Update: I’ve created a video to show you how to make these gluten free and vegan chocolate chip cookies.
The other day I received a call from Kelly about a potluck at my children’s school. This superwoman who doubles as first grade room parent and I spoke about taking the “luck” out of potluck.
During our chat, we touched on the significance of children breaking bread together and sharing in the most important part of the meal – dessert! To accommodate the different dietary needs of the first graders in my son’s class, I developed a dairy-free, gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Kelly and I enlisted five moms to bake these tasty cookies for the potluck and I’ve posted the recipe here for them.
Chocolate Chip Cookies (Dairy Free/Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup grapeseed oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup agave nectar
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
- Stir together wet ingredients in a small bowl
- Mix wet ingredients into dry
- Form 1 inch balls and press onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350°F for 7-10 minutes
- Cool and serve
* Please note: Bob’s Red Mill almond flour does not yield successful results when used in this recipe. For more information regarding this matter please see my FAQs.
elana says
Ruth,
So glad you and your husband liked them and thanks for the detailed report!
Elana
Ruth says
OK, I just tried these, and craved them all week.
I have a “generic” (non gourmet) oven, and started with the recipe and made 3 dozen, not 2 dozen, and baked them for 8-8.5 minutes, and that worked best. 9 minutes was *almost* too much. If I made 24 cookies, they were “undone” in the middle.
But I must say, these were *way* too decadent to be this healthy. I will probably make no other chocolate chip cookie recipe…ever. (Especially since I found out my husband is also allergic to dairy.)
Thank you Elena!!
elana says
Arlette -Thanks for the full report. I’m glad you liked these and that they worked out for you, Mrs. Fields :-)
Lisa -You’re very welcome and thanks for your comment!
Lisa says
These are delicious! I used Himalayan salt, sunflower oil, maple syrup and chocolate sticks ground up in the food processor (used for chocolate croissants) and they were awesome! Not runny at all! I also used blanched almond flour that I bought in bulk.
Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!! :)
Arlette says
Hi Elana,
I initially tried this recipe a while back using almond meal that I grounded in a regular blender. Turned out terribly; falling apart,oily, and salty. I tried again, this time using the blanched almond flour. Still didn’t work. So I went back to the recipe page re-reading everything you wrote, looking for a clue. And for the first time I found it “* Please note: Bob’s Red Mill almond flour does not yield successful results when used in this recipe” That’s the brand I used! I never noticed that note before.
But I really, really wanted some gluten free chocolate chip cookies, and couldn’t find the brand you recommended near me, couldn’t possibly wait for it to arrive in the mail. I had a bag of almonds and wondered if I grind them these un-blanched almonds really, really well, ultra fine would it work? This time I had a vitamix blender and decided to give it a try.
I mixed everything together (using less oil and salt) I could already tell by the consistency of the dough that it might just work. I baked a few cookies–they tasted great! Just a little on the soft side. Then I got an idea to blend the batch quickly in the vitamix. Baked a more few cookies from this batch and wa la — they were amazing!!! I felt like I was Mrs.Fields. Perfection at last using un-blanched almonds–yay!
One of these days I intend make it exactly as the recipe calls using Honeyville’s Blanched Almond Flour. But for now I am very content with these!!!
I want to thank you Elana for this innovative recipe. And I am so grateful to you for having shared it with all of us.
elana says
RachelB,
So glad you liked them and that your adaptations to the recipe worked out.
Elana
Rachel B says
I just made these cookies for the first time. I had to find a substitute for the 73% Dagoba organic chocolate because it has sugar in it which I can’t eat. I used organic raw chocolate nibs by Navitas Naturals. http://www.navitasnaturals.com/products/cacao/cacao-nibs.html The nibs didn’t melt but they gave the cookies a wonderful chocolate crunch.
Because the nibs had no sweetener, I figured I should adjust the amount of agave. So I used about a 1/8 cup more in the recipe. And I ended up having to bake them at a lower temperature, 300 degrees, for 35 minutes because after 10 minutes at 350 degrees, they weren’t getting solid. They got lightly browned and were perfect.
I did notice that although they were still soft when I took them out of the oven, after they cooled down they got solid.
The only problem I had was keeping my husband out of the raw dough. It’s something that he loved as a kid and as soon as he saw it on the counter, he had to taste it. When he did, he said that it was fantastic and a sure sign that the cookies will be, too. And they were!
Thank you, Elana, for your wonderful recipes.
elana says
GloriE,
Thanks so much for your comment and I’m so glad that you (and Griff) are enjoying these recipes. I have an 8 year old too, so I know how that goes…
Elana
GloriE says
Elana, we have been making these cookies every week for the past 2 months! They are a staple in my house! My son, Griff is 8 and has been on a gluten/corn/preservative/dairy free diet for the past 6 months to help with his chronic migraine headaches. He feels so much better, it’s amazing! This was his first year without any halloween candy so having these cookies on hand was a lifesaver! We also make the bannana cake weekly but use a cupcake pan – they just take 20 minutes and we toss in a few gluten free chocolate chips – yummy! This is my first post and I just want to say thank you so much for all the great recipes. Following Griff’s dietary restrictions is challenging but so much easier because of your website. I was overwhelmed at first but your ideas are easy and delicious. Thank you so much for all your hard work and creativity!
elana says
Dear Marie,
Thanks so much for your kind email, I really appreciate it.
Yes, please do include my recipe in the cookbook for your women’s group and as you discussed, I just ask that you give credit and reference back to my site.
I am glad you are enjoying my recipes and eating well too!
Take Care,
Elana