The holiday season is upon us and these healthy 3-ingredient almond flour cookies are the perfect soft and chewy cookies to add to your cookie tray this year. Unlike your typical cookies, this recipe is eggless, contains no refined sugar, and no butter. With only 3 simple ingredients, these easy almond flour cookies are a breeze to prepare and are sure to be a hit with the whole family! {Gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo & vegetarian}
3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookie Recipe – So Easy!
The holiday season can be super busy, and baking up delicious cookies shouldn’t be stressful or require a long or complicated recipe. That’s exactly why we created this easy 3-ingredient almond flour cookies recipe! It’s a great opportunity to try a new simple holiday treat, while incorporating some extra nutrients at the same time.
Made with almond flour, honey, water and a pinch of salt, these chewy almond flour cookies come together in a few easy steps. First, we mix almond flour and honey together with a bit of warm water to create a dough. The dough is then frozen before being rolled out, cut into shapes and baked. The cooled cookies are then dipped in dark chocolate for a final pop of flavour.
The best part is, this recipe can easily be adapted to suit your needs! Use a vegan substitute for honey such as maple syrup or switch up the flavour combination to give them a different spin. Crushed candy canes and peppermint extract can provide that delicious chocolate and mint combo, while adding orange zest can incorporate a hint of citrus. The possibilities are endless!
At the end of the day, these healthy almond flour cookies are the perfect base to experiment with different add-ins or toppings, and they’re pretty tasty too!
For more easy cookie recipes, check out these Almond Flour Shortbread Cookies and 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Blossoms too!
Why We Love These Almond Flour Honey Cookies
- Easy: With only 3 simple ingredients, these honey almond flour cookies are the easiest cookies ever. No need to scrounge up or measure out a ton of ingredients. Plus, clean up is a breeze.
- Healthier option: These almond flour cookies are made without butter or refined sugar, making them lower in saturated fat and sugar than your traditional cookies. They’re the perfect healthier, sweet treat to enjoy this holiday season (or any time of year)!
- Soft and chewy: Healthy doesn’t have to mean boring and our 3-ingredient almond flour cookies are perfectly sweet, soft and chewy, just like your favourite cookies!
Ingredient Notes
- Almond flour: Look for finely blanched almond flour and not almond meal. Most major grocery stores carry it in the health food section, or baking aisle, but you can also find it here. Almond flour is rich in healthy fats, vitamin E and other antioxidants, plus it can help control blood sugar levels.
- Honey: Local honey is best, but you can use whatever you have available. For this recipe, we use the runny versus the creamed type of honey to form the right dough consistency.
- Salt: To balance out the sweetness of the honey, salt brings out the flavour in these almond flour honey cookies.
How to Make Almond Flour Cookies – Step by Step Instructions
Step 1 – Form the Dough
- First mix the almond flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Next, stir in the honey until clumps of dough start to form. Add 1 tablespoon of warm water as needed until the dough comes together in a large ball.
- Wrap the dough in parchment paper and place it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 2 – Roll Dough & Make Shapes
- Remove the dough from the freezer and place it between 2 sheets of parchment paper about the size of your cookie sheet. Then roll out the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
- Next, using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut out stars and remove excess dough from around the cutter. When all the shapes are cut, remove the parchment paper full of stars to your baking sheet. Save the remaining dough to be rolled out for more cookies.
Step 3 – Bake the Cookies
- Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes. Check the cookies at the 9 minute mark to ensure they don’t over bake. The almond flour cookies should feel soft in the middle and have lightly browned edges. Cool cookies completely, as this is when they will firm up.
- Meanwhile, roll out the remaining dough on another piece of parchment paper and bake as directed above.
Step 4 – Dip in Chocolate (Optional)
- If desired dip the cooled cookies in chocolate. Before dipping the almond flour cookies, place the cooled cookies back on the baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.
- To make melted chocolate, heat chocolate chips for 20 seconds, gently stir and keep heating in 20-second increments until all of the chocolate is melted.
- Place the chocolate-dipped cookies back on the baking sheet used in the freezer and decorate as desired. Freeze for 10 minutes more to harden the chocolate. Serve the cookies!
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
Tips for the Best Almond Flour Cookies:
- For best results, be sure to roll out the almond flour cookie dough as evenly as possible. If any parts of the cookie are thinner, they may brown up more quickly around the edges, resulting in unevenly baked cookies.
- Keep a very close eye on the cookies since almond flour burns very quickly. If your oven tends to run hot, check them before the 9 minute mark. The baking time may vary depending on your oven.
- The back of the oven tends to be the hottest part of the oven, so you may find that the cookies at the back will cook up faster. You may need to remove them from the oven first when checking the cookies if they’re cooking up faster than the rest to prevent them from burning.
- I also tested this recipe using smaller cookie cutters (5 cm in diameter). If you plan to make smaller cookies, cook them for 7-9 minutes.
- If you plan to skip the chocolate step, feel free to decorate the cookies with some sprinkles or other desired decorations before placing them in the oven, or use frosting after they’re baked.
Recipe FAQs
I wouldn’t recommend substituting regular all-purpose flour for almond flour. This recipe has been tested using almond flour and regular flour does not have the same qualities as almond flour, therefore some adjustments would need to be made.
Almond flour cookies may taste mildly sweeter and have a slightly nutty flavour. The consistency of the flour results in a nice soft and chewy cookie that resembles the taste of shortbread cookies.
