These gluten and dairy free chocolate chip cookies are the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. Plus, the cookie dough can be meal-prepped for the freezer and baked from frozen! Keep reading to learn how!
Here are four reasons why these are THE BEST gluten and dairy free chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever make.
- They taste amazing.
- They’re made with healthy, clean-eating ingredients like almond flour, coconut oil and coconut sugar.
- They have half the carbs and almost 3 times less sugar than most gluten and dairy free cookies.
- You can freeze the cookie dough and bake it from frozen for fresh-baked cookies anytime! Skip ahead here for step-by-step instructions.
Oh… and they also just so happen to taste like the Canadian favourite, PC Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you know, you know!
Skip Ahead | Table Of Contents
- Nutrition Facts
- Healthy Ingredients
- Step-By-Step Instructions
- How to Meal Prep & Freeze Cookie Dough
- Substitutions
- Meal Prep & Storage Tips
- Expert Tips
- FAQs
- Recipe Card
Nutrition Facts
Each 3-inch cookie has:
- 2g of protein
- 9g of healthy fats
- 1g of fibre
- 9g of net carbs
- 5g of sugar
- 121 calories
Healthy Gluten And Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies Ingredients
These crispy and chewy cookies are made using straightforward whole food-based ingredients. No finicky, high-carb, expensive flour blends here!
They also contain zero refined sugars. Just some naturally sweet stuff as nature intended!
- Almond Flour: Grain-free, low-carb and full of healthy nutrients. It’s my go-to flour for all of my gluten-free baking, including this decadent double-pumpkin chocolate bread.
- Coconut Oil: Naturally dairy-free and creams just like butter. I actually prefer it over butter because you don’t have to wait for it to soften! Just make sure to use solid coconut oil instead of liquid coconut oil. To learn the difference between refined and virgin coconut oil, skip ahead here.
- Coconut Sugar: My refined-free granulated sweetener of choice. It contains vitamins and minerals, and won’t spike your blood sugar as much as white sugar does. I always find the best price for it on Amazon.
- Maple Syrup: My other refined-free go-to sweetener. A small amount goes a long way and gives these cookies their irresistible crispy and chewy texture.
- Flax Meal: Included solely for extra nutrition and fibre. Added fibre is essential for making any dessert more balanced and healthy.
- Chocolate Chips: Semisweet, bittersweet and dark chocolate are naturally 100% dairy-free and packed with antioxidants. If you’re as crazy about chocolate as we are, you must to try this easy magnesium chocolate recipe!
Check out the printable recipe card for a full list of ingredients and exact measurements.
How To Make Gluten And Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: Add your coconut oil and coconut sugar to a bowl, and cream together until light brown in colour and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use your paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for 5 minutes.
STEP 3: Add the egg, maple syrup and vanilla to your creamed mixture and mix until fully combined.
STEP 4: In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot flour, flax meal, baking soda and salt. Add your dry mixture to your wet mixture and mix together until fully combined.
STEP 5: Stir in your chocolate chips.
STEP 6: Using a small 1 1/2 inch cookie scoop, portion your cookie dough onto your baking sheet, allowing enough room between them to spread while they bake. Each cookie will spread to 3 inches in diameter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. For instructions on how to make larger cookies, go here.
STEP 7: Once baked, let the cookies cool slightly and set up on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before eating or transferring to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.
Store your cookies at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months… assuming they don’t get eaten before then!
How to Meal Prep & Freeze Cookie Dough
Meal-prepping cookie dough is the ultimate busy-mom hack!
Being able to bake up a fresh batch of healthy chocolate chip cookies whenever my daughters’ friends pop over is both a blessing and a playdate win!
I also love gifting (or blessing) friends and neighbours pre-bagged, pre-portioned, raw cookie dough to store in their freezers. It truly makes a great hostess, new mom or friend-in-need gift. Because who doesn’t love freshly baked cookies with zero mess?!
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: Portion your cookie dough onto a metal baking sheet or pan using a small cookie scoop. You can place them closely together to save space—just make sure they don’t touch! Place your baking sheet and cookie dough uncovered in the freezer for at least two hours or overnight.
NOTE: They won’t stick to the pan, so you don’t have to line it with parchment paper unless you want to. The parchment paper just makes clean-up easier because you don’t need to wash your baking sheet afterward.
STEP 2: Transfer your frozen cookie dough portions into a resealable freezer bag or container, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
BAKING FROZEN COOKIE DOUGH:
- To bake frozen cookie dough, turn on your oven to 350F. While your oven preheats, remove however many cookie dough portions you want to bake and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet to thaw slightly until your oven is ready.
- Bake for 12 to 13 minutes and check for doneness.
Substitutions
REFINED COCONUT VS VIRGIN COCONUT OIL
Coconut oil is naturally 100% dairy-free, so either type will work beautifully in these gluten and dairy free chocolate chip cookies. If you don’t want your cookies to have any coconut flavour, use refined coconut oil.
The main differences between refined coconut oil and virgin coconut oil are their taste, smoke points and processing.
REFINED COCONUT OIL:
- Is neutral in flavour, making it the perfect option for people who aren’t keen on the taste of coconut in their baking or cooking.
- Has a high smoke point (400F), meaning you can sautee and fry foods in it without the risk of the fats breaking down and ruining the taste of your food.
- Is processed from dried coconuts. Look for ones that have been steam-refined, like this one from Nutiva. Some refined coconut oils are refined and deodorized using harsh chemicals, which is why steam-refined coconut oil is the better option.
VIRGIN COCONUT OIL:
- Has a light coconut flavour and will make whatever you bake or cook taste slightly coconutty.
