For All Your Cookie Monsters
It is always time for a simple, gluten-free, irresistible cookie. Because no matter who you are sharing a cup of tea with, you don’t need to worry about any dietary concerns. Fancy up these chewy coconut almond cookies with a drizzle of dark chocolate, and with some sugar, and with your favorite spice or spices. Or stir and roll in your favorite nuts for added crunch.
These little jewels can be dressed up or down. I’ve had fun playing with different flavorings, as you will see, but you can make them plain with a quick dusting of sugar before baking. And they will certainly brighten any day, no matter the weather or time of year.
Crisply Thin or Heartier?
Are you a thin and crispy cookie lover, or do you prefer them thicker and chewy? You can do a sheet pan of both if your household splits the difference. If you want your cookies to be thin, after rolling into a ball, place on the baking sheet and press flat until it about 1/4-inch (6mm) thick. If you want a thicker, heartier cookie, press until it is about 1/2-inch (12mm) thick before baking.
By the way, I prefer four bite cookies, rather than big ones. I typically weigh out my cookies on a scale and find that somewhere around 25 grams is where I typically wind up. This should come out to be about two tablespoons of dough. If you want bigger cookies, you can use my measurements as a starting point and go from there. They do spread some, so if you go bigger, you may want to bake 6 to 8 cookies at a time instead of the 10 to 12 I can often fit onto a tray. Rather than weighing the batter, use a 2 tablespoon scoop that works efficiently to get your cookie trays filled and ready to go.
Coconut Almond Cookies
This recipe is based on one from the website by Allison of Celebrating Sweets, which is a terrific resource for sweet treat lovers. I did play around with various garnishes and found that you don’t need to rest the dough in the fridge before baking, as she suggests. I have both refrigerated the batter for 2 hours and baked them up immediately. And I couldn't tell the difference in the end, so choose whichever method makes sense for you. If it would be helpful for you to make these coconut almond cookies in two sessions, you certainly could. Mix them up one night and refrigerate or even freeze them. Then garnish and bake them at your leisure.
Happy cooking!
~ Alonna
See the Notes below before you cook.
Chewy Coconut Almond Cookies (Gluten Free)
Ingrediants
Cookie Batter
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour See Note below
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut ~ Also called desiccated coconut, about
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea or table salt ~ About salt
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 plus 1 tablespoon cup coconut oil ~ Melted but not hot
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 cup nuts ~ Optional
Optional Garnishes
- 3 1/2 ounces chocolate ~ Melt and drizzle
- 3/4 cup chopped nuts ~ Almonds work well with the almond extract
- 3/4 cup desiccated coconut ~ See Notes below
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar ~ Or used coarse sugar or sanding sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon ~ Mix into 1/2 cup of sugar above.
Instructions
Cookie Batter
- Gather all the ingredients and line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix together the almond flour, coconut, baking powder, salt and sugar in large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs for a minute or two until they are thoroughly combined. Add the coconut oil and the vanilla and almond extract. Blend well.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Add chopped nuts if using.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop, shape 24 cookies (a few more if you mixed in nuts). Roll the cookies in any of the garnishes above, if you wish. Place 12 cookies on each baking sheet and press down to about 3/8th of an inch or 1 centimeter, using your fingers or a flat bottomed glass. If you want thin crisp cookies, flatten to 1/4-inch (6mm). These cookies do spread a bit so if you like bigger cookies please read the Note below regarding fewer cookies per cookie sheets.
- Bake the cookies and start checking at the 8-minute mark. You are wanting to see some light browning along the edges but the cookies should still soft in the center. If you want the cookies to quite crisp, bake another minute or two.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the trays for 10 minutes before removing them.
Optional Garnishes
- Garnishing ideas
- If using the chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate gently in a small pan over medium heat. Or melt in the microwave melt at 20% power in bursts of 15 seconds, stirring in between. Either way chocolate melts quickly so watch over it carefully. Drizzle using your inner artist.
- Or finely chop your favorite nuts and roll the dough balls in the nuts until well covered.
- Or combine the sugar and spice together and roll the dough until well coated.
Notes
- I have found that flaked or desiccated coconut can be found in quite fine, medium flake, or large flakes. The flaked coconut I bought at Whole Foods was quite fine and the Trader Joes coconut needed to be chopped finer. I wound up using the finer coconut inside these cookies and the larger flakes to roll in for the outside coating.
- If you are wanting pale cookies that will look pretty decorated, be sure to use blanched almond flour. If you don’t care about the color, you can use almond flour that has some almond peel.
- These chewy coconut almond cookies are pretty soft but if you are rolling them in nuts or coconut, the softness helps the garnishes to stick to the dough.
stephanie says
I made a version of these last week and my husband and I thought they were yummy! Loved the almond coconut combo. Had a large bag of whole almonds so decided to ground my own flour but with the skins on. Also since I didn't have any almond flavoring I added vanilla extract but 2x the amount called for. Flattened them out some with a spatula before baking. We agreed adding extra chopped almonds at the end was important for the crunchy texture we like. Will definitely make again but next time use store bought almond flour so it's even easier.
Alonna says
So glad you liked these cookies. Cookies can handle almond meal instead of almond flour, so if you can't find the finer grind it will be fine. I agree that chopped nuts are a very good addition. Thanks for telling us about your experience!!