Dairy Free, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!
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. This updated classic is one of my favorites.
Kelly and I enlisted five moms to bake these tasty cookies for the potluck and I've posted the recipe here for them.
2 ½ cups blanched almond flour *
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup dark chocolate 73%
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
- Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
- Mix wet ingredients into dry
- Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
- Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
- Cool and serve
Makes 24 cookies
Posted on May 30, 2007 in desserts by Elana
you might also like: Chocolate Chip Cookies
or Video Tutorials: Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Thank you Elana! Your chocolate chip cookies are amazing! You are a lifesaver! I recently had an allergy test that determined I am allergic to wheat, dairy, sugar (cane), and yeast (a tough combo for someone who loves ALL baked goods!). The only thing I needed to substitute in your recipe was the chocolate chips - and I found an alternative at Whole Foods (SunSpire grain sweetened chocolate chips with no cane sugar or wheat - I highly recommend them!) I LOVE these cookies and I cannot wait to make them again this weekend! AND I am looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Thanks again!
Karen
Karen, thanks for your great comment; I am so glad that you like these cookies and I hope you enjoy the other recipes on my site! Let me know how it goes.
Elana
Thanks for the recipe. I wanted to let you in on a little shortcut I often use for CChip cookies. Gluten Free Pantry yellow cake/cookie mix can be used too. I just follow the cookie recipe on the box then add 2 TBSP peanut butter (for taste) and a cup of CChips.
I also love there Borwnie mix, It's even better if you also add a cup of CChips (I add nuts for protein to this too.)
My 6 and & 7 year old boys, and their class mates love these.
Thanks so much for the wonderful cookie recipe. I am just beginning to try to cut out wheat and dairy. I had to substitute the almond flour for affordability and because it's what I already had in my pantry. Bob's Red Mill gluten free All Purpose Baking Flour substitutes nicely. The cookies were light, a little crumbly, but oh so lovely.
I made the other choc. chip cookies last night with the butter... they are wonderfully amazing! I am wondering... since those taste EXACTLY like what I remember a chocolate chip cookie tasting like... how is the flavor of these with grape seed oil instead? How do you make them for the pizza place? The classic recipe? Those are just TOO good. I actually refrigerated most of the dough and I am making a couple at a time just for ME! I was just amazed by the recipe! I made it right from your instructions (only added a little more vanilla... no reason other than habit... I always add extra vanilla!) and they were fabulous. I took some over to my mom (who eats mostly grain-free and never eats refined sugars) and she thought they were wonderful, too! She also accused me of lying about the ingredients in the macadamia caramel candies... she thought for sure I was trying to poison her with milk maid caramels or at the very minimum large quantities of brown sugar mixed in!
So, if you have an answer on the taste of these with grape seed oil, I would appreciate it! Its too bad there is no "safe" butter flavoring to add...
Hi Chrissy,
I guess you live in Boulder if you've seen my cookies at the pizza place (O! Pizza). Those are made with grapeseed oil, no butter--the recipe above. Thanks for your comment and I'm glad you and your mom liked the macadamia caramels.
Elana
No, I used to live in Co Springs, and my sister recently moved from Boulder to the springs after 7 years there. I was just there a month ago and I googled gluten free restaurants and that one came up... then I saw the link on your side bar and put them together! I went to a really cool place for lunch with my sis in Boulder... it had this covered outdoor patio and I had this mexican pulled chicken thing with a homemade corn cake/tortilla thing that was divine... makes me want to book a flight out and go have that for lunch, swing by O! for pizza and cookies for dinner and hop back on a plane to come home! We have NO GF restaurants (other than chains) here in Nashville. I loved CO, and I thought your comment on the grain-free granola was TOO funny (using the term on your friends... I knew some very "crunchy granola" people when we lived there! LOL!).
Anyway, I am LOVING your website and experimenting with all these new recipes! I have baked with almond meal before... used the BRM, another one from some web site that I ordered, and made my own in the vitamix... and you are totally right about the one you use. I ordered the 5lb bag last week and I am amazed at how much better the baked goods turn out. The cookies are gone, except for maybe 5 or 6 that I did not bake yet and I am planning some muffins or your bread with cinnamon and nutmeg for tomorrow! I have yet to purchase the grapeseed oil though... so I am using butter. I am not CF as well, so its fine by me... as long as I dont eat the whole batch and start storing it all up for the winter! ;)
I also copied your glass jar idea and found a dozen quart size jars at the hardware store for just under $11! I filled up about 7 of them with nuts, granola, coconut flour, etc... they look so pretty! I dont know why I didnt think of that before!
If you ever do publish a cook book... sign me up for the first printing!
