This Paleo friendly recipe makes the best gluten free Chocolate Chip Cookies. You'll never guess they're allergen free: no nuts, dairy, eggs, grains, refined sugars, or icky fats. Grab the recipe below.
These gluten free chocolate chip cookies caused quite a fiasco in the Grass Fed household.
James requested coconut free cookies for one of his coworker's baby shower, and let me just say… phew. Coconut free baking in addition to being gluten/grain free and AIP (with the exception of the chocolate chips) is quite a feat. I failed no fewer than 3 times, each one resulting in balled up fists, and threats to withhold snuggles from the man who started the whole “coconut free” debacle.
I came through in the clutch though, and I even received a thank you card for my cookie contribution from the momma-to-be who is rumored to have eaten 5 of them.
SAME. Except I ate 5 for breakfast. Whoops.
About These Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies…
These fluffy gluten free chocolate chip cookies are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, just as all good cookies should be (eyes are on you, AIP Cranberry Grapefruit Cookies).
The palm shortening in these gluten free chocolate chip cookies is what gives them their height and fluffy texture, and keeps them crispy for days. As a bonus, this type of saturated fat is similar to coconut oil, which means these cookies help to promote energy production and a healthy metabolism… Well, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it ;).
Don't you dare omit the gelatin in this recipe – it's key! In addition to the beneficial vitamins, amino acids, and minerals the gelatin adds to this recipe, it also acts as a replacement for gluten. Gelatin, like gluten, acts as a glue to give these cookies stability.
If the beneficial aspects of the ingredients haven’t convinced you to try these gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, the flavor and texture should. Give them a try, fool your gluten-eating friends, and report back. You won't be sorry!
The Best Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup palm shortening
- 2 Tbsp grade b maple syrup
- 1/4 cup maple sugar, can be substituted for coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, replace with vanilla powder for AIP option
- 1 tsp almond extract, omit for AIP option
- 3/4 cup arrowroot starch
- 1/4 cup tigernut flour
- 1 Tbsp grass fed gelatin
- 1 tsp baking soda, aluminum free
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, I used Enjoy Life mini chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a large sized bowl, cream palm shortening, syrup, sugar, vanilla and almond extract. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk tigernut flour, arrowroot, gelatin, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sea salt until combined.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to wet and mix well to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Roll into 1 inch balls and place directly onto a palm oil greased baking sheet (parchment paper or a silicon baking mat tends to make the cookies spread). Bake for 10-12 minutes
- Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet for about 5-10 minutes before sliding off the cookie sheet for the cookies to cool. Don't try to eat the cookies until they're completely cool or they'll crumble.
Notes
- These cookies tend to spread on parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. They stay fluffy (like they are in the photo) if you bake directly on the cookie sheet. I grease my cookie sheet with a bit of coconut oil or palm shortening.
- When measuring palm shortening, it's easy to not measure out the full amount since it can get air pockets in your measuring cup and not realize it. Which means you end up with less palm shortening than the recipe calls for. For this recipe, measure out the palm shortening by the tablespoon - there will be 4 tablespoons for this recipe.
These are AMAZING!! I’ve been on AIP diet for a few months now and these are the best chocolate (carob) chip cookies I’ve found. I used coconut oil in place of the Palm Shortening and a sprinkle of salt. My kids and husband love them too. Thank you!
The realities of palm oil are truly devastating, and it seems to be an ingredient gaining a lot of ground in the AIP community. I hope you do your research and find alternatives! You, and all bloggers, bear great responsibility as you influence so many people!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/palm-oil-sustainable-certified-plantations-orangutans-indonesia-southeast-asia-greenwashing-purdue-a8674681.html%3famp
I made these to the letter, and they’ve completely spread into one mess of dough in the oven. Not sure what went wrong. Didn’t turn out anything like the pictures i’m afraid.
You’re the first person to say this! Did you use parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet by chance?
Mine did the same. I used parchment paper and then tried again directly on the cookie sheet greased with palm shortening add which point they massively spread out and stuck to the cookie sheet! I’m not sure what I did wrong?
This cookie is so good!! I used tapioca starch instead of arrowroot and it worked perfectly. I did have to add a tiny bit of coconut milk to make them come together. All 3kids and hubby ate them up. Thank you so much for this recipe. My 5 year old can enjoy cookies again!
These are beyond fantastic. Like a REAL DEAL chocolate chip cookie. Mine held together PERFECTLY when warm. To eat a warm chocolate chip cookie again….OMG. I did have to add a little coconut oil but regardless. WOW THANK YOU!!
