These almond butter chocolate chip cookies give you crisp edges, irresistibly chewy centers, and plenty of dark chocolate with simple, wholesome ingredients and no butter or chilling required.
If you love easy homemade cookies, try our lemon almond cookies, banana peanut butter cookies, or blueberry oatmeal cookies next.
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Why you’ll love our Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
These almond butter chocolate chip cookies are ridiculously good. Crisp and lightly caramelized around the edges, soft and outrageously chewy in the middle, with pools of dark chocolate throughout. 🍪 The texture is everything.
Louise and I genuinely couldn’t believe almond butter could make cookies this good. It gives them that rich, almost buttery texture while keeping the flavor surprisingly delicate, not overwhelmingly almond-y at all. 🤎
And the ingredient list? So simple. Almond butter and oats bring healthy unsaturated fats, naturally occurring protein, and fiber, and there’s no butter and no need for loads of sugar. Use certified gluten-free oats and they’re easily gluten-free, too. A more wholesome cookie that still tastes like a proper treat.
Best part: one bowl, no mixer, no chilling. Mix, roll, bake. The little dough balls melt into golden cookies in the oven, then flatten and crinkle as they cool. ✨ Wait 10 minutes, then prepare to be obsessed.
P.S: For more wholesome treats with plenty of chocolate, try our date brownies, healthy zucchini brownies, or banana chocolate chip muffins.
Ingredients
Full ingredients and substitutions are in the recipe box below.
- Almond butter: use smooth, natural almond butter made with 100% almonds and stir it well before measuring. Natural peanut butter works too, but the cookies won’t spread on their own and turn out drier, more crumbly, and less chewy. If using peanut butter, flatten the dough balls into cookie shapes before baking.
- Sugar: white sugar gives slightly crisper edges, while brown sugar makes the centers a little softer with a deeper caramel flavor. Coconut sugar should also work.
- Egg: binds the dough and helps create that tender, chewy center. I wouldn’t substitute it here, as it’s important for structure.
- Vanilla extract: adds warmth and rounds out the almond flavor. You can leave it out or try a little almond extract for a stronger almond note.
- Oat flour: absorbs excess oil and prevents overspreading. Store-bought oat flour or finely blended rolled oats both work. Try all-purpose flour if gluten-free isn’t necessary.
- Baking soda: helps the chewy almond butter cookies spread, brown, and develop lightly crisp edges.
- Salt: just a pinch balances the sweetness and brings out the chocolate flavor. Skip it if your almond butter is salted.
- Mini dark chocolate chips: distribute evenly through the cookies, giving you little pockets of chocolate in every bite. Substitute regular semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips, or use chopped dark chocolate for chunkier almond butter chocolate chunk cookies.
How to Make Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1. Mix the dough
If you don’t have oat flour, blend rolled oats into a fine flour using a blender or food processor.
Add the almond butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, oat flour, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl.
Stir with a sturdy spoon until you have a thick, sticky dough, then fold in the mini dark chocolate chips.
Step 2. Shape the cookies
Scoop about 1½ tablespoons of dough per cookie and roll it into a ball with your hands.
Arrange the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space between them because these easy almond butter cookies will spread as they bake.
Tip: Natural almond butter varies a lot in consistency. If yours is runny, roll the dough into balls and leave them—the cookies will spread as they bake. If your almond butter is thick and the dough feels dry and very firm, gently flatten the balls into thick cookie shapes before baking, as they may not spread as much.
Step 3. Bake until golden
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 10 to 11 minutes.
The cookies are ready when the edges look set and lightly caramelized, while the centers are still soft. They may look slightly underdone in the middle, and that’s exactly what you want for soft almond butter cookies.
Step 4. Let them cool
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet for 10 minutes.
As they cool, they’ll flatten a little more, develop those lovely crinkles, and set into crisp edges with soft, chewy centers.
Then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips
- ⚠️ Adjust for your almond butter: Natural almond butter varies a lot in consistency. If yours is runny, roll the dough into balls and leave them—the cookies will spread as they bake. If your almond butter is thick and the dough feels dry and very firm, gently flatten the balls into thick cookie shapes before baking, as they may not spread as much.
- Stir natural almond butter really well: If there’s oil sitting on top, mix it back in completely before measuring. An especially oily almond butter can make the cookies spread more.
- Don’t skip the oat flour: We tested the cookies without it and they spread far too much. Just ¼ cup gives them enough structure while keeping the centers wonderfully chewy.
- No oat flour? Blend your own: Process rolled oats until finely ground. It doesn’t need to be perfectly powdery.
- Expect a dense dough: That’s normal. Use a sturdy spoon and mix just until everything comes together.
- Roll, don’t flatten: Shape the dough into balls and leave them that way. They’ll naturally spread into cookies in the oven.
- Give them room: Leave a couple of inches between the dough balls so the cookies can spread without touching.
- Don’t overbake: Take them out when the edges are set and lightly caramelized but the centers still look soft. That’s the secret to the crisp-outside, chewy-inside texture.
- Cooling is part of the recipe: Leave them on the baking sheet for the full 10 minutes. They’ll continue to flatten, crinkle, and firm up as they cool.