Chrissy-
Thanks so much for your kind words and yes, I will sign you up!
Elana
Hi Elana,
I am prepared to be your biggest fan, but I am having a problem with both of the recipes that I’ve tried, these choco chip cookies with grape seed oil and the flapjacks. First let me say the flavor in both was amazing. But the consistency of the flapjacks was like water. I had to practically burn them to get them stable enough to turn over, but many just folded over into a sloppy mess. It was very frustrating and I almost stopped cooking them. But I did cook all of them and my husband and kids ate every last one.
For the cookies, I was so excited I made a double batch the first time. Again, the mixture was runny. I could not roll them into balls. I did not need to flatten them, as they oozed all by themselves and some ran off the pan while baking. I was certain I made a mistake. So the second time I made one batch, but the results were the same. The batter does not look like the firm batter you are confidently rolling into balls on the video. But the flavor was so good, and I am desperate for gluten, dairy free. So I ground one cup of raw oats and three tablespoons of raw flax seeds into flour and added it to the batter. These did need to be flattened or the center would not cook and came out raw. The flavor was good, the consistency better, but I adored the flavor of the original recipe. I don’t have your flair for experimentation- what would you add to bulk up these cookies- or can I cut some of the oil so they are not so runny?
Okay, am I crazy? Why won’t these recipes work for me?
I made these the other night and everyone scarfed them down. I'm quickly beginning to cook a whole new way thanks to your yummy recipes.
Pamela -Thanks for your comment; I am so very perplexed as I have now gotten this from several people. The thing that is tricky is that the recipes seems to work for the majority, though when it doesn't, what happened in your case is the outcome. I am going to bake these (for the umpteenth time) tonight and do several control groups. I think what might be happening is that if the dough is hotter than room temp from over mixing with a beater that might heat it up and cause it to splay out? I will be working on this issue --can't let it remain as such.
Eden -Thanks for the report, glad y'all liked 'em.
The flavour of these cookies is amazing!! Thanks so much for the recipe, I tried it today, however I had similar results as Pamela. I'm wondering if the 'balls' it was rolled into were too big/close together or if they weren't cooked enough? I put them in the oven for the full 10mins. Are they supposed to be kind of crunchy or chewy or what kind of texture when they are done? I hoped tey would harden up when they cooled but they didn't really. I had no idea what to do with them (apart from craping 3 of them off the baking paper with a spoon and eating them ;) so I put them in the freezer for the moment, any advie would be amazing! xo
Mine also came out more like batter than dough, and spread out everywhere. The cookie that came out of my oven looked nothing like your picture. I added 1/2 c. sweet potato to the second tray of cookies and that came out a little better but had to be cooked 14 minutes. What am I doing wrong?
Kathy & Pandie,
What type of almond flour did you use?
Elana
Hi Elana,
It's clear to me that the almond flour I used caused the receipes to fail. I used Bob's Red Mill almond flour the first time, and ground my own flour in my blender the second time.
Thanks again following up with me. I'm excited to order the correct flour and try again.
Pamela
Hi,
I was wondering if your kids adhere to a gluten free diet?
We are just starting the gc free diet with our son and I have little idea what to send him for lunch and snacks. His school is also nut free.
Thanks,
E.
Elana,
I am loving your recipes. My daughter can't have gluten,wheat, soy, eggs,corn,grapes plus many other things. Can I substitute the eggs with the egg sub. mix ( that is egg free) and can I substitute the grape oil with something else? She can't have grapes. Iwas looking at the bread recipe and the choc. chip cookie recipe/
Thanks,
Ann
Pamela -Thanks so much for reporting back and staying in touch!
Elizabeth -Yes, my boys do adhere to a gluten-free diet; I'm not sure what I would do though if they went to a nut free school. This would be a great question to post in my forums.
Ann -Thanks for stopping by; for more info on substitutions please see my faq's. There is a chocolate chip cookie recipe that uses butter on my site, you can find it here.
We have cookies!! Wow, mind blowing, ate only cookies for dinner and ignored the grilled Ahi Tuna kind of cookie craziness. These have got to be the best cookies I have ever eaten in my life. They were crisp on the edges and soft and chewy in the center. They didn’t melt into a uni-cookie all over my oven. The taste was sublime, melt in your mouth, old tollhouse recipe but ten times better than what I made when I was 16 type of cookie.
Changes I made this time around:
Finally ordered the Honeyville almond flour, then I realized I was out of sea salt and grapeseed oil. I went to Whole Foods market and purchased the celtic sea salt, surprise, it was bitingly flavorful. Then I bought Napa Valley Naturals Grapseed Oil. I was nervous; it was pale green and smelled somewhat strong.