- Has a lower smoke point (350F), still making it a great option for baking.
- Is cold-pressed from raw coconuts. Costco’s Kirkland brand virgin coconut oil is hands down the best quality for the price.
BUTTER
You can also substitute coconut oil for butter. Butter will give these cookies an even richer flavour and can be swapped directly without having to adjust the measurements. Just make sure your butter is softened before creaming it with the coconut sugar.
DARK VS BITTERSWEET VS SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS
All three options are 100% dairy-free. The main difference between them is their sugar vs cocoa content. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sweet it is. The one you choose to use will depend entirely on how sweet you want your chocolate chips to be.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips are 60% cocoa.
- Bittersweet and dark chocolate chips are 70% cocoa or more.
Meal Prep & Storage Tips
MEAL PREP
I LOVE having pre-portioned cookie dough in the freezer—and so does my family! That’s why I usually double or triple this recipe. It takes the same amount of time to remove and measure the ingredients, and I love that I only have to clean up once!
I’ll bake off a dozen or so cookies right away and freeze the rest of the dough to use later. For step-by-step instructions on how to freeze and bake frozen cookie dough, go here.
STORAGE
Baked gluten and dairy free chocolate chip cookies will last up to four days when stored at room temperature in an airtight glass container. Storing them in glass containers helps them retain their crispy, chewy texture.
I love storing them in wide-mouth mason jars like these.
Tips For Making PERFECT Gluten And Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
DON’T USE MELTED OR LIQUID COCONUT OIL
You need to use solid coconut oil to cream together with the coconut sugar properly. Using melted or liquid coconut will produce a cookie that spreads out too thin and won’t hold its shape.
ALLOW YOUR COOKIES TO REST BEFORE EATING
Fresh-from-the-oven cookies will not only burn your mouth (ask me how I know), but they’ll also fall apart. Allow your cookies to cool for at least 5 minutes before trying to pick them up so they have time to set up properly and keep their perfect shape and texture!
DON’T OVERBAKE YOUR COOKIES
If you want to achieve the perfect ‘crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside’ texture, don’t overbake your cookies. If you do happen to bake them for too long, don’t worry. They’ll still taste great! They’ll just have a more crunchy, store-bought cookie texture.
COPYCAT PRESIDENT’S CHOICE DECADENT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
If you slightly overbake your cookies, they’ll taste exactly like the great Canadian President’s Choice Decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie. Seriously, eh!
Think of this recipe as PC Decadent’s gluten-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free twin, which just so happens to have less than half the carbs and almost 3 times less sugar per cookie.
Honestly, this gluten and dairy-free chocolate chip cookie recipe is quite literally the perfect copycat recipe for this classic store-bought Canadian cookie!
Instructions For Larger Cookies
To make a larger, dare I say, more epic cookie, this is what you do.
- Using a 2-inch (3 tbsp) cookie scoop, portion your dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, allowing enough room between them for spreading while they bake. Each cookie will spread to 4 inches in diameter.
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
Questions About This Recipe?
Still have questions? Check out these Frequently Asked Questions, or write a comment below!
FAQs
Yes and no, depending on the type of coconut oil you use. Refined coconut oil is neutral in flavour and won’t give your cookies a coconut flavour. Virgin coconut oil does taste like coconut and will give your cookies a subtle coconut taste.
Chocolate is naturally dairy-free unless milk or milk powder has been added. Cocoa butter is 100% dairy-free and made from cocoa beans. Semisweet, bittersweet and dark chocolate are all dairy-free. Milk chocolate and most white chocolates have dairy added. If you are allergic or sensitive to dairy, make sure to check the ingredient label for any milk products that may have been added.
Yes. While it does add fibre and additional nutrition to the recipe, leaving it out will not affect the cookie’s structure or taste.
No! The cookie dough can go directly from the bowl to the baking sheet to the oven without chilling!
Yes! Go here for step-by-step instructions on how to bake frozen cookie dough.
Recipe Card
Gluten And Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (Crispy & Chewy)
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup refined coconut oil or virgin coconut oil or butter (if not dairy-free)
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup arrowroot flour or tapicoca flour
- 1/4 cup flax meal
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips bittersweet or semi-sweet work will work too
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Add your coconut oil and coconut sugar to a bowl, and cream together until it's light brown in colour and doubled in volume, about 5 minutes. If using a stand mixer, use your paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, maple syrup and vanilla to your creamed mixture, and mix until fully combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, arrowroot flour, flax meal, baking soda and salt.
- Add your dry mixture to your wet mixture and mix together until fully combined.
- Stir in your chocolate chips.
- Using a small 1-1/2 inch cookie scoop, portion out your cookie dough onto your baking sheets, allowing enough room between them for spreading while they bake. Each cookie will spread to 3 inches in diameter. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges start to brown. See notes for instructions on how to make larger cookies.
- Once baked, let the cookies cool slightly and set up on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before eating or transferring to a cooling rack.
- Allow them to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container. Store your cookies at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months… assuming they don't get eaten before then!
Ash’s Tips
Nutrition
Let’s Keep In Touch!
I can’t wait to hear all about your healthy eating journey and what you’ve been cooking! Please comment below or share your successes with me on Instagram @nourashnutrition so that I can celebrate you and your healthy eating milestones!
Until next time…
Sending you 🤎 & ✨!
I’m going to try them!
You’re going to love them! Enjoy! 🍪
These cookies are SO good! You have to try them if you haven’t already! 🍪
Thank you for this 5-star review Sia! I’m so happy you like them. 🙏
Very good.
Thank you Sandra! 🙏