Quick and easy Paleo Spiced Almond Butter Cookies. Just four main ingredients plus your spices to make these chewy, flavorful cookies! And no flour involved.
Oh em geeee it has been MONTHS since I’ve shared some baked cookies with you! … It has though, hasn’t it? I can’t keep track anymore, honestly. All I know is I am swimming in a sea of pumpkin goodies on the blog and I’m thinking these almond butter cookies will be a nice breath of fresh air.
Speaking of fresh air… I was out for a walk in the neighborhood a few weeks ago and some house on the corner ALREADY HAD CHRISTMAS LIGHTS UP. Seriously it was like the first week of October. The house is 200% decked out with a Santa on the roof and all. I mean, fine I guess you’re excited. But what happened to October? And Thanksgiving? Apparently this house is just skipping right over fall and all things Autumn. Shame shame.
I was just talking to Erin about this the other day… How all of this holiday talk is honestly giving me a little bit of anxiety. I mean it was one thing when I wasn’t a blogger (AKA: a normal human being) and I would walk into Target and see Christmas decorations early October… Back then in those instances I was just annoyed. But now that I have this blog it’s making me feel behind schedule ! For example, I am still sharing lots and lots of fall-inspired goodies… But now does that mean I’m behind because I haven’t shared any holiday related content with you? It’s only the middle of October… But I am getting awfully confused with all of these mixed messages from the major markets. I actually really need to go to Target and get some household items but now I’m avoiding it due to the fact I’ll probably be running into winter holiday decorations.
Alright, we need to move on. This conversation I am having is not helping me calm down AT. ALL.
But this stack of almond butter cookies makes me calm. So thankfully we can rely on chatting about them to take our minds off of the approaching holidays. Although… Now that I think about it these almond butter cookies would actually make a good holiday cookie… Ugh I am doing exactly what I didn’t want to do– talk about the holidays. Okay, stopping now.
SO THESE ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES THEN. <– I feel like I have to type in caps to refocus.
They’re unique in flavor thanks to some molasses and… you guessed it: SPICES.
Cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom.
Truly this spice combination should come as no surprise to you. I’m obsessed with basically all spices, but especially ginger, and all things chai. The cookies themselves are made with straight-forward ingredients too. No butter or dairy needed because the combination of the almond butter, molasses and spices gives these cookies plenty of flavor on their own!
I’ve created this recipe as an entry in the Simply Organic Bake-Off, where nine other bloggers and myself have teamed up to share delicious dairy-free recipes during one of the most beloved seasons for baking, AKA FALL.
what you need
- almond butter
- egg
- sugar
- molasses
- vanilla
- baking soda
- spices
The ingredients list makes these almond butter cookies paleo-friendly, and as you can see we’re not even bothering with any flours for this recipe so they truly are really simple!
All you need is one bowl and whisk your ingredients together until well combined. The dough will be quite thick and sticky, so you’ll need to pop it into the freezer for about 20 minutes to chill.
Once the dough has chilled you then start making little dough balls. I used a rounded tablespoon, but you could also make smaller cookies and use a 1/2 tablespoon to scoop the dough.
Next you roll your dough balls into a spice-sugar mixture >> 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/8 tsp ginger + 1/8 tsp cardamom + 2 TBS sugar (I used turbinado because the sugar crystals are bigger and it makes for a nice texture once baked, but you could also use regular cane sugar or even coconut sugar again).
You’re going to want to give these cookies enough room to spread, so make sure to space them at least a couple of inches apart.
COOKIE BAKING TIP: Test 2-3 cookies first before baking a whole pan. That way you get a better idea of how much the cookies spread, and you can leave enough room on the sheet when baking a whole tray.
Another note: I tested these cookies a couple different ways. The first time I went without the molasses. I enjoyed the flavor of the cookies, but they ended up a bit dry after the first day. They were definitely tasty, just a tad on the dry side. Ultimately I went with the molasses version for you because they ended up just slightly more moist and chewy in the center, but still crisp on the edges. You could certainly make them without molasses (and keep the rest of the ingredients as is) if you prefer, just be prepared for a drier cookie.
Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx, Ashley
PrintPaleo Spiced Almond Butter Cookies
Quick and easy Paleo Spiced Almond Butter Cookies. Just four main ingredients plus your spices to make these chewy, flavorful cookies! And no flour involved.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 7 min
- Total Time: 17 minutes
- Yield: 18 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup natural almond butter (I used thick homemade, not super drippy)
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 TBS molasses
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
spiced sugar coating:
- 2 TBS turbinado sugar (regular cane sugar, or coconut sugar also works)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- 1/8 cardamom
Instructions
- In a medium-large bowl use sturdy whisk to combine almond butter, coconut sugar, spices, baking soda, egg, molasses and vanilla.
