These Gluten-Free Almond Cookies are soft and chewy! Made with almond flour and sweetened with maple syrup and organic cane sugar, these easy almond cookies are also vegan.
Ever have a cookie that makes you want to savor every single bite?
Like really savor it?
This easy almond cookie is it, my friends.
Chewy and soft and coated in organic cane sugar for just the right amount of crunch.
Gluten-Free Almond Cookies Ingredients
Many almond cookie recipes out there use almond paste for that chewy, sweet factor. These almond-flour-based cookies use a combination of maple syrup, almond extract, and tapioca starch to replicate the almond paste. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Tapioca starch
- Almond flour
- Organic cane sugar
- Maple syrup
- Coconut oil
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
Making Almond Cookies from Scratch
Except for using a small cup or bowl to make a tapioca starch slurry, this is a one-bowl recipe. It whips up quite quickly, putting you closer to pure cookie heaven.
Even with the simplicity of these cookies, here are a couple tips for almond cookie perfection:
- The dough may be a bit sticky, so slightly dampen your hands or use cooking spray when rolling the dough into a ball.
- These cookies will spread but to get that great crackle, use your palm to press down slightly once cookies are arranged on the cookie sheet.
- Allow the cookies to rest and cool for 4 to 5 minutes before removing them from the cookie sheet.
Want more almond cookie recipes to add to your collection? I love Lisa’s gluten-free Chinese almond cookies recipe! Plus, be sure to check out the links below.
More Gluten-Free Cookies with Almond Flour
Gluten-Free S’mores Thumbprint Cookies
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
Gluten-Free Almond Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch + 3 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup (116g) organic cane sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 1/4 cups (240g) almond flour not almond meal
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup organic cane sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the tapioca starch and water in a small bowl, stir to combine and allow to sit for a couple minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup organic cane sugar, tapioca starch slurry, and maple syrup. Whisk to combine. Whisk in coconut oil, followed by vanilla and almond extract.
- Add the almond flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir until ingredients are completely incorporated. If needed, use your hands to thoroughly combine ingredients into a cohesive cookie dough.
- Place remaining 1/4 cup organic cane sugar on a plate. The dough may be sticky, so dampen your hand with water or spray hands with cooking spray. Use a tablespoon to scoop out dough, then roll into a ball. Place ball on plate with sugar, roll to coat, then place on prepared baking sheet. Space cookie dough balls about an 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat until cookie sheet is filled with even rows.
- Using your palm, press each dough ball down about halfway.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are set on the outside. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 4-5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Store in an airtight container.
Ray says
I’m not adverse to gluten. Can I follow your recipe exactly except use regular flour and granulated sugar instead?
Tessa says
Hi Ray – I’m afraid the taste and texture would not be the same for this particular recipe.
Lesley says
I’m not one to comment on baking recipes. BUT THESE COOKIES. I didn’t know I needed these in my life. I just happened to have all the ingredients.
They are perfect. I can’t stop eating them. I’m eating one right now.
Tessa says
That is so great. Yay! Thank you, Lesley!!
Pat Marino says
can you replace the coconut oil
in this recipe. if yes what is a good
substitute. thank you. pat
Tessa says
Hi Pat – You should be able to sub the coconut oil with vegan butter just fine. If you are trying to avoid the hint of coconut, you can use refined coconut oil.
Nydia says
Hello Tessa,
I notices that I do not have tapioca starch for now, do you know if I can replace it with corn starch?
Tessa says
Hi Nydia – I think cornstarch should work fine here in place of the tapioca starch. It may slightly change texture, but very minimally! :)
Nathalie Siegel says
Hi! Any alternatives for cane sugar?
Tessa says
Hi Nathalie! You could use coconut sugar here, but it would change the color and sweetness of the cookies. I think it would still be yummy, just a bit different than the original recipe.
Francine says
Hi Tessa. How many cookies are in a batch? Thank you! Francine
Francine says
Hi Tessa. How many cookies are in each batch? Thank you! Francine
Tessa says
Hi Francine! This recipe makes about 22-24 cookies. :)
Francine says
Well…my cookie dough balls spread into each other resulting in ONE thin cookie the size of the cookie sheet! I realize what I did wrong: I added COLD almond flour (it had been stored in the freezer) to the liquid coconut oil resulting in the oil hardening into solid chunks throughout the batter. I attempted to soften the hardened oil but nothing worked. So I had no choice but to roll the dough into balls, hardened oil and all, and bake them that way. I would assume that is why the cookies spread as they did.
The only deviation I made was using corn starch instead of tapioca starch. Also, I did not “melt” the oil as it was already in liquid form (having stored it outside of the fridge). It’s not necessary to heat the oil if it’s already liquefied, right?
Despite the cookies “looking” terrible, they were DELICIOUS! I will certainly make them again and will update you with the results :-)
Tessa says
Hi Francine! Yes, I do think the cold almond flour caused the coconut oil to harden. That would also make sense why they ended up spreading. I think the corn starch should be just fine as a sub. If your coconut oil is already completely liquid that should be okay too. But, of there are still a bit of solid pieces, I would go ahead and melt completely. Hope that helps! :)
Francine says
Thanks, Tessa, for your reply. So…I made the cookies again. Referring to my message on 12/11/20, this time the almond flour was at room temperature and I melted the coconut oil (as there were some slightly hardened pieces), let the oil slightly cool…and the cookies STILL spread out on the pan! Not as bad as the first time on 12/11 but they were all spread out flat, touching each other, and hardly a crackle to be seen. Can’t figure out what went wrong. Maybe next time I’ll bake them as balls without pressing them down with my palm halfway to see if that helps.
Despite my results not being pretty…they’re sooo delish (can’t stop eating them!). Also…they freeze beautifully. They’re just as good eating them directly from the freezer as thawed out – crunchy, soft, and chewy all at the same time. Yum.
Francine says
Here’s an update to my messages on 12/11 and 12/25: I made the cookies again but this time I did NOT press the balls down on the cookie sheet. Although they still spread a bit, I FINALLY got round cookies with crackles. Yay!
Tessa says
Great!! Thanks, Francine!