Name: Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup cashew butter (can substitute well-stirred, creamy almond butter); 1 cup coconut sugar; 1 egg (room temperature); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 6 ounces paleo-friendly dark chocolate; pinch sea salt (for topping)

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5 from 2 votes

These chocolate chip cookies are soft, paleo, only require 6 ingredients, and there is no mixer required! Dairy free, gluten free, and ready in less than 45 minutes. Add this to your cookie recipe favorites because you'll be making these again and again.

A stack of paleo chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet

While I don't follow a strict paleo diet, I do make my best effort to avoid gluten, dairy and sugar as much as possible. And truth be told, it's not as hard for me as I would have imagined it to be.

When I really sit down and look at the foods we typically buy, it really comes down to skipping the toast at breakfast, using an alternative type of pasta, and saying goodbye to my typical pints of Ben & Jerry's.

That said… I still have my sweet tooth. Mama needs her chocolate, my friends.

Tips for making paleo chocolate chip cookies

Four photo collage showing the process of making paleo chocolate chip cookie batter

Cashew butter provides the best flavor, but a well-stirred, creamy almond butter can also be used. I prefer cashew butter because I find the flavor to be more neutral, but it's a matter of personal preference.

Use a paleo-friendly chocolate. A coworker of mine sent me a package full of hazelnut butter dark chocolate bars, and I am officially a convert from your standard chocolate bars.

The flavor it lends to these cookies in particular is phenomenal. I don't know how to describe the flavor in a way that does it justice, so you'll need to order some and try it yourself to understand why I have a new true(chocolate) love.

No mixer needed. A sturdy wooden spoon will do just fine!

Side by side photos of a ball of cookie dough before and after being topped with chocolate and sea salt

Vegan? No problem. Just substitute the egg for flaxseed meal or chia seeds (1 Tablespoon chia seeds + 3 Tablespoons water for either one).

Save some chocolate pieces to top each cookie. It's all about presentation, so this isn't required – but highly encouraged.

Top each cookie with a little sprinkle of sea salt. Again, not required – but a little salt kicks the flavor up a notch.

Bake them a little longer than you might think they need. These will be soft baked, and will actually get a little softer each day, so baking them a couple minutes longer will lend to soft (but not too soft) cookies day by day.

They'll be puffy when they first come out of the oven, but let them hang out for a bit on the baking sheet and they'll flatten as they cool.

A chocolate chip cookie puffed up on a baking sheet

You don't have to be paleo to appreciate these.

Even comparing these to typical chocolate chip cookies, I might call these the best cookies I've ever made. They're not a 1:1 substitute in terms of flavor, but they stand on their own and rank at the top of my all time favorite cookie list!

Overhead shot of paleo chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet

I like to use a mix of chocolates when I can, simply because I like incorporating different flavors into each bite.

The same goes for the sizes of pieces of chocolate – some are bigger than others, and I think it just makes the cookies more interesting when they're not uniform.

… sure, maybe it's just a coping mechanism to prevent myself from obsessing over making each cookie look perfect, but my point still stands.

Overhead shot of a paleo chocolate chip cookie on a baking sheet

Overhead shot of a stack of paleo chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet

Something worth mentioning: Just because these are paleo does not mean they are “healthy” or low in calories. We're using a nut butter that is notoriously heavier on the caloric side.

So don't go nuts and eat six of these in one sitting.

… get it? Don't go nuts?

I'll tell ya – if people found me as hilarious as I found myself sometimes, I'd be so rich and famous.

Paleo chocolate chip cookies on a baking sheet with one with a bite taken out

More Paleo Dessert Recipes

These samoa bars will make you forget about the original samoa cookie
Double chocolate brownies can just as easily be gluten-free and dairy-free, my friends
Maybe when Fall hits you want to grab some pumpkin pie bars, but also swirl in some homemade Nutella
And then ma

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