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These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are made with coconut flour and ready in just 20 minutes. The cookies emerge from the oven SO gooey, thick, and delicious. A favorite vegan cookie, they’re also Paleo-friendly and nut-free, too.
I had planned on posting this recipe next week, but I just posted a teaser picture of these cookies on Instagram. You guys pretty much demanded that I share them ASAP. You and I both love vegan cookie recipes, so I knew I had to share soon.
I hear you, loud and clear! So, I moved the recipe on up in the docket. Chocolate chip cookies should be prioritized over pretty much all else, right? Especialllllyyy when they’re looking as good as these coconut flour cookies are 😍
So I guess that means another batch is in store. Luckily, these vegan coconut flour cookies are SO darn easy to make and even easier to eat. Let’s talk about these cookies because I’m honestly like a proud momma thinking about them.
I just reshared my favorite paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe last week (which is why I had these scheduled farther out). So many of you came out of the woodwork to tell me how much you adore them. I feel you on that – that recipe is a seriously delicious one. It’s sweetened with coconut sugar, just like this one is, because you know I love my refined sugar free cookie recipes!
P.S. these vegan miso chocolate chip cookies are another favorite if you’re looking for a twist on the classic!
But…it also uses 2¼ cups of almond flour, and that can get expensive. I buy mine in bulk so I don’t notice it as much, but my sister was simultaneously raving about the cookies and complaining about having to buy a $12 bag of almond flour to make them.
Is coconut flour or almond flour better for cookies? It depends on the recipe and what you have on hand – each works well when the recipe has been developed to use the specific one, but they have different properties, so they’re generally not interchangeable. Coconut flour is cheaper and can go further because it is so absorbent, which is a big pro for a lot of folks!
A recipe for coconut flour chocolate chip cookies was in my recipe queue for a while and her complaints were just the inspiration I needed to get to work. I planned to make them with coconut flour and wanted to keep them nut-free, and I really love cookie recipes with coconut flour. I decided to try making them vegan as well…because why not just make them totally allergy-friendly?!
Honestly, I expected this coconut flour cookie recipe to take a while to get right. Surprisingly, I got pretty close to nailing it on the first try. I tested one more time with some baby adjustments just to perfect them. The result? A batch of really good chocolate chip cookies.
Not just good for being nut-free, paleo, and vegan, but good by just about anyone’s standards. I brought them over to my very not-paleo or vegan aunt and uncle and they were loving them!
Is coconut flour a substitute for all-purpose flour? No, it’s not, primarily because it is SO absorbent. It’s about 3x more absorbent than all-purpose flour! A lot of coconut flour cookie recipes can get pretty crumbly because the coconut flour sucks up so much moisture. But, because these use just 1/3 cup in this recipe, we avoid that crumbly texture and instead get a rich, chewy, and wonderfully textured dough.
Which seed butter should I use?
This recipe also includes sunflower seed butter OR tahini. I tested the recipe with both! Here are the differences: sunflower seed butter had a more neutral, less noticeable taste, but if you’ve baked with sunflower seed butter before, you know that it has the tendency to turn baked goods green. It doesn’t affect anything about the flavor or texture, but some people might be turned off by the color.
The tahini version, which I show in the photos, has a slightly noticeable tahini flavor. It’s definitely not too prominent. I liked the little hint of nuttiness it added. While I noticed the difference in flavor, none of my taste testers commented on it.
You can also use your favorite nut butter if you’re not sensitive to nuts or baking for someone with an allergy!
How many cookies does this recipe make?
This recipe does make a pretty small batch. It yields about 10 to 12 cookies (maybe more, depending on the size of the cookies you make). However, you could always easily double or triple it if you need more! Living alone, I can’t have too many cookies around for the sake of my waistline 🙊
These Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies come together sooo easily, too. You can make them in a stand mixer if you have one to make them EXTRA easy. I use a bowl and whisk, though, and the dough came together in less than 5 minutes. Always a win!
Can you freeze these cookies?
They also freeze well both in dough and cookie form, so you can always have a stash on hand. To freeze the dough, I like scooping the dough into cookie balls, placing on a baking sheet and freezing until firm, and then moving the frozen cookie dough balls to a freezer-safe zip bag for long term storage.
I hope you love these cookies, and that everyone you share them with does as well – regardless of their dietary restrictions. Enjoy :)
Want more delicious cookie recipes?
- Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Vegan Miso Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten-Free Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan + Nut-Free)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup virgin coconut oil, solid and slightly softened, similar to softened butter
- ⅓ cup sunflower seed butter or tahini, see Notes
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- 2 flax eggs, 2 tablespoons flax meal + 5 tablespoons water – whisk them together and let sit for 5 minutes to gel – see Notes for info about using real eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda, use ¼ teaspoon if using sunflower seed butter – helps prevent the cookies from turning green when they cool!
