Almond Joy Cookies (Naturally Gluten Free!)
If you love the combination of rich chocolate, almonds, and shredded coconut, you’re going to fall hard for these Easy Almond Joy Cookies!
How To Make Easy Almond Joy Cookies
If you can separate an egg, you can make these cookies. Seriously, they are that easy. And if that task seems daunting, pick up an egg separator, and this will be an absolute breeze.
- This recipe begins with toasting the coconut and almonds. I prefer the texture of almond slices, but slivered almonds would also work. Find out How to Toast Coconut the easy way!
- While you’re toasting the coconut and almonds, start mixing up the cookies.
- Grab a large bowl and whisk together some cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt. Add 4 egg whites and a little splash of vanilla and keep whisking gently. We actually don’t want the egg whites to stiffen here.
- It might take a bit of patience to get the batter moistened, but soon you’ll have a smooth, somewhat sticky looking batter. It won’t look like regular cookie dough. That’s just fine!
- Then we stir in all of our Almond Joy goodies–the toasted coconut, almonds, and a handful of mini chocolate chips.
- Scoop the batter out onto parchment paper or silicone baking mats, and you’re ready to bake!
Magical Almond Joy Cookies
Sometime in the next 15 minutes, something magical will happen. This strange looking cookie batter will be transformed into the fudgiest, richest, dreamiest, best almond joy cookies around.
When you see them puffed slightly, with shiny, cracked tops, it’s time to take them out of the oven. They might sink slightly, but that’s just fine. It only adds to the decadent, fudgy texture.
If you can wait for them to cool, more power to you. The rest of us cookie monsters will dive right in, eating them warm off the tray, relishing the delicate balance of toasted almonds and coconut against dark, fudgy chocolate.
If you like to get fancy (and you know I do), sprinkle the cookies with a little flaked sea salt. Oh.ma.goodness.
I’m being 100 percent honest when I tell you THESE COOKIES ARE BETTER THAN ALMOND JOY CANDY BARS.
You may think I’m crazy, but I’ve got an almond joy loving husband who will back me up on this. These cookies are richer and darker than the traditional candy bar, but they also have the perfect distribution of almonds and coconut.
I always hate having to ration the single almond in an Almond Joy candy bar. With these, you get plenty of almonds in every single delicious bite.
You Should Probably Make This Almond Joy Cookie Recipe
If you love the shiny cracked tops of a fresh batch of brownies…
If Almond Joys are your favorite candy bar…
If you have a SERIOUS chocolate craving…
If you’re living a gluten free lifestyle, but still need cookies in your life…
If you have leftover egg whites hanging out in the fridge because you just made a batch of Homemade Egg Noodles…
YOU SHOULD MAKE THESE COOKIES.
I promise you’ll be saying “Holy Cow!” too!
P.S. Love coconut cookies? Try these other recipes:
Not sure what to do with the leftover egg yolks? I have a collection of over 50 Recipes for Leftover Egg Yolks to use them up!
Almond Joy Cookies (Naturally Gluten Free!)
These easy Almond Joy Cookies are packed with chocolate, toasted coconuts, and almonds and have an incredible rich and fudgy texture.
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted almond slivers or slices
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 3-4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)
- Flaked sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread almonds and shredded coconut evenly on a large rimmed baking pan. Place in oven and toast for about 7-8 minutes, turning/tossing once halfway through. They're finished when they're golden brown and fragrant. Allow to cool slightly before adding to the cookie batter.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together cocoa, powdered sugar, and salt. Add 3 egg whites and the vanilla extract and mix until just moistened. If the mixture is still very thick, add the 4th egg white. You're going for a thick, brownie like consistency. Don't over-whisk or the eggs will stiffen.
- Stir in the almonds, coconut, and chocolate chips.
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. These stick badly on bare cookie sheets, so don't skip this step! Spoon batter by the Tablespoon onto the baking sheet (this makes 24) or heaping Tablespoon (this makes 18 large cookies).
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, turning pans and shifting top to bottom rack halfway through. Cookies are finished when tops are shiny and cracked. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the pan, then slide the parchment paper off the pans and allow to cool completely before removing the cookies. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.