The grapeseed oil and sea salt I previously used was a Trader Joe’s brand. The oil was colorless and odorless, the salt was well, salt. Because of this my first batches tasted good but gently greasy.
To combat the soupy batter from my first two attempts, this time I reduced the oil to 1/3 cup, and increased the almond flour by ¼ cup (firmly packed). Another difference this time around, my four-year-old twin girls weren’t in the kitchen “helping” mommy bake. Now I could concentrate and change the ingredients slowly until I had moldable dough.
I would strongly recommend using the exact brand of ingredients that Elana recommends in this recipe; otherwise you are simply making another type of cookie. Also, if your batter is runny, try the reduced oil and increased flour that I did. Thanks Elana, for combining inconceivable ingredients into a superb treat. I have to go back into the kitchen an eat another one right now.
I am feeling like a baking failure, I have tried the bread and the cookies and neither came out as they should have. I followed the directions perfectly and even watched the video a million times. My dough never looked like yours and I am using the right brand of flour. I will try to add more flour and less oil as they just fell apart coming out of the oven. I loved how yours looked crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Do I need to be in CO to make a good cookie? :)
Any advise would be great. Thanks so much.
Hannah,
I'm not sure what the problem could be. Did you use:
If you did use all of the above and did not make any substitutions, please let me know which brand of each product you used, that might help me get to the bottom of this.
Also, is your oven baking at the temperature which reads on the dial? (you need an interior oven thermometer to make this comparison and verify this)
You should be able to make these cookies anywhere, with the correct
ingredients and following the instructions in the recipe above.
Thanks,
Elana
I did use all the ingredients to the letter. I was wondering if the brand could make a difference. Spectrum grapeseed oil and wholesome raw agave, the honeywell almond flour. I know that the agave I use is darker in color than the one you use, perhaps it also has a different consistency. Have you used that one? Thanks for the help.
Hannah,
I know we can get to the bottom of this! I think it may be the raw agave that is adding excess moisture to your baking attempts --preventing them from rising and causing them to fall apart. This is my latest thought on solving the mystery.
Elana
Elana,
Quick question, I am allergic to almonds, and was hoping that you would have an alternative to almond flour for your awesome recipes. I was just diagnosed as being allergic to dairy, wheat, eggs, and nuts, so I have been going a little crazy trying to cook for my three year old and husband without starting a riot. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!!!
andrea,
here's what I would recommend:
1) please see my faq's regarding substitutions
2) try some of my coconut flour recipes
3) post this query in the forums; readers with similar allergies have found some support and answers there
Hope this helps,
Elana
I substituted half of the oil with Macademia Nut Oil, it was very good. It's my latest purchase from the health food store and smells wonderful.
Hi Tracee,
I have cooked a little with macadamia oil and like it a lot.
Thanks for stopping by to let us all know about your substitution success!
Elana
Problem: My litle boy and I made a couple of batches of these for the Fall Festival at his school. We dropped them off and went home to get his costume and came back. When we went to get a cookie they were gone!! Everyone was curious and tried them, and then another man liked them so much be bought the rest. I have learned the hard way that two batches for a crowd is not enough.
Tracee,
Thanks for sharing your problem with us.
I like that problem :-)
Best,
Elana
First of all, these cookies are just awesome. My coworkers always ask if I've made another batch to share. I have used SO MANY of your recipes (esp with pumpkin fever this fall), as well as passed along your website to so many of my friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. I am in a women's group that is making a cookbook & looking for recipes. I was wondering if I could submit this dairy-free/gluten-free cookie recipe. It would include your name & link to your website. I just wanted to include a good Gluten Free/Casein Free recipe as it is becoming increasing popular for families to adopt this diet, though many people still find it difficult to locate recipes & even ingredients. If your recipe & link was included in this cookbook, it would help people greatly by sending more people to your amazing blog. I'm not even gluten free & I love your recipes (I'm dairy free, but I really like eating gluten free too). Plus, people who aren't gluten free would then have at least one recipe they could make if they have GF or CF guests, as well as a resource to expand for their guests. I am asking for your permission because if you do not feel comfortable with someone else passing along your recipes (but, again, YOU will be referenced), I understand and respect your wishes. You are the creator of something amazing (the blog & the community it is gathering globally) and I do not want to impose on you. No matter how you decide, I am grateful for your website & will continue to promote it, as well as cook from the recipes. I am learning so much & eating so well along the way! Thank you for considering my request, but more importantly, thank you for all your work!
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
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!
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
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.
RachelB,
So glad you liked them and that your adaptations to the recipe worked out.
Elana
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.
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 -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!
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!!
Ruth,
So glad you and your husband liked them and thanks for the detailed report!
