These paleo chocolate crinkle cookies are made with almond flour and almond butter and sweetened with maple syrup. They have a crispy exterior and fudgy center - the perfect cookie texture! These crinkle cookies are not only paleo, but gluten free and vegan too.
Squeezing in one last paleo Christmas cookie recipe and it's a good one! These paleo chocolate crinkle cookies are by far the best chocolate cookies I've ever had.
They are made with almond butter and almond flour, lightly sweetened with maple syrup and rolled in tapioca starch (although you can use powdered monk fruit too).
This is a delicious, small batch crinkle cookie recipe - perfect for sharing with your immediate family or doubling and sharing with a crowd. Either way, everyone is sure to love these secretly healthy cookies.
Why You'll Love these Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- paleo, vegan and easily made keto - great for most diets
- only 8 ingredients - these cookies are made with minimal ingredients, most of which you probably have on hand
- great texture - crisp on the outside with a chewy, gooey center
- gluten free and grain free - made with almond butter and almond flour
- lower in sugar than your average cookie - sweetened with a bit of maple syrup
Ingredients
The full recipe for these low sugar chocolate crinkle cookies can be found in the recipe card below, but here's an overview of the ingredients you'll need:
- almond butter - acts as a binder and adds texture and moisture
- maple syrup - to sweeten the cookies. For a lower carb version, you can probably use a sugar free liquid sweetener, but I haven't tested any.
- vanilla extract - for flavor
- blanched almond flour - this is actually optional, but without it your cookies will flatten a lot more.
- cacao powder - or swap it with cocoa powder
- baking soda - so the cookies rise and spread
- salt - brings out more flavor
- tapioca starch/flour - for rolling the cookies and creating that crinkle look. For a lower carb swap, you can coat them in monk fruit instead. Just note, this swap will slightly change the look of the cookies.
How to Make Paleo Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
These paleo crinkle cookies are no chill - yes, the cookie dough doesn't require any chilling! Meaning, this cookie recipe is super easy and can be completed (start to finish) in under 30 minutes. Here are the steps:
- First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla.
- Add in the remaining cookie ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Scoop the dough and roll it into a ball, then roll in tapioca starch.
- Place it on your baking sheet and press it down lightly.
- Place the cookies in your preheated oven and bake for 11-12 minutes. The cookies should slightly spread and crack on top - giving you that crinkle look.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack. If desired, sprinkle the cookies with additional tapioca starch, or powdered monk fruit sweetener.
- The cookies should have a crisp and crunchy exterior after baking, but be moist and chewy on the inside.
More Paleo Christmas Cookie Recipes
Looking for more easy paleo cookie recipes to make this holiday season? Check out these popular ones from the blog:
Paleo Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (Gluten Free, Vegan)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 7 cookies 1x
Description
These Paleo chocolate crinkle cookies are crisp on the outside with a fudgy center. They're also Vegan friendly and easily made keto.
Ingredients
Cookies
- ½ cup drippy almond butter (unsweetened, unsalted)
- ¼ cup maple syrup*
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup blanched almond flour (35g)
- 3 Tbsp cacao powder (15g)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
Coating
- 1 Tbsp tapioca starch/flour **
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix with a spatula until well combined.
- Add in remaining cookie ingredients. Mix with a spatula until well combined.
- Using a medium-sized cookie scoop (2 Tbsp per cookie), scoop the dough then roll it into a ball. Coat the cookie dough in tapioca starch, then place it on your lined baking sheet. Using your hand, slightly press down on the cookie, creating a disc. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
- Place the cookies in your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 11-12 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack.
- Optional: dust with additional tapioca flour or powdered monk fruit sweetener.
Notes
This recipe makes 7 cookies (2 Tbsp of dough per cookie) but may easily be doubled to serve more.
*for keto, use a maple flavored syrup or any other preferred liquid sugar free sweetener.
**for keto, use powdered monk fruit in place of the tapioca flour (you will probably need 2 Tbsp of monk fruit). The cookies will look slightly different when baked, but you may top them with additional monk fruit after they've cooled.
Jenna
These are delicious! What are the nutrition facts?
Amy
I entered this recipe into chatgbt and the nutrition facts per serving are
Per Serving (7 Servings):
Calories: 124.6 kcal
Fat: 7.57g
Protein: 3.71g
Carbs: 12.7g
Fiber: 2g
Net Carbs: 10.7g
Katie
My family and I love these chocolate crinkle cookies and we hope you do too!
Justin
Fantastic quick cookie recipe. Hit the spot and not too sweet. I used coconut flour to coat the cookies and then sprinkled a little salt on top after they came out. Thanks for sharing!
Katie
Thank you for leaving a review! So glad you liked the cookies 🙂
Denise Bruggenthies
Can you use a different flour? I can’t have almond.
Katie
The best substitute for almond flour is tigernut flour. You could also try ground sunflower seeds.
Julie Harlos
These are AMAZING!! So easy and so tasty. My daughter is eating Paleo for health reasons and she raves over these! I am not eating Paleo, but can't get enough! Thanks so much for sharing!
Katie
Oh wonderful! I'm so glad you both approve 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Fatima
I made these with my toddler, it was a hit! We used peanut butter instead.
Katie
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for leaving a review 🙂
Janell
I have made these twice now. Had to after they disappeared the first time. Made a double batch the second time. Will definitely make again.
Katie
So glad you like them!
Liz
Can you sub the almond flour with coconut flour? Thank you !
Katie
No, unfortunately coconut flour can't be used in place of almond flour. It is very absorbent and won't bake the same.
Noelle
These cookies are like Nutella cookies but almondy instead of hazelnutty. The deep chocolate flavour is sooooo good!!! My mum was honestly obsessed with these cookies. If you love nuts and you love chocolate these cookies are for you 🍪🍪🍪
Alicia
Could you use sunflower butter instead? And do you need to roll them in tapioca flour (I know that would take away the crinkle effect) or can you omit that step?
Katie
You can use sunflower seed butter instead and rolling them in flour/sugar is optional.
Vincent
Will these still be crinkly if omitting the tapioca flour?
Katie
I would swap the tapioca flour with powdered monk fruit or powdered sugar if you want to maintain the crinkled look.
Nicole
I just discovered your blog. Made these last night when I was out of time and energy and they still were a hit. I made the recipe as stated except I skipped the optional dusting of tapioca. My husband and I love salt and savory treats so I used my salted almond butter and the added salt and they were perfect. Thank you for the recipe cannot wait to try more of your recipes.
Katie
I'm so glad you both enjoyed these! Hopefully you will find more recipes here that you love!
Steffanie Shumway
What if you don’t have tapioca flour? It’s the only ingredient I’m missing! Any subs? Can I leave it out?
Katie
You can leave it out, but the cookies may not have the crinkle look to them. You can also swap tapioca flour for arrowroot starch/flour or powdered sugar. Cornstarch may even work, but it's not paleo friendly and I haven't tried it myself.
Lauren
Can this be made with almond meal?
Katie
Yes, however it may change the cookie texture a little.