This Cashew Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe delivers a buttery, rich and decadent version of the classic cookie. No one will ever believe these moist and tender treats are plant-based, gluten-free, and oil-free!
Cashew Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes
We can all probably agree that there is no shortage of chocolate chip cookie recipes in the world. Over the years the ones that have stood out to me usually involve a secret ingredient or technique–something that sets them apart from the plethora of recipes.
As a developer of plant-based and gluten-free recipes, I have been in search of the ingredient that would make a standout vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and oil-free chocolate chip cookie.
Ready to Bake
Gluten-free and Oil-free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Developing gluten-free baked goods offers the challenge of achieving a correct texture without the use of gluten.ย Replacing oil adds further to that challenge by removing fat that maintains the balance of moisture. It takes just the right combination of ingredients to achieve those two objectives while maintaining a flavor that is consistent with a traditional chocolate chip cookie.
Cookies Cooling on Baking Sheet
Baking with Cashew Flour
Several years ago I stumbled across cashew flour and thought it would be an interesting ingredient to use in baked goods. At that point in time it wasn’t very accessible to the average consumer, so I decided to put it on the back burner.
But recently, cashew flour seems to be making its way onto more shelves. I snack on cashews a lot! Sometimes, I may even add a few chocolate chips to the nuts sitting in the palm of my hand. I do this because it tastes a lot like a chocolate chip cookie! So naturally, this had to be the first recipe I created using cashew flour.
Cashew Flour
Cashew Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
This Cashew Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe turned out even better than I had expected. I love it when that happens!
They are gluten-free, refined sugar-free, oil-free, and, of course, plant-based. But here’s what they do have: they are a moist, soft cookie with a chewy texture, and the flavor is that same buttery, brown sugary, caramely flavor you enjoy in standout traditional chocolate chip cookies.
Oil-free Cashew Flour Cookies
I actually first developed this recipe using oil. I wanted to eliminate variables and see what challenges I would face. They were delicious with oil. The first time I made my recipe without oil I expected that I might have some tweaking to do. But that was not the case.
The oil-free version tasted identical to the cookie I made with oil. I was so stunned I had to do a taste test. I offered both the oil containing and the oil-free version to several people and not a single person thought they were two different recipes!
Cashew Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
Buying Cashew Flour
Buying cashew flour has become easier recently. Many grocery stores and Amazon now sell cashew flour. It is manufactured by many different companies.
I would encourage you to do a little price shopping first. I purchased mine on Amazon, but not before I noticed that some brands were as much as forty percent higher in price. To be fair I bought both the inexpensive and expensive brands and noticed no perceptible difference.
I hope you enjoy this cashew flour chocolate chip cookies recipe. If you are looking for some other great plant-based and gluten-free cookie ideas, check out my Cinnamon Pear Cookies, Fudgy Avocado Cookies, or my Snickerdoodle Quinoa Cookies. Enjoy!
This Cashew Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe delivers a buttery, rich and decadent version of the classic cookie. No one will ever believe these moist and tender treats are plant-based, gluten-free, and oil-free!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons golden flaxseed meal (plus 6 tablespoons water)
- 2 cups cashew flour
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 rounded teaspoon finely ground sea salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce at room temperature
- 1/4 cup melted almond butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- 1) In a small bowl, whisk together flaxseed meal and 6 tablespoons water. Set aside.
- 2) In a medium bowl, stir or whisk together cashew flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, and salt. Then stir in chocolate chips.
- 3) Add unsweetened applesauce and vanilla to flaxseed mixture and stir together. Then add melted almond butter and stir or whisk to combine.
- 4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir together until combined. (Using a slicing motion with the spoon will help to incorporate the ingredients.)
- 5) Using about one to two tablespoon of dough, round (I use two tablespoons to make my dough balls) and place on baking sheet. You can leave dough in "rustic" mounds or press to about 1/2 inch thick discs (should be about 2 inches in diameter). I made three rows of three on a standard size baking sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes until just browned around the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to cooling rack. Batch yields about 18 cookies.
- Storage Will keep for 2 to 3 days at room temperature or 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator. They also freeze nicely and taste delicious right out of the freezer.
Such yummy, healthy cookies! I didn’t have almond butter, so i tried melted butter with almond extract instead. They didn’t turn out perfectly, but still quite delicious. I will try almond butter next time for the win!
Hi Karla! I’m so glad you liked the cookies! I think you’ll really like them with the almond butter. It’s has a much thicker consistency than melted butter and really helps bring the ingredients together in flavor and texture!! ๐
Any idea if using almond flour or coconut flour would be a 1:1 swap?
Thanks,
Krystal
Hi Krystal! Almond flour would be a 1:1 swap with the cashew flour. I have tried this myself and they are delicious as well. Coconut flour, however, is a different story. It is almost never swapped 1:1. It is a highly absorbent flour and requires changes in the liquids too. I can’t comment on how to substitute coconut flour as I haven’t tried it yet, but the almond flour works! I hope this helps! ๐
I have everything but the flaxseed meal and thinking of substituting eggs. Any idea on how many I would use?
Hi Nicole, it would be two small/medium eggs.
Hey Jana, not being a great baker I tried this recipe for one of my customers and they came out great. Do you have nutritional information for this recipe. Thank you
Hi Joe, First my apologies for the delay in reply. ๐ I’m so glad you and your customer enjoyed the cookies! I am trying to find a nutrition calculator for my recipes. Hopefully, soon. ๐