Perfectly easy almond butter cookies that are made with just 6 ingredients and ready in 35 minutes. Bake a batch of these soft, chewy cookies today to share with your family and friends during this Christmas and holiday season! Gluten-free and dairy-free too, but no one would care!
Let the Christmas Baking Begin!
Our oven is kept very busy these days – as we bake our way to Christmas, and I’ve been baking cookie recipes one after the other.
From snickerdoodle cookies, to crunchy almond biscotti and to the cutest gingerbread cookies, I’ve been on a cookie-baking marathon this holiday season.
The Easiest Soft and Chewy Cookies
I first made these cookies when we were still living in New York back in 2018. I’d baked them to bring over to my friend Silvie’s house while we assembled her walnut brown table that she’d ordered from Ikea. Since then, I’ve called these cookies friendship cookies, which are perfectly apt, because these are meant to be shared!
I’m a big fan of easy, no-fuss recipes, and this recipe is exactly that. You literally only need 6 ingredients and 35 minutes to whip up a batch of these from scratch.
Soft, chewy, and filled with almond flavor, these cookies are going to be on heavy rotation in your house I’m sure! Best of all, these are both gluten-free and dairy-free, but hey, if you don’t tell, no one would know!
Ingredients You’ll Need:
Ingredient Notes/Substitutions:
- Almond Butter: I like using creamy unsalted almond butter, but feel free to use cashew butter or peanut butter too if you prefer.
- Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but go ahead and use normal white sugar or dark brown sugar if you prefer. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend that you use Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (a 1:1 substitute for sugar with zero glycemic index).
- Coconut Oil: I prefer using refined coconut oil in my baking as it has a neutral taste (as opposed to extra virgin coconut oil that has a strong coconut flavor and smell). Alternatively, you can use vegan butter, or if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use butter in equal quantities.
- Eggs: The eggs act as a binder in this recipe. However, if you are allergic to eggs, or simply want to keep this recipe egg-free, you can use an egg-replacer or replace the eggs with flax eggs.
- Coconut Flour: I would not substitute coconut flour in this case as coconut flour has the ability to absorb liquids that other flours do not have.
How to Make Almond Butter Cookies
1. Preheat and Line
Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the almond butter, light brown sugar, coconut oil, and eggs together until combined.
3. Combine to Form Dough
Sift in the coconut flour and baking powder, and then mix with a wooden spoon until you have a homogeneous cookie dough.
4. Chill
Let the dough chill for at least 10 minutes. This is important as it makes handling the dough easier (or it might be a little too sticky to roll into balls).
5. Roll Dough into Balls
Once the dough is chilled, scoop dough by the teaspoon and roll the dough into balls. Place each ball of dough on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches of space between each ball.
6. Bake
Bake the dough for 15 minutes, until the edges start to brown a little. Let the cookies completely cool before removing them from the rack and storing them in an airtight container.
Helpful Tips/Tricks:
- Chill Dough Before Rolling: It’s very important that you chill the cookie dough for at least 10 minutes before rolling it into small balls. If you skip this step, the dough will be too sticky to handle and it’ll be difficult to roll it into balls.
- Grease Palms to Roll: To prevent the dough from sticking to the palms of your hands while rolling, I highly recommend that you grease your hands with a little bit of coconut oil to make things smoother.
- Line Baking Sheet: I always use either parchment paper or a silpat to line my baking sheets so that the cookies do not stick to the sheets.
Recipe FAQs:
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Yes, you can! To freeze these cookies, place them in freezer-safe containers and freeze them for up to 2 months. Let the cookies thaw overnight in the refrigerator before eating. You can also warm them up slightly in the oven at 300F for 5 minutes before serving if you like.
Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love:
- Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Crunchy Almond Biscotti (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Easy Gingerbread Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Coconut Macaroons (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Buckwheat Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
- Double Chocolate Almond Coconut Cookies (Gluten-Free)
Dessert Recipes to Indulge In:
P.S. If you try this recipe, I’d love for you to leave a star rating below, and/or a review in the comment section further down the page. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to check out my entire Recipe Index for all the recipes on the blog. You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram! Sign up for my Email List to get fresh recipes in your inbox each week!
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Almond Butter Cookies (Gluten-free, Dairy-free)
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Perfectly easy almond butter cookies that are made with just 6 ingredients and ready in 35 minutes. Bake a batch of these soft, chewy cookies today to share with your family and friends during this Christmas and holiday season! Gluten-free and dairy-free too, but no one would care!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup creamy unsalted almond butter
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat and Line: Pre-heat oven to 350F (175C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the almond butter, light brown sugar, coconut oil, and eggs together until combined.