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup 43g coconut flour
- ⅔ cup 4 oz. chopped dark chocolate
- Flaky sea salt, to sprinkle on top, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl or stand mixer, beat together the coconut oil, sunflower seed butter or tahini, and coconut sugar until smooth. Add the flax eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
- Add the baking soda, salt, and coconut flour to the wet ingredients. Mix until well incorporated. Fold in the chopped dark chocolate.
- Use a cookie scoop to form cookies and place 2” apart on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt if desired. Bake for 10 minutes or just beginning to turn golden brown around the edges.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you’re not nut-free, you can use any nut butter you like here (like peanut butter or almond butter). For the nut-free folks, I found that the sunflower seed butter had a milder, less noticeable flavor than the tahini, but sunflower seed butter also has the tendency to turn baked goods green! It doesn’t affect taste, just appearances, but something to keep in mind. The cookies pictured are made with tahini – I didn’t find the flavor to be too noticeable, but it does add a bit of nuttiness! That being said, taste your tahini before using to make sure you enjoy the flavor. Certain brands of tahini can be more bitter, and that flavor will translate, so make sure you like the tahini plain before adding it to your cookies!
- If you don’t want/need to use flax eggs, replace the two flax eggs with 1 egg + 1 egg yolk.
These look amazing!!!
I HAVE to try these
– Izzy
Thanks Izzy, I hope you love them!!
One of the best and easiest Vegan cookie recipes I’ve made, and they don’t even taste Vegan! I subbed the sunflower butter with PB and flattened mine out a fair bit. They baked up perfect with just the right amount of crispy edges.
I’m not Vegan, but my husband doesn’t eat eggs and these were a dream!
So thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying them, Shelley! Thank you so very much for the kind feedback :)
These cookies are an all-star favorite in my household!! My wife has me make them for her all the time. Something about that sunflower butter just hits different!! We actually call them healthy cookies because of the coconut based ingredients. Thank you!!
So glad they’re such a hit!! Thanks for the review, Brock :)
Yes, chocolate chip cookies take priority over everything! I’m loving that melty chocolate in here. There’s nothing like a good cookie to get your day started…and I want the ENTIRE batch! :)
Thanks so much Gayle!! They’re definitely a new favorite of mine :)
Oh wow! These are droolicious! So so incredibly gooey – and with a healthier twist – they are my kinda cookies! I gotta agree with your sis, almond flour sure can get pricey – so, this version with coconut flour is pretty darn brilliant – also love that it only makes 10 cos I think I could do some serious damage to a batch of these! :)
Haha my batch was gone too quickly!! Thanks so much, Shashi :)
Can I use regular butter?
Not in place of the nut butter, but you can use butter instead of the coconut oil!
would peanut butter also work instead of the sunflowerseed butter or tahini?
Yup, any nut butter can be subbed in for those if you’re not nut-free – I’ll add an update to the recipe stating that!
I am not vegan, could I use real eggs, and if so would I use 2? These look fab, can’t wait to make them this weekend!
Hi Traci – I haven’t tried this recipe with real eggs so I can’t say for certain how they’d turn out. If you do try it, I’d use two. Let me know how it goes!
One large egg works beautifully
Thanks for sharing, Amy!
These coconut flour cookies look delicious… all that melty chocolate has me drooling. Pinning! :)
These are amazing! I did make one change I substituted applesauce for the oil. EVERYONE LOVES THESE! Thank you for the recipe.
So happy to hear the applesauce worked as an oil substitute! Thanks so much for the feedback, Becky – I’m so thrilled they’re a hit!
Rachel this post could not have come at a better time. I’ve just bought my first bag of coconut flour this week! WooHoo!
This recipe is perfect! Can’t wait to indulge in a batch!
I hope you love them, Ashley!
Hey, I tried these yesterday, came out quite nice, they are not crunchy .. they are soft and I made small batches of these so is that the reason that it’s not crunchy? And my Tahini flavour was quite strong, may b next time I can try with Almond butter. Thank you
Hi Neha, these cookies are on the softer side. You can bake longer for a crispier cookie. These cookies use tahini to keep them nut-free, but as mentioned in the recipe, you can use any nut butter if you’re not nut-free and don’t want a strong tahini flavor!
Loved this recipe! However almost too coconutey flavored for me … any suggestions?
You can use refined coconut oil to make it taste less coconutty :)
First of all, BRAVO for using coconut flour in a vegan recipe – I know that isn’t easy! And, girl, I’m pretty sure you could photograph cardboard and make me want to eat it because these photos make me want to lick my computer screen!!!
You’re too kind Casey!!! Melted chocolate chunks make for a pretty good photography subject :)
These look heavenly! I’m always looking for new treats to serve my dairy-free son. Can’t wait to try them!
I hope your son loves them! Thank you :)