- Adjust for very runny almond butter: Our tested recipe works with runny 100% almond butter, but brands vary. If yours is exceptionally oily and the dough won’t hold a ball, add a little extra oat flour rather than chilling the whole batch.
- For gluten-free cookies: Use certified gluten-free oats or oat flour, and check that your chocolate chips are gluten-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but the texture will be different. We tested the recipe with 100% natural peanut butter, and the cookies were delicious but didn’t spread at all.
If using peanut butter, roll the dough into balls, then flatten them into cookie shapes before baking.
The finished cookies are crinkly and tasty, but they’re also drier, more crumbly, and more fragile than the almond butter version, without the same crisp edges and moist, chewy centers.
For the best texture, we recommend almond butter.
Yes. Both work well. White sugar gives the cookies slightly crisper edges, while brown sugar adds a little more caramel flavor and helps keep them extra chewy.
Yes. Bake them for an extra minute or two, keeping a close eye on the edges. Just remember that longer baking will make the centers less soft and chewy.
Yes. You can prepare and shape the dough, then refrigerate the cookie dough balls in an airtight container until you’re ready to bake. Since cold dough may spread less, you may need to give the cookies an extra minute in the oven.
Yes. Shape the dough into balls, freeze them on a tray until firm, then transfer them to a freezer-safe container. You can bake them from frozen, adding a couple of minutes to the baking time. This makes them great make-ahead cookies for whenever you want something freshly baked.
We haven’t tested an egg-free version, and the egg is important for binding this simple dough. For the best texture, we recommend making the recipe as written rather than using a flax or chia egg.
Absolutely. Try chopped walnuts, pecans, dried cranberries, or a sprinkle of flaky salt on top. You could also combine the mini chocolate chips with chopped nuts for almond butter oatmeal cookies with extra texture.
Let them cool completely, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days or refrigerate for up to a week.
You can also freeze the baked cookies for up to 3 months. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
More Easy Oat & Nut Treats
- Peanut Butter Energy Balls
- Chocolate Oatmeal No-Bake Cookies
- Healthy Peanut Butter Bars
- Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- No-Bake Oat Bars
- Oatmeal Raisin Energy Balls
- Cookie Dough Energy Balls
- Healthy Granola
If you try this Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it turned out in the comments—we love hearing from you.
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Crisp & Chewy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond butter
- ½ cup sugar white or brown
- ¼ cup oat flour or blended oats
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix the dough: If needed, blend rolled oats into a fine flour.Add 1 cup almond butter, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup oat flour, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon baking soda, and 1 pinch salt to a bowl.Stir with a sturdy spoon until you have a thick dough, then mix in ½ cup dark chocolate chips.
- Shape the cookies: Scoop about 1½ tablespoons of dough per cookie and roll into balls with your hands.Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving space between them. Tip: Natural almond butter varies a lot in consistency. If yours is runny, roll the dough into balls and leave them—the cookies will spread as they bake. If your almond butter is thick and the dough feels dry and very firm, gently flatten the balls into thick cookie shapes before baking, as they may not spread as much.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 10 to 11 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden but the centers are still soft.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. They’ll flatten slightly and firm up as they cool.Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Almond butter → Natural peanut butter; flatten the cookies before baking and expect a drier, more crumbly texture.
- Sugar → White, brown, or coconut sugar.
- Egg → No substitution recommended.
- Vanilla extract → Almond extract or omit.
- Oat flour → Finely blended rolled oats or all-purpose flour.
- Baking soda → No substitution recommended.
- Salt → Omit if using salted almond butter.
- Mini dark chocolate chips → Regular semi-sweet chips, dark chocolate chips, or chopped dark chocolate.
- Adjust for your almond butter: Natural almond butter varies in consistency. With runny almond butter, leave the dough balls round and they’ll spread as they bake. If yours is thick and the dough feels very firm, gently flatten them first.
- Stir the almond butter well: Mix any separated oil back in before measuring.
- Don’t skip the oat flour: It controls spreading while keeping the centers chewy.
- Make your own oat flour: Finely blend rolled oats if needed.
- Expect a dense dough: Use a sturdy spoon and mix just until combined.
- Roll, don’t flatten: The dough balls will spread naturally as they bake.
- Give them space: Leave a couple of inches between cookies.
- Don’t overbake: Pull them when the edges are set but the centers are still soft.
- Let them cool: Give them 10 minutes on the baking sheet to flatten, crinkle, and firm up.
- Too runny? Add a little extra oat flour if the dough won’t hold a ball.
- Keep them gluten-free: Use certified gluten-free oats and chocolate chips.
- Storage: Keep cooled cookies airtight at room temperature for about 4 days, refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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Hi! We are Nico & Louise
We're here to share easy, healthy, and delicious recipes 🌿✨.
Welcome to our blog, we are glad you are here.
Unfortunately preparing it according to your recipe, the dough was just a sauce. I added half a cup of flour to make a dough out of it. Other than that, they were delicious!
Hi Isabella, I’m very sorry to hear – I need to clarify here; what kind of almond butter did you use? Did you also add the oat flour?
Thanks in advance,
Louise
Would honey or syrup work instead of sugar
Hey Mariann,
I don’t know – it’s not a substitution that we have tested. Sorry I cannot be of more help 🙂