Almond flour is a great way to incorporate extra nutrients into your diet since it contains vitamin E, magnesium, fibre, protein and healthy fats. Overall, it’s more nutrient dense than regular flour.
However, it’s important to also consider the ingredients accompanying the almond flour. If extra sugar, butter or other processed ingredients are added, then the benefit is negligible.
Additionally, almond flour can be helpful in controlling blood sugar levels as it’s lower in carbohydrates, while being a source of protein and healthy fats. If you have a gluten intolerance, it’s naturally gluten-free, making it a suitable option for those with a wide range of dietary requirements.
How to Store
Room temperature: Since these almond cookies are eggless they can be stored at room temperature, in a covered jar or airtight container for up to one week.
Refrigerator: These cookies can be stored, covered in the fridge for up to one week. They will begin to soften as they absorb moisture.
Freezer: Store cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months in the freezer. If stacking, place parchment paper between the cookies, to prevent them from sticking together. Allow them to thaw in the fridge or at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Decorating Ideas
These 3-ingredient almond flour cookies can be decorated in many ways, from savoury to sweet.
- Dip in chocolate then sprinkle with crushed candy canes, crushed nuts, shredded coconut or sea salt
- Frost the cookies with icing
- Add sprinkles
- Sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds
- Indent cookies before baking and make thumbprint cookies, fill with jam
Serving Suggestions
Almond cookies are perfect with a warm drink like a cup of coffee or tea, a cold glass of milk or a milk alternative.
You can also serve them as part of a larger spread along with any of the following:
- Healthy hot chocolate
- Turmeric Latte
- Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Christmas Fruit Wreath
- Pretzel Reindeer Bites
- Oat Flour Thumbprint Cookies
Recipe Variations
- Switch up the flavour: Add in a bit of orange zest to the cookie dough before baking, or try a bit of vanilla extract or almond extract instead.
- To make vegan almond flour cookies: Instead of using honey, try pure maple syrup.
- To make keto: Use a sugar-free maple syrup instead of honey and sugar-free dark chocolate if you choose to dip the cookies.
More Tasty Treats
- Lemon Almond Flour Cookies
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Blueberry Banana Almond Flour Muffins
- 3-Ingredient Christmas Fudge
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3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies {With Honey}
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup honey (the runny kind)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons warm water
For decorating (optional)
- 3/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the almond flour and salt to a large bowl. Mix until combined.
- Next, add in the honey and stir until clumps of dough start to form. If the dough is too crumbly, add 1 tablespoon of warm water and mix until you get a dough-like consistency. You may have to add a bit more almond flour if the mixture seems too sticky, or a bit of additional water if the mixture seems too dry to reach the right consistency. You should be able to roll the dough into a ball.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Wrap the dough ball in parchment paper and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
- Next, place the dough ball in between two pieces of parchment paper roughly the size of your baking sheet. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough so that it’s about ¼ inch (0.5cm) thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper.
- Using a star cookie cutter (or another preferred shape), cut out stars in the dough, removing the excess dough around the cookie cutters with a knife or your fingers. Carefully hold the parchment paper full of cut out cookies by the outer edges and transfer it to a baking sheet.
- Roll out the remaining dough and continue cutting out shapes until all of the dough has been used up. If you don’t have much dough left at the end, you can just form it into a small circular cookie. Place on a second baking sheet.
- Bake for 9-12 minutes, depending on how large you cut the cookies and how thick you rolled the dough. Check the cookies at the 9 minute mark and every minute or so after that since almond flour burns very quickly. They should be slightly soft to the touch in the middle with firmer and lightly golden edges.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to fully cool on the baking sheet. They will firm up during this time.
- To dip them in chocolate:
- Once cooled, transfer the cookies back to the baking sheet and place in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
- Next, in a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 20 second increments until just melted and smooth.
- Dip the cooled cookies halfway into the melted chocolate, allowing any excess chocolate to drip off.
- Once the chocolate has stopped dripping, place the dipped cookies on the cold baking sheet that was in the freezer. Repeat with remaining cookies.
- If desired, decorate chocolate with decorations such as chopped pistachios, sea salt, sprinkles, chopped candy cane, or leave plain.
- Place the chocolate dipped cookies back in the freezer for about 10 minutes to allow the chocolate to harden. Now they’re ready to serve!
Notes
- For best results, be sure to roll out the almond flour cookie dough as evenly as possible. If any parts of the cookie are thinner, they may brown up more quickly around the edges, resulting in unevenly baked cookies.
- Keep a very close eye on the cookies since almond flour burns very quickly. If your oven tends to run hot, check them before the 9 minute mark. The baking time may vary depending on your oven.
- The back of the oven tends to be the hottest part of the oven, so you may find that the cookies at the back will cook up faster. You may need to remove them from the oven first when checking the cookies if they’re cooking up faster than the rest to prevent them from burning.
- I also tested this recipe using smaller cookie cutters (5 cm in diameter). If you plan to make smaller cookies, cook them for 7-9 minutes.
- If you plan to skip the chocolate step, feel free to decorate the cookies with some sprinkles or other desired decorations before placing them in the oven, or use frosting after they’re baked.
I have worked for beekeepers who informed me that honey should not be baked. it destroys the natural enzymes in the honey when it gets too hot. Is there any other substitute for honey in this recipe?
You could try maple syrup, however I haven’t personally tested it in these cookies myself. Let me know how it goes if you try it out!
Can’t wait to try the cookies
Hope you enjoy!