My mother-in-law (aka Grandma Marylyn) is obsessed with all things crispy, crunchy, and Paleo. Like me, she has celiac disease and has followed a strict gluten-free diet for years. I created this Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe just for her. Grandma Marylyn is a huge fan of my Cranberry Chocolate Biscotti, as well as my Chocolate Orange Scones, and presents me with freshly made batches of each of these every time we have a visit.
While Grandma loves everything I make and cooks from my latest book Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry religiously, she is passionate about making my Paleo desserts for our large Jewish family.
Grandma has been asking me for years to develop a thin and crispy cookie recipe. She has no idea that I’ve created these Paleo chocolate chip cookies for her!
Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup palm shortening
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a food processor
- Pulse in shortening, coconut sugar, egg, and vanilla until dough forms
- Remove blade from processor and stir in chocolate chips by hand
- Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Press balls of dough down so they are very flat, wetting your hand if dough is sticky
- Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes
- Cool for 15 minutes (do not handle prior or cookies will break)
- Serve
When I made these Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies my husband and children devoured numerous batches. The boys’ friends also gobbled up my Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies so quickly that I couldn’t keep enough on the counter for them. I had one very busy week of baking gluten-free chocolate chip cookies for the hungry teenagers that fill my home. These cookies have the teenage seal of approval many times over.
In addition to inspiration from Grandma, I also enjoyed seeing that the adorable Kosher Cavegirl had come up with a Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. It was her post that gave me the idea to create this new recipe which differs only slightly from my Primal Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe –the changes include using coconut sugar in place of honey, and doubling the amount of shortening and adding an egg. That’s how you get to crispy cookie heaven. So if you’re tired of complex gluten-free recipes with long lists of ingredients, this is another recipe of mine that solves this vexing problem!
I have other chocolate chip cookie recipes on my website in addition to the ones above:
- Chocolate Chip Cookies -an oldie but goodie that I still make for the boys and their dairy eating friends; I created this, my first chocolate chip cookie recipe back in 2007 –it uses butter as the fat and honey or agave for the sweetener; slightly crispy around the edges, and chewy in the middle.
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies -a vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe that uses grapeseed oil for the fat and agave as sweetener… for the vegans in my life.
- Primal Chocolate Chip Cookies -my most recent chocolate chip cookie recipe (prior to the one featured in this post for a crispy cookie) uses shortening and honey; a classic, moist, chewy chocolate chip cookie, and a great post workout snack for the CrossFit crowd.
What are your needs and desires for a classic chocolate chip cookie? Are they dietary, or flavor-based? Leave a comment and let me know which of the above recipes you plan on using and how you will customize them to your personal preferences.
Amber says
Elana,
I made these just now and they were absolutely delicious! I wanted to try a healthier alternative to chocolate chip cookies, and found the recipe to be incredibly easy to folow and the ingredients were easy to find! My boyfriend loves them as well and was blown away with the ingredients made to make these cookies. It’s now influenced him to try other recipes on tour website! I will be definitely making these again. Thank you for sharing this recipe with everyone!
Sharon B. says
I made these for a diabetic friend, who wanted a crispy cookie in the worst way. For that matter, I want a crispy low-carb cookie, too! Recipes with almond flour are always soft (because of the fat in the nuts). I plan to eventually make cookies with “milked” flour (post-almond milk making, hoping that the lowered fat results in crispy baking), but for now, this works!
I used coconut oil in place of the palm oil, and used 40 g of Domino Light Sugar & Stevia Blend. Instead of using chocolate chips, I added 1/8 cup of ground oatmeal, and 1/8 cup of ground unsweetened shredded coconut. I also decreased the sea salt to 1/8 tsp.
This recipe — with my changes — made 23 cookies. Next time, I’ll probably add some cocoa powder.
A real winner, Elana!
MassachusEATS says
Just wanted to let you know that I’ve made these several times – they are excellent! I’ve taken to adding some pecans and BACON to mine, yum. Thanks for a winning recipe…and, actually, for all your recipes!
Katharine says
I just made these and the texture is amazing! I haven’t been able to create a crispy cookie with almond flour before… these definitely have that buttery crispy vibe (even without the butter). I really liked them, though they do not taste very sweet. I used 70% dark chocolate chips. These are perfect for me because I have blood sugar issues, but those used to a sweeter cookie might want to use more sugar or find a different recipe. My recipe made 17 cookies and I input that into myfitness pal and got the following: 177 cal, 10g carb, 2g fiber, 15g fat, 5g sugar.
Lisa Carol Patrick says
Fabulous
Marilyn says
I have the crispy cookies in the oven this moment! I was wondering if after putting the little tablespoons of dough on the cookie sheet, the sheet could briefly be placed in the frig or freezer so flattening would be easier and less messy. Just tasted a couple! They are really delicious. Can’t wait to try your other recipes! Mine aren’t as rounded and nice looking as yours. The only change I made was using butter in place of the shortening.
Marilyn says
You can buy Honeyville blanched almond flour non GMO at Costco!
Christine says
Hi Elana, just want to first say Thank You for creating these scrumptious recipes and cookbooks! I’m a huge fan of your Paleo breads! Absolutely delicious!
One question if I may:
A lot of your recipes call for blending ingredients with a food processor. Will a regular stand up Kitchenaide type mixer work as well?
Diana says
I made these cookies with butter instead of vegan shortening. They are delicious. I didn’t need to cut the sugar as I usually do with Elana’s recipes. These are not too sweet.
hayley says
my Costco carries almond flour 17.99 for 3 lb bag.