Hearty, sweet and bursting with flavor, these almond flour oatmeal cookies are packed with oats and make a terrific snack. This one-bowl recipe uses chocolate chips as a mix in, but raisins, cranberries, even dark chocolate would be excellent as well. They're a simple, easy and delicious cookie jar essential!
I originally published this recipe in 2021, but have since updated the steps and added more helpful tips.
Unlike other oatmeal cookies, these oatmeal almond flour cookies are not loaded in sugar. In fact they have less sugar than most cookie recipes in general. Here's what one reader had to say about them:
Very delicious! Just sweet enough. We try not to eat a lot of sweets, but sometimes you've got to give in. I don't feel too guilty because they're made with healthy ingredients. Perfect size to take for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!
Here's Why These Are the Best Almond Flour Oatmeal Cookies!
When a sweet tooth creeps in, this is the cookie recipe to reach for! Everyone will love the soft, chewy, tender cookie and you'll love the fact that they're quick to prep! Not only that, they're also:
Made in one bowl
Dairy free
Versatile for different mix-ins
Great for longer storage
Perfect for making ahead
There aren't many cookie recipes out there that actually taste amazing days later (see these pumpkin cookies for another one!) but these oatmeal cookies definitely hit the mark. They're along the same lines as this spice cake and this strawberry cake, delicious, even several days later.
Ingredients You'll Need & Possible Substitutions
Just an 11 ingredient list and you are on your way to scrumptious almond flour oatmeal cookies!
The ingredients used in the recipe have been tested and retested, I can confirm these brands work very well. But if you are needing to substitute an ingredient, I have some recommendations here as well...
Almond Flour - Almond flour is not the same as almond meal (see the note right below this section). I recommend the almond flour from Nuts.com. Other flour substitutes include oat flour. Though I would caution swapping the entire serving of flour, try half almond flour and half oat flour.
Oats - Like the almond flour, the oats are a staple in this recipe, I recommend using oats that are certified gluten-free. If you'd like to try something different, quinoa flakes would be a possible alternative.
Chocolate chips - The Enjoy Life brand works wonderfully. Instead of chocolate chips, try raisins, dried cranberries, or dried cherries.
Vegan butter - The Melt brand works well in this recipe. Other alternatives are Earth Balance, Country Crock, and even coconut oil.
Brown sugar and granulated sugar - These sugars are essential for proper texture and sweetness of the cookies. Consider using something like Swerve as an alternative sweetener.
Exact measurements and step-by-step instructions for making these oatmeal cookies with almond flour are in the recipe card below.
Almond Meal and Almond Flour
Almond meal is not the same as almond flour and cannot be used interchangeably - in this cookie recipe or in any other recipe. Almond meal closely resembles breadcrumbs, with a coarse texture. Almond flour is fine and more of a powder, flour consistency. Find out more about almond meal and almond flour here.
Step-By-Step Directions
Step One: Mix the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl until creamy.
Step Two: Into the bowl of the stand mixer, add the egg and vanilla extract. Mix until creamy.
Step Three: Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix for 1 minute.
Step Four: Add the oats and mix until combined.
Step Five: Add the chocolate chips and mix until combined.
Step Six: After a 30-minute refrigeration, potion the dough onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
Baking the Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes and remove to a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy the cookies warm from the oven or cool! Store them in an airtight container.
Cookie Baking Pro Tips
Most cookies follow the same basic pattern of creaming, adding eggs, then adding flour, but there are also some insider tips that will help you in your baking - for example, did you know that a rest time for the batter makes for a better textured cookie? Here are some other tips to follow for the absolute best tasting cookies:
Measure ingredients by weight instead of cups
As I've highlighted before in this tips post and in my baking masterclass, weight is the best way to measure ingredients, particularly flours and starches in gluten free baking. The reason why? Accuracy matters, a lot! If a recipe calls for 150 grams of oats (as this recipe does) that may actually be more or less than the cups measurement. Because let's face it, we all measure things differently. But weight is accurate every time.
Refrigerate the dough
Typically you'll see me mention letting the batter 'rest' for a certain time frame, usually 30 minutes, before baking. Yeast breads like this oat bread would be the only exception since the rise time translates to the rest time. But most of the time, you'll want to set the fully mixed batter aside to rest so the starches have time to hydrate, which will result in a perfectly textured bread or baked good.
In this cookie recipe, we refrigerate the dough which does quite a few things - it helps develop a deeper flavor, reduces spreading and makes for an overall sweeter cookie.
Mix the batter well
With gluten containing batters and doughs, you mix just until it's combined, not any more as overmixing is a big problem and can ruin a recipe.
But with gluten free baked goods, overmixing is not usually a problem. As with these cookies, you'll want to mix the dough for about 2 minutes on medium after adding the egg and vanilla to fully combine that step in the process. Then, after adding the flour and dry ingredients, you'll mix for another minute to fully incorporate the flour. Since there's no gluten to worry about, there's no chance of developing tough cookies!
FAQs
What's the best way to store these cookies?
These cookies store extremely well! Place baked and cooled cookies in a plastic storage container or sealed plastic bag and they will last up to 4 days at room temperature.
Can I make the batter ahead of time?
This cookie dough batter can be made and then stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just make sure to cover it well and then bake as usual.
What other mix-ins would be good with this cookie dough?
There are lots of options with this batter - dried cranberries, dried cherries, raisins, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, even peanut butter chips.
Are almond flour and almond meal the same thing?
Almond flour and almond meal are not the same thing. As described in this post, almond flour is finer because it's made from peeled almonds. Almond meal is more coarse because made from raw almonds. You'll want to make sure to use almond flour in this recipe.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds on medium speed.
Add egg and vanilla extract and mix on medium for 2 minutes.
Add almond flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop machine and scrape down the sides. Mix for another minute on medium.
Stir in chocolate chips with a large spoon.
Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Scoop tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes or until cookies are set.
Cool on pans for 5 minutes on a wire rack then remove and finish cooling.
Video
Notes
Ingredients should be at room temperature.
Measure by weight instead of cups.
Refrigerate batter before baking.
Use parchment lined cookie sheets for easy clean up.
Very delicious! Just sweet enough. We try not to eat a lot of sweets, but sometimes you've got to give in. I don't feel too guilty because they're made with healthy ingredients. Perfect size to take for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!
will
Jump to video link jumped to the recipe.
Christine
Hi Will,
Oh thank you for letting me know.
Christine
Mary
Very delicious! Just sweet enough. We try not to eat a lot of sweets, but sometimes you've got to give in. I don't feel too guilty because they're made with healthy ingredients. Perfect size to take for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!