Primal Chocolate Chip Cookies are made with high protein almond flour and naturally sweetened with honey. This incredible grain-free cookie is made with just 7 ingredients and will knock your socks off! No one will know this is a healthy cookie recipe!
There are so many forms of the grain-free diet. Primal. Paleo. Specific Carbohydrate Diet. GAPS. Call it what you want. I began the grain-free diet in 2001. I have adhered to it religiously ever since. When I began, I followed the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. And ever since then, I’ve been strictly grain-free. This is not a fad for me. It’s a way of life. When I started the grain-free diet, people thought the gluten-free diet was freakish.
Now there are so many of us on paleo diets. We’re gluten-free. We’re grain-free. We’re definitely not freaks. Now we’re merely a bit ahead of the curve. It wasn’t always like that.
The almond flour cookie recipe that I share with you today for a paleo chocolate chip cookie reminds me of the way I used to bake a decade ago. When I used honey quite often in my recipes. Call them what you want. Argue with what they’re called. It’s all semantics anyway. And I promise you. I won’t argue back. I just want you to enjoy the cookies.
Primal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup palm shortening
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Combine almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a food processor
- Pulse in shortening, honey, and vanilla until dough forms
- Remove blade from processor and stir in chocolate chunks by hand
- Scoop dough one level tablespoon at a time onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Press balls of dough down gently
- Bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes
- Cool for 15 minutes (do not handle prior or cookies will break)
- Serve
If you want to make changes to this paleo cookie recipe, please do. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your substitutions and alterations turn out. I can’t do the testing for you. I’ve got two boys, and they keep me real busy. And they like to eat cookies that I bake from scratch. These cookies. Gluten-free cookies. Easy chocolate chip cookies. It just seems that all is right in the world when young men sit at the table eating cookies. So go ahead, enjoy the cookies!
What changes and substitutions will you make to these cookies to custom tailor them to your special diet needs? How do you think they’ll turn out?
Here are some of my other easy paleo cookie recipes:
sarah says
I like the blurb before the recipe! I’m in the same boat as to feeling like I don’t want to label our diet. I read lots of “Paleo” things for inspiration, but I like to just say we eat for nutrient density. I feel like when I label things, or say we don’t eat grains, that someone will point fingers and say I’m wrong when something doesn’t line up with their theories.
In any case, our family has been feeling much better, been less sick, and is very healthy after cutting out grains and choosing foods with the greatest nutrient density! I’m so excited to give them a treat for making the change. These cookies are going to be a big hit! I’m off to start making them now.
Thanks again!
Melissa says
thanks elana for all your wonderful recipes!
you are an inspiration. i’ve included you and your site in my links list, please let me know if that is ok with you. i have many cients that are pursuing gluten/grain free diets and your recipes are so very helpful!
thanks,
melissa
SherriS. says
I agree that Elana’s recipes are simple but still taste fantastic. These cookies look great. Thanks Elana!
Serena says
Another amazing recipe. Thank you Elana. Can I ask how these keep without going soft? Other biscuits & scones I’ve made if stored in a glass air tight or plastic air tight container, they’ve still gone soft?
Noel says
Elana, I LOVE the simplicity of your recipes. I always have what I need on hand. That’s what keeps me coming back. I don’t bake sweets a lot, but when I do, your blog and books are where I tend to go first. This cookie is a winner.
I love it when you share your recipes for meat and vegies too.
: )
Noel
Sarah says
Does anyone know if choc chips made with honey exist? I would love to find them, or chunks. The only choc made with honey I have found are the honey peppermint patties.
Darci Hawxhurst says
For chocolate chips, I use the “Endangered Species” 72% dark bars (just chop it up). They are very low sugars/carbs and are sweetened with beet sugar, which I find that I tolerate much better than other sweeteners, including honey.
Thanks, Elana, for another great one!
Ellie says
I believe beet sugar is mostly if not all GMO so will not use it.
Rachel B. says
Me,too.
