely from the pan to the rack to a tupperware. However, they were VERY crumbly to eat – the size was small enough that they were basically two bites, which was good, since I was basically hoovering that second bite out of the palm of my hand. Like others, I used the Maranatha almond butter from Costco, so that could be the source of the crumbles. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  31. brandon keatley

    Tom,

    see our about page for info about our philosphy on “paleo” vs. “not paleo”.

    bottom line, we see it as a futile effort to get wrapped around the axle on what is and is not paleo, per se. since basically everything we have available today is not the same as it would be in paleolithic times…and therefore “not paleo” (we always use grass fed beef as just one example, even that’s not from paleolithic times of course)…we’re really just taking the principles of what the agents of disease that have come about in neolithic times are…and trying to avoid them as much as possible.

    simply put…this means sugar (fructose), grains, and omega 6 polyunsaturated fats.

    and these cookies do have two of those things. some sugar from the chocolate and omega 6 from the nuts. which is just another reason to see that just because it may be considered “paleo” doesn’t mean you can eat it without abandon…as is the case with nuts.

    but in the realm of being much better for you on a paleo-ish scale…these cookies fit the bill. as always, be mindful of what you’re eating. but it is not so realistic to eat zero sugar or zero n-6…and probably little reason to think that a moderate about is much worse for you than zero. after all, n-6 is an essential fatty acid…you do need a little. the problems come with the excess. (read: that it makes up most of the fat in the standard american diet…coupled with grains and sugar). grey area foods like cocoa powder aren’t staples anyway, and if they’re not squarely seen as a disease causing agent i listed, there is usually not much cause for concern. unless you’re simply trying to replicate paleolithic times. but that will be damn near impossible. i hope that helps.

    Reply
  32. Kate

    How many calories are in each cookie?

    Reply
  33. eddie

    Could you add butter or something to moisten these up? The ones with more chocolate chunks were less crumbly but most of them were dry would be really good if they were gooey…

    Reply
  34. Paleo Patty

    Crumble-free Confirmation:
    I’ve made this recipe twice. The first time, I used Trader Joe’s almond butter, and yes, the cookies were a sandy, crumbly mess. I just made them again tonight, and took the suggestion of grinding up my own almond butter in the food processor first. This batch was chewy & delicious, with no crumbling. Good thing this recipe doesn’t make *that* many cookies, since I’ve just eaten half the batch.

    Reply
  35. Brandon Keatley

    thanks so much for the research patty!

    Reply
  36. Erik Carlseen

    We made some with Trader Joe’s unsalted raw almond butter and they turned out well. We used some roasted almond butter from Costco for another batch and they were a little crumbly, but not terrible. I suspect that adding some more egg white or coconut flour may add stability without the carbs.

    Reply
  37. Emily

    I thought these were great! Mine also came out a little crumbly as well, but not too bad. All I had on hand was store bought almond butter. I think next time I may add some unsweetened applesauce for more moisture and/or egg whites.

    Reply
  38. Angie

    These cookies tasted great but were really thin. My dough was too runny to form into balls. Was I supposed to chill the dough first? Thanks.

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      we have deduced that you MUST use freshly ground almond butter in this recipe. stuff from the bulk/grind-it-yourself section, not the jarred kind where the oil separates on top. i believe that’s what causing issues.

      Reply
  39. Monica

    I’ve been perusing your website this morning, and it is FANTASTIC! I can’t wait to try out so many of these! Also, your verbaige cracks me up – “Upcycling is hipster speak for reusing your trash.”?!? LOL. Love.

    One serious question though – what do you recommend I use if I’m allergic to tree nuts? It takes Almond flour and butter out of the running for me, unfortunately. 🙁 I might be out of luck on the almond butter (coconut, maybe?), but what about subbing the flour? Would oat flour work (knowing that it may take some of the paleoness out of it)?

    Reply
  40. brandon keatley

    hey monica…thanks for the comment. we find that coconut flour is a bit…….difficult. proceed with caution for that one as a substitute for almond flour…you might get a dry, gritty crumble-mess with that stuff. we’re not very experienced with oat flour – not sure what a good sub would be…let us know if you come across anything…it’s going to be trial and error for sure. baking stinks like that.

    as for the almond butter though, in a recipe like this…you might be in luck. in one of our guest posts to Food Renegade I saw comments about substituting sunflower seed butter successfully for almond butter. have not tried it though so no guarantees :).

