These paleo chocolate chip cookies are crunchy, chewy, soft, and absolutely delicious. They are made with decadent 85% dark chocolate, raw cashews and melted ghee. These cookies are an absolute favorite dessert and are gluten free, dairy free, paleo and can be made vegan.
Just letting you know this chocolate chip cookies recipe is sponsored by the awesome folks at Bob's Red Mill!
These paleo chocolate chip cookies are going to seriously blow your socks off. The cookies are full of all kinds of texture, sweet, crunchy, salty, sumptuous goodness.
If you haven't tried mixing salty with sweet yet, I don't know where you have been because this is where it's at.
The flaked sea salt on top really does something to the warm, buttery notes coming from the cashews and the dark chocolate combo... oh man, HEAVENLY.
I have been working hard over the course of months and months to come out with this recipe. It’s no secret that I’m absolutely obsessed with incorporating raw cashews into my baked goods.
They bring a very unique texture and flavor into the equation that soon after discovering, there was absolutely no looking back.
Almond flour is traditionally the go-to flour in most paleo baked goods, but since I typically cannot and do not eat almonds, I knew I needed to find a replacement.
Lucky for me, the replacement was raw cashews and boy, are they much better (in my opinion) than almonds.
What's in these paleo cookies?
What I love most about these paleo chocolate chip cookies is the fact that they’re made with 85% dark chocolate. Not to mention, I only use 1/4 cup maple syrup and 2 tablespoons coconut sugar in the entire recipe.
That’s half a tablespoon of sweetener per cookie- crazy, huh? The 85% dark chocolate seems to melt a lot better than a lighter 72% dark chocolate, which is what I have used in the past.
My goal was to make these cookies thick, lightly crunchy but chewy AND melty. This was accomplished. The flaked sea salt on top really does the trick, too.
I decided to use Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour for this recipe. Their products are always such great quality for an awesome price, they’re very hard to ignore. The coconut flour adds thickness to these cookies that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve otherwise.
My husband came home from work last night, and I was so excited for him to try them, I asked him to close his eyes, open his mouth and take a bite. He was in awe.
Then, he asked me to do something that he’s never asked before and insisted, “Put them in the freezer, so I don’t eat them all at once.” He explained that he really wanted to savor these cookies because they were so damn good ????
Tim doesn’t trust himself with my baked goods. He knows he’ll go to town if they’re left out, and he wanted his relationship with the best paleo chocolate chip cookies to last longer than a day or two. Smart cookie he is.
How long do these paleo cookies take to prepare?
Prepping these cookies before getting them into the oven only takes 5 minutes. You throw all of the ingredients into a food processor and that’s it! I couldn’t have figured out a way to make prepping for this recipe any easier.
So, 5 minutes of prep time and the most delicious ingredients ever make up the best paleo chocolate chip cookies of your life. You really need to stop what you’re doing right now and go make them. I dare you.
In fact, why don’t you invite over some paleo nay-sayers while you’re at it. Have these cookies freshly baked, waiting for them as they arrive.
They’ll be in absolute shock when you fill them in that these ooey gooey mounds of deliciousness are 100% paleo. I know there are about 945892 recipes already out there for paleo chocolate chip cookies. These take the win though!
How to make paleo chocolate chip cookies
Pulse the raw cashews in a food processor or high-speed blender, a few seconds at a time, until they resemble a coarse flour. You don’t want any visible chunks of cashews. Be sure not to turn the cashew flour into cashew butter & watch the texture closely.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients and pulse a few more times, until everything has been well incorporated.
Add the wet ingredients to the food processor and give it a few more pulses. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chocolate chunks.
Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 20 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Use an ice cream scoop (like this) to form cookies and place 2” apart on the prepared baking sheet. I used a medium size cookie scoop so my cookies are pretty large. You can make them smaller, but be sure to keep an eye on them in the oven.
If you do make them smaller, start checking on them after 10 minutes!
Press down very, very lightly - note that the cookies won’t spread very much, so press them down to the thickness you prefer.
Sprinkle with some more dark chocolate chunks on top if you'd like. Bake for 10 minutes (for smaller cookies) or 15 (for medium to large). When they begin turning golden brown around the edges, they're all done.
Let them sit out and set for at least 30 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Top off with flaked sea salt and enjoy!
More cashew based recipes like this:
5 Minute Chocolate Chip Blondies
Gluten Free & Vegan Strawberry Cheesecake
Easy Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
Best Low Carb Chocolate Chip Cookies
Paleo Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
See how to make paleo chocolate chip cookies:
Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons grassfed gelatin see notes
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup ghee or grass-fed butter/coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chunks see notes
- flaked sea salt for topping
Instructions
- Pulse the raw cashews in a food processor or high-speed blender, a few seconds at a time, until they resemble a coarse flour. You don’t want any visible chunks of cashews. This should take about 1 minute. Be sure not to turn the cashew flour into cashew butter. Watch the texture closely.
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients and pulse a few more times, until everything has been well incorporated.
- Add the wet ingredients to the food processor and give it a few more pulses. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the chocolate chunks.
- Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for 20 minutes and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use a cookie scoop to form cookies and place 2” apart on the prepared baking sheet. I used a medium size cookie scoop so my cookies are pretty large. You can make them smaller, but be sure to keep an eye on them in the oven. If you do make them smaller, start checking on them after 10 minutes! Press down very, very lightly to flatten - note that the cookies won’t spread very much, so press them down to the thickness you prefer.
