No Butter Chocolate Truffle Cookies (Grain Free, Dairy Free)
These no butter chocolate cookies are rich, soft, and full of deep chocolate flavor. They are made with simple ingredients with a naturally fudgy texture that feels a bit like a cross between a cookie and a truffle. This is an easy recipe to keep on hand when you want a homemade treat that comes together quickly and works for a variety of diets.
✩ What readers are saying…
“These are delicious! I wasn’t sure if these would be good enough to serve to guests (being flourless and all), but I’m glad I decided to make them and have no reservations about serving them!” -Dawn
This recipe for fudgy chocolate cookies made without butter or flour came about when I wanted a cookie to take to a gathering where there would be people who couldn’t have dairy or wheat.
I didn’t want it to be one of those desserts that weren’t as good as the “regular” dessert (you know what I mean…), so I set out to create something so rich and delicious that everyone would eat them without knowing they were “special.”
I found an old peanut butter recipe I had for the base and then adapted it to make a fudgy, super chocolatey cookie that pretty much melts in your mouth.
Mission accomplished. The cookies were described as “definitely in the top 10” by one friend and three others asked for the recipe when I served them for our weekly gathering!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
You only need eight basic ingredients to make these cookies. Here are some notes on the ingredients:
- Nut Butter: I’ve made these with cashew, peanut, and almond butters and all work for texture. However, I prefer cashew which has a more mild flavor that lets the chocolate shine. No one can guess what they’re made with when I use cashew butter, but peanut butter and, to a lesser degree, almond butter leave no doubts about what one of the main ingredients is.
- Brown sugar: I’ve been asked about using coconut sugar in place of brown sugar, and while you can do that 1:1, the texture of the cookies will be different. The moisture difference between them will cause the cookies made with brown sugar to be softer and fudgier, while the cookies with coconut sugar will be slightly firmer and crisper.
Make No Butter Chocolate Cookies
These cookies are SO simple and are ready to eat in about 30 minutes using basic pantry staples.
- Mix wet ingredients.
- Add in dry ingredients and stir well.
- Scoop onto lined or greased cookie sheets and bake for about 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Cool and eat!
The recipe makes a small batch, but any extras freeze beautifully. I don’t usually need to freeze many as my family often finishes the batch off in days.
I’m pretty proud of these and have made them numerous times, so I know they’ll be great for you, too. Please leave a rating and review to let me know how you like them!
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No Butter Chocolate Truffle Cookies (Grain Free, Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup nut butter* cashew, almond or peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ to 1 cup packed brown sugar**
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips semi sweet or dark
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with silicone or parchment.
- Combine nut butter, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
- Add sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until completely mixed together, about 1 minute. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Using a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop, drop onto prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
- Bake 8-9 minutes until puffed and crinkled (they will still be soft) and let stand on sheet about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
- To eat within a couple days, keep in an airtight container at room temperature.
- For longer storage, freeze in airtight container for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
More Easy Cookies
- Easy Almond Coconut Bars (Grain Free, Gluten Free)
- Grain Free Peanut Butter Honey Brownies Recipe
- Easy No Bake Chocolate Almond Oat Cups (Dairy Free, Gluten Free)
This recipe has been updated, it was originally published in 2015.
Wondering if coconut sugar would be nice in place if brown sugar?
That might work, Teresa – I’ve substituted in in other recipes with good results so I think it would here, too.
Any way to get the cookies to stop pouring all over the sheet? Mine keep ending up as one big cookie… They are delicious through!
Bummer – as you can see from the photos, I didn’t have that problem and I haven’t the other times I’ve made them. I wonder if your nut butter was more runny? If it’s pretty runny, I’d add a couple more tablespoons of cocoa powder and see if that helps.
These are delicious! I made them with almond butter and the full amount of sugar, but next time I’ll try reducing the sugar. I wasn’t sure if these would be good enough to serve to guests (being flourless and all), but I’m glad I decided to make them and have no reservations about serving them! Also, the extra protein and fat due to the high content of nut butter makes them a bit more satisfying so that I can (usually) resist the urge to have more than one at a time. 🙂
One thing I’m wondering is, would you store them in the fridge, freezer, or at room temperature if you were planning to serve them the day after baking?
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Dawn! Hmmm, I usually freeze all my cookies right away because I can taste the staleness even after a day and I think the freezer stops it if I freeze them within a few hours. That said, if serving the very next day, I’d probably just keep them in an airtight container and call it good. 🙂
Big lesson learned. Do NOT substitute regular butter for the nut butter! Tastes delicious (!!!) but the cooked batter runs all over the baking tray and looks quite unattractive in a melted sort of way. 😉 Oh, well. Can’t wait to get some cashew butter!!!
Yep, that’s right Andi – sorry! You can substitute any other nut butter, though, like almond or peanut. 🙂
This is such a great for me — trying to minimise the flour intake. Love it so much, thank you.
Thanks so much for this recipe. I order these all the time at Starbuck’s and of course don’t really know what’s in them, plus they are real expensive. Will be trying these tonight and notifying a friend who is also a big fan of the flourless choc. cookie. Judy
If you’re already a fan, Judy, I can pretty much guess you will love these like we do. 🙂