These Paleo and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies are soft, delicious and secretly so good for you! They can be sweetened with either dates or pure maple syrup and have a chewy texture and nutty flavor thanks to almond butter. Kid approved, gluten free, dairy free.
Isn’t it true that you simply can’t have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes? I think the reasoning behind it is no secret – chocolate chip cookies are everyone’s favorite, period. Am I wrong? I know there are a few of you out there shaking your heads. Shame on you! Listen to your heart! The cookies are calling for you…
I’m going to assume you have a heart and soul and you love chocolate chip cookies – they’re your FAVORITES! They’re the first thing you ever baked with your mom, who doesn’t actually bake it turns out, so… they’re also the last thing you ever baked with your mom. Hmm, that sounds sort of sad. Mom, if you’re reading, let’s bake some cupcakes sometime, mmmkay?
Anyway, where was I? Right, favorites.
So, I think one of the rules of favorite foods is that you want to eat them as much as possible, that’s the whole point. Maybe you want to make them as much as possible, too since homemade ones are – DUH – the best kind.
In conclusion, of course, that is why we, as human beings, need as many chocolate chip cookie recipes as we can come up with. Little variations, totally different methods, all of it. We want, we need, we demand lots and lots of chocolate chip cookies.
Sounds like a third grader’s persuasive essay, but hey, it’s the darned truth.
But let’s get to the good stuff already – the actual recipe that I present you with today! This is the first vegan + paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe that I’ve posted on the blog. Live and learn! These are sort of a cross between my ultimate chocolate chip cookies, which contain an EGG, and the crust/crumble for my almond butter jelly cookie bars. A happy marriage, indeed.
But, these paleo and vegan chocolate chip cookies have yet another cool (or awesome, or whatever word the kids are using these days) feature – and that how they’re sweetened. I used DATES, guys! Dates in chocolate chip cookies, and really, you’d never know it.
In truth, I tested this recipe using dates first and then using maple syrup, and either way is YUM. However, if you can rally and drag out that food processor or blender for the dates, it’s worth it, in my opinion, since you get a special sort of “chew” (we’re talking texture!) that maple syrup just doesn’t provide. If you wanted to make this recipe completely free of refined sugars, you can even use this recipe for chocolate chunks for just about the healthiest chocolate chip cookies, ever.
I think I’m ready to bake, are you with me?! Let’s go!
Soft Paleo & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft Paleo & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup medjool dates pitted, soaked in hot water to soften if necessary*, then drained **SEE NOTE
- 3/4 cup smooth almond butter unsweetened
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temp
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips***
Instructions
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If you're using dates to sweeten, you'll need a food processor or high speed blender.
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Process the dates and almond butter first to form a paste, then process in the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate.
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The mixture will feel greasy due to the almond butter and coconut oil, but don't worry! Stir in chocolate, and then add more on top right before baking since the chocolate sometimes has trouble "sticking" to this dough.
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Shape into 12-16 cookies on the prepared baking sheet, flattening since they won't spread much, add a few more chocolate chips on top if desired. Bake in the preheated oven 8-10 minutes or until just set, they can be a bit underbaked without an issue, don't overbake.
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Cool on wire racks and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*You can cover the dates with water in a bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until dates are soft, drain before using
**Alternatively you can sweeten with 4-6 tbsp pure maple syrup
***Dairy and soy free, like Enjoy Life Brand, chopped dark chocolate, or chopped homemade paleo chocolate
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Paleo & Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Want more paleo and vegan cookies and bars? Try one of these!
No-Bake Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Butter & Jelly Cookies Bars
No-Bake Chocolate Coconut Butter Cookies
Tell Me!
What’s your personal favorite chocolate chip cookie texture?
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yum. chocolate chip cookies are definitely the best! I love them right out of the oven.
As soon as I’m done with my whole30 I’m making these! Soft cookies are the best!
Ha! Your persuasive writing reminds of me my college essays, “In summation, for the sake of brevity, which is also sometimes referred to as the soul of wit, I decree that…” Lort. Anyway, these look phenomenal! I seriously cannot wait to try them, which I think will be this weekend… Mmmmmm. They look so perfect!
I can’t stop looking at these and wishing with every bit of my being that I had dates in the house and that I wan’t eyeballs deep in photo edits and blog posts right now so I could make them!! Finding a vegan + paleo cookie recipe when you’re deathly allergic to eggs is like winning the lottery 1 million times over – thank you!
These turned out very good! They were so chewy and dense in the middle. I ended up using 1/2 cup Justin’s almond butter (which isn’t as smooth). I think I still could’ve cut down on the coconut oil to 2 tbsp though. The dough was very greasy which scared me a little, but they were great once they were baked!
If I were your teacher, you’d definitely earn an A on this cookie essay! And the recipe? Well, I suppose that looks pretty fabulous too! 😉 I’m always a sucker for vegan and paleo recipes!
Perfect combination of chewy and delicious!! Thank you for the recipe!
Great! Glad you liked them 🙂
These are the most amazing cookies ever! Ever! Ever!!!
So happy you enjoyed them!