- Combine to Form Dough: Sift in the coconut flour and baking powder, and then mix with a wooden spoon until you have a homogeneous cookie dough.
- Chill: Let the dough chill for at least 10 minutes.
- Roll Dough into Balls: Once the dough is chilled, scoop out the dough by the teaspoon and roll the dough into balls. Place each ball of dough on the prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 2 inches of space between each ball.
- Bake: Bake the dough for 15 minutes, until the edges start to brown a little. Let the cookies completely cool before removing them from the rack and storing them in an airtight container.
Notes
Almond Butter: I like using creamy unsalted almond butter, but feel free to use cashew butter or peanut butter too if you prefer.
Sugar: I used light brown sugar, but go ahead and use normal white sugar or dark brown sugar if you prefer. If you are diabetic or insulin-resistant, I highly recommend that you use Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (a 1:1 substitute for sugar with zero glycemic index).
Coconut Oil: I prefer using refined coconut oil in my baking as it has a neutral taste (as opposed to extra virgin coconut oil that has a strong coconut flavor and smell). Alternatively, you can use vegan butter, or if you are not lactose-intolerant, feel free to use butter in equal quantities.
Eggs: The eggs act as a binder in this recipe. However, if you are allergic to eggs, or simply want to keep this recipe egg-free, you can use an egg-replacer or replace the eggs with flax eggs.
Coconut Flour: I would not substitute coconut flour in this case as coconut flour has the ability to absorb liquids that other flours do not have.
Storing: Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing: To freeze these almond butter cookies, place them in freezer-safe containers and freeze them for up to 2 months. Let the cookies thaw overnight in the refrigerator before eating. You can also warm them up slightly in the oven at 300F for 5 minutes before serving if you like.
This recipe was first published in 2018 but has since been updated to include clearer instructions.
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: almond butter cookies
Hi Felicia,
I love these almond coconut cookies too.
I especially like your expert tip that it is essential to use coconut flour not only for the coconut flavour but more so for its ability to absorb liquid better than ordinary flour .
Have a great weekend!
Sending you lots of hugs and kisses,
Mum
★★★★★
Hi mummy, glad you found the tip on coconut flour useful! A little coconut flour goes a super long way, and in this recipe it’s definitely not recommended to substitute it. 😉 Love you too!
Great recipe!!!! I made it a couple of times and it is delicious and easy to make. I’m just wondering if sugar can be substituted with maple syrup’ and what modification I have to make in order to substitute it? TIA
★★★★★
Hi Julia! So happy to hear you love these cookies, because I love them too!
Yes, you should be able to substitute the 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup maple syrup, but make sure to add 1 tablespoon extra of coconut flour (or a little more as necessary) so it absorbs the extra liquid. Remember that you need to let the cookie dough sit for a while so the coconut flour absorbs the moisture, so I would start with 1 tablespoons of extra coconut flour first, and if after sitting for 5 minutes it’s still too moist to roll into balls, add a little bit more of coconut flour (Which is super absorbent and a little goes a long way)! Would love to hear how it goes in the end 🙂
Forgot to sign up for follow up emails on my question. Thx❣️
Due to nut allergy in our home and rice allergy we have to cook without nut butters & nut flour. We can use coconut flour though. So could I sub Ghee for the nut butter here in these friendship cookies?
Also I’ve just see your red velvet mug cake in an email and it uses almond meal & almond milk. Would this work with alternate dairy free milk & what to sub for the almond meal?.
Thank you & I’m happy to find your DishbyDish blog!
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Hi Kary! Very nice to meet you and thanks for visiting and for writing! I think it would be difficult to substitute ghee for nut butter 1:1 as they have different textures, but maybe you could try sunflower seed butter instead? As for the milk, any alternative dairy-free milk will be fine. Given your allergies to nuts and rice, I think you could try substituting the almond meal with with hemp seed meal or sunflowerseed meal? Just bear in mind that sunflower seed meal will turn the cookies green the next day after baking – it’s just the way it work – but if you don’t mind the color maybe it could be worth a shot! Do let me know if you get around to making it, am keen to hear how the substitutions work! 😉
Just made these and they are wonderful! We are having a cold snow day here and they hit the spot!
★★★★★
Hey Naomi! Very nice to meet you, and even nicer to know these cookies helped make your snow day a little better!! 🙂 Next time, you can also throw in a couple of nuts/dried cranberries etc to make a different version!
what a beautiful entry dear. missing you xx
Hey sweetie!! Miss you too, can’t wait to catch up in person in a few weeks!! xoxo