The Ultimate Healthy Almond Butter Cookies
These almond butter cookies are perfectly soft and chewy with a sweet and comforting nutty flavor. They’re simple to make any day of the week with just one bowl and a handful of pantry ingredients — and easily customized to whatever you happen to have on hand! A recipe anyone can make… And everyone will love! Leftovers will keep for about one week (if not longer!) if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They freeze really well too!
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (64g) homemade creamy almond butter, room temperature (see Notes!)
- 3 ½ tbsp (53mL) unsweetened vanilla almond milk, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup (96g) coconut sugar
- 1 cup (120g) oat flour (gluten free if necessary and measured like this – see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the almond butter, milk, vanilla, and salt with a fork (be patient!). Stir in the coconut sugar. Add the flour, and sprinkle the baking soda over the flour (to prevent clumps!). Stir in the flour and baking soda just until incorporated. Chill the cookie dough for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Drop the cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheet using a spoon and a spatula. Flatten to ¼” thick using a spatula, and smooth out the edges to make them round, if desired. (The cookies don’t spread much, if at all!) Bake at 350°F for 8-11 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: Be very careful and measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much oat flour will make your cookies turn out cakey or dry, instead of soft and chewy.
IMPORTANT BAKING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: The cookies are ready to come out of the oven when the centers still looks and feel a little soft and underdone. (This is my #1 tip for the best soft and chewy cookies!) The heat from the pan continues to cook the centers while they cool. If you leave the cookies in the oven until the centers feel firm, they’ll often turn out cakey and/or dry.
ALMOND BUTTER NOTES: This is my homemade creamy almond butter recipe. It’s so easy to make. You just need 10 minutes!
If you prefer using store-bought creamy almond butter, use the natural drippy-style kind where the only ingredients are almonds and salt. (A little oil is okay too.) I really like Trader Joe’s and Open Nature. Target’s own Good & Gather brand is also good, and my family also likes Justin’s. If there’s a layer of oil on top of your jar, thoroughly stir that into the almond butter before using it in this recipe.
I don’t recommend using “no stir” almond butter or almond butter with other added ingredients (like sugar, flavorings, etc).
Do not substitute crunchy almond butter. Your cookie dough will be stiffer and drier, and your cookies may turn out cakey and/or dry.
Using room temperature almond butter (instead of cold, straight from the fridge!) will make it much easier to incorporate the milk and other ingredients.
MILK NOTE + ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Make sure it’s at room temperature! It’ll be easier to mix together the cookie dough when your ingredients are at room temperature.
SWEETENER ALTERNATIVE: Light brown sugar may be substituted for the coconut sugar.
OAT FLOUR NOTES: I really like Bob’s Red Mill’s oat flour (and their gluten-free version!). I also have DIY homemade oat flour tutorial here.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, and all-purpose flour may all be substituted for the oat flour. (Along with oat flour, white whole wheat flour is what I use most often when making these cookies!
GLUTEN FREE VERSION: Use certified gluten free oat flour (I really like Bob’s Red Mill) or certified gluten free oats (again, I really like Bob’s Red Mill!) to make your own oat flour.
For a non-oat-flour gluten-free option, I recommend the following: ¼ cup (30g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, 3 tablespoons (21g) coconut flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought gluten-free flour blends (I like this one by Bob’s Red Mill!) will work as well, if measured like this.
DAIRY FREE, EGG FREE + VEGAN VERSION: No modifications needed!
DOUBLING: This recipe is easily doubled!
HOW TO STORE: Store cookies in an airtight container. They’ll keep for at least four days at room temperature or close to one week (if not longer!) in the refrigerator.
FREEZING AND THAWING: These cookies freeze really well! I like to thaw individual cookies in the microwave on 30% power until they’re warmed all the way through. They almost taste freshly baked when thawed like that!
{gluten free, dairy free, egg free, vegan, clean eating, low fat}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.