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      i’ve seen many people have success with sunflower seed butter as an almond butter sub. the only brand i’ve ever seen is called sunbutter.

      Reply
    2. Elle

      I just made these with Sunbutter sunflower seed butter. They were successful from the standpoint that they were not crumbly and held together well. I substituted raw honey for the sugar, but would use more next time and perhaps some more chocolate chips. Overall a good treat from time to time.

      Reply
  41. Dana

    FYI, I haven’t tried this recipe yet but if something I baked were falling apart, that’d indicate to me I should use another egg, assuming there wasn’t an obvious solution like fresh-grinding the almond butter.

    I wouldn’t use sunflower seed butter much if at all. Too much omega-6. I am not that anal about my fatty acid intake but I find that if I’m getting mondo amounts of the wrong kinds of fats, my joints flare up and I generally feel crappy. Even without symptoms, though, lots of o6 isn’t great for you.

    I’ve done things with coconut flour and it seems dry. I’ve heard of blending coconut flour and almond flour. Also generally you need to compensate with more moisture in the recipe and particularly more eggs. Which the Keatleys here already know, just saying.

    Reply
  42. brandon keatley

    i’m with you dana. but what is someone with a tree nut allergy to do when they want a darn treat? there is always that scale of values…n-6 vs. wheat? and it’s individual as you say…but if you are avoiding all industrialized oils and such…could sunbutter be a pretty minor indulgence in the scheme of things every once in a while? i think it could. i’ll post a couple MDA articles I remember below just as a disclaimer about the n-6 of sunflower seeds so that readers can determine if it’s a worthwile substitution for something they may have very occasionally.

    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/nuts-omega-6-fats/
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/quick-guide-edible-seeds/

    maybe for someone with a tree nut allergy…a coconut flour treat with tons of butter and eggs for moisture could work? as long as there was no dairy allergy as well. she also didn’t say if it was all tree nuts…maybe there are some she could use and grind up – cashew butter would work and it’s not really a nut so maybe no allergies? that would be much lower in n-6.

    someone would surely point out that butter isn’t “paleo”. and this is exactly why that’s so frustrating. here is a perfect example that argues that butter would be better than a “paleo” friendly “nut and seed”. at least this idea is starting to get some popularity…just not by all commenters.

    Reply
  43. CarrieZ

    Could you please tell a person in the UK what DIY almond butter is? Could I just process whole almonds? Thanks

    Reply
    1. brandon keatley

      i’d recommend roasting the whole almonds low and slow…200 degrees or so for about 30 minutes maybe more…check them for browning and they’ll probably start to crack a little. then just add them to the food processor. a little oil might be necessary (almond if you’ve got it or maybe melted coconut oil) to get them started. then just blend to desired consistency…smooth. that’s it.

      there should be lots of youtube videos and such to help as well.

      Reply
  44. CarrieZ

    Thanks I will try that

    Reply
  45. CarrieZ

    Have tried them now and they are lovely – just noticed you say yield 2 dozen – I made 8 – must watch portion sizes!!!!

    Reply
  46. Jamie

    I just pulled these bad boys outta the oven!! Handed one over to my newly converted Paleo husband who replied in his best Tommy Boy impression, “Lukie like chocolate”…..they are a hit! I used coconut crystals in place of the sugar. It was my first time baking with them, and I’m happy with the result! Thanks for the great recipe!

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      awesome! thanks jamie!

      Reply
  47. Ryn

    I made with the jar-kind, but the raw kind not the creamy. I took the bottom of the jar (pretty much no oil) and then added coconut oil to moisten, also sliced almonds. They look terrible but taste great. I licked the bowl, oops.

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      hahaha. presentation matters very little when you’re cooking for yourself…that’s how i feel anyway.

      Reply
  48. Ryn

    oh, and 2 T honey in lieu of sugar, sooooo good. Thanks!

    Reply
  49. alli

    hi! i’m anxious to try this recipe and read through all the comments, suggestions, etc. i noticed on your website you had a recipe for: maple-almond-snack-packs- would this be good to use as the “almond butter” you call for in your recipe above? (since that seems to be the culprit for the crumbling cookies). or do you have another suggestion/update to the recipe?

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      that’s a great question. i think making your own might solve the problem for those use the jarred stuff. i would love to hear how it turns out.

      Reply
  50. Amy

    I made these with a little adjustment of adding some cinnamon and using only 2 T of sugar. They turned out pretty good, however, not real sweet. Maybe more sugar or using brown and white sugar might have made them better.