Thank you so much for this recipe!! I have been fully AIP for three weeks and have plans this weekend to go to a big gathering at a park this weekend. I made these tonight to fill a craving for something sweet and even my very picky hubby (not AIP/paleo/etc) had one and said how great they were. I am going to make a double batch to share with my other friends with gluten/dairy/etc issues.
Seriously the best AIP cookies ever! Can hardly tell they are gluten free! ?
This makes me so happy! Thank you for sharing!
These were delicious but way too salty. Once we doubled all of the other ingredients (making the salt, baking soda and cream of tartar only half of the original recipe ratio), they were absolutely incredible! So I’d suggest only using half of the amount of salt, baking soda and cream of tartar listed in the ingredients.
Thanks for letting me know! I’ll add a note to this recipe that the salt can be reduced. 🙂
These are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve had in 6 years gluten free! I used vanilla powder so I added a teaspoon and a half of water. For my taste, I might take the salt down a bit. Delicious and my picky 4 yo approves, too!
Also, I noticed as I was whisking my flours together, I noticed lumps that appeared (by color) to be mostly tigernut flour. I tried to stir them out, but my mix seemed to be getting more lumpy instead of less. I ended up having to break the lumps with my fingers in the final dough. I wondered if it might be caused by the gelatin combining residual moisture in the tigernut flour? In any case, lumpiness would affect how much moisture is required to bring the dough together, so I thought that might be an angle to explore during recipe testing. Next time I’m going to make sure I sift the tigernut flour and stir the flours together before I add the gelatin to see if that helps.
That’s a great idea! I’ve never had this happen before, but what you mentioned makes sense.
Thank you for letting me know! So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
I’ve made these twice now, and they are delicious! The best tasting and texture for an AIP treat that I’ve had yet! However, both times, I’ve had to add extra fat and liquid. The first I used coconut oil, so I thought it was because of my substitution. The second time however, I used palm shortening. Each time when I combined the dry and wet ingredients it was very crumbly, so that I couldn’t form the dough into cookies until I added more oil or shortening. Not sure what I am missing?!?
Thank you for letting me know! I’ve had similar issues where I’ll make it one day and they form together perfectly, and the next week I have to add additional liquid. This recipe is actually going to be in a printed cookbook (!!!), so I’ll be testing it some more to see where the discrepancies might lie. I’m wondering if it could be affected by the weather, or potentially I’m sampling a few too many bites of the batter before adding the flours. I want to make sure they come out perfectly every time! I’ll come back here and comment when I get the updated recipe 🙂
Thank you! Can’t wait to see what you find!
Hi there! Were you ever able to figure this out? I made them yesterday for the first time and the dough was so crumbly I couldn’t form them into balls so I added water (not my best moment) which ended in them flattening like pancakes in the end. Would love to know of a solution if you’ve been able to figure it out! 🙂
Yes! So when you measure palm shortening, it’s really easy to not measure out the full amount since it can get air pockets in your measuring cup and not realize it. Which means you end up with less palm shortening than suggested. Now I measure by tablespoon and they’re perfect every time!
Oh, also… the coconut flour brand you use can make a big difference. Some absorb much more liquid than others.
This just happened to me. It was as if I had no wet ingredients at all once combined. I added extra maple syrup and more palm shortening and still it’s crumbly. I was able to squeeze them into balls, but they kept that shape in the oven. I don’t know what went wrong
UPDATE! The shape did not matter. They are amazing!
It’s Thursday, can these be kept until Monday or Frozen, or am I doomed to make another batch before Christmas and eat all of them myself?
Sorry for the delay in responding. I was in labor when you commented! 🙂
I haven’t ever frozen the baked cookies, but I know the dough freezes well. How did they turn out for you?
Is there a substitute for palm shortening? and tiger nut flour?
I’m not sure anything would be a good replacement for palm shortening. You could try grass fed butter if you tolerate dairy well. As for the tignernut flour, I’d suggest trying almond flour instead. The two have a similar texture. Keep in mind the end result will likely be very different with these two substitutions!
Oops, you were right about the parchment paper. Oh well, they’re still delicious!
Hi. Can another flour be substituted for the tigernut flour…like coconut or cassava?
You may need to add a little bit more palm shortening, or a couple of TBSP of coconut milk if you do. Coconut flour absorbs moisture, and I believe cassava flour does the same. So you’ll just want to replace that moisture if you make those switches. Otherwise, I think it should be good!
Hey, it’s difficult to source palm shortening in NZ – could we sub lard?
Yes, I actually think it would have a really good flavor with lard. The cookies may turn out flatter and crispier though. Just keep that in mind. If you try it out, please let me know how it works for you 🙂