Can’t wait to try these, ASAP! There really is nothing as comforting as a warm chocolate chip Cooke straight from the oven (and maybe some cookie dough outta the bowl too ?)
Hey Mich!
I was trying to make a good variation with the recipe by using rolled oats on it. Do you think it’s a good trade? Like you, I want to try some experiments within the kitchen and by that means a little modification within the ingredients itself, but of course not compromising my vegan lifestyle. By the way thanks for sharing this post. I tried your sweet potato dish from your blog last time, and I got an excellent approval from my hubby.
Looking forward for more of your recipes.
Love,
Sam
Hello! I was wondering if you know what the fats, carbs, calories, and proteins are in these cookies.
Thank you so much. These cookies are a hit in my home!!!!!
Unfortunately I don’t calculate nutrition but here is a reliable free nutrition calculator that allows you to put recipes in: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator
These cookies rock! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious treat. I have been trying to find good dessert recipes for years that follow the paleo guidelines… I am so thankful that I stumbled across your recipe! I can’t wait to try some of the others.
So happy to hear you liked them!
I haven’t tried yet but in other recipes if you don’t want the chips (or whatever you’re adding) to drop to the bottom dust them in flour first (coconut flour in this case). May help. But I’m still putting some on top since it makes them pretty! Enjoy all 🙂
I’ll definitely have to try that with my almond butter cookie recipes next time I make one!
I have made these multiple times, and ALWAYS have a container of them in the freezer for those moments when I ‘need’ a treat. Your recipe is brilliant! I have tried a few variations — sometimes adding roughly chopped almonds or other nuts, to add texture. Also, instead of sweetened chocolate chips, I chop up unsweetened chocolate (Scharffen Berger Petit Baking Squares are very nice), to get the chocolate flavor without the added sugar — the sweetness of the cookie is enough for me. Thank you for sharing your work and genius! ?
I just made these cookies and they were amazing!!! So soft and they had such a great flavour! I cooked them for 15 minutes to get a golden brown colour and they were perfect! even my brother who hates healthy treats scoffed most of them down
That sounds great! So thrilled you liked them 🙂
Recently went off of dairy, gluten, and eggs so needless to say when I saw this recipe I was very excited. I started making these in my VitaMix and it turned into a sticky mess and was wayyy too thick for the vitamix to handle. I dumped the mixture into a bowl to mix it by hand but it was very dry and sticky, making it basically impossible to stir. So I dumped it into my food processor which worked a much needed miracle. The mixture was still too thick to add chocolate chips to but I added those on top of the cookies. The cookie ‘dough’ tastes great raw though. Hopefully it tastes great cooked after the adventure I went through to make them… So just a word of advice, don’t try to make them in a vitamix haha
These are Amazing! I was a bit skeptical when the dough came together since it was sticky and a bit greasy. A huge hit at my home! Thanks for the recipie!
The dough is a bit strange but somehow it works out! Glad you liked these!
Hi! Is there a way to replace the almond flour? Maybe with oat flour?
I think gf oat flour might be your best bet 🙂
These are so yummy! Thank you!
I know people say you should only comment when making the recipe as is….but, I did not want to go to the shop, and used whatever I had with a few variations.
Variations I made to your standard recipe:
Used white cake flour
Used cocoa powder
Used sunflower oil
Cooking chocolate bar ( which I also blended to make chunks)
whole almonds
I soaked my dates in boiling water. Saved the water from the dates, and placed dates & almonds and some of the date water into the blender to make the “almond butter mixture”. Worked like a treat.
My family is also used to crunchy cookies, so I baked them for 15 minutes and turned them over for the last 15minutes. They no crunchy, but still soft in the middle.
Thank you so much for an amazing recipe (even if I changed it slightly). Will be adding this recipe to the family recipe book.
Sorry, forgot to mention that I am not following the Paleo Diet, I used your recipe as a guide for sugar-free cookie. Sorry not to offend you or your readers.
These look fantastic! I can’t believe how thick and chewy they look. I’m anxious to give it a try.
I wish I would not have found this recipe. Ridiculously good. I gained 5 pounds. I used half dates, half maple syrup and 2T. Coconut oil. Fabulous!!
They look deliciously chewy indeed! I’m really curious about making cookies with dates and they seem so good I’ll give it a try 😉 thanks!
These are delicious! My fiancé loves them too. They are also filling so perfect for an afternoon snack.
I made these with dates and they were the ultimate soft cookie. These are fabulous. If you’re like me, a better cook than a baker, then these are going to make you look like the ultimate baker. I am hooked.
I made this yesterday substituting ~4tbsp date syrup for the dates, olive oil for the coconut oil and Tigernut flour for the Coconut flour (since my husband has an aversion to coconuts). Cookies turned out yummy and were all gone before the day was done. While cooking, the dough did spread out to an average size cookie with these substitutions while remaining moist and chewy. I was able to make 14 cookies using my tbsp for measure and I did have to cook them an extra 2-4 minutes (I lost track). Will definately keep this recipe handy! Thank you
I especially love this recipe, I’ll make it soon!