Elana
Elana,
Great website. I bake gluten and nut free often using fava bean flour. My cc cookies are on the dry side. Is it the flour? What could I add to the recipe to make them moist? Thanks.
Spencer
Spencer,
Thanks for your comment.
Since I am not familiar with the recipe you are using (if you are using this one, I would need to let you know that flours generally cannot be substituted interchangeably in my recipes without other major adaptations) and I haven't cooked with bean flour for years, I really can't be of much help regarding your question.
Your best bet would be to post it in my forums. There are a bunch of nut-free folks over there who might have some ideas.
Good luck!
Elana
Thought it was funny...I have that same plate. The recipe looks awesome...can't wait to try it. vk
vk -Thanks for stopping by and let me know how you like 'em!
I love these cookies. When I made them the first time I had just been diagnosed with celiac and I had always been a baker. I thought I'd never bake again until I found your site. The cookies were very crumbly and then I tried your cranberry muffins but I substituted raisins and dates because my family doesn't like cranberries. These were delicious as well. Since eggs will help my intestine heal I decided to put one egg in the cookie recipe and they puffed up and didn't crumble at all. They are excellent cookies as are all your other baked goods. Thank you for giving me the gift of being able to enjoy baking again.
I just wanted to tell you that I made these for Passover and my 13-year-old gluten-free son asked if I can make them all year and not just for the holiday. This is a boy who knows his desserts, so that's quite a compliment for you!
Thanks for adding another recipe to my list of crowd-pleasers!
Sheryl -awww, you're so sweet. I'm glad you enjoyed these :-)
Carin -Thanks so much for your feedback...and that of your 13 year old!
Thank you soooo much! I really enjoy your website!
PS I am the one who asked the question on yahoo about gluten fee and dairy free recipes...
Hi Ellen, I totally remember you :-) Welcome!
Hi Elana,
I've been trying to make cookies for one of my cousins who doesn't eat wheat or dairy for quite some time. Until I tried your recipe, I thought that in the quest for vegan, gluten-free, and delicious baking that I had to settle for 2/3.
I had the same problem as some of the commenters above where the cookie dough was more of a runny batter, but since my cousin cuts out wheat only I added some oatmeal and they came out delicious. I will try a different almond flour next time in hopes that I can do without the oatmeal and really get rid of the gluten. But for now, I can send today's batch to my cousin so thanks so much for posting this recipe!
-L
Made these this afternoon...even my hubby, who can eat anything, is in love with this recipe!!
Betcha can't eat just one!!
This has become one of our favorites. With the last batch I made, I discovered that I was out of almond flour. I got a bit creative and combined all purpose GF flour with coconut flour (needed to adjust amounts of the liquid ingredients to get the proper consistency). My son, who only likes the dough and usually will not eat a baked cookie, ended up eating half the batch of cookies.
Thank you Elana for all your work in bringing us scrumptious recipes.
Will you please help me convert this recipe using almond flour and a sugar substitute for sweet loven diabetic husband.
Oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies
(Recipe may be halved):
2 cups butter
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups brown sugar
5 cups blended oatmeal (measure oatmeal, put into blender - blend to a fine powder)
24 oz. chocolate chips
1 tsp. salt
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
2 tsp. vanilla
Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey bar and nuts. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet..Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.. Have Fun!!!
Ok, the best cookie I have had in a long time! Great job Elana!!!!!
Hi Elana,
I just made your chocolate chip cookies using the grapeseed oil recipe for the first time and I'm not sure if they turned out right. The batter wasn't runny but the cookies didn't rise as much as I thought they would. How thick or puffy do they normally get? Mine are only a little thicker than a half dollar and they spread out a lot. I didn't use the brand flour you suggested so I'm wondering if this is how an unsuccessful attempt looks. Thanks.
Connie
Are these the divine cookies you shared with us at Blogher? I am working on a post on the event and want to link to the recipe for those scrumptious things!
By the way, I wanted to tell you that my husband is originally from Colorado and I lived in Boulder myself for five years while I got my masters- love that place! Maybe we can go get tea together the next time we're up that way? My husband's parents live in Lafayette. Enjoy Boulder for me... Ah how I miss Vitamin Cottage.
-Sea (Brenda)
These cookies are awesome!!! I can't believe they are actually good for me. Wow ... a crispy and rich cookie without butter?! Even the unbaked dough was yummy-can't want to freeze some small pieces to make my own cookie dough ice cream. I used Trader Joe's almond flour and added an extra 1/4 C; 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips and canola oil for the grapseed oil. Next time, I will try safflower oil instead since I've been reading that canola oil isn't too healthy. Thanks for the recipe, Elana!