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–+ servings
Two protein chocolate chip cookies on a plate.
Print Recipe
4.67 from 9 votes

gluten-free protein chocolate chip cookies

With no protein powder in sight, these gluten-free protein chocolate chip cookies are a dream snack or treat. They are easy to whip up in one bowl and get their protein from whole sources like hemp seeds and almond flour. We keep a few in the freezer at all times because they are that good!
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: almond flour, gluten free, hemp hearts
Servings: 12 cookies
Calories: 374kcal
Author: Mika Kinney

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter room temp, or butter substitute
  • ½ c pure maple syrup
  • ½ c cashew butter runny (I like Target and Whole Food's brands), any nut butter will work
  • 1 egg or flax egg
  • 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ⅔ c almond flour
  • ⅔ c hemp hearts or hemp flour
  • ¼ c low fat plain greek yogurt full fat or similar will work too!
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks
  • Flaky sea salt for topping

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, beat the ½ cup unsalted butter until fluffy (about 1 minute). Then mix in the ½ c pure maple syrup, ½ c cashew butter, 1 egg, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and ¼ c low fat plain greek yogurt until well combined.
    To make hemp flour: Blend the hemp hearts in a food processor, blender, or coffee grinder until a flour forms. It should only take a couple pulses.
    If using a flax egg: Mix together 3 tablespoon water with 1 tablespoon flaxseeds and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it thickens. Then mix in.
  • Mix in the 1 ⅔ c almond flour, ⅔ c hemp hearts or hemp flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks.
  • Let the dough chill in the fridge for 30 minutes (overnight is fine too) to stiffen up and rehydrate. This is uber important to the cookies staying together and not running all over the pan!
    A close-up of chocolate chip cookie dough in a bowl with a metal cookie scoop, and a hand with red-painted nails holding the scoop.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.
  • Use a cookie scoop or spoon to scoop out 12 even balls. This ends up being about 1.5 scoops from a standard cookie scoop. Gently roll into balls (the less we handle the dough, the better).
    A close-up of a ball of chocolate chip cookie dough sitting on a silicone baking mat, with sunlight shining on it.
  • Bake for 8 minutes; remove the cookies and slam/drop the pan on the counter twice to flatten them a bit. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or until the edges are just set and golden. Remove from the oven and slam on the counter once more. Then let them cool for 15 minutes on the counter(super important when working with gluten free baked goods) to continue baking and firm up. Then move them to the freezer to fully cool and set up, otherwise they will crumble on you.
    If you're not sure what this means, check out the video to see what it means to slam it on the counter.
  • Top with flaky sea salt and use a spatula to carefully remove the cookies from the tray. They are very tender, so the spatula is super helpful. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

If your butter isn't softened, you can partially melt it and mix the batter together. Then, put the batter in the freezer for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight to firm it up.
Store these cookies in an air tight container for up to a week in the fridge. Left them cool completely before storing.
Swaps
Feel free to use any chocolate chips you like.
Almond butter can replace the cashew butter.
There is no substitute for almond flour because it reacts so differently than any other flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 25g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g