- Once ingredients are well combined–dough will be thick and sticky- use spatula to scrape down sides of bowl and form dough into large ball. Cover dough with plastic wrap and pop bowl into freezer for 15 minutes to chill.
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a large light colored baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Make spiced sugar coating: in a small bowl combine sugar and spices. Set aside.
- Remove bowl from freezer once dough has chilled. Scoop a slightly rounded tablespoon ( or 1/2 tablespoon) of dough and roll into ball between the palms of your hands, then roll into spiced sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet, repeat the rolling/coating process, leaving about 3 inches apart (cookies will spread).
- Bake cookies for 6-9 minutes, watching closely. Make sure your oven rack is set in the middle so bottoms don’t burn. My cookies were done at about 7 minutes. 9 minutes will likely result in a crispier cookie. If making smaller cookies, watch cookies after 6 minutes. Cookies will look soft when taking out of oven but will set upon cooling. Transfer cookies to wire rack after 1 minute to cool completely.
- ENJOY!
Notes
Store cookies in container or jar at room temperature, best enjoyed within 5-6 days.
— Nutrition approximate, based on 18 cookies.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 98
- Sugar: 8
- Sodium: 74
- Fat: 6
- Saturated Fat: 1
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 3
- Cholesterol: 10mg
Keywords: Paleo Spiced Almond Butter Cookies
let’s chat
- How do you feel about seeing holiday decorations in October?
Simply Organic and Go Dairy Free have teamed up with 10 talented food bloggers and authors for a bake-off! The bloggers will create sweet and savory recipes that are filled with flavor, but fit for dairy-free and other special diet needs. To enjoy more recipes from Simply Organic, follow the hashtag #OrganicMoments. To follow this event, vote, enter to win prizes, and find more exclusively dairy-free recipes, visit the Go Dairy Free website.
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rachel @ athletic avocado says
Totally need that little breath of fresh air away from all the pumpkin madness and these cookies are just perfect for that! Love how you roll them in that spice blend for all the spiced goodness! Pinning these <3
Ashley says
Thanks Rachel! It was a nice little break from pumpkin but I’ll be back soon 😉
Allie @ Miss Allie's Kitchen says
Ah I’m going to my parent’s house this weekend and my dad will go nuts over these! Also, my mom is dairy free soooo perfecto! I know I have molasses squirreled away in their house, I used to sneak it in the grocery cart and bring it to the barn to feed my horse lol. He loved carrots in molasses! So, the molasses may be 10 years old…but i have it! Haha! But really, these are fantastic, girl. I love how simple they are.
Ashley says
lol thanks Allie! Hope you guys enjoy 🙂
Erin @ The Almond Eater says
HAHA you’re giving yourself and now me anxiety. I’m still working on fall/Thanksgiving-y recipes so don’t stress! If you stress I’m going to stress and then together we’ll just be one giant hot mess (or maybe we already are?)
Ashley says
… I think we already are, HA :-p
Tiffany says
All those spices and almond butter combined into a cookie? *gasps* I love it! Definitely bookmarking for later! And I love Christmas decorations, even in October, because everything seems more cheerful.
Ashley says
Haha, I’ll give you that– things do seem a bit more cheerful with Christmas decorations out 😉
Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says
The Bloomingdales by me has Christmas trees up by the end of September! nooooooo
Ashley says
Ugh yeah no. Although I do love shopping downtown Chicago during the holidays!
Christine @ thyme & toast says
It blows my mind that these are completely flourless! They look incredible! I can’t believe how quick the holidays are creeping up… so I feel you on a little of that holiday anxiety! So little time so much to do!
Ashley says
Those were my thoughts when I was on my third cookie, lol I felt like I kept having to try because I couldn’t believe it myself.
Alisa Fleming says
This recipe takes me back. We made cookies just like these when my niece was with us in high school. She ate them for breakfast! It was a cookie the whole house could eat though, which is great.
Ashley says
Ah so fun! Cookies for breakfast, why not? Thanks Alisa! And thanks again for hosting such a fun event!
Carly @ FitLiving Eats says
Yummy! I can’t wait to make these. Pinned!
Ashley says
Thanks so much Carly!
Amylou @The No Grainer says
These look awesome, Ashley! I’m still in fall mode…no need to rush into the holidays! I feel you though…can totally be stressful. Coming into my first holiday season as a blogger, I’m already planning my posts into November, which I know have to be holiday-themed for use in December…but its only october! And I just want to eat cinnamon all the time! Anyway, loving your fall themed recipes for a bit longer!
Ashley says
Haha, yes exactly! Such a struggle. I guess it is the blogger way though 🙂 Thanks Amylou!
Candace says
OMHeck! This is a Christmas miracle! I’ve been craving this very cookie and to find it made with almond butter…genius! No unpleasant texture or supersweetness!
Ahh, sweet satisfaction. Mmmmm
Ashley says
Thanks so much Candace! Hope you enjoy 🙂