Janet D. says
I’ve found Lindt Excellence 85% Cocoa bars. They are dairy free, sweetened with Demerara sugar, and only 5g sugar per 4 squares. Lindt also makes 70% and 90% bars that are dairy free. I did find the 90% bar uses sugar but only 3g per 4 squares of chocolate. I substitute 1/4 C chocolate (about 4 squares) and 1/4 walnuts for the 1/2 C chocolate. I found them at Walmart but I’m sure they’re available elsewhere.
Stephenie says
Lindt chocolate is not gluten free, though, so be careful if you are celiac. All Lindt chocolate contains barley.
Janet D. says
Thanks Stephenie, that’s good to know so I don’t recommend it to or offer it to someone with celiac. I was told that the 85% bar does not have barley in it but it is run through the same line so there could be some cross contamination. Do you have any suggestions for chocolate that is dairy free, gluten free, and lower sugar/higher cacao content?
zosia says
you could melt some UNsweetened chocolate and add honey, then pour it into a pan (so that its thin) and put it into the freezer…once it is hard – break it into piece…they won’t be CHIPS…but they’ll be honey-sweetened chocolate chunks :)
Dee says
I have found after an endoscopy, that there is a lot of inflammation in my stomach and small intestine. I had been totally gluten free for 9 months by then. That was shocking to me! NOW I find that I can’t eat grain at all without issues, mostly pain. I do so much appreciate those who have commented on the grain issues. I thought I was crazy! My biggest concern though, is not the fact that my allergist told me that almonds were a HUGE allergen for me (I eat them all the time) but if we can’t eat grains, and for me fruit as I am allergic to that too, what really is left? Meat is contaminated with anti-biotics, vegetables are sprayed with chemicals. I truly fear what comes next! Does anyone else have these issues? Thanks so much!
Steph says
You aren’t alone. I’m grain free 99% of the time. On occasion, I will make a gluten free (but not grain free) treat for the rest of the family and sometimes I eat just a little. As long as I don’t do it often, I seem to have no problems. Last Christmas, I could tell that I had overindulged and it wasn’t worth it. I’ve recently learned that I’m also allergic to milk, casein, walnuts, eggs, watermelon, peaches, cumin, paprika and more. My doctor said that if I will avoid these foods for 3 months, I could probably add them back in small quantities, so we’ll see. Good luck to you!
Amberoni13 says
Not sure if this helps, but it sounds like you might want to invest a little time and effort into growing your own food. A couple of chickens can give you eggs every day, you can feed them healthy food, and you can keep them in most cities (check for yours before you install your girls – and remember, NO ROOSTERS). Veggies and herbs can be grown pretty easily from heirloom seeds (cherrygirl.com, ohioheirloomseeds.com, anniesheirloomseeds.com are all good sources) and almost anything can be grown in a container, even in a tiny apartment or dorm. We have a nice yard with raised beds, but I know we’re lucky. Lots of places have local beef/sheep/pork that is pricey, but organic and grassfed.
Anastasia@healthymamainfo.com says
Beautiful recipe! I love how you use Celtic sea salt in your recipes. It contains all of the 84 beneficial live elements found in sea water, which makes it the healthiest.
Alexa (aka TWIN) says
Snicker … good post.
Sara says
As far as phytic acid goes, I think that’s not an issue since almond flour is made with BLANCHED almonds, correct?
This is similar to my favorite recipe, the vegan dairy free choc chip cookie recipe on your site, and I have to say, I’ve subbed the agave for 1/4 cup applesauce to make them completely sugar free (they are amazing with toasted pecans instead of choc chips, too!) which would make that delicious recipe Whole30 compliant, as well ! (well, I always sub coconut oil for grapeseed oil, too.)
Keep up the amazing work. I can’t wait to try these!! <3
dina says
Actually, you can buy almond flour OR almond meal.
Almond flour = blanched almonds
Almond Meal = not blanched almonds
Almond meal leaves the ‘skin’ on the almonds and then it is just ground very fine. I use the Almond Meal myself because Almond Flour is very expensive.
dina
Ann says
Dina,
Don’t buy almod flour! Make your own. All you have to do is put them in a food processor. I use my Ninja. I make my own flours; almond, coconut, walnut etc. Hope this helps.