Need an allergy friendly cookie? This deliciously simple chocolate chip cookie is free from gluten, dairy, eggs and refined sugar.
Got Allergies?
My oldest daughter has been having some health issues recently and so we decided we needed to finally do a food allergy test.
Her number one allergen was kidney beans. I found that super random. She can have all other beans, just no kidney beans, which unfortunately, are used in two of her favorite meals – this taco salad and chili. Fortunately, it’s an easy switch – red beans, black beans, or pinto beans will all easily take kidney beans place.
Which ones are the hardest?
She had a couple other higher-level allergens but it was to things she rarely eats – cranberries, sesame, and okra.
However, there were two allergens that showed up that are a little more difficult to avoid, eggs and dairy – specifically cows milk and whey. We already avoid dairy at our house most of the time so that switch was not too challenging.
Avoiding Eggs
About 6 years ago, she started noticing that eggs hurt her stomach when she ate them straight, such as scrambled eggs or hard – boiled eggs. She avoided eating eggs that way and it wasn’t too big of a deal. I had not really avoided baking with eggs at all since they didn’t seem to bother her in small amounts in baked goods.
In the last three weeks, she has been avoiding every bit of egg in the hopes that it will help clear up a few things. I have learned a few things along the way.
Her most requested recipe adaptation has been a really good chocolate chip cookie. We tried a few different egg free, dairy free recipes but ended up disappointed.
Recipe Testing
The tricky thing is I also wanted a refined sugar free and a gluten free option. That’s a lot of different things to avoid and still end up with something edible!
After a couple attempts, this cookie fits the bill! It is dairy free, egg free, refined sugar free and can be made with two different gluten free flours or with einkorn flour as well for a whole grain option. (If you want it completely refined sugar free, Hu chocolate makes chocolate gems with coconut sugar. I chop the gems into smaller pieces for these cookies.)
Everyone was impressed, even our guests who did not have any allergens to avoid!
I have since made the recipe several times just to test it out. It turns out great every time! Here is a picture of the testing process at my house!
Really Long Names
In an effort to keep things simple, I chose to call it the Free Chocolate Chip Cookie because if I wrote out all the things it is free of, the name would be ridiculously long.
I hope this cookie makes someone happy at your house that also has to avoid a long list of ingredients because sometimes you just need a yummy chocolate chip cookie!
Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
2/3 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup coconut sugar
2/3 cup maple syrup
1 cup almond flour
1 3/4 cup flour – see notes
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chunks
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the oil, coconut sugar and maple syrup to a medium sized bowl. Stir until well combined. Add the almond flour, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate. Stir again until no dry streaks remain.
This dough is a little more stiff than a regular cookie dough. If your dough isn’t a tiny bit more stiff than you will need to add a tablespoon or so more of flour. The stiffness keeps them from spreading all over your pan.
If you aren’t sure if the dough is stiff enough, you can test one cookie by baking it before baking all the dough.
I like to use a two tablespoon scoop with these cookies but they can be made larger or smaller. Scoop twelve dough balls onto a cookie sheet. Place your pan in your preheated oven. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Watch carefully, you don’t want them over cooked. You want the bottom edges just barely starting to brown and the center to be set.
TWEAK IT NOTES
- CORN FREE – Be sure your baking powder is corn free.
- SWEETNESS – This is a sweet cookie, since I was trying to mimic regular chocolate chip cookies. If you want it less sweet, you can decrease the coconut sugar. Don’t decrease the maple syrup, it is needed to hold everything together.
- FLOUR OPTIONS – Originally, I used whole grain einkorn flour but wanted a gluten free option as well. Gluten free flour and oat flour both work well. If you freshly grind your einkorn flour or oat flour you will need to increase the amount of flour by about a 1/4 cup.
- NUT FREE – I have not tried any substitutes for almond flour. I read that maybe sunflower seed flour could work but I haven’t tried it.
- CHOCOLATE CHIPS – The Enjoy Life brand is dairy free. Nestle now makes an organic dairy free option. The Costco near me, sells dairy free chocolate chips during the holiday season – they are the most cost effective. If you want a refined sugar free option, Hu chocolate sells chocolate gems that I chop into smaller pieces for cookies.