- Sprinkle with some more dark chocolate chunks on top if you'd like. Bake for 10 minutes (for smaller cookies) or 15 (for medium to large). When they begin turning golden brown around the edges, they're all done.
- Let them sit out and set for at least 30 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Top off with flaked sea salt and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Hi! I’m Monica – recipe developer, matcha addict and lover of all things chocolate, kombucha and any & all puns. I am also the blogger, real food lover, & bonafide hustler behind the blog ‘The Movement Menu.’ I’m so excited to welcome you to my happy space, where my appreciation of creative recipes and healthy & mindful eats come together to inspire you to live a healthy, balanced life.
Ooooh my. These are delish. Wonderful! They get gorgeous crispy edges. Perfect cookie. They are so quick and easy to whip up! I’ve used vegan butter and it works perfectly! Can’t wait to make some more batches to keep in my freezer!
I LOVE that they turn out well with vegan butter. Noted!
Alternative for coconut flour plz??
You could try using almond flour... add about 1/3 cup.
I love this recipe. I literally don't bother with any other chocolate chip cookie recipe. The cashews give such an awesome nutty flavor and the gelatin give is a great mouth feel and chew. Love this cookies! Highly recommend!
Best EVER. I used one egg instead of gelatin and used organic coconut oil, I want to try them next w/ ghee. Hands down best cookie ever!! 👌🏽💥👏🏻👏🏻
Loved this recipe so much!! The texture of the cookie was spot on, not to sweet but just enough sweet ...hands down my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe now. Way to go Monica 👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks so much!
I’ve made these multiple time and I’m crazy about them! The sea salt goodness is too amazing!
Love you!
Just baked it this morning and it was SO HEAVENLY! Absolutely perfect recipe ❤️
The easiest, most delicious cookies I have ever made. I brought them to a game night with friends and they couldn't believe they were paleo. If there's cookies in the jar at my house, it's these.
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Before I dive into this deliciousness could I just use maple syrup and not the coconut sugar or would I need to add more maple syrup?
Thanks!
You could use brown sugar instead of coconut sugar, as it's added for a textural element.
Is the gelatin meant for nutrition and/or texture? Any alternative recs for this ingredient?
It is to use instead of an egg... you can use an egg! 🙂
Any suggestions for a good allergy free replacement for the cashews? I'm allergic to tree nuts but would love to try this recipe!
Hi there. This is a tough one for me because the cashews make for an incredible buttery taste and texture throughout the cookies. However, you could try using the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour blend in its place. I'm not sure if the amount would be the exact same, but I'd start out using the recipe amount. After you've combined the wet and dry ingredients, you want the batter to be fairly chunky. If it seems too liquid (and not scoop-able), I'd add a little more flour... a tablespoon at a time. It will firm up a bit in the refrigerator, too. Please let me know if you try this and how they turn out! It would be a great substitution I could add to the recipe notes 🙂
OMG these cookies are ridiculously good!!! I ised butter and regular choc chips since I didn't have ghee or choc chunks. Turned out sooo good. And the sea salt on top really did make it! The kids loved it. I know hubbie will when he gets home too! 😀 Very filling too.
Thank you sooooo much. They're some of my favorite things EVER!!!! Did you make them nice and chunky? I prefer them that way!! Can you actually do me a huge favor and leave a 1-5 star review on the recipe? Just click on what rating you give it (scroll down towards the bottom of the post and you should see it!) That helps me out a ton. Also, do let me know if you try any other recipes! 🙂
Absolutely! Just made these a third time. The second time I used unblanched almond flour. Turned out great - kinda like whole wheat texture. The third time I used half fresh-ground cashew flour and half blanched almond flour. Sooo good! Just can't go wrong with this recipe. The cashews really are great and do make a difference.
Wow, makes me so happy to hear this. I'll have to make a note that an almond flour substitution works well but yeah, using cashews makes a boat load of a taste/texture difference, yeah? 🙂
PS - cant seem to find a place to leave a rating :/
Hmm, if you scroll down to the bottom where the ingredients and instructions are, there should be a 5-star system on the left under INFO
What is the serving size consist of? 1 cookie; 4 cookies?
Hi there. The cookies are quite large and thick. Each cookie is roughly 240 calories.
These look insanely good! Lovely photos, too 🙂
Thank you so much... you gotta try them. Best cookies I've EVER had 🙂
Whoa, these look really good! I have never used coconut flour before. I will have to try these!
Hi! You absolutely must. I think they are the best cookie recipe I've EVER had 🙂
The Best Paleo Cookies!
Thank you so much!
Lovely cookies with great ingredients! Love them!
This is such a great recipe!!! I've made them twice now with different kinds of chocolate and I LOVE them. I'm dealing with so many food allergy issues right now, and I'm so happy to have a healthy comfort food like this that fits in my diet. Yummm!
Erin, it makes my heart so happy to hear that. Food allergies are the worst, and it's so wonderful to hear you've found a treat that's right for you. I am obsessed with these cookies though... I've made them 3 times in the past week for friends and family (while saving a stash for ourselves, of course!)
This chocolate chip cookie recipe looks fabulous! I love that it's Paleo as I periodically do that diet a week a month! Thanks for the great recipe!
That makes me smile. I hope you get to make them sometime- they're insanely good!
These look RIDICULOUSLY tasty! A cookie that's slightly crunchy but also chewy? Talk about the best of both worlds!
Girl. I know, right? I'm obsessed with them. I had to freeze them!!!