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      we won’t use any more than 1/3 c of any sweetener in our recipes. it’s up to you if you want to add more. we want to keep our fructose consumption as low as we can.

      Reply
  51. Megan

    These are a family favorite that can be whipped up in no time. Have made these many times with no problems. Well, except that I should make at least a double batch!

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      good to hear!

      Reply
  52. Jennifer

    Made these cookies with the jarred almond butter and they turned out great! I cant say my kids are a fan but I love them!

    Reply
    1. megan keatley

      yeah, most kiddies i know don’t exactly LOVE reduced sugar sweets. but oh well. glad you liked em!

      Reply
  53. Aaron

    Made these last night and although they are no chocolate chip cookie for the SAD they do have all the right flavors. The texture was a but dry, I’ll play with it a bit to try and get a chewier cookie. Maybe some extra oil or an egg… They are really filling and you won’t be able to pound these like a pack of chips ahoy. In all, I’ll be makin these again. Thanks for the recipie!!!

    Reply
  54. Lara

    These are yummy but they fell apart…I presume it’s because I used jarred almond butter – it is raw (and organic of course) so I thought I’d be safe. In the past ‘ve made your pumpkin bars with jarred nut butters and those always turn out great.

    I don’t care, I’ll eat ’em crumbly or whole! 🙂

    Reply
  55. Charity

    If you get dont zip through almond butter then you have had it separate and you end up with DRY almond butter at the bottom. I’ve kept the bottom of my jars of almond butter and either added to seperated new jar and mixed in mix master or kept them seperate for cookie receipe one day…. that day is nigh!
    otherwise i think you could take top 3/4 of the jar (seperated) out and put in Kitchen aid. (if you blend with paddle you can reincorporate the oil ) and use the bottom 1/4 (probably 1 c.) and should be less oily and ok for the recipe… Also try a tsp of coconut flour.

    Reply
  56. Patricia

    Yay, my favorite CHOCOLATE. Will make this for my kids this weekend.

    Reply
  57. Leslie Thomas

    DELICIOUSNESS!! These are so yummy and totally satisfy any chocolate craving I might have. I like the not-so-sweet chocolaty flavor and straight out of the oven with a little glass of almond milk…MMM! Thanks for posting these. I’d like to link to this on my blog 🙂

    Reply
  58. Jenn

    I love these cookies! I usually grind my own almonds but this time I only had 1/2 cup in hand, gasp, so improvising was in order. For the 1cup of almonds I used 1/2 cup almonds ~1/4 cup almond meal, 2tbsp of almond butter (trader joes creamy salted) and ~tbsp of olive oil.
    I then followed the recipe using xylitol as the sweetener ( experimenting with this stuff) they came out great!!! I love the batter, I may just roll them into cookies balls and store in th freezer in the future, may try replacing the egg for chia gel in that one, I’ll keep you posted.

    Reply
  59. Christy

    These are flipping fabulous. In fact everything that I make using your recipes is mouth magic. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful work. You are real food warriors!

    Reply
  60. Dani

    Made these today and they are FANTASTIC!! I used the fresh almond butter (specifically went out a and purchased it, despite my large stock pile of jarred AB) and the texture was perfection. Forgot to flatter them and so they were little nuggets instead, lol! Also, I did not get 24 out of them and I measured each at 1Tbs. Instead I got about 16 cookies. That’s ok, I just know that next time I will definitely be doubling up!! Lastly, I used 1/3 cup coconut nectar crystals to sweeten them and I felt it was perfect, not too sweet, but sweet enough to earn cookie status. Thanks for a new “keeper” recipe!!!

    Reply
  61. Jenn

    I’ve made these a few times and “oh my” always a hit! I always use my own fresh almond butter and they’ve turned out awesome each time. I choose to not use as much sugar as the recipe calls and they always seem sweet enough. I’m getting ready to make another batch right now…:)

    Reply
  62. Minnie

    I just made these, and they came out perfect, even with jarred almond butter! However, I found them way too bitter 🙁 what a shame! I might try them another time with a different kind of chocolate, or I’ll add some honey, or I don’t know.

    Reply
  63. Lib

    Do you have a substitute for the almond butter? I’m trying to find some good Paleo cookies without nuts due to allergies in our household. Thanks!

    Reply
  64. Grazia

    These were easy !! I use regular left of almond butter from the car I had in fridge ! I just added a little melt coconut oil , macadamia nuts and shredded coconut , they came out perfect !! And yummy

    Reply

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