Notes
- I always recommend checking packaging to ensure your ingredients are certified gluten free, if needed.
- The sweetened shredded coconut can be replaced with unsweetened and you can also use finely chopped almonds in places of the slivers of slices.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 137Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 117mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 2g
Please note nutritional information for my recipes is calculated by a third party service and provided as a courtesy to my readers. For the most accurate calculation, I always recommend running the numbers yourself with the specific products you use.
Would oil the parchment paper as mine really stuck to the paper
Sweetened or unsweetened coconut? If the recipe specified, I missed it. Thank you.
Sorry about that. I usually use sweetened coconut.
I don’t know why everyone’s batter was runny? My came out perfect!!!
I let eggs get to room temp (only needed 3 whites), I baked my almonds and coconut to toast, I WEIGHED all ingredients, I mixed everything with a fork … perfection!
So so good!
Unfortunately I started making these before I read the reviews 🙄 I found this recipe when I was searching for a way to use up some egg whites I had leftover after making hollandaise. These are WAY to runny to work! I also checked and double checked the recipe. Can’t figure it out. Too bad I wasted all these ingredients 😞
I’m so sorry to hear that. I have made this multiple times over and can’t seem to replicate the runny issue, but I’m going to continue troubleshooting. I think this might be an issue with different sized eggs, so starting with just 3 egg whites and adding the fourth only if needed might help!
I’m so sorry to hear that! So they were so runny they couldn’t be scooped onto the pan? I would love to help troubleshoot with you.
I too just got done mixing up this recipe (couldn’t wait to try these!) and my dough is runny. Did I say this dough is RUNNY? I’ve read over the recipe a few times to figure out where I went wrong and am certain I followed measurements and instructions to a T. I don’t know how I’ll make cookies out of this dough/batter.🤔 I’ll try adding some flour but I am disappointed.
I love this recipe. I actually made it as keto as I could. I used 1 cup cashew flour, 1/3 cup monk fruit/erythritol blend, 1/4 cup butter melted, a pinch salt, 2 tsp vanilla, 2 egg whites, 1/2 cup flake coconut (low sugar) and 1/2 cup walnuts (toasted). It made 19 nice size cookies. I had to flattened them a bit as they do not spread. I baked them for 6 min in an air dryer oven. They are so good. This will be my go to brownie cookie recipe for sure.
Oops! My apologies… they are identified as DAIRY FREE! Not vegan! Sorry about that!
No problem! Unfortunately, these are not vegan!
These are identified as Vegan….if you use eggs, whether whole egg, just whites, or just yokes, they are not Vegan.
Any way to make these with less sugar?
I’ve never tried that, and probably wouldn’t recommend it, as the sugar is what binds it together.
Hi!…just wondering if these cookies can be frozen?
Hello! The cookie dough cannot be frozen, but you can freeze the baked cookies. Layer them between sheets of parchment paper in a gallon ziplock bag or an airtight, freezer safe container.
I’ve tried this recipe twice and for some reason my batter comes out way too gooey and liquid to handle. The end product flavor is great, but they end up hardening super fast.
Any idea what I’m doing wrong?
Thanks!!
Hmm…it’s so tough to answer without being in the kitchen with you! So, you’re able to bake them, but they’re too runny? Do they spread a lot when baked and get really thin?
A few things: the egg whites shouldn’t be whipped or whisked before adding to the remaining ingredients. If it still seems to runny, you could try just 3 egg whites or add 1-2 Tablespoons flour (which would make them not gluten free).
As far as them hardening, my guess would be they’re either spreading too much and/or are slightly over baked. I would bake for a little less time next time and let them set up on the pan. I hope this helps!
Hmm…it’s so tough to answer without being in the kitchen with you! So, you’re able to bake them, but they’re really runny? Do they spread a lot when baked and get really thin?
A few things: the egg whites shouldn’t be whipped or whisked before adding to the remaining ingredients. If it still seems to runny, you could try just 3 egg whites or add 1-2 Tablespoons flour (which would make them not gluten free).
As far as them hardening, my guess would be they’re either spreading too much and/or are slightly over baked. I would bake for a little less time next time and let them set up on the pan. I hope this helps!