Paleo chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are a healthier cookie recipe you need to try! Whether you are out of brown sugar or you are looking to reduce your refined sugars, this recipe fits both needs! Chocolatey, warm & chewy cookies out of the oven in less than one hour, even with chill time!

Would you like to save this?
This post may contain paid links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read my disclaimer.
Jump to:
Whether you've run out of brown sugar or you are looking for a healthier cookie (like these oat flour peanut butter cookies) these chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are the perfect solution!
It doesn't have to be Christmas to bake of a batch of these! In fact, they are perfect to make anytime of the year especially if you are on the hunt for healthy cookie recipes or gluten free cookies.
If you love these cookies you have to give my almond butter oatmeal chocolate chip a try! Need a smaller amount? Swap out brown sugar for coconut sugar in these small batch chocolate chip cookies!
What Makes This Recipe Work
- No brown sugar and no white sugar: These chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar are also made without white sugar! Instead, they are made with coconut sugar making them refined sugar free.
- Healthier although you won't be able to tell! Although they are are chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar, even the most seasoned cookie aficionado will love their flavor and texture.
- Best recipe for fitting many dietary restrictions: Paleo, keto, gluten free, grain free, dairy free and can be made vegan.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
- Chocolate Chips: I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips but you could use any chocolate chip you like or even chop up a chocolate candy bar to make it more of a chunk style and create pools of chocolate.
- Almond Flour: Be sure to use high quality almond flour, not almond meal. You will want to select a finely milled almond flour such as Bob's Red Mill, Blue Diamond or Kirkland.
- Almond Butter: May also swap for tahini - it is a one-for-one swap.
- Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar is a great swap when making chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar.
How to Make These Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to cook this recipe. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.
- Begin by mixing together your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- While oven is preheating to 350F you can begin to cream together all of your wet ingredients. Once they are well incorporated, add dry ingredients to wet in three parts then fold in chocolate chips.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop rolled cookie dough balls and place them 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Once your cookies have baked for 9-11 minutes, allow them to cool for 5 minutes on a baking sheet. Top with sea salt and press a small indent into each top before transferring to a cooling sheet to cool completely.
Expert Tips
- Skip the homemade flour and the almond meal and opt for a fine milled almond flour like Bob's Red Mill, Blue Diamond or Kirkland.
- Use refined coconut oil if you do not like the taste of coconut.
- The temperature of the butter and coconut oil is super important! You want the coconut oil to be the consistency of softened butter, not melted. Otherwise, you will end up with flat cookies.
- Chilling time is super important when you are baking these cookies. I know it is tempting to skip the chill time, but the longer you can chill them the better. I recommend no less than 30 minutes chill time, or an hour if you can manage it.
- The size of your cookie scoop will determine the amount you make as well as the time for baking. I used a small cookie scoop and got about 36 cookies while a larger scoop may result in only 12 cookies. You will also need to account for a few more minutes of bake time as the centers may not bake up as quickly for the larger cookies.
- Top with flaky sea salt - trust me on this one!
- Vegan option: to make these vegan replace butter with vegan butter and replace egg with a flax egg or applesauce.
- Keto option: to make these keto replace coconut sugar with Monk Fruit Baking Blend or Stevia Baking Blend and use Lily's chocolate chips.
- Double Chocolate variation: Add in ¼ cup cocoa powder to dry ingredients.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to one week on the counter. Unbaked cookie dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container. You may also freeze baked cookies or unbaked cookie dough in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
FAQs
Coconut sugar is a great replacement for brown sugar in cookie recipes.
Baking is a science and each flour has its own chemical makeup. I do not recommend substituting any other flours for this recipe.
I've made these with tahini and they are just as delicious. You can substitute it 1 for 1.
Related Recipes
If you've made this recipe, would you please leave a star rating and comment below on the recipe card? If you want more simple + delicious eats, please subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for the latest updates.
Chocolate Chip Cookies without Brown Sugar
Equipment
- 1 cookie cooling rack
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ¼ cup grassfed butter
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup almond butter may substitute for tahini
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups almond flour can sub ¼ cup of almond flour for gluten free flour for less dense/flat cookies
- 1 cup chocolate chips Enjoy Life recommended for paleo or vegan, Lily's for keto or low carb
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream together the butter with the coconut sugar, coconut oil and almond butter using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three parts, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the chocolate chips with a wooden spoon.
- Use a small cookie scooper to scoop out approximately 36 small cookie dough balls. Roll each ball of dough and place onto baking sheet.
- Bake cookies about two to three inches apart for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Pull cookies from the oven. Press a small divot into the top of each cookie and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack to completely cool.
Notes
- Skip the homemade flour and the almond meal and opt for a fine milled almond flour like Bob's Red Mill, Blue Diamond or Kirkland.
- Use refined coconut oil if you do not like the taste of coconut.
- The temperature of the butter and coconut oil is super important! You want the coconut oil to be the consistency of softened butter, not melted. Otherwise, you will end up with flat cookies.
- Chilling time is super important when you are baking these cookies. I know it is tempting to skip the chill time, but the longer you can chill them the better. I recommend no less than 30 minutes chill time, or an hour if you can manage it.
- The size of your cookie scoop will determine the amount you make as well as the time for baking. I used a small cookie scoop and got about 36 cookies while a larger scoop may result in only 12 cookies. You will also need to account for a few more minutes of bake time as the centers may not bake up as quickly for the larger cookies.
- Vegan option: to make these vegan replace butter with vegan butter and replace egg with a flax egg or applesauce.
- Keto option: to make these keto replace coconut sugar with Monk Fruit Baking Blend or Stevia Baking Blend and use Lily's chocolate chips.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container for up to one week on the counter. Unbaked cookie dough may be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container. You may also freeze baked cookies or unbaked cookie dough in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Leave a Reply