A ‘Killer’ Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Yeah, baby. These chocolate chip cookies are that dang good.
“Recommended at the price
Insatiable in appetite
Wanna try?
You wanna try.”
OK. I’ll kill the Queen. (Ha! A Shaun of the Dead film reference and I wasn’t even trying.) But, seriously. Oh yeah, “you wanna try.” And, soon. Most definitely, “Guaranteed to blow your mind!”
This is how it all went down…when I couldn’t get the “Killer Queen” earworm out of my head…
What does a recipe developer do when she’s frustrated over a recipe that just isn’t working and requires further testing? She takes a break. But, she wants a chocolate chip cookie to go with said break. Like a Toll House® Chocolate Chip Cookie. And, she wants it now. Like,immediately. Oh, and it must be paleo. Talk about asking for the Moon!
Ingredients
- 3 cups (336 grams) blanched almond flour, such as Honeyville® Farms
- 1 tablespoon (7 grams) organic coconut flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill® or Tropical Traditions®
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon sea salt or regular table salt)
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup (60 grams) organic ghee, melted (you could also use coconut oil)
- ¼ cup (48 grams) organic palm shortening, such as Spectrum®, melted
- ¼ cup (48 grams) organic blonde coconut palm sugar, such as SweetTree®
- ½ cup (168 grams) organic light agave nectar
- 1½ teaspoons unsulphured molasses, such as Grandma’s®
- 2 large eggs (mine were 103 grams total), at room temperature
- 1½ tablespoons pure vanilla extract, such as Nielsen-Massey®
- 1 (10 ounce/283 gram) package Enjoy Life® Semi-sweet Chocolate Mega Chunks, chopped
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.
In a small prep food processor, or in a large processor if you will be using it to prepare your cookie dough, combine warm melted ghee, palm shortening and coconut palm sugar. Process mixture for 1 minute to help melt and break down the hard larger coconut palm sugar crystals. Add the remaining wet ingredients and process until well combined, smooth and creamy. If using a stand mixer, transfer wet mixture to work bowl.
Add flour mixture and beat with paddle attachment, or process in food processor, until dough is completely blended and smooth. If using a food processor, scrape into a medium bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Allow dough to rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes at room temperature. This will allow the flours to absorb the free liquids and become saturated. You will notice the dough will become more solid upon standing and more ideal for portioning and shaping before baking.
Meanwhile, arrange oven racks in center of oven and preheat oven to 350º F. Line two insulated baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Alternatively, place a half baking sheet atop another and line with parchment paper. Using insulated baking sheets will prevent these nut flour cookies from overbrowning on the bottom as they bake.
Drop cookie dough 1 level scoopful at a time using a ¾-ounce cookie scoop onto the prepared cookie sheets. (If you do not have a ¾-ounce cookie scoop, scoop portions of dough measuring approximately 1½ tablespoons each.) Cookies should be about 1½ inches apart—about 12 per cookie sheet. With fingers, flatten tops of cookies for even baking and ideal shape. These cookies do spread during baking, but not as much as conventional chocolate chip cookies do.
Bake in preheated oven until the edges are light golden brown and centers are still puffy, lightly crackled and appear a bit uncooked, about 10 to 11 minutes. Do not bake over 12 minutes or cookies will be too hard and dry.
Allow cookies to cool significantly on baking sheets, about 8 to 10 minutes, before removing as they are fragile straight from the oven. This cooling time will make them more solid and easy to handle. Using a thin metal cookie spatula, carefully transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Keep cookies stored in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze.
Notes
These almond flour-based chocolate chip cookies are best eaten when cooled completely. Upon storing in an airtight container at room temperature, the cookies are nice, buttery and chewy just like “soft batch-style” chocolate chip cookies.
