Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cassava Flour
Made with cassava and tapioca flours, this amazing paleo cookie is crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Chocolate chip cookies, the most basic of cookies, are a staple in many households. For those needing alternative ingredients, this paleo version hits the spot! These cookies are crisp yet soft with lots of chocolate goodness.
Cassava Flour
One of the flours used for this recipe is cassava flour. It can be found in whole food stores or online. It acts similar to regular wheat flour, but isn't a grain and doesn't contain gluten. It's wonderful to work with when it comes to paleo baking.
Tapioca Flour
Tapioca flour is also used in this recipe, which also comes from the cassava root. This flour works well in making cookies crisp and light.
Psyllium Husk Powder
Psyllium husk powder is the ground powder that comes from psyllium husks. It is used as a binder which helps hold together baked goods in the absence of gluten. This can be found on whole food stores or online. A little goes a long way when used in baking.
Ghee
Ghee is butter that has had the casein removed. Therefore it is considered dairy free and works well in paleo baking. Ghee is commonly sold in most stores. And grass-fed is even better!
Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Chips
There are numerous brands of chocolate chips that do not contain cane sugar. Most consist of stevia or date sugar. These can be found in most stores, as well as whole food stores and online.
How to Make Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cassava Flour
These paleo chocolate chip cookies are made similarly to regular chocolate chip cookies. First, gather all your ingredients. Mix together all the dry ingredients (not the coconut sugar) and set aside.
Cream together the ghee and coconut sugar with an electric mixer. Mix until it is well incorporated and light and fluffy.
Then add the eggs, vanilla extract, and maple syrup and mix well.
Finally, add the dry ingredients with the wet and mix well to thoroughly combine. Stir in the refined sugar free chocolate chips. The cookie dough will be quite soft at this point, which is normal. Place in the refrigerator to chill for 1-2 hours prior to baking.
Using a small trigger ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment lined pan. If you don't have a trigger scoop, simply use a spoon to scoop the dough. You'll end up with about 24-26 drops of cookie dough.
Bake cookies for 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Let sit on the baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes after taking them out of the oven. The cookies are fragile and need resting time after being baked. After resting so they are firm enough to move, transfer cookies from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.
Even with tapioca flour and psyllium husk powder, the cookies are delicate until they have completely cooled. The purpose of the parchment is to help remove the cookies from the pan without breaking them. If you don't have parchment, just be extra gentle when transferring the cookies from the baking sheet to the cooling rack.
Let cookies cool completely, about 1-2 hours, before serving.
Storage
- Room temperature: in a cookie tin or paper bag for 3-4 days.
- Refrigerator: in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Eat your paleo chocolate chip cookies as is or with a glass of nut milk! Enjoy!
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies with Cassava Flour
Equipment
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 cookie sheet
- 1 small trigger ice cream scoop optional
- parchment optional
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup cassava flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp psyllium husk powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup ghee
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup refined sugar free chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together cassava flour, tapioca flour, psyllium husk powder, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.
- Put ghee and coconut sugar in a separate medium sized bowl. Using in electric mixer, cream together until light and fluffy.
- Add vanilla extract, eggs, and maple syrup and mix again until combined.
- Pour the mixed dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. Using a spoon, stir well until thoroughly combined. The dough might be thinner than a traditional cookie dough which is fine.
- Add chocolate chips and mix again.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a pan by placing a piece of parchment paper on it. This isn't completely necessary but helps when removing the cookies.
- Take a small trigger ice cream scoop if you have one and scoop the dough, pressing the lever to release it onto the pan. If you don't have this type of scoop, use a spoon about the size of a tablespoon. Scoop 24-26 balls onto your pans. Bake on the middle rack for 12 minutes.
- Remove cookies from the oven and let rest on the pan, about 5-10 minutes, until they are firm enough to move. Then transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack with a spatula (or by sliding off the parchment). Let cool completely, about 2 hours, prior to eating.
- Store cookies in a cookie tin at room temperature for up to 4 days. Alternatively, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Enjoy!
Can I leave the husk out and also use coconut oil instead of ghee?
Hi Antonia! I haven’t tried the recipe with these alterations so I can’t be sure, however I think that replacing ghee with coconut oil would work fine. The husk helps provide some “glue” similar to what gluten does, so the cookie might be a bit more crumbly without it. I would definitely let them cool completely and handle them carefully. If you try these changes I’d like to know how it turns out! Thank you for checking out my recipes!
Hi, could I leave the eggs out? As I would love these to be vegan…? If I left them out, would it be fine? Or is there an alterative..?
Hi Antonia, thanks for your comment. I haven’t tried egg replacements so I can’t make guarantees. Eggs help with texture and volume, so offhand the replacements I can think of would be to increase the baking powder and add flax egg (look up flaxseed meal with water). If you make adjustments to the recipe I’d love to know how they